(Version française ici)
For this month's TV segment, I spoke of Liquid Appliqué.
Liquid Appliqué (manufactured by Marvy Uchida) is sort of a paint pen, available in 18 colors, that can be used to create 3-D effects on our projects. Originally, this produc twas mainly used by quilters, but has since expanded its reach to scrapbookers and card-makers. At first glance, the Liquid Appliqué pen doesn’t look impressive:
The basic use consists in applying the liquid on the chosen surface (paper/cardstock or fabric) – one can fill in a design or simply create fine lines – and heat using an embossing heat gun to puff it up. The effect can be reminiscent of snow, fur, icing, suede, clouds… you get the idea.
The tip of the Liquid Appliqué pen is fine and you need to press the barrel of the pen between your fingers to spread the liquid onto the project. TIP: try first on a piece of scrap paper to get used to the flow, then apply directly to your project, this way, you will avoid blobs. Well manipulated, Liquid Appliqué is thick enough to keep its shape when applied, which meand you can color the inside of a shape or write with it.
On the page below, I completely covered some leftover sticky letters to create my title. I heated the medium immediately after I applied it for a bubbly 3-D effect.
Here, you can see the bubbles after it has been heated. I found two advantages to using my old sticky letters: it was easy to follow the lines of the design without having to draw them first; and they are self-adhesive, of course!
Once cooled down, I added touches of Icicle Stickles glue here and there for added sparkle.
I also made a card on which I used Liquid Appliqué to enhance the pompoms and the hat of the little skater, and again, heated immediately. The effect is quite realistic. The stamp is from the Victoria Case exclusive collection for Susana’s Custom Art and Card Designs.
Here is another card, for Valentines’ Day which is coming soon.
To add sparkle to the heart, I sprinkled gold glitter on the wet Liquid Appliqué. I then heated and the glitter was trapped into the drying and puffing medium. The same thing would happen if we used micro-beads or embossing powder. Note I also used fabric for this card – a piece of a recycled pair of jeans my daughters outgrew. Even though I used «Heat-Bond» fusible backing, I still preferred to sew all around the edge with red embroidery floss to solidify.
Since Liquid Appliqué keeps its shape, one can also use different colors together. Here, I colored a chipboard birdie with black and yellow and heated. I find it looks like a winter bird puffing its feathers to keep warm J. I added Glossy Accents to the marker-colored beak and a drop of black Enamel Accents for the eye.
For the following example, I found a technique in a magazine and, of course, I HAD to try it! It makes for a very interesting background.
Here are the steps to create this background.
- You will need 2 pieces of cardstock in the same size, a heat gun and a few colors of Liquid Appliqué (I used yellow, brown and purple – ignore the pink on the photo, I changed my mind during the process ;))é
- Pressing the tubes of Liquid Appliqué, make lines or abstract designs on one of the pieces of cardstock.
- Place the second piece of cardstock on top and press with your fingers to spread the colors between the sheets. Don’t move it around too much so the colors stay real. To make sure that the entire surface is well covered, partially separate the sheets and look in between: if there are still white spots, press the sheets together again, slightly moving them in opposite directions, covering the white spots. When you are satisfied with the result, gently peel the sheets apart.
- Heat with the embossing gun to puff up. Since it’s thinner and uneven, the relief won’t be as thick and certain areas may not be raised at all.
Now, I also stamped on that uneven background… To do so, I chose a silhouette design (Magenta) because I wanted to stamp directly on top while still showing off the effect, but I do want the design to show properly. Here is how I did it.
Rather than pressing my stamp down on the background, I did the opposite. The bumps on the background would create holes in the design, but by placing my background on top of the stamp, I can press the back to make sure it catches the entire stamp design.
Finally, Here is a comparison. On my own projects, I have always heated immediately after applying the Liquid Appliqué. However, if you let it dry for 6 to 12 hours before heating, the raised effect will be smoother. It’s all a question of personal taste… and patience! Thanks to Nathalie Daigneault for this example.
I hopt this article will inspire you to try Liquid Appliqué for yourself!