The Magic Of Sunflowers and Tissue Paper

Front
This months swap them at Arts In The Cards was Sunflowers and Lemonade.  I adore sunflowers and take lots of photos of them every year. They never fail to make me smile!  These look like simple photographs and, indeed, that's what they are. It was difficult to photograph these cards adequately. They look better in person that in these photos - although I don't suppose that they are the most original cards I've ever made they are the beginning of a new process that I have been experimenting with.
Back
What is a bit different about these cards is that the images are printed on common, off the drugstore shelf, untreated, white tissue paper. I have been experimenting with this process lately and think I have a process finally figured out. After being printed, the images are placed over an embossed mat board - so that when the card is held in a certain way you see the embossing (which in this case is script).  I've been having fun experimenting with this technique. It can be difficult to get the tissue brayered on the substrate evenly without tears or folds....but it's fun! The photos don't really show the effect well enough.  I manipulated my photographs, printed them carefully onto the  tissue paper, brayered them onto the embossed mat board using my favorite paper adhesive (Perfect Paper Adhesive from US Artquest). Next, I covered the front image with a layer of gloss and sealed the edges with lacquer. I'm not that thrilled with the edges and will be playing with other paints for a neater look in the future
Here is a look at the printed photo on tissue paper. It's a remarkable medium really; takes the images beautifully (who would a thunk?!). You do need to take care when handling it.  Thanks to my swapping friends for letting me use these cards as guinea pigs as I work out the process. I hope the next cards that I make using this method will be more 'polished'! I'm really loving the effect though!

Comments

  1. I like sunflowers too. The cards are wonderful.

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  2. yummy colors of summer! wish i had joined the trade now as lemonaid and sunflowers are on my mind. tissue paper transfer is intiguing!

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  3. how to you print on the tissue paper? do you stick it to freezer paper or something to give it some body to go through the printer?

    I have several mammoth sunflowers growing in my garden this year. They are getting ready to open up their flowers.

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  4. I love how you did these cards! I'm also curious exactly how you got the tissue paper to print. And, since I've been reading your blog for a while, I knew that you are part of that trading group, but didn't know there was a blog...is it new? I must go back and look some more!

    The last cards I made had daffodils on them...I have an extra if you ever wanna trade something :-) .

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