One of my favorite products to design and teach classes with is Dreamweaver Stencils and Paste. Now I openly admit that I am not a traditional stenciler, I love designing with paste - and you won't believe how many cool effects you will get with these pastes. Pastes come in a variety of styles each with their own fun techniques. Here are basic instructions for apply every kind of embossing paste.
With Dreamweaver's unique paste range you can create stunning cards in a matter of minutes. You won't believe how easy it is to create simply stunning cards.
How to properly tape your stencil in place: Place your stencil where you want it on your paper. Use removeable scotch tape to secure your stencil to your paper. Don't skimp on your tape. You should tape down all the edges of the stencil. Start taping at the top of your stencil first.(this will be the piece of tape that you will leave on your stencil when you go to pick it up from your paper after you have applied your paste)- we will call this your HINGE. Remember the order that you place your tape down on the stencil.
Preparing your stencil cleanup station: To care for your stencils I recommend setting up a washing station before you start working. Find a plastic dish that is large enought to fit your largest stencil in. Fill the bottom of the dish with water and a squirt or two of Simple Green. Now you are ready to play.
Applying Paste to your stencil: Apply paste using a metal palette knife. Insert the knife into the jar of paste and scoop up about a nickel size portion of paste on the back side of your palette knife (like you picking up icing to ice a cake). Work quickly to apply paste over the stencil area in one gentle motion keeping the palette knife tipped at angle.Try to cover the entire area of the stencil in two or three quick strokes. Your paste should be between a 1/8"- 1/4" thick make sure all the open areas of the stencil are now filled in with paste. Remove excess paste by pulling the side of your pallette knife flat accross the surface of the stencil. Do not play with the paste ( get in and get out). Return the excess paste to the jar and close lid.
Removing the tape from your stencil: Now take the last piece of removeable tape off your stencil, then the 3rd piece and then the second piece. Leave the first piece of tape in place. (This is your hinge). ( when you go to remove your brass stencil from the paper - there will be a small amount of suction. By leaving your hinge in place you will have more control over removing your stencil.) Now pick up your stencil from the bottom edge and move it up in the direction of the hinge. When you have it safely raised gently lift the top of the stencil and remove the tape from your paper. Set aside your project to dry.
Cleaning your stencil: Remove the hinge tape from your stencil and immediately place it in your cleaning station. Rinse the stencil. If necessary use a soft brush or old toothbrush to remove excess paste. Be sure to leave your stencil flat in the bottom of our dish as you clean it. Remove the stencil from the water and place the stencil flat on a soft dry cloth and gently remove the water. Tip: Do not hold the stencil in your hand to dry it- it is very easy to accidental bend your stencil during the cleaning process. If you find that you still have excess paste on your stencil you may use rubbing alcohol to remove the extra paste.
If I bend my stencil can I unbend it? Unfortunately there is no way to fix a bent stencil.
Should I be concerned if my paper warps after I apply paste? No, once the paper dries it will flatten out again.
How long will it take the paste to dry? This will depend on the type of paste you use and how thick you have applied the paste. In general it takes about 30 minutes.
Can I accelarate the drying process? Yes you can by using a heat embossing gun. Hold the gun about 4 inches from the paste and move the embossing gun over the pasted area in a circular motion. Be careful not to burn the paste.
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