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Fun With Foam Board
by Lori RobertsAltered Arts Deck Crewmember
Welcome to our new Altered Arts Deck! I am so excited to be part of this new venture. The name of my room, Lori's Castaway Cabin, is so appropriate for Altered Arts. I am a big fan of recycling and reusing materials, and the projects that I create are made with supplies I have cast away on my desk. You never know what I might find there. I will still incorporate rubber stamps in my projects. Rubber stamps are just as vital to Altered Arts as well as many other tools we use. With my project each month, I will try and give you as much detail as possible to explain the techniques and supplies that are being used.
A few weeks ago, I picked up a copy of "Somerset Workshop." Diana Twedt did a few projects using foam board. Her projects were so inspiring that I just had to try one. My mother's birthday was this past February and since she is my biggest fan I decided to make something for her. I have always been reluctant to use foam board and decided it was time to tackle the beast. LOL! Foam board is exactly what it sounds like, a piece of foam that is glued between two sheets of smooth cardboard. With the piece of foam lodged between these two boards, it allows for easy cutting of the board and it will bounce back after cutting. The most important thing to remember when you are cutting foam board is to have a new blade in your knife and a metal ruler for your straight edges. If your edges are not as smooth as you would like them, use a piece of fine grade sandpaper to lightly sand the edges. In this project that is not so important because we will be covering the board with tissue paper which will hide any imperfections. Also, place the large piece of board on the floor to do your cutting.
The next supply we use in this project is mat board. Mat board is used to mat your photos or art projects. Again, the important tools needed for cutting this board are a fresh blade and your metal ruler. Both of these products are readily available at any craft store. Purchasing a standard sheet of both the foam board and mat board will give you plenty of material to complete many projects.
A technique used in this project is called "dry brushing." Dry brushing is using a dry brush with a minimal amount of paint in it to add shading or highlighting details on a design. A brush is dipped in paint and, using a paper towel, most of the paint is removed from the brush. Using this technique will also create a cloudy effect. I used this technique to shade around the images in my layout. This will "hide" the edges of your photograph and give it a soft finish. Hint: When you think you have removed most of the paint from your brush do it again on another clean spot of your paper towel.
The images I used for this project are pictures of my family. I had a color laser copy made at a copy store for my focal image. The original photo has someone else in the picture and if you take it to the copy store they can alter the image for you. They can also resize the image and adjust the colors. The other pictures were scanned and printed with my ink jet printer and were treated to protect and preserve them. For the laser copy, I used matte soft gel medium painted on the front of it and then let it completely dry before using. The ink jet copies were sprayed with a sealant to keep the ink from smearing and then covered with the gel medium. Gel medium comes in either matte or glossy finish and it is just a matter of personal preference which to use. In my project I used the matte finish.
The paints that I used for this project are nothing fancy, just acrylic paints that may be purchased at craft stores and even some department stores. There is no need to go out and buy "special" glazes. When these little bottles of paints are on sale, grab a few extra that you like to have on hand at a moment's notice.
The papers that I used for this project are called "embossed" papers and can be purchased at most craft, scrapbook or stamp stores. I simply tore pieces of the paper and then glued them to my layout. I used the brown shoe polish to distress the papers. I then did the "dry brush" method to achieve the colors that were to my satisfaction.
Here is my finished project; a dedication to my mother. I used her as my focal image and then the other pictures are her parents and the little one is me! The bottom photo is a picture of my mother when she attended high school with some of her good friends. We don't have a lot of pictures in our family as they have somehow gone astray. Creating this piece for her was a way to preserve those special moments.
Foam board will never haunt me again. It is fun and versatile and can be used for so many things. Remember...when you are going to create a project that a designer has demonstrated...try to use the materials that you have on hand. Supplement whenever possible. Nothing is written in stone and you may discover a new and different way of using your materials.
Until we meet again..."I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way...things I had no words for." - Georgia O'Keeffe
Lori Roberts
loriroberts@ssreflections.com
Altered Arts Deck Crewmember
Reflections Publishing Group, LLC
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***Disclaimers - While individual techniques may vary, always follow product manufacturers' directions and cautions for safety and best results.
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