Easy Face-Lift. Just add water.


Hi, everyone! It's Bibi here, and for our new blog's first REAL post I want to show you a fun and easy technique called Face-lifting. That's what I call it anyway, but I'm sure there are other names for it.

This is a technique I use quite often and I have been asked whether I paint the face after stamping the image on a dark background. In a sense, I guess I do paint it ..... and it's really easy once you know the Super Secret Ingredient ...

Here's an example:


Stamps used: Lady with Stars and Milkyway Border from #CE1-L Celestial Images


If you have tried this technique before, you know that the Super Secret Ingredient I use to "paint" the skin is ..... wait, I think I can hear a drumroll......water. That's right. WATER, ladies and gangsters! I bet you all have some of that in your stash, huh? The other "ingredients" you need are Distress ink, smooth watercolour paper or coated tags. Face-lifting does work on other white surfaces as well, but these two are my favourites. Experiment with what you already have and see what works best.


Step by step instructions:

1) Smoosh some Distress ink on a tag. It doesn't have to look even.





2) Lightly mist the tag with water to achieve a speckled background, then stamp the images with a waterproof ink (such as StazOn and Archival).



3) Next you "paint" the areas you want to be light, using nothing but a brush and some water. Leave the water sitting for a while before you dab it off with a piece of tissue paper. The length of time the water needs to sit depends on the paper. If it doesn't look light enough after a few seconds, add more water and let it sit for a minute or two.........



...... keep adding and dabbing off water, until it looks something like this:



4) Colour in the stamped images, using colour pencils and gel pens, for instance. Do not use markers or anything containing water, as the water will lift the Distress ink off the image instead of adding colour to it.




5) Jazz your tag up with ribbons and fibers and adhere it to panels in matching colours, and you're done!



The Face-lifting technique can be used on other images than faces, of course. Here's one example. I left the images "white" after the face-lifting, no colouring in afterwards.


#A1-1E Large Dragonfly. Sentiment and hearts from #JNEN-2E Just a note.
Love stamp from #B3-M A little Birdie


Some more tags .....

#B3-1D Flycatcher. Moon Lady and Sun from #CE1-L Celestial Images.


#CO3-4E Nostalgia.

On the card below, I face-lifted the entire stamped image to make the dress look slightly lighter than the background, then continued to face-lift her face until it looked nearly white.

#M1-1E Flute Player. Sentiment from #JNEN-2E Just a note.


I hope you enjoyed the show! Thank you so much for stamping by :-)


Supply list:

All stamps are from Rubber Dance: www.rubberdance.com
Distress inks.
Waterproof ink.
Water.
Smooth watercolour paper.
Tags.
Paint brush.
Colour pencils, gel pens, etc.
Ribbons and fibers.
Tape and cardstock.
Patience (while the face-lifting water does its magic).


Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions about the face-lifting technique, or anything else.

Have a stamptastic day!

XOX,
Bibi L.

To find the stamps I have used, and many more, visit the Rubber Dance website at: www.rubberdance.com. You can meet us on Facebook - come on over and say hi!

Comments

Robyn said…
Fun technique and it fits your new stamp line beautifully! Must give this a try!
all the best on your new blog and website and product lines!
Unknown said…
Thank you so much, Robyn! <3
Yes, you should give this tech. a try, it's so fun and easy! (Gotta like that combination).
XOX
TwinkleToes2day said…
That is so cool Bibi! AND I have some of the matching stamps too! Yay! Lol :-D
Something as simple as this would be the perfect way to try your video techniques. I
know you can do it! :-D
Susanne Rose said…
Fantastic first post! Your stamps are so delicious! Hugs Susanne.
Cherry Pie said…
Very nice indeed! I wish it worked on real faces too.... LOL
Pamela said…
I'm going to have to give this a try! Usually when I try to remove ink, I don't get enough off, but maybe it is my paper.... wonderful beginning post!
Pamikins said…
Oh Bibi, this is wonderful. Did you hear me swoon several times? Or maybe you heard the loud gasp when I saw the Nostalgia one? You are one talented lady. So happy the blog is up and running!!! HUGS, Pamikins
Unknown said…
Thank you, TwinkleToes! Be sure to let us see what you made if you try this with your new stamps!
And you're right about a video tut, this technique would be good for a video tut - once I learn the video editing programme ... (I will, I will! ;-) )
XOX
Unknown said…
Thank you so much, Susanne!! :-)))

XOX
Unknown said…
Thanks, Marina! haha, water face-lift in the morning? Careful with that H2O ... it works miracles! (on paper, anyway ...)
XOX
Unknown said…
Thanks, Pamela! Give it another try, using watercolor paper (and Distress inks). All paper seem to react differently, so just test in a scrap peice until you find one that works great. Good luck!
XOX
Unknown said…
Thank you, Pam!! I could hear you swooning and that gasp nearly work me up! lol
HUGS rigth back at ya.
XOX
Anonymous said…
Just awesome Bibi! These tags are so pretty and professional! Wonderful!
Unknown said…
Thank you so much!! Coming from you, the Queen of Tags, that compliment is extra special :-)
XOX
Unknown said…
Congratulations on the new blog Bibi. Fabulous start. I love this technique. It makes fab backgrounds spraying water through masks. All signed up! Hugs Helen x
Bibi Lindahl said…
Thank you so much, Helen! It's amazing to watch while the water interacts with Distress inks. Spraying through masks is a great idea! Hugs back :)
XOX
judi kauffman said…
Impressive results, easy to achieve - Great start to your blog, Bibi.
Unknown said…
Thank you, Judi!
XOX
massofhair said…
If i remembercorrectly this technique is called 'faux bleach'...

Fabulous images & great colours/techniques on your tags.

Congrats on your new Blog:-) xxx
Unknown said…
Thank you so much! :-) "Faux bleach" does make sense!
XOX
Cataleya said…
Congratulations on the new blog dear Bibi! I love this technique so much and very thankful for you for sharing it with us! I love your beautiful creations! You are so talented and creative!!! Hugs :)
~Olga Kovalchuk
Unknown said…
Thank you so much for your kind words, Olga!! Hugs back to you :)
XOX
paulaj said…
ty for sharing this fun technique!
Unknown said…
My pleasure! :) I hope you will try it.
XOX

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