Bleach Ideas
 

I'm looking for all the different ways you can use bleach on cards?

AND - is it safe to use bleach in scrapbook pages? I saw them do it on the DIY Scrapbooking show and was a little skeptical???

It's really cool to emboss people images like in Summer by the Sea and then use a Q-tip and bleach to make a skin tone on the image.(ie legs,arms face,etc.) HTH!

Great idea - thanks so much!

I love stamping with bleach, and then heating the cardstock to really get the stamped image to fade. Also did a search and found this thread on Bleach and scrapbooks.

http://forums.splitcoaststampers.com...each+technique

The bleached part of cardstock will of course look different depending upon the color of the cardstock (and the brand). I took a solid flower stamp, coated it with bleach and it turned tan on black cardstock. Then I flicked some of the bleach over the card to get a speckled look. I colored in the bleached area of the flower with some radient pearls and it looked great. This color combination is particularly good for a masculine card. In fact, I gave it to an art teacher and he was impressed!

How do you put the bleach on the stamp? Do you thicken it with something or put it in a blank pad?

Does it hurt the rubber?

Bleach ideas
 

Morning

I fold a few paper towels and place them in a small plastic box. Pour your bleach on the towels until they are wet but not sopping. Dab your stamp on the paper towels then on your c/s. Clean your stamp with water and then I use a cleaner/conditioner so there is no problem with the rubber. Besides no-one would recommend us doing this technique if it damaged our beautiful stamps. We have so much $$ invested. This is one of my fav techs. I always test my c/s to see what color it is going to bleach to before I stamp.

I have also heard that you can make a "bleach stamp pad" by using a clean/unused pantyliner the same way as the paper towels - I liked this method better since was more like a ink pad and seems to get better coverage on the stamp - sometimes the paper towel doesn't give as good of coverage IMHO.

Just a thought to share.

When bleaching, I use the aluminum pot pie tins (from oven only pot pies). I cut a circle of white felt and put in the bottom of the tin, add bleach to saturate the felt and the pour off any extra bleach. This makes a nice "bleach pad," and works better than paper towels because they will start to deteriorate over time. For larger stamps, I use a plastic plate with felt. You can get felt squares at Wal-Mart in the craft aisle for $0.20, and I'm sure they have them at JoAnn's, but I don't remember the price. HTH.

A fun bleaching technique is to emboss an outline image on dark card stock, and then use an old blender pen dipped in bleach (repeatedly) to bleach out the center of the image. You can leave it bleached out, or you can color it in with a different color or colors, using a marker.

If you are bleaching on the batik technique, do you make the background, emboss the image, and then bleach out the batik colors? I am trying to figure out how people get this look!

What color cardstock are you using for this that it turns into a skin tone?

You can also apply color to cardstock (for example brayer on a color) and stamp in bleach and it will bleach the top color and leave the bottom color underneath showing. Just don't leave the stamp with bleach on the paper too long, or it might go clear through the bottom layer.

hope that made sense.

You can put bleach in a water brush. The bleach will lose its power as it is exposed to light. Duct tape will keep the bleach good. I also store bleach in an inexpensive little $.59 spritz bottle from walmart that I wrap'd in duct tape.

Shelley F.

I didn't know you could do this! WOW! I will have to try this out. You ladies are full of wonderful information! :wink:

A less expensive alternative is to use a dried out Kid Marker. I use the Crayola style bc they have a pointy tip or a broad side. I found a light color marker that was ready for the trash, put bleach in a small glass then stood the marker up in the bleach for a few minutes to let it soak in. It 'bleached' out the color from the marker and gave me a bleach pen. :!: BTW be sure to mark the marker carefully so little ones do not grab it and accidentally use it!!

And to think I just through 3 away and of course the garbage man ran today. :roll: TFS! If I keep the cap on will it "keep" for a while like that?

I also use felt for my bleach, but instead of using a pie tin, I put the felt, folded in half (to fill up the container) in a large, empty stamp container. I can close the lid and take it with me. No need to have that bottle of bleach with me or worry about spilling it. It keeps for a long time this way! I can use my felt over and over. I leave one end of the felt dry. This way I can blot off my stamp if I happen to get it too wet.

You can also now buy cheap watercolour paint brushes like SU sells (cheaper quality...would not want to use my SU ones) and put bleach into them instead of water. Store up side down in a cup or can with the brush end up...great for bleaching!
Sue

Yes, it will for quite awhile bc it is not exposed to light. Light is the enemy :twisted: of bleach!

I have used the Clorox bleach pen on night of navy after stamping a snowman on it. Turned out nice.

Thanks to all of you! I'm going to go give the BLEACH ideas a try! I'll be sure to post all the cards I come up with!

Where can I find samples of your techniques, like the one on the navy blue or the one on black?

Paint Prints is a fantastic set to do bleach stamping with!!

Be careful though as the fumes are toxic and you can get nauseted or a terrible headache. I open the window because I get unaware of the building fumes.

when you use the bleach pen, do you dilute the gel at all? I tried it last night and it clumped in spots and distorted the image. maybe I should try applying the gel with a q-tip?

thanks!
Nicole

bleach on stamps?
 

I am confused, wouldn't bleach break down rubber stamps?!?

Doesn't hurt them a bit. Makes them nice and clean. Just rinse them well right after doing the bleach thing and they will be fine. I have been doing it for years!

That rocks, I am getting more inspired all the time :D

I, too, am a bleach stamping lover!!! I started out by using a folded paper towel as my bleach pad, but found I was getting too much bleach on my stamp and therefore a blurry bleached image. I then decided to dip a Q-tip (another very important stamping tool in my opinion) in bleach and apply it to my stamp...I LOVE this as I get greater control in the quantity of bleach that goes onto my stamp and get a very crisp image. My local Walmart just got in the bleach pens which I saw in an earlier post and I was so excited!!! I haven't tried it yet, but I am so positive that this will be something else I will not be able to do without. I hate carrying my small container of bleach around the house but more importantly this will be great to take to workshops (I always have a fear of having someone spill thebleach on their cloths or something).

I can not wait to try this. I am new to stamping and saw this and had to see what you all where talking about. Now I am going to try it. :P

Wow! I've looked around the house for crafty uses for lots of things, but this NEVER occurred to me. Sounds like it would work like a charm though.

Thanks everybody for the tips, I've been kind of a "bleach wimp". I don't feel so wimpy now.

Dj

Here is another fun idea-Use Cascade gel (for dishwashers) It bleaches AND leaves a slightly raised image. (textured)

Have fun~~ :D

I 've been wanting to try this technique, sounds so cool.

Can you use the Cascade Gel in the aquapainter just like the bleach?

I never have, so give it a try and let ME know! It's thick, so I would be sure to wash it out each time. ?

I would love to know how to do the gel thing too. Does it look the same?

Carol Duvall had an episode where she did bleach pens and bleach and I think the dishwasher gel as well and they looked different on different papers - it was interesting to see the results, some paper was "lighter" with plain bleach and some "lighter" with the gel