Bleaching technique question
 

I recently saw a card that used the bleaching technique and want to try it. I see that there is a great tutorial right on the website here.

My question is - doesn't the paper smell like bleach after it dries? Or does the smell dissipate? I wouldn't want to send someone a card that smells like bleach!

Thanks

The two times I tried it it didn't smell! I also found that different papers bleached differently, some better than others.

I want to use one of my blender pens to apply the bleach because I don't want to ruin my paintbrushes. Is that safe? I don't know what they make those things out of. I don't want to cause some weird chemical reaction and gas myself.

i think when i did it - i used an extra aquapainter pen that i had. You can also pick up the clorox pens....those worked as well - just not as well as straight bleach i believe.

This conversation seems to be split over a couple of sections of the forum!

I always use a paintbrush and have never had any problems - just wash it out when you're done. I don't even keep a separate brush for bleach, I just use whatever is on hand that's the right size for the job.

I have no idea what's in a blender pen but it may well stop the bleach working as effectively by having a diluting effect on it.

If you really don't want to use a paintbrush, how about something like the Cut n Dry nibs that Ranger do?

A very interesting idea, Joanne. I took a look at them. They seem like they might be fun to play with for lots of stuff.

Dyan Reaveley--Ranger Dylusions artist has a non chemical technique for bleaching. She shows it on her blog Dylan's Blog: Luscious leaves...

Great video! I am resisting those Dylusion Sprays, I am already addicted to Distress Ink and there are only so many habits I can afford to support. There are so many great Ranger products.

I think I could do something similar using my Distress Inks and a water pen for removing the color, and then paint in using a brush and my pads. It wouldn't be as vibrant, but I might try it. I have some black Archival Ink. I haven't use it yet because I don't know if my Stampin Mist would clean it off my stamps. Baby wipes would probably work, though.

Still, what I am looking forward to is taking some dark cardstock, embossing an outline stamp onto it and then lifting the color so I can color it with my Prismas. I just love the way that looks.

Rachelrose, don't use the bleach with any blender-type pen, only a clean brush or brush pen Bleach reacts with certain chemicals to form toxic gases i.e. bleach & ammonia make chlorine gas which is very harmful and can cause serious injury if you breath it. Better safe than sorry!

Exactly my concern. But I tend to be so overly concerned about such things that I always ask.

I've read about people using "an old dried out blender pen" here and on the internet in general. And my blender pen is a SU one, so there's no liquid in it to refill. They seem to be just some kind of nib stuck in a plastic barrel. I don't know what they put on those tips, if anything. But I have a small brush and plenty of Q-tips. So I can use those.

We have three bleach tutorials here in the resource section. When coloring with bleach, I use a cheap brush and wash it out right after. I had no problems with that.

Bleached out images

Rainbow Craft

Stamping with Bleach

We also have several faux bleach tutorials:

Alcohol Ink Faux Bleach

Colorless Blender Bleaching

Color Wash Faux Bleach

Thanks for gathering all those in one spot for me Beate! I love the Bleached Out Images tutorial. That is what I want to do!

Yes I second that! I enjoyed them all as well!
Thank you :D

I used q-tips for bleaching.. works great when you have a large area you want to bleach.

THANKS for sharing this link! Some of my ?s were answered and I learned a lot. Looking forward to gathering supplies to try this. :)

Long ago when stamping with bleach I just used a panty liner like a stamp pad. Worked well and just threw it away when done.

I've never had an odor from this technique. I use a paint brush and rinse it out when finished. It is a good ideato try it onscraps of the papers you want to use to test how the color will bleach out. Some are better than others.

Also, be sure to use fresh bleach. "Old" bleach will not work as well.

I use a cheaper version of the Aqua Painters & I've filled it with bleach & have kept it filled in my drawer for future use. I guess I need to see if it still works from what you all have been saying. BUT, the card DOESN'T end up smelling like bleach.

I used Gina K's tutorial. In dish, soak paper towels with bleach, use the towels as the 'ink pad'. The longer you leave the stamp on the paper, the whiter the stamped area.
Also used my aqua pen and filled it with bleach to paint. Both worked well and I didn't notice a bleach smell to the cardstock.
Just make sure you wash your stamps with a soapy solution. Don't let them dry. I think over time that would eat away at the rubber.

I've used my aqua pen many times to "paint" the bleach on. Another thing - I had a bad reaction to the original Clorox smell many years ago. I get the scented Clorox without that chlorine smell and have had zero problems.