Fifth Saturday - Technique time

Hi - Jane here with our 5th Saturday technique tutorial and this time I'm going to look at Batik stamping, a technique that was popular about 20 years ago when crafters all had a huge stash of Mulberry paper, that fine, fibrous tissue that was popular for matting and layering at one time. I suspect many of us have a stash of it tucked away somewhere - I certainly do - and if not, it's easily available. In fact I saw a pack in the local bargain store yesterday, 5 sheets for £1.

You will need

a piece of white mulberry paper

a colourless embossing pad or a Versamark pad
clear embossing powder
scrap paper and plain white kitchen roll
water-colour paints and brushes  - or use felt pens scribbled on a plastic palette and pick up the colour with a  damp brush for a subtle effect
A fine spray bottle filled with water
your chosen stamp
heat gun
iron and ironing board

First, choose a stamp that has clear uncluttered lines  - I used an old Rubber Stampede stamp called Whimsical Butterfly.

Tear the mulberry paper to roughly the size you want and stamp and emboss the image using the embossing or Versamark pad and clear powder. Make sure the powder is thoroughly melted so it soaks into the paper – if you were doing ordinary stamping you would say you had heated it for slightly too long!

Now protect your work surface with something waterproof – I use the lid of a plastic storage box. Place your stamped image on this and spray it lightly with water. Then paint your design, remembering to aim for a slightly blotchy effect like you see in real batik. The embossed lines will resist the paint and stay white.

Leave your design to dry completely, then protect your ironing board with scrap paper and place the image on it, sandwiched between two sheets of plain white kitchen paper. Iron this carefully with a hot dry iron. The embossing powder will melt and soak into the kitchen paper, which you may need to change to make sure all the powder is absorbed. Now lift the image out from between the papers and allow it to cool – your design will show up in white against the watercoloured background, especially if you mount it on a plain white background.

This is a great way of making your own backgrounds - I've added some die cuts and a stamped and coloured butterfly, using the same stamp, to make this card.