Acrylic Dream ATC by Alison Hall

Hello Everyone! I had my first play with a That's Crafty! Acrylic ATC this week. I can't believe it's taken me so long! If you've got a steady hand, it's quite easy to build up layers of stencilling using the That's Crafty! Dinky stencils. You just have to remember that the first layer will be the top layer you see when it's the right way up.

Here's what I used...

That's Crafty! Surfaces ATC Sampler Pack - Pack of 8 - Acrylic ATC

That's Crafty! Dinky Stencils - Raindrops Background, Bubbly All Over, Arrows Background, Moc Croc

PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Acrylic Paint - Bora Bora, Chalk, Coral, Banana, Zucchini, Copper

Carabelle Studio Stamp Set - 'Joy'

Stazon Ink Pad - Jet Black

Stencil Brush

Paint Brush

Heat Gun

Here's what I did...

1. I began by peeling the backing off the acrylic ATC. You could leave this on whilst you add your paint layers if you wish. However, this was the side that I chose to stencil, and have as the back of my ATC.

2. For my first layer, I mixed up some Bora Bora and Chalk Fresco paint to get a light blue colour, then stencilled the Raindrop Background. I gave this a quick blast with my heat gun. The acrylic takes heat pretty well, and I wanted to dry the paint quickly. The Fresco Paint dries quite quickly anyway.

3. For the next layer, I mixed a little Coral into some Banana to get a nice opaque orange shade. I mixed my own orange as the Fresco ready made oranges tend to be transluscent. I stencilled the Bubbly All Over with the orange paint.

4. Next, I used Zuccini to stencil with the Moc Croc Dinky Stencil. The last two layers don't show up a great deal, but they add to the final effect I think.

5. My next layer was with Bora Bora and the Arrows Background. After heat setting this, I painted a couple of coats of Copper Fresco. This gorgeous new Fresco Metallic shone through beautifully behind all the stencilled layers, when I turned the ATC over.

6. To finish my ATC, I very carefully stamped the little girl and the phrase from the Carabelle Studio stamp set, using black Stazon ink. It took me a few tries to get the image perfectly stamped, but it's quite easy to wipe off the ink with Stazon cleaner or Ranger Alcohol Blending Solution and start again!

I hope I've inspired you to try out the Acrylic Surfaces. I love the wonderful depth that they give.

Alison x