| TIP Sheet #3 Get the most out of your plastic postcards without
alot of hassle... Bill Porter, the guy who invented the corrugated plastic postcard
shares some of his findings:
"When I first started using Champion/Artmate's
corrugated plastic as a test for making
postcards with it, I went through quite a bit of trial-and-error. Many of the mail artists
that I've shared samples with, I've also shared these tips on a few do's and don'ts. I
hope this will save you from going through any frustration when you first try your hand at
creating some really fun mail art."
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Tel:970.252.1212
Fax:970.252.1211
View some samples |
- Using acrylic paints: Give it at least
24 hours to cure before any touching or rough (postal) handling.
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- Want to write on them? I use an industrial
strength Sharpie. If you write large, or want big, bold lettering, Marks-A-Lot permanent
markers are great to use.
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- Want to draw on em? Really vibrant
colors and really black blacks
use Tombow pens. Marvy markers are ok also. But
Tombow black really produces a good BLACK.
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Rubber stamping:
- Rubber stamp inks all seem to work fine. The
dye ink pads (I use Memories) dry within an hour or two. Carters micropore pads will
take 24 hours or more, to dry.
- Embossing you do have to take a
little care here due to the heat. As soon as the embossing powder starts to flow, go to
the next image to be heated in another location on the plastic surface or, just remove the
heat. Dont keep too much heat in one spot very long. It will cause a little warpage
if you do.
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Adhesives &
glues:
- 3Ms Super 77 spray adhesive is good.
3M's spray Photo Adhesive works (use the permanent type). Dont use rubber cement.
Although it wont harm the plastic, it will eventually discolor your artwork.
- Elmers glue works okay too, and
Ive found another glue that I think will work better, maybe youve heard of it.
Its called Royal Coat Dimensional Magic.
- I usually dry mount my photos onto the
plastic. My personal favorite technique is to use Seal Fusion 4000 sandwiched between the face of the photo and a clear,
4"x6" plastic postcard. The 2mm corruplast is very transparent, which allows
good visibility of the photo image through the card. The Fusion 4000 is also clear when
heat activated for the bond. The back of the photo then, gives a clean, smooth surface for
addressing and writing your message on.
- Mounting watercolor papers - again, I use my
dry-mount press for this. With watercolor paper being heavy and opaque, I use either
Seal's ColorMount dry-mounting adhesive for RC papers or, their standard dry-mounting
tissue. But Seal Fusion 4000 works equally well. I mount the paper to the card
first, then watercolor on it later. The rigidity of the corroplast keeps paper curl to a
minimum while drying and usually, the whole card is perfectly flat when dry.
- Collage - I use LiquiTex medium viscosity
acrylic GLOSS MEDIUM. This works really great on permanently adhering photos and other
items. It dries quickly too. (Modg-Podge should work equally as well.)
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Finishing and
clean-up:
- Spray fixatives are fine. You cant
hurt this stuff.
- Dont like something youve done on it?
Just about any thinner or cleaner that an artist will have in
their stores will work. Even gasoline will clean it up. But if you use gas, you may have a
time removing the petroleum film gas leaves behind.
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"I have really had a blast using the corroplast postcards.
My wife, Kathy Lou, and I have found many other creative uses for it besides mailing.
We've made mini-easels with it, hard-covers for small books, photo mailer stiffeners, just
to name a few. You really should try some." |
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