Thursday 5 April 2012

Quick Pan Pastels Tutorial

I promised a few of the lovely French ladies that I met in Paris recently, a step by step tutorial of my Pan Pastels background technique......are you sitting comfortably?????.......then off we go!

Pan Pastels are pigments that have been refined over and over again to produce a really fine grade product. They leave behind very little dust but lots and lots of colour. These cute little pans of colour have to be one of the most user friendly mediums I have ever used......I really do love them.....A LOT!!!

1. I usually start by covering the complete background with colour (in this case I'm using Yellow Ochre). Simply take one swipe of colour from the pan using one of the Sofft sponges and this is enough pigment to cover an A5 piece of cardstock.  The card I'm using is Paperartsy's new smoothy card. I really like this as (a) it's white and doesn't change the colour of the pastels unlike the usual manila tags and (b) as it is so smooth, it doesn't damage my sponge. At first I thought that if the surface was really smooth, the pastels wouldn't adhere to the surface but they seem to stick pretty good to me!


 2. Next step is with a piece of Cut'n'Dry foam and a Versamark ink pad.

Simply load up the sponge with the Versamark ink and sponge through a stencil of your choice.

3. Using the Sofft sponge again, pounce more of the same colour Pan Pastels on to the wet ink. The colour will appear darker than the background.




 4. I normally choose a second stencil or sequin waste and repeat the sponging of Versamark and more Pan Pastels. This makes a much more interesting background.

5. Now I like to start layering up the colours. I have found that the Versamark is so sticky that a second colour can be applied on top of the first!!! This time I chose orange and I'm using a smaller sofft tool this time as I need a lighter pressure and I can colour selected areas easily.






 
6.The next step is to select a few stamps with a solid area of rubber rather than an outline stamp. These flowers on Paperartsy's Hot Pick 1006 are perfect for the job.



7. As you can see, with a bold stamps and a small tool, I can apply colour to shade my image.





8. The star on ID07 is also one of my favourites for this technique.



9.  Having stamped the star and coloured it first with orange Pan Pastel, I am now applying a small amount of Magenta around the edges of the star.




10. Either use a clean sponge or your finger to blend these two colours.




11. Not only do I think contrasting colours are important, I think it is equally important to have contrasting images.....some bold......some fine......some pictures.......some text. so the next step is to apply some fine text.
The postcard on ID04 is ideal. Same technique, Versamark first, followed by the Pan Pastels.......look how clear everything is!!!!


12. Now the final step. As Pan Pastels are a powder, you do need to fix them. You can use any of the regular Pastel fixatives that are on the market but I am not a great lover of aerosol cans. Paperartsy Fresco Finish Glazes do an amazing job. They are available in either Satin, Gloss or Metallic finishes but for this technique my preference is the Satin Glaze, it dries completely matt....just perfect for the job.
Simply use a piece of Cut'n'Dry foam to apply over your work using a dabbing motion, this way you will not smudge anything.

OK, Pan Pastels background complete, feel free to stamp anything over the top. I usually opt for a different script which I like to stamp with rangers Jet Black Archival ink.

I chose one of the new Lynne Perrella stamps for the foreground of my card.......same techniques as the background.
I tore a small piece of Paperartsy Crunchy paper and crumpled it up. I used black Pan Pastels to highlight the creases and fixed it with the Satin Glaze.




I added a layer of plain black cardstock and stapled all my layers together with Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher.

I'm all out of words now but I'll leave you with a few more examples in different colours.


I hope you all have a fabulous Easter weekend....don't eat too much chocolate!!!!
Lin


27 comments:

TAM said...

Fantastic tutorial - think Pan Pastels will be bumped up on my wish list now. I've seen them demo'ed but only in a very basic way you've really shown lots of techniques and uses here.

Summite said...

It is a wow tutorial, the only thing is with my Mac I do not see all the pictures.... Could you send it to me by email......

Thank you Marie

Carol said...

Lovely as usual Lin, and i dont need to buy anything......ive got LOADS of pan pastels!!!x

Kathyk said...

GLORIOUS - thanks so much - I WANT some!!!

Kathyk

Helen said...

Absolutely stunning! I have SO got to get some more of these beauties at AP hope I win some money before then... lol Thank you for this amazing tutorial. Have a great weekend.

flutterbycrafter said...

Thanks for this fantastic tutorial I've found it very helpful

Daniele said...

great tutorial, will have too have a play with them one day
hugs

Brenda Brown said...

Beautiful pieces Lin and the layers are fabulous.
Have a great Easter.
hugs {brenda} xox

Trish said...

Thanks Lin, brilliant tutorial, and amazing examples! I can see why you love them so much. There goes my budget.... lol!

Anonymous said...

Ha ha, Lin -- you won't believe this: my task for tonight was to write up my "head notes" about your Pan Pastel techniques! Once I had finished two A4's of typing, I felt satisfied. Then I decided to catch up on Twitter (hadn't been there since last night). Went in, and what did I see? Well, that you had done your tutorial on the blog!!!! My notes are wasted, but at least I think I had remembered nearly everything you mentioned. Made me laugh (or croak!).
Now I can go back to Twitter catching up -- and then off to bed.
Night-night -- Sally xoxo
(P.S.: The tutorial is GREAT!)

lisa_crofts said...

Excellent tutorial def one to try for he holidays. Thanks so much for your generosity of time lin enjoy your family over easter

Kyla said...

Fab tutorial, never tried pan pastels before.....think I will now have to get some!

Kyla

Siobhan Brignull said...

thanks Lin, been dying to know how to use them x

Artmadnana said...

Thanks Lin - great art work as usual! Have just acquired some pan pastels having resisted for soooo long! Can now see what everyone has been raving about! so creamy - yum! Love the majenta and orange - which of course I have not got! have a great weekend!

Rebecca said...

Ooo la la love it, thank you muchly
Happy craftin
Rebecca

Jacqui Chimes said...

Lovely projects ant tutorial - just need some pan pastels now!

Cynthia Schelzig said...

Fabulous examples and tutorial..thanks ...your cards look gorgeous!

Gabrielle said...

Fabulous tutorial! It was just like sitting next to you and watching you work! Am off to recommend it to some friends now who are just starting out on the PP journey!!! Thank you for sharing x

Gillian .... said...

Love your PanPastel tut Lin, can't wait to see this next weekend, love all the contrast layering and yes Satin Glaze is my fav sealer too. x

Anonymous said...

Thanks a lot Lin, your tutorial is fantastic! Would you have a clue as to why the page remains sticky after a week: did I use too much Versamark or Satin Glaze?

yoursartfully said...

My guess is that you had a thick coat of Satin Glaze.I have found that it becomes sticky when heated to dry but it loses the stickiness as it cools. If it is a thick layer then maybe it remains sticky, it's not something I have come across myself yet.

Lin

Anneke said...

Woaw this is really great thanks for showing. I am going to try it myself.
Anneke. www.annekescardart.blogspot.com

LindaS said...

TFS how you make your beautiful backgrounds.

Words and Pictures said...

Just given in and ordered my first PPs... so I was on the hunt for some good tips and tutorials - this is fabulous, thank you!
Alison x

Julie Lee said...

I just received some Pan Pastels and was looking around for a tutorial on interesting ways to use them! This is fabulous, Lin, really helpful and fun! I shall definitely be trying out some of these techniques! xx

Anonymous said...

I just picked up your tutorial on Pinterest. Thanks. Very inspiring and helpful.

Daria said...

Thank you for the tutorial.