Second Thursday Tutorial: Shaving Cream Technique

I have to admit, I borrowed this technique from my friend Sharon, aka Foxy Stamping.  She shared it on her blog one T Tuesday.  Sharon was a bit vague on her instructions, though.  I thought I would try it myself and make it a Tutorial.

Supplies:
Shaving cream foam (not gel)
Dye reinkers*
3 reinkers that go well together for each batch you choose to make
Plastic plate or ice cream lid large enough to handle your project

*Sharon was not specific about the ink to use, but I've made enough shaving cream papers to know you don't use pigment ink or solvent ink.  Her inks were by Stampin' Up, so I felt sure they weren't distress inks, either.  Since I segregate all my reinkers by type (dye, pigment, chalk, solvent, and distress), not brand, it was easy to find dye inks that went well together.

It was time to squirt the foam onto the plates.  I probably could have done a better job leveling the foam, but I had already gotten it EVERYWHERE on my table.

I began with the green, turquoise, and blue.  Each dot has about four drops of the ink.

Using a bamboo skewer, create a pleasing pattern in the foam.

I truly wish I had stopped here and made regular shaving cream papers, because this was an obviously awesome design.  In fact, it was better than any I had created in the past.  But I was determined to recreate what Sharon had achieved.

Next came the reds.  Again, don't worry about brand, just be sure they are all DYE reinkers. 

Not as pretty, but still acceptable.  Sharon said to wait, so I waited an entire day.  I had to keep moving them because they took up so much space in my tiny craft room.  Every time I moved them, I stuck my finger in the inky foam, which got all over everything, like my sewing machine, my chair, and my door!!

When they were finally "done," all the beautiful swirls were gone, much to my disappointment.

To test the shaving cream, I cut a large heart from a cardboard cracker box.  I adhered tape to the back so I didn't get too much more dye ink on things.

Although it's obvious I stamped the red first, this was the inspiration piece I used for the project.

When I looked at it (yes, that's remnants of the reinker I got all over my hands and everything else for that matter) it looked like I was looking down from space onto our beautiful blue planet earth.

I was so happy with this and it really DID look like earth from space.

OK, I have an imagination, but I liked how this heart turned out.

In case you can't read my writing, it reads "With Love, the blue planet."

I'm not sure I achieved the bubbles that Sharon showed, but I'm still pleased with the way this turned out.

I have to admit, this took a LOT of ink.  I think I would use less ink if I ever tried this technique again.  I DID get several more pages out of this, but none as pretty as the first one shown here.

Once this post goes live, it will be on my tutorials page.  And since I am hosting Art Journal Journey this month, and my theme is Hearts, I'm also sharing this there, too.  Thank you again for your continued support of these monthly projects.  And thanks go to Sharon who originally shared this idea with us.