Flower Power Card and Casting with Tamiko

Hi, Tamiko here.  Posting a quickie way to embellish your cards or any other paper-crafted idea with paper castings.  I found over at Arnold Grummer's site, in a book called Trash to Treasure Papermaking.  I apologize in advance if my photo is in the wrong position on the page, I am working from my cell phone and blogger app. (yikes)

I can't tell you how important it is to either spray or brush some kind of release agent or oil to the molds when you first get them. It allows for a much easier/quicker way to remove casts from the molds, without breaking and/or sticking. Another thing to note when making castings and determining if they are ready to come out, when you air dry, is feeling the mold.  If the mold feels cold and even the slightest moist, it's NOT ready.  Trust ME!  ::scouts honor::  Can't tell you how many times I was in a rush to use the mold again, and it just wasn't time! They were indeed not dry!  Of course you can pop them in the over for 10 minutes or less or even hit them with the heat gun (but you can burn them like cookies too! )  Hey, I am expert at burning cookies, so this I know! ::chuckles::  Did I mention finding appropriate molds for paper casting is made super easy when you shop on the Arnold Grummer site?  There is an abundance or mold casting goodness here for you to shop from! 

Todays casting I made from cotton linters casting squares.  Initially you are to measure the linters you use in you pulp by the size of the mold. Add a few cups of water and blend the 2 in a blender for a minute or so.   You can find more details here.  I lightly coated the dried and removed casts with a little matte medium.  To kind of form a sealant layer over the cast.  I did this to see if the coloring method I chose to use would suck up less product and allow more color to sit on top of the mold.

Check out my finished castings.