Stamping and Spackle
Type of spackle
Preparation
Drying time
Stamping into spackle
Painting
Adding images
Embellishing
Type of Spackle:
The spackle that I buy is for interiors. It is very inexpensive and a little goes a long way. The consistencies can vary, but the end result will be pretty much the same.
Preparation:
I typically use a heavy matboard/illustration board as a base. The spackle is a wet medium so warping can occur as the spackle dries. To help with the buckling, you can coat the board with gesso first. I use a pallete knife (the type with the triangular head) to apply the spackle. I'll just scoop out a blob of spackle and then using the pallete knife, spread it over the board. An even application of approximately 1/8" - 3/16" seems to work best. I use the pallete knife to smooth the surface yet keep some dimension. You can experiment when applying the spackle to see what appeals to you. For the area that I intend to collage, I keep the texture fairly smooth, long strokes of the palette knife from left to right or up and down, removing excess spackle as I go. Like icing a cake. For a corner application over a base layer, it's best to wait until the base layer is dry, especially if you wish to stamp into the corner area. The thinner the spackle, the easier it is to manipulate the stamping and you'll get less distortion. You can clean up the edges as you see fit. Too thick and it can affect an image you may want to stamp into the spackle.
You can also tint the spackle using acrylic paints, lumieres, luna lights, silks, pearl ex, etc. I would not recommend oil based paints or radiant pearls.Drying Time:
Typically it takes several hours for the spackle to dry completely. You can paint if it's not completely dry but I find it's just easier to set up my pieces in the evening to work on the following day or early in the day to work on in the evening. This way they are completely dry and I may not accidentally make an impression I didn't want. Drying times can also vary according to heat and humidity. The addition of paint can also affect drying time but not excessively.Stamping into Spackle:
The best stamps to use are large, bold images. Detailed stamps won't work very well stamping into the spackle, but you can stamp the spackle's surface after it has completely dried. Have some cornstarch or other powdered release agent handy to dust the stamp before using.
You can either wait until the top of the spackle has begun to dry or use your heat gun to speed up the process. You should be able to make an indentation in the spackle without the spackle sticking to your finger. If the spackle is too thick, you will have the top layer forming a crust and the layer underneath still be sticky and the images won't stamp well, the images will distort. For some stamp images, that's ok, depends upon the look you desire. You should be able to make an indentation that's almost as deep as the layer of spackle without the top layer cracking or smooshing. If it's too dry, you can wait for it to dry more and then add another layer of spackle. If it's too wet, wait a bit longer, just keep testing every 10-15 minutes if not using a heat gun.
When the spackle seems to be ready (this can be hit or miss sometimes), dust your stamp and press into the spackle. Depending upon how dry the spackle is will determine how much pressure is needed to create a good impression. If you feel the stamp sinking quickly into the spackle, ease up on the pressure since the spackle may be quite thick and still sticky. If you feel quite a bit of resistence, press a little harder. Watch from the side as you stamp to see if the stamp is making an impression. Some areas may receive the impression better than others due to how thick the spackle has been spread (some areas drying more quickly than others). If the impression is to your liking, continue to stamp. If not, sometimes you can use your finger and smooth the area especially if it's still sticky. Dip your finger in some water first before smoothing to help keep the spackle from sticking to you.
More than likely you will end up with some spackle in your stamp. You can clean it immediately (especially if you intend to make another impression) or you can wait for it to dry and then use a stiff brush to clean the stamp.
Once you are satified with your impressions, let it dry. Then you can decide on how you wish to paint and/or embellish.Painting:
You can use almost any type of paint or ink on spackle (again I would not recommend RPs or oil based paints due to drying time and the amount needed to cover a large area). If you plan to use an image of some sort, I would recommend keeping the color scheme in tune with your theme or image and remember that you don't want your background to overwhelm the main piece (unless this is your intention). The main focus really is the image or collage work you intend to do. I particularly like using a light gold for the initial background, but this is solely personal. Having a test piece handy is helpful for trying different types of mediums from paints to inks.
You can use paintbrushes, sponges, q-tips, etc to apply paint to the spackle. It all depends upon your comfort level for each of these tools and the look you wish to achieve. I like to use a brush to apply the base layer and then a soft, wide brush or even cosmetic triangle to highlight the relief areas.
Spackle can be sanded. This can create some interesting effects when used in conjunction with painting. At times I will paint a base coat and then sand the piece leaving color only in the impressed areas. Then I'll sponge color onto the sanded areas, hence creating more depth in the piece. The use of sanding and painting is a purely individual, do as you wish type of application.
Some paints will sand better than others. Be sure the paint is completely dry first before sanding. Also, sanding is handy if you've used a color on the relief areas that you don't like and want to remove. You can sand the impressions but this takes a bit more time and patience.Adding Images:
You can apply images by the same methods you would on paper, matte board, canvas, etc. PPA, gel medium, Modge Podge, etc. all will work on spackle. In addition to collaging on spackle, I like to stamp an image on white tissue paper, color with chalks on the back and then apply to the spackled piece using gel medium tinted lightly with the same color I used for the background. This way you can "hide" the edges of the torn tissue paper.Embellishments:
You can glue on just about anything you like. You can add holeless beads or glitter to your glue or gel medium and brush the mix onto the spackle which highlights the recessed stamped areas very nicely or main image. This again is purely a personal part of creating your project.