A Test To Seal Dylusions Sprays and Acrylic Paints

I am one of the moderators on the StencilGirl Club Facebook Page and one of the members asked a question last night about how to seal a project in which she had used Dylusions sprays, some acrylic paints and some pens. Well, let me say right here - I am NOT an artist.  Well, not a trained one. I never remember what to use with what and am always making tests on small pieces of paper to see what happens.  So, why not do a test this time?  

To be honest, this was a lot of fun for me.  I tend to always grab the same mediums.  Tonight I just played!  I put paints on top of mod podge.  I used distress inks over molding paste.  It was so much to just play and see what happens.  And I really LOVE how these pieces came out.  

So - the testing....

First thing I did was take a sheet of watercolor paper, which I did NOT gesso, and sprayed it with some Dylusions sprays (London Blue, Postbox Red, Pure Sunshine, and Fresh Lime - if you need to know).  I removed any excess with a paper towel and then dried with a Ranger heat gun.  Then I cut it into 4 equal pieces.

Piece 1 - First I applied a layer of Matte Gel Medium by Liquitex and heat set.  The colors from the Dylusions sprays did not run.  

Then I used Chevron Set No. 3 (L245), by Andrew Borloz for StencilGirl, with molding paste and heat set. Then I went back and put the stencil back over the molding paste and applied Distress Inks with a dauber (Spiced Marmalade, Salty Ocean, Mustard Seed, and Picked Raspberry - if you want to know).  Then I heat set that.  

I also outlined the Chevrons with a white Signo pen and stamped the phrase in Versafine Onyx Black from a set by Leave Memories that I found in my stash.  This set is so old that I can't even find the company anymore online. Sad. 

Final piece before sealing.

Piece 2 - I applied a layer of Glossy Mod Podge and heat set.  Again, the colors from the Dylusions sprays did not run.  I then adhered Circles 9, by Michelle Ward for StencilGirl Products, with painters tape and applied white acrylic paint with a makeup sponge.  The brand I used was Artist's Loft Titanium White - Academic Level.  From Michael's I think.  Hey, I told you - I am not a schooled artist.  LOL

I LOVE how this came out and hope that the paints do not run or smear when I apply a seal coat.  

Final piece before sealing.

Piece 3 - I did not seal the Dylusions sprays. 

I have to admit - I love how the stencil design looks with the Titanium White in Piece 2, above.  So I did the same for this piece but used the Hebrew Calligraphy Hamsa Stencil by Jessica Sporn for StencilGirl.  I also mixed the white paint with an Iridescent Medium, also by Artist's Loft.  

Final piece before sealing.

Piece 4 - Again, I did not seal the Dylusions sprays. 

I adhered the Swirly Flower stencil, by June Pfaff Daley for StencilGirl, to the card front with painter's tape on the back. Then applied some Prussian Blue acrylic paint through the stencil with a makeup sponge. When dry, I applied some silver acrylic paint over the cobalt blue in certain places.  Heat set both times.  The paints are artist grade from a Brasilian company.  Then I stamped Happy Birthday (Happy Everything by Stampin Up), in Versafine Onyx Black.

Final piece before sealing.

Now for the sealing.  I have used beeswax to seal a piece here and there but, normally, I don't seal my pieces.  Since I would only seal with a gel medium, I applied a coat to each piece.  I am assuming that the first two pieces, since I applied a seal over the Dylusions sprays before applying the paint, that nothing is going to run.  I have no idea what is going to happen for Piece 3 or 4 since I did NOT apply a seal on the Dylusions before applying the paints.  (Hoping they do not run since I really like these two pieces and want to use them for cards today.  LOL).

The results - 

Piece 1 - I assumed there would be no bleeding of the Dylusions inks since I did put a coat of gel medium.  There was some bleeding of the distress inks, but only minor, and I had a feeling they would.  But, because I used a bunch of different colors, it did not bother me in the end.

Piece 2 - Again, there was a coat of Mod Podge over the Dylusions and they did not bleed. There was also no bleeding of the white acrylic paint.  The only issue was that I forgot to wash my brush after the coat on Piece 1 and some of the distress colors did transfer to the white paint sections.  The white is not as bright as before.

Piece 3 - I did not have any bleeding of the Dylusions or of the acrylic paints. Interesting - since I did not seal the Dylusions after I used them and Ranger claims not to have any type of seal for them.

Piece 4 - As with Piece 3 - no bleeding of the Dylusions or of the paints.  So happy as I really love how this came out!!  

This was fun.  I forced myself to play with stuff I have - but never use.  But I will be using them more now.  As for the results, remember, I am not a schooled artist, but, if they worked for me, they should work for you. When in doubt, take a small piece of the paper you are working on, cover it with small amounts of the mediums you are working with, in the order you are working with them, and see if this works - BEFORE you start to apply it to your final piece.

Will post pics of the final cards once done. I hope this was helpful to someone.  Please leave comments if you wish!  

Thanks!!  And Hugs everyone!! 

~Michael