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Tools & Supplies / Applying Spray Fixative
« on: December 06, 2014, 02:49:59 PM »
When I have a big wedding job, I spray the envelopes with a spray fixative. Many inks have charcoal as an additive (especially black inks, of course!). After the ink dries, the charcoal rises to the surface. If you stack your envelopes, the ink from the envelope below can rub off on the back of the envelope on top of it. Spray fixative is your answer (unless you're in love with your eraser!)! Here's how I do it:
1. The fixative STINKS! DO NOT spray it in your house/apartment!! Spray it outdoors, if possible. (I live in the windiest city in the US, so I don't get that luxury very often!) My "usual" spot is in the garage.
2. Lay down something to put the envelopes on. I use a plastic shower curtain liner. - Just get the cheapest one available! Other options are drop cloths or flat bed sheets.
3. I like to have the envelopes alphabetized, so that I can locate *that* envelope if someone moves, etc. So, I lay them out alphabetically starting at the top left of the plastic and moving from left-to-right, row by row. I am pretty good about being able to estimate 50-ish envelopes. You can see in the photo that I was a little off on my count today, but not by much.
4. Once they are laid out, I then spray them with a fixative. You want a quick, LIGHT spray on each envelope. Don't get too close to the envelope and don't make any envelope "wet". Just a quick, light spray is enough to "set" the ink! It is not a water-proofer, but it will "set" the charcoal, so you won't have any transfer of the ink from one envelope to another. There are several spray fixatives available & I don't like one more than another. They all smell AWFUL, so just go with whatever you can find on sale or that's available to you in your local art supply or craft store!
5. Let the envelopes dry in place for about 30 minutes. (OK, truth be told, I get impatient because I hate this part, and I usually can't make myself wait 30 whole minutes. At about 25 minutes, I'm out the door like a scalded cat, gathering up Round One, so that I can lay out and then spray Round Two!)
6. Pick up the envelopes from last to first, moving right-to-left from the bottom to the top, so that they remain properly alphabetized.
7. Repeat, until you're done! On this project I have 150 outside envelopes and 150 inner envelopes, so guess what I'm doing with the rest of my day?!
I hope that this information is helpful to you!
Janis
p.s.
I forgot to explain why I want about 50 envelopes on the plastic! If I cover the entire surface of the shower curtain, then my arm is not long enough to reach all of the envelopes that are in the center of the shower curtain! I can get to all of the envelopes around the edges, but I can't adequately reach those in the middle! If you are tall and have long arms, that might not be a problem for you. I'm average height for a girl, so I just limit the number that I lay down, so that I can be sure that I can reach every envelope from all four sides of the plastic!
1. The fixative STINKS! DO NOT spray it in your house/apartment!! Spray it outdoors, if possible. (I live in the windiest city in the US, so I don't get that luxury very often!) My "usual" spot is in the garage.
2. Lay down something to put the envelopes on. I use a plastic shower curtain liner. - Just get the cheapest one available! Other options are drop cloths or flat bed sheets.
3. I like to have the envelopes alphabetized, so that I can locate *that* envelope if someone moves, etc. So, I lay them out alphabetically starting at the top left of the plastic and moving from left-to-right, row by row. I am pretty good about being able to estimate 50-ish envelopes. You can see in the photo that I was a little off on my count today, but not by much.
4. Once they are laid out, I then spray them with a fixative. You want a quick, LIGHT spray on each envelope. Don't get too close to the envelope and don't make any envelope "wet". Just a quick, light spray is enough to "set" the ink! It is not a water-proofer, but it will "set" the charcoal, so you won't have any transfer of the ink from one envelope to another. There are several spray fixatives available & I don't like one more than another. They all smell AWFUL, so just go with whatever you can find on sale or that's available to you in your local art supply or craft store!
5. Let the envelopes dry in place for about 30 minutes. (OK, truth be told, I get impatient because I hate this part, and I usually can't make myself wait 30 whole minutes. At about 25 minutes, I'm out the door like a scalded cat, gathering up Round One, so that I can lay out and then spray Round Two!)
6. Pick up the envelopes from last to first, moving right-to-left from the bottom to the top, so that they remain properly alphabetized.
7. Repeat, until you're done! On this project I have 150 outside envelopes and 150 inner envelopes, so guess what I'm doing with the rest of my day?!
I hope that this information is helpful to you!
Janis
p.s.
I forgot to explain why I want about 50 envelopes on the plastic! If I cover the entire surface of the shower curtain, then my arm is not long enough to reach all of the envelopes that are in the center of the shower curtain! I can get to all of the envelopes around the edges, but I can't adequately reach those in the middle! If you are tall and have long arms, that might not be a problem for you. I'm average height for a girl, so I just limit the number that I lay down, so that I can be sure that I can reach every envelope from all four sides of the plastic!