Tim Holtz Grungeboard Tutorial

Tim Holtz Grungeboard Tutorial
by Sue Bleiweiss

I love working with unusual materials and this product by Tim Holtz called Grungeboard is definitely unusual. It’s soft and pliable and almost has a suede like feel to it. It takes paint really well and the bonus for me was finding out that I could sew through it. I used it to make these ATC’s and Postcards:

Here’s how I did it:

Cut a piece of Stiff interfacing such as Pelmet Vilene or Peltex 70 4”x6 if you want to make a postcard or 2 ½” x 3 ½” if you want to make an ATC. Fuse a layer of Mistyfuse to one side of the interfacing.

Place a piece of copper Jones Tones foil over the Mistyfuse, cover with a piece of parchment paper and run your hot iron over the surface once of twice. Let it cool for a moment and then peel back the foil.

You don’t need the entire surface to be completely covered with foil, you just want enough to add a little bit of shimmer and interest to the surface.

Now fuse another layer of Mistyfuse right on top of the foiled interfacing. Place your Grungeboard shapes on top.

Cover the surface with a piece of parchment paper and using a hot iron press it really well to fuse the shapes to the surface. You’ll need to use a good amount of pressure and steam to get the heat to penetrate through the Grungeboard to the Mistyfuse below it. I flip the surface over carefully once the shapes are somewhat fused down and then iron from the back side to get a more secure bond.

Once the shapes are fused down, take the piece to your sewing machine and stitch the shapes in place.

A couple of tips: I set my machine up for free motion and put in a new 80/12 Schmetz sharps needle. I used a white 40wt rayon thread in the machine and the bobbin. Don’t worry about being exact when stitching the shapes down! If you’re using some of the skinny shapes then just pass the needle over the shape in a zig zag motion to secure it to the surface.

Now you can paint your surface. I painted my postcard with Metallic Rust Lumeire paint.

When the Lumiere paint was dry I rubbed across the surface with an Iridescent Turquoise Shiva Oil Paint stick and then rubbed off the excess with a paper towel. Then I brushed the surface with a copper colored rubber stamp just to add a bit of highlighting.

Now all that’s left to do is to fuse a piece of cardstock to the back side and seal the front with your favorite sealer. I used acrylic wax to seal the surface of mine but Golden’s soft gel medium is a great substitute.

Materials List:

~ Idea-ology Grungeboard
~ Peltex #70
~ Misty Fuse (20" x 90" or 10 yds.)
~ Jones Tones Foil Paper
~ Parchment Paper or Teflon Pressing Sheet (11.5"x18" or 18" x 20")
~ 80/12 Schmetz Sewing Machine Needles
~ 40 wt. Rayon Thread
~ Lumiere Paint
~ Shiva Paintstiks
~ Golden Soft Gel Medium (Matte) or
Golden Soft Gel Medium (Gloss)

Visit Sue's website by clicking here