I had a great time trying out this acrylic smash technique – messy but fun! This technique uses acrylic paints on acetate to create unique backgrounds for your cards.

The finished pieces can be used as toppers, backgrounds or larger areas of the card front and you can create a variety of effects by either stamping or embossing the acetate or using both together.

Acetate is a versatile material which can add texture and a different dimension to your cards. I would recommend a thick acetate for these projects or even make use of recycled acetate from packaging on your cards. Acetate is non-porous and many inks will not dry. StāzOn is a solvent ink and designed to work on non-porous surfaces and dry quickly. If you make a mistake when using StāzOn ink, you can clean it off with a paper towel and StāzOn cleaner and try again when dry. You can also use embossing folders to give the acetate texture.

There is also a wide variety of acrylic paints available to buy and any will work. You may already have a few colours in your stash to give this a try.

You will need to have a piece of acetate and a piece of white cardstock the same size. Stamp or emboss the acetate and then apply the acrylic paints to the ‘back’ of the acetate. You can use one or two colours of paint on the acetate – any more and it may start to look too messy. The paint can be left to dry between colours or applied together to mix. When you have finished adding the paint you need to press the cardstock into the painted acetate so they stick together, making sure they are lined up. I found that this worked best when a reasonably thick layer of acrylic was added to cover the acetate so that the cardstock sticks easily to the acetate. If you have embossed the acetate you must make sure to cover the acetate completely with paint to make the textured acetate stick to the cardstock.

Hope you will give this a go and get messy!

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Die-cut a piece of white cardstock and a piece of acetate with one of the larger label dies

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Ink the background stamp with Jet Black StāzOn and stamp onto the acetate

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Paint Iridescent Violet Blue acrylic onto the back of the stamped acetate. Dab the paint rather than brush it on to create thicker areas of paint and leave to dry

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Paint a thick layer of Blackberry acrylic over the whole piece of acetate

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