Add Antique Rust Effect to Cut Shapes

Hello,  Janet here with a cool technique for giving your cut cardstock elements a rusted antique look. When you handle the finished items you'll be surprised that they started life as simple cardstock! The finished elements can be used on cards, scrapbook layouts, and mixed media projects.

In this tutorial I've cut a set of gears/cogs from Silhouette Adhesive Cardstock and then 'rust-ified' them. The bicycle shown is cut and transformed in the same way.


SUPPLIES NEEDED:

Black Adhesive Cardstock
Matte Acrylic Gel Medium (e.g. Ranger Multi Medium Matte)
Ground Cinnamon (yes, cinnamon, the spice!)
Downloaded file - Vintage Bike by Jennifer Wambach (#25174)
Downloaded file - Gears by Lori Whitlock (#30449)

STEP 1: PREPARING THE FILE

Open the file in your Silhouette Studio® software. The adhesive-backed cardstock comes in 12" sheets, so set your mat size to reflect this.

Resize the file by ungrouping it, selecting all the elements and dragging the sizing handle to the centre until the smallest cog is around 1" in size.

Fill the page with cogs (4 of each, plus extras).
This is how I'd go about it :

1. Select all the cogs and move them to the top left edge of the sheet. 
2. Using the Replicate click Duplicate Right, Duplicate Below and then Duplicate Left to make four copies.  
3. Add an extra set below and move the elements in this set around to fit on the mat. 
4. Duplicate this last set and rotate to fit on as well.  
5. Make small adjustments to the spacing as necessary.

STEP 2: SOFTWARE SETTINGS

Using the Tool 1 slot, select the Adhesive-Backed Cardstock setting and the AutoBlade. Click on the media selected and adjust the Blade or Thickness setting if you find that the cut is too deep when you carry out a Test Cut. The settings below show what worked for me (the top picture just shows the software's default settings).

Default Settings for Adhesive-Backed Card

Adjusted Settings for Adhesive-Backed Card

STEP 3: CUTTING ADHESIVE CARDSTOCK

The adhesive card should be placed on the mat with the white backing in contact with the mat and coloured, textured side up.

The ideal cut is one which cuts through the card layer, but not through the backing sheet.

STEP 4: BUILDING THE ELEMENTS

With adhesive card it is quick, easy, and clean to stack up the cogs to make dimensional elements. I recommend that they are at least 3 layers thick, but they can be 3, 4 or 5 or a mix of all three for variety.

Just remove the elements from the backing paper and stack matching shapes on top of each other. You can leave them stacked on the mat to protect the self-adhesive surface on the bottom cog.



STEP 6: FINISHING TOUCHES - MAKING THEM RUSTY!

Now comes the messy bit, so you'll need to protect your work surface.

Apply matte medium to the top surface of each stack of cogs.  I recommend one which dries matte as it gives a more antiqued look than a shiny one. Spread the adhesive out further with your finger if necessary and rough up the texture.  Then sprinkle the cinnamon on top.  Use an old spice container with a shaker top to give a controlled but variable application. Tap off the excess. When dry, seal with the medium if your project will requires it.

Once completely dry your elements are ready to use on a card, scrapbook page or in a mixed-media project.

This technique would be fantastic for keys, padlocks, and any cut shape requiring a distressed or antiqued look. For even more dimension you can mix in real rusted metal items. The bicycle includes a metal self-locking washer - can you spot it?

I hope you have fun with this technique for ageing your cut elements. If you try it out we'd love to see your finished projects. Why not share them on the Silhouette UK Facebook page?

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