Encaustic Snakeskin Bookmark by Karen Bourke

Cut a piece of card 4cm x 13.5cm as your main bookmark. Cover this with snakeskin (or similarly decorated paper).

For this project you need to use an encaustic or craft iron (a domestic travel iron will work as long as it is NOT a steam iron). Load your iron by holding it upside down with its base plate horizontal. Rub a wax block on the base plate; it should melt to a thick oil consistency and, when the base plate is turned to a vertical position the wax should slowly dribble down.
See Picture 1
  If the wax does not melt immediately slightly increase the temperature, but do not go too far or the wax will be too watery and run off the iron.

Take a piece of coated cardstock and spread on a good layer of darkish wax colour. Tear up small pieces of 2 ply tissue and scatter over the wax surface. Iron over the tissue with care so the wax underneath melts and saturates it. The tissue will become embedded in the wax and, when the wax is cool, it will be stuck to the base card.
See Picture 2


Load the iron with a mixture of metallic and pearl wax. Wipe it quickly over the tissue once or twice. The gold, solver, bronze and pearl pigments now sit on the surface.
See Picture 3


Use scissors to cut out the most effective part of your design to 3 squares of 3.5 cm x 3.5 cm. Mount these on slightly larger black pearlescent cardstock and then mount onto the snakeskin bookmark.
See Picture 4


Insert the bookmark into a self-sealing laminated pouch. Attach some ribbon through the top hole and attach a silver bead. Add beads to the end of the ribbon and attach a tassel at the bottom.

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