Instructions for the Carol Duvall Show
Episode CDS-755 (HGTV)

The first thing I always do is tape down the stencil on the front of the card with removable tape so the stencil will not move. I never use masking tape or painters tape, always removable tape.  I have found it to be the best for not tearing the paper when I remove it.

Next, I turn the paper over to the back side and turn on my light table. You need the light table so that you can see the stencil through the paper so that you can do the dry embossing.  I now rub the back of the paper with wax paper over the image thus leaving a waxy residue that makes my tool just glide over the paper. I then proceed with the dry embossing only outlining the areas that need to be embossed.  It is not necessary to fill in the entire area unless the area is so small you need to fill it in to do the embossing. Also, the lighter the paper, the less you press. The heavier the paper the more you press.

Now turn the paper back over to the front. Your dry embossing is complete.  As far as the coloring goes I only use artists pastels, water-based. I never use chalk. This is the difference:  chalk is harder, coarser, even though you can apply it to the paper it sits on top of the paper. Chalk has much less pigment in it and is normally used by grade schoolers, not artists. Chalk is guaranteed to dry out, crumble, and will have to be thrown away. Pastels, on the other hand, are softer, have much more pigment and sink into the paper making it less likely to smear.  Pastels will never dry out and will last forever.

After you load your brush with the pastels start circling ON THE STENCIL, not on the paper. Keep your brush straight up and down and do the circling motion on the stencil and work your way over to the paper. If you start on the paper you will leave a dark smug and you will never be able to get rid of it.  Remember to always go lightest to darkest when you color.  Also, be light handed when you put your foundation colors on so that you can shade with darker colors.  If you are heavy handed to begin with, you leave yourself no where to go to shade.  There are three reasons why you get extra pastel powder under the stencil. One, you are not holding your brush straight up and down, or you are not circling with your brush, or you are putting too much pastel on your brush to begin with.  If you find this happening a lot, simply tap your brush on an extra sheet of paper once or twice and then begin with your circling on the stencil.

After you are done with your coloring, remove the stencil and erase any extra pastel using your "Picasso" (Picasso is LL332 in our catalog) as a shield to get close to the edge of your artwork without actually erasing your work.  Works splendidly!

The last step is to spray it lightly with the best product on the market to seal pastels onto paper...Aqua Net Hairspray.  I use the ultra hold, unscented, in the pink can.  Hold the card out in front of you straight up and down then turn the card so that it is laying flat parallel with the floor. Then begin your spraying, keeping a constant flow, and bring your card up through this mist two or three times.  Do not spray, stop spraying, and then draw your card up through that mist.  The spray must be constant to work well. This seals your card quite well.

I hope this helps all of you...it is so easy to do and turns out beautifully.  

The pastels we use are true artist pastels and, if purchased in a retail craft store or art store, you will be paying a markup of 500%.  A box of 48 will cost you $50.00. We sell the box of 48 for $17.95. A better bargain you will never find.  Also, your brushes are important. We use the brushes manufactured by American Traditional and they are perfect for the pastels. I recommend at least 5 brushes.  One for yellows, one strictly for black, one for lighter colors, one for medium colors, and one for the darker colors.

Have a wonderful time with your artwork!

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