Followers

Monday 17 November 2014

Best and detailed post on SOSPESO TRASPARENTE

Hello my dear crafters......
Shalini this side.....
Today I am extremely happy to be able to share this fantastic post with you....
We got a number of requests regarding this beautiful craft called SOSPESO TRASPARENTE and I know there are not much online sources where u can this learn art from so specially for you all ladies and with due permission of MONICA ALLEGRO ...the inventor and the owner of this amazing craft.
Since everything is COPYRIGHT so in the starting only I would like to take the opportunity of asking the apologies from MONICA .....if at any point of time if we go wrong from her techniques....
Also she has many many brilliant techniques and will try to introduce maximum to you...in the starting we will begin from very basic and go to higher levels.....
We are very thankful to Monica for helping us in this post .
And ofcourse I wanna add here that CRAFTERS CORNER is the only place where u get sospeso trasparente material at best and lowest price in India.
So I hand over now to Dr. Sonia for rest....
Here it is:

Sospeso Transparente bouquet
 Hi friends, Dr Sonia here with my latest love " Sospeso Transparente " which is a special 3D volume decoupage technique invented by Italian artist Monica Allegro.
           My job here is to introduce you to the technique , pique your interest about this beautiful crafting technique and share some of the little tips and tricks  I picked up when I experimented with Sospeso transparente !
Sospeso Transparente flower
           When I first came across Sospeso Transparente , I tried to research more about it and wanted to try my hand at it but I didn't know what to buy and frankly speaking most of the tutorials I chanced upon left me confused and with the feeling that "oh its too complicated and expensive!" But once I got my hands on Sospeso films and made my first flower, I fell in love with it big time...Believe me its a sheer magical experience when a bit of plastic is transformed in your hands within seconds to an object of such magnificent beauty! Its  a must try craft!!

What is Sospeso Transparente?

Quoting Monica Allegro herself " Sospeso Transparente  means transparent and raised up process"
The technique basically involves heating special plastic films and making 3 D shapes out of it.
Sospeso Transparente sunflowers

How to get started?

If you have never tried Sospeso and want to get a feel of this amazing craft I will suggest you start with Printed films [instead of paper veils and  fabric tapes ....we'll come to those later in subsequent posts!]
           So this first post on Sospeso will be about Printed Films as its the easiest and guaranteed to make you fall in love with this beautiful art !

What Sospeso Transparente material do you need ?

Just 3 things....
  1. Printed film design
  2. Embossing Pad
  3. Embossing tool set
    Sospeso Transparente
    Printed Films
    Sospeso Transparente films
    This is how the printed films look- they are special plastic films with beautiful designs printed on them. What is so special about these films patented by Moinca Allegro ? -- unlike other plastics these are safe, non toxic and do not let out hazardous chemicals when heated.
    Embossing Pads
    Embossing pad
    Unlike the embossing pads we use in parchment and punchcraft the Embossing pad for Sospeso Transparente  is super soft and made of special material which can take the heat and wont damage the delicate printed designs on the printed films.
    Embossing Set

    Wooden embossing tools
    Those who have dropped by my blog Cards Crafts Kids Projects know I like to craft with multiple media such as clay, punchcraft , parchment etc and so I do have a collection of plastic as well as metal embossing tools but they are not a good substitute for Sospeso Transparente because of 2 factors : 1. Wood due to its special heat conduction properties is best to emboss the  hot plastic films 2. These special Monica Allegro designed embossing wooden tools are the most gentle on the delicate designs . The plastic and metal tools are more likely to leave scratch marks on the delicate designs.

What Additional Materials do you need?

  • A good scissors 
  • A heat source -For Sospeso Transparente printed films, you can use a candle , a heat gun or even a hair dryer- I experimented with all 3  and will tell you about each!

Sospeso Transparente Heat options
Steps of Sospeso Transparente with Printed films

1.Cut out design 

Sospeso Transparente 
This is the only time consuming part of the whole process-- cutting out the  beautiful designs !
Tip : 
  • Be careful not to let sharp scissor points scratch the design-- my little assistant [ my 8 year old] managed to badly scratch one of our sunflowers while fuzzy cutting the flower but since the design itself had lines ,its hardly noticeable on our bouquet!
  • Dont just cut the outline..cut the petals inwards just like you would do for paper flower making to be able to shape the flowers better.Then only will you be able to allow the flower petals to curl fully on heating!
Cut the petals inwards
  • For the sunflowers I did not cut the petals right to the center but stopped at the brown demarcation.
  • For some flower designs let your cut line reach nearly till the center but be careful not to chop off petals! 
  • Also when you cut ,do exercise your artistic license and snip off sharp corners and round off edges!

2. Heat the cut design

Sospeso Transparente 
When you heat the flat design it will magically curl and you can shape it into dimensional flowers and leaves.
Heating with the candle
The most popular heating tool is our humble candle. Heat from the non printed side of the film.
Tip :
  • Use a good quality candle which doesn't smoke a lot and leave residue on your plastic film! 
  • Keep your embossing pad and tools near your heat source as speed is of essence here..you need to heat your flower, immediately put it on your embossing pad and shape your petals with the  embossing tools while its still hot and malleable!

At what distance should you hold the cut design from the flame? Depends on the candle really! I found that tea light candle flames are smaller and I had to bring the film within an inch to get the film heated . With the candle shown above even at 2 - 3 inches distance from the flame the flower petals would start to curl-- which is the sign for you to put it on the embossing pad and emboss.

Heating with the hair dryer
Hair dryer
Heating with the hair dryer is recommended by Monica Allegro in her book of Sospeso Transparente ! She recommends heating the flower while placing it on the embossing pad and embossing it at the same time without switching off the dryer! I found the hair dryer took more time and I didnt have the patience for it!
Heating with the Embossing Heat gun [mine is by Ranger]
Heat Gun Embossing
Many of you know I have a crafty little girl at home who likes to try any new crafty technique she sees. My 8 year old was fascinated seeing the Sospeso Transparente flowers come alive in the candle flame but was too scared of the fire! So we experimented with our heat gun and it was super fun because she could hold the flowers in her hand while heating the flower with the heat gun held at a distance and watch the petals curl gently.
Our finding : 
  • Amongst all 3 heat sources, the candle is the quickest but its more difficult to control the precise area you want heated. You may need to use a forceps for heating small leaves and branches!  
  • The heat gun was faster than the hair dryer but more gentle than the candle. You could get more precise control over heating the flower design by pointing the gun from a distance and only 2 - 3 seconds was enough to heat the film !

3.Embossing

Embossing
When you heat the plastic film it starts to curl-- quickly transfer to your embossing pad and emboss.
Tips :
  • Heat and emboss the petals before embossing the center of the flower
  • Choose which size of embossing ball you want to use
    •  for bigger petals use the larger size ball end
    • for a more gentle embossing use the larger ball
    • to get a deeper embossing use the smaller more pointed embossing ball end
      Embossing
  • To give a convex curve to your flower petals- place the design side face down on the pad and emboss the petals running your embossing tool along the center of the petals
    • running the tool from the center to the petal edge gives a more gentle curve 
    • running the tool from the edge to the center- gives a more pronounced curve
Embossing
  • Emboss the center of the flower by embossing it from the "right" side- dont be too rough or you can scratch the design off!
Emboss
  • Hand - sculpt the flower
Hand- sculpting
Monica Allegro does recommend hand sculpting and yes-- its one of the most fun parts about Sospeso Transparente --In the picture above I could actually get the sunflower center to cup and the petals to fan out by sculpting with my fingers while holding the flower over the flame -- use both hands while you do this so that you can control the shape nicely!

4. Reheat and Emboss if needed

One of the best things I liked about the Sospeso Transparente technique was that it was quite forgiving of your mistakes and can make even a perfectionist happy since it allows you to reheat and reshape any petal or part whose shape you are not happy about!

5. Adding Flower Centers

Flower center options
Sospeso Transparente flowers look gorgeous just as they are but if you want to add a little something extra to your flower center, you can add pearls, rhinestones, pollen, glitter balls or chunky glitter using normal white glue or hot glue [but with care since the heat can alter the shape of your flower slightly]
Sospeso Transparente Sunflower
Most Sospeso Transparente projects add the flowers to home decor frames ,wall decor, glassware, metal-ware and jewelry. I loved the flowers so much I wanted them to be the sole star so made a Bouquet of Sunflowers. I  could make this  whole bouquet of Sunflowers from a single printed film!
Bouquet
More links to Sospeso Transparente tutorials

Where to buy Sospeso Transparente Materials :Click here for :  Sospeso Transparente supplies
And stay tuned for more Sospeso Transparente techniques in the coming weeks.
Some tips added by MONICA :

-- To increase the volume of a flower you can stack more flowers
-- When you're using an hot air must be protected with a piece of cardboard, the parts that you do not want to heat and shape.
-- If you accidentally scratch the film with the tip of the scissors you can paint over the colors for glass line.
-- Sometimes it's possible, again with glass paints change color or fade or finish the edges or small parts.
We hope u liked this....for any query please drop us a comment.
Hugs Dr Sonia
Crafters Corner DT team.

36 comments:

  1. Long awaited and such an amazingly written tutorial. I m so eager to try this. Got to know so many things that usually no one cares to share. You have managed to capture and put into writing every minute observation so well. Kudos to you Dr. Sonia!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am so thrilled Indira you liked the tutorial ...its a wonderful new craft and sheer magic to see the flowers take form before your eyes! And ha ha I did use my little girl as a volunteer to find out where all a new crafter can go wrong!!

      Delete
    2. Which glue do you use ?

      Delete
  2. this is adorable Dr Sonia... lovely flowers... nice technique...
    -Berina
    Moxie Craftie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Berina...ha ha I must admit I was waiting for your comment my loyal friend!!

      Delete
  3. the technique itself looked foreign to me and so i dint even care to know about the details.... but ur simplified way of telling and showing us has indeed made me curious to try it out.thanks doc

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sujana...it is a must try craft. I too was reluctant to get the supplies as I was not able to get enough information about what exactly to buy for this craft.Once I tried it I was amazed it was so simple!! Be sure to start with the printed films on your starter project.

      Delete
  4. Wow....lovely n clear tutorial...i have kept d printed sheets with me from such a long time...now i think its time to get started with them...thank u so much Dr Sonia and ofcourse Shalini...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh Yes Madhuri...dig right into your printed film stash...they are magical stuff to fall in love with Sospeso Transparente ! Have you tried the paper veils yet?

      Delete
  5. Very beautifully explained in details doc!!!
    Another awesome project!!!!
    Kudos on that....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Riti...I thought I would make a simple tutorial but then it turned out super detailed and I am thrilled that is what everyone was looking for!

      Delete
  6. Thank you so much dear Sonia ji, shalini di n Monica, of course.. for such an elaborate n very informative post on Sospeso.
    Just what I'm looking for.. Perfect!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for taking the time to write down such encouraging efforts...for me that is the best reward for the time it takes to write such elaborate tutorials! Do try it and share a link to your work so that we can all drop in and see it
      Cheers
      Dr Sonia
      Cards Crafts Kids Projects

      Delete
  7. This is an amazing post !!! This has inspired me to learn the art .Love it .Thank you

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Ankita...do share a link to your project too. I love looking at all the Sospeso Transparente work !

      Delete
  8. Wow!! Dr Sonia..love it..Thanks for the tips n tricks.. flowers look gorgeous..:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Radhika...do try it if you have not yet...the flowers look even more magical in real!

      Delete
  9. Excellent post, Dr. Sonia. Love the way you simplified it to make us understand. The flowers have turned out so beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Jasleen...using printed films is easy. And I made it super detailed since its a new craft to many of use and I wanted to give as many tips as possible
      Cheers
      Dr Sonia
      Cards Crafts Kids Projects

      Delete
  10. WOW!! These are just gorgeous so lifelike and absolutely breathtaking!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Ashmita...I love the look of Sospeso Transparente flowers!

      Delete
  11. The BEST tutorial.. thx a lot.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Good One! Very informative tutorial.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Best
    I want printed sheets & glue
    Can u supply all this?

    ReplyDelete
  14. Best
    I want printed sheets & glue
    Can u supply all this?

    ReplyDelete
  15. How do we get the sheets? I clicked on the links but there was nothing to be found. Can you please send me a workable link?
    I would love to try it.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Wer can we get printed films in Bangalore??

    ReplyDelete
  17. Thanks for sharing this...

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hi....i tried hot glue over a varnished wood surface. The flowers come out eventually. Any other glue i can use?

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hi....i tried hot glue over a varnished wood surface. The flowers come out eventually. Any other glue i can use?

    ReplyDelete
  20. Rustic, free flowing, gorgeous flowers in Vermont by Cobblestone Florist in Concord, NH. Are they yours? Do you recognize each tiny petal and miniature furled leaf? Speak up and I'll link to your site so more couples can enjoy your flower artistry :) flower delivery

    ReplyDelete
  21. Artificial Flowers Manufacturers in India are excellent for a number of occasions and happenings. Whether you're expecting to enhance a workplace or provide centerpieces for a marriage, silk flowers give a reusable solution at a realistic price. On top of that, they look so real!
    Artificial Flowers Manufacturers in India

    ReplyDelete
  22. We are urgently in need of kidney donors in Kokilaben Hospital India for the sum of $500,000,00,All donors are to reply via Email only: kokilabendhirubhaihospital@gmail.com
    WhatsApp +91 7795833215

    ReplyDelete
  23. This is an amazing post... bt i want video?? Can uh share that plzz??

    ReplyDelete

We would love to hear from you !