Tar gel tutorial

I figured since I can't sleep anyway, I might as well do the tutorial for the tar gel embellishments. I am tired, so sorry if it doesn't make sense. If you have questions, feel free to ask in the comments or send me an email. This really is as easy as it gets, so hopefully I won't make it too hard!

This is what the container of tar gel looks like. Very unassuming stuff, right? Inside is a thick goo, like honey, that is stringy and can be used to make embellishments that are very personal and definitely one of a kind. I got some at Michaels, but they only had the eight ounce jar. This is the 16 oz jar I got at dickblick.com. You can get this stuff by the gallon, too!






This is what it looks like poured into a styrofoam bowl. Like glue, basically, It's white, but dries clear, which is what makes it so great for adding your own colors to it. I wanted a deep red, but not a true red. And I wanted some pearl effect in it. So I dug through my reinkers. I could also have used acrylic paints, but the reinkers are much cooler.


The first color I chose was Ruby Red, by SU! I used about 20 drops or so.







I next added Opalites ink in Winter Rust. I used about 10 drops of this. I stirred it all up with a small popsicle stick until there was no more white.







What I got from that was something way, way too pink. So, I started experimenting. I added some Close to Cocoa, and then went onto add some Rose Red.






This was still too light for me, so I added Chocolate Chip. I felt like a mad scientist, a bit of this and a bit of that, stir and add some more! Just like being a kid again. Can't beat that feeling.






I use wax paper on a flat surface. Make sure you use a big enough piece of wax paper. This stuff spreads out as much as it needs to. You don't want this stuff staining your table. It would be awful to have to clean up, and I am very happy and proud to say I did not have to learn that the hard way! :o) Note the depth of color. You can even see the pearly sparks in it. It will dry a bit darker, so it's going to be a beautiful red/purple. I can see lots of things I could use this for.


This was taken right after it was all poured out. It has spread a bit further now, but not too much more. I will be letting it sit to dry, probably until tomorrow afternoon. Maybe longer. You can tell it's dry when you pull up the edges and you don't see any gooey stuff sticking to the wax paper. When it's all dry, it's a very neat film, like a fruit roll up, only thicker and springier. You can cut it to make all sorts of neat embellishments, depending on how good you are with scissors. You could also stamp on it with permanent ink to use. It's cool stuff, especially if you like messy stuff.

Off to bed now. It's almost 4 am. I have no idea how I'm ever going to get up for work on Wednesday.