Expanding medium, system and method for decorating surfaces

Abstract

The invention is a decorating medium, system and method for producing relief art on substrate surfaces. The decorating medium is an acrylic emulsion based medium containing an expandable polymer which expands the medium upon heating. The acrylic emulsion is produced with a mixture of an acrylic binder and an acrylic thickener or a cellulosic thickener combined in the appropriate range to obtain a medium rheology suitable for controlled application of the medium to the substrate surfaces. The decorating medium is applied to a substrate surface in a desired pattern either directly from a storage bottle or tube equipped with a nozzle or with an applicator such as a brush, a sponge, a knife or spatula. The desired pattern is achieved by free hand or by using a stencil or mask. After the decorating medium is applied to the surface of the substrate in the desired pattern, the medium is cured and heated. The heat causes the medium to expand and creates the relief art on the surface of the substrate. The relief art is flexible after curing and may be painted or decorated according the needs and taste of the artist. In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the decorating medium is mixed with decorating additives of choice such as pigments, colorants or glitters, prior to curing and heating the medium. The medium, the system and the method of the current invention are particularly useful for creating relief art on cloth or fabric substrates, but are also suitable for creating relief art on other substrate surfaces including metal, plastic, paper, cardboard and glass surfaces.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A decorating medium for creating relief art on a substrate surface, the medium comprising: 
 a. a water-based emulsion body; and    b. an expandable polymer with a blowing agent encapsulated therein, wherein the medium is cured and expanded when heated after application to the substrate surface.    
     
     
         2 . The decorating medium of  claim 1 , wherein the water-based emulsion body comprises an acrylic binder and an acrylic thickener.  
     
     
         3 . The decorating medium of  claim 2 , wherein the acrylic binder is selected from the group consisting of Vinyl Acetate-Ethylene Polymer, Vinyl Acetate-Vinyl Chloride-Ethylene Terpolymer and a Vinyl-Acrylic Polymer.  
     
     
         4 . The decorating medium of  claim 2 , wherein the acrylic binder is in the range of 25 to 95 percent of the total weight of the decorating medium.  
     
     
         5 . The decorating medium of  claim 2 , wherein the thickener is pH sensitive and that causes viscosity of the decorating medium to increase to a range of 3,000 to 25,000 centipoise and in a pH range of 7.0 to 9.0.  
     
     
         6 . The decorating medium of  claim 2 , wherein the acrylic thickener is in a range of 0.5 to 10% percent of the weight of the decorating medium.  
     
     
         7 . The decorating medium of  claim 1 , further comprising a preservative in the range of 0.005 to 0.50 percent of the total weight of the medium.  
     
     
         8 . The decorating medium of  claim 7 , wherein the preservative is selected from the group consisting of Hydroxyalkl-1-aza-3, 7-dioxabicyclo(3.3.0) octane, Tetrachlorisophthalonitrile 1,2-Benzisothiazolin-3-one, and Phenoxyethanol.  
     
     
         9 . The decorating medium of  claim 1 , wherein the expandable polymer is a Polyvinylidene Chloride polymer encapsulating an alkane blowing agent.  
     
     
         10 . The decorating medium of  claim 9 , wherein the blowing agent is Isobutane.  
     
     
         11 . A system for decorating surfaces, the system comprising: 
 a. a water based heat curable and expandable medium; and    b. a water compatible decorating additive for mixing with the heat curable and expandable medium.    
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the decorating additive is a coloring agent selected from the group consisting of ink, dye, food coloring, acrylic paint, finger paint and tempera paint.  
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the water based heat curable and expandable medium comprises: 
 a. an emulsion body comprising an acrylic binder and an acrylic thickener or a cellulosic thickener; and    b. an expandable polymer with a blowing agent encapsulated therein, wherein the medium is cured and expanded when heated to temperatures below 140 Celsius.    
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the acrylic binder is selected from the group consisting of Vinyl Acetate-Ethylene Polymer, Vinyl Acetate-Vinyl Chloride-Ethylene Terpolymer and Vinyl-Acrylic Polymer.  
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the acrylic binder is in the range of 25 to 95 percent of the total weight of the medium.  
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the thickener is pH sensitive and that causes the viscosity of the decorating medium to increase to a range of 3,000 to 25,000 centipoise and in a pH range of 7.0 to 9.0.  
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the thickener is in a range of 0.5 to 10 percent of the weight of the medium.  
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 11 , further comprising a preservative in the range of 0.005 to 0.50 percent of the total weight of the medium.  
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 18 , wherein the preservative is selected from the group consisting of Hydroxyalkl-1-aza-3, 7-dioxabicyclo(3.3.0) ocatane, Tetrachlorisophthalonitrile 1,2-Benzisothiazolin-3-one, Phenoxyethanol.  
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the expandable polymer is a Polyvinylidene Chloride polymer emasculating an alkane blowing agent.  
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 20 , wherein the blowing agent is Isobutane.  
     
     
         22 . A method of creating relief art on a substrate, the method comprising the steps of; 
 a. providing a substrate;    b. applying a heat expandable medium in a desired pattern on the substrate, wherein the expandable medium comprises an acrylic emulsion body and expandable polymer with a blowing agent encapsulated therein; and    c. expanding the medium by applying heat to the medium whereby the relief art is created.    
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the substrate is selected form the group consisting of metal, fabric, cloth, glass, cardboard, paper and plastic.  
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the expandable medium is applied to the surface of the substrate with an applicator selected from the group consisting of a brush, a spatula, a knife and a nozzle.  
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 22 , further comprising the step of providing a mask or a stencil prior to the step of applying the heat expandable medium to the substrate surface.  
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 22 , further comprising the step of decorating the relief art.  
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 22 , further comprising the step of mixing the heat expandable medium with a decorating additive prior to the step of expanding the medium.  
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the decorating additive is selected from the group consisting of a glitter agent and a water compatible pigment.  
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the medium is expanded by heating the medium to temperatures in a range of 125 to 140 degrees Celsius for time in a range of 1 to 4 minutes.  
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the step of expanding the medium is accomplished by heating the medium with a microwave source.  
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the water based emulsion body comprises an acrylic binder and an acrylic thickener or a cellulosic thickener.  
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 31 , wherein the acrylic binder is selected from the group consisting of Vinyl Acetate-Ethylene Polymer, Vinyl Acetate-Vinyl Chloride-Ethylene Terpolymer and Vinyl-Acrylic Polymer.  
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 31 , wherein the acrylic binder is in the range of 25 to 95 percent of the total weight of the medium.  
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the thickener is pH sensitive and that causes the viscosity of the decorating medium to increase to a range of 3,000 to 25,000 centipoise and in a pH range of 7.0 to 9.0.  
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 34 , wherein the thickener is in a range of 0.5 to 10 percent of the total weight of the medium.  
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 22 , further comprising a preservative in the range of 0.005 to 0.50 percent of the total weight of the medium.  
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 36 , wherein the preservative is selected from the group consisting of Hydroxyalkl-1-aza-3, 7-dioxabicyclo(3.3.0) octane, tetrachlorisophthalonitrile 1,2-Benzisothiazolin-3-one and Phenoxyethanol.  
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the expandable polymer is a Polyvinylidene Chloride polymer encapsulating an alkane blowing agent.  
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 38 , wherein the blowing agent is Isobutane.