Hello from Darkest Africa Card - with the Martha Stewart Scroll Heart Punch

Hi everyone and Happy Easter to you all.  I hope that you made plenty of Easter cards for your families.  I made about 20 cards for family and friends (most of them went to friends! I have only my dad and two sisters.)

I just bought the new 7 Gypsies paper tape and was really anxious to use some of it!  So, I started out adding some of the tape to a piece of herringbone card stock.  It really felt like "safari" to me.  So, I kept adding and when I matted it to the dark brown, I said "Aha! Africa".  My inspiration came from those old movies where the group is on safari and someone sends back a letter with all these odd cancellations on them.  (I hope you all don't think I'm crazy...LOL).

Enjoy the card.

 I think the gold paint pen edging really gives this whole card that little extra.  It works really well on the picture and blue backing.

Take care, Lis

Glitter Techniques...A Glitter-Painted Card!

I really like the option of using glitter glue.  It's not messy and usually comes in fine or ultra fine.  Sometimes though I don't have the color that I want to use.  No problem!  I just make my own.

For today's glitter project, I mixed the Elizabeth Craft Design Glitter Ritz microfine glitters with diamond glaze.  I used a small paint brush and painted the glitter accents onto my stamped card. The micro fine glitter is so tiny that when I mix it with Diamond Glaze I get a glittery paint. I used my brush and painted each glitter “color” onto my card. I even mixed a couple of colors together to get a brown-green to create a “shadow” on the pumpkins

Notes:

1. Diamond glaze dries clear and dries fairly quickly.  You have enough time to paint what you want but don't mix all the colors at once.  Do them one at a time as you use them.
2. Use a plastic or foam plate (white is best so you can see your colors).  You can throw it away when you are done.
3. Keep a cup of water and a towel nearby so that you can clean your brush after each color.

Here you can see my stamped image (I used plain cardstock) and the Glitter Ritz glitter colors.

I made the mistake of using a plastic watercolor palette.  This was not a good idea because the diamond glaze dried hard as rock.  I had to throw it away.  Use a plastic plate! 



Here is my finished card.  It is very pretty and really sparkles!





Note: I didn’t have any micro fine orange glitter so I used ultra fine glitter that I had from Martha Stewart. When you look at the card, look at the pumpkins, which were colored with that ultra-fine glitter, you can see through the glitter to the stamped image. With the micro fine glitter you cannot. The difference is really significant.

This was a fun card to make.  I especially liked mixing my own glitter colors. I felt like a mad scientist!




If you would like to look for Elizabeth Craft Design Glitter Ritz, go to http://www.franticstamper.com/

Glitter Embellishments....Glittered Houses!

Hi everyone!  Having a great week?  I am. I love glitter!  With Easter right around the corner, glitter is a great decoration for eggs!

For my second glitter card, I glittered some little die cut houses and added them to my card as an embellishment. Simple, you say? You bet!

I am IN LOVE! I didn’t think that glitters could get much better than the ultra fine but I was wrong. WOW! You should see these glitters. They are called Elizabeth Craft Design Glitter Ritz and are MICRO FINE. The sparkle that this glitter lets off is incredible. The pictures don’t do it justice. The micro fine glitter has a velvety feel to it. It is incredibly fine and adds no bulk to whatever you are glittering. This glitter comes in a fabulous selection of colors. (My favorite today is coppery rose.) Click HERE to go to Frantic Stamper to see these glitters!

I started by die cutting the houses from the Heritage cartridge by Cricut. For those of you who like vintage and who have a Cricut, I recommend this cartridge. It not only has the little houses and a great font but it also has some beautiful cameos. After cutting the houses, I brushed on a thin but even coat of tacky glue over the die cuts and then dipped them into glitter to coat them.

Here is a close up.  The picture doesn't do them justice.  The micro fine glitter is very very tiny and gives off a velvety sparkle.  It's very unique. The little white dots on the glitter are actually sparkle.

And here is my collage card.

Glitter Card Techniques!

Hi everyone! I hope that you are having a fabulous week! How would you like to add some fabulous bling to your next project? Well, I have just the thing… GLITTER! Glitter is a wonderful addition to any crafter’s toolbox. Today I would like to share three techniques for getting more out of my favorite glitters, all available at FranticStamper.com.

I was attending the Carson show for scrapbooking and card making and came across a booth that was teaching a wonderful technique with glitter and lace (alas I didn’t think of it!).

This technique requires shipping labels available at office supply stores like Staples. You can use any size, but I used pieces cut to 4 1/4" x 5 1/2".

To keep my workspace organized and glitter-free I used Martha Stewart Glitter trays; a package comes with a few trays and a brush. Each tray is made of a thick cardboard-like material and has a funnel at one end. The glitter doesn’t seem to cling from static when using this tray. If you choose not to use the trays, be sure to have plenty of space to work and cover your work surface with paper. It is also probably a good idea to wipe your surface with an anti-static bag or dryer sheet before you start.

Peel the backing off of a label and place the label into the tray so that the sticky side is facing up. Choose a piece of pretty lace large enough to cover the label. The lace that will work best will have a larger design and some areas with large spaces.

Put the lace onto the label side and press it down to adhere. Now – sprinkle your first color of glitter all over the lace. Remove the excess glitter and return it to the bottle using the built-in funnel. Take a damp paper towel and wipe the inside of the tray to remove any stray glitter.  This can be a lighter color like silver, white or clear. Turn the glittered lace/labe upside down and rub the backside to press the glitter into the adhesive.

Remove the lace.

Now sprinkle on a second, darker glitter color. Repeat the step of pressing the glitter into the adhesive by rubbing the back of the label, and then remove excess glitter. Once the extra glitter is off, you can see the lace pattern in glitter!

And here is my glitter lace card!

Stay tuned for two more glitter cards this week!

Cameo Cards - A Modern Look -Day Two

Hi everyone!  Did you enjoy yesterday's card?  I had fun making it, that's for sure!

I really like the way that this card came out.  I started with a navy blue card base and added a blue scrapbook paper by K & Company, edging it in gold. It has a soft flower design in it.  I cut three wide strips of paper, used a scallop scissors for the bottom and edged all of it in gold.  I mounted them onto my card, added the ribbon and pearls. and finally added my cameo, a car! (Cameo die cuts are from the Cricut HERITAGE cartridge.)

I hope that you try a cameo card of your own!

Videos soon to come!

Hi everyone!  I made my first video today (yea!).  Unfortunately my computer is older than I thought it was.  Apparently it doesn't have a drive that will download my video to it.  So, I need to upgrade my PC to modern times (LOL).  Hopefully I will have this completed in the next few weeks. And then I will have a video for you all.  It's pretty exciting stuff for me!

I have to admit that I have not kept up with computer systems in the past few years the way I probably should have.  :-)   But I will be up to date in time...

I will keep you all updated with my exploits in becoming thoroughly modern!

Lis