A Bit More Glittering

I've really got into this glittering lark, so as well as stamping & glittering some more images, I thought I'd share with you how I did them, what worked, what helps and what to avoid. You won't be able to avoid looking like you were at Ground Zero when a Glitter Bomb went off, so you'll just have to deal with that, :) .


I stamped up a batch of images, using Staz-on onto Transparency sheets.  Stamping onto these is a bit tricky, its very easy for the stamp to slide on the slick surface. What to do really depends on how bad the slide is, and your image. Simplest solution is to just wipe it off with Staz-on cleaner & restamp. If its not too bad, you can live with it, as you'll cut out the image later, so it may not even be seen. 
As you can see, I've not only stamped out Medallions- there are a lot of stamps that will lend themselves to this technique.

 

Most have been done in Black Staz-on, but these ones have been stamped using the Staz-on Blue, White & Pink.
These are an old Elusive Images set, which I believe is retired now.




So, you've got your images, the next thing you will need is a clear drying white PVA type glue. It has to be clear drying, so make sure to check for that. You also need some way of applying it, and there are a number of fine tipped applicator bottles available, as well as extra fine add on nozzles.You can see the bottles at the back of this pic, which are the ones I have been using, and also the add on very fine tips at the front. Recently I bought some by Woodware, which come as a three pack, and I really like these. For a start, the plastic the bottle is made from is really soft, meaning it doesn't take much pressure to get the glue to come out.  Important if you are going to do a lot of these, or have mobility problems with your hands.

They have a normal sized nib, an ultra fine that fits over the top, and a pin to seal.My pack cost me three quid, which is a bargain. Some places charge that for an ultra fine nib!

Last, but by no means least, you will need glitter. Ultra fine glitter is available from pretty much anywhere, and since the boom in nail art, you will find a fantastic array of colours cheaply available on E-bay. You can get Barbara Trombley's Art Institute Glitter, which is available in a stunning 400 colours- but it is dearer. I've bought a lot of mine at the Hobbycrafts NEC show, from Glitter Magic, and also E-bay.



This medallion is also an old Elusive Images stamp. I've glittered the central 3 patterns, and will put it aside to dry. Its better to do this sort of thing a bit at a time, letting areas dry between colours. This is the glittered side, and as you can see it doesn't look like much. Neither does the reverse!

But, once its dried, it looks quite stunning.
 It doesn't matter, by the way, which side you glitter, the stamped side or the reverse. Just make sure you always glitter on the same side, lol. In case off accidentally glittering the wrong side, scrape it off with a bit of scrap card, and wipe over with a baby wipe to remove all trace of the glue.

Useful tip here, don't try to apply glue from a sharp corner or point. You can bet it will pretty much always blob. Instead, apply the glue in a more open area and either push or drag the glue to the point with the fine nozzle, or a pin. Also, when you put your glue bottle down to apply glitter, lay the bottle on its side. That way you will reduce the amount of times you need to shake the bottle to keep glue at the tip. Shaking mixes in air, and then you get bubbles in your glue. Which you need to pop with a pin, or push off the visible part of the design.

With a regular design like this Medallion, always work in one direction. Doesn't matter if you work clockwise, or anti, just always go the same way. Its easy to get disorientated with these, and you end up with the colours in the wrong order on one side or another!
 So, first off apply glue to one section, and its useful to hold the image up to a window, to see if you've got right up to the edges, or left any gaps.

Next, dump a pile of glitter onto the glue. Let it sit for a moment or two, so more glitter sinks into the glue. Then tip it off onto a scarp sheet of paper, ready to return to the jar.









Continue with the sections you are going to use this colour in, being careful where you rest you hands & fingers!

Put them aside to dry. I find generally this takes under a couple of hours, especially if I lie them near a radiator. The glue has to dry by evaporation, as the transparency won't absorb any moisture from the glue, as paper would.

This is why I have a few sheets of images on the go- I can just swap from one to another as they dry.

A sheet of medallions with the first colour in each.


 
  The same sheet with a second colour added.














As I said, you don't only have to use Medallions. This Oriental Screen with Butterflies lends itself to this perfectly. The stamp is available as part of a sheet from Non Sequiteur (available from De Stempelwinkel).
 To glitter the butterflys, I placed the glue alongside the butterfly body, then dragged it out across the wings in streaks.

When sprinkled with glitter, it means I can get a two toned body effect.

 
 I do all the butterflys the same and put them aside to dry, doing the second colour when the first is dry.








I thought these Guitar images, Dimension Stamps, would be good for teen cards.

Final tip- what do you do about all the stray glitter that ends up on your desk, instead of back in the pot?
Take a brush, and sweep it onto a sheet of paper.

Then create your own custom glitter mix! All the glitter that I gather off my desk up goes into this pot.I started this pot when I first bought loose glitter in little plastic bags. The inside of the bags was still coated in glitter after I'd emptied it into pots, so I gave the bags a good rub, and collected it all onto paper. Poured it into this pot, and I've gradually ended up with a sort of Rainbow Black mix.
I also put a dab of glue on top of the glitter pots, and sprinkled it with glitter, so I could see what colour was in each pot, rather than having to lift every pot out of the box to find the colour I wanted.

I shall gradually be glittering these over the week, so I will post pictures as they are finished & dry.

WOYWW #107

Good Morning WOYWW'ers, and I am posting early this week. My work hours have been changed slightly, I don't start till 7.00am, so I have time to post this before I go. It means I don't finish till 4.30pm, which I don't like, but then again, I REALLY don't do early mornings either! No pleasing some people is there?To anyone who doesn't know what this is all about, pop over to the Awesome Julia Dunnits at The Stamping Ground, 

                                                                 and come join the fun.

. 

You will probably remember seeing this card before, but in blue. I was asked to make another, for a girl, so I had to go pink. Really NOT my favourite colour, I think I have told you that before too- I am getting very repetitive, aren't I?
 I made it the same way, using Stix-2 double sided adhesive film on acetate, much quicker for glitter than waiting for glue to dry.
       The stamps are by Elusive Images( now Chocolate Baroque) but I think it may be retired.

The punched border of mulberry paper was done by attaching the mulberry paper to some cheap printer paper with a couple of bits of tape, then punching it, with the copy paper on top. You can get a nice relatively clean cut this way.

 The vellum was stuck down with a glue tape roller, which doesn't show on pale colours. The only problem can be getting 'sticky edges'- where some of the tape goes over the edges.
However, I have the perfect thing for this: an adhesive eraser.





This is a spare, the package says it removes all Xyron adhesives, but I have not yet found a glue it does not remove, even liquid glues once they have dried, of course. Its a really useful bit of kit, and I am probably going to show my age here, but do any of you remember the sandals we used to wear in the summer,when we were kids, usually Burgundy or Dark blue? Do you remember the soles of them? Well this adhesive eraser is just like the stuff that the soles were made from.

 You can trim it down once it starts to get mucky, you can see I have cut the corners off this one.


This is the 'before' pic, and if you click it to enlarge, you will see little patches of adhesive down the edge of the vellum.

This is after its been cleaned up with the eraser.
 Cool, huh? This is the front view, but it was actually the back where the vellum was folded over the spine that I wanted to clean up, as that would be on show- this front bit will be covered.I just photographed the wrong side, I admit it.

I added some sticky backed ribbon over the seam between the vellum& the mulberry paper.Then mounted the glittered squares with silicone glue.

                                         Then the letters were added, also with silicone glue.
                                                  And here's how I make the folded bow.

First wrap a length of ribbon around the card, and secure with glue dots. Now cut another length to make the first folded bow. Add a couple of glue dots to the centre, and fold each end to the middle & press onto the glue dots.

Cut a slightly shorter piece and repeat the process.




Now add a couple of glue dots to the front centre of the larger bow, and press the smaller one on top.

Now stick a glue dot onto the back of the larger bow, then take the rest of the ribbon and stick one end to the glue dot and wind it a couple of times around the centre of the two bows.Trim off the ribbon, and secure with a couple of glue dots on the back.

        Now I just stick it over the join in the ribbon on the card, and I usually use silicone glue for this bit.

                              I shall be back to visit everyone tonight, meanwhile have a fab WOYWW!

WOYWW #102

Happy WOYWW to all, lets hope that Blogger decides to let us play this week! I shall try to get around everyone over the next few days- overtime at work, so I am up at 5.00am, not getting home till 4.30 pm, then shower, do lunches, cook dinner, collapse! Anyway, here is my offering for the weekly stalk, lol.

This is what was on my desk this week- a 75th Birthday card for a work colleagues Mom.

  This is how it came together- some gold paper overstamped with an ornate background stamp for the bottom, and some gorgeous embossed vellum by K & Co to 
go on the main panel.

 

 Harlequin Rose panel, Elusive Images, was matted onto Gold card embossed with a Cuttlebug and Forest Branches folder.I wrapped a band of gold organza ribbon round this, then knotted some cream ribbon over it.

Then mounted it onto the front panel.

  I added some triple embossed hearts.

   

   

Then the numbers 75, cut from gold card on my Silhouette, and embossed with the Swiss Dots folder.

My Silhouette.

The finished card, with sentiment cut out with the Silhouette, along with a matt for it.