Hibiscus (and tutorial)

Hey everyone.  Today I'm using one of the exclusive Sparkle N Sprinkle digi stamps, the Hibiscus, and the dryer sheet technique to create this fun card.  I think most people think of this using this fuzzy and glittery technique on snow themed focal points.  But I wanted to try something different.  Plus, I want to show you how easy it is to use digital images.  So, I'm combining a tutorial on the basics of using a digi and how to do the dryer sheet technique.

To start off, download the digi onto your computer and save it in a folder.   (I have folders for each digi company that I have images from - but save them however makes the most sense to you.)  Then I upload the image I want, in this case the Hibiscus, into Microsoft Word.  The beauty about digis is that you can resize them to make them larger or smaller than a rubber stamped image (plus they are easy to store).  Once you're happy with the size, you can copy and paste if you want multiples of the same image.  I normally do this when I want to add dimension and layers to the image I'm working on.  Print it out. 

The somewhat tricky part come in when coloring an image and it's a trial and error process to find out what works best with the printer you have (unless you have a laser printer, then no worries) and the markers you use.  For an inkjet printer, you may need to let the ink dry a bit before coloring with Copic markers (that'w what I use).  Some people heat set the ink with a heat gun.  I usually print out several images at a time and then set them aside until I'm ready.  So I don't really have any problems.  Every now and then, the black ink from the inkjet wants to bleed when I touch it with a Copic marker, even after the ink is completely dry.  Although, luckily, this is fairly rare for me, the best way around this is to be a bit more conscientious about coloring over the lines.  You can go right next to them, but try not to color over them and smear the ink.  Again, most of the time I don't have any problems with this whatsoever.  If I do, it's usually right after I've changed the cartridge on my printer.  So don't let this frighten you away from trying digis.

Once the Hibiscus digi was colored, I adhered a piece of Super Adhesive Sheet on top.  Next, take a used dryer sheet and spread it over the image and the adhesive sheet.  It should look like the photo above (please ignore the die cut edges).  Tip: if you do plan to us a die cut (and you shouldn't have any problems cutting through the dryer sheet and cardstock), cut it after you've added the dryer sheet.  Otherwise, you'll have to cut the edges by hand - no big deal, but an extra step.

Cover the adhered dryer sheet with glitter.  I used Cloud Nine Velvet glitter, but any color would work.  Lightly burnish into the surface.  Shake off the excess glitter and return it to the bottle.  What your left with is a fuzzy, sparkly image.

Proceed to create your card as you normally would.  For this one, I decided against the die cut edges (as seen in the photos) and decided to fussy cut the image out.

The next layer is vellum that was die cut using a Just Rite die (Vintage Frame Label).  I added color to the vellum with a Copic marker.  The layer behind the vellum is a die cut from Taylored Expressions (Retro cutting plate) that I heat embossed using SNS Indian Spark embossing powder.

I also added some coordinating ribbon and a triple looped bow for more interest.

I hope you found this informative and given you one more reason to try a digi (if you haven't already).  Also, if you have any questions, please let me know and I'll try my best to answer them.