Time in a Bottle

Today I'd like to share another digi image exclusive to Sparkle N Sprinkle called Time in a Bottle and another tutorial using a variation on the Dryer Sheet technique.

I started off by printing the image twice (once in the complete version and once cropped, just showing the boy) as I knew I wanted to add dimension to the final project by fussy cutting the boy out.  As you can see from the photo, I sometimes practice my coloring/color combos on the portion that will be eventually hidden or not used at all.  The boy on the right doesn't have any shading or depth; he looks flat.  The boy on the left has been colored the way I want him to end up and I've already added Glossy Accents to the bottle before I fussy cut the image.  I practiced the colors of the water on the one on the left before doing a final version on the right.

Once the image was colored to my satisfaction, I began the Dryer Sheet technique process like you normally would.  I covered the image with a Super Adhesive Sheet and stretched a used dryer sheet on top of the adhesive.

Next comes the Cloud Nine Velvet glitter poured over the entire area.  This is where I deviated just a bit.  Instead of lightly rubbing the glitter into the dryer sheet, I burnished it pretty hard with my fingertip and then placed the excess glitter back in its bottle.  Then I kept rubbing the image with my finger to remove the excess dryer sheet.  It really didn't take long and was pretty easy to do.

The results are completely different than the traditional dryer sheet results in that you don't have the fuzzy material left behind.  (Click here to see my tutorial using the traditional version of the technique.)  What's left is lots of sparkle, but the glitter is more spaced out over the image (like a sun-kissed beach).  The dryer sheet has holes in the weave that the glitter penetrates and sticks to the adhesive below.

(without the addition of the fussy cut piece)

(with the fussy cut image)

Now I know what you're thinking, why do this extra step with the dryer sheet?  Well, if you just covered the image with a Super Adhesive Sheet and then covered it with glitter, the glitter would be much denser (like this image) and you wouldn't see as much detail.  It's like using a soft blur when editing a photo.
With this variation, I still get the sparkle, but not the soft blurring of the image.

To finish the card, I printed the sentiment on vellum and heat set it with Clear embossing powder.  The "sun" behind the focal point is the Lotus Pendant (from Spellbinders) and it was die cut from Sticker paper and covered with Tequila Sunrise embossing powder, and heat set.

The Distress Embossing technique was used around the edges of the card base, along with Mediterranean Star embossing powder.  A couple shells from Mudd Puddles completes the card.