Teacup Pansies

The new Teacup Pansies set from Sparkle N Sprinkle is so pretty and I had lots of different ideas on how to use this set.  For today's card, I used the digi version, mainly so I could make my sentiment be the focal point and the image as the embellishment (albeit a rather large embellishment).

I printed the image twice so that I could fussy cut the flowers from one of the printed images and then pop dot them on top of main image.  Both the flowers and the teacup were colored with Copics before adding anything else.

I started out by adding some tacky glue (Nuvo Glue pen) to the border and the small dots at the top of the teacup. Then Nuvo Gilding Flakes (Radiant Gold) was applied to the glue once it was tacky to the touch.  Next, I added several layers of Super Thick Clear embossing powder to the teacup.  After placing the teacup in the freezer for about 20 minutes, I took it out and cracked the embossing powder (the cracked glass technique) so that fine lines would appear.  A little Distress Ink gives highlights to the cracks.

Eggplant glitter was added to the throats of the pansies and Lady Luck glitter gives the leaves extra bling.

The Decorative Border die (by Heartsfelt Creations) was used for the background.  I die cut this twice, once from purple cardstock and once from white cardstock and then offset the purple from the white, giving it a light shadow effect.

The sentiment was die cut using a Taylored Expressions die (Banner Stacklets 2) and then I outlined the letters with a Sakura glue pen.  More Eggplant glitter was then added to the letters.

A Nuvo Glue Pen (small tip) was used to outline the border of the sentiment die cut.  Once the glue felt tacky to the touch, I adhered more Radiant Gold gilding flakes.  The large tip Nuvo Glue Pen was used to add strips of glue to the focal layer and once it was tacky to the touch, Radiant Gold was added.

Silhouette

Using the new Silhouettes stamp set from Sparkle N Sprinkle, I combined two different techniques to achieve the end result: Molten Pearls (also known as embedded embossing) and Cracked Ice technique (also known as the Cracked Glass technique).

I used two different embossing powders, Pineapple and Moss Star.  Start out by trimming a piece of cardstock slightly larger than the stamped image.  Cover the entire piece with VersaMark and then Pineapple embossing powder.  Heat set.  Ink up the rubber stamp with VersaMark and stamp directly onto the cardstock embossed with Pineapple embossing powder.  Cover with Moss Star embossing powder and heat set.  Those bits of glitter in this embossing powder really sparkle and shine backed by the lighter colored Pineapple.  (This is the Molten Pearls technique.)

Next, cover the entire piece with VersaMark again and cover with Super Thick Clear embossing powder.  Heat set.  Repeat this step several times, building up the layers of embossing powder each time.  You can leave it at this step - it's super shiny, like glass - or you can continue to the next step, which is putting it in your freezer for a few minutes.  When you take it out of the freezer, bend the cardstock back and forth, causing the clear embossing powder to crack.  If you want more cracks, place it back in the freezer again.  To emphasize the cracks, use a sponge dauber and rub in a bit of ink into the cracks. (This is the Cracked Glass or Cracked Ice part.)

Using a Spellbinders Fancy Tags Three die, cut out a piece of vellum and stamp your sentiment with VersaMark.  Cover with Moss Star embossing powder and heat set.  I loved combining these two techniques together, but I have to tell you, they are both hard to photograph.

Cracked Glass - Lily

Today I wanted to share with you not only a beautiful and versatile image called Lily Sympathy from Stamping Dragons Designs, but also a tutorial on a technique I read about a couple years ago called the cracked glass technique.  (I'm sure if you Google it, you can come up with all kinds of You Tube videos as well.)  First off, let me say that I think this image is good for all occasions, not just as a sympathy card.  That's why I didn't put a sympathy sentiment with it.

The items you will need to complete this technique are a colored image of your choice, Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel (UTEE), VersaMark, heat tool, and a freezer.

Here is my lily after coloring it with Copic markers.  The background was made by first applying a pink shade and then lightly going over that with a lavender shade.  I wanted parts of the pink to peak through.

After you've colored your image and you are happy with it, the next step is to apply the VersaMark to your image.  Make sure it is fully covered.  Next, begin applying the ultra thick embossing powder all over.  (You will eventually apply three layers of the UTEE.)  Once it's covered, you are ready to heat it.  The easiest way I found to do this was to place the UTEE covered image in a shoe box top.  That way, you can easily heat it up without having to touch any part of it.  Using your heat tool, thoroughly heat the embossing powder until it's completely melted.  While it's still HOT, pour a second coat of UTEE over it.  (I had left the image in my box top when I poured the second coat over it.  Once its completely covered again with UTEE, you can take the time to put the excess UTEE back in the container.)  Reheat again until it's completely melted. While it's still HOT, pour the UTEE over it for a third coat and heat completely.

 It should look like smooth glass at this point, as seen here in the photo on the left.  If you like this look, you can stop right here and  begin assembling your card.

To continue to the next step, just place this in your freezer for about five minutes.  Don't worry if it curls; you want it to and it should look something like the photo on the right.

Take it in your hands and start to straighten the image back out by bending it slightly backwards.  It will start to crack where you are bending it.  If it doesn't start cracking (you'll definitely hear it popping), just put it back in the freezer for a couple more minutes.  It should resemble this:

If you don't like the way it turned out, don't worry.  You can fix it by reheating it and melting the UTEE all over again.  Put it back in the freezer and try again.  One final step you could do, but I chose not to, is to slightly distress it by using a sponge dauber and a vintage brown ink to highlight the cracks more.  Rub the excess ink off with a cloth.  Again, I chose not to do this because I was happy with the results without the distressing.  Here is a close up of the assembled card.

For my assembly, first I mounted my image on black cardstock.  I created my background using a Cheery Lynn Designs lattice frame die and Core'dinations papers, which I sanded to bring out the peach.  The purple strip along the side was created by blending in two different shades of Paper Soft Colors to bring out the lavender in my image.  The scalloped border along the right side was created using the Grand 12" scallop Border by Spellbinders.  The peach base is the other side of the Core'dinations paper.

I also want to let you know you still have time to enter the current challenge (the theme is "food for thoughts") going on at Stamping with the Dragon.  You have until next Thursday to upload your project.  Don't forget to check out what the rest of the design team has created for you this week (you can find their blog addresses on my side bar).

I hope you like this technique and will try it soon.  I would love to hear back from you, letting me know what you think of it.

Copics used: YG11, YG13, YG13    YR0000, YR000, YR00, FY1    R27, R29, Y08, RV000, RV00, BV000, BV00