Online Card Classes BACKGROUND CHECK

Background Check - Day 1

It turns out to be yet another fantastic class from Online Card Classes. 

Ink blending with Distress Inks and an ink blending tool seems easy to do, but not so easy to do WELL. It's harder than it looks - and messy too!

A stamped water reaction using a large background stamp and a mixture of water and mica powder adds interest (and shine) to the piece. 

Stamping the image again from the ink lifted from the stamped piece further extends the mica mixture.

Using Non Hotfix Preciosa Crystals

The lovely folks at Crystal Parade have sent me some crystals to play with!  

My first project was this framed friendship gift made with the addition of black flocked heat transfer vinyl, a brush stroke font, a Samantha Walker cutting file and my Silhouette Cameo.

I'll cover how to make the flocked part in a separate post. The file required some minor editing before being ready to iron on to the backing fabric (I used a heat press).

The gems are a Crystal Parade mixed pack of rainbow crystals. They are so pretty with a bright sparkle that is difficult to capture, but beautiful to look at.

Being non-hotfix means that they need to be adhered to projects with glue and I used Beacon's Gem-tac glue, a precision glue syringe with a pink tip, and a jewel setter.

The syringe was easy to fill and very (very) precise. I followed directions from a couple of YouTube videos on how to do it to exclude air bubbles. I practiced a few times first, but really needn't have bothered.

A gentle pressure on the plunger delivers a precise amount of glue just where you need it (and more importantly, NOT where you DON'T). 

The crystals, which are 3mm in diameter (SS10) are best picked up with a tool like the jewel setter. It has a waxy end which you manipulate into a point with your fingers. This helps avoid touching the flat side of the crystals which can transfer oils from your skin and make the gems less likely to stick firmly first time.

The trick to keeping your project free from excess glue is to use a small amount of glue and apply minimal pressure, otherwise the glue is pressed to the edges of the gem and none remains underneath to adhere it.

At the risk of sounding smug, I was pretty pleased with how this project turned out. Using a glue syringe might seem like a daunting prospect, but it turned out to be enjoyable and straightforward. More so than my photographic efforts, but that's a post for another day!

SUPPLIES:

CUTTING FILE 

#4836 Flower Scalloped Circle Simplified by Samantha Walker Studio/PNG/SVG

#41433 3d Lori Whitlock Easel Studio/PNG/SVG

FONT
Black Jack by Typadelic on dafont

MATERIALS
Crystal Parade Rainbow mixed pack of crystals
Beadsmith Jewel Setter
Precision Glue Syringe with pink tip
Beacon Gem-tac CPD/AmazonUk/AmazonUSA
Black Flock HTV Prem-flock from MDP Supplies

Docrafts Decoupage - First Steps

I was lucky to receive some samples from Docrafts to blog about recently; a case of right time, right place. However, I was expecting some ready-made toppers, but turns out my mystery envelope contained a generous selection of decoupage kits. I have NEVER done decoupage before, so was slightly intimidated.

Well, I'm no expert at decoupage, but I'm better at Internet searching, so off I went to find some instructions. I discovered some great resources at Docrafts.Com. This video in particular had lots of useful tips on how to use them. Regretfully, I'd attempted to put one of the foiled decoupage toppers together PRIOR to watching the video, and quickly realised the error of my ways once I'd watched it.

I thought it might be useful if I shared some of things I wouldn't do next time.

• Use really thick dimensional pads (my finished topper was WAY too dimensional)!
• Use quick grab pads (mine were cheapie ones from The Works and their use resulted in removing a portion of the foiling!).
• Add dimension to ALL the layers (it was VERY thick).
• Feel duty-bound to use ALL the layers.

Quick grab dimensional pads resulted in spoiling some of the foiling

 What I WOULD do, is:

• Add shape to the decoupage pieces (I used a round-ended moulding tool).
• Remove the paper nibs (I used really sharp scissors).
• Keep my adhesive to the centre of the pieces (I had covered the entire piece).

Anyway, here is the completed card. I used my electronic die cutting machine to make the aperture in the embossed card. I didn't turn out too bad after all!

Quick Personalised gift with the Cameo

Do you need a gift at short notice? 

I made this in the Silhouette Design Software with a mixture of files straight from the Silhouette Design Store. 

FILES

Bottle Tag 

#80567 Balloon bottle tag by Jamie Cripps Studio/PNG/SVG

Labels 

*27841 3 Invitation Card Kit by Lori Whitlock Studio/PNG/SVG

Wine Quotes

#74101 Always time for wine phrase by Kolette Hall Studio/PNG/SVG

#86256 Happiness is wine phrase by Kolette Hall Studio/PNG/SVG and 
#84682 for the wine glass and swirl by Sandi Idleman Studio only at present, hopefully other formats in the future.
 #43819 'I cook with wine' vinyl phrase by Samantha Walker Studio/PNG/SVG

METHOD
I just removed the balloon parts from the bottle tag. Duplicated it three times. Personalised it with some text. Then 'Print and Cut'! 

For the labels I selected the fancy shape from invitation cards  Filled a couple of  internal offsets. Duplicated the label and then pasted in the quotes. With a little recolouring and resizing these were also 'Print and cut'. Then I attached the labels to the tags with dimensional foam pads and folded each one. Finally I slipped them over the bottle necks and the job was done!