No-Mess Ways to add Glitter - using the Polar Bear Girl by Sanqunetti Design

Do you love using glitter, but hate the mess it leaves behind? Adding regular glitter with wet adhesive can really add wow factor to cards but tends leave a glittery trail behind.  I made this sparkling card with a new SVG release from Sanqunetti Design - the Polar Bear Girl SVG using two no-mess glitter techniques.


 Supplies Used

I used all the above which including patterned papers are from Kaisercraft's Bubblegum Hills, 6 1/2" Paper Pad (recently retired).  For the glittery parts I used regular superfine glitter and also Silhouette's  Glitter Heat Transfer material.


Card Technique

I made a shaped card base in the Silhouette Studio software using an offset of the bear sitting on a present.  The present is simply a rectangle draw in the software, and the ribbons are just thinner rectangles.  I used a 2 mm offset of the two pieces, then made a mirrored copy to the left, overlapped the two, and then welded them together. The small extra shapes generated were then deleted to give just the outline.  I added a few simple tag shapes, trying out a couple of different colours of sketch pens. This is what I cut out from the white frost glimmer card.

It was then simply a matter of cutting the other pieces out of card and paper. I didn't cut the bear feet separately but made a combined grey base welding all the shapes together, and borrowing the right leg cut line from the feet, adding it to the white bear body.  More about the bear body later.

Now, here is my first non-mess glitter method.


METHOD 1. Apply Glitter with Double-Sided Adhesive


Cut the parcel from regular patterned paper (no fancy finish) and apply a matching piece of double-sides adhesive sheet over the top.  Expose the sticky surface of the sheet and sprinkle it with clear super-fine crystal glitter.

Knock off the excess glitter and burnish the newly glittered surface with a paper folder. Use one of the scrap protective layers from the adhesive sheet to cover the glittered surface while rubbing to protect the paper folder and rub firmly to ensure the glitter is firmly adhered to the paper.

After burnishing in this way you'll have a hard time shifting any of the glitter!

METHOD 2: Using Glitter Heat Transfer Material on Card


To make the he glittery bear, I cut the main bear body from white glitter heat transfer material. The material is cut with the shiny side to the mat, and the design should be flipped horizontally before cutting so that the bear is oriented correctly.

This is the design piece that I cut. Do see where the I placed the right leg piece borrowed from the foot?

I used a heat press to activate the adhesive on the heat transfer material, but an iron would work too. Use a lower temperature than you would normally use to attach heat transfer to fabric to avoid distorting the supporting card.  Apply for just a few seconds and then check if it has adhered. Peel off the backing sheet and press for another second or so and the glitter is permanently stuck.

I hope you'll try these methods out; they both give a really neat professional look - so much easier and cleaner than using liquid glue.

The cute Girl Polar Bear SVG file is available now from the Sangunetti Design website and also from the Etsy store.

This card has been entered in the following challenges:
ABC Christmas Challenge - 'W' for White
Craft Rocket Challenges - Christmas Is Coming
Simon Says Stamp - Christmas Gift Tag
Crafty Cats Challenge - ATG Beartastic challenge #391

If you like polar bears - here are a Polar Bear shaker card  and  Polar Bear personalised gift boxes that I made from the Sangunetti Design Christmas Polar Bear SVG.

Embellish Card with Flocked Heat Transfer

I love adding a little something extra to my cards, especially those for very special occasions. I've found that using flocked heat transfer material gives fantastic fuzzy texture to select elements and is very easy to do.

On the Silhouette UK Blog today I've combined the use of the heat transfer with a new style of card; the new Insta-cube card by Lori Whitlock. They are small folded cards powered by a rubber band. When you pull a card from its decorated sleeve it pops up to form a cube. I know a couple who are expecting their first baby later in the year, so I selected the baby version and think it will make a lovely keepsake.

I gave some of the elements (the giraffe, the heart and the 'B' in baby) a fluffy texture to make the card and sleeve extra tactile. Although I used flocked heat transfer vinyl, felt or speciality flocked paper could be used instead.

Materials
Medium-weight card for the base

Printable Cardstock

Coloured or patterned card/paper

Rubber band (about 2.75"/ 70 mm)

Strong double-sided adhesive tape

Yellow Flocked Heat Transfer (HTV)

Baby Insta-Cube Card file by Lori Whitlock #198865

Iron or Heat Press

Printer



How to Use Heat Transfer Material

1. Select the pieces that you are going to cut from heat transfer. Remember that heat transfer elements need to be flipped.  

2. Place heat transfer material shiny side to the mat and cut the pieces and then weed (remove the bits you don't need).

3. Separate the elements and then activate the adhesive on the HTV by pressing the designs into place. Use an iron, or heat press on a lower heat setting than normal and allow to cool before carefully peeling off the backing (warning: it does get very hot).

I used heat setting 6 on my Hobby Jack heat press (which I believe is around 120ºC, so a good bit cooler than you'd use for garments). You can use an iron (non-steam) with a similar temperature, but if you move the iron around, the design may shift too. Press initially for 8 seconds, and allowed it to cool and then re-press for a few more seconds if it hasn't stuck.  Ensure you use a protective layer between the HTV and the hot platen. For ease I use a silicon sheet fixed to the upper platen of my press.
 
4. Check carefully by lifting a corner of the backing sheet. You may need to encourage the flock to separate from the backing with a flat tool, and hold down the part that has separated against the card (don't pull it straight up from the card). A heat press isn't necessary, but it does a better job of applying heat evenly so that your base card doesn't scorch.

This is a such a fun card design, and there are a number of other designs to choose from.

I think that the fuzzy elements make this card extra special. Do let me know if you have a go at using heat transfer on your cards technique in the comments below.

Cardmaking Basics - Shaker Cards

Hello,
I can't count the number of shaker cards I've made - it must run to hundreds! I think they look great, it's fun to set the shaker elements into motion and some made a lovely noise too!   I've been sharing a heap of  tips for making shaker cards recently on the Silhouette UK Blog in a two-parter. This is just part of a series of posts on cardmaking basics over on the blog.

The first post deals with the 'ingredients' and looks at alternative ways of constructing shaker cards. The second includes detailed step-by-step tutorials on constructing the two cards seen in these pictures. Do pop over and have a read whether you are an experienced 'shaker-maker' or if you've yet to try one out.  The principles can be applied to almost any design and occasion.


WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
Plain or Pattered Paper
Smooth Cardstock (decorative top layer)
Heavyweight Cardstock (for layers)
Acetate Sheet or Clear Packaging
Seed Beads or other shaker elements
5" x 5" Heavyweight Cardbase (300gsm plus)
Extra Strong Double-Sided Adhesive Tape
Liquid Card Adhesive
Silhouette Cameo, Portrait or Curio
Digital files - I used the Baby Postage Stamp files by Tanya Batrak  (#156139, #156133, #156136)

Part 1 - Construction and Ingredients

Part 2 - Step-by-step tutorials


I hope you have much fun making them as I do!