Technique Thursday: Liquid Pearls

Time completely got away from me this week … I pulled something in my back, spent time with my daughter, helped out at Capture A Memory, taught a class, wrote a few articles for Michigan Scrapbooker magazine, planted flowers, and helped my husband build a chicken coop for meat chickens and a couple of turkeys. I have to pause here and show you the turkeys because they are so cute …

They remind me of little ostriches.

This is the little turkey showing off and declaring dominance against my husband. He never does it to me, but every time my husband comes by, those feathers come out and he struts about. Hilarious!

Needless to say, there has not been a lot of time for crafting projects that could be placed online. So, I have decided to give in and let Father Time have this past week and I will start fresh this week with an early peek at Technique Thursday — LIQUID PEARLS.

Liquid Pearls are made by Ranger and they come in a little bottle like Stickles. They are a dimensional paint with a pearl finish and are a great economical way to make pearl gems on a page. They can be used on just about any surface, including fabric.

Here is a bottle I altered … it was from IKEA and was filled with some sort of berry juice my husband loves. I liked the shape, so I kept it. I attached an image from Crafty Secrets and then created a design around the bottle with dots of Liquid Pearls. I let it dry between sections so I wouldn’t accidentally ruin something I had already finished (trust me, I do this a lot and it is not pretty). Then, I added a few flowers from KaiserCraft and Prima to finish it off.

Here’s a close-up of the pattern at the bottom …

The lid had a code on it, so I used Liquid Pearls and a paint brush to make a rippled effect on the cap …

Next, I made this card with Basic Grey paper, flowers from KaiserCraft, and a Tim Holtz Die Cut flower.

I love using Liquid Pearls as flower centers.

For the giant center flower, I painted a thin coat of Liquid Pearls onto the cardstock die cut. When dry, I traced the edge with another color and added a bunch of dots to make the flower center.

You can also use Liquid Pearls on fabric …

This is just a piece of muslin. I used a paintbrush to apply Liquid Pearls to a rubber stamp and stamped the flowers on the fabric. Then, I added flower centers, leaves and a little pattern with different colors of Liquid Pearls. Imagine how cute something like this could be on the pocket of an apron or at the top of a baby’s onesie!?!

Come into Capture A Memory on Thursday from 2-6 p.m. and try out Liquid Pearls for yourself.  I know you will love them.

By the way, Capture A Memory is hiring, so if you are looking for a part-time job in the scrapbooking industry, or you know someone who is, please have them call or stop by.

Copic Distressed

This week’s challenge at iCopic is to create a vintage or distressed look with Copic markers.

I used papers from Tim Holtz and stamps from Crafty Secrets Clear Art Stamps to make this: (click on the image for a larger view)

The secret to achieving a vintage look with Copics, which are known for their bright and intense colors, is to start with muted tones. Look for colors that have a lot of brown or gray in them, rather than the ones that are bright and clear.

Since I am a heavy-handed colorer, I also color these images backward — I start with a dark outline, then a mid-tone and finally cover the entire thing with the lightest shade.

When dry, I go over each portion quickly with a warm gray several shades lighter than the colors I used. This helps to tone it down a bit more without altering the shading.

Here are the colors I used on this one:

After I cut out the image, I used Distress Ink around the edges to prevent a white line and help it blend better with the background paper.

Fairy Magic

I decided to try my hand at one of the newer trends in cardmaking: 3×3 cards.

And, since the new challenge at the CMC Copic Challenge Group is winged things, I thought a tiny fairy would be perfect on a mini card. Here’s what I did:

The card is made with cardstock from American Crafts. The patterned paper is from Tim Holtz.

All four stamps are from Crafty Secrets — the fairy is attached with dimensional foam.

I colored the images in with Copic markers and added a few Liquid Pearl dots to the corners.

But, since fairies, in my mind, should sparkle, I added Distress Stickles to her hair, Stickles to her wings and Copic’s At You Spica pen to her dress.

She’s so cute, I just want to pick her up and hug her!

This one’s for the birds

This is one of those you must see in person. Somehow the depth, warmth and softness of the vellum falls apart in the photo, but here it is …

I made this 5×7 card from navy blue cardstock. I added a piece of white cardstock slightly smaller than the blue and then covered it in a piece of vellum from Webster’s Pages. I cut an additional piece of vellum from another portion of the same sheet and added it to the top left. The effect is soft and warm and really, really beautiful.

Next, I added a piece of ribbon from Making Memories. Then, I stamped the bird and nest (from the Crafty Secrets) using Memento Ink onto X-Press It Blending Card and colored with Copic Markers. I cut them out, inked the edges in Walnut Distress Ink and then attached them with dimensional foam. I then stamped the saying with Staz-On.

It’s a perfect birthday card, don’t you think?

Happy Father’s Day

For Father’s Day, I wanted to do something a little different. So, like I do with many of my projects, I combined products from several different companies to come up with a unique Father’s Day “Card.”

I started with the Lifestyle Crafts Folder with Insert die. I used Real Wood Paper by Creative Imaginations to keep it masculine. I folded on the scored lines and added a bit of Distress Ink to the edges. Then, I used Memory Book Glue Dots to adhere the pieces together, making a little folder with pockets. Memory Book Glue Dots are perfect for this project because they are so thin, you don’t even notice they are there.

Next, I stamped the image (Crafty Secrets) on Cryogen paper, using Memento Ink and colored it with Copic Markers. I used Memory Book Glue Dots to adhere it to a piece of cardstock and then to adhere that to the cover.

I added Robin’s Nest Dew Drops with Micro Glue Dots. They fit perfectly and hold great.

Inside, I handcut a cardstock liner to serve as the background and added a cardstock label (part of the die set). Then, I tied some May Arts string to the charm (My Mind’s Eye) and adhered it to the label with Craft Glue Dots.

Then, I added a few pages (again, part of the die set) where messages and photos can be added. They can be tucked into the folders.

Finally, I adhered a photo to the folder with Memory Glue Dots.

I love the way it turned out!

Return to Christmas

OK … Back to Christmas …

After a few years of making gifts for loved ones, it becomes challenging to come up with new ideas. So, this year I tried something completely different and came up with this for my sister-in-law (who, hopefully, doesn’t read my blog).

While this technique certainly isn’t new, it is the first time I have tried it. I suppose it was fear that kept me away before. Now that I know how easy it is, I’m guessing I’ll be doing quite a bit of candle decor!

I started with a simple green, scented pillar candle.

I stamped images (Vintage Christmas Clear Art Stamps from Crafty Secrets) and stamped them onto leftover tissue paper with black ink.

I then cut out the images as close as I could get to the edges without cutting them.

Next, I laid the image on the candle and carefully heated it with a heat gun (Ranger’s is my favorite).

This is where the magic begins! You will want to heat it until the wax gets shiny and then let it cool. Keep heating and cooling until the tissue paper vanishes and it looks like you stamped directly onto the candle. I used the back of a plastic spoon to help push the tissue paper into the wax during this process.

It is really that simple. But, it is also addictive, so don’t say I didn’t warn you!