New Tree & Glitter

Here's another sneak preview of a new tree we're releasing soon! I've been a "want to be glitter person" but haven't jumped into it because I wasn't sure about adhesive, etc. I've used the Quickie Glue pen for small areas and it's great because it really does allow you to get into small areas. So I jumped into this one and glittered the whole tree, not without some mistakes, but I think I have it figured out.

I used US Artquest matte finish PPA (perfect paper adhesive) brushing it on to cover the entire surface that I wanted to glitter. You then just pour your glitter on and tap off excess. If it's a large area, it's probably best to do it in sections. My big mistake discovery was not putting on a really good layer of adhesive. Without a heavy coat of glue, the glitter has a tendency to run off leaving a very messy look. I do love all the glitter look! I used a microfine glitter we carry and sell. I really like the microfine as opposed to the larger crystals, but the color choice is limited.

One more little thing, a coating of the PPA over the glitter gives a really nice look, less glittery, but really nice. A coating of crystal lacquer gives a shiny glitter look, neither is necessary however.

So long for now, back to summer fun, it's almost over!

Back from Stampaway USA 2010

We're back from Stampaway in Cincinnati, OH! It was a great show but a loooong drive for us. I didn't really have any time to look around for anything, our booth stayed pretty busy the whole day, which is great! There was a lot of interest in the Zentangle stuff! I highly recommend it, it's fun. We do have some great books on our site to get you going. Here are a few pictures of our booth at Stampaway.

Zentangle!

Ornament Toppers!

Make & Take!

Adirondack Acryllic Paint/Ornament Topper

Wow! I can't believe it's August already! I'm still playing with Posy Techniques but I had to stop and play with some NEW Ornament Topper stamps coming out in the next week or two. Here's a sneak peak at our New Jewel Topper. This topper was designed to decorate with Swarovski Crystals, which looks blingy and dynamite! I wanted to try to use less crystals without loosing the great look, so I tried Adirondack Acrylic Paint by Ranger. It comes in 12 colors, which I'm sure we'll have to carry now! I chose Wild Plum for its vibrant, pretty color. These paints create a pearled look that goes well with this Topper.

The tip of the container has a needle nose tip so it's easy to squeeze and fill in the circles, creating a dimensional look and holding it's shape when it dries.

Another good alternative to crystals is this great technique using Glossy Accents. We demonstrate it online to make flower centers, but it would work well with this Ornament Topper. Follow the steps for 3 - 5.

Posy Centers & my Cuttlebug

I wanted to share some Posy Centers/Cuttlebug ideas. These centers can give your Posies a bold, funky look. All these Posy petals are made with US Artquest Artist's Cement... a whole new look, but I'll talk about that more in a future post!

Stamps Used: Wavy Posy Med (E-1027), Wavy Posy Lg (G-1026), Posy Leaf 1 (F-1045), Posy Leaf 2 (E-1046)

For these centers, I ran the brown cardstock through The Cuddlebug and then bleached the the dots out with household bleach. This particular paper bleached to a nice yellow, but all paper bleaches differently, so test your papers out first. For more info on Outlines' Bleaching Technique, visit our step-by-step instructions on Bleaching.

Stamps Used: Oval Posy Sm (D-1024), Oval Posy Med (E-1023), Oval Posy Lg (G-1022), Oval Posy XLg (H-1021), Posy Leaf 1 (F-1045)

The 3 centers you see here were made from Cuddlebug embossed sheets. The base sheet is a color I choose that I thought would be appropriate for the centers, I then embossed with the Cuddlebug patterns. I punched a center out using a 1" round punch and added color to the embossed parts of the centers.

Stamps Used: Pointed Posy Med (E-1043), Pointed Posy Lg (G-1042), Pointed Posy XLg (H-1041), Posy Leaf 2 (E-1046)

Posies & my Cuddlebug

I ran these 3 different size Round Posies through the Cuttlebug, these are the only ones I played with so far, but I think it has potential. I'm not really happy with the gold glitter trim however.
Stamps Used: Round Posy XLg (H-1037), Round Posy Lg (G-1038), Round Posy Med (E-1039), Posy Leaf 2 (E-1046), Script Thinking of You (C-1051)