Another Super Fun Bokeh Card | ft. Lawn Fawn "Let's Bokeh" and Distress Oxide Ink

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

Originally I wasn't going to post this one, because it is very similar to the card I posted recently. But I felt that it was different enough that it warranted its own post. Also I really like this one so I wanted to share it as well.

For this card, I created the Bokeh strip the same way I did for the other cards, just cut it down differently. I set that aside to dry and placed two strips of 1/8" Skor tape directly on the front of my standard A2 sized card base.

I used some silver Nuvo Gilding flakes to add some seriously shiny accent strips. I then stamped the greeting from Lawn Fawn using both the Mermaid Lagoon Distress Oxide ink and Memento Tuxedo Black.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar, over on Facebook and on YouTube! Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Gilded Butterfly Encouragement Card | ft. Urban Stamps, Nuvo Gilding Flakes and Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

A while back I created a gilded butterfly card (which you can see here), I loved the card so much that I decided to create a tutorial video to go along with it.

The card today is a little different, as it is a 9"x 4" card. It fits nicely in a legal size envelope so it won't require additional postage; and that is always a good thing!

Or you can watch in HD over on YouTube!

The images are stamped with VersaMark ink on Bristol Smooth paper, then embossed with Ranger's Sticky Embossing Powder. The gilding flakes I used are the Radiant Gold Gilding Flakes by Nuvo. Please watch the video above for the full tutorial on how I created this card. And see just how crazy these flakes are. I'll be cleaning up these flakes for days. LOL they are everywhere!

In real life, the butterflies are super shimmery, unfortunately it doesn't really pick it up all that well on camera.

I don't often finish the insides of my cards, or if I do they are an after thought depending on who I am giving them to. But here is a shot of the inside that has been embossed with gold embossing powder. 

I hope you like today's card (and video!) and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar, over on Facebook and now on YouTube! Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Elegant Encouragement | ft. Technique Tuesday "Butterflies", Prismacolor Pencils and Nuvo Gilding Flakes

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

In case you haven't noticed, I am loving these butterflies from Technique Tuesday. It's kind of funny, I bought them a couple years ago and never touched them. I really only got them because they were on sale as the store was closing down, and thought "hey, these are okay ... but the price is amazing!"

It's a single rubber stamp with three butterflies. It wasn't until last week that it occurred to me to cut them apart - which is weird because I cut a lot of stamps apart. Like a lot. Since then, they've been on my desk - which is also weird because I'm crazy OCD about cleaning up between projects.

To begin, I prepped a piece of 65lb black cardstock from Recollections with my powder tool and stamped the small and medium butterfly with VersaMark ink and heat embossed with Sticky embossing powder by Ranger.

I've found that the trick to using sticky embossing powder is to remove the heat as soon as the powder is melted. I get the heat gun good and hot before bringing it to my paper and remove the heat as soon as the powder melts, if I keep the heat on the powder too long it seems to cook and not be sticky; that just defeats the point.

Once all the powder was melted I used Nuvo Gilding Flakes in copper over the sticky lines, pressing down firmly with my finger then burnishing the rest away with a stiff brush. I do this over a piece of clean copy paper, so I can funnel the excess back into the container, all the while trying really hard not to breathe. These flakes are lighter than air and the smallest current sends them flying all over.

I then used my Prismacolor Premier pencils to colour the butterflies. I have done a bunch of cards using these pencils on kraft cardstock, but I think this is the first or second that I have ever done on black and again I am amazed at the vibrancy of the colours.

I started with just a dark and a medium purple, but then brought in a light purple to brighten it up a bit. After I was done, I felt they needed just a little something extra so I pulled in the aqua around the edges of the wings.

Finally, I decided it needed a greeting so I prepped the lower right corner with my powder tool again, and stamped the greeting from a Color Splash set with VersaMark ink and heat embossed it with Copper embossing powder by Recollections. I could have used the same gilding flakes, but was concerned about how small the font is in the first part of the greeting. Sometimes the gilding flakes don't all come away easily and I wanted it to be clear.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar or over on Facebook, so you don't miss any future posts. Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Twinkling Wishes | ft. Technique Tuesday "Butterflies" and Twinkling H2O Watercolours

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

Yesterday, I reviewed the Luminarte Twinkling H2O shimmering watercolour paints, and briefly showed a panel where I used them to colour butterflies. Today I want to share the completed card that I created for that review.

To begin, I prepped a piece of 110lb Copic-friendly cardstock with my powder tool and stamped the middle and smallest butterflies from Technique Tuesday using VersaMark ink, I then heat embossed them with sticky embossing powder by Ranger.

I have found that the trick to using the sticky embossing powder is to remove the heat as soon as it's melted. If you leave the heat on too long the embossing powder seems to cook and then it won't be sticky.

I then used Nuvo Gilding Flakes in gold to get the outlines of the butterflies.

I used my Distress sprayer to spritz water into my Luminarte Twinkling H2O pots to get them activated. With a light hand I added water to the wing then dropped in the darker colour near the base, and the lighter colour near the tips and blended them together.

I did one wing at a time, because I failed to use watercolour paper for this panel. Had I done more than one wing, the water would have just seeped in and then dried before the paint could be added and the blending wouldn't have been as awesome. I mentioned in the review post that it was very late when I decided to make this panel and honestly I just wasn't thinking. I definitely recommend watercolour paper for use with these paints.

Once all the butterflies were painted and dried, I prepped the lower right corner with my powder tool again and stamped the greeting from CTMH "Sending Smiles" with the VersaMark ink and heat embossed it with gold embossing powder.

I then covered the back of the panel completely with strong two-way tape and adhered it to the front of my standard A2 sized black card base. There was quite a bit of warping from the watercolouring, so even with the entire back covered in adhesive, I still had some lifting. Nothing too bad though. One more reason to use the right kind of paper with this medium.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar or over on Facebook, so you don't miss any future posts. Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Gilded Wings | ft Nuvo Gilding Flakes and Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

A little while back I did a review on the Nuvo Gilding Flakes and showed how you can gild an image and then colour it afterwards with Copic markers. Today, I have a card that uses this technique but instead of using Copics I used my Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers (which I also recently reviewed) to add the colour to the image.

To begin, I prepped a piece of Strathmore Bristol Smooth cardstock with my powder tool. I then stamped the small and medium butterflies from Urban Stamps "Butterflies" with VersaMark ink and then heat embossed them with Sticky Embossing Powder by Ranger.

I have found the trick to using the sticky embossing powder is to remove the heat from the paper as soon as it is melted. Get your heat gun good and hot before bringing it to the paper and remove it as soon as the powder melts. I discovered that if you allow the heat to stay after the powder melts it won't be sticky, it just cooks. And that defeats the purpose. It has taken me some practice, but I think I'm getting the hang of it.

Once the powder was melted I used the Radiant Gold gilding flakes, pressing them down with my finger, then burnishing them away with a stiff brush.

I then used 022 Carmine Red and 052 Bright Yellow Zig Markers to add the colour. These markers are fantastic on the Bristol paper. The smooth surface stops the colour from seeping into the paper and drying too quickly. For this card, I drew a thin line of the red at the base of the wing then a thicker line with the yellow and used my water brush to pull the colour out to the edges. You could also skip the water and use the lighter colour to pull the red out to the tips, but I wanted a softer watercolour look.

To finish off the card, I added the greeting from Stampendous "Happy Messages" with the gilding flakes as well, then mounted my panel on a top folding A2 sized black card base.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar or over on Facebook, so you don't miss any future posts. Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

If you hop over to my Facebook page, I currently have a poll going to see what you want to have reviewed this week. Voting closes December 14th 2017 at about 1:00pm MST, so if you want to vote click on over and do so!

Happy Holidays Series | Merry Christmas ft Nuvo Gilding Flakes

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

As you may have noticed, I'm a huge fan of the cute cards. I love the happy little critters that make people smile, but sometimes there's that person on your list that prefers something a little more elegant, and it's always fun to have a bit of variety in the cards.

A couple of months ago, I reviewed the Nuvo Gilding Flakes and thought that they would be perfect for a large greeting.

To begin, I prepped a piece of 65lb kraft cardstock by Recollections with my powder tool. I then stamped the large "Merry Christmas" greeting with VersaMark ink and heat embossed it with sticky embossing powder by Ranger. Once that was melted I added the silver gilding flakes, burnishing away the extras with a stiff brush.

I have found the trick to sticky embossing powder is to ensure that you don't overheat it. It has to just melt and then remove the heat. If it is overheated it won't be sticky and that defeats the purpose.

I used some extra boughs and a bow I had cut using Lawn Fawn's "Large Wreath" die set, but instead of forming a wreath I lay them out like the boughs that are put on mantle pieces.

To adhere the boughs and the bow I used Tombow Mono Multi glue to give myself a little time to position them perfectly before they set permanently.

Finally, I adhered my panel to the front of a standard A2 sized card base.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar or over on Facebook, so you don't miss any future posts. Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Technique Tip | Adding Gilding Flakes After Colouring an Image

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

For last week's product review, I discussed the Nuvo Gilding Flakes by Tonic Studios. In that post, I briefly touched on a fun technique where you add the flakes after you've coloured an image. I had promised a card using this technique but then I got sick and my daughter got sick and my other daughter got sick and frankly it was a whole sickly mess.

Today I have that card for you. I'd like to walk you through my process and discuss some of the things that I learned along the way.

There are a few things you're going to need:

• MISTI - I can't line up a stamp to save my life after it's been stamped. Even the clear ones, so the MISTI has become an invaluable tool. If you are able to do this with an acrylic block then I envy you.
• Heat embossing supplies - Powder Tool, Sticky Embossing powder by Ranger, Gilding Flakes and a stiff brush
• Swiffer or Duster cloth to catch all the stray flakes and dust
• Images to stamp and colour
• Colour Medium of your choice - I'm using Copics

To begin, I stamped these leaf images from Inkadinkado using Memento Tuxedo Black ink on 110lb Copic-friendly cardstock. I arranged these cling stamps in my MISTI so that after stamping I could turn the panel upside down and stamp the images a second time with without having to move them. I then coloured them with Copic markers.

After the images were coloured, I prepped the panel with my powder tool and returned it to the MISTI. I inked up the stamps using VersaMark ink and used Sticky Embossing powder by Ranger to cover the lines of the original stamping, and used my heat tool to melt the powder.

As you can see from the little leaf on the right, my stamp moved slightly and I despaired; I had originally thought to toss the panel and start over but then I thought that this would make an excellent practice piece - because you can never have too much practice when it comes to a new technique. Moreover, I'm a big fan of trying to save the card - so on I trudged.

The trick with this powder is to not over heat it. If you do the powder it will lose it's stickiness and defeat the purpose. This happens here too as you'll see in the next photo, but again - I trudged on.

I added my Sunkissed Copper flakes, patting them down with my finger to ensure they were sticking to the embossing, I then use the stiff brush (mine is from Faber-Castell, but you can use an round stiff brush) to burnish away the extra flakes.

Don't forget to breathe softly during this part. These flakes are light as air and one sigh will have flakes floating about your work space like metallic snow on a clear day.

Once the flakes had been swept away, I was left with this beautiful panel. The light is tricky in my craft room, but they really do shine.

On the right middle leaf you can really see how the stamp had misaligned and the gilding did not cover the original ink lines. You can also see on the same leaf how I had over heated the sticky powder and it no longer was sticky. Again, I thought to toss it. But all experiences are learning experiences in the craft room, and frankly I was very pleased with how the rest of the leaves turned out.

I used a finger dobber and sponged in Weathered Wood Distress ink to fill in the white space between my leaves. I prepped a piece of vellum and heat embossed my greeting using Copper Embossing powder by Recollections.

I added some glue drops behind the letters and wrapped the band around my panel. This mostly covered up the errors that I made on this card. As I looked at it, I actually liked that worn look that my errors had resulted in. To me, it created this rustic finish which worked for the card. If this were not a fall card I likely would have started new.

I mounted that to a piece of green cardstock and then adhered the whole lot to the front of a standard A2 sized card base.

Somethings I learned:

• Make sure your cling stamps are actually stuck to the MISTI door. That's what happened with the one leaf. It wasn't stuck properly and that's why it moved. Had it been a clear stamp, I could have lined it up more easily but as a cling I had to roll with it.
• I would have done one leaf at a time. Heat embossed, applied flakes then burnished them away and moved on to the next. I think the reason I over heated some areas was because I did the whole panel at once.
• It would totally have been possible to skip the initial stamping - just gilded from the beginning and then coloured the images in, but I was concerned about what the flakes would do to the tips of my markers. While I'm certain I would have been very careful, I find it best to play it safe - especially when it is a technique that I am not familiar with.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar or over on Facebook, so you don't miss out on any future posts. If you have any further information regarding this technique, please drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think. I would love to hear from you!

Product Review Series | Tonic Nuvo Gilding Flakes

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

I love the look of metallics on my cards; and since I can't seem to get the hang of foiling (no joke) I recently turned to gilding flakes. I've seen several videos about them but never gave them much thought until I wanted to have some shiny bits on my cards. So I thought I would give them a whirl.

Today, I'm going to be doing a fairly in depth product review with my experiences using the Nuvo Gilding Flakes by Tonic Studios. You may remember from last week that I did the Nuvo Embellishment Mousse review, well as it turns out they make way more things. And I gotta say I'm a fan of all that I've tried. So don't be surprised if you see more Nuvo products in the weeks to come.

This is going to be an extensive post, so maybe grab a drink and enjoy!

The gilding flakes come in a pretty big jar: 200ml or 6.8 fluid ounces. I'm thinking they have to measure this by volume because these things are lighter than air and I doubt there is a difference between a full tub and an empty one. The price is quite reasonable (I paid $11.75 CAD at my local scrapbook store in Calgary). They are also widely available online.

Nuvo has released three amazing colours: Silver Bullion, Radiant Gold and Sunkissed Copper, unfortunately they have not released any other colours. I've been looking for a teal and I have had zero luck.

I wanted to include a close up of the flakes. I'm not kidding there is nothing to them. They are the finest, softest, lightest things that I have ever worked with. And that has made this a steep learning curve. Luckily because of how little you need and how many are in a jar I don't really feel all the bad about a few that floated away. Literally.

There are a few other things that you are going to need, depending on what you plan on doing with them. For the purposes of this review I have applied them in a couple different ways and there's a super fun technique that I'm going to touch on at the end. You will need:

• Dry duster cloths. I'm showing the Swiffer brand here, but a box from the dollar store will work just as well. If you cut them in half, they last twice as long.
• A stiff brush - I'm using a stenciling brush that came in a set of Faber-Castell Gelatos. I cut the bristles down by about half so that it would be a bit stiffer.
• VersaMark ink and Sticky embossing powder by Ranger
• Strong two-way tape (not pictured) I used 1/8" Skor tape
• Glue Pen (not pictured) I used a Martha Stewart ballpoint-tip glue pen
• Scrap paper to protect your work surface

So this looks like a hot mess, right? Well, you're right. At this point it is. A messy mess, to be completely honest; but I'll walk you through it.

• For the top portion - I prepped the paper with my powder tool and stamped a pretty intricate snowflake using VersaMark ink. I then heat embossed that with Sticky Embossing Powder from Ranger. The trick here is to remove the heat as soon as the powder melts. You don't want to over-heat it or it won't be sticky any more. I then added the flakes.
• For the middle portion - I added a strip of 1/8" Skor tape across the piece, removed the backing paper and added the flakes
• For the middle portion - I used the glue pen, wrote a word and a little picture. And added the flakes. This one is a bit trickier - it has to be a glue that is permanent when wet but repositionable when dry. And when doing this, curb your enthusiasm because it really does need to dry. You'll see why down below.

Once the foil was covering the sticky stuff for all three sections, I use the stencil brush in an upright position and work in small circles with a light hand to brush away the flakes that are not attached to the glue. As you become more comfortable (which happens fast) you can apply more pressure.

**** Here's where it's messy. If you are one of those people that needs to breathe on a regular basis, do so with care. These flakes are incredibly light and with one sigh, they will go every where. I frequently found myself holding my breath - so maybe work in small batches.****

For each one, I did a different stamped image and drew a different little word. As you can see on the first and second (Copper and Gold) I was too enthusiastic and added flakes before my glue was ready for it. More so with the first but you can see it by the "S" in the second as well.

I chose to do these on black cardstock (65lb by Recollections) so you could really see the detail that you are able to achieve.

It then occurred to me, that I wouldn't just be using the flakes on my cards. I typically add something else to make the card interesting (at least I try). So here, I gilded the snowflake using the Silver Bullion, then I used Distress Ink to colour the background. I was super pleased to see that the flakes completely resisted the colour and more over weren't ruined by the rubbing of the sponge. So YAY!

Finally, as I was playing around I was thinking what other things I could do with them so I could get more out of my supplies. What crafter doesn't like that?

Using my MISTI I stamped this leaf with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on 110lb Copic-friendly cardstock, then coloured it with Copics.

I then put the paper back into the MISTI, prepped it with my powder tool and heat embossed the leaf, in the exact same position with the Sticky embossing powder by Ranger. I then used the Silver Bullion gilding flakes.

This would look absolutely stunning with more leaves in fall colours then gilded with the Sunkissed Copper or even the Radiant Gold. I can't wait to make a fall card like that. (Maybe you'll see one tomorrow.)

A couple of things to note:

• If you have respiratory problems, it may be in your best interest to used one of those dust masks - super inexpensive, you can get them in a dollar store or hardware store. These flakes are tiny and after you use the stencil brush to burnish them away those flakes become dust. Gross as it sounds you'll be blowing gilding flakes out of your nose. Trust me.
• Take your time. You know those sloths in the Zootopia movie, that work at the DMV? That is exactly how I feel when I'm working with these. Every movement seems so exaggerated and deliberate. But what's the alternative? A craft space filled with floating metallic flakes. No thank you.
• Don't feel bad if you can't get them all back in the tub. These seem to puff up a bit when the tub opens, so if you have to toss them. Do it. Otherwise you can always put them in a Ziploc sandwich/freezer bag to use the next time.

Overall, I am in love! Despite my angst over not being able to foil, this fills the gap for me for now. I would love to get more colours but apparently no one wants me to have shiny pretty things unless they are copper, silver or gold. Maybe one day, and on that day I will be the first in line to get new colours. I love love love these.

If you have not tried gilding flakes yet, I highly recommend them and I can say from personal experience that Nuvo makes some excellent ones. There will be cards to come - who doesn't like something shiny on their Christmas card? At such an accessible price point it would be a real shame to pass this up. There are lots of ways to use them. And if you're glue pen is fine enough you can even embellish some things that are already stamped or written out. Maybe even a colouring book page. Just for that something extra.

Thank you for sticking to the end, I hope you enjoyed today's review. If you haven't already please follow me on the right side bar or over on Facebook, so you don't miss any future posts or reviews. If you have any questions about today's review or have a suggestion for a future review, please drop me a line in the comments section below. I would love to hear from you.

*disclaimer: I am not sent products to review, nor am I paid to review them. I review/compare the products that I use, that I find interesting and that I have purchased with my very own money. I receive no reward or incentive to review a product. All reviews are based on my personal experience while using the product and are my opinion only.