Week 38

Final Variation (Front)

Final Variation (Back)

This week's card is the final glitter variation of the Happy Birthday Daisy card. As you can see, I kept the solid center daisy and used them alone or with a background. The one's without backgrounds were glued directly to the card stock. The ones with backgrounds were mounted using small glue dots for dimension.

I then changed the Happy Birthday salutation so that it took up less of the card and so more flowers would show through (as compared to the first variation--see below). I am not totally happy with the glitter which shows you what happens when you use a white background with jewel tone glitter. Also, this is what happens when you use a crappy glitter. The greeting was mounted using large glue dots.

The card stock is the Duplex combination of chartreuse and ivory.

Original Card (front)

Original Card (back)

First variation (Front)

First variation (Back)

I don't know which is my favorite card but I am leaning towards the original card. I have a lot of leftover materials from making these cards so I will have to determine what to do next.

Finally, I hope that you will follow along my 31 Days of Halloween journey. Everything starts tomorrow. I hope to see you then.

Glitter and Chinese Containers

Yesterday, I shared with you the above image about the flattened out Chinese Take Out Container. I immediately knew that I wanted to use these containers for some upcoming Halloween projects. I also wanted to try out a new product--Krylon K03807 Glitter Blast--Orange Burst (glitter spray paint).

I wanted to experiment with the flat surfaces of the container to see how they could be embellished for future projects. The first idea was to cut out peep holes on the two remaining flat sides of the container. All of the other side surfaces are either folded or adhered to each other. So the only true surfaces that can be altered are the slotted lids and the front and back flat side.

I decided to mark a cut out for each of these two surfaces on the interior of the box.

Parts of the Chinese Container

Flattened box with cutouts

I also wanted to see how the Krylon Glitter Spray worked. Unfortunately, the can that I tested stayed in the open position and would not stop spraying. Because of the overspray and my inability to stop the spray, I had puddles of product all over the spray area. Because the product puddled on the container, I had to use a blotting mechanism to remove the product from the Chinese container and remove extra paint.

Mess all over the place--
bad can of glitter paint

I reassembled the Chinese container and it was just as easy to reassemble as it was to flatten it. I was worried that the paint would affect the score/fold lines but I had no problem getting the box back together or adding the handle.

Top view of the reassembled box

I plan something special for these peep holes in a future project. The structure of the box was not compromised due to the cut outs. I plan on adding vellum and a stencil cutout and fill the container with a tea light.

Side view of the peep hole

I like the glitter paint but would have appreciated it if the can operated appropriately.

Glitter, Glitter Everywhere

As mentioned this past weekend, today's blog entry is dedicated to all things GLITTER. As many of you know, I have a love-hate relationship with glitter. I love the look of glitter but dealing with all of the mess associated with it is so problematic. Regardless of how hard I try, I can't seem to prevent the glitter from getting everywhere. So, what I wanted to do for you today was share with you some of the lessons that I learned from working with glitter.

Lesson #1--When you can use glitter paper/glitter card stock, you should. There is a whole lot of mess that you save yourself when using glitter paper/glitter card stock. Keep in mind, though, not all of the products are the same. There are separate thickness of each so try and get a hand feel of the material before buying. Also the backing materials can differ as well. Some of the materials use a paper backing (both a mat or glossy backing) and some use a film backing. Be sure to get the material that corresponds to your project. I prefer the glitter paper with a mat backing because it is much easier to cut.

Lesson #2--Not all loose glitter is the same. I prefer to use glass ultrafine glitter. I will do a separate post on glitters next week and compare them side by side.

Lesson #3--Use the right adhesive. There are special adhesives for gluing. Some people use a glue/lamination machine for their glitter adhesive. Some people use glue sheets (which is great for large pieces). I use 3M Spray Adhesive (strong bond--not repositionable). While it is best used in well ventilated spaces, I have never had any problems with the glue or fumes. Spray liberally and well and it accepts glitter beautifully.

Lesson #4--Attempt to reign in your glitter. The most annoying aspect about glitter is that it gets everywhere--regardless of how careful you. There are numerous products out there that try and help you corral the glitter and most of them are fairly useless. The difficulty of glitter is putting it back in its container once you have used it. It is fairly easy, if you are careful, to contain glitter in a small space while using it (and do NOT try to use glitter with a fan in the room). The problem arises when you try and move the excess glitter back into its container when you are done gluing. Usually, the glitter containers are so small that it is almost impossible to return the glitter to its container and this is when the glitter gets everywhere.

For example, a current product on the market is the Martha Stewart Craft Glitter Tray and Rack. While the product is useful as a glitter tray (especially when working on a large project) and is also very useful as a drying rack for three dimensional projects; it is much less useful in containing glitter as you try and return the glitter to its container. If you look in the bottom left hand corner of the tray, you see the exit hole of the tray. You are supposed to "sweep" all of the glitter into that corner with the brush and then pour the unused glitter back into its container (which in my case was about 1" in diameter). For me, it was a massive fail.

Martha Stewart Craft
Glitter Tray and Rack

To glitter my pieces for the last Iron Craft Challenge, I simply used wax paper that was then turned into a cone and poured the glitter back into its original container. While this felt more comfortable and an easier solution, there was still the chance that the glitter would escape the cone and get all over my work surface.

Lesson #5--There are two standard methods of applying glitter: submerging and spooning. In the first method, you simply pour the glitter from it's original container over the glued surface. This method increases the risk of wasting your glitter (especially if you lose glitter when trying to return it to its container). This method also increases the possibility of glitter getting everywhere. The second method is where you take a non plastic spoon and spoon loose glitter over the glued surface (while holding the glued material with a pair of tweezers). You then tap the glued material with the back of the spoon in order to loosen the excess glitter from the surface.

Lesson #6--Glitter is sharp. Protect any open wounds (even if they are paper cuts) from the glitter by wearing gloves. When you are done, you simply turn the gloves inside out as you remove them and it is another way to contain the glitter from getting all over the place.

Lesson #7--Baby Wipes are your best friend. If you have to clean up glitter from surfaces, wipe the area with Baby Wipes and most of your escaped glitter will be gone. There is something in the lanolin/soap in the Baby Wipes that collects the glitter.

Lesson #8--Contain your work space. Do not use your major/usual work space when working with glitter unless you want glitter to get into all of your projects--regardless of how careful you are. I work on a folding wooden TV tray when I glitter. This way, if I spill I will have a finite area to clean and hopefully it won't contaminate my other work surfaces. Since I work with paper so much, glitter can definitely be my Nemesis.

Lesson #9--Spray your finished, glitter project with Fixative. This will set the glitter so that it doesn't become loose through handling. Regardless of how hard you have worked, glitter never seems to be permanent on any surface once it has been handled. Give your project an extra chance by taking this step.

Lesson #10--When dealing with bright colors, you can hide the lack of glitter coverage by using a card stock that is similar in color to the glitter you are using. I prefer to just use black card stock to cover any errors that I might make in coverage. If you are using pale or pastel colors, either use a similar colored card stock or white/ivory.

Lesson #11--Most glitters come in weight containers (usually in ounces). While it might not seem like a lot, you will get a lot of glitter because it is very light. Don't over buy your glitter because a small container will go a long way.

Lesson #12--To solve my problem of returning glitter to those small containers, I have decided to purchase fast food storage containers in bulk to store my glitters. I purchase some interim containers from The Container Store to work out the process. The containers are roughly 4.5" wide by 5.5" in height and 1.75" in depth. I pour the glitters into the containers and will use the spoon method mentioned above to apply the glitter to my object. The container provides enough space to work with without fearing that the glitter will escape the area. When I am done, I will snap the lid shut and will store the entire container in a medium size storage container where all of the glitters will be kept in their own individual working containers.

If I have to work on larger pieces, I will work on wax paper and will use the glitter storage container as the pouring mechanism to immerse the larger piece to be glued. It will be a lot easier to use the paper to return the glitter to its new storage container.

I hope that you have learned some useful information about glittering and that something here will help you on your glittering journeys.

Coming This Week

When time allows, I will try and visit with you over the weekend to preview the coming week so you can plan your daily lives around my future postings. This is the first in the series and we will see how well it works.

For the weekly card, I will share with you the latest Birthday Card that I gave a great friend this past weekend. This was the prototype and I have already designed two separate variations that I will share with you in future weeks.

Another post will deal with the lessons I learned using glitter.

The final posting in Envelope Challenge (Envelope #5) will complete the series and I will share all of the envelopes side by side so you can compare them and see my doodle trends.

I will also share with you some of my inspiration for the upcoming Halloween season. It's not too early to start thinking about Halloween, is it?

Finally, I will have another book review for you.

I hope to see you this week--Russ

Iron Craft Challenge #18--Glittery and Shiny

The challenge for this version of Iron Craft was Shiny, Shiny. When I first read the challenge, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. In one of the first years of Iron Craft, Kat made Snowflake Gift Ornaments.  In one of her Advent Calendar challenges, she made glitter initials. I was waiting for just the right occasions to make a similar project.

The projects for this challenge were actually three separate projects because I wanted to play with some different materials. I have noted my aversion to glitter in previous posts because they are tiny living organisms that refuse to go away. Regardless on how careful you are, glitter get into everything in sight. I have found glitter on the bottom of my socks and the laundry service has actually found glitter in my underwear--which makes for pretty funny conversations when I go to pick up my laundry when it is done.

Mirror Snowflake

Project #1--Mirror Snowflake.
I have made snowflakes in three different sizes: small, medium and large. The largest snowflake was cut from mirror card stock. As mentioned yesterday, this card stock is made from a colored reflective film that is laminated on 35lb card stock. This card stock does not do well with curved cuts but does fine with the straight cuts of the snowflake. Since the back of the card stock is white, this would make a nice oversized gift tag. Here, I have attached the snowflake on a plainly wrapped gift box that has been wrapped in non-decorated silver wrapping paper. The only limitation of this effect is the limited colors of the card stock. Unfortunately, the picture does not show the reflective nature of the card stock.

Glitter Initial

Project #2--Glitter Initials
For this project, I cut out a very large version of an initial out of glitter paper. The paper is easy to cut--although it is easier to cut on the reverse side (therefore, the initial has to be reversed when cutting). There are a variety of nice glitter papers out there and I just happened to get mine on sale from Target. The only negative about this project is that this paper is not card stock. Because of the thin nature of the paper, I decided to glue the glitter initial directly to the wrapping paper.

Glitter Snowflakes

Project #3--Glitter Snowflakes
This was the original intent of the challenge all along but since I am already preparing for the holidays, I decided to experiment with materials and get practice done while preparing for the Iron Craft Challenge. These are the medium and small versions of the snowflake in Project #1. Here I have used ultra-fine glass glitter to cover the ornaments. For illustrative purposes, I decided to simply use Christmas red and Kelly green for this project. Here the snowflakes are attached to the wrapped box with baker's twine. The base of the snowflake is made from 35 lb black card stock. I used spray adhesive to set the glitter. Once dry, I spray the glitter snowflakes with fixative to prevent the glitter from getting loose. If you use a metallic pen, you can use these as gift tags or in this case, use them as ornaments.

In a future post, I will share with you lessons learned from my glittering attempts and products that I used to get these beautiful snowflakes.