Thursday, May 18, 2017

Sparkle & Shine - Two More Cards


Today is almost the last day for Online Card Classes' "Sparkle & Shine" class. :( I must admit, I was hesitant when I first heard about this class to sign up. How much can one possibly do with glitter & foil? Well, after having learned my lesson when I didn't sign up for the "live" version of their "Heat Wave" class (which I later regretted), I went ahead & registered. And Jennifer, Kristina, & their guest artist instructors did not disappoint! I have learned quite a few new techniques, and some tips that improved my experience with foiling. If you ever want to have a great class experience, which is not too costly, head on over there!

For my first card, I used the "Hi" die from Winnie & Walter, along with a supporting greeting from Hero Arts' "You're a Rainbow" stamp set (discontinued). To create my background, I "inked" up the "Capture Prism" stamp (discontinued), also from Hero Arts, with leafing glue, and stamped on my cardstock panel. I foiled that with Heidi Swapp Gunmetal foil. The results were a bit "sketchier" that I'd really expected, but I kind of like the look. (You can see what I did with the remainder of that foil piece on my next card below.)

I die cut the "hi" from black cardstock, and from blue shimmer cardstock. I also heat embossed the supporting greeting with Ranger Silver embossing powder on a strip of vellum. I wrapped one end of the strip around the right side of the "i," adhering it to the back with a little ATG tape, and adhered the other end under the left side of the "h."

After determining placement, I used Perfect Paper Adhesive to glue my blue "hi" to the foiled panel, and then glued the black one on top, slightly offset. I cut another piece of the blue shimmer cardstock into an "L" shape for my mat "layer." Finally, I adhered that to a white A2 card base, and mounted my foiled panel on top.


I created my background for my thank you card by foiling a sheet of homemade toner paper with the leftover foil from my "hi" card. I had heard about this technique before this class, but had never been sure about all the black toner showing through the "openings" in the foil. But when I saw Gina K demonstrate this in class, I decided to try it. And I must admit, I kind of like it! After foiling my toner paper, I trimmed it down to slightly smaller than 4x5.25".

I stamped the "Bee Balm" & "Hummingbird" images, both from Our Daily Bread Designs, onto a scrap of Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper, with Hero Arts Charcoal ink. I fussy-cut the flower (just in case I messed up the cutting, I wouldn't have to redo all the coloring), and colored both images with my Tombow Markers, blending the colors mainly with the markers themselves. I did use a water brush just a little on the pale grey parts of the bird's body. After I'd finished coloring, I used the coordinating die to cut out the hummingbird. Then I used Perfect Paper Adhesive to glue both the flower & bird to my background.

For the greeting, I applied Stick It adhesive to both sides of a piece of black craft foam. After running it through my die cut machine (without dies) to stick the adhesive firmly, I peeled off the release paper on one side and adhered my green cardstock to that. Then I ran it through my die cut machine again, with the Simon Says Stamp "Thanks" die. I popped the die cut out from the surrounding cardstock, and adhered it to my background, over the flower stem. Finally, I matted the foiled panel with purple cardstock, adhered it to a white A2 card base, and added some more sparkle with 2 coats of clear Wink of Stella on the hummingbird.

I'm entering my cards in the following challenges:

a2zScrapbooking's May Challenge: "Sentiment Focus" (1st card only)

Second card only:
Our Daily Bread Designs: "Just Say Thanks"
Simon Says Stamp Work It Wednesday: "April Showers Bring May Flowers"
Pile It on #130: "Animal"
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: "A Bit of Sparkle"

20 comments:

  1. Wow, love both of your cards! The foiling technique on the second card turned out amazing and I also love the colors of your flower and butterfly! Thanks for playing along with us at the ODBD Shining the Light Challenge!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nice cards Andrea! I am in the class too and I really like it. I kid of thought well I am not a sparkle and shine type but I love their classes. It is great as usual. I tried foiling for the first time in this class.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Andrea, your first card really got my attention. Well done! Thanks for joining in the fun at a2z.

    ReplyDelete
  4. So pretty! Love all that shine! Thanks for linking up with a2z!

    ReplyDelete
  5. WOW Andrea, these really ARE awesome cards! Love the shine on them, just beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I like the modern look and feel. So glad you joined us at Z2Z.

    ReplyDelete
  7. these turned out great, glad you entered at a2z! I wasn't sure there would be enough content for this class but I think you've convinced me :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great job of making the sentiment the focus. Love the shine. Thanks for joining us at a2z Scrapbooking.

    sue

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a beautiful card, and design, Andrea! I love the vibrant coloring of the bee balm against the black and white. Thanks for joining the challenge at ODBD!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Love both of your cards, the second card really fits the challenge. Thanks for playing along with a2z Scrapbooking.

    ReplyDelete

I love to hear your thoughts on my work, so feel free to speak your mind!