Clean & Simple, Part 3: Glitter.

Recently I've featured simple cards that focused on one thing, layers and color, so I thought I would make it part of a series here on my blog. As time goes on, I'll be sharing a card or two that embodies one word that I like to use when crafting. This one features glitter as the main element. I started out feeling a little glittery, so the plan all along was to color in the butterflies and then go over them with stickles. I love putting glitter on things that are supposed to move; it just makes so much sense to me. Here's the card:

Clean, simple, and glittery fun. Here's a close-up of the top butterfly:

Yum! Here are some tips from this card about going over intricate images like these with opaque colored pencils.
1. Don't worry about covering up the details with colored pencil that gets to opaque.
2. After your done coloring, go back over the lines with a needle or paper piercing tool to lightly scratch off the excess pencil and bring out some of the detail again.
3. After applying the stickles, let the card dry with heavy things lying on top of the un-glittered areas. This will reduce warping. After a while (I usually leave it overnight), I put the car in between some wax paper and set books on top of it to ensure flatness.
4. Neutral-colored stickles like this one (Diamond) have different-colored glitter in them and can really give a different feeling to your card; make sure to choose one to accent the colors you already are working with. In this case, the gold flakes brought out a nice warm side of the card.

Supplies: Cardstock- Papertrey Ink, Stamps- Hero Arts (CL383- Antique Engravings) and Papertrey Ink (Sentiment- Butterfly Dreams), Colored Pencils- Prisma, Corner Rounder- WRMK, Ink- Tsukineko (Memento), Stickles- Ranger (Diamond).


In other news, I ordered a Big Shot this weekend from Amazon. I'm so excited to get it in the mail and start playing! I bought one of the sets of Spellbinders Circle Nestabilities because I think they are the most usable thing EVER for die cutting machines, and I can't wait to order some of the Papertrey Ink Embossing Plates. In Bloom, here I come! Please feel free to post links that you like for dies or tutorials on the big shot. I'd love to know as much as I can before the big arrival day comes. Ha. For those of you who are considering the Big Shot or the Cuttlebug, I thought I'd share the couple things that made me choose the Big Shot. Honestly, I think either one would be a good choice, and they're both in the same price range, but here's what swayed me:

1. Sturdiness. I love that the Cuttlebug can fold and is compact. That is a great feature for a college student like me who has very limited space for storage. However, there were some people on YouTube and on customer reviews that mention the Cuttlebug tipping over if not properly suctioned to the table. I like the idea of the bigger work bed with the Big Shot, so this was a plus for me. I'll just have to have some extra space to store it.
2. The multi-purpose platform. I just think it'll be nice to have the instructions written out on the platform in front of me. Either way, there's a learning curve with the sandwiches needed to use other types of dies, but I felt like this one would work best for me. A little less of a learning curve. :)
3. The slightly wider width. I honestly had no idea if this will even affect me and what I'll be cutting, but I figured having the extra half inch that the Big Shot boasts over the Cuttlebug is nice.

So that's why I went the way I did. There are many, many crafters out there that love both, so I don't think there really is a wrong choice here. I just thought I'd throw the list out to you in case you were on the fence like I was for... oh... two years.


Another thing: Shutterfly is having a sale of 20% off their photo books right now, no coupon needed. I'm making a point by Wednesday to make a book from my Australia pictures. It'll be nice to have something to show for my trip right away. (We all know how much I love quick and simple projects. Hehe.)

Thank you so much for stopping by today! I hope to have some more Australia pictures for you up first thing in the morning, so watch for those. Have a fantastic evening and get some crafting done!

Love.

Brit