Friday, April 24, 2009

This is Friday...I think!

I have to rant. I absolutely! positively! withoutadoubt! HATE dialup internet access. That said, I'm glad I have a laptop so I can at least drive to a library to access the internet using their free wi-fi service. Still, it's so very, very inconvenient. I live in a part of West Virginia where cell phone service is very poor (only one bar) and both Verizon, AT&T and Sprint all have told us we cannot use their internet doohickey thing on our laptop. And don't even get me started on satellite access - what's the sense of that when you have to pay exorbitant prices to get it!!! Still, my DH and I both know that moving just for the sake of internet accessibility is not an option. So, I'll deal with the driving to the library. At least it's only 5 miles from my house. Oh, yaay. Thanks for letting me rant.

Anyway, I do have a technique I want to share with you today. It's called "Faux Diamond Dust" and it is a pure sparkler, especially with the holidays. I LOVE the Christmas holiday and I'm going to show this technique with a holiday card I created several Christmases ago.I scanned this picture in this morning and was not completely happy with the result, but here goes.

Create a card using any cardstock (I used Night of Navy, Whisper White and Bordering Blue). Stamp a focal point on your Bordering Blue cardstock and color the image if necessary. Cover the entire surface of your stamped and colored Bordering Blue cardstock with a Versamark pad using the Direct-To-Paper method. Once you cover the entire surface, sprinkle Heat and Stick powder over the surface. Be liberal here. Use a heat gun to melt the powder (be careful and don't burn the powder). Immediately sprinkle Diamond Dust glitter on top of the powder. Shake off the excess and reheat to set. Mat the completed Bordering Blue with Night of Navy; mat that with Whispering White and then mount this to your card. Pretty, isn't it!! This is the card I learned to use the heat and stick powder and DTP methods. I love the card so much that I made it my holiday card for that year! The lesson is to use the H&S powder liberally and take care not to burn the powder. If it's burned, believe me, you might as well start all over - yeah, I learned that one the hard way. Try it (not the burning part!)! I'd love to see your creations!

Tip of the Day:
Those little Gerber baby food containers are the perfect size for storing your buttons, brads, small diecuts, glitter dust, and embossing powder. So, if you don't have a baby in the house, find someone who does!

Thanks for stopping by!
Mel

12 comments:

  1. Well, your card is much purtier than mine! I must try this, I looooooove glitter! And, my card was using Snow Swirled, which is still available! If it's not in big catty, it's dormant. I think you are thinking of Scandinavian Season, which was in the mini :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very nice. I love your tips and I have access to those... in case anyone is looking!

    ReplyDelete
  3. More baby food containers are headed your way, if you're interested.

    Maybe you can give me a one-on-one demo of the heat and stick powder next time we're together.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is beautiful and thanks for the tip!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Very pretty! I love that technique and have NEVER tried it, perhaps you have inspired me. And on your RANT, I totally agree I had dialup for the longest time and finally decided I couldn't take it anymore so now have DSL, it was just a budget issue with me, not that it wasn't available. Now if I am forced to use dialup somewhere I want to pull my hair out. So I feel your pain, but you are right to move for internet service would be........well, crazy!! :)
    Diane

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wow - your card is gorgeous! I love the look - and the extra white touches.

    Totally understand about dial-up. Fortunately, we have access to pretty good high speed (and it's a pretty nice price). But when you have to go back, it's torture! (Oh, we're so spoiled!)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Stunning! Thanks for the idea. And I totally agree about baby food containers. I'm bummed my kids don't use them anymore, but I hit up all the other preschool moms!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Funny I was just looking at that set. Thinking of Christmas already. Gorgeous card.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Beautiful card Mel...love how you did it.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Pretty pretty card! I don't know if you know but you can achieve virtually the same look with SU!'s Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder. Then you only have 1 step and the glitter is really really stuck! Thought I'd share!

    ReplyDelete
  11. This card is beautiful. Love the blues..course that's my fav color!

    ReplyDelete