Give them a gold star

Hi! It's Candy with a creative twist on a gift tag.

I started with the Star Bezel. Made from bookboard, this star is lightweight, but super strong.

First, I went around the edge of the bezel with Metallic Silver 3D Enamel Gel.

 Then, I filled in the center with Metallic Gold 3D Enamel Gel.

Using a pen, I dragged the silver into the gold. Be careful to wipe off the pen each time you drag it so your colors don't blend too much.

 When dry, it looks like this.

 Then, I added a coat of Instant UV Resin and cured it under a UV light, so it looked like this.

Next, I stamped on the top with StazOn ink. StazOn is made to stamp cleanly on the shiny surface of the resin. I coated it with another coat of resin and put it under the light again.

Then I added a couple of butterfly stickers and another layer of resin to get this result:

By coating the piece with Instant UV Resin in between each step, the butterflies seem to fly above the background.

Now it is ready for a ribbon or twine to attach it to a gift package, a vase or a card front.

For more ideas using Globecraft & Piccolo products, visit my blog.

Colorful hummingbirds mark the page

How do you make a bookmark hum? You cover it with hummingbird stickers!

Hi, it's Candy and I'm back to share another project with you. This time I decided to create an elegant bookmark.

Candy Spiegel
Candy Scraps

I started with a simple bookboard oval bezel from Globecraft & Piccolo. Since I planned to coat this bezel with 3D Enamel Gels, which can be a bit transparent, I coated the entire bezel, including the edges, with gesso.

On the front side, I piled the gesso up a bit to create some texture.

Once that was completely dry, I added the 3D Enamel Gels.

I used Leafy Green, Blue Pearl and Cobalt Turquoise. I put them on my non-stick craft sheet and then used a paint brush to mix and apply them.

I used a heat gun to dry the gels until they were tacky to the touch and then coated them with a layer of Instant UV Resin.

When the resin is applied before the gels are entirely dry, it moves them around a bit and creates a beautiful marbled look while curing. I stuck it under the UV Lamp for 3 minutes to cure. (Normally, when layering resin, you only need to cure for 1 minute between layers and 3 minutes at the end. However, since I was using stickers, which block the UV light, I cured it for the full 3 minutes the first time.)

Next, I applied the stickers from Paper House and then another layer of resin, followed by another 3 minutes under the UV Lamp.

On the backside, I used Glossy Glastique to apply Pure Sparkle Silver Glitter to the edges. Once dry, I brushed off the excess glitter and applied a final coat of resin, followed by a final 3 minutes in the UV Lamp.

On the front side, I applied a final layer of resin and then sprinkled just a touch of Pure Sparkle Silver Glitter to the piece. Then I put it under the UV Lamp for a final 3 minutes.

Finally, I added a long ribbon from my stash to mark the pages in the book.

I love the movement of the color. It is so pretty!

Be sure to visit my blog to see more of my creations.

Tip: Enhancing your papers

Hi, it's Candy and I have a new tip for you today ...

Did you know you can use Instant UV Resin and Glastique Gloss to add dimensional shine to your paper?

It is extremely easy ... you just select the area you want to be raised and shiny and apply the product of your choice directly from the bottle. If you use Glastique Gloss, you will need to set it aside to dry.

Candy Spiegel
Candy Scraps

If you use Instant UV Resin, you will need to sit it in a sunny window or under a UV lamp for 3 minutes to let it cure.

The UV Resin will provide a slightly higher and glossier image than the Glastique, as you can tell from the photo above.

You will notice that the area with just UV Resin appears darker than the rest of the eggs on this paper. Apparently, when you apply UV Resin to a porous surface, like paper, it soaks in a bit as it cures. It actually makes the paper transparent (as you can see from the photo below when I held it in front of the window) ... so whatever is underneath, in this case my desk, alters the color of the paper.

That may be a really cool technique for some projects, but for this one I wanted to keep the eggs the color they were. So, applied a very light coat of Glastique Gloss with my finger and let it dry. This only takes a minute because the Glastique was so thin. Then I coated it with the UV Resin for the perfect little chicken eggs.

Bricks, Burlap and Metal

Hi! Candy here to share another scrapbook layout made with Globecraft & Piccolo products.

Candy Spiegel
Candy Scraps

This is a smaller layout, 8x8, that I created with some photos I downloaded from Facebook of my son overseas. He is in the U.S. Navy, but he is attached to a Marine unit that has been traveling and practicing in Japan, Korea and other places in Asia. I have no idea where these photos were taken or who is in them, but since my son is one of the soldiers, I wanted to scrapbook it.

I started with a piece of woodgrain paper from Bo Bunny and a brick stencil from Wendy Vecchi.

I taped the edges of the stencil to my desk and, using the Piccolo Enamel Powder Adhesive, dabbed the adhesive into the stencil's openings. Then removed the stencil and sprinkled the paper with Real Rust Embossing Powder. I heated it just until it started to melt, so it would stay rough like brick.

That done, I decided to make embossed metal paper. I wasn't sure if it would work, but it did and I love it!

To start, I applied two layers of Platinum Embossing Powder to a piece of cardstock.

Then I put it inside of an embossing folder and ran it through my Big Shot to create this:

I wanted to add a bit more contrast, so I put a dab of Mars Black 3D Enamel Gel on my finger and wiped it over the embossed area.

Doesn't it make a huge difference? And it dries almost instantly.

For the title, I used some chipboard letters from Maya Road and coated them in two coats of  Real Rust Embossing Powder to help bring down the brick color into the rest of the design.

Then I coated some Piccolo Vintage Gears Embellishment Set and new star-shaped buttons (not available online yet) in Vintage Gold and Platinum embossing powders. Notice how different the Platinum gear looks from the Platinum background. That little bit of Mars Black makes a HUGE difference.

Here's the final page again ... 

Visit my blog for more ideas on using Globecraft & Piccolo products!

Pretty Parshallville

Hi! It's Candy and I am back to share another post for Globecraft & Piccolo.

The design team is starting a new concept this month with challenge pages. For June, we were asked to create a 12x12 scrapbook layout using a stencil or stamp with embossing powders. I was excited to give it a try ...

I used some old paper from We R Memory Keepers on this layout.

I started with a piece of photo paper that had lots of circles cut out of it (it was saved from the circular file by a friend) as my stencil. A plastic stencil would work the same.

I taped the edges off of the paper to help hold it in place and then covered the area I wanted to use with Piccolo Embossing Powder Adhesive. 

Then, I removed the stencil and applied Vintage Copper Embossing Powder.

Once that was done, I did the other corner so it looked like this ...

Next, I added some stamped images with Black Soot Distress Ink ...

Then, I added the photos, title and embellishments.

For the journaling block, I used the Square Tag Bezel and coated it with Vintage Copper Embossing Powder. I wanted to show you what a difference multiple coats of embossing powder makes. Here is the tag with one coat of powder ...

And after the second coat ...

And after the third coat ...

Notice how much more depth it has ... in addition to being smoother and completely covered. At this point, it really does look like metal, but it has the weight of bookboard. Cool, eh!

You can write on top of these embossing powders if you use a pen made for photos or slick surfaces. I used the Zig Photo Writer.

Here is the completed page ...

Visit my blog for more tips and ideas using Globecraft & Piccolo products.

Canned Chicken

Hi! It's Candy back to share a scrapbook layout with you.

With Globecraft & Piccolo products, it is easy to add the look of metal to your scrapbook pages without the bulk or the weight.

Candy Spiegel
Candy Scraps

Supplies:

• Vintage Silver Embossing Powder
• Real Rust Embossing Powder
• Vintage Gold Embossing Powder
• Enamel Powder Adhesive
• Heat Gun
• Piccolo Embossing Powder Adhesive
• Grungeboard letters
• Tattered Florals Die
• Wooden Buttons
• Embossing Folders
• Cardstock - American Crafts
• Papers - Graphic 45
• Brads
• Twine

On this page, I used pre-cut Grungeboard letters by Tim Holtz and covered them with Vintage Silver embossing powder.

Then, I created my own metal flowers out of cardstock.

First, I die cut the Tattered Flowers by Tim Holtz die using American Crafts Cardstock. Then, I used an embossing folder to add texture to the flowers. Finally, I added Real Rust, Vintage Silver and Vintage Gold embossing powders to the flowers. 

I used brads to attach them. You can also bend them slightly to provide a bit of dimension, but be careful not to bend too far or the powder will crack. (If that happens, just reheat the flower and you can make the crack vanish.)

I also covered plain wooden buttons in Real Rust Embossing Powder and added a bit of twine for a finishing touch. You can see how I did that, here.

For a tip on storing your embossing powders, visit my blog.