Prills Come in Luscious Colors!

What are Prills?  Prills are highly pigmented beads of color that one can create wonderful art with!  Whether you do a whole art piece with Prills or you use them to add dimension and texture as accents, Prills are the distant cousin to mica flakes.

I am currently working on some detailed projects with Prills, so in the meantime, here is a Prilly Fun Project for children.  A child’s enrichment is so very important to develop them to be well-rounded adults.  Fine and gross motor skills, spatial relationships, self-esteem, and problem solving, are just a few skills a child gains through art.  While art programs are being cut, it is important to give children art experiences because they feel good and develop the above skills.

I have taught over 18 years at an area college both adult and children art, and also felt it import to volunteer in the Girl Scouts, my children’s school, and the library.  My children are now pretty much grown up but still want to give to any child especially in this fun way.

USAQ Supplies:

Prills – Various Colors

PPA – Matte

Little Dipper Scoops

Studio Cups

Prills are Fun for Children to Create Art With

1.  Use a stain glass blank  as the base for this project.  I  have used an awl, but a toothpick works fine with children.  Squeeze PPA into the wells of the stain glass blank.  In the small areas, squeeze the PPA in a Studio Cup and use the toothpick to pick up a little of the adhesive and put in the small areas.  NOTE:  Put the PPA in each color area one at a time so each separate color doesn’t mix together.

2.  Use the scoop and your fingers to add colors to fill the wells of the stain glass blank.  Use the awl to push any stray Prills into place.  Extra Prills can go back into the bottle.  I have some Prills that mixed up on my scrap paper, so I just poured them in an empty container to use when I want the colors mixed up.

3.  Once you have filled each stain glass well and let dried, I squirt a little more PPA on top of the finished piece.  This will secure all the Prills further as children are pretty rough on their things!  Once that all dries, it can be hung in a window with a suction cup with a hook, or hooked onto the child’s backpack.

Prills Easy For Children to Art With

Be watching for some special happenings in March!  I will be posting some more Prill Projects with detai work – great spring ideas.

Until next time, enjoy the wonderful projects by my other artist team members – Love Them!!!

Cre8tivelea Yours – Lea

Today I would love to share with you my “Love in February” acrylic painting. And I will show you how you can recreate this painting too.

The first step is finding those perfect colors for your background. And paint away! I am not shy with my paint so I really layer it on and add a few colors into the mix for some added punch. And the perfect brushes - I used the 3/4 brush for this part of the project

While the paint is still wet – I took the Texture Tool and drug it thru the paint in several different areas. This will pull some of the natural background color. Set aside and let dry.

For an added touch I used the 3/4 brush and some Perfect Pigments in Mars Black and painted around the edges of the canvas. It is okay if you paint a little over the front. This gives it an antique/aged look.

Now take some 101 Heavy Artist’s Cement and a Palette Knife and mix together the Cement along with some Perfect Pigments in Wheat. Take the palette knife and the cement mix and add faux bricks on the canvas. Set aside to dry.

Now taking some black paint and the 1/2″ Snap brush…add the vines and leaves. Before the leaves get dry, I mixed together some PPA and Prills and painted on several of the leaves for some added dimension.

I hope you enjoyed today’s post and maybe learned a few new tricks with USArtQuest products.

Becky Thackston

About a month ago, I used a photo stamp for the first time – Senior Ladies 3 1/2″ x 4 3/4″ (#8671) from Viva Las Vegastamps! – and created a card. Every time I looked at the stamp I imagined more and more about the two ladies it shows, sitting outside, side-by-side….

…They’ve known each other for many, many years. Perhaps they even knew each other before they emigrated from England to the United States. They played games together, like cards and BINGO. They shared jewelry. They had keys to each other’s homes. Handmade lace doilies were on their coffee tables and the arms of their sofas. Every conversation of importance happened over a pot of tea. They went to church together. They gardened. They met each other in the park to feed seeds to birds. They took their first airplane ride together. They shared many memories. They’re best friends forever (BFF)…

I looked through all the odds and ends I’ve collected and started to pull pieces together to tell their story. The result is this assemblage. If you look closely, you’ll see the music for Jesus Calls, the definition of move taken from an old dictionary, a small bottle of bird seed, stamps of the Queen of England and the Statue of Liberty, an airplane propeller, lace, pearls, a button and more. Maybe you can even piece together your own story about these two characters from what you see.

Here’s how built this piece:

1. Paint an 8″x8″ Studio Flat Panel artist board with Wheat Perfect Pigments™ – Pure Liquid Acrylics™ from USArtQuest.

2. Collage a background on the panel using Perfect Paper Adhesive – Matte (PPA) and bits of music, dictionary pages, napkins, stamps and paper doilies. I sprinkled a little Crystal Effectz™ on the area with the bird and music while the PPA was still wet to give the piece a little sparkle.

3. Tear a piece of corrugated cardboard into a rough square and then tear off part of the top layer, revealing the corrugated folds. Apply Rust and Whitewash Perfect Glazes™ to highlight some of the folds. Attach this to the base using  101 Artist’s Cement.

4. Continue building up layers by attaching ephemera and found objects to the base and corrugated cardboard with 101 Artist’s Cement. It will adhere most any object to any surface!

5. Stamp and distress the  Senior Ladies 3 1/2″ x 4 3/4″ (#8671) image on glossy paper. Attach the image to the corrugated cardboard using foam strips or pop-dots.

6. Cover a portion of the image with a mica tile using a metal tag (e.g., “Memories”).

Last year I took a mixed media class and the instructor told of how the piece “speaks to her” when she is creating it. Up until this project, I didn’t really understand what she meant. Now I think I have a much better idea. These “Senior Ladies” had lots to say and this project only begins to tell their story.

I hope you’ll consider telling a story with your found objects!

To see some of my other projects, visit my blog on Create & Craft.

Happy Crafting!

Joe

I’m often drawn to experiment with surfaces in unexpected ways.  Sometimes the results are good — and sometimes the results are more of a ‘what not to do with xyz surface’ lesson.  But it’s always fun to experiment in my studio lab.  Today I am going to experiment with burlap/jute as a substrate and see what we can and cannot do with it.  Let’s begin.

I am starting with a 12″ x 12″ dual thickness of burlap, sewn together at the edges.  I simply cannot wait to work with this surface and all these nooks and crannies.

I applied Duo adhesive to the upper right and lower left portions of the burlap with a ‘junker’ stencil brush that I keep on hand for experiments.  I applied the Duo in a circular motion, roughing up the texture of the burlap as I went.

When initially applied, you can see the white color of the Duo adhesive.  As it dries and soaks into the fabric, it becomes less visible and then clear and tacky.  The trick will be how much stayed on the surface, and how much was wicked away from the top layer.  Once it gets to the tacky stage, it will be easier to tell.

Once the glue is dry (clear) and tacky, apply leafing foil and brush off lightly using the texture sponge.  This is how our burlap piece looks now.

a closeup…

and the full sheet…

Next, my initial thought was to perform an image transfer onto the exposed burlap surface, but then a little voice kep nagging me, saying, “Been there.  Done that.”  So I decided instead to do some hybrid digital printing onto the surface.  Those of you who know me know that this means I’m heading towards another experiment for which my inkjet printer may or may not survive the night.  But pushing the envelope is why I do these experiments after all!  As my friend, Liz, says:

As always, caveat printer… if you choose to do this part of the technique, it’s all on YOU in other words.  Personally, I consider printers to be the inexpensive part.  It’s the ink that costs.  So I risk mine at will…

If you don’t want to do the printer step, by all means, collage and paint on your burlap directly.

I have a piece of my original artwork that I am very fond of.  It’s a mixed-media painted collage with beading on a canvas pillow form.  I scanned it to use for my blog and Facebook headers, and so forth.  So I decided to take that image and reuse it on a new project, this time on burlap.

I prepared the exposed burlap surface for printing with an application of Digital Ground for Porous Surfaces following the manufacturer’s directions.  Essentially you apply two coats, in opposite directions.

You have to allow the individual coats to dry before proceeding with the next one.  The second coat should cover up any gaps leftover from the first.  I recommend using a ‘cooling rack’, such as one you would use for cookies — but one that is specifically set aside for art projects and NOT for cooking.  This will aid in the air flow around and through the piece to speed up the drying time.  Drying time is admittedly not fun for those of us who are just dying to see if the printer will survive…but the lucky readers don’t have to wait — so read on!

Once the burlap was dry, I attached it to a piece of cardstock for sturdiness.  I used a double sided adhesive sheet for the backing and then taped down all the exposed edges with masking tape.  We don’t want loose bits of burlap flinging around while the printer heads go back and forth!

The burlap has been run through my inkjet printer.  The only addition is some white charcoal pencil which I added to the whites of the eyes to make them pop against the darker background.

So now the printer can act all Scarlett O’Hara and say, “tomorrow is another day”, as it has survived another night of surface experimentation.

Next, because I really still have image transfer on my mind, I was going to use it as an embellishment rather than the focal point of the piece.   This is where the epic fail occurred.  First, there just isn’t enough surface for the text to adhere to on BURLAP.  Second, when removing the paper for the transfer, the only thing that was clear, was that I was pulling the metallic foil off of my project.  Hence — NOT doing that technique here.  We’ll do it on a future project, on the transfer-friendly Studio Cloth.

For now, I decided to collage the corners instead with some lightweight papers.  I adhered them with PPA using a 3/4″ stroke brush.  I also applied a light coat over the top to protect and seal them from my painting steps that are coming up.

Now I’m going to add some paint to the piece, to simulate an aged, burnt look and unify the collage elements with the rest of the project.  The foiling already has a great gilded and aged effect.  In order to simulate it on the paper and other embellishments of the project, I’m going to layer some paints: Purple Mist, Yellow Ochre, and Black.  I know some of you may be thinking, “Aren’t purple and yellow complementary colors?” - and yes, they are.  And typically you would just make ‘mud’ from mixing complementary colors.  But we will be laying down each layer and drying in-between so that we can get a layered effect for each color to do it’s thing seperately.

First, apply a wash of Perfect Pigments in Purple Mist.  Let dry completely or use a heat tool to speed up the process.

I really want you to notice something in the picture above.  Look how nice and transparent these paints are!  I can color the collage without completely obscuring it.  That’s a job for gesso, if I want that effect.  But nice fluid acrylics, such as the Perfect Pigments range work really well for collage and color layering.  I can mix them with a bit of PPA for glazing if I want more working time and removability.  I truly love these paints.

Next, layer a wash of Perfect Pigments in Yellow Ochre over the areas painted in the previous step.  Let dry completely or use a heat tool to speed up the process.

And for the final wash, use lots of water and layer Perfect Pigments in Mars Black as desired to ‘age’ your effect.  You can use a baby wipe to remove it if you apply too much.  Once again, let dry completely or use a heat tool to speed up the process.

Now I’m going to be adding some embellishments and framing elements to the piece.

• I used a mini-stapler to attach a strip of pulled apart burlap, knotted with a bit of ribbon to the top and bottom of the project,
• I’ve added two photo corners, at opposite sides made from pieces of folding wooden rulers,
• I’ve tied an empty spool of thread to the burlap strip,
• I added a canvas dress form and a jeweled flower to make a nice focal element in the bottom corner.

All of these elements have been ‘aged’ with the paints as I’ve discussed above to tie them into the project.

As a last step, I corner framed my finished artwork with some dimensional mini Prills in the Taken for Granite color assortment.

Here is the final, finished project:

US Art Quest Products used today:

• GildenGlitz Leafing Metal in Sunset, #ANC206
• Perfect Paper Adhesive (PPA) in Matte finish
• Duo Embellishing Adhesive
• Texture Sponge
• 3/4″ Stroke Brush
• Perfect Pigments, fluid acrylic paints in Purple Mist, Yellow Ochre and Mars Black
• Mini Prills, Taken for Granite, ANC840

Thanks for looking!

Sally Lynn MacDonald
www.sallylynnmacdonald.com
www.facebook.com/sallylynn.macdonald

 ”Point of View”

 Start with a frame. Frankie’s dad made this one years ago and she gifted me with some of them a long time ago and I’ve saved them forever. PPA and Duo are a must, as well as Gildenglitz – Silver and the MicaColor – Metallic palette. A good brush and your ready to go…and, some of our gorgeous new napkins that will be on HSN March 6th.

I began by coating the frame with PPA to prime it. When dry apply the Duo. When dry apply the silver. When silvered, apply napkin bits using PPA.  When dry, apply watercolors.  When dry apply PPA to seal it thoroughly. I used Prills-Ice Queen around the interior of the frame because it’s a bit out of kilter and they disguise that kind of thing…with panache!  I scribbled a bit on this too, enhancing the trees and fleur de ‘lis, having gotten carried away with the paint a little. I built a box for the back and patiently put it together, attached it to the back and cut a hole in the top to hang the free-hanging  focal point.

The interior elements are from my collection of stuff. The glass disc has a portion of the napkin applied to the reverse side, then Duo’ed and silvered. It’s framed with a rusty old drain thingy. The hanger is from some ironing board part & a hook from my old jeans.  The pigment bottles are authentic pigment from the 1800s, the mica bits are cut, and the tags aged using Perfect Pigment Glaze – Sepia.  I applied PPA – Gloss over the entire Prilled area, and stuck on the glass.  It dried in about an hour, so that I could photograph it. The faux corner pieces are Mica Rings – Small and buckshot that my friend Mer gave me.  There’s a very cool old eyeglass piece from Mer too.  It magnified the word ‘Paris’ quite nicely.  

Supplies Used:
Perfect Pigments (Secondary Colors)
PPA (Perfect Paper Adhesive)
Duo Adhesive
Gilding
Mica Powder – Jewelz
MINI PRILLS
Various Ink
Diamond Glaze or Perfect Paper Adhesive – Gloss

I started by printing off my information on white card stock.  I wanted to add color to them so I used large stipple brush and Ink to add a variety of color to the information strips.

Apply color to paper.

This is the pile I had done after adding color.

I wanted to add a bit more interest to the name portion so I used Perfect Medium and stamped over the words.  I then used a very soft brush to apply Interference Mica Pigments – Gold to the ink.  It left a very subtle shine/glimmer to the cards.  I then set these aside.

I have loaded more than necessary on the brush.  There is no waste as the excess can be brushed back in to the jar.

Spread around and brush off excess.   I next started on the tags.  I put a small amount of Perfect Pigment on the paper and added PPA.  This made the paint a bit thinner and more transparent, but you can use Perfect Glaze – Clear if you have that on hand.  I covered both sides lightly and let dry.  Just a note, when setting the tags aside to dry, make sure they don’t stick to each other.  Yes, that was a note to self!  Now a really fun part, GILDING! Add Duo Adhesive to your Cut and Dry Foam and then apply to the stamp of your choice.   Stamp the image and let dry completely.  Apply gilding on the image and cover completely.  Brush off all the excess with a stiff brush to reveal….. The wonderful stamped design.  Looks great on any color background. I then tore around the edges of the card information and attached to the non-gilded side of the tag.  I used Perfect Medium (or you can use the Duo Adhesive) to stamp the pear image in a few places on the printed side and use various Mica Pigments. I wanted to add a final touch and I just received the perfect accent, PRILLS!  Mini Prills are and interesting accent for all your paper crafting projects and more. They are 100% natural, heat resistant, acid-free and non-toxic!  They come in over 40 colors!  I used Diamond Glaze to adhere mine. Sue says, “PPA Gloss or Matte are her preferred adhesive because it won’t yellow or become brittle over time.”  Adhesive is applied to the slight edge.    Prills are then poured over the adhesive.  Excess is poured off and placed back in the cool little jar. And these are the finished tag/business cards! I hope you have enjoyed these fun tags.  I had a lot of fun making them  And just so you know, I just ordered MORE Mini Prills.  They are just so cool.  Other thoughts: Add them to Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel Any place you would use Micro Beads Mix them into or apply them on top of paint for texture Apply them to 101 Artist Cement or any paste Apply them over hot glue Apply them to various sticky tapes Mix with your Diamond Glaze/Crystal Lacquer   I am still working on more ideas!   Happy Creating Kristi

Stencil Image Illusion with lettering.

Art is technique ! and I never used stencils in the past because they were always the same- no technique required. It seems a little strange to me that I would be playing with them now as a consistent element of design ! I created this technique which uses Mica Color watercolors, a stencil that you cut yourself from Studio Paper and a little water to create the illusion of an image. It is actually there, but unlike a regular stencil it’s in the background. There is no resist, but it provides some of the same properties of light and contrast.

Try a few examples, cut different shapes to experiment with shadows or purchase stencils from USArtQuest

The tutorial for this process is here -  Stencil Image Illusion.  

You can use your samples for card making / scrapbooking, backgrounds for stamping, as collage elements or just to enjoy the process. Hope the technique helps you to grow creatively.

Pefect Pigment, Collage, and Stamps

Lea here once again to share some open-ended techniques for painting exercises.  I’m more a free-form artist so I like to PLAY, experiment, and see what happens.  Perfect Pigment Fluid Acrylic allows me the freedom to paint in whatever manner I desire!  If you like to paint with detail, or play with experimentation; this paint is for you!  The pigment is rich, the consistency is perfect, and is non-toxic!  The shimmer is soft and alluring.

USAQ Supplies:

Perfect Pigment Paint

Pefect Pigment Glaze

101 Artist’s Cement – Heavy

Perfect Brushes

Palette Knives

Studio Cups

Appliqates

Texture Sponges

Paint and Stamp

Let’s get started.  I am going to start with some real simple exercises and move on to more complex (but not really complex – beginner/intermediate) ways of playing with Perfect Pigments.  The above picture shows the easiest way to work with Perfect Pigments – brushing on with a Perfect Brush, then overstamping with a nice juicy permanent or hybrid ink (Ink that is considered more pigment ink for embossing but when dried is permanent.).

1.  Mix a little rust Perfect Glaze (tiny, tiny bit) with lt. metallic gold Perfect Pigment.  I did this to contrast the ink I am using to stamp the image.  I chose rust because the ink I use was a brown hue.

2.  Brush mixed paint over a piece of cardstock.  Let dry.  Stamp images over the dried paint.  I used 3 images, the same ink color, and just overstamped the Asian postage mark.  Now you have a completed piece to mat, frame or use in some other way.

Paint with Sponge

Above is a picture of easy sponging with Perfect Pigments.  Pour your Perfect Pigment into a Studio Cup and then tip a soft sponge into the paint and pounce on surface (If you buy the Appliqates set  -you will need those little puffs for buffing mica color pigments - you will receive the perfect sponge.)  I have a few sponges and some I cut into wedges for different effects.  Also, the Texture Sponge is perfect for adding dimenson and texture.  For this piece I pounced the Perfect Pigment color onto bookboard and then added a handmade graphic sticker I designed.  The coverage of this paint is flawless and because of the fluidity, coverage is fast and easy!

Sponge on Perfect Pigment, Mixing Colors, even Stamp with Perfect Pigments

The above photo is taking the sponge pouncing technique one step further.  Thinking of your color chart and how colors mix together to form new colors, you can use your sponge to add hues, shades, and mix all at once.  The little yellow sponges rinse out easily, BE SURE TO WRING SPONGE OUT WELL between colors.

1.  Pounce 2-3 colors onto bookboard, overlapping in various areas.  Remember red+blue shades = purple, yellow+red= orange, and so on.  After pouncing the colors I like, I over-pounced (have my own dictionary ha ha) the colors with a bit of lt. metallic gold in just some areas.  If you could see this live, in person, you would see the subtle shimmer that adds to the art.

2.  Take a stamp of your choice (I used a textured background kind of crackled) and use your sponge to apply color to the stamp.  Orange was used on the stamp.  Stamp the right half of the bookboard.  IMMEDIATELY WASH YOUR STAMP so that the Perfect Pigment doesn’t dry on it.  (Don’t fret if some paint does dry on it, an odorless thinner will get it off).

3.  Once your boardbook has dried, add collage images, emphemera, elements, or whatever you want to complete the two pages.

Collage word paper, Sponge Perfect Pigment/thin with Perfect Glaze, use paper as Stencils

The above picture is using your Perfect Brushes and adding a little glaze to thin the Perfect Pigments down a little more.

1.  On a palette, Studio Cups, wax paper, plastic, pour a little Pefect Pigment and add a little clear Perfect Glaze into the color, mix.  Do this for like 3 colors.

2.   Collage a piece of cardstock with pattern paper of words or dictionary page, etc.  Do not cover the whole cardstock with the wording just part of the area.  PPA matte works wonderfully for this.  HINT:  So your paper doesn’t curl, pre-paint back of cardstock with PPA, let dry.  As you add the collage paper on top, the PPA is already on the back which has soaked into the surface.

3.   Take little scraps of square, rectangle, circle cardstock and cover the piece of cardstock with the little scrap.  Brush over the the edges of the scrap shape which will act sort of like a stencil of sorts.  Overlap colors and shapes.  This piece used mostly rectangles, squares, and little ripped, thin, rectangles.

4.  collage over the top to finish your piece.

Perfect Pigment, Gildenglitz Accents, Stamped

The above image was done the same  as the previous image, but I randomly brushed some Duo Adhesive and then when it dried clear, added bits of gold Gildenglitz on top.  Adds dramatic texture and metallic shine to the piece.

Perfect Pigment Mixed with 101 Artist's Cement for Texture

The above piece was accomplished by adding a bit of 101 Heavy Artist’s Cement with Perfect Pigments.  This is mixed in a Studio Cup and a USAQ Palette knife used to mix and spread.  The cement is white and I add only a little Perfect Pigment so that the originally color becomes tinted (lighter).  This piece uses the Perfect Pigment full strength and with the 101 Heavy Artist’s Cement and contrast with texture is achieved!

Using Perfect Pigment with Other Media

For this last piece above, I did much like the previous, but I started with an oil pastel background.  Just added patches of color from oil pastel sticks.  Perfect Pigment was added with a brush and palette knife.  The make-up of the binders in oil pastels “resists” other media of sorts so I ended up with a marvelous array of not completely covered areas with the oil pastel peeking through.  Dragging a palette knife with some Pefect Pigment allowed me to add color in a random manner – as it is thicker the oil pastel doesn’t show through.  Let dry.  Once dry, I scribbled a little on top with the oil pastel in areas.  Collage on top of this piece – a perfect background!

Please play and try these experiments or just see what you can do.  Mix MicaColor Watercolors, then paint over with Perfect Pigment…play with perfect pigment and instead of, or addition to, adding duo and gildenglitz; brush the mica color powders on top.  The ideas are endless….just do not be afraid to play!

Thank you for reading my second entry on the USAQ Blog.  For those on Facebook, be sure to post your creations so we all can see!

CreativeLea yours -  Lea

author of Creative Art Concepts for Papercrafts – www.ctpub.com

Remember USArtQuest for all you arting needs!!!!

Here is a quick weekend project and I know you all have vases sitting around just screaming for some attention….right!?!

First off I took a standard glass vase and pulled together a few items…Window Etch Paint, PPA, Studio Cloth, Perfect Glaze, #4 Paintbrush, Sizzix Big Shot die, Gildenglitz and some tape.

Step 1: tape around the vase where you would like the etching paint to be. I originally started with two stripes on the vase but later changed it to the whole bottom half being etched.

Step 2: Once your etching paint is dry, remove the tape. At this point I took some PPA and used my finger to add a thin layer around the border of the etching paint and the regular part of the vase. This needs to sit aside for a little while and let it get to the tacky stage.

Step 3: Once the PPA is tacky…take some of the Gildenglitz and gently add it to the layer of PPA. Don’t worry about have extra on there. Once it is dry you just simply take a paint brush and brush off the extra to have for another project.

Step 4: Now I cut off a small section of my Studio Cloth and ran it thru my Sizzix Big Shot using the flower die cut. With a little hot glue and some felt…I then began to roll up the flower and let it sit. Trim off any extra felt. Now I used the #4 paintbrush and added some Perfect Glaze to the outside edges of the flower. Glued a button into each center and then glued the entire flower onto a orange felt flower.

Step 5: Now you can add the flowers to the vase. I used just a dab of glue and held it there until it set and would not slide. With all three flowers in place and dry..I added some pinecones I found on clearance. Then cut some limbs from our oak tree for some added decoration.

Hope you enjoyed this little project and I can’t wait to see what you make too.

Becky Thackston

Sometimes I feel more like a collector than a crafter. I see things, new and old, and say to myself, “Ooo! That’s so nice! I know I can make something with that!” I buy it and then it sits—sometimes for weeks, months or even years. That was this case with the Kimono stamp #2545 I from JudiKins. I’m always drawn to Japanese influenced or themed things and I just had to have this stamp. That was probably two years ago. I had never used it, until this project.

The first time I played with USArtQuest’s MicaColor Watercolor Metallic & Pearlescent Palette I was fascinated by the resulting effect. I can’t really say they “sparkle” because it’s not that harsh. It’s more of a subtle shimmer or sheen that is embedded into the paint (versus layered on top). It reminds me of the beautiful sheen that silk has and I immediately thought of the Kimono stamp. I applied the MicaColor to white quality cardstock to create a background. It even feels silky as you apply it—almost creamy! I took this photo holding the paper at an angle against the light so you could try and get a feel of the sheen. To me, it looks every sophisticated and elegant.

Next I stamped the background with the Kimono stamp. I did this twice so I could layer the finished project.

Take the first stamped imaged and dry emboss it using the Koi folder from the Plum Blossom Set by Cuttlebug. Take the second stamped image and cut it in half vertically. Emboss each half with the same folder, shifting each one slightly, so the embossed image doesn’t line up when you layer these halves beneath the first image. That helps create the illusion that the Kimono has folds on each side. It’s a little detail that most people won’t notice, but it really does help the finish product look more polished.

I found applying Duo Adhesive to the raised portions of the design using a cotton swab. It was the easiest way for me to just hit the embossed areas without getting any adhesive on other parts of the piece. If you have a steady hand, you could apply the Duo Adhesive to Cut-N-Dry Stamp Pad and just kiss the embossed areas.

Wait just a bit for the Duo Adhesive to dry. Remember what Sue says, “When it’s white, it’s not right. When it’s clear, it adheres!” Apply Gildenglitz Leafing Metal to the embossed areas and burnish with a Texture Sponge. The Draw and Gild Kit is a great way to get started. It has everything you need to get started with gilding!

To create a hanger, take a bamboo skewer and cut off the ends. Save the middle portion for another project! Cover the two ends with Duo Adhesive, wait till it’s clear and then apply Gildenglitz Leafing Metal. Burnish off the excess.

Fussy cut each stamped image. I left extra paper at the top of the Kimono for the top layer so I could fold it over the bamboo pieces. Mount the top Kimono to the bottom layers (remember, there are two pieces here, since you cut it in half) using foam tape.

I found a great shadowbox at a thrift store and was able to repurpose it to hold this little Kimono. It looks fantastic against the deep black background—just like a tiny silk Kimono.

You can see my other projects on my blog at Create & Craft.

Happy Crafting!

Joe