Messy Christmas To You!

Hello! I am just completing the last few cards out of the 80 I made for Christmas this year. I decided to try something new. I have been waiting to buy and use some gilding flakes for the past couple of years, so I went ahead and ordered two colors of flakes and some glue. Also, I am entering another challenge, so if you want to see that entry, it is the last card at the bottom of this post!

First, let me say, that gilding flakes make very pretty backgrounds, accents, etc. BUT they are so MESSY! I mean really messy, like in a tarred and feathered kind of way! This process might just be worse than the dreaded craft herpes....GLITTER! LOL

Seriously though, I advise following all the advice on YouTube and Pinterest from more seasoned professionals than myself, but here are a few tips I learned:

1st- Be sure your work space is large and clear.

2nd- Make sure there is no breeze, fan or movement of air. In fact, it might be a good idea to hold your breath once you open the jar of gilding flakes!

3rd- Don't use your finger to rub off the excess. (Just trust me on this)

4th- Foam brushes work great for applying the glue and for rubbing over the gilding flakes. They are great for lots of crafty projects, and cheap too!

5th- Just know that there will be a mess of poofy, light flakes, and possibly some glue all over your work space, and the floor. 

6th- On my first card, I put glue on a stamp, and then stamped that on the paper. In an effort to preserve glue, I applied a thin layer on the stamp and stamped the image....and then the stamp stuck to the paper....and then there was a lot of frantic activity to save the stamp, which in turn spread the flakes all over because of the whirlwind of my movements. Good news, it cleans off nicely with soapy water!

7th- When using the glue with a stamp, be sure to apply a THICK layer of glue to the stamp to avoid the mishap above. Also, keep the lid on the jar until you are actually ready to add them to the paper with the dried glue!

All things considered, I like the way they turned out, and will do it again, mostly because I still have a lot of gilding flakes and glue left. Hopefully, I will get better with practice!

This first one is the one withe the distressed stamped background and "Mulled Wine" flakes.

Then I tried used the "Aurora Lights" flakes to make these two cards-

The first one with the sentiment die-

This last one is my entry into the Mixed Media Monthly Challenge # 42. 

It is using the die cut "silhouette" from the first card, and the gilding flakes added to the background.

Until Next Time-

~Shari