A blog devoted to the cards I make in my tiny upstairs space. When my sister stays there, she calls it an "artist's garret". I'm not an artist, but am an enthusiastic cardmaker - hence the title "Cardmaker's Garret".
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Wednesday 19 September 2018

Blue and Gold

The Sparkles Christmas Challenge for this month is "Blue and Gold",


I played around with making a gold encrusted jewel star for my focal point.  I really enjoy this technique.  I die cut the star from thin chipboard, then placed it on a warm grill on top of a layer of non-stick craft mat then parchment paper.  I sprinkled it with gold embossing powders.  Once they had melted, I added multi-coloured chunky glitter pieces on top.  The melted embossing powders holds the glitter in place.  To finish it off, I melted UTEE (Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel) on top.  I then die cut the star from fun foam and attached it immediately to the encrusted jewel star to give it a bit more body so that it wouldn't bend and crack.  Here's a close-up of the star:


The background was done with Distress inks and the smooshing technique, with water droplets flicked over it.  The sentiment is heat embossed in gold, and, to get matching gold strips for the top and bottom, I inked up some scrap cs and then heat embossed it with the same gold embossing powder as I used on the sentiment.

The sentiment is actually longer - the rest of it is on the inside and it says "... and that star will warm you all Christmas long."

If you haven't tried the encrusted jewels technique, I highly recommend it.  A great way to use up your stash of embossing powder and glitter!





Supplies:
Stamps - Kay Foley sentiment
Ink - ColorBox Gold, blue Distress inks
Paper - chipboard, mixed media cs, white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Spellbinders star die, various gold embossing powders and chunky glitters, clear UTEE, fun foam



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9 comments:

  1. Trina P.19 September 2018 at 10:32

    Wow! Your encrusted jewel star is stunning. The smooshed background is gorgeous. The gold border ties everything in perfectly. Fabulous card. xx

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  2. Loll19 September 2018 at 11:27

    This is gorgeous Susan!! LOVE your encrusted star ... very beautiful! The smooshed background is the perfect compliment with the splashes of water. Great idea to use the same gold embossing powder as the sentiment to get some matching strips at the top and bottom of your main panels. This is one amazing design, my friend! xx

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  3. Nstiz19 September 2018 at 13:01

    That star is absolutely fabulous and looks great against your background. What a great idea to stabilize it too. This sure is a beautiful card!

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  4. Bonnie19 September 2018 at 15:36

    What a beautiful gold star, Susan! It's so pretty on the blue background and the sentiment is fantastic!

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  5. Papercraft Boutique20 September 2018 at 21:58

    Gorgeous encrusted jewel star, Susan! The close-up shows the multi-colored chunky glitter so well. The smooshed background is simply beautiful and perfect for showing off the star. The droplets make the background look like the galaxy. Hideko xx

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  6. Debbie23 September 2018 at 00:16

    Wow.... wow ....wow... your card is stunning. That star and the techniques you've done are beautiful. Thank you so much for joining in with us this month at Sparkles Christmas. Good luck. Hugs Debs DT.xx

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  7. Christine Alexander23 September 2018 at 06:37

    Gorgeous Susan, glitter adds the perfect amount of sparkle.

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  8. Lynne 25 September 2018 at 07:28

    A beautiful card, I love that gorgeous star. Thank you for joining in at Sparkles Christmas. Lynne DT x

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  9. Cazro30 September 2018 at 16:43

    Stunning star, so colourful and striking. Thanks for sharing with us at Sparkles Christms Challenges. Caz DT.

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