Wednesday 7 December 2011

WOYWW 131 - and as if there isn't enough to do

.............this is the state of my desk:
Most cards to post are finished so now I'm about to work on some hand delivered ones. I must be barking as I decided to make some 'sparklies' for those cards using some Marianne Creatables Dies which were leaping up and down asking to be used this Christmas and not next :) As they were to be sparkled up a bit there was a little bit of head scratching here, I couldn't see that they would cut ready glittered card OK as what I have is quite thick and crunchy stuff neither did I fancy trying to cover the intricate designs with glue and glitter.

Ta,da!! That wonderful double sided adhesive A4 stuff galloped to the rescue. I've used it to back mulberry paper, and more recently some vellum, as well as sticking it over stamped images then sprinkling with glitter for a snowy effect - it's versatile stuff!! Joanna Sheen has it in her shop here, free postage with a £5 minimum order too. This latest use was an experiment but worked a treat!
First I covered a sheet of A4 card with the sticky double sided film, leaving one side still covered with the protective film and chopped it into the sizes I needed for the dies

Then I ran the dies and the covered card through the Cuttlebug with the protective film side facing into the die to get the proper cut
Peeled off the protective film, a poky tool or say a pin was really useful just to gently peel a bit of the edge to get it going
Then dunked it into the sparkly stuff which I love, not quite as fine as Glamour Dust and a whole lot cheaper!

And here are some of the end results. I dunked the baubles into very fine gold glitter, which also worked just great.

A tip - if you use the Marianne Creatables icicles die - you can see from the second photo down in this series of piccies that once the die has been cut you're left with a mirror of the die cut, the one on the bottom right shows this well - two for the price of one! I've even used the leftovers from the back to back ones on the left of the photo - if they'd been spaced further apart it would have been better but this was a bonus I hadn't expected anyway :)

That's me for this Wednesday - to see what other crafters are up to, head over to Julia's here. There could be a lot of activity going on, so long as folk have time to stop and take a photo of what they're up to in the rush towards Christmas :)

Edit: Following a couple of comments there are two things I should clarify. Firstly Jude, the glitter I used is really fine iridescent stuff, almost the same as Glamour Dust, and can be bought from the Art of Craft. I do love, and use Glamour Dust, but for large areas the miser in me uses the pot of stuff from AOC as it is most definitely not your average glitter, much cheaper and the closest I reckon you could ever find to Glamour Dust. I've been trying to find it in their online shop so I can put a link to it here - I'll have a little search again later :). 

Elizabeth asked whether the adhesive film makes dies sticky - the answer is 'no'. That was my biggest concern when I tried this idea out. When you cut you still have the flat surfaces of the card 'non'sticky' and the 'point of cut' around the dies is not left with any sticky residue - I've checked! I think this way is less harmful than cutting ready-glittered paper/card. Mind you, ask me again when I've cut a shed load more!!  If I find a problem then I'll own up :)

Happy WOYWW!! It's my first Christmas 'outing' of the year this evening with a crowd of friends for a meal and some fun and frolics. Tee, hee - it also means I don't have to cook an evening meal here :))

Di
x

23 comments:

  1. Di i absolutely love the die cuts and what youve done.Im afraid im a glamour dust girl can't abide glitter...lol
    Have creative Wednesday
    hugs judex

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello Di, your not the only one up bright and early today, you've got company. Love the die cuts but wonder if the stickiness transfers to the dies. Not all glitters are equal, I have some really coarse stuff that I never use, but yours looks lovely in the photographs. Enjoy your night out. Elizabeth x (no link, no number)

    ReplyDelete
  3. WooHoo! Love all the sparkly glittery stuffs you have there! I buy a sheet of two sided stuff and do the same type technique. A friend told me she uses a Xyron and runs the small project through then puts the glitter dust on it. Anyway done it is still nice! Hope you have a great week. Merry Christmas! Vickie aka Okienurse
    http://www.okienurse.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. You clever thing - simple answer with a great outcome! You can never have too much sparkle in my opinion!!
    Enjoy your Christmas do tonight :)
    Hugs, LLJ xx

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a fabulous idea, never used that stuff yet, not being very close to anywhere , where there's a craft shop. Love your production line!! Thanks for popping over...I seem to have two woyww posts this morning, so I hope you didn't get confused...as I did!!

    HaPpY WoYWw

    ((Lyn))

    ReplyDelete
  6. What fab crafty idea Di. Thanks for sharing them.
    A x

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Di

    Thanks for the tip on the double sided sheets I hadn't thought of that. Great little tutorial.

    Gosh Di what do you do with your glitter?!?!?!?!?

    I am still on my original little bottle of Glamour Dust and have used it for years .. .. in the process making hundreds of cards!!!

    I bought a second one two years ago in a sale thinking my first one would soon be used but no .. .. it is still going strong .. . with the spare in the drawer waiting to make an appearance!! LOL!!

    Love Jules xx

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great tip Di - I am not allowed glitter - do you think I am a messy worker then? Ask Annie cos I manage to cover her ironing board cover in grot at least once a week!Hehe! x Jo

    ReplyDelete
  9. That´s great news... finished the cards you want to sent. I think I´m just starting. Love all the pieces with glitter. It makes cards much more snowy. Thanks for sharing. Bye, Franka

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oooh lovely shparkliness everywhere! Great tip! Happy WOYWW xxx

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi there Di,

    Yes, I'd love to join the WOYWW crowd!! Can you send me an email as to how I would do this? And could I post Tuesday evening (don't really know the time difference.....)

    I don't have a die cutting machine and have thought of getting a Cuttlebug, or something similar. What do you use?

    Hugs,
    Kay

    ReplyDelete
  12. You are a genius with the glitter Di. I am definitely going to try this, that icicle die is one of my most used at this time of year!!
    You'lll LOVE the new H20's, lots of new colours to tempt you and some have different coloured mica to the paint colour, they are yummy!!!
    Enjoy your Christmas outing!! None for us this year, the misers at my Hubby's Company have decided not to have one due to the economic climate this year, not even a pasty at Greggs!!!
    Hugs Lisax

    ReplyDelete
  13. how on earth do you find the patience

    ReplyDelete
  14. I didn't know you were a Northern lass Di. I've just read your comment to Hubby and he said we'll have to send you one through the post!!
    When I worked in Leeds Cheese and onion was my favourite treat for lunch too but followed by a curd tart, which is still my favourite sweet today, in fact I had one from Greggs yesterday!!
    Hugs Lisax

    ReplyDelete
  15. Your glittery bits are really lovely. I have just sent off to Joanna Sheen for some of that sticky stuff. Thank you for your visit earlier and I hope you get on well with the bread pudding recipe. It will post after midnight tonight.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hi Di, l would say your desk looks normal for this time of the year in fact its quite tidy!! love what you have done with the icicles die cuts and the glitter ........plenty of sparkle i say! :) Sandra H

    ReplyDelete
  17. What a fabulous idea, love all of this, I have sheets of the double sided film and I never think to use it. Must try harder.
    As for your comment on meat this week, fine, It is always great to get new meat idea as "we eat too much of it", I keep thinking, well you plan the meals then.
    Also as he seems to think he is in charge of the heating, then he should be in charge of the eating, I am considering that if he doesn't stop messing about with it then I will only deal with the eating for myself.

    Kath x

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hey....so cool Di! Thanks for the idea, it's wonderful! I hope you have a great time at your outing and enjoy not having to cook! Happy frolicking!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Those icicles are wonderful and thanks for the tips. I love your post below about St Nicholas!! Do you still put your shoe outside your door or are you afraid of it being nicked!!!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Great idea Di and thanks for sharing. Love a bit of glitter. Hope you had fun out tonight. Anne x

    ReplyDelete
  21. OMG!!! you are just to much Girl!! Just look at those beautiful Ice Sickles.... LOVE them!!
    Hope you post the card your making them for too!!!
    I've enjoyed my visit and all the nice Tips you gave too! Thanks for the invite!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Thanks for sharing the technique in such detail! It's brilliant. I've got some of that A4 x2-sided stuff but haven't used it yet. I was thinking of using it with my cutting machine which I expect would do just as well! What I often do when I want to glue small and/or intricate pieces is spray with photo glue (or Stick 'n Stay spray glue) which gives a lovely thin, even coating ready for whatever you want to add, or just for sticking small pieces down. Happy belated WOYWW, Shoshi #53

    ReplyDelete
  23. another brilliant idea dont we love learning out here in blogland - thanks so much for sharing, Di, Shaz in oz.x

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much if you take the time to comment!

This is a public blog. Those leaving a comment on any post on this blog or entering a piece of artwork into a linky do so in the knowledge that their name and blog link are visible to all who visit this blog and in so doing have published their own personal details and consented to my use of that personal information should they be selected as a winner or to accredit work.