Night-sky backgrounds (a card & 2 free digital dictionary papers)

Do you remember fireflies?
Magical little fairy bugs in starry summer skies?
sighhhhhhh... :o)

Many a night I saw the Pleiads, rising thro' the mellow shade,
Glitter like a swarm of fireflies tangled in a silver braid.

- Alfred, Lord Tennyson

1... The card & some ideas for different night sky backgrounds
2... The digital image from A Day for Daisies
3... a step by step pictorial for how to make this card
4... free firefly dictionary digital patterned paper (two styles)

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for different backgrounds

Cards with night skies:

On the front this 5.5" square card says "This little light of mine..."

The text paper has the definition of firefly on it
(a homemade dictionary digital paper-available below)

and the inside says...

"I'm gonna let it shine!"
...with a heart-shaped firefly
(and there are fireflies on the black envelope as well)

To make a card at night, you can simply cut out your image & paste it on black.

Some ideas:

...use black cardstock
...black patterned paper
...or print a black digital paper
...heat emboss or pressure emboss
...stamp, or paint a black background.

The (night) sky's the limit! Of course, your sky doesn't have to be black, it can be navy, purple... whatever you like.

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A Day for Daisies digital image:

Holding Fireflies

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make this Holding Fireflies card:

• Image: Holding Fireflies digi from A Day For Daisies...
• ...embossed from Canon inkjet printer on Borden & Riley #234 Paris Bleedproof 108lb paper for pens
• Fine clear embossing powder (I use Stampendous clear detail powder)
• Heat gun, Clear distress Crackle Paint: Rock Candy
  
• Black cardstock, circle cutter, ruler & White Prismacolor pencil crayon
• Sakura pens: Stardust glitter pen, White souffle pen, black glaze pen
• Copic markers & Prismacolor pencils (turquoise, & skin and hair tones)
• Paper piercing tool
• Needle, thread, scissors, adhesive
• Nestabilities Label Five & a Cuttlebug
• Cream coloured watercolour paper
• White text weight paper & dictionary digi papers (for scallops)
• Scallop template to trace
• Vellum cardstock & word document to print & heat emboss sentiment
• Seam binding ribbon
  

Step 1} Print, Colour, and cut out the image.

1a} Print the image. As always, I've embossed the Holding Fireflies digital image on Paris Bleedproof paper. It lets the ink jet printer ink stay wet long enough to hold the fine clear embossing powder. (You can read more about that digital embossing technique here if you like).



1b} Colour it (no need to stay in lines since it's being cut out). I used Copic markers and then added some Prismacolor pencil crayons over top (that way the pencil won't clog your Copic marker nibs). I also drew in little lines for the toes-a weird detail, huh?

1c} I love to score lines in hair using a paper piercing tool,
and then colour with Copic Markers and Prismacolor pencils:



The colour stays in the grooves.



Step 2} Cut the figure of the girl out. (The dress is dotted with white souffle gel pen



Step 3} cut the jar of fireflies out & cover it with distress crackle paint (rock candy is clear and gives lovely fine cracks-too cool for school!) :0)



Step 4} To make the nighttime background- cut a circle of black cardstock This one is 2 and 7-8 inches in diameter Add a highlight in white pencil crayon to create a horizon line.



Step 5} Place the image temporarily on the circle where you'd like it to sit & draw little white circles for fireflies (add sparkle & black gel pen dots too):



5 b} Pierce and stitch around the circle. I also added a bit of turquoise cardstock behind that I dotted with white gel pen & cut roughly



Step 6} Create a mat to back the image with text paper. This text paper is available below. I scanned it from an old dictionary to share with you. :)

This shape was made by cutting a die cut (Nestabilities Label Five) and trimming it straight on the sides. To get the thin black border, I just adhered it to black cardstock & cut the black paper by hand.



Step 7} Print a sentiment (this one is printed from a word document) on vellum cardstock, emboss it quickly when it comes out of printer Adhere to white cardstock & colour with Copic or other light marker to tint it. I used turquoise: B00 frost blue.



Step 8} Adhere the words of the sentiment to the underside of the mat.

Here's a shot of the sentiment from the back:


It's on a speedy strip of adhesive (LOVE that ATG gun. It took
some getting used to but it's a nice speedy option).



Step 9} Add some scallops. I liked the idea of having hand-drawn lines on these scallops as a trim detail, so I used silver gel pen to trace an old-school plastic template.

By machine: If you have a die cutting machine you can cut scallops (The Cricut Plantin Schoolbook cartridge has some lovely scallops. More about them in this post here.)

To make hand made scallops: Trace a shape template to create big fat scallops. If you have a plastic one like the Creative Memories one used in the picture above that's dandy, or you could print the free fat scallop template included in this post to make a paper template to trace.



Step 10} The white scallops didn't seem to tie in with the cream coloured watercolour paper of the card from so I slipped a piece of paper under & coloured the scallop edges with prismacolor pencil # 314



Step 11} Add a strip of stitched watercolour paper over the top scallop, then add the image & a bow...

and there you have it....

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Two free digital
firefly papers:

Fireflies dictionary page DARK:

DARKfireflies on Flickr PNG

Fireflies dictionary text patterned paper LIGHT:

LIGHT fireflies on Flickr PNG

or you can

Download the files at Acrobat.com:

LIGHT firefly paper PDF
LIGHT firefly paper JPG

DARK firefly paper PDF
DARK firefly paper JPG

Need help with how to download from Acrobat? Please see this post.

Files as a PDF and PNG on PaperCraftPlanet here JPG/PNG
Files as PDF and a PNG on SplitCoastStampers JPG/PNG

Hope your day is flickering with beauty,
just like a firefly-filled sky!

P.S. I'm not affiliated with A Day For Daisies (I'm just addicted!) ;O)

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a study in white: Two 3D flower templates & new technique ideas

From one extreme to the other, hey?
[from rainbows to white on white on
white--(with a little silver)]

This post is just a little photo collection of some
textural elements that I've been experimenting with
(this stuff)...

• Mod Podge & book pages with paint and embossing
  
• Free flower templates (2: one by Martha et al & one by me)
• Chipboard letters & Gesso
  
• Sticky back canvas (by Claudine Hellmuth)
• Silver Leaf
• White Paint
• Stamps from Skipping Stones Designs & Hero Arts
  
• White colorbox ink & embossing powders
• Transfer Gel Medium

I thought I'd share some in progress pics of
them in case they might inspire you a little...

(First, a "Technical" tip for your viewing pleasure: if these photos, or any page on the web, looks too big or small to you, you can re-size: simply hold control button on your keyboard, and simultaneously scroll with your mouse up or down to re-size larger or smaller).

Martha book page flowers
using Mod Podge & paint

Some flowers I made using Mod Podge & Book pages
and a Martha Stewart flower template:



I used this Martha flower from a lovely project here:

but I used it as a shape for a PhotoShop brush to re-size it
many times to make this one sheet to print with many different sizes:


I printed the flower template, glued book pages on the back of
it with Mod Podge, painted & stamped in the paint, and
then cut the flowers out then layered them onto white floral wire:


(I did find that I wanted to cut one side of the Martha flower differently
than the template to get it more symmetrical as a paper flower.)

(There's a step-by-step pictorial for the
book page process here):

The Martha template was lovely to work with, as always,
but it left me with a craving for a more symetrical rose-like flower
so I doodled a template of my own for this...


Emboss resist cardstock rose:



I've been wanting to make the paper roses you see everywhere now,
so I tried some rolling (Let's just say that I'm very bad
at the rolled rose thing. Need to practice, a whole whack!).

So, this rose is made of cut & shaped layers of cardstock instead of rolling.
It's just one shape made into a template that I printed & cut out (below)

1) Print flower template on white cardstock.

2) Flip printed flower template over (so the flowers are on the back & you can work on the blank side).

3) Stamp on blank side of the cardstock with a background stamp & heat emboss in versamark ink and white embossing powder.

4) Brush on some ink with water for colour (i used SU river rock ink).

5) Let dry the flowers dry for easier cutting.

6) Cut flower shapes out (following lines on template roughly).

7) To shape (one flower at a time works nicely): Mist flowers with a fine spray of water to make them pliable. Lay flowers on some fun foam (to cushion shaping) Use a stylus to shape each of the petals. Press once in the middle down firmly to give more of a bowl shape to the whole flower.

8) To put it together on a stem or as a brooch with leaves: pierce a hole in the center of each flower; take a long piece of wire (or floral wire with the thread on it) and twist the end so it will hold the flower, slide each flower onto the wire (glue to secure petals the way you like. I like them to be alternated so they aren't all lined up unnaturally); twist the wire at the back to keep them in place. Fold excess wire to make loops as a base to stick the leaves on.

9) To make the leaves: stick silk tape (the kind for first aid is cheap and lovely) onto graph paper. Cut shape & adhere to wire loops formed in step 8.

10) Glue a brooch pin on the back, if you like.

Here's my own flower template
in case you might like to use it
[for this, or whatever you'd like to make.
But no resale please]:


Available here on SplitCoastStampers (PDF and JPG)
or
available here on flickr (PNG)

gesso painted chipboard letters:

Have chipboard letters and you're not crazy for the colour?

These ones are sanded & painted with gesso:

Not sure what they'll end up as but they have more
possibilities open to them on their career path now. ;)

heat embossed stick back canvas with vintage graph paper transfer:
This was a fun experiment in layers...



Canvas with heat embossing & paper transfer:

1) Cut a piece of sticky back canvas to size.

2) Peel off backing from canvas.

3) Stick adhesive side of canvas to a Spellbinders Impressabilities (caution residue can definitely get on the Impressabilities die or misshaping).

4) Sprinkle the still exposed stick back of the canvas with embossing powder & remove excess (I used Vanilla embossing powder.

5) Heat with a heat gun the embossing powder (with the Impressabilities still attached).

6) After the powder is melted, remove the Impressabilities carefully so as not to overly misshape it.

Use the embossed canvas as is, or colour it or whatever

I added a bit of transfer (to get the blue graph paper lines):

1) Paint on gel transfer medium
2) Stick paper onto it
3) Let it dry (overnight is awesome for a good transfer)
4) Wet back of paper & roll it off, exposing the transferred image

the transfer gel is really just like a clear paint that holds the
image (in this case the blue graph paper pattern)
but lets you roll the paper off for interesting transparency:

silver leaf on sticky back canvas:
(as is or with heat emboss stamping on it)

Some stitched silver leaf canvas pieces for a project I'm making with those
Skipping Stones Design Timeless Textures elements:

To make QUICK Solid silver leafed sticky back canvas:

Step 1) Cut the sticky back canvas to size.

Step 2) Peel off the backing to reveal the sticky side.

Step 3) Lay the canvas down onto the silver leaf (sticky side down). Cotton gloves work perfectly for handling silver leaf or a soft brush, but really just slapping the sticky canvas down onto it is so easy that you don't need an applicator.

Step 4) Press the canvas down well into the silver leaf & remove it from the remainder of the silver leaf sheet.

Step 5) If needed, patch in any gaps with more silver leaf sheet (I haven't found patching to be necessary yet though).

Step 6) To get more of the canvas weave to show through,
burnish it by pressing/rubbing it on the silver side with the tip of the cotton glove

Step 7) Dress it up however you like.

I added heat embossing with different
Skipping Stones Design stamps:

woodgrain & scales from Timeless Textures and graphic & damask from Grunge set

This piece uses the same ingredients

but uses paint stamped on with a Hero Arts stamp
to make a resist pattern on the sticky back canvas adhesive:



(The white parts were stamped in paint so the silver leaf won't stick
on that area & it will create the pattern of the stamp reversed.)

You can get a surprising amount of detail
(for silver leaf)

(and of course that yummy canvas texture)

Hope you're doing wonderfully,


P.S. Product Links:

Hero Arts
Ancient Motif stamp


Skipping Stones Design's
Timeless Textures and Grunge sets:


(I'm not affiliated with either company, but in the interest of full-disclosure I want to mention again that I did receive the Timeless Textures stamps for free from lovely Heather at Skipping Stones Design.) :)

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