Sparkly Faux Enamel Die Cuts

Hello everyone, Kassi here..

It's no secret, I love doing no-line coloring, and keeping my cards CAS... but I also like including elements that make it pop... Just a little something to add a bit of sparkle or dimension...

One of my recent favorites is sparkly faux enamel die cuts.... They are beautiful, customizable, and look fabulous without adding much bulk.... which means you can keep your cards easy to mail, while still having some sparkle and dimension!

 Let's take a closer look at how this card is made, and I'll show you how easy it is to make sparkly faux enamel sentiments....  

Paper: Strathmore Bristol Smooth

Stamps: Inkon3 Big Bold Magnolia

Ink: Inkon3 Fadeout, Liquid Pixie Dust

Coloring: Zig Clean Color Real Brush and Copic

Flower- 098, 066

Leaves- 093, 043, 046

Letters- E87, Y26, YG93

Dies: Inkon3 Pumpkin Patch, Oh Deer

Other: Ranger Glossy Accents

Step 1: Stamp your flower and leaves from Big Bold Magnolia using Fadeout ink... Because I wanted a cluster, this also involved some basic masking... I like to keep the masks I make so I can reuse them on future projects... I simply stick them on the back of my stamp carrier sheet so they are always right with my stamps. 

Step 2: Color your flowers using your favorite coloring mediums... I went with Zigs because I wanted to do some white flowers, and the 098 Zig marker is a beautiful shadow for white flowers!

Step 3: Die cut your sentiment from heavy card stock... I wanted my sentiment to say "thank you" so I'm using bits and pieces of two different sentiments ("thanks" and "you're a deer"). This is a great way to stretch your dies!

Step 4: Color your die cut sentiment... I like to use my Copic Airbrush to do this.. It's a quick and easy way to get either a solid color, or a gradient on even the smallest pieces, but you can use whatever method you want to color the letters.  I like to put masking tape on my desk (sticky side up) and stick the little die cut pieces to the tape.. This holds them in place while I'm coloring without my fingers getting in the way.

Step 5: Paint Liquid Pixie Dust mixed with a little water over your letters, and let dry completely.  Liquid Pixie Dust works great over watercolor and alcohol markers and leaves your project with a nice shimmer without the complete mess that glitter tends to give! 

TIP: If you want to avoid stray shimmer ending up in other projects, I suggest dedicating one paint brush (or water brush) just for the Liquid Pixie Dust.  I have a piece of washi tape wrapped around the handle of the water brush that I use for Liquid Pixie Dust so I always know which brush is sparkly and which one isn't.  That way I don't have to worry about any surprises.

Step 6: Completely coat your letters in a thickish layer of Glossy Accents (by Ranger). I like to start by outlining the die, then filling it in. Try to avoid creating any air bubbles, but if you do get a bubble, simply pop it with a pin.   

Set aside to dry... This will take some time... Drying times will vary depending on how thick your application is, and the temp/humidity of your room. Don't try to speed it up with a heat gun... Just let it sit. Put it aside and do something else for awhile (or leave it over night).  If you are good at planning ahead, you can start with your letters, and let them dry while you do your stamping and coloring.... I'm just not that organized. LOL!

Step 6: Adhere your stamped panel to a card base, then adhere your finished letters to your card.

I love the way the letters look with that beautiful sparkle under the Glossy Accents... It looks like expensive enamel stickers, but they are completely customizable!

See you soon!
~Kassi