Gold has been the trending metallic this year and there are so many easy ways to use it to accent your projects!
Here's a sampling of some of the items I though would be fun to play with for this article:
(click on any of the pics to enbiggan)
You'll see that in some cases the designs took on a "luxe" look, and in others a softer, more subdued finish, depending on what I combined with it.
YOU ROCK
This card has a very posh and dramatic look, achieved by die cutting chevrons in two different widths from Be Creative Tape and applying them to plain black card stock. Stickles Dry Glitter is one of the most sparkly glitters I've ever encountered and its ultra-fine grind offers wonderful contrast to the bold black background.
Die cut vellum stars are layered and stapled over the top for further embellishment to allow the glittery chevron to show through. You might not think to add sequins to a card that has such a modern masculine vibe, but these have a satin finish that compliments the overall style of the design.
Incidentally, I tried out the Kool Tak CLEAR foam adhesive squares for 3D mounting one of the sequins (normally, I use rolled up Glue Dots); I had to cut it in half to fit under the sequin because it was larger, but those things are AWESOME! I love that they're totally clear!
To maintain that bold, crisp look I chose a sentiment that had a large, strong font and used Brilliance Graphite Black Ink to ensure a very rich and saturated impression--I love how "sharp" this ink looks against white.
WISH BIG
This card takes the same Luxe style a slightly different direction, with increased white space and the addition of another color, by way of some large glossy plastic letters in mint.
After creating a diagonal channel in the top layer, 1/4" Be Creative Tape was applied to the edges and Dark Gold Microfine Glitter was burnished overtop [see Burnished Velvet tutorial HERE]. A little forethought had to be given on this design because the word "big" needed to be stamped onto the top panel in a particular spot before it was mounted. This layer was then 3D trimmed and mounted to a white base card, leaving a gap that exposed the patterned Washi Tape.
These plastic letters by Heidi Swapp are fantastic and I adore the color, but they are not self-adhesive so I had to think on that one for a bit. In the end, I sent them through my little Xyron because they fit in the chute (weren't too wide, and weren't too thick) and I knew the adhesive would be invisible. I will have to experiment with more ways to mount them to projects--I think you could have some fun hand-stitching them, securing them with the Tiny Attacher Tool or even brads, etc. :)
More vellum stars were added, with some left flat and applied with Xyron adhesive, and others were folded in half and then glued down with Glossy Accents in the centers so they would pop up a bit along the outer points for added interest and dimension. After adding a few gold sequins I sat on my hands... *grin* I've learned to sleep on some designs overnight; if the next morning I feel it is missing something, I can always add to it! In this case, however, I think stopping at this point was the right call. ;)
NEW LIFE
Metallics don't always have to hard and crisp; this new baby card is very gentle and dreamy...
The top layer of white linen card stock was placed underneath a mask of tiny stars and lightly misted with Mister Huey's in Gold. This color of mist has lovely, warm golden toned shimmer to it. To keep from obliterating the details of the stars, repositionable adhesive was used to keep the mask in place over the card stock and the piece was placed in a large cardboard box so I could spritz it from up high with several coats, building up the intensity of the color. I had to spritz from a high distance to allow the mist to "float down" onto the paper; being too close caused a great deal of puddling, which then ran all over the place and ultimately looked like blobs. Not exactly the effect I was going for... Oy!
NOTE: If you're not sure of what kind of results you will get, test (Always test first; ask me how I know...!) your misting on scrap paper until you get a feel for how high up you need to be, depending on the color you're using and how intense you want the color to lay down. Be aware that if you pump hesitantly or start and stop midway, you will probably create a lot of heavy droplets whereas depressing the pump completely and with confidence will yield a much finer, more uniform mist.
I even misted some scraps of white card stock (Splash & Gold Mister Huey's) and after they were dry, stamped and embossed my sentiment with gold detail embossing powder and punched the greeting out. Double punching a scrap of bright yellow card stock enabled me to create an crescent-shaped layer for my "moon".
A length of gold cord was coiled up and glued it to the back of the moon before mounting it to the card front--a fun look I've seen before but hadn't tried yet.
This was such a unique way to create a new baby card and I loved being able to use non-baby themed stamps to pull the idea together! The strips of color on each side of the star panel were just from my scrap bin--these are perfect for creating the illusion of a more layered look.
SHINE ON
These wood veneer shapes acquire the look of metal charms with a coating of embossing powder, but they are soooo lightweight!
Just press them against your Versamark/embossing pad and dip them into a jar of embossing powder. Remove them with tweezers then place them with the embossing powder side facing upward into a shoebox lid or something similar; heat with your ebossing gun until the powder becomes shiny/melted and allow them to cool, then glue them onto your project with Glossy Accents. (The lid will help keep them corralled and from blowing all over your desk when you're heating them. You can also use the tips of your tweezers to keep them in one spot while you're embossing.)
The Starburst image was stamped in Soft Pool to support the gold accents, but not create a totally overpowering metallic look. Before stamping the greeting right over top with Versamark, I prepped the surface with an anti-static pouch; this ensures the surface is dry and no moisture will attract stray embossing powder in unwanted areas.
The greeting was then embossed with gold detail powder and a narrow strip of metallic gold card stock was glued beneath it along the horizon line of the starburst pattern.
As you can see, it only takes a hint of gold to create a fabulous luxe look and it can be as bold and sharp or soft and subtle as you like! And, keep in mind that this applies to any metallic, including platinum, pewter, silver, copper and brass.
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