Welcome to another In Detail post. With the holidays around the corner, I thought it would be fun to take a look at a few of the many silver and gold products in the Ellen Hutson store with which to add shimmer and shine to your papercrafting projects.
Inks
Let’s start the exploration by looking at metallic inks. With the Hero Arts Winter Sparkle Background stamp, I stamped Hero Arts Shadow Silver and Gold Inks on Neenah cardstock.
I stamped the same image in Delicata Silvery Shimmer and Golden Glitz.
On white, the Hero Arts inks give a subtle effect, especially the Gold, whereas the Delicata Golden Glitz really stands out.
When I stamped the Hero Arts Shadow Silver ink on Bazzill Licorice cardstock, I found the results to be different. The black cardstock allowed the subtlety of the shadow ink to work effectively.
Although the Delicata Silvery Shimmer stamped on black has good coverage, the effect does not rival that of the Hero Arts ink.
Embossing Powders
Let’s move on to embossing powders. I stamped sentiments from Essentials by Ellen Merry & Bright by Julie Ebersole with VersaMark ink and heat embossed on Bazzill Licorice cardstock with the following powders: Ranger Super Fine Gold, Ranger Super Fine Silver, Hero Arts Gold and Hero Arts Silver.
I also stamped a sentiment from the Essentials by Ellen Brushstroke Christmas by Julie Ebersole set and embossed with both the Ranger and Hero Arts powders.
For heat embossing, the Ranger Super Fine powders provide a titch more detail than the Hero Arts ones. Colorwise the Ranger and Hero Arts powders are comparable. (For more on metallic embossing powders, this In Detail post may be of interest.)
Cardstock & Paper
There are several paper and cardstock options to add silver or gold to a papercrafting project.
With the Brushstroke Peace die I cut American Crafts Pow! Glitter Paper in Gold and Silver. Described as ultra-thin and lightweight, I found it necessary to use a metal adaptor to get the die to cut cleanly through the paper. The glitter is imbedded in the paper rather than glued onto the surface.
With the Chickaniddy foil papers (Goldie Lox and Silver Surfer), it was best to cut without the metal adaptor.
The Curious Metallic Cardstock (90#) in Gold Leaf and Galvanized (a silver color) adds a metallic accent that’s more subtle than either the glitter or foil papers.
The glitter paper adds the most sparkle and the foil paper adds the most shine. Of the three, the Curious Metallics cardstock, which adds a subtle metallic accent, is the one best suited to create a card base because of its weight.
Sprays & Mists
I sprayed Tarnished Brass through the Penny Black Snow Dance Stencil on Bazzill Licorice cardstock creating a shimmery background. (In this In Detail post, I reviewed the Distress Ink Spray Stains including Ranger Distress Brushed Pewter Spray Stain and Tarnished Brass.)
Sequins
I discussed sequins in this In Detail post that included the combination of Pretty Pink Posh 6mm Flat Silver Stars with Pretty Pink Posh 6mm Gold Circle Confetti sequins.
Put It All Together
After playing with the various products, I created several cards, combining the metallic materials.
For the first project, I used the Memory Box Cabrini Ornament die to cut American Crafts Pow! Silver paper, Curious Metallics Gold Leaf and Galvanized cardstock, piecing the ornament together in the method I described in this In Detail post. I chose the cardstock for its stability. If using the glitter or foil papers, I recommend cutting the ornament outline out of solid cardstock and adhering the paper to it. I stamped and heat embossed a sentiment from Penny Black Nature's Friend in Ranger Super Fine Silver embossing powder on a rectangle panel, cut with the Pretty Pink Posh stitched rectangle from the Duo 2 set. I adhered the rectangle to a Curious Metallics Galvanized card base.
For the second card I combined the Brushstroke Peace die cut from Silver glitter paper and a sentiment from the Essentials by Ellen Brushstroke Christmas by Julie Ebersole set embossed with Hero Arts Silver powder on a vellum strip. (I adhered several die cuts for the peace sentiment.) The card base was created by spraying Ranger Distress Brushed Pewter Spray Stain through the Tim Holtz Festive stencil on Bazzill Licorice cardstock.
That wraps up an exploration covering a just a few of the ways to add sparkle and shine to your papercrafting projects.
What metallic accents do you reach for when papercrafting?
--Jean
