Glitter gets a bad rap. It’s often the butt of craft jokes, the key to Edward’s sparkle or the evidence of a visit from Tinker Bell. It can be the mark of a school poster gone wrong. To a lot of scrappers and card makers, glitter can be the perfect touch. A little can highlight a certain element or embellishment; a lot can provide a big impact. I have really been amazed at the variety of glitter textures available in my store. There are lots available, from fine and super fine glitters to microbeads and my personal new obsession, tinsel glitter. Decisions, decisions!
This is the Martha Stewart crafts studio glittering techniques kit:
It contains all the supplies you need to complete four glittered butterfly greeting card projects. Today I am only walking you through the first one, and it’s adorable.
The kit contains a total of five colors of super fine glitter, (peridot, tourmaline, onyx, orange sorbet, and Florentine gold) and one vial of tinsel glitter in turquoise (my personal favorite!). This is more than enough glitter to complete the projects included with glitter to spare. Here are the additional materials included to complete the first card:
- A blank cardstock greeting card in olive green.
- A piece of blue vine patterned decorative paper, pre-cut to fit the greeting card.
- A blank chip board butterfly.
- A pre-printed “thank you” light blue cardstock piece.
- Foam dot adhesive.
- A small tube of white glue.
- A foam craft paint brush.
From my own supplies I also used:
- A sheet of plain white printer paper to catch and refill glitter.
- Recollections brand adhesive glue dots in size large.
- A Martha Stewart fine-tip glue pen. This is my favorite new tool to help achieve glittered borders and glittered handwriting.
First we will need to glitter our butterfly so it has a minute to dry while we assemble the card. Apply a thin coat of the white glue to the chip board butterfly’s wings only. Do NOT paint the body and antennae or you will mess up the finished look. Set the butterfly down on the printer paper and sprinkle away with the peridot glitter. Really lay it on there good. Don’t worry about hitting the body with the dry glitter, it will only stick where there is adhesive. Once you have the wings good and covered hold the butterfly up and gently tap the back to get the excess glitter to shake off. Reload the excess glitter you catch on your printer paper back into the glitter vial. Let your butterfly dry a couple minutes.
Next, using a glue pen (or the white glue with a fine nozzle), apply the adhesive to the body of the butterfly. The glue pen is wonderful for fine lines and tight spaces. Simple depress the pen nib a few times to get the glue flowing then write away like a regular marker. The glue applies blue but dries clear. Using the same shake on, tap off method, apply the turquoise tinsel glitter to the body of the butterfly.
The final glittered embellishment for the front of this card is the simple journaled message “Thank You.” It is hand written with the glue pen, then glittered with the peridot green fine glitter. A handwritten message can look pretty spiffy when all glammed up.
Now we are ready to assemble our card. Mount the printed paper onto the card using the glue dots, or a glue stick or tape runner if you prefer.
I added this glitter border with a super simple technique. I traced the outline of the edge where the decorative paper meets the card with the fine tip glue pen. Then I applied tinsel glitter and shook off the excess. Voila! A thin glittered border!
Using a few foam dots to give it an extra 3-D pop, attach the butterfly and the glittered message.
That’s it. Another project big on impact but short on time spent! Glittering is really a blast. I hope you all give it a try and feel nostalgic about making grown up projects with this fairy and vampire approved material.
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