Pixie Dust Tutorial

These tutorials are a product of extensive reading, researching and lots of time spent on making them. Please do not copy, or share on your page (for promoting your items in your shop) unless I give you permission to do so. Please ask nicely....I won't say no...but you need to ask.... You can link it on your blogs if you have used these tutorials...please share the link with me when you do use these tutorials...I would love to stop by and see what you have done! 

I'm just re-posting the pixie dust tutorial from the Pie lane blog...Just for those who missed it there!!
 
Its going to be loads of photos...I could have done a video..but my camera decide it didn't want to film in the dark and cloudy and cold day today...so pictures it is for you!!

 My tools of trade....Double sided tape in different sizes....over here I have 1/4th inch, 1/2 inch, one inch and two inch tapes...tweezers, glitter, punches, and most important - baby wipes and a paint brush..and a large rough paper to collect glitter...I have a printer paper with me .

 Here I have the 2 inch double sided tape stuck to the paper...I usually scribble with a pen on the tape so that I know which side to stick back...

Peel off the backing...and save it...That is the most important sheet in this technique.
I tend to save scraps from other projects too. And keep your CS far away from glitter as possible while you're doing the next step.

I have punched out stars of different sizes from the backing paper..You can re-use them later on too...

Use your tweezers and start attaching them back on the sheet with the adhesive (double sided tape) Try very hard not to touch the sheet with your fingers..else the stickiness of the the tape will go away...

a picture of the whole sheet once covered in star peel offs!! Use your tweezer to stick them down properly.

Start pouring your base color glitter. This was my first mistake of the day....Never use light color glitter first...But as I learn .. you will learn....so continuing on..cover the whole sheet with transparent glitter...Wherever the star peel outs are there, the glitter will not adhere....

The most important part...Shake off the excess glitter and use your finger (sorry about that chipped nail..) to rub the glitter into the adhesive backed cardstock. Not too vigorously  but gently....rub all over the sheet and if necessary use a paint brush to brush off the excess.This rubbing motion sets the glitter in...and is called Burnishing.

 Here, I've removed a couple of the small star off...and poured glitter over only those areas...This is aqua color..again..pour, shake off the excess and rub over those area..

Work with one color at a time..I love how the blue-green glitter looks like a comet...its actually not..I'm just pouring it over the last of my stars...burnish and voila...the arrows show where the sticker has been peeled off and the adhesive of the tape is showing....

Your finished piece. Now you can see why it was a mistake to use the lightest color first? The darker colors have gone into the white and messed it up....but still its good!!! now this piece is ready to be used on a card...

And if you thought, that was all that I had to share..you're wrong!!! I've got some more!!

So here I start with a random scrap of CS that I had lying around...

I used my cutting mat as a guide and drew diagonal lines on it... (Mishtake number 2 of the day) use a very light hand while drawing these!!!

 Using those lines as a reference stick down 1/4th inch double sided take on teh whole sheet...know where I'm going with this? you'll see....

 Start adding green glitter on every 3rd line...work with one line at a time...use a paint brush to clean off in between and your wet wipes..

Then bring in color number 2..red..again every 3rd line with red...remove the backing, pour glitter, shake off the excess, use your fingers and burnish it and clean it with a brush...

 

Added the final and the 3rd color..transparent white...now see my mishtake? the pencil lines are visible through the white glitter...Your piece is ready to be used in a card....

And btw I'm still not done yet!!! Do you hate me by now?  Tee-heehee!! Promise this is the last!!!

 This is what happens when you keep the paper with the adhesive near glitter...its Contaminated!! I've just cut a butterfly out of the backing paper of the double sided tape....
ETA - I think I skipped a few steps over here...the piece on the right is a piece of 2x3 inch CS covered with the 2 inch double sided tape..and the backing has been peeled off...that's why you see the red glitter stuck to it.. The butterfly is cut out of the backing paper that I peeled off. 

Attach the butterfly to the card base, pour the color you want...burnish it very well and then with tweezers remove the butterfly backing...and this is what you get after removing the backing... the part that is white is still sticky, as there is the double sided tape under the blue glitter.. 
you can add transparent glitter at this point...but I was going for extreme contrast...so ..

Yeah, BLACK!!! Isn't that gorgeous...just add a magnet tape and you've got yourself a fridge magnet....

Here's after cutting the shape...and its ready to go on my fridge.

Hope you learnt something and will surely give this a try...simple tools...but dazzling results!! 

Any queries....shoot an email at Tejal2210 (AT) gmail (DOT) com.

Just like that...

This is just a post of few things I wanted to share..I just got a few supplies in the mail from Artystree Ems..a cute little store owned by Eesha Shetty...I had been eyeing the charms that she stocked...Finally got them...butterfly had to be one of them....they are amazing in person...I'm waiting to order more...and I have way too many of them...in case someone wants to share half the charms, I'll be willing!!

 I got the metal book mark and the charm from her....I already had this charm ready when I'd given it for exhibition...I just removed the pearl and added the charm...coz I was in an insane hurry to make it look pretty!!
The book mark is 8 cms...tiny but looks gorgeous!! I do have some extra bookmarks, so if you want a custom made for you...drop me an email..

 That gorgeous butterfly!! I love it....

This is how it looks when hung on the book...Hubby called me crazy when I finished it up at 11pm and went to show him....he's like you made it already? (then shakes his head in amazement...what I would give to hear his thoughts at that time)
And the next is a card I made for a sweet little girl...You can see I struggle with layers and embellishments...

I messed up with the glitter part...not too happy with how it looks..but surely happy with how the Tilda is colored...
Well, that's it from me now...See you around....

Pixie Dust Tutorial

I'm sure most of you have been to the Pie lane blog and have been momentarily stunned by the bling...but I'm happy to note that most of you have survived. And those who get affected and start glittering up their husbands, kids and cats and dogs...I'm not to blame! :)
If you haven't been there, why are you still reading this? Just hop on over and check out 3 projects I have in store for you....Here's what I'm showing...

 

A galaxy of glittered stars (Thanks for the descriptive word Kalindi!)

A rainbow of Christmas colored stripes

A super blingy butterfly fridge magnet! 

Hop on over to the blog now...

Book Review - Nicholas Sparks

I'm deviating from what I'm supposed to be doing today...making a post for Pie Lane...since that will take a bit of time...I thought I'd jot down a few words on the books that are at my  bedside right now!! I've slowly and steadily become a fan of Nicholas Sparks books. I picked up the first one 10 yrs back,The Notebook and man I was in love!!! And what I loved most was it was so much from the heart...

The book that I recently.. The Lucky One...The story is about an ex-army protagonist who is in search of a woman...he doesn't know her name, doesn't know where she stays...all he has is her photo.He believes she is his lucky charm. Eventually he finds her....and then begins the tale of how he gets to know her.
Along with that is how he develops a bond with her son, her nana....I love her nana...she's one feisty lady! she should have been given more pages to her!
And then there is the bad guy....her ex-husband who will not allow anyone to get close to her...even though they're separated. Read on to watch the story unfold.
Why I loved this was the beautiful blooming of their friendship. I am thankfully blessed with a fabulous imagination and I could see the story unfurling in front of my eyes! I love Logan's character...who wouldn't love a military guy and who has a dog crazy enough to bark underwater??
I love the book for its feel good factor..Definitely worth a read.

The next one that I read was The Choice....I had a mixed feeling about this one. Its about Travis, a guy who is content with the life he has..enjoys a beautiful house and beautiful views of the sunset everyday...but hasn't found love....and isn't too bothered with it.
Then comes over his neighbour...Gabby, who is engaged...and has moved just so she can be closer to her fiance. Then she spends the most perfect day with Travis...and that day never seems to end.....
And there in she has a choice to make....where does her road lead...towards Travis or with her fiance....
This first half I loved...I could feel the butterflies in my stomach when I was reading about their slowly developing attraction....it reminded me of my days when I first fell in love!! Fabulous read so far!
Then comes part two...this part deals with the choice he has to make...Before the book begins the author gives us vague hints...that Travis is meeting his wife...taking flowers for her...and that he ought to talk to her...that they had a fight and haven't been speaking....and then the second half tells what that fight was all about ...
I found this part a bit haphazard....lots of back and forth between the past and present...I was tempted to chuck the book....because the second half didn't match to the pace of the first half....but as I kept on reading....things fell into place...
The ending is expected, but still the kinds I wanted.
Again, this would be a one time read... if for nothing the first half of the book.

All in all definitely a good way to spend an afternoon cuddled with your book.

Christmas is here!!!

Hello peeps!!!! 3 posts from me in 3 days!! wowza..Surely am going to go off the grid soon!! As long as I'm here, here's my post for today!! Please check out my previous post if you want to feel jealous about all the inks that I've accumulated in the last 4 years!!

So here is my project.. for Kavitha's Challenge - Hanging out 

Its an ornament for my Christmas tree!! Yes its all bling...I love bling I can't help it. And I was very very please with how it came out...just oodles of bling and in a yellow light..it just shimmers away like mad!!

In case you want to make one for yourself, here's the template...its from Birds Cards blog. Just open the pdf file, print it and cut it up!!
The copper paper is local buy..embossed with Fiskar's texture plates...The toe, heel and the cuff of this sock is cut from Itsy bitsy glitter papers..all 3 pieces are distress with a bit of vintage photo.

Just a hint of Doily lace distress with Vintage photo..and the felt flower is from hobby ideas..I ripped out the original flower that had 3 layers..distress it with VP (vintage photo) and applied glitter glue generously. The tiny heart is a cut out from the ornament below. Some cappuccino bakers twine for the ornaments.

I fell in love with this die when I'd seen it..Thanks Ujjwal for making it possible to get it to me. Its a Papertrey ink die..9 tiny tags..simply gorgeous! And of course some brown bling stones for the heel and toe of the sock!

And on another fabulous news, Pie Lane has its very own challenge now....one whole month of inspirations and a fabulous goody bag of Pie Lane products to a random participant...Head on over..check it out!!! 

The Reveal

There's not much to post today....but I thought I drop in and show you what I was upto with that rainbow colored paper!!
If you missed it, I'd shared it on my yesterday's post. Here it is again...

 Quite a few of you guessed them as labels....yup those are labels...I was busy playing with distress inks and labels. I was organizing them.... I used to have a hard time pulling all of them out just to see which one I wanted!!!
So after all the inking and playing with inks and sponges....Ta-da!!!! All four sides are labelled so I can put them however, and still see the name of the ink pad!

I love the rainbow colors...and just in case you are tempted to say...so many colors!! It took me one year to come to these colors...I buy as I use...I can always share what I learnt from a blogger pal Britta on how to buy your first distress inks!!

And now it is so easy for me to pick them out of my box of inkpads!! Yeah the foams are also color arranged!! Just for a few days...it will be messy as usual!!

Its a bit messy but that's how it is!! As long as the box closes I have no problems!! :)

I'm sure you will want to ask me a hundred questions!! To the left are my memento dew drop inkpads, the red bottle is the ranger solvent cleaner for my stazon ink. Ask me if you are any more curious!!

Anniversary RAK's!!

This 20th of November, I celebrated my 3rd Wedding Anniversary!! phew!! 3 yrs and we've still not killed each other...just kidding!! Since we were busy house hunting..and I almost had a heat stroke...we didn't celebrate much...just a quite dinner and a dang of a chocolate mousse cake... called VERTIGO!! scrumptious!! Here's what the patisserie looked like!!

Picture Courtesy- Burrp!

Other than teasing you with the pictures of the patisserie, I also wanted to share the fabulous cards that made its way to my hands. And for that, a million thanks from both of us to all of you!!!

This is a crazily beautiful card from Snehal...and the matching envelope! I love how she co-ordinates the card and the envelope!! And this is not all...I don't know if you remember, but Snehal had showcased one of her journals...yup!! I have it!! thank you so much Snehal..I love you for being so so kind and generous with your talents. You made me feel truly truly special that day!! Thank you from the bottom of my heart...
Here is that gorgeous journal and here are some of my favorite pages from her book!!

These are just some of the pages she's decorated for me...rest are empty for journalling..but I love the binding!! Beautiful...you gotta teach me that girlie!!

This gorgeous card with a butterfly comes from Rachna...Thank you for never forgetting my anniversary!!!

And this one layer wonder comes from Shalini ...Thank you girls!!!

And just before I sign out and say thanks again....can you figure out what the hell was I upto?

Aren't those rainbow colors fabulous????
Have a good day everyone!!

Glitter Galore!!

My new post is up at Pie lane blog....just before you hop over there...please put your glares on!! Here's a sneak peek of what you can expect over there!!!

Know what I mean now? Bling Bling and off you go to check it out!!! Do leave some love on the post!!!

A few Q & A's....

Sorry peeps for not being regular..but right now I'm enjoying the weather, snuggling up to my books..they've been complaining for too too long!!! So on that reading spree...I finished Eldest, Brisingr and now hoping to get Inheritance..These are the Eragon Series...and then just finished yesterday, Kathryn Stockett's The Help....fabulous books!!! I have loved writing reviews of books, maybe I could do that here too...in case there are any book lovers who are interested!!! let me know!

Any recommendations for what books you'll are reading...

Back to crafty stuff....I had a few questions from Priya Sivaraj and when I did write back to her, she suggested I share over here...maybe quite a few have the same queries!!

What is the difference between fevicryl glue and gloss and glossy accents? Is it the same product from different countries or the quality is different?

They are two very different products..I haven’t used glossy accents, but have read enough about it and seen in action. Glue and gloss is basically a decoupage glue. It is used to seal the paper and give it a glossy finish..what I do is pile it up to give it a sticker effect.. it’s a white glue that dries clear…and is a slow drying glue. And I’m not too sure how well it will hold your embellishment if you use it as a glue. Since its slow drying, I generally use the no-stitch fabric glue to attach my embellishments.

Glossy Accents on the other hand is a clear glue and quicker drying than glue and gloss, and it holds the embellishments really well. It’s a strong adhesive as well as give a beautiful gloss.

If you had the option to choose, buy Glossy accents for its quality.

Glue and gloss is just a substitute that works as well.

   

What is the difference between Niji Pearlescent colors and Fevicryl pearl colors?

They are entirely two different items. Pearlescent colors are thin translucent watercolors that have a fabulous sheen to it. You are able to layer on the Niji colors with a variety of media...you can write over them, stamp over them (depending on inks used, it might bleed but that itself is a pretty effect ) 

Fevicryl pearl colors on the other hand are acrylic colors with a pearl luster…they are not translucent..Almost opaque..Unless you water it down a lot, they will be opaque.

Here there is no comparison since they are entirely different products…

A suitable alternative to Pearlescent watercolors would to be to get some white pearl eye shadow powder, mix it with some water colors and give it a try…the finer the eye shadow powder, better the pearl sheen you would get…I’m still to try this out, but if you do, let me know!

MS glitter and Pie Lane glitter!!

I haven’t used MS glitter so can’t compare but it would be safe to say both are at par…MS glitter comes in 3 types…coarse, fine and tinsel. I have the Coarse glitter and it’s bigger chunks of glitter.

As for fine glitter, I would say both are almost same. 

The only difference would be the packaging and the number of colors...and the quantity...so if anyone has used both..would love your take on this question.

How do u manage cutting 12*12 papers using ur trimmer?                 

I don’t have a 12x12 trimmer. Its on my wish list..I’m still trying to decide which to buy..still going back and forth over my pros and con’s. What I do have is the 5 x 8.5 trimmer.

I use my scale and Precision knife (its like an x-acto knife, but made by Camel..desi stuff) to cut it down to where it will fit within my trimmer.

Priya Venkat had shared a very practical way of cutting up the 12x12  papers…

I find this a very practical way of using my papers, I use the 6x6 for my mini albums or cards, the 6x8 goes for my albums and 4x6 to use as mats for photos or just use it on cards.

That is all from my end for now...off to try and make something..since I'm done with my books and have a lot of borrowed stuff to return!! heheh!!! 

Oct ATC Swap

We had our  ATC swaphosted by Rachna. It was exciting to see so many participate...

I love ATC's coz they offer a tiny canvas on which to portray your imagination..

For those who don't know what an ATC is...here's my short intro..They're a 2.5x3.5 piece of paper, called ARTIST TRADING CARDS that you embellish, decorate and sign on the reverse ( please don't ever use the word backside..it does not exist in the dictionary...I shudder when I read the word backside in newspapers and magazines)
Back to ATC, you sign on the reverse so that your recipient knows who sent it. ATC's are always traded as the name suggests. They are not mini cards. They're like your playing cards or baseball trading cards. Here are a few examples of fabulous ATC's on flickr.
Here and here ( you can browse more by changing the number of page)
These are primarily stamping ATC's. They can also be made with mixed media, collage, paints..any medium!

 So having said that, let me share the ones that I received....

Pics from Kalindi's blog

Pic from Kalindi's blog

These two fabulous cards came from Kalindi....I love the neatness with which she packed the cards..and the tiny bling stones and the scoring!! Way to use your new tools girl...simply fabulous!!! Thank you so much for this gorgeous cards!!

This gorgeous fall creation comes from Vintage queen...Mallika. Thank you sweets for the fabulous burst of color!!!
Coming up are ATC's that I made

I had a few extra poinsettia's printed while I was making cards for Pie lane...and took one..cut it into two and colored glittered, and glossed (the 2nd  card has gloss, the first only glitter) The main card front is distressed (what's new?) with shabby shutters, peeled paint and forest moss. stamps are from Inque Botique..the fern and the sentiment both. Glitter balls and glitter dust from Pie Lane! And a touch of hobby ideas glitter along the border to look like tinsel... ( you can see it better in the first card) 

And on a reprimanding note...I haven't got many comments on my Pie lane card...didn't ya'll visit the blog? or didn't like my card? I know its shameless to ask for comments, but that's how I improve..that's how I know what I did was good or need to improve basis....so please hop on over to Pie Lane blog and let me know if the card is way too simple?