Make the Cut!

WELCOME to the May edition of the Technique Blog Hop!!  This month we're featuring Thin Cuts and/or Cricut Collection cuts. Either one works for me because I do NOT like fussy cutting! If you ever receive a card from me with a hand cut-out image, consider yourself very special!

You may have arrived here after seeing Amazing Creations by Maz. 
After you're finished my post, click the link at the bottom to hop to the next consultant's page. If you get lost, there is a complete list on Melissa's blog. 

Don't forget to leave a comment below!

Do you remember??

I recently received a shipment with the adorable Wild & Punny stamp set and thin cuts bundle. When I first saw it in the catalog, it reminded me of my favorite cartoon clip. 

I wanted a "busy" paper and chose one from the new Craft On paper pack.

The blue strip is one of the zip strips. 

The pattern is #21 from Make It From Your Heart, Volume 4. 

To highlight the reptile shape, I embossed the image on vellum. It is attached to the paper with our Bonding Memories glue. This is my go-to product for vellum if I can't otherwise hide the adhesive.

Double Duty Tools

Don't forget, the All-Purpose mat works for both heat embossing and when gluing. The "sticky" side keeps embossing powder from contaminating everything nearby. It is also heat resistant! The shiny side cleans up easily and protects your work space.


Washi Tape not only makes for a fun embellishment, it is also a great crafting tool. Usually I use the Thin Cuts first and then stamp my image on the shape, but for this card, all the die cutting needed to be done on the "finished" papers instead of extra pieces.

For embossing the vellum I needed the extra margin around the image to  prevent smudging the lines before they were heat set. For cutting the shape from piece A and the Decorative Border on piece B, the die needed to stay straight and centered.

The Anti-Static Pouch is another one of those great tools you never knew you needed. It makes a huge difference when heat embossing. Swipe it across the paper before stamping to make sure all the embossing power sticks to the ink, not the paper. Throw it in the bag of new sequins to prevent them from displaying magnetic powers. And there's one more thing I use it for frequently...if you know, post in the comment section!






After I got started, I realized this is an eclipse card. 

Hopefully there is a traditional one on the hop this month. If not, I may come back and add one. They are fun, and addictive. 

FYI:  On my card, the popped up piece really needed the regular thickness of 3-D foam tape instead of the thin type. 

Sooo many choices!

I wasn't sure what to use for an embellishment on this card. While going through my supplies, I saw the Crafty Sequins. The Crafty Sequins include a large assortment of colors, finishes, and sizes, plus black flowers. I've used loose sequins as bling before and was excited to spend more time with the new Fine Tip Applicator for Liquid Glass! This tool is AWESOME! 

Tip: wipe the end off after each use. 

Animal shapes always bring googly eyes to mind. After quickly ruling it out in this case, I briefly considered adding a glimmer gem or similar item to the chameleon's eyes. Then I had one of my infrequent great ideas...


The eyes are the two smallest sequins sizes, used upside down and adhered with Liquid Glass. I just love this little guy and hope you do too!!



If you're ready to go shopping, the product links are below. Otherwise, leave a comment then hop over to see the creations of Miss Carrie!

Thanks for stopping by! 

Craft On paper pack
Wild & Punny stamp set and Thin Cuts
Lemon Cardstock
Vellum
White Embossing Powder
White Pigment Ink
Black EI (dye) Stamp Pad
Heat Tool
All-Purpose Mat
Anti-Static Pouch 
Cards & Envelopes
3-D Foam Tape
Make It From Your Heart, Volume 4
Decorative Borders Thin Cuts
Bonding Memories glue
Crafty Sequins
Craft Boxes are perfect for storing sequins!
Fine Tip Applicator for Liquid Glass
Liquid Glass
Tombow Permanent Adhesive

Lovely Layers - CTMH Technique Blog Hop

If you've arrived from Terry's blog, you're right on track!

This month the Technique Blog Hop is focusing on "Lovely Layers." No, that's not what the fashionable people wear in Chicago when it's 50 degrees below! Here we're talking about layers of paper, ink, or even...Liquid Glass.

You'll find Liquid Glass under the tools section when shopping on my website. You may have used it for one of our National Papercrafting Month specials to secure flowers. For years, CTMH Consultants have been using it's adhesive super powers for even more, like repairing the sole on your shoe during convention! If you haven't seen my favorite example, just ask! It works great for securing ribbons on mini-albums. The opening allows you to place a fine line for attaching twine, or a dot to keep a sequin in place.

However, this amazing product is more than an adhesive,  Did you ever use it as an EMBELLISHMENT? As the name implies, you can use it to replicate glass on your projects. It forms a clear covering over an image. A few months ago, you may have seen snow globes with Liquid Glass. You can cover the entire image or highlight selected parts. It can be LAYERED on paper and complements. Above, I used it on the lens of the glasses from the Heart Happy complements.

You can also make a sheen on water surfaces. These pictures show an old pool layout where I used the  Liquid Glass on stamped water drops.

I mentioned using this amazing product with 3-D flowers. On this year's special, it was suggested to add a thin LAYER of Liquid Glass to the leaves, to give them a sheen similar to real Magnolia leaves.







For my blog hop artwork, I made a card using the Egg-stra Special bundle and Decorative Borders thin cuts. The color combination came from the So Much Happy collection.

I used two Easter Eggs on the card, but in preparation I LAYERED the Liquid Glass several ways:

1. I colored some areas with Shin Han markers and used Liquid Glass to accent them.
2. I covered the entire image. 
3. I highlighted stamped spots. 
4. I colored some areas with Shin Han markers and used Liquid Glass to accent them.
5. I suggest using Intense Black ink with Liquid Glass. Some ink and marker colors may run, usually the darker shades. By working with one section at a time, this is easily avoided. 

I like to cut my die shapes before I stamp them, but I did save one egg and cut the shape after it was covered with Liquid Glass. I had to use washi tape to hold the die in place, but there didn't seem to be any other issues. One more FYI:  Liquid Glass may change the color of dye ink. I didn't notice this with any of the colors I used, but I remember it being an issue with some of the retired reds (they looked orange).

When working with Liquid Glass, use the All-Purpose Mat. Not only will it protect your work surface, but your project won't accidentally become glued to anything else. And, any spillage will pop right off after it dries!

You may have noticed that the eggs curled a bit from the Liquid Glass. This didn't cause any problems, in fact, one of my "failures" may give someone else an idea for a new technique. This is another nice feature of Liquid Glass, it stays flexible, not brittle, after drying. The piece to the right has MANY individual LAYERS of Liquid Glass and was purposefully bent, it didn't become this deformed from the application of the product.

Don't you just love our two-toned cardstock?! I used both shades of Clover for the LAYERS of "grass" and the lighter side for both egg shapes. I used the Peach ink on the lighter side of the Peach cardstock to give the tone-on-tone stamping more contrast.

Did you see the bunny's paws? I made these using the ears stamp and thin cuts, then I added little lines with a journaling pen. I also used the egg die and put them through the Cuttlebug to trim them to size.


Thank you for stopping by! Please leave some love in the comments below before continuing to  Melissa's page. (She also has the list of all participants in case you get lost hopping around.)



Products used on Easter card:

• Z697 Liquid Glass
• Z4262 Egg-stra Special stamp and thin cuts
• Z4241 Thin Cuts-Decorative Borders
• X6027 White Daisy Cardstock
• X5986 Mint Cardstock
• X5995 Clover Cardstock
• X5988 Peach Cardstock 
• X6008 Lemon Cardstock
• X254 Value Pack card bases and envelopes
• Z2461 ShinHan™ Touch Twin™ Peacock Green Marker BG61
• Z4189 Intense Black Exclusive Inks™ stamp pad
• Z6502 Peach  Exclusive Inks™ stamp pad
• Z2895 Lagoon Exclusive Inks™ stamp pad
• Z1979 Marvy® Uchida® LePen™ Journaling Pen

Product Spotlight: ALL-PURPOSE MAT

If you haven't seen this product, take a second look!

Do you have grit all over after embossing from stray embossing power flying all over? Then you need the All-Purpose Mat! The one side of the mat is tacky: that keeps it from sliding around when you're using the non-stick side, but it also works face up to hold onto extra embossing power. The mat is heat resistant to 240 degrees F.

Do you end up with stickiness on your work surface from "over-gluing?" Then you need an All-Purpose Mat! Glue wipes right off the non-stick side!!  Wet glue, dry glue, tape glue, glue dots, it just wipes off giving you a clean work surface. This is especially helpful for small and randomly shaped pieces like Cricut cuts.

This non-stick side is also useful for wet techniques. Use it under your paper when using the spray pen. Mix watercolors or use as a palette for reinkers. Check out this fun technique.

And here's a video so you can see the All-Purpose Mat in action.

Shop for your mat and other items here.