ANOTHER TAG

The crown and the flourish are stamped with Flitter Glue then I gilded using Gilding Flakes

As you know, I love love love tags... something about the shape of them, plus they're a quick finish. And very useful as card toppers or as bookmarks.

Closeup: a little die cut Eiffel Tower mounted with Pop Dots. The background and Eiffel Tower are achieved using Glimmer Mist sprays for fabulous backgrounds. See the shimmer? Yum!

I had to invest (just a little, lol) in some new stamps -hadn't treated myself for ages! And this is when I discovered a totally new product: Flitter Glu (from Indigo Blu).

I've stamped a butterfly onto acetate (using Staz-On) and sponged the back with Flitter Glue, then threw on a load of orange glitter. The die cut letters are covered with Glossy Accents dimensional glue, with Stampendous German Glass glitter thrown on while it was wet (allow to dry at least 2 hours before tipping off the excess). I didn't have an 'A' so I used a button instead!

In my opinion, Flitter Glue is the best invention since sliced bread (I have never ever been able to gild successfully using the many varieties of sticky embossing powder) so here's a quickie tutorial on how to use it.

FLITTER GLUE

Indigo Blu does the MOST FABULOUS glue for gilding, glitter etc - Flitter Glue. Pour out about a teaspoonful onto a tile or plate, and pick this up on a small piece of Cut'N'Dry Foam (cut around 2in x 3in out of the sheet). Smoosh the WHITE side of the foam into the Flitter Glue to pick it up, then use this like an inkpad to 'ink up' - or should I say 'glue up' your stamps, and stamp with it.

The best bit is... this is so slow drying that you can do all your stamping in one go (even come back to it the following day - the image will still be tacky). So you can take your time applying Gilding Flakes, glitter, PearlEx or Perfect Pearls powders, powder eyeshadow, chalk pastels etc.

Closeup of the gilding. I used a stamp with a very fine outline, and it still shows perfectly! Love it!

GILDING

If you're using Gilding Flakes or foil, lay or sprinkle on top of your stamped-with-Flitter-Glue image and allow to set for a few seconds, then press down with the palm of your hand to make sure it's adhered nicely. If using foils, lift the foil off, and you're done! If using Gilding Flakes, rub off excess flakes with a Texture Sponge in a circular motion. Keep polishing with the sponge till it's all gone (pour the excess back ito the pot to use again). Step back and admire!

GLITTER, POWDERS ETC

Dust onto your stamped image, allow to sit for a few seconds. Shake off the excess! If you find it's not adhered well (perhaps a very finely drawn image, or you were rather sparing with the glue) throw on more powder, glitter etc - and lay a sheet of copy paper on top, and press down firmly (stops your hands getting covered with stuff). Remove the paper, shake off the excess and Voila!