Thursday, July 30, 2015

Gilding Storage + GIVEAWAY

If you are a new visitor, please note that I no longer am using this blog. My new site can be found at A Rare Ruby Crafts. The new post for the ink combinations can be found here. Thank you!

*all links and posts from this blog that were transferred to the new one will still link to old blog posts. Please disregard since I can't fix each one. if you have questions, just send me a message. :)

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My Ombre Shaker Card Tutorial can be found here.
The post about ink combinations for layering stamps can be found here.
Be sure to check out my Craft Items Sale!

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You've probably read and seen a lot about storage options, especially from Jennifer McGuire's videos and blog. When I first started collecting sequins, I bought this CraftMates 28-Compartment Caddy for about $6. Unfortunately, I did not realize that it was about to get super popular with all the crafters and eventually more than doubled in price and finally was discontinued. Insert sad face for always being late to the party. So I waited and, with my sequin and bead and confetti collection growing, waited some more. All of the gilding was still in the original plastic packaging so whenever I crafted, I would have to dig through bags to find the colors I needed. When I received The Ton's latest beautiful beads, I knew I had to invest in something. I had seen the Darice 82-piece Tiny Container Storage Tray around for a while but did not want to invest in it for $30-something at the time. Then I saw a friend post about it in the Facebook Stamp Junkies Group and that pretty much enabled me into finally purchasing it. I started with one to test it out. I filled it up with all the seed and bugle beads.


I love that it's small enough so there isn't too much empty space. I had invested in the other Craftmates boxes, but those were TOO big. I could not stand how much space they were taking up. 


Now it's easier for me to organize ALL my beads together and sort it by color! The tray comes with a cover so that they don't fall out. 


Then I tested out to see if I could fit my sequins in there. As you can see below, it was a success so I ordered one more tray. 



These are also sorted by color. However, I placed all my colors sequins together, ranging from 4mm to 10mm. The larger ones were divided into two containers but since I had more than enough, that was fine. 


I also stored The Ton's Couture Mixes in these. Here's a view with the container open: 


This is the side view. Pretty simple design. 


Finally, I bought a third tray because I wanted to store all my neutral colors and confetti separately. If you have a lot of sequins and gilding, this is a great investment. Do not let the price turn you off because there are 78 containers altogether. The 28-compartment was going for about $14 anyway so relatively speaking, it is worth the cost. 



I also added The Ton's latest star confetti in these containers, too. Aren't they gorgeous? Now all I want to do is stare at my gilding! ;-) 



I hope you found this post useful. All of The Ton's gilding can be found here. How do you store your sequins?

Also, I wanted to share how I am storing my embossing powders now. I bought this cool coffee pod tray and look - it fits all my embossing powders except for Zing! I still have to do samples and improve on my organization but it's coming together slowly. :-)




I have one of these CraftMates Lockables to giveaway to a lucky commenter.

U.S. only due to shipping costs. I'll select a winner from all the comments left on any of today's posts by Friday, August 7. Have a good week! 

Ink Combinations for Layering Stamps

If you are visiting from Jennifer McGuire's blog, please note that I no longer am using this blog. My new site can be found at A Rare Ruby Crafts. The new post for the ink combinations can be found here. Thank you!

*all links and posts from this blog that were transferred to the new one will still link to old blog posts. Please disregard since I can't fix each one. if you have questions, just send me a message. :)

---

My Ombre Shaker Card Tutorial can be found here.
My Sequins/Beads Organization + GIVEAWAY can be found here.
Be sure to check out my Craft Items Sale!

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I wanted to share the combinations that I discovered for layering stamps. Since I own all the inks from Altenew, Papertrey Ink, and WPlus9, I was able to play around with all of the colors and came up with a few that I loved. Red and yellow were the hardest, and I'm still trying to come up with a combination for red that satisfies me. I may have to invest in some more inks...since you can never have enough, right? ;-)


I love Jennifer McGuire's organization tips and so I used her blank ink swatch to type up the colors I used and then stamp the layers. Now these are stored with my ink swatches and make it so much easier for me to play with my layering stamps! I used one of the stamps from Fresh Cut Peonies for the swatches. These are SO easy to line up. I did not have to use the MISTI. ;-)



Here are the combinations for yellow and orange that I came up with. You can click on the image in order to read the names more clearly. If you have other ink brands, you can play around with those shades instead of having to invest in the ones that I have. I own other inks that I have not tried yet because I'm still organizing my crafty stuff! The organization never seems to end! :-P



Here are the combinations for red and pink.



And here are the combinations for purple and blue. The great thing about flowers is that they come in countless colors and shades so you can get really creative with this! I hope you found this helpful and are inspired to try your own shades. I am sure that I will continue to find different combinations over time.


Here's a look at them all. Aren't they GORGEOUS? They may not be accurate due to lighting, but you get the idea.


I store them with my other ink swatches. They're not perfect yet, but I find it useful for now! 


Thanks so much for visiting! Check out my other posts from today. :-)

Ombre Shaker Card Tutorial

If you are a new visitor, please note that I no longer am using this blog. My new site can be found at A Rare Ruby Crafts. The new post for the ink combinations can be found here. Thank you!

*all links and posts from this blog that were transferred to the new one will still link to old blog posts. Please disregard since I can't fix each one. if you have questions, just send me a message. :)

---

My Sequins/Beads Organization + GIVEAWAY can be found here.
The post about ink combinations for layering stamps can be found here.
Be sure to check out my Craft Items Sale!

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The pink/gold ombre shaker card I created for The Ton's Mid Summer Release was pretty popular and a few people asked me to make a video showing how it came together. However, I don't know how to make videos yet so the best I could do was show you step-by-step through pictures. Feel free to leave me feedback letting me know if this post has been helpful or not. Thank you so much for your interest!

Links to what I used are at the end of the post.

First, I took A2-sized white cardstock pieces that I had already pre-cut and used the MFT Die-namics Abstract Cover Up die to cut out the top layer for the shaker card. I use 3M Painter's Tape to hold down my dies when running them through the Big Shot.


Once that was cut, I used Glossy Accents to attach some of the Grafix Dura-Lar Film behind it and cut off the excess on the sides. This is a great alternative to using acetate sheets. (Also, I started using these Fineline Applicator Bottles that were recommended by Jennifer McGuire. No more having to unclog my Glossy Accents!)


Then I used the MFT Die-namics Abstract Cover Up to die-cut a piece of white foam.


I added Glossy Accents on the top part and attached the first piece (that has the clear film on it) over the foam. Let it dry for a minute or so to secure in place.


Now comes the fun part that we need to do slowly: adding the shaker contents! You can choose whether you want to add sequins or beads or other embellishments. I used The Ton's newest beads because I love their size and weight. My last card was pink/peach/gold and here I'll be using shades of aqua and gold. All the colors should be linked below.



Aren't those containers so cute? I have switched over to a brand new embellishment storage option, which is this Darice 82-piece Tiny Container Storage Tray, and I have a separate post that goes into detail about it (and a fun giveaway!). I selected all the colors that I want to use and set them on my workspace as shown. Once the foam side is up, I started to slowly and carefully place my beads over the film.


Once I have filled up all the parts of the die, I can close the shaker card. I add Glossy Accents on every line of the foam so that I can seal properly. You have several options now. You can attach a piece of white cardstock that is the same size of the die over the foam and then attach this whole piece to your cardbase. You can attach a piece of the clear film in the same size as well (make sure you let it dry so that it sticks well). What I had done in my last card was guess and glue down my cardbase to the foam. It wasn't perfect, but it didn't add any unnecessary weight either. And, that's what I did here. I guessed and pressed down my cardbase to the foam and pressed down over the whole card firmly.


Once the shaker was sealed and glued to the cardbase, I turned it over to work on the top layers.


Now for the sentiment and foliage, I used a piece of white cardstock and VersaMark ink to stamp a sentiment from It's Cray Cray. I wanted the sentiment to be in two colors so I carefully sprinkled some Hero Arts Gold Embossing Powder on parts of it, cleaned up the excess and then added on Zing Aqua Embossing Powder to the rest. I used my newest Wagner HT400 Heat Tool to heat set it. This is AMAZING. It is pretty much the replacement for the Milwaukee heat tool, and I'm so glad I upgraded because it heat sets FAST! Next, I stamped one of the foliage from Mini Wild Florals and another from Wild Peonies with VersaMark ink and heat set them with Hero Arts Gold Embossing Powder.


I fussy cut the sentiment and the foliage and used glossy accents to glue it down over the shaker card. That is all. I hope that my instructions and pictures were easy to follow.


Leave questions or comments below!

**You can find out more about how I use the Darice 82-piece Tiny Container Storage Tray to store all my sequins, beads, and other embellishments + a fun GIVEAWAY in this post here.**

**Disclaimer: Since I am part of the Amazon Affiliate programs, I receive a small commission (with no additional costs to you) when you purchase through my links. I only link to products that I actually like and highly recommend. Thank you for visiting! ♡♡