Saturday 7 December 2013

Finally… I’ve been creative!

Hi everyone :)

I’m totally in my ‘happy place’ right now… I’ve got ink on my fingers and something tangible to show for it!  It’s a good feeling!

I’ve taken the step by step photos to share with you but before I do I’d just like to say that the idea isn’t my own but one I saw on Tammy Tutterow’s blog.  If you want to see the original online tutorial which I’ve adapted to suit my style here’s the link:

http://tammytutterow.com/2012/11/tuesday-tutorial-riveted-metal-3d-stars/

This photo was actually taken last but I wanted to share it with you just because it makes me happy:

a

I started off by opening my brand new die that I’ve been saving… in fact I’ve opened up the entire box that I’ve had stored away until after I got my reports done… there’s so many cool goodies in there!

Tim Holtz 3D Starbright die and Riveted Metal embossing folder:

b

I also opened my Ranger Foil Tape Sheets which I used at the start of this project but then I switched over self-adhesive metal builders tape and quite honestly you can’t tell the difference by the time the project is done.

c

Once I had all my goodies on the table I started by adhering the foil sheet to some plain cardstock and then I ran it through the Cuttlebug using the 3D Starbright die.  I also ran a piece of the foil sheet through the embossing folder on it’s own… no cardstock attached!

d

Next I folded the star die cuts along all the creases and tabs and pressed them firmly to create the 3D effect.

e

Snip apart the embossed foil using the line ridges so that you have lots of pieces to use.  I found my Fiskars scissors worked perfectly for that.  Once you have the pieces cut apart you can start attaching them to the star… it’s really easy and looks really effective!

f

Keep attaching as many pieces as you like… I went for a full-on industrial look.  You’ll see that I’ve done two of the large stars… that’s so that I end up with a proper 3D star at the end.

g

Next I got out my Alcohol Inks which in all honesty I hardly ever use but I knew the ‘look’ I was after and ‘Pebble’ turned out to be the perfect colour!  I used my ink blending tool and some alcohol ink felt applicators to add my colour and you can see the difference it makes.  The best part is that you could colour the stars any way you like to suit your theme.

h

I left my stars to dry for a few minutes… didn’t even need to speed things up with the heat gun… totally LOVE that!  Then I used Score Tape which is SUPER STICKY and adhered it to the tab portions of both stars.

i

Sticking the stars together is a bit of a mission until you get the hang of it but it’s really worth the little bit of effort it takes!  Here’s my first finished star:

j

There’s actually two stars on the 3D die so of course I needed to make the smaller one as well… the worst part was putting them together because those tabs are really small… but on the plus side you can actually run the whole die cut star through the embossing folder in one go so it’s a case of ‘swings and roundabouts’.

k

It was around this time that I suddenly thought about using the self-adhesive builders tape and I set myself up with a small production line:

l

I went from having two large stars and one small star:

m

To having a whole ‘galaxy’ of stars’ in a fairly short time:

n

In Tammy’s tutorial she shows how to create a small hanger for if you want to put your stars on the Christmas tree but I’ve got a different idea in mind for mine.

This is a really fun project and I hope you give it a go :)

2 comments:

  1. Oh wow they look awesome. Fiddly, but awesome. LOL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Vicki :) Not only that but addictive too! LOL

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