Saturday StepXStep

Hi there, welcome to Saturday StepXStep with Frilly and Funkie.  Linda here bringing you this week's SXS.  Above is the wall hanging I made for the Artistic Outpost Valentine Hop earlier this week.  I promised I would share how I made the kraft and metallic hearts with my SXS post this week so let's get started.  

My metal hearts started life as an aluminum Pepsi can.  Now, just because I am using an aluminum can for this make doesn't mean I have forsaken Ranger Foil Tape.  It's just that when using the Adirondack Alcohol Inks, I like the way the aluminum takes the alcohol ink.  First make a slit up the side of a rinsed out can and then cut off the top and the bottom - carefully as the edges are very sharp.  The aluminum will want to curl a bit but I just give it a few good bends in the opposite direction and it flattens out pretty well.  Next I used a Spellbinders die to cut it.  These dies cut through the aluminum with no problem.  I use low tack painters tape to hold my dies in place.  You can see the cut heart still wants to curl a bit - no worries, just insert it between the layers of a texture fade and run it through your embossing machine.  When it comes out, it still may want to curl.  I gently bend the edges until it takes on a puffy look.  

Double click to enlarge to see detail

Next I applied the alcohol ink (Ginger here) by dripping it on.  I use the tip end of the alcohol ink bottle to drip and spread the ink and also tip it from side to side so it runs and covers everything.  For coating large areas of metal, I always use the drip on method.  I like the way it covers, runs and pools.  I sort of flattened it out a bit by holding it down in the center with a toothpick until it dried.  That helped the ink run back toward the center and spread out a bit as it was pooling too heavily on the edges.  It dries quickly so no problem to do this little step.  One warning tip:  once the alcohol ink dries, do not put more on.  The addition of wet ink serves to dissolve and remove the ink that is already there so you will end up with a very spotty, streaky mess.  The metal heart is finished and set aside.

Double click to enlarge to see detail

Time to start on the kraft ruffle.  I used kraft paper twist which is sold in my shop, cutting a number of chunks off with pinking sheers, about 1 3/4" each.  Then I unfurled them and glued them end to end.  

Double click to enlarge to see detail

 I use Beacon Fabri-Tac for most of my gluing needs.  You can see I put about a quarter of an inch strip of glue on one end of a piece of paper twist, then glued another piece to it, continuing this procedure until I had a 20-24" strip.  Then I cut it in half length-wise with pinking sheers, which gave me enough for two ruffles.  Then I ran a machine basting stitch along the ragged edge and gathered it into a ruffle.  Cutting a heart larger than the metal one from corrugated cardboard, I smeared on a little gesso and then ran Fabri-Tac glue around the outer edge of the back side.  Then the ruffle was glued around the parimeter of the heart.  The Fabri-Tac takes a couple of minutes to set up which gives you time to flip the heart over and adjust how much of the ruffle shows, allowing you to even it up.

Double click to enlarge to see detail

And there you have it.  I use the same procedure with the vintage style crepe paper to make ruffles out of it.   

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope your weekend is off to a great start!  

Oh, and P. S.  I just got a lot of new Artistic Outpost stamps into The Funkie Junkie Boutique, including this Cowgirl Strength plate.  

Corrugated Cardboard (6 sheets)	Paper Twist - Kraft	Claudine Hellmuth Gesso	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Vintage Photo	Ranger Archival Ink - Jet Black
Ranger Adirondack Alcohol Ink - Ginger	May Arts Crocheted Lace - 1.5" Back	Mini Wooden Spools - 3/8" Tall	Ranger Archival Ink - Vermillion	Ranger Archival Ink - Vermillion Reinker
Ranger Archival Ink - Jet Black Reinker	Artistic Outpost Cowgirl Strength Unmounted Rubber Stamps