Tacky Valentine

Here's my card submission for yesterday's technique challenge on SCS. We had to use 2-3 colors of glitter to create a background... I've had some of SU's chunky glitter sitting on my table for a LONG time, and this challenge was a perfect excuse to finally open them! Why did it take me so long to try this product??? I LOVE them! Since the chunky glitter isn't as finely ground as normal glitter, it doesn't get everywhere with each breath you take (giggle!). My main image is watercolored with an aquapainter and markers. I tied a little bow on the elephant trunk to help him remember an unforgettable friend (just in case!).

For a quick run down on this background technique, trim a piece of cardstock to the dimensions that you'd like... add a couple pieces of repositionable tape to the back and stick it down on a paper cutter, scorepal, etc (something with straight grooves or lines to help you keep equal spacing). I used 1/4 inch red tacky/sticky tape with 1/4 inch spacing. Afterward, in the picture below, I set my background into my embossing powder tray. TIP - If you don't have a powder tray (otherwise known as a bead tray), get a sheet of printer paper and fold in half. Unfold and set your background on top. After you are done glittering, remove the background (tapping off excess glitter), and use the crease in your paper to help you pour your unused glitter back into it's container. I hope that makes some sense!


Remove the strips of liner that will be the same color of glitter. As you can see below, I already did my green and pink glitter, and I'm removing the liner for the blue glitter. TIP - once you pour the glitter on, press the glitter well onto the tape (you may not need to do this with finely ground glitter, but I know it helped to do this with the chunky glitter for good coverage). Make sure you tap the backside well to remove excess glitter, and you may want to use a clean, old small paintbrush with bristles to lightly brush away any stray glitter pieces.

For my card above, I didn't want to waste my background by having most of it covered up since my main elephant image panel was so large. I ended up cutting a couple strips of my background with a guillotine cutter and adding the strips to both sides of my main image. I'll use the rest of my glittery background on a different project. Well, there you have it! I hope that you are able to give this cool technique a try... it really adds alot of POP and sparkle to any project! Take care and see you next time...

Stamps: Happy Heart Day
Paper: Pixie Pink, Riding Hood Red, Sage Shadow, white
Ink: black, SU markers for coloring
Accessories: aquapainter, square brads, embroidery floss, SU chunky glitter, red sticky tape, paper piercer