Translucent Shimmer

Hello Everyone!

Today's post is all about translucent shimmer with the use of a stencil.    I love lots of shimmer and this technique does not disappoint!  This makes such a lovely wedding or anniversary card!

Supplies I used:

• Echo Park Classy Fan Stencil
• Dreamweaver Translucent Embossing Paste
• Perfect Pearls in Mint
• A2 size card base - mine was a pearlized mint
• Sentiment die and paper scrap
• Heart die and coordinating paper scrap
• Palette knife
• Squeegee or credit/gift card
• Glue
• Painters tape
• Heat Tool

I started by taping my card base to my craft mat.  Normally I would do this on a separate panel but decided to go for a one layer card.  I then placed my stencil over the front of the card base and taped that down well...on all 4 sides.

I mixed the embossing paste together with the perfect pearls on a piece of acetate - so I could just throw it away after.  The ratio of one to another is totally up to you but this is what mine looked like:

I mixed this really well.  I didn't want any white streaks of the paste with no glimmer in it.  When it was all mixed it looked like this:

It really does look a bit grungy, but when it dries, it's lovely.  I smeared on the paste along the top of my stencil with my palette knife and pulled it down until everything was covered well.  Then I really scraped it thin using an old gift card.  This technique really works the best with a fairly thin coat.  This was my 3rd try in doing this to get the look I wanted.  It really doesn't look good when it's thick.

This is the result after I peeled the stencil off.  As with all pastes, as soon as you take the stencil off, wash it with warm water and a soft brush if needed.  I also ran my finger around the edges of the card to get off any stray excess.

I let this dry for about an hour.  It really needs to be dry before embellishing it.  My paper buckled from the moisture a bit, but I ran my heat tool over it and that took care of it.  The heat tool will heat up the paste, so if you do this be careful.

Because I wanted the background to really stand out, I used a simple sentiment die cut out of glitter paper with it's shadow die cut out of the card panel paper.  I added the die cut heart off the side and added a few sequins and my card was finished!

I hope you'll give this technique a try.  I think I'm going to try adding other things to the paste to see how they work.  I order some chunky glitter paint from Simon Says Stamps and I think that might work well!

Stay cool!  Happy paper crafting and remember...it's only paper!

Betsy