Getting things back to normal ......

Happy Monday to you .....

It all seems a little quiet over here today ...... no roar of the motorbikes.  
The Isle of Man TT is over for another year ....... it all came to a close on Friday with Senior Race Day, and the weather held out too which was great. Unfortunately Ian Hutchinson didn't make it four wins in a row ...... but he did come in second so he was on the podium ...... Go Hutchy!!
Only 347 days until it all starts again!!

But .... enough of all that ..... it's finished! ..... over with!  Things are slowly getting back to normal over here ..... for a few days anyway.

I had a busy weekend as usual, well Saturday anyway ..... it was workshop time again.
This week, by request, we were getting to grips with Gilding Flakes ...... always fun, and a little bit messy!
Here's what we got up to .....

If you haven't tried Gilding Flakes yet you should definitely give them a go.  They take a bit of getting used to, especially if you use a glue ...... the common mistake is to use too much glue to begin with, then you don't use enough, but, once you've got the knack the results are stunning!

We revisited quite a few techniques this week ..... a bit of masking around the edges to give a nice centre panel, and then masking stamped images to add in detail to the background
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The beautiful Jane from IndigoBlu was stamped onto my centre panel ...... she hasn't been out for a while and I love this stamp!
I then masked over her whilst I added the colour to the background (Worn Lipstick Distress ink), and then stamped over the top using the IndigoBlu Script stamp

Once all the masks were removed it was time to add the Gilding Flakes ..... I used Chariot of Fire, the gorgeous gold colour from IndigoBlu along with their Vintage Flourish stamp

'Ink' up your stamp using IndigoBlu FlitterGlu, stamp your image onto your card ....... remember you are using a glue so don't leave the stamp on the card too long,  it will stick to the card and make a right old mess of your stamps!
Once you stamped your image, place your stamp into cold water and clean off the glue straight away.

Add gilding flakes onto the tacky image, smooth over with the flat of your hand to make sure all the glue is covered, then using a scoochy sponge remove all the excess flake and bring out the gorgeous detail of your stamped image

I added a sentiment ..... stamped twice, once in black ink and once using the gilding flakes, then I cut out the word Beauty from the gilded version and layered it onto the black using foam pads.

A bit of matting and layering, and then to finish off I edged around one piece of card using the FlitterGlu and then dipped the edges into the flake ......

Use the scoochy again to brush away any excess and you're left with a pretty gilded edge.
Use the flake on the inside of your cards too ......

Next, instead of using the flakes as an accent, we gilded the main image .......

A bit of acetate smooshing in the background ......

And then the flake over the top ..... Copper Kettle this time .... just look at that shine

You can add flake onto your double-sided tape to give you the look of gilded ribbons

And again .... use on the inside

We finished off with a full on gilded, two colour, Christmas card.  Yes ..... we've started making for the festive season.  Well, gilding flakes are perfect for Christmas cards, they look so rich

I did a similar design to this last year ...... love the stamp (Connor's Crown Jewels), will always be a classic for your Christmas designs and this is so simple to do.
Stamp the image using the FlitterGlu, then carefully add the gold flake to the centre, placing the flakes over the baubles.

 
Then add one of the silver colours around the edges.  I used Gin and Tonic, which has a few different colours in there,  but you could use Winter Dawn or even Sheffield Steel for a more solid silver.

A festive sentiment on the bottom and you're done

I won't tell you what my kitchen was like when they'd all finished but, I opened up the dishwasher this morning to empty it and what was on the bottom of the mugs ..... you guessed it .... gilding flakes!!! They do get everywhere ..... but they are fun to use.
Now I just need to get my thinking cap on for next month's workshop.

Thanks for popping by .... enjoy the rest of your day.
It's back to the old craft room for me ..... lots to get done before I close the door on Thursday evening.
Then we're all off to the UK for our little family break down in the lovely Cotswolds ...... can't wait.

Bourton-on-the-Water here we come!

Cheerio until next time