The weekend workshop ......

Happy Monday .......

What a miserable start to the week it's been .... it's rained nearly all day!  Luckily I didn't need to go anywhere so I've spent most of the day in the old craft room ..... I've had a couple of birthday cards to get in the post and I've been tidying up!
I decided yesterday to have a clear out of a few things ..... seemed like a good idea at the time!   Today was all about clearing away the debris!

Back to the weekend though ..... here's a full look at what we got up to, playing with Mica Powders.

Some of the ladies were familiar with those little pots of shimmery pigments ..... for others they were something completely new.

I should really use mica powders more often ..... when I do use them I love the effects you can get. Everyone had great fun trying out all the different colours ..... seeing how they looked on black card and then comparing the same techniques on white .... a totally different look.

I showed them all one of my favourite things to do with mica ...... use as a spray over inked cardstock, cover with clingfilm, scrunch it and leave it to dry.  It creates the most gorgeous shimmery, frosty effects and we had some fab colour combinations too.
Once the card was dry we cut into it and used it with dies to create some really simple, but very effective cards .......

This is my favourite die at the moment ...... Mod Hex background from Poppy Stamps.  I love it .... and so did most of the class at the weekend.
I simply used the die to cut the apertures in a piece of white card, cut it again, this time from my coloured card and inlaid one into the other ..... easy

Love the frosty look from the white pearlescent powder ...... but I also like the gold version too ....

The 'happy' die is one of the brand new CUTplorations dies from STAMPlorations.  Great font and such a nice size

We also used the powders straight from the posts ..... dusted over images stamped with Versamark ink.  Again on black card ..... love this effect

Everyone was amazed at all the detail that the powders pick out ..... the only thing with this technique is you have to remember to seal the powders in some way, otherwise they can rub off .... a bit like chalks do.
I find either a cheap hairspray .... the cheaper the better, or mist with a fine water spray and let it dry. I'm sure there's an actual product for this on the market, but I've never used one!

We did the same thing onto white card ..... totally different effect.  I think you get a more delicate look ......

You do have to be a bit more careful applying the powders onto white card .... I tend to go for the paler shades.   You don't want to work them too much as they can colour where you don't want it ..... and stain the white card.

It's always a good idea to use an anti-static bag over your card before you start ...... whether you're working on black or white card, it does cut down the risk of getting the powders where you don't want them.

Next we mixed the mica powders with a tiny bit of water and used them as paints.
Stamped the images onto the card ..... for the black version we used Versamark Ink and clear embossing powder ....... and then coloured in the images

There's one of those CUTplorations dies again ....... and look at the shimmer from the paint ..... so pretty

Here's another version ...... the words have been embossed this time using a fine detail embossing powder

And again, a completely different look on white card ....... you may have already seen this one, it was my DT inspiration for the Craft Stamper challenge last Friday .....

I just love the shimmer ......

This time we stamped with Black Versafine Ink before using the clear embossing powder.

I think I'm safe in saying everyone enjoyed the workshop .... they're all looking forward to the next one which is a good sign, and they all went home with very long shopping lists ..... ooops!!!

Thanks for popping by .... enjoy the rest of your day.

Cheerio util next time