Gift Cards with Crystal Effects

I made some cute gift cards using Crystal Effects and re-inkers yesterday and I thought I would share them here and explain just how easy it is to use Crystal Effects for colouring images.

In a previous entry I posted for the ESAD Sale-A-Bration Blog Hop, I used this effect and had a few people ask me about it, so here are the details. 

I'm a big fan of the simplest techniques, especially when they can create a big impact!  All I've done for these images, (and the ones in my previous post), is to get a few small, inexpensive, resealable containers and put a small amount of Crystal Effects into each one - only about 5-10mls.  Then I've added a drop or two of my chosen re-inkers in each, depending on the depth of colour I want to achieve.  The darker the ink, the less you'll need.  Then I use a very fine paintbrush to gently brush on the coloured Crystal Effects... and voila!  The beauty of having resealable containers is that these custom made 'paints' are now sitting in my stash ready for re-use.  I can add more Crystal Effects to make the colour more transparent, or I can add more ink to deepen the colour.  Too easy!

To clean up the brush, I just use baby wipes.  I have the wipes close-by so I can clean the brush easily between colours and the brush isn't left wet (as opposed to having a container of water for cleaning).  You could also use a damp face washer, but I like the wipes because they're disposable.

Here's a close-up of one of the images - these photos haven't captured it, but the colour is very glossy and slighly raised.  It's very effective!

Materials:

Stamp Set - Greetings Earthling

Cardstock - White card, Kraft, Taken With Teal

DSP - Tall Tales

Inks - Black Stazon, Re-inkers - Taken With Teal, So Saffron, Rose Red, Markers - Taken With Teal, Summer Sun

Accessories - Crystal Effects, Stampin' Dimensionals

And a couple more gift cards using the present image from Happy Moments - one of this year's Sale-A-Bration sets.  I'm a big fan of this set - the present image can literally be used for any occasion. 

Materials:

Stamp Set - Happy Moments
Cardstock - White card, Whisper White, Night of Navy
DSP - Tall Tales
Inks - Black Stazon, Re-inkers - Taken With Teal, So Saffron, Rose Red, Elegant Eggplant, Ballet Blue, Markers - Taken With Teal, So Saffron
Accessories - Crystal Effects, Stampin' Dimensionals


These little cards will be making their way to Funky Homes this morning, along with a few other goodies I'll share later on!






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