VersaMark Techniques: Heat and Stick Glitter

VersaMark is a thick, clear medium with many uses. Stampin' Up! offers it in a pad and a refill bottle. You can also find it elsewhere in a marker, but I squeezed some from the bottle and used a dried-up blender pen to apply it to my image. I found I could apply it thicker and increase the open time, too.

Heat and Stick powder adheres to VersaMark. Then, when it's heated you can cover it with glitter and heat emboss again to hold the glitter.

-stamp the image and swipe it with an Embossing Buddy
 -squeeze some VersaMark into a lid and apply to the image with a dried-up blender pen

-pour Heat and Stick powder over the image and shake off the excess
-use your Heat Tool to melt the powder

-pour Dazzling Diamonds glitter over the image and shake off the excess
-use a small paint brush to remove any stray glitter
-use your Heat Tool to melt the powder again to hold the glitter






Supplies
Stamps
-Christmas Lodge 123767
Ink
-Marina Mist pad 126962
-VersaMark Ink refill 102193
Paper
-Whisper White card stock 100730
-Bashful Blue card stock 105120
-Marina Mist card stock 119682
Tools
-Big Shot 113439
-Labels Collection Framelits 125598
-Northern Flurry embossing folder 120902
-1/2 in. Circle punch 119869
-Embossing Buddy 103083
-Blender pen 102845
-Heat Tool 129053
Accessories
-Heat and Stick powder 100625
-Dazzling Diamonds glitter 102023

Not Quite White Christmas Tree Skirt

I love all things Vintage! Crazy quilts, ribbons, lace, embroidery, all make me a little dreamy. So, I decided to use them in a neutral theme to decorate my daughter's house for Christmas this year.

I used trims from Stampin' Up! as well as fabrics and lace from my stash and my local Value Village. So,  use the instructions for my Tree Skirt as a guide.

At the Thrift Store I found 3 embroidered cotton skirts, 2 linen skirts and lots of crocheted doilies. At home I washed and dried them all before cutting the skirts apart along the seams. All my skirts were lined with a lightweight cotton which is useful for backing fabric.









After sorting the pieces I brewed-up a large pot of strong tea. (5 Red Rose teabags in about 3 gallons of water, boiled for 5 minutes.) Submerge and stir the fabric in the tea until it is twice as dark as you'd like. Vary the intensity by leaving some pieces longer than others. Some of mine only stayed in the tea for 15 minutes, some for 2 hours. Wash and dry the fabrics again.

I made a pattern by folding a square of packing paper several times until I had a narrow wedge shape. Cut off 2 in. from the point and 2 feet from the the first cut. Press the paper with a dry iron to flatten it. I used half of the square so I needed to cut 8 sections for a circle tree skirt.
I cut my pattern from the larger fabric pieces first. I got 4 lace sections and 2 linen sections.










Leave 1/4 in. seam allowances at the sides.

When there were no more pieces of fabric large enough for a section, I cut the pattern from lightweight cotton lining. I folded my pattern in half and placed it on the fold. Then I sewed fabric pieces to the backing overlapping the edges and trimming as needed.
I made 2 pieced sections.

I sewed the 8 sections together leaving an opening.

Consider each section and embellish it.
I sewed rows of Victoria Crochet trim (118481) and Very Vanilla 1/8 in. Taffeta ribbon (119960) to the plain cotton inserts in this section.















To this plain linen section, I sewed a heart shaped doily found at a craft store and embellished it with a flower and ribbons.

Ribbon Flower
-cut 18 in. of Crumb Cake Scalloped Tulle ribbon (127840)
-fold lengthwise and sew a running stitch and gather into a circle
-sew to the Tree Skirt

-make 5 long stitches forming spokes over the centre of the tulle ruffle
-thread a tapestry needle with Crumb Cake seam binding (122332)
-weave the seam binding through the thread spokes, twisting and shaping the petals

-tie knots in a 40 in. length of Whisper White 3/8 in. Taffeta ribbon (109070)
-arrange the ribbon and stitch the knots to the Tree Skirt

I cut the corners and edging from a large eyelet doily and sewed them to this section. Then, I tied knots in 3/8 in. Crumb Cake Taffeta ribbon (122966) and tacked it down.

The large lace fabric pieces were sewed to a thin cotton backing section. I covered the raw edges where the fabrics joined with thrift store doilies and added a woven ribbon heart surrounded with Neutrals Designer buttons (119743).

I used the 3-1/2 in. circle die and my Big Shot to cut circles from tea-dyed fabrics and made a bunch of yoyos to embellish a section.

On this plain linen section I sewed an eyelet doily from the thrift store and added some ribbon flowers.
The large rose was made from Crumb Cake Scalloped Tulle ribbon (127840) loosely coiled and stitched.
The No-Sew 3/8 in. Taffeta ribbon flowers are my own invention. But, you'll have to sew them to the doily.

Here's a close-up of the flowers.

This section was difficult to embellish because I sewed odd-shaped pieces of lace a bit haphazardly on a thin cotton backing. Eventually I came up with the a criss-crossed Crumb Cake taffeta ribbon (122966) design to cover the joined edges of the lace. The doilies also cover some seams. I coiled 7/8 in. Cotton ribbon (127844) to make the flower.

I sewed Soft Suede taffeta ribbon (122967) to this section to look a little like a fan and added lace cut from a thrift store doily.

After embellishing the sections I hemmed the opening edges and sewed lace to the outer edge and the centre.

Another Woven Ribbon Stocking Ornament

Here's another version of the stocking tree ornaments I'm working on.

The lace is a piece of a doily from the thrift store. I made the tassel with 3 lengths of Baker's Twine (124262) and adhered half pearls (119247) together over the twine. Add a jumbo half pearl (125577) to a large Vintage Faceted Designer button (127555) and sew small ones to the top.

Wheel Techniques: Builder Wheels

Builders wheels are so versatile! Choose 1, 2 or 3 wheels and use them together in a jumbo handle. There's even a three-colour cartridge you can ink so that each wheel is a different colour!

I used 2 builder wheels on the spindle with a spacer to make this card. Adding rows of paper lace and ribbon between the rolled images reminded me of heirloom sewing, so I came up with a No-Sew ribbon flower.

-determine the direction of the image
-slide a builder wheel and spacer onto the spindle

-slide the second builder wheel and end cap onto the spindle
-click the spindle into a jumbo handle
-swipe the card front with an embossing buddy
-ink the wheels on a VersaMark pad
-roll the wheels across the card front next to the crease
-ink the wheels again and roll across the card front next to the bottom edge
-cover with embossing powder, shake off excess and heat with heat tool

Ribbon Flower

-cut a 12 in. length of Perfect Plum 3/8 in. Taffeta ribbon
-form a loose overhand knot near the end

-cut an 8 in. length of Baker's twine
-thread the twine through the loose knot

-tighten the knot close to the end of the ribbon

-form another loose overhand knot

-thread the twine through the knot

-tighten the knot keeping 1-1/2 in. between the knots

-make a total of 5 knots in the ribbon

-push the knots together along the twine

-tie the twine in a square knot (that's right over left, left over right)

-arrange the knots into a circle

-turn the ribbon over

-fold the long end of the ribbon over to form the last petal
-tie a square knot over the loop

-trim the ribbon and twine ends

-tie an overhand knot in a piece of So Saffron 3/8 in. Taffeta ribbon

-push the knot up through the centre of the flower
-grasp the side of a petal loop and fold over to the back

-apply glue dots to the back of the flower and adhere it to the card front










Supplies
Stamps
-Gossamer Lace 129050
-Thoughtful Friend Builder Wheel 118616
-Viola's Lace Builder Wheel 126936
Ink
-VersaMark pad 102283
Paper
-So Saffron card stock 105118
-Whisper White card stock 100730
-Vellum card stock 101856
Tools
-Big Shot 113439
-Finishing Touches edgelits 127010
-Delicate Doilies sizzlits 126999
-Scallop Trim Border punch 118402
Accessories
-Whisper White 3/8 in. Taffeta ribbon 109070
-Perfect Plum 3/8 in. Taffeta ribbon 122987
-So Saffron 3/8 in. Taffeta ribbon 122982
-Certainly Celery 3/8 in. Taffeta ribbon 119963
-Very Vanilla 1/8 in. Taffeta ribbon 119960
-Whisper White 5/5 in. Organza ribbon 114319
-Baker's twine 124262
-Embossing Buddy 103083
-Heat Tool 129053
-White embossing powder 109132
-glue dots 103683

Ribbon Stocking Ornament

This year I'm decorating my daughter Grace's house for Christmas and I'll be posting tutorials for you to use for your own hand-made decorations.

This small (7 in.) stocking is perfect for filling with candy and hanging on the tree.

I used a button with a yoyo to embellish the hanger loop.










I cut fabric adhesive with a heart framelit and my Big Shot, stuck it on some tea-dyed linen and cut out the fabric. Next, I fused the heart to the stocking and used adhesive pearls to outline it. Larger adhesive pearls were used on the pleated lace trim, too.

Ribbon Weaving

-cut 12 in. lengths of various ribbons and lace
-pin both ends to a cork board to form a 12 in. square
-weave ribbons through the lengths pinned to the board, pinning the ends
-this is the wrong side

-cut a square of fabric adhesive like Steam-A-Seam and adhere it to the finished weaving
-peel away the backing

-cover the adhesive with a lightweight cotton backing fabric
-remove the pins and transfer the layers to an ironing board
-cover with a press cloth and steam the fabric to fuse it to the ribbon

-trim the edges








Stocking Ornament

-to make the stocking pattern, cut the Holiday Stocking die from paper
-lap the band piece over the stocking piece on thick cardboard and trace the outline
-cut around the pattern trimming as desired
-place fabrics right sides together
-trace around the cardboard pattern with a pencil or disappearing marker
-sew on the traced line, leaving the top open and back-stitching at the beginning and end

-cut on the traced line across the top
-use pinking shears to trim around the stitching or trim 1/4 in. from stitching and cut notches for turning
-turn right side out

-turn top edge over to right side and sew trim around opening (I box-pleated some crochet trim)
-embellish as desired (see detail photos at top)






Supplies
-Crumb Cake 1/2 in. Seam Binding 122332
-Very Vanilla 1/2 in. Seam Binding 120999
-Early Espresso 1/8 in. Taffeta ribbon 19959
-Very Vanilla 1/8 in. Taffeta ribbon 119960
-Crumb Cake 3/8 in. Taffeta ribbon 122966
-Soft Suede 3/8 in. Taffeta ribbon 122967
-Whisper White 3/8 in. Taffeta ribbon 109070
-Victoria 5/8 in. Crochet trim 118481
-Whisper White 5/8 in. Organza ribbon 114319
-Natural 7/8 in. Cotton ribbon 127844
-Pearl Basic Jewels 119247
-Neutrals Designer buttons 119743
-Big Shot 113439
-Hearts Collection Framelits 125599
-3-1/2 in. Circle die 121811