Monday, June 17, 2013

Trendy

When I started the Use-Your-Stamps Challenge a few days ago, all I was thinking about was myself and how uninspired I've been feeling lately. The UYS Challenge seemed like a good idea to knock me out of my rut--as it had done for me years ago--and inviting you to share in the fun made it even more fun for me.

But today I read on another blog (Hey, Darnell!) that using your stuff is really trendy right now. Trendy? Me? Wow.

Unintentionally trendy, but trendy, nevertheless. Darnell describes a bunch of places such a concept has found followers, including her own blog. I love being on trend every now and then!

Today's card, however, very intentionally jumps on another trendy bandwagon...sequins. Y'all know I'm usually slow with such trends, but this one is A) inexpensive, B) easy, and 3) sparkly. My package of 800 assorted color sequins was $0.79 at JoAnn's.

Count me in.




You wouldn't believe how long it took me to arrange those flowers around the sentiment. My original intent was to cluster three around the lower left corner of the sentiment and three around the upper right corner, but the large, uniform size of the flowers made that look...messy. That layout would look better with one large and two small daisies on two corners, I think, but I only had one size of sequins.

Finally, two neat rows (but not too neat) worked best.

I've always loved the look of green and black on a whole lotta white...so fresh and clean!

Sequin Tips: Years ago, when Hero Arts sold some funky sequins, I tried using small glue dots to attach them but didn't like that at all. Glue dots never dry, and the exposed part sticking up through the hole in the middle of the sequin stayed unpleasantly sticky. To attach these sequins, I placed a little bit of white glue on a scrap of card stock and used tweezers to dip the back of the sequin in the glue. (If you get too much glue on the sequin, all you have to do is dab off the excess glue on the card stock scrap.  I placed the glue-y sequin where I wanted it with the tweezers, held it in place for a few seconds while the glue set, and then left it to dry for a few minutes.

This works pretty well as long as you have enough glue on the sequin. Too little glue, and it will fall off under a little pressure. Too much glue and it will look a mess when dry. Be like Baby Bear and get it just right!


Supplies
stamps: A Muse Birthday Greetings
ink: Memento
paper: Papertrey Ink
accessories: flower punch, sequins, glue, glue dots

8 comments:

  1. This is really lovely Susan. I love the super clean look and you have inspired me to get using my sequins! :)
    Lizy xx

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  2. I can't even tell you how ridiculously happy your blog makes me. These cards are exactly the look I've been trying to find and learn from. (I'm a new papercrafter.)

    Thank you!

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  3. I think this is the busiest card you have done in a long time. Don't underestimate your "trendiness" - you are a very popular gal out here in Blogland

    I really need that sentiment stamp.

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  4. Thanks for the shoutout, Susan! So you're one of them! You have ALWAYS been trendy, and everyone hangs on your every word and card, so no surprise there! Turns out I've since heard of even more "use 'em" sites/challenges, so we are not the only ones who suddenly feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of virginal stuff and/or feel the need to purge and make room for MORE virginal schtuff!!

    Love the sequined flower centers!! xxoo Darnell

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  5. Ooh, flowers with sequin centers! Love the bold sentiment and crisp white on white. Perhaps you've already tried this, but I've been using Glossy Accents to attach small embellishments, such as sequins, ever since I saw a tip about it from Jennifer McGuire. It dries quickly, only takes a teeny tiny amount, and doesn't budge once it's in place.

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  6. Hmmm, I've been feeling uninspired the last couple of weeks as well. Maybe I just need to get some sequins?!

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Thank you so much for taking time to comment!