A Very Merry Tutorial!

A couple months ago I posted a Halloween-themed altered bingo card and promised I would post a tutorial on how I did the letters. Well, it's taken me a little while, but I finally got it done! This time, I've used my letters on a Christmas themed piece. I hope you enjoy learning how to make these - they are so fun and add a nice sparkle to your projects!

Supplies: Ranger Ultra Thick Embossing Powder (UTEE) - clear. Versamark or other clear embossing ink, Ranger Distress Stickles in desired color (I used Fired Brick), Ranger Distress ink in coordinating color (I used Fired Brick), Letters cut from chipboard or heavy cardstock (mine were cut using the Tim Holtz/Sizzix Vintage Market Strip Die), Chipboard squares, Decorative Paper, Heat Gun; Idea-ology Sanding Grip, Glue Stick, Tweezers.

Step One: Cut small squares from chipboard and adhere them to your decorative paper using a glue stick. Trim excess paper.

Step Two: Sand edges using Idea-ology Sanding Grip. Ink edges if desired.

Step Three: Cut letters from chipboard or cardstock. Ink well using Distress Ink.

Step Four: When dry, cover surface with a heavy layer of Distress Stickles. Allow letters to dry completely.

Step Five: Ink the entire surface of your chipboard piece with Versamark.

Step Six: Coat the inked chipboard piece with UTEE, tap off excess. Heat UTEE until it melts. While melted UTEE is still hot, quickly dip it into the powder to apply another coat. If UTEE has cooled too much, reapply Versamark and recoat with powder. We are building a thick layer of enamel for your letter to sink into.

Step Seven: With your heat tool, heat the second coat of UTEE until it melts. Using your tweezers, QUICKLY lay your letter on the melted surface and press down. **Be very careful during this step! Melted UTEE is very hot!** If your letter is crooked and the UTEE has cooled, you can use your heat tool to remelt the UTEE and move your letter around.

That's it! When your piece has cooled, you can us it on anything from cards to tags to ATCs.

Here is another view of the tile - you can really see the sparkle much better here! To create hangers for my piece, I used Idea-ology Charm Clips and Long Fasteners. I gave them a frosty look with a Snow Cap Dabber and a little glitter.

I love this Santa from Artistic Outpost's Frosty and Friends! He's been colored with Fired Brick Distress ink and given some sparkle with Fired Brick Distress Stickles. His fluffy beard is covered with Sugar Sparkly Fluff, and his hat trim was glittered up with Rock Candy Distress Stickles. After I stamped and colored him, I trimmed him and layered the piece onto a rosette that was cut using Tim's Paper Rosette die. Here's a quick tip - I needed the rosette to be a bit larger (so he would fit), so, after folding and gluing the ends together, I stretched the rosette out and glued it onto a larger circle. Since the center would be hidden, it didn't matter what that part looked like!

Finally, the bottom of the card was finished with vintage rick rack and a piece of ruffled trim from Idea-ology's Lavish Trimmings. The center was embellished with an Idea-ology Philosophy Tag that I painted with my Snow Cap Dabber and mint green acrylic paint.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Please let me know if you try it - I would love to see your finished work! Don't forget, everything I used can be found at Inspiration Emporium AND you can use my code - stamptramp - to save 10% off your order.

One more reminder - you still have time to enter the Inspiration Journal monthly challenge. This month we're inviting you to use 'tools' in your creations. For example, I used an Idea-ology Sanding Grip, Heat Tool, and my Vagabond in my project. Any of those would qualify as a tool. Get busy! You have until November 30th to join!