Glittering Butterfly Bag by Laura Drahozal

One of my very first memories is of a trip to the beach with my mother and father. I can't remember where it was--just some lake here in Michigan. I do remember playing on the sand at the edge of the water as the waves licked my toes. I also remember my beautiful mother packing everything we needed in a large straw bag with bright colored straw flowers appliqued all over it. I was fascinated by those applique flowers. I often picked at their edges, despite my mother asking me not to. It was that memory that came to me when I saw this cute little straw bag in the Target Hot Spot. Although it was too small to fit all of my family beach needs, it was cute, alterable, and only $2.50--so it was mine!

When I got it home, I had to decide what to put on it. It was a simple decision, really. I have had a thing for butterflies for several years now, and they show off the glitter so beautifully. I am also on the Dreamweaver Stencil design team, and was aware of their gorgeous butterfly stencils, so I decided to use them.

Here is what I did: First, I used my Copic Multiliner to trace around my butterfly stencils on Claudine Helmuth White Sticky Backed Canvas. The Copic liner made a light black line. In retrospect, I would have used the Faber Castell Pitt Pen in black. I obtained one of these highly pigmented ink pens at CHA and they make a darker mark on the canvas. They are also waterproof, which I initially thought the Copics were.


Anyway, once the stencils were traced, I colored between the lines to make the black parts of the butterflies. I then had the joy of coloring them. I used the Designer Dries Clear Fabric Glue (canvas is fabric, after all) and the Ultrafine Metal Tip for the glue. I worked outside in extreme heat, which, while I don't recommend it, did help the glue dry quickly between layers. I also rotated the butterflies as I worked on them, doing all the inside colors, then the second color, etcetera, until all the butterflies were done. I used Ultrafine, Microfine (in transparent and opaque), and chunky in these butterflies, as I liked all the contrasts. I also used Hologram Glitter in each butterfly to up the glitter impact.


When I was finished glittering all of the butterflies, I let them dry (which, as I mentioned before, did not take long due to the extreme heat). I then preheated my oven to 300 degrees, and when it beeped, I turned it off and inserted the butterflies on a foiled cookie sheet. I let them "bake" for 30 minutes to set the glitter. It was perfectly fine, and did not even effect the adhesive on the back of the canvas. Once I removed the butterflies and let them cool, I arranged them on the straw bag. When they were just right, I peeled off the backing, and pressed them firmly where they belonged. Then, the hardest part--I used heavy duty black thread and a curved upholstery needle to tack them all to the straw backing. I made this decision because I know that the Sticky Backed Canvas was not intended for use on straw, but it did seen to stick very well.



When the stitching was done, I used my Faber Castell Pitt Pen to color in the lighter areas of black. After that, I had a cute little beach bag like the one stuck in my memory, but updated, fun and glittery. I won't be taking it to the beach any time soon, but there is a stamp show in August..........

SUPPLIES:
a small straw tote bag
Claudine Hellmuth White Sticky Backed canvas
Copic Multiliner (or Faber Castel Pitt) in black
Fabric Dries Clear Adhesive with ultrafine metal tip
Uphostery Needles
Heavy Duty Thread


ALL BUTTERFLIES
85 Crystal Ultrafine Transparent
79 Black Ultrafine Opaque

BLUE
328 Cairo Chunky Opaque Hologram
504 Blue Diadem Microfine Opaque
140 Canadian Blue Ultrafine Opaque
62 Copper Canyon Ultrafine Opaque
Dreamweaver LJ 916

GREEN
94 Key Lime Ultrafine Transparent
128 Quark Ultrafine Opaque Hologram
62 Copper Canyon Ultrafine Opaque
48 Emerald Ultrafine Opaque
Dreamweaver LM 121

PURPLE
15 Fuschia Ultrafine Opaque
256 Purple Passion Ultrafine Opaque
Dreamweaver LM 255

ORANGE
336 Alien Ultrafine Opaque Hologram
501 Monarch Microfine Opaque
179 Tang Ultrafine Pearlescent
62 Copper Canyon Ultrafine Opaque
Dreamweaver LM 257

RED
D 51 October Dazzlers
332 Red Rocket Chunky Opaque Hologram
DreamweaverLS 57

Whimsical, Glittery Headband by Laura Drahozal

Have you every had a really bad haircut? I bet you have. This last one of mine was pretty awful. She gave me bangs that made me look like I was about twelve. You may wonder what this has to do with Art Glitter. Well, as I was trying to grow these bangs out, they kept falling in my eyes. I needed a headband, but no ordinary headband would do. 'That is when inspiration hit--I could make a cute, whimsical, glittery headband.


I decided that I wanted dimensional fabric flowers on my headband. I would have made them all cotton fabric, but realized that they would stand up better if I added some felt. I cut the flowers with an Accucut machine and then had the joy of decorating them.



I chose to use a brass stencil to make an interesting pattern on the fabric. I am currently on the Dreamweaver Design Team, so I opted to use their stencil LJ 855 Curliques. I taped the stencil onto cardboard on one side with removable tape, creating a "hinge". I then slipped the fabric under the stencil. I made a small puddle of Art Glitter Fabric Glue on my craft sheet. I had a little water handy, so that I could water it down a little if the glue got too dry.

I then loaded a small stencil brush (also by Dreamweaver) with the glue. I tapped the brush on a paper towel to remove the excess, then I brushed the glue over the stencil, scrubbing into the holes just a little. When I lifted the stencil, the beautiful pattern was on my fabric in glue. I poured colored glitter over it, and now my pattern was in glorious glitter. I repeated this for all of the flower parts and the stems that I had cut. I found that my stencil gunked up with glue every fourth or fifth time that I used it. Whenever this happened, I would just clean it with a little water and an old toothbrush.

I also discovered that when I stencilled the felt, I could use slightly wetter glue. Therefore, every time I would clean the stencil, I would use it with the felt the very next time. That way, any water that was not completely wiped off mixed with the glue. WARNING: this technique is super addictive--so much so that I actually created four different flowers, of which two became headbands--one blue and one pink.


After the parts dried, I stacked them. I stitched a small x in the center to attach all of the petals. Then, I ran a quick running stitch around the center of each felt layer and pulled it tight to get the petals to stand up. This created my 3D look. Then, I had to attach the flowers fo the headband. Sadly, the flowers would not attach to the headbands with my fabric glue. I had to sew them down with a few stitches.

When the leaves and flowers were in place, I put a little Art Insititute Fabric Glue on the edges of the cotton petals and added more glitter. I let this dry, then heat set it, following the instructions on the back of the glue bottle.


I had a great time creating this whimsical solution to a bad haircut. I thought I would hang onto these and wear them occasionally even after the hair was fixed, however, when I asked my grandmother to model these for this blog post's pictures, she loved them so much that I am planning on giving them to her. This got me to thinking about what a great project this would be at a senior center or for kids (with a little supervision during the sewing). It was fun, creative, functional, and glittery--my favorite type of project!


Materials:
Art Glitter Fabric Dries Clear Adhesive

BLUE FLOWER

Ultrafine Opaque Glitter 113 Sky
Ultrafine Opaque Hologram 329 Egyptian Blue
Ultrafine Transparent 100 Sea Shell
Ultrafine Opaque Hologram 128 Quark

PINK FLOWER

Ultrafine Pearlescent 174 Pink Cadillac
MicrofineTransparent 725 Muscatel
Ultrafine Transparent 100 Sea Shell
Ultrafine Opaque 109 Cavalado

Brass Stencil--I used Dreamweaver LJ 855
Stencil Brush
Headbands
Needle
Thread

Glitter Makes Everything Better by Janelle Burba

As I have been thinking about my post for this month and wanting to share my glitter with all of you, my mind went directly back to elementary school. Even as a young girl, I loved glitter!!! Of course, glitter has changed dramatically and its purposes right along with it. The thick glitter that we remember is probably still available somewhere but the glitter that I get to work with these days is truly amazing. The textures and varsity of colors Art Glitter make this glitter interesting not only to the eye but to the touch as well. I have been working with some different canvas this month. You will see what I mean as you check out the photographs.



My first canvas is something that you are all familiar with. Paper! In the first photo, I just wanted to show you how a little glitter makes all the difference in the butterfly and flowers. You see, you don't have to make a big production to enhance the beauty of any object you are working with. Honestly, a little goes along way. I have to be careful not to "over do it" as my motto is, "anything worth doing is worth over-doing"!

Which brings me to my next canvas: my daughter Natalie. As you can see, my daughter Natalie's make-up artist (my niece Valerie) used a lovely blue to enhance the beauty of her eyes. It was actually very simple as you can buy several types of body glue at any super store. You just add the glitter to the glue and WALAH!.. My challenge for you today is to enhance anything with glitter. Please use pictures to me at janelle.burba@gmail.com as I would love to see what you all are doing.

Art Glitter Designer Dries Clear Adhesive
Art Glitter Ultrafine Metal Tip
302 Honey Suckle Ultrafine Transparent
713 Fair Microfine Transparent
600 Indian Summer Fine Vintage Glass Glitter
97 Nirvana Ultrafine Transparent

NOTE FROM ART GLITTER: All polyester glitter is acid free and safe for wearing on skin. A few ultrafine opaque colors have a mix of metallic glitter in them and are not skin safe. Click HERE for a list of glitter colors that are NOT cosmetic grade. All other Ultrafine, Chunky and Microfine glitter are safe. Glass Glitter is NOT safe for wearing.

Glittered Flower Clips by Cassandra Midkiff

First, I am delighted to be sharing some of my sparkling creations made possible with Art Glitter. I have been using their products for so many years now and to be a guest designer is very exciting for me! To start I thought it would be fun to show you how to make your own hair bling with some handmade flower clips. These seem to be popular right now and summer is the perfect season to show them off!



What you will need:

Designer Dries Clear Adhesive
An assortment of Art Glitter colors (for this project I used: Ultrafine Transparent Wild Rose & Melone for the daisy clip, Ultrafine Transparent Honey Suckle & Opaque Antique Gold for the rose clip, Ultrafine Transparent Sea Shell & Mystery & Shards Vintage Glass Glitter in Swan Lake for the pink rose clip)
An assortment of large paper flowers used in scrap booking
Steel snap clips with sew on holes – found at Michaels or Hobby Lobby
Vintage or new clip on metal flower earrings (backs removed) or cabochons, you could also use plastic flowers or rhinestones as the centerpiece
rhinestones
Beacon 527 glue
Needle and thread


Layer the flowers how you wish, sew them into place onto the snap clip. Glue the metal flower into the center using the 527 glue. I let it sit at least 2 hours before moving onto the next step. I placed some Dries Clear Adhesive into the center of the metal daisy and tapped some of the Melone art glitter in place with the small spoon.


After shaking off the excess I used the dries clear adhesive around the edges of the pink petals and sprinkled wild rose art glitter on top. To finish I dabbed a little more of the dries clear adhesive on the center of the daisy and placed a rhinestone on top. Let dry over night before wearing and the next day you will have a fun new piece to add to your wardrobe!