Technique of the Month:

Cracked Crystal aka Cracked Glass

This is a beautiful technique that makes your image look as though it is set behind a cracked glass window. This is a must try technique!!

* Stamp your image onto your cardstock and colour in as desired.
* Cover the entire surface with Versamark ink, sprinkle clear embossing powder over the surface - making sure
to coat the entire surface well. Melt the embossing powder using a heat gun.
* Immediately coat with the clear embossing powder again, and heat again.
* Repeat this process 5-8 times. This more coats you use, the more glass like the final product will be.
* Put the item in the freezer for 5 -10 minutes to speed up cooling.
* Take your project out of the freezer and gently flatten, and bend your project. The surface will crack as you do
this.
* If you crack it too much some pieces of the embossing may fall out. If this happens, try and add some more
versamark to the cardstock surface, replace the embossed piece and reheat.

So far this technique is interesting, but not very dramatic. Well you can bring more attention to the cracks in several ways.

Figure #6 shows examples of the same title stamped onto patterned paper. The first title is cracked only. The others are rubbed with different mediums. Sample #6b is rubbed with metallic rub-ons. The effect is subtle but noticeable. Sample #6c is rubbed with chalk and the final sample is rubbed with dye ink. Once you rub a medium over the surface of your piece, use a dry paper towel to remove the excess. You can finish with a fixative if you like.