Covered memo pad with some product discussion

Pictured here is my latest little project--the product of the first time I've been able to sit down at my craft desk in nearly a week. It's a covered memo pad, just a cheap little top-bound flip pad I picked up in the clearance rack at JoAnn after Easter this year. You can see the pads pictured below at the left. They came two to a pack for $1.00.

I won't go into project details on this because I teach my method for covering and embellishing these books in a class and I can't give away my secrets on this one. However, I will talk about how I made the bird embellishment, and some of the products I used.

You can see the Ranger Inkssentials Glossy Accents bottle to the right of the memo pad. This is one of my favorite things! I've tried other clear coatings only to want to throw them away (Aleen's Paper Glaze, for instance) because they, well... SUCKED. Ranger hasn't ever disappointed me before, and they have proven themselves worthy of my love again in this product. I remember when I first started using the glazes on my papers and I could NEVER find any information as to how long they take to dry. Here it is: Everything on these products says something about drying times being effected by the thickness of the coating. Maybe this is true. However, it alwayst takes at LEAST an hour for these things to dry, and if you do more than a very thin coating, expect to wait at least two or three hours. Point being, don't expect to set it aside for twenty minutes while you're doing something else and come back to it in a bit.

Also, you will never cease to amaze yourself with all of the ways you will destroy the glaze coating while it's drying. Take it from me, you will NOT remember that it's drying in your area and that it's wet. Just set it somewhere high and out of the way for a few hours. You'll be glad you took the time to do so.

Okay, and one of my favorite uses of all for this: GLITTER embellishments!!!! I'm actually talking about one of my favorite kinds of pens, again, from Sakura, called Stardust pens. They write with a glittery look to them. You need to look for the cap that is clear with just a hint of glitter and a shooting star on the piece that comes down (whatever that's called). THOSE are Srardust. If you get a pen with a cap matching the color of the pen that is all glittery--that's NOT a Stardust pen.

I love to stamp images and color them in with the Stardust pens, and then cover the colored pieces with the Inkssentials Glossy Accents. Once it dries, you are left with a really popping glittery look that will lend some sparkle to your design without lending its sparkle to everything else your paper project comes in contact with. (Glitter has been called the "herpes of crafting supplies", and while I don't agree with the bad rap glitter gets for getting everywhere [I've been described, in a positive way, as having "glitter on my soul", because I leave sparkling traces of my presence everywhere I go], I know some people [glitterphobes!] don't like that.)

These stamps, too, are my newest favorite set, purchased for me by my awesome mother in law (thanks, Sumolo! [I wonder if anyone thinks that's your real name? LoL]) at JoAnn called "Gem Stone Birds", by Inkadinkadoo. This stamp set lends itself so perfectly to the coloring with Stardust pens and glazing projects I love to do because they have little jewel shapes built right into the designs. Once colored and glazed, they really look awesome!

I apologize for these crappy pictures, too. It's been gloriously rainy and cloudy for about three days here in the Phoenix area (I saw one of my Facebook friends say in her status that she was enjoying it, and said to a relative somewhere else where rain is common, I think, that "this is like sunshine to you there"... I couldn't agree more. It makes me want to stay outside all day when it's all pleasant and overcast like this!), so the lighting isn't the best, but I was sick of waiting to post again, so here goes. ^_~