Sparkle At Anything But A Card. . . . . .

Hello everyone. Today sees a new challenge at Anything But A Card with the theme Sparkle. How you interpret that theme is entirely up to you. What you make is again your choice but don't forget: NO CARDS please! Remember that our DT is split into teams and you can get inspiration for this challenge throughout the month and a quick clickHEREwill take you to the work done by the first team.

For me, Sparkle was quite a difficult concept to work with! I like shimmer, shine and the odd touch of bling now and then but glitter and stickles don't sit very well with my style. Nothing against them at all but I'm a sparkle novice and feel totally out of my depth here!

That said, I'm not one to give up and one question kept going through my mind: 'Do you sparkle?'. I decided to base my piece on that. Not sure if I ever sparkle these days but a good dose of shimmer goes a long way to achieving the cause!

I have played withDecoArtMetallic Lustre on my tag today and I love the subtle level of sparkle/shimmer it provides. Be warned: there are quite a few pictures to scroll through here!!

My tag which really does shimmer and almost sparkle - I promise!!

A tag shape was cut from mountboard, partially folder embossed and coated with a thick layer ofDecoArtgesso.

Three DeoArt Traditions colours were used to cover the tag.

I followed a technique discovered by Andy Skinner: DecoArt Metallic Lustres can be used as a shimmer spray when mixed with water in a mister. the result is as light or as heavy as you wish. I added a large amount of the lustre to my mister for extra cover.

A second colour was added to lighten the effect. Such a shame that the sparkle/shimmer doesn't show up very well in photos!!

Here the lustre is till wet and I think you can begin to see it's sparkle and shine. If it's too heavy you can wipe some off which is exactly what a did with a baby wipe.

Perhaps the angle of this photo gives you a better idea of the incredible shimmer and sparkle obtained by using this product.

I made a label for my question and roughed it up and added ink.

I have been playing with these Tando flowers for another project and couldn't resist using one on this tag. I love the combination of colours and I believe that flowers do sparkle - even on a damp day in Suffolk! They always make me smile anyway and lift a low mood with one glance. The chipboard flower is folder embossed, covered withDecoArt gesso followed by variousDecoArtpaints to achieve a graduated colour effect (or ombre).

To finish the flower, I added a coat ofDecoArt Triple Thick glaze to add extra sparkle. You may notice that some raw umber was swiped over the flower then wiped off with a baby wipe first to add depth. The flower centre is one of my Fimo makes - a small flat button shape which has been given interest by pushing a rubber stamp into the clay whilst still wet. Some DecoArt carbon black Traditions followed by a rub of their Metallic lustre finished the look.

Behind the flower and embossed strips, you will see a combination of stencilled carbon black and embossed stamping. This was all added to give extra interest to this section.

Detailed view of the embossed stamping and below that the stencilling. You may also notice that some of the raised areas appear to have a dark shadow on them - I achieved this by shading with a charcoal pencil and then rubbing it in with a finger. I think the effect is subtle but just adds more depth to the piece - oh, and I never know when to stop!!

Another of my Fimo makes, made using the same technique as described earlier. My little 'nod' to sparkle is not very clear here but there is a clear, tiny gem towards the bottom right of the heart!

Now it's your turn to show us what you interpret as 'Sparkle' on Anything But A Card! Can't wait to see what you come up with - hoping that one of you will help me with my 'sparkly' aversion!!