a touch of fibers...

Hello my wonderful friends!

It's time for another Unity hop!

(and sale!)

 Tons of awesome stuff at AMAZING prices!

(Alfie-Heart and Soul Mouse, Dots for Sure)

About 5 years ago, I went to a quilt and fiber art expo with my mom... Let me clarify... as much as I wish I could claim to, I don't quilt. My mom is the quilter. However, she came to the Scrapbook expo with me, so I returned the favor. (after all, expos are a TON more fun when you go with someone!) Anyway, I came across a booth that was selling these FABULOUSLY GORGEOUS sparkly fusable fibers. 

Of course, I was interested! 

They ended up in my scrap stash without getting too much use for quite a while. However, I have recently dug them back out because they were exactly what I needed for a project. I fell in love all over again! I have since shared several projects using these beauties and have gotten comments on them.. So I thought I would introduce you to...

ANGELINA FIBERS!

There's TONS you can do with these fibers but here are three of my favorite...

Ok... my all time favorite way of using the fibers (and also the easiest!) is to tuck loose fibers behind something. I usually use a little tacky tape to secure it. I add them behind titles, focal images, and (as shown above) behind ribbons and jewels. It adds this unique texture and colorful sparkle. LOVE.

Now, these fibers are also fusable.  This means you can turn the loose fibers into a fabric...

Simply put some loose Angelina Fibers on some parchment paper, cover with another sheet of parchment paper, then iron. I don't have a sophisticated iron... I just turn mine to about medium-ish. It doesn't take long... 5-10 seconds. You can get different looks simply by using more or less fibers. AWESOME.

But what do you do with it now? Well, why not die cut it? Or hand cut (like I did for the heart). Or, you could use it in a larger sheet as another "paper". (for those who like layers!)

(Winter Warmth, Miss You SO Much)

Ok, for the last one, you get to use STAMPS.  (this is actually the technique they demoed at the expo that sold me!) Unity stamps are perfect for this because they are rubber, and therefore can handle the heat of the iron. PLEASE don't try this with clear stamps!!!

Place your chosen stamp on an acrylic block (this just helps hold it in place). I'm using the circled heart from the Winter Warmth kit. If you want, you can ink up your stamp with a permanent ink, but you don't have to. I chose not to for this one. 

Put some Angelina Fibers over the stamp. Make sure it is covered. You don't have to go super thick, but if you go too thin, you will lose detail... play around with how much you want to use to get the look you love.

Place a sheet of parchment paper over the stamp and press with your iron. (you can see I have it set at  around medium... No steam. Since I never put water in my iron, that isn't an issue for me. LOL!) It doesn't take long. Check it at about 5-10 seconds... you may need to hit a few areas a little longer depending on how thick the fibers are and how hot your iron is...

 When you pull it off, you will have a detailed image embossed/fused into the fibers. SO COOL!

Some stamps work better for this than others... Try to use ones without TOO much detail. Simple seems to be the most effective.

 There's lots more you can do with these fibers. I just wanted to share a fun product that I love to use with my stamping and mixed media projects.

(If you are an Amazon shopper, you can find all sorts of colors and combo packs there... you can also check out fiber art/needle craft stores.)

And you can find all the stamps I used HERE.

Don't forget---
 Leave a comment on EACH blog in the hop (including the Unity blog) for your chance to win.  The winners will be announced Monday on the Unity blog.

And go when you are done, go shop the Unity Garage Sale!

Enjoy!

PURPLE...

Hello my wonderful friends!

It's time for another Unity hop!

(and sale!)

(Warmth of Winter, Love in Return)

Well, the recent rains in the area have stopped... Aside from minor flooding in the garage and the driveway becoming kinda dangerous, things are good for my family. My prayers go out to all those who had more damage... including those who homes where taken in mudslides... Feeling grateful for sunshine right about now. 

Do you like challenges? Do you join in Unity's? You should! It's a great way to be inspired, share your work with others so they can be inspired by you... and you could win $100 worth of stamps... Yup. Awesome. 

The new one is up and running... find all the info HERE

(Warmth of Winter, Heartfelt Sentiments)

Here's one of my takes on the new challenge... I used the card sketch as well as the colors... Love them both!  I heat embossed the background image (stamped twice) with clear embossing ink and Ranger's Frosted Crystal embossing powder. (this is a unique powder that has a frosted look and a slightly different texture than traditional powders. I love it.) I then used an ink blending tool to blend together some Distress inks. I love how smoothly they melt together!  I also used Distress ink to dye the crinkle ribbon. Love how everything matches that way!

And this is from the NEW RELEASE today... Heart Strings. (absolutely adorable set!!!)

I couldn't get over the fun purples and blues color palette, so I used it again here!

 The sparkly fibers behind the vellum heart are called Angelina Fibers... They are fun sparkly threads that can be fused together with heat... they are also mixable for making custom colors. PERFECT!

Speaking of custom colors...

For today's tutorial, I thought I would share a fun little tip for getting more out of the products you probably already have in your stash... 

Let's do a little customizing with our embossing powders, shall we? (this may be 'old hat' for a lot of you, but it is still a fun trick.)

If you go to the store, or browse online, you will find embossing powders come in countless colors... And yet... you never seem to have the "perfect one" for you project... (or is that just me being super picky??? LOL!)

Did you know you can MIX embossing powders to come up with TOTALLY new colors? You can also mix types of embossing powders for different effects.

For my project, I wanted a touch of sparkle... but the glitter embossing powders I had were all the wrong colors. So... I made my own.

Pour some embossing powder into a new container. You can use transparent or opaque, and any color you choose. I wanted white. (boring, I know, but it's what I needed for my project. It won't be boring for long!)

Add glitter. Again, it's up to you the color and even SIZE of your glitter. I wanted clear glitter, but I actually used two sizes... Micro fine and fine. Try adding in a little chunky glitter for an even different look!

 
Experiment with different powder to glitter ratios... you can get different looks simply by changing up the ratio!

Use just like normal embossing powder... stamp your image (Dot's For Sure) with clear embossing ink. Sprinkle your sparkly powder over it. Gently tap off extra and return it to container. Heat. Done. LOVE. (and that glitter isn't going anywhere! Yay for no mess!)

Don't forget---
 Leave a comment on EACH blog in the hop (including the Unity blog) for your chance to win.  The winners will be announced Monday on the Unity blog. Make sure you visit all the blogs...you don't want to miss any of the fabulous inspiration (or chances to win!)

Enjoy!
~Kassi