Technique Time! Make your own metallic bling using packaged pearls and gems

Hello Crafty Friends!

I don't know about you all, but sometimes I forget how I made a card- specifically dimensions.  Special fancy fold cards may be made by me once and then 5 months later I decide to make another card using the same folds.  The frustrating part is that I hardly ever write any of the dimensions of the original fancy fold down.  Every time I am in this scenario I think to myself  "I really need to make a page on my blog for fold dimensions and special techniques".  Finally, the page is started and this post will be the first technique linked.

Many of you probably already color your gems and pearls with markers.  The results are good and it is nice not to have to buy gems and pearls in numerous colors.  The same idea can be used to make metallic bling.  Instead of alcohol markers, I use metallic Pen-Touch markers from Sakura.  I have the markers in gold, silver and copper and although they are a little pricy, the markers last a long time.  

First, start with your gems and pearls.  Leave them on the original sheet and, if possible, keep them spaced apart on the sheet.  If they are too close then you cannot color them well.

Today's bling will be colored with gold.  I have two styles of  Pen-Touch: one is a "calligrapher" tip and the other is a round tip.

Two items of note: I recommend using the calligrapher as the round tip does not apply as well.  Also, gems are easier to make metallic than pearls. 

Apply the tip directly to the bling.  (You may need to press down on the marker to apply more metallic but do not press too hard or too much metallic will flow out.)  

You can see the ring around the bling from using the round tip.  It is not as prevalent in the calligrapher tip:

On the gems I used the calligrapher tip.  You can see on the top right gem that I pressed too hard and too much metallic was applied:

I scooped up as much as I could back on  my pen tip and continued on.  You can see that the more metallic applied, the smoother the gem appears:

The pen tip was drier when I reached the bling on the bottom row.  There is no "right finish" to this- it is about personal preference and/or project details.  Sometimes I keep the dry bling as is and use them for grunge projects, as an example.  

The bling takes time to dry so I usually make several of them before I leave my craft room at the end of the night.  By the next morning they are dry and there are no concerns with smudging.

Hope you enjoyed the first technique tip!  Feel free to leave any questions in the comment section below.

Have a good day and thanks for stopping by!