Easy Bead Masking

Bead masking is a fun “beadnique” using masks made of release paper.  I always save my tape liners so that I have some on hand for just this purpose. 

For the “Friendship Grows” card above I used floral shaped punches and the release paper from a sheet of O’So Sticky Tape.  When doing this there are two very simple and important things you need to know before you get started.

a.  Always use the PAPER piece of release paper with punches, not the red liner.  The red liner has rubber in it and does not punch well. 

b.  Another important note is that the release paper has a shiny side and a dull side.  The shiny side will release and the dull will not.  Always put the shiny side against the exposed O’So Sticky so that it will release and not become a permanent part of your design.

Directions:

1.  Create a card  base in desired color. (Example is blue).

2.  Cut a background piece of cardstock 5.25” x 4” to layer on card base. (This one is green).

3.  Cut a sheet of O’So Sticky tape the same size  - 5.25” x 4”

4.  Adhere the  O’So Sticky Tape to the background cardstock following the simple “Tape Trick” instructions:

The secret to applying O’So Sticky Tape  perfectly every time is to peel back just one small corner of the tape sheet and crease it as shown. Next, with the creased side  facing down towards your cardstock base align the O’So Sticky Tape sheet to fit squarely. The creased  flap will keep the O’So from actually touching your paper. Once the tape is lined up with the base press firmly on the exposed corner to anchor the O’So Sticky in place (see photo at right). Next remove the rest of the liner from the back of the tape and gently smooth it into place as you go.

 

5.  Remove the top liner from the O’So and lay a piece of ribbon on the card about 2/3 of the way down.

 

 

6.  To save a spot for the verse to be added later, place a small piece of cardstock over the ribbon and tape as shown.

 

7.  Place paper liner flower masks  (shiny side down!) randomly over the remaining areas of the exposed O’so.  Let some flowers hang off the sides and over the ribbon.

 

Using tweezers to do this part will make it so easy.   A saved red liner works great to press the flower masks down flat onto the O’So.

 

8. Lay the card in a tidy tray and pour beads over all of the still exposed areas.  Choose a color that somewhat matches the background cardstock or go with clear.   (These are Lettuce Translucent micro beads). 

Press the beads into the O’So to secure and then tap off excess. 

 

9.   Gently remove mask liners at random and add colored beads as desired. Take care not to tear the masks, they can be used over and over.

 

I lift several liners off at once and lay the card in a tidy tray, then pour the beads onto the areas that are exposed, press the beads in with my fingers, tap off excess and return them to the bag.

 

Repeat until all flowers are done.

 

10.  I stamped my verse on white cardstock and layered that onto blue cardstock.  To make the frame pop I put it on foam tape before placing onto the card.

 

11.  Secure the ends of the ribbons behind the beaded piece and adhere to card base.

 

Below is an up close look at the masked bead flowers.  You can see that some stray colored beads are stuck in the background.  I didn’t mind them.  They can be flicked off with a pin if desired.

I think it’s true that friendships and flowers have a lot in common.  With a social based company like Pennywise, I get to participate in lots of blooming friendships and I also get to witness friendship blooming in the lives of others when we all get together for events and retreats.  It’s so awesome.  Ü

Hugs, Suzanne

Holiday Candle Lights

Heavy decorative paper was used to create this festive gift box.  A Scor It tool provides interesting texture lines (hard to see in the photo).

Inside neatly nested are four votive candles.

A template for any glass votive can be made by wrapping it with paper and trimming the edges to fit.  Then the template can be traced directly onto a sheet of O'So Sticky Tape.  All four votives are wrapped with O'So Sticky Tape and embellished using masking techniques.  Save the liners from the O'So Tape to use as release paper masks.  Always put the shiny side down when using release papers.  The other side of the liner is designed to be able to write and draw on and will not release if place onto O'So

Candy Candle: Release paper from the O'So was hand cut into circles and swirls.  First, all the circles are placed shiny side down onto the exposed O'So and the whole votive rolled in Lettuce Translucent micro beads.  Then the circle masks are removed and the swirls put into place in the centers (shiny side down)/  Then White Opaque micro beads are sprinkled into each area.  Finally the swirl masks are removed and Red Opaque micro beads complete the candy centers.

Red Candy Candle:  Decorative paper circles were punched and placed on the the exposed O'So Sticky Tape.  Then the votive rolled in Red Translucent micro beads.  The candy circles were added with foam tape for dimension.

Snowflake Candle:  Snowflakes are punched from the release paper and placed shiny side down onto the exposed O'So Sticky Tape.  A 1/4" strip of liner is put around the top edge of the votive and the candle is rolled into Gold Opaque Micro Beads.  Then the 1/4" strip is removed and the exposed tape is dipped into Lettuce Translucent Micro Beads.  Lastly, the snowflake masks are removed and White Opaque micro beads are sprinkled onto the exposed tape.

Holly Candle:  Holly and berries were hand drawn onto the liner from O'So Sticky Tape, cut out and placed shiny side down onto the exposed tape on the votive.  The candle was then rolled in clear Mini micro beads.  The holly masks were then removed and the leaves cut from the berries.  The berries were then put back, shiny side down.  The holly leaves were beaded with Lettuce Translucent micro beads and then the berries in Red Opaque micro beads.

Finish off the box with ribbons and a gift tag.

May your holidays be bright and sparkly!  

Hugs!
Suzanne

Bead Masking Basics

Bead masking is a technique I haven’t played with in awhile!  Thanks to Marianne Colschen for reminding me about this fun beadie way to embellish!  Today’s post is a little notepad that Marianne shared with me. Years ago I did a photo tutorial of bead masking for one of our free online classes.  We have lots of those tutorials on our website now for your use.  I’ve edited the bead basics masking class to update the information for this blog post.

My photography has definitely evolved over the years and I apologize for the poor quality of photos below!

This project idea comes from the Design Originals book “Stuck On Beads” Volume 1 (which is no longer in print. )

Supplies:

O’So Sticky Tape sheet, micro beads in various colors, plastic tape liners from used up O’So and something to stick it all onto.

I have chosen to use a dark piece of cardstock to contrast and set off the bead design on my card.

Directions:

Step 1

Cut a piece of O’So Sticky Tape (from a sheet) into card front size 5.5” by 4.25”

Apply to the front of a card by using our tried and true “tape trick” which is done by only peeling back a corner of the liner.  This allows you to move and manipulate the tape sheet until it is perfectly in place on the card.  Press down on the exposed corner to anchor the tape sheet and then slowly pull away the liner smoothing the tape down onto the card as you go.

For this project, it really doesn’t matter which liner you remove first, the paper or the red plastic.  (Please note that our paper liners changed from a mustard color kraft paper to white paper in 2004).

When you are finished with Step 1 the front of your card should be completely covered with O’So Sticky Tape – like this:

I am showing you two examples – in the one on the left, I peeled the red liner first. In the one on the right I peeled the paper liner first – it doesn’t matter which way you do it.

Use whatever size tape liners you have on hand.  Strips can also be cut from sheet liners but you must take care to only put the release side down on your project if you use any paper liners.

In this tutorial I’ll be using 1/4” size but it really can be any size.  If all you have is 1” liners, and you want a 1/4” line, then just trim the liners.  If you have a lot of paper liners left over from other projects, you can cut those up to use.  In fact, you could even get fancy and cut the paper with decorative scissors if you want to.  Remember though that the red liners are made of plastic and have a “rubbery” texture to them – so I wouldn’t recommend that you try to cut them decorative scissors.

Step 2

Remove the liner from the tape you placed onto the card front, exposing the entire adhesive. Try not to touch it or bump it – cause you’ll get stuck.

Lay the liners onto the exposed adhesive in any pattern that suits you. It is okay to cross over with this method – it’ll come back up easily.

You’ll want to press the liners down firmly onto the adhesive – I used a pencil eraser to rub along each piece to make sure it was stuck down good! You may also want to trim any long ends – to keep them from catching and pulling off before you want them to.

This is what I did:

Step 3a

The adhesive from the sheet placed onto the cardstock in step 1 showing through the criscross design I made with the liners. This open area is what will be beaded first.

Press the card front into whatever color you would like.

Insert Picture

I was planning to insert a picture here – but when I peeled away the first liners I got so caught up in the moment that I totally forgot I was preparing for a class and I steamed onto the next step. Oops!

Step 3b 

Next, remove the top layer of liners from the card and press into another color of beads.

So far, I used the Light Blue Opaque in step 3a (the one I didn’t get a picture of) and then Royal Blue Opaque.

Step 3c

Remove the last layer of liners and press into a third color of beads.

I chose silver, and am now thinking that I would have liked it much better had I used the silver FIRST, so that all my “diamonds” were silver rather than light blue. That’s okay – I’ll try it again another time!

And don’t forget that you can SAVE THESE LINERS TOO! Yep – you can just keep on using them over and over and over – they don’t wear out!

Masking Notes

My husband, Brian really gets credit for coming up with the whole “Save Your Liner” campaign. This is what he created with recycled liners:

Our son Jordan created some very cool beaded pens using the masking technique:

He also made a neat vase with just ONE sheet of O’So Sticky Tape and LOTS of recycled liners:

Here’s a larger view of Marianne’s little notepad:

Silent Beauty

It still feels like “April Showers” here in the Snoqualmie Valley and that means I am still waiting for my potted flowers to really make their magic.  Thankfully I had this card from PWA designer Jean Sunderman to brighten a rainy day!

Jean’s creative floral centers made from mico beads and masks really make magic happen on this card:

Silent Beauty by Jean Sunderman

Materials:

Micro beads: Copper Opaque, Silver, Dark Rose Opaque, Light Green Opaque, Gold

Cardstock: Orange, Green and White- Stampin’ Up!

Stamp: Li’l Davis Designs

Brilliance Inks: Lime and Yellow

Colorbox Chalk Ink: Pansy, Green and Tangerine

Bottle Caps

O’So Sticky Tape Sheets

1” Circle Punch

Plastic stencil of flower

 

Once you have it all together, here’s the how to:

Directions:

Create a card to fit a regular business size envelope. Card should measure 9 x 4 or so.

Cut patterned paper ¼ inch smaller. Mount to green cardstock and trim. Attach to front of card.

Jean has a clever way to create a perfect shadow image from just one unmounted stamp!  Here’s what she does: 

Attach the clear stamp to block the stamp face down on the block (flipped over from “normal”.   Now use the back of the stamp to create a “shadow” on white cardstock. Clean off and attach stamp the correct way with the stamp face up. Stamp in a darker or coordinating color to create the outlines of the design.

Stamp three flowers and cut out as shown.

Flatten 3 bottle caps. Remove any rubber on the inside. Punch out three 1 inch circles of the O’So Sticky Tape Sheet. Stick to the inside of each bottle cap. Peel off backing and lay flower stencil on the sticky sheet. Cover with beads. Remove stencil and cover the rest with another color.

Attach all bottle caps to flower centers. Add flowers to front of card with one flower raised with 3D foam tape. 

Here’s a close up of one flower that shows the neat contrast inside the bottle cap:

 

To finish the card stamp a quote on white cardstock. Mount to orange cardstock and trim. Add to card front. Stamp a small flower, add beads to center and attach with 3D foam tape.

Be sure to visit Jean’s blog where you can see even more of her artwork:  www.artsyj.blogspot.com

Blooming Friends Bead Masking

Sharing Jean’s Love card yesterday reminded me of a card I once made using the masking technique for a PWA shoebox party.  The party was a couple of years ago in Idaho at Mary Jo Mcgraw’s home.  I was thrilled to discover that I still had the instructions for this card saved on my computer!  (see below)

Blooming Friends Card

© Suzanne Glazier, Pennywise Arts

Supplies:

White Cardstock 8.5” by 5.5” folded to make card base

Blue Cardstock 4.25” by 5.5”

Green Cardstock 4” by 5.25”

White Cardstock 2” by 2”

Blue Cardstock 2.25” by 2.25”

Green Cardstock 2.25” by 2.25”

O’So Sticky Tape™ Sheet Cut 4” by 5.25”

Tidy Tray

Blue Gingham Ribbon 7” long

Adhesive

Foam Tape

Scissors

Tweezers

Verse Stamp of Choice

Fuschia Ink Pad

Lettuce Translucent Micro Beads

Teal Opaque Micro Beads

Purple Opaque Micro Beads

Royal Blue Opaque Micro Beads

Fuschia Opaque Micro Beads

White release paper liners from previously used tape

Miscellaneous Floral Punches to punch tape liner shapes

Preparation:

Gather supplies and cut all paper and O’So Sticky Tape ™ per above dimensions. Using floral punches and release papers from previously used O’So punch out several different shapes and sizes of flowers.

Step 1:  Adhere  blue cardstock to white card front and set aside.

Step 2:  Adhere large precut piece of O’So Sticky Tape™ to large green cardstock.  The secret to applying O’So Sticky Tape™ perfectly every time is to peel back just one small corner of the tape sheet to begin with as pictured below. Next, with the fold facing down towards your cardstock base begin to align the O’So Sticky Tape™ sheet to fit squarely. The folded flap will keep the O’So from actually touching your paper. Once the tape is lined up with the base press firmly on the exposed corner to anchor the O’So Sticky in place (see photo below.)  Next remove the rest of the liner from the back of the tape and gently smooth it into place as you go.

 

Step 3.   Remove the liner from the O’So and lay the blue and white ribbon on the card about 2/3 of the way down.

Step 4:   Place the small piece of green cardstock as shown in finished picture

Step 5:   Place paper liner flower masks randomly over the remaining areas of the O’so.Use the tweezers to do this part, it will make it so easy!

IMPORTANT NOTE: Look closely at the flower masks, they will be shiny on one side and flat on the other. You MUST place them shiny side down for them to release and come back off later!

Step 6:  Lay card in tidy tray and pour Lettuce Translucent micro beads over, press in and tap off excess, return beads to bag.  Use a brayer to roll the beads firmly into the O’So

Step 7:  Gently remove liners at random and add colored beads as desired. Take care not to tear them They can be used over and over.It is easiest to lift several liners at once and bead 2 or 3 flowers at a time of the same color. My preferred bead method for this project is to remove the liners and lay the card IN the tidy tray, then pour the beads onto the areas that are exposed, press the beads in with my fingers, tap off excess and return them to the bag. Repeat until all flowers are done.

Step 8:  Stamp verse onto white cardstock square.

Step 9:  Apply verse to blue cardstock square.

Step 10:  Adhere verse to card with foam mounting tape.

Step 11:  Secure ribbon to the back of the green flower piece with 1/4” O’So.

Step 12:  Adhere green flower piece to the front of the blue card.

Stamp Credits:  Unknown

Soon I will be showing you some amazing artwork made by a very special lady who used this technique and took it extremes we never imagined!  Be on the watch for Brooke’s Boxes!