Mica Powders and Crystal Lacquer

I love the stamps from Earth Art International designed by Sue Coccia. For this set of notecards I selected the Hare, Dragonfly, and Horse stamps. I used VersaMark Watermark ink to stamp each image on black paper. VersaMark is so sticky that it acts as an adhesive for pigment powders.

Next, I lightly brushed mica powders onto the stamped image. The application of the mica powders was a totally random. I just wanted a look where one color “melted” into the next. When I finished coating the image with the mica powders, I brushed away the excess.

Image coated with mica powders and excess brushed away

Next I coated the images with clear 3D crystal lacquer. On my first images, I used the needle tip applicator to carefully outline each stamp with the lacquer, and then flooded the interior with crystal lacquer. I discovered that since I am cutting out the image, I didn’t have to be so careful with the edge, thus saving a bit of time. I was able to easily cut through the dried crystal lacquer with either scissors or a craft knife. So, on subsequent images I painted crystal lacquer onto the paper with a small brush. Secret here is not to overwork the lacquer.

I let the images dry overnight, then cut them out and mounted them to the front of a card.

I stipled the edge of the card with ColorBox inks—Amber Clay, Olive Pastel, and Plum Berry. I adhered a piece of dark mustard cardstock to the stipled notecard. I tore a piece of lavender inclusion paper to get the ragged edges and layered this on top of the cardstock. Next, I mounted the cutout, lacquered image on pop dots and positioned it on the inclusion paper. The last touch was to add dots of purple glitter 3D Crystal Lacquer.

Visit my blog at Create & Craft to see more projects using 3D Crystal Lacquer.