I finally got to play with my Medallion background stamp from the new catalog. As you can see, this stamp is not really meant to stay in the background. It makes quick and beautiful cards which can be used for many occasions.

This is a card that we made for stamp camp. You’ll recognize the Circle Rhinestone brad from the catalog, which really adds some elegant dazzle to the card. It needed something more to balance the card design, though. I thought about adding three of the smaller circle brads, but it seemed too much and I didn’t have enough on hand anyway. So what to do? That brings us to my new fave tip for all of those times when you don’t have just the right embellishment on hand. Re-color something you do have on hand!

In this case I mixed a drop of Crushed Curry Ink with some Crystal Effects and added a small drop on top of a rhinestone. I used this same technique on the pearls from the Pretties kit with the From the Crypt card in a previous post. The neat thing about Crystal Effects is that it usually will stay contained where you place it and will form a nice little mound. That is what it did here. The key is playing with it and seeing how much you need. Too much, results in a running or spreading effect. Just the right amount will mound up nicely. It is better to start with too little and add more if necessary. The CE will blend out if you have to add more. These kind of resemble a dew drop but have a little more depth and sparkle, very pretty.

You can also color the rhinestones and pearls using Sharpie or alcohol markers if you have the right colors on hand. Our dye based Stampin Write markers will also color the jewels. They need some drying time and sometimes two or three coats to get the desired color. I dab them with a soft tissue to remove excess ink before applying them to my projects.

These are all great ways to get that perfect added touch to your project

Happy Stampin!

Belinda

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