Many Uses of Crystal Effects

 Crystal Effects was used in the class last week, and there was astonishment and amazement about this liquid glue.  They had never seen it used before and were quite intrigued by all its uses and applications.
This was from the Stamping 411 Blog June 2009 here

Crystal Effects is water based, easy to clean up, and an easy way to enhance any rubber stamped art project. It adds a dimensional, lacqured look, similar to glass! When first applied it appears cloudy, but will dry to a clear glossy finish. Squeeze slowly and evenly and keep work surface flat until dry.

Apply Crystal Effects to areas you would like to looked raised and glossy…flowers, hearts, ice cream, or candy images. It will make your image POP off the page!

• Layer it on with a paintbrush to give a smooth glass-like finish.
  
• After applying it to an image, sprinkle a little Dazzling Diamonds glitter on top.
  
• To give it color, mix in a drop or two of re-inker liquid and paint on (change the color of Hodgepodge Hardware or mini brads!)
  
• Use it as glue for those hard-to-hold embellishments on cards.
  
  
• Make Faux Icicles by drawing a thick line of Crystal Effects on wax paper, then drawing the drips coming down from the line to resemble icicles. Add Dazzling Diamonds for sparkling fun! Let dry, remove from wax paper and adhere to project. (I made this little bag last year for Christmas presents...see the icicles along the edge of the flap?)
  
• Make Faux Dew Drops by forming 3D dots on wax paper. Let dry, remove from wax paper and adhere to your project.
  
• Make “Glitter Gloss”
  Materials: Crystal Effects, Ultra-fine glitter, old paintbrush
  Directions: Squirt some Crystal Effects onto a CD. Using a toothpick, stir in some glitter until you have the consistency you want.
  To use: Using a paintbrush, brush the glitter gloss onto your stamped art, stamped tiles. When dry, it gives a glossy and sparkly look to your art.
  Try using this to add glitter gloss to snow, hearts, etc. Anywhere that you want to add a bit of sparkle.
  
• Random sqiggles, shapes or marks drawn on cardstock will give a glossy, watermark look to your background.

****CAUTIONS****

Do not shake liquid.

Apply slowly to alleviate any air bubbles that may occur.

Do not use the heat tool to speed dry time; it will bubble.

Since Crystal Effects is water based, it will cause Stampin’ Up! markers or dye inks to bleed. Carefully apply a THIN layer of Crystal Effects, let dry, then apply a thicker coat. Or, use Watercolor Crayons, Watercolor Pencils or Pastels to color your images before applying Crystal Effects without fear of bleeding colors.

Selene Kempton has created a wonderful Inspiration Sheet you can print off with more ideas on Crystal Effects!

You can find this sheet at the web site listed below

http://e-selene.com/411ce.pdf