Gilded Leaf & Bird Card by Chris W

I haven’t played with my gilding flakes or metal leaf for absolutely ages so thought I would set myself the goal of a card and an altered art piece. I love the look of variegated flakes on black card so decided that is what I would use this time around.

I used some Hero Art leaf stamps to stamp down the side of the base mat but any will do the job.

The branches are stamped using a Paper Artsy set (HP10008) and the bird from a Tim Holtz Movers and Shapers die. It is a very simple card and ideal for a guy. This one is for my brother-in-law’s birthday.

Level of difficulty:     Easy
Materials:
A 127mm x 178mm (5” x 7”) pre-scored scalloped card
A 115mm x 165mm mirriboard mat
A 105mm x 155mm black card mat
A 60mm x 150mm mirriboard mat
A 55mm x 145mm black card mat
Variegated gildingflakes (or metallic leaf sheets)
VivaInka-gold metallic paint or equivalent
Baker’s twine
1 black micro craft gem
Printed or stamped metallic sentiment
Small decoupage pads
Gilding glue (eg Flitter glu or equivalent)
Double sided sticky tape
Tools:
TimHoltz Movers and shapers mini bird die (or equivalent)
SizzixMovers and shapers base tray
Sizzixdie cutting machine (or equivalent)
Leaf stamps
Twigs stamp (or equivalent eg reeds, bullrushes, wheat etc)
Cutting mat
Inking sheet
Scissors
Scalpel or craft knife

Method:

Prep the mats:
Lay the mats out as they will appear on your card so that you can guage how far inset to stamp your leaves down the side of the bottom black mat. Remove the top two (left side) mats and replace with a piece of scrap paper so you know where the demarcation point is. Take your leaf stamps and (following the instructions that came with your gilding flakes/leaves) stamp glue down the right side of the base black mat and put to one side. Take your twigs stamp and repeat the procedure onto the top black mat. Now apply the gilding flakes/leaves to the glued areas then leave to cure. When ready, stick each card mat to its corresponding mirriboard base. Tie some baker’s twine around the base of the top/side mats.
Prep your bird:
Take your die and cut out and paint your bird with metallic paint (or stamp and cut out your bird). Place the micro gem where the eye would be. (If you don’t have craft gems just use a fine nib pen.) Attach the bird to the top/side mat over the twine using mini decoupage pads.
Bringing it all together:
Stick the bottom set of mats to the card base and then mount and stick the top left mats in place. Add the sentiment and the card front is done. Add an insert of your choice to complete.