YOU WILL NEED
  • 1 (A4) Acetate sheet
  • Marabu Decorglas glass paint in the following colours:–
  • Red
  • Orange
  • Purple
  • Marabu Gold Glass Outliner Paste
  • Coloured card (half A4 sheet per card) in red or pink depending on choice
  • Handmade paper in white
  • Spray adhesive
  • Gold thread
  • Masking tape
  • Scissors/craft knife
  • Paintbrush
  • Black felt tipped pen
  • Gold leaf (optional)

 

 


1 Photocopy or trace the designs onto a separate sheet of paper using a black felt tipped pen. This ensures that the designs stand out well.


2 Using scissors, cut out small squares of acetate just large enough to cover each heart shape. With the shiny side uppermost, secure each of the squares in place (one square per heart shape), by placing a small piece of masking tape at each corner.




3 Fill in each design with the glass paint. Begin with the orange and apply liberally. Whilst the orange is still wet, apply some of the red paint, allowing it to mingle with the orange to produce a random effect. Then dab on very small amounts of the purple, gently swirling the brush through the wet paint to produce a marbled effect. Be extremely careful not to mix the colours together too much, as this will produce a muddy appearance in the paint. Leave to dry overnight (be extremely careful when moving the freshly painted designs to avoid the paint running over the surface).


4 Meanwhile, prepare the card itself. Cut an A4 sheet of coloured card in half by first folding it and cutting along the fold line with scissors or a craft knife. Fold one of the resulting pieces carefully in half again to create the card.




5 Cut out a piece of handmade paper slightly smaller than the front of the card. To fray the edges of the paper, take some clean water and a paintbrush. Run a line of water around the edge of the paper about 1cm in from each edge. Allow the water to soak in well before gently pulling away the edge of the sheet. The paper should tear easily up to the waterline. If it does not, apply some more water and let it soak again. Tease out the longer strands to produce the decorative frayed edge.


6 Attach the paper to the front of the card using the spray adhesive. Spray an even coat of adhesive on the back of the paper and stick down carefully, taking care to secure the frayed edges for a neat finish. On one of the cards, I have decorated small areas of the paper with gold leaf which I secured in place using the gold size adhesive. This is entirely optional.


7 Once the glass paint is dry, outline each of the painted shapes with the glass outliner paste. Apply an even line around the edge of each shape. If you are cutting out the central panel of the shape, take care to apply the paste around this section as well. Allow paint to dry thoroughly.




8 Once the outline has dried, you are now ready to cut out the shapes and assemble the cards. Use scissors, cut around each shape, keeping as close to the outline as possible. If you are cutting out the central panel you will need to remove this carefully using a craft knife.


9 To attach the heart shapes to the card, pierce a tiny hole near the top of each shape using the craft knife. Position the heart on the front of the card and then mark another hole about 2cms above the top of the heart using a pencil. Open the card out flat before piercing this hole with the craft knife. Thread a length of gold metallic thread through the top of each shape and secure with a double knot. Then thread both ends through the hole in the card. Pull the thread through so that the shape hangs in the correct position and secure on the inside with a small piece of masking tape. Cut off any loose ends.


10 To disguise the tape on the inside of the card, cut a heart shaped mask of contrasting card and stick over the top of the tape, again using the spray adhesive. You may wish to add another heart on the opposite side for balance. Allow to dry. Once dry, you may wish to finish the edge of the masked area using the glass outliner paste. Allow to dry once more.

 
Suppliers 


All materials can be found in any good art and craft stores including SmitCraft, HobbyCraft and Opitec. For Smitcraft mail order and catalogue enquiries call 01252 342626 or email infor@smitcraft.com 

To find the location of your nearest HobbyCraft superstore call 08000 272 387. For an Opitec catalogue or mail order enquiries call 020 80 44 65 15 or email info.uk@opitec.com