Swans - Mixed Media

Try as I might I just could not get a good picture of this card.  I used a technique I kind of made up by combining something I had seen recently with the desire to create a certain effect.  I'm calling it Embedded Glitter Embossing.  

I've been searching for the last two days for the picture that inspired me, but the closest I came was to Monet's Swan which is actually a photo by Richard Nadeau.  Had I seen that picture originally I would have added the lighter colors at the top of the panel, but let me get on with this.

The picture that I saw had a swan or a pair of swans against a dark background that was completely glittered.  As I am not very fond of working with glitter this was a stretch for me.  I wanted a background that looked like sparkling water without the loose glitter.

So after having recently seen a video on Dreaming About Rubber Stamps detailing how to add glitter with embossing folders I thought this might work. (The link has the video.)  But since I was not using an embossing folder it didn't quite work out the way I wanted it initially.  

The first thing I did was to swipe my ink directly onto the paper.   I used Island Indigo, Baja Breeze, and Lucky Limeade making sure that there was no white visible.  Then I swiped the whole thing with my VersaMark pad.  I mixed my crystal glitter with clear EP and generously covered the entire panel.  I found that if you don't want your glitter flying off the paper, don't point the heat gun from above, hold the heat gun below the paper and watch the EP melt.  

The effect was nice, but the surface felt sandy and I did not want it to be textured.  I wanted the water smooth.  So I reinked with the VersaMark again and this time I used Extra Thick EP.  Again heating from below.  I got a smoother surface this time as the Extra Thick EP swallowed up the lumps and embedding the glitter.  

What you see in the upper right corner above is just a reflection from the light as I was trying to take the picture.  The swans from PictureShow Stamps are watercolored and the whole thing cut out and popped up on the background.

IRL it has a lot of sparkle.  Probably not as much as the original inspiration picture, but it's pretty close.