Glue gun tutorial and other things.

I have taken some step by step photos to show how I used the glue gun to make my embellishments for my ast set of postcards, so here we go. It is really really easy. I make mine onto baking parchment as this is a lovely surface to work on and then is easy to get back off. Firstly I have drawn my fish shapes in pencil as a guide.


Then I used the glue gun to draw out the shapes. Now do not take these off the baking parchment, if you do when we go onto the next step the glue can distort and be a paint to work with, and that will become clear why in a minute. Now if you wanted to paint this at this point you could, with acrylic or even rub over with metalic rub-on's like treasure gold. I am going to show you what I did though.
I used embossing powders. I re-heated the glue with a heat gun, and that is why it is important not to remove the glue from the parchment. If you break the seal wth the parment when you use the heat tool the glue melts and moves around. When it is hot pour on embossing powders and shake off exces onto a piece of paper to put back into the jar.


Notice in the photo the bottom fish's tail has distorted as it came loose from the parchment when I carried it to the kitchen. Wa-la, nice shiny copper fish! They will be used in a further project later in the week.
This is a piece I have been playing with in the same way. It is my card for Calendar Girls this month. The backgroud is painted kitchen towel that has been stamped and printed using the end of a felt tip lid. The flower was made in the same way as I showed above but before couching down, I thought the petals didn't stand out enough so I glued it with PVA to a piece of white tissue.
This photo shows how raised the glue is. I couched the glue down then. I have to admit to being very pleased with this card.
I wanted to show you what i am working on for my resolved piece for design. I decided to use the idea of the pegs being wrapped based on the idea of a welsh shawl, which was a traditional way to wrap a baby and be hands free. I wrapped a piece of welsh wool around the pegs and then wired it and a strip of fabric paper around the peg and in place. I love them but I now don't know how to display them? Do I peg them to something, and if so what? Do I have them hanging, which is my preferred choice, but if so how, from what? Is putting them in a line too twee? Lots to contemplate.

and in the words of the news, and finally!
I got this little ray of sunhine through the post today. Lovely Lynda (Purplemissus) did me a great favour today, she knows i have been down and she did me a kindness and along with it came this ovely card, which I could look at all day! Thanks lynda, you are a diamond!