Stained Glass Roses
by Kathy Berger
When I originally started drawing the Stencil Rose dies for Frantic Stamper, I simply thought of the die in terms of paper on paper, just like all the other dies I had drawn. I did think that it would be lovely cut and colored and layered onto the solid die, also colored, but I didn't really think much more about it until I actually got the die and cut it with it. Something entirely different struck me then...and I couldn't wait to make this card! For some reason, I cut the die and all I could think of was stained glass, and I knew the PERFECT way to create the effect would be with acetate, card-stock, and embossing powder!
Since I was going to be working on clear acetate I would need double of every element; one for the outside and one for the inside to hide any glue. So, I cut four of the detailed roses and two of the frames out of heavy white card stock.
Using the direct to paper method I coated two of the rose fronts and the other two rose backs with Versamark ink. I added gold embossing powder, and heated. But the effect I was after needed a thicker layer of embossing, so I repeated the coating with ink and powder and the melting twice more. That gave me a layer that was thick and metallic-looking, which was just what I was after. I repeated the process for the frames, one on the front side and the other on the back.
I then cut the frames out of the centers of patterned paper that had been cut to card size. I cut one of the sheets pattern up, and the other sheet pattern down.
Lastly, I die cut the solid rose out of clear acetate. I then assembled the rose accent by carefully gluing one of the forward-facing roses to the front of this acetate piece. On the back of the piece I colored in the rose with Copic markers, tapping the color on rather than stroking it. I then affixed one of the two backward-facing roses to the back of the piece, hiding the back side of the first rose and creating a stand-alone stained glass accent piece.
I was then ready to begin to assemble my card.
Using a clear acetate card, I affixed the face-up patterned paper rectangle to the card front. I then affixed the forward-facing frame inside the hole in the patterned paper. Inside the frame I affixed the remaining forward-facing rose.
Opening the card, I colored the rose on the inside front of the card with Copics as I had done for the accent piece. I glued the back-facing rose in place. I then glued the remaining frame aligned with the frame on the front of the card and then the remaining rectangular piece in place, as well.
I applied glue to the back of the forward-facing oval, placed the oval glue-side up into the oval well in the frame on the inside of the card front, and then closed the card, adhering the oval in the correct place on the inside of the card back. I then glued the remaining oval in place over the other oval, on the back of the card back.
I then glued the accent piece in place on the card front (using Glossy Accents) to finish the card.
It is very hard to share the sense of depth that the clear card provides; the distance to the background that can be seen through the holes in the frame of the card is not discernible, and I am not a skilled photographer. But I promise you, in person it is quite dramatic! And the shine provided by the acetate truly gives a sense of stained glass.
This technique has made me look at all of my dies that have a lot of cut detail in a very different light! I plan to try this technique with more of my Frantic Stamper Precision Dies; I hope you will try it too!
