Frosted Windowpanes Techniques

Have you seen the cool new Beveled Windowpanes in the Occasions Mini? 

I was inspired to experiment with them after seeing a demonstration at Leadership by Kelly Acheson.  And, I discovered some fun, new ways you can use these versatile little accessories to add a pretty and unique accent to your stamped projects! 

I'll be sharing my discoveries over the next week, but let's start with something that I happened upon during my explorations—Frosted Windowpanes!  It's a completely new look that I've never seen anywhere before!  (Maybe I'll be a trend-setter!  Teehee!)

Isn't the Frosted Windowpane SO pretty and vintage-looking!?  I love, love, love this technique!  And, the pictures don't do it justice!  All I did was lightly sand the Windowpanes with a Sanding Block.  Too Cool!

For this one, I sanded the entire piece, back and front, including the beveled edges. But, you could also experiment with just sanding the bevels, or the top and not the bevels.  I tried only doing the underside, but you can't really tell it is frosted while it's lying directly on a stamped image.  However, there is another reason that sanding the underside is useful…

Stamping & Coloring On Frosted Windowpanes

The thing I REALLY love about the frosted Windowpane is that ink sticks to it!  I stamped the butterfly image from the Dreams du Jour stamp set on the back with StazOn ink, and it applied easily without smearing due to the light texture.  Then, I used Markers to color in the butterfly.  I let it dry completely (you could use a Heat Tool to speed up the process). The ink stuck and the colors stayed true!  Woohoo! 

Can you tell that the bevels are inked, too?  After frosting them, I rubbed each bevel over the Soft Suede ink pad for some light coloring.  I thought the results were fantastic!  The ink also hid my use of SNAIL adhesive that I used under the bevels to attach the Very Vanilla cardstock to the backside of the Windowpane (after threading my ribbons through, of course). 

Vintage Wallpaper Distressed Background

I tried something a little different on this dry embossed piece.  The full-card photo doesn't really pick it up, but you can see it a little better on this closeup.  I antiqued the cardstock—really distressed it!

First I added texture to the Soft Suede cardstock with the Vintage Wallpaper Impressions Folder.  Then, I sponged on Very Vanilla Craft Ink over the whole piece to give some highlights.  Lastly, I sponged the entire piece again with Early Espresso Classic Ink to add in some lowlights.  I want to play with this technique more!  I think it would look amazing in other color combinations, don't you?

Supplies Used

• Paper: Rich Razzleberry, Daffodil Delight, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla cardstock
• Ink: StazOn Black, Very Vanilla Craft, Soft Suede, Early Espresso, Rich Razzleberry ink & marker, Elegant Eggplant marker, Daffodil Delight marker
• Stamps: Dreams du Jour, Occasional Quotes Hostess set (sentiment)
• Accessories: Windowpanes, Rich Razzleberry 3/8" Taffeta, Daffodil Delight 1/8" Taffeta
• Tools: Crimper, Vintage Wallpaper Impressions Folder, Sanding Blocks, 1-3/4 x 7/8" Oval Punch, Sponges.

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One more day to enter to win the Too Cool Secret Blog Candy for January!  Be sure to leave a comment on this post to enter!

We'll see more Windowpane techniques tomorrow!

Angie