Lucy Edmondson: Caught in Crystal Fragments

When I first tried the Caught in Crystal technique I wasn't keen on what I made: I didn't feel the resulting pieces of coloured acetate had the necessary Wow! factor to satisfy me! Probably because I like dimensional crafting. Then I thought recently that maybe the Tim Holtz Fragments would work well with this method, creating something a bit more tangible. You can get these acrylic pieces in various shapes and sizes, including charms with a hole already in them, which would be great on the Christmas tree.

For this tutorial I have used the largest piece, coaster size, from the Squares and Rectangles pack, and you will also need:

Alcohol Inks
(I used Pink Sherbert, Citrus, Shell Pink, Sunshine Yellow, and
Mountain Rose - colours that are not too dark allow your
stamped image to show up more clearly)

StazOn Jet Black
Gold Leaf
Glitter
White Tissue Paper (any brand will do)
Glossy Accents, Clear Crystal Lacquer, or Diamond Glaze
Tim Holtz Fragments
Your chosen stamp(s)
Mine was the Santa from the Artistic Stamper Victorian Christmas 3 plate

Although you are using alcohol inks, you won't need the applicator or the applicator tool for this technique.

1. Stamp your image on the Fragment using StazOn.

2. Tear a piece of tissue paper slightly larger than your Fragment.

3. Turn the piece over. Apply a liberal amount of Diamond Glaze or similar
(actually it would be best to use a bit more than I have used here).

4. Drip your alcohol inks onto the glaze. Use plenty, about 10 drops of each. The glaze will disperse it a little.

5. Sprinkle small flakes of your gold leaf onto the surface.

6. Sprinkle on your glitter. I used red and concentrated it on areas
where I thought Santa's cloak would be. Add other shimmery inclusions
if you wish, such as Angelina fibres or accent beads,
anything as long as it is not too dimensional.

7. Place your tissue paper carefully over the top so it looks like this.

8. Leave it to dry for several hours or overnight, then cut away the
excess tissue paper from around the edge.

I then made my Fragment into a hinged Christmas ornament, using a little compartmented tray I got from Quixotic Paperie. I mounted the Fragment onto white mountboard (a white background brings out the colours) and edged it with gold paint. I painted the tray white and covered the reverse and sides with Tim Holtz tissue tape in the Christmas Tidings designs.

I then made a little collage in the tray, sticking some festive papers behind some small square Fragments with Glossy Accents, and the words 'Ho, Ho, Ho' stamped on paper, behind some glass flower arranging pebbles, and some chipboard snowflakes painted white. I used a liberal sprinkling of Polar White Flowersoft - love this stuff! - but use whatever form of fake snow you favour!

To make your large Fragment into a door for your little collaged tray, attach it to the base using two metal hinges and strong glue. To finish, cover the hinges where they show through with stamped shrink plastic holly.

I hope you have found this useful. I am sure you will think of lots more ideas for using your Fragments. Likewise, you can also use the Caught in Crystal technique for any clear acrylic or glass pieces you have in your stash.