Metal Mosaic Tutorial and an Easter Bunny Card

This week, Simon Says Stamp and Show...Metal-ology. I thought it would be a good chance to share a technique for making a metal mosaic which I used to make an Easter bunny for this card:

"Easter Bunny Card"

I like to recycle bits of old packaging in my cards, so often use cat food & dishwasher tablet boxes when I want a bit of thick card. Strong dishwasher or washing tablet boxes are ideal for use with this technique.

"Cover Card with strong ds tape"

1. Start by cutting a piece of strong card to roughly just over 5 x 5 inches.
2. Cover with strips of strong double-sided tape. I just use the cheap, red tape that you can buy in bulk at the craft fairs. If you want to be posh, you could use sticky sheets instead.

"Die-cut Covered Card"

3. Run your card through a die-cutting machine with a steel rule die such as a Sizzix Bigz die and separate the pieces.

"Remove tape backing"

4. Carefully remove the backing from the tape, taking care not to lift the tape from the card. If you accidentally lift the tape in a small section (like I did here with the bunny's ears), you can add a bit more and cut around it with a pair of scissors before having another go.
5. Cut up small scraps of patterned card to make the mosaic tiles.

"Arrange Mosaic Tiles"

6. Arrange the pieces of mosaic, pressing them down into the sticky tape and leaving gaps in between each of the edges.

"Heat-emboss"

7. Place the prepared die-cut onto a piece of paper and sprinkle metallic embossing powder onto all the exposed areas of sticky tape.
8. Shake off excess embossing powder and return to the pot.
9. Working in a well-ventilated area, heat the embossing powder and enjoy the little miracle (I never get over this, just love watching the powder transform!).

"Second Coat"

10. Re-heat each small area in turn, quickly adding a second coat of embossing powder while the first coat is molten, then heating again to melt. In this way, you can make a thicker layer of embossing that looks more metallic. If any bits are missed, you can also use an embossing pen to stick extra powder exactly where you want it.

"Glossy Accents"

11. Repeat all the steps to cover the matching bow.
12. Add a blob of glossy accents to each of the paper tiles and allow to dry overnight.

"Finito"

13. And this is Mr. Rabbit after drying. The extra coats of metallic distress powder give the edges of the paper a round appearance and the glossy accents makes the paper look like pebbles set in gold.

"Hanging Frame"

I made a quick background for the bunny with some sponged distress inks and stamping with green Perfect Pearls brushed on, then cutting to fit a frame die-cut from hammered gold cardstock. A couple of lengths of chain were fixed to the top of the frame with jump rings and attached to the card with a decorative brad. The frame and bunny were mounted with foam tape for extra dimension. The bottom layer of patterned paper was inked around the edges and matted onto more hammered gold cardstock, and finally fixed to a blank whose edges were also distressed. A Salvage Sticker sentiment was stuck at the bottom.

Ingredients for metal mosaic:

empty dishwasher tablet box

strong double-sided tape (or sheet)

steel rule die (I used Sizzix Bigz Tim Holtz' Bunny & Butterfly)

scraps of patterned paper (I used Tim Holtz Lost and Found)

metallic embossing powder (I used some old dregs of Cosmic Shimmer, it doesn't have to be pristine because any mottles and bits just make the whole thing look more realistic)

glossy accents

Ingredients for card:

metal mosaic

cardstock; white 300gsm (for card base), white 160 gsm (for inking and stamping), hammered gold 200gsm

Tim Holtz Seasonal paper stash

Tim Holtz Seasonal Salvage Stickers

Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz stamp set: Spring Sprung

Spellbinders Decorative Labels Eight

Distress Inks: Bundled Sage, Pine Needles, Spun Sugar, Victorian Velvet

Perfect Pearls, heirloom green

chain, jump rings and decorative brad

adhesives: foam tape, PVA

Entered for the following challenge:
Simon Says Stamp and Show - Metal-ology
Cutie Pie Challenge - Pretty Pastels
Stamp and Create - Spring is Coming
Forever Friends - Animals and/or Butterflies and/or Birds