Metallic Pens: Part 3

Yesterday's cards demonstrate masking a border on cards, but today's cards will show how you can use a metallic pen to define a stripe across a card.

First up, a sweet way to highlight a single-word sentiment.

Stamps: Hero Arts You're So Lovely; ink: Memento
pear tart, Memento Luxe rich cocoa; paper:
Papertrey white; accessories: rhinestones,
metallic marker, pencil, ruler, post-its

Next, filling in along a diagonal...a popular design if Pinterest is any indicator.

Stamps: Simon Says Stamp Spring Flowers,
Clearly Besotted A Little Sentimental; ink:
Hero Arts red royal, lime, butter bar, orange soda;
paper: Papertrey white; accessories: gold metallic pen,
post-its, ruler, quilting ruler

These two cards have different techniques to achieve the design: by masking either the stripe itself or by masking the two areas on either side of the stripe (with large post-its, in the second card). Either way, it's fun and easy.

To construct the first card, I drew two parallel pencil lines on my card. Using small post-its, I protected the inside area and stamped the two branches. Not a lot of masking needed here, obviously. (If you do need more thorough masking, you can also use washi tape!) Then, placing a ruler just off-set from the pencil line, I ran the marker across the card, covering the pencil line completely.

To construct the second card, more masking was needed, so I used two very large post-it notes, positioning them perfectly parallel using a quilting ruler (as described in yesterday's post).

After stamping, I removed the post-its, lined the ruler up so just a bit of the stamping showed, and drew the gold lines. Easy peasy!

BTW, I adore those large post-its. Very handy!

Ruler Talk
Several people have asked about the ruler I use. Here are a couple of pictures. It's just a 12" metal ruler with a felt backing. Cork would work as well. The main objective with the felt or cork is to lift the edge of the ruler off the paper. That way, ink won't wick up under the ruler and make a mess. The way the large nibs are curved means wicking would be unlikely, but still. Why take a chance?

A second use of the felt or cork is to keep the marked edge of the ruler off the paper...where it might smear when you move the ruler. The metallic ink dries pretty quickly on paper but takes a bit longer on the ruler. If you touch the wet edge to your card, you'll regret it. When I draw a line, I immediately wipe the ruler with a slightly damp cloth to remove as much of the ink as possible. This will prevent slip-ups as you reposition the ruler.

I hope all this makes sense. If you have any questions, please ask in the comments!