WCYDW - 9/4 Altering letters

I like to spice up my layouts with altered letters.  It really adds a bit of zing to your layout and makes it stand out from the rest.  So today I am going to show you several different ways to alter letters.

 

Let's begin with a plain chipboard letter.  For this technique you will need:

Gesso or paint

embossing powder

embossing ink

Diamond Dust

Glue that dries clear, I use Glossy Accents

Chipboard letter

 

 First thing I did was paint the letter with black gesso. 

 

 

Next I dabbed on some embossing ink but I did not cover the entire letter with embossing ink.  Then I sprinkled on Stampendous aged black embossing enamel and heated with my heat gun.

 

 

Then I added some glossy accents glue, again not over the entire letter but random dabbles.   I sprinkled Diamond Dust over the letter and here is the finished letter.

 

Here's a project where I used this technique with white rather than black letters.  I really think these letters made my project special!

 

Here's another example using the same technique but I did not use Diamond Dust and heavily inked the edges of the letters after embossing.

 

Now let's make something with duct tape!  First adhere the duct tape to a piece of cardstock.  My duct tape was kinda wrinkled so I used a rubbing tool to smooth out the wrinkles in the tape.

 

Next, put the duct tape in an embossing folder and emboss.

Now I have diecuts to make letters so I next cut out a letter.  If you don't have letter dies, that's ok, you can still make a cool embellie but cutting it into a circle or flower or whatever you think of.  Paint the duct tape cut out with gesso.

 

 

Then you can paint or mist with your preferred product.

 

 In this example I just made a layer with an embossed piece of duct tape and painted/misted.  I love the look of the duct tape on this layout, it is the embossed circles you see in this photo:

 

 

Here's a really easy technique to add to the vintage look of a layout.  I've started with black Thickers letters.  Next scratch the surface of the letter.  YOu can use a distressing tool, sanding block, nail file, anything of that nature will work

 

 

Next take distress ink and color the sanded areas of the letter.

 

That gives you a nice distressed looking letter that goes great with a vintage styled layout.

 

 

 

Here are some other ideas:

 

Use pop dots to pop up your thin paper letters so that they have more dimension like a chipboard letter.  You can also paint them with Glossy Accents or a similar product to give the paper a little body.

 

Stamp script or a design on plain letters to add some interest to them.

 

This letter has been stamped, inked around the edges, painted with glossy accents and then popped up.

 

These are canvas letters in the Sept KOM.  I stamped them with a script stamp and then randomly  touched with gold paint.

 

Mount your letters on little scraps of paper or circles.

 

 

There are lots of fun things you can do to give your letters a unique look, hope you'll try some of these ideas!