Painted Poppies Meet Shimmer Paste

You may not believe this, but when I opened my jar of Shimmer Embossing Paste, it was completely dried out. Yes, a very crumbly chunky powder greeted me when I lifted that secured lid.

Now, in my defense, I hadn’t used the Shimmer Paste in quite some time. Probably since my last play with it for my blog post on using stencils and paste.

I had kept the foam circular insert inside the jar lid. And the cap was screwed on tight. Still, I discovered that this paste was a desert inside. Not at all what I had in mind to showcase during my Make It Monday live card demo. I needed paste in a couple hours time…

Shimmer Paste Quick Fix

After a bit of online research, I determined I had 2 options for my dry Shimmer Paste. First: I could throw it away and order more. Or, Second: I could attempt a fix. At this point, I didn’t really have much to lose!

I took my jar of paste into the bathroom along with the largest palette knife. Using the knife, I scored thru the middle of the dry paste, sawing away til I reached the bottom of the jar. Next, I added a little water and started to work it in.

Slowly, my paste started to come back to life. I found that the key was to continue to add small amounts of water and work it into the paste well before adding in more. When I had a good size of decent paste in the middle of my jar, I stopped.

Perfectly Pasted Painted Poppies

I had never used the Shimmer Paste as an overlay before. First, I stamped the poppy images from the Painted Poppies Stamp Set on Basic White Cardstock using Memento Black Ink. Next, I colored my flowers using Stampin’ Blends. Lastly, I used the Painted Labels Dies in the Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine to die cut my flower images.

Playing with the sparkly paste and the poppies was a lot of fun. The Shimmer Paste dried quickly, and although the paper bowed up for a short while, it relaxed flat for use. The effect is quite charming. In fact, I think this great technique could be used on any flowers that are stamped. And why stop at flowers? Let your imagination run wild.

Poppies In Color

Did you know that the Painted Poppies Stamp Set has been around since January of 2020? If you have this stamp set and coordinating dies, try this new way to use them! One of my favorite things to do is create the same design, but switch up the colors.

Don’t have this amazing set yet? You will find it in my online stamping store. While you are there, check out the Matte Finish Embossing Paste and the Palette Knives. And if you don’t have a Silicone Craft Sheet, make sure to get one, it makes this messy technique manageable.

More Tips And Tricks…

Looking for more details on how I used the Shimmer Embossing Paste? Check out my card making video here, where I dish info as I go. And join my cardmaking community, Positive PaperCrafters, on FaceBook. My Tuesday Tool Tip showcased how I plan to keep my paste from drying out in the future. Hope to see you there!