Cracked glass - made with UTEE

Hello! This is my very first post on this blog - and boy am I excited! I was thinking a lot about what to share with you and finally decided to go with the cracked glass effect made with UTEE. UTEE is short for "Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel". It is a extra thick embossing powder that creates a very glossy surface on your image. So, let´s get started!



I stamped the image on the paper I usually use, so no special paper needed. But make sure your paper isn´t too thin or it may look a bit like vellum after using the UTEE on it.



I then colored the image in with Copics (I used more color than shown on the photo) and cut it out using an oval Nestabilities. I also added some blue Distress Ink to create a nice background.



As the next step I covered the whole image with VersaMark Watermark ink. You can use any stamp pad you use for heat embossing as long as it´s clear.



Then I added some UTEE on the whole image and melted it with my heat embossing gun. Hold the image down with a pair of scissors or tweezers. Also take care after melting and let it cool down a bit without touching the front. Since the UTEE is thicker than "normal" embossing powder it needs more time to cool and get hard. Touching it too early will leave finger prints.



After adding the first layer of UTEE the surface won´t be even and looking a bit speckled. This is a beautiful effect but not what we need for the cracked glass. So repeat the last steps: cover the image with watermark ink and UTEE and melt it. Repeat this at least two more times. Don´t worry - the UTEE lasts forever and you don´t really need much of it to cover an image.



Now there are three layers of UTEE on my image and I have an even, shiny surface. Let it cool down again and then put it in your freezer for about 10 minutes. This will make it easier to break the layers.
Don´t worry if your images curls up when you get it out of the freezer. It will flaten with breaking.
Now carefully bend the image backwards until the UTEE breaks. Make sure you break it in different directions to make them breaks look more natural. You can add as many or few breaks as you want.



So there is a nice antique effect on the image and it would look beautiful as it is. But I wanted it to look even more vintage and so I added some Vintage Photo Distress Ink to the cracks. Just rub your stamp pad over the image and then clean it with a paper towel or baby wipe. The ink will stay in the cracks but get totally removed from the top of the UTEE.



As a finishing touch and to create some kind of frame I used some copper embossing powder on the edges. If you do this be carefully while melting - your UTEE may get liquid again and move around on the image. (That happened to me here - if you have a close look to the left side of the image you can see a little hole in the UTEE layer but I decided to leave it like this to show what I mean.)



All you need to do now is finish your card. This is what my card front looks like:



The bird house, the lilac blossoms and the saying are all from the "Birdie Love" stamp kit. I cut out the lilacs and added some UTEE to them as well but didn´t put ink on top. So you can see the difference. But I added some Stickles to make them shine... ;o)

I hope you liked this tutorial and give this technique a try!
Have a wonderful and crafty day! xoxo Kathrin aka Kruemel