Faux Magic Mesh

Do you have different colored rolls of Magic Mesh in your stamping stash but never have just the right color for that card you're creating?  I have a solution for you to get that 'just right' color every time you want to include mesh on your card, without having to spend a  lot of money!  Sound interesting?  Come join me in my Tree House as I show you what to use and how to jazz it up!

Supplies used

Supplies:
Drywall tape
Ink pads, any type
Essential Glue Pad (Tsukineko)
Ultra fine glitter in various colors
Embossing powders in various colors
Embossing Heat Gun
Craft sheet or plain paper 

You can find drywall tape at any home improvement center, or hardware store.  It comes in a large roll and is generally used to apply to sheet rock joints, giving a base to apply sheet rock mud when finishing walls. 

Drywall tape

Due to the creative minds of rubber stampers, other uses for using this tape has been discovered, and it is much cheaper than Magic Mesh!  The advantage of drywall tape is that you can make it any color to match the project you are working on. 

Cut a piece of drywall tape off the roll. I generally cut a piece a little big larger than I need.  Place it on the craft sheet or piece of plain paper.

Take the ink pad and rub it or tap it over the drywall tape.  Do several coats for a darker mesh. Dry the ink with the heat gun.

You now have a piece of custom colored mesh that will match your project, AND a piece of background for another project!

Want to jazz up your piece of mesh?  It's easy peasy!  Follow the steps above to color your piece of mesh.  Once you cover the top with ink, it will no longer be sticky.  To add glitter to your colored mesh, pounce the glue pad over the top.

Sprinkle with glitter.  Dump the excess back into the glitter container. 

Lift the piece of glittered mesh, and you have another background piece, but this time it has the glitter, too!  Pretty cool, eh? 

Don't want to use ink to color the mesh?  You can use embossing powders instead.  The drywall tape by its very nature is sticky, so when embossing, you do not need to use any glues or embossing inks. Just sprinkle the embossing powder, color of choice, dump the excess back into the container, and heat with the embossing heat gun until melted.  

Since the top of the mesh will no longer be sticky after coating with embossing power, if you want to build up the embossing to create more texture, use the glue pad, or embossing ink and randomly press to the mesh. Sprinkle the EP and heat to melt. You may need to do this several times to get the look you want. Again, this will give you an interesting textured piece that can be used for a background on another card or project!

And, last but not least, you can always choose to keep the mesh in it’s original color. Sometimes white is just what a project needs.  You can still jazz it up by sprinkling with glitter (no adhesive is necessary because the tape is sticky) to add some bling to the project.

Here is a photo showing the three pieces of mesh side by side. The one on the left is the embossed piece. The middle is the inked and glittered piece. The one on the right is just the inked piece.

So, go have fun with your new-found ‘cheap’ embellishment!  I bought my roll of drywall tape about 3 years ago, and as you can see in the above photos, there is still a lot left.  It lasts forever.  I think I paid something like $4.00 for the roll.

by: Bea Rosenleaf

Faux Magic Mesh Card

Finished card size: 4.25" x 5.5"

Supplies:
Stamps:
Bird on Branch (Inkadinkado)
Sentiment (The Angel Company)
Paper:
Ivory cardstock, cut to 8.5" x 4.25", scored and folded in half, and a piece of scrap (Staples)
Simply Delightful paper collection (My Mind's Eye)
Inks:
Distress ink pads: (Ranger)
     Fired Brick
     Brushed Corduroy
     Soot
Essential Glue Pad, and re-inker (Tsukineko)
Turquoise VersaMagic chalk ink (Tsukineko)
Other:
Drywall tape (hardware store)
Ultra-fine Clear Glitter (Art Institute)
Blending tool (Inkssentials)
2 medium brads (Hot Off the Press)
Adhesive of choice

Directions:

1. Cut background paper from Simply Delightful collection to 4.25" x 5.5" and adhere to card base. 
2. Cut patterned paper from Simply Delightful collection to 3.75" x 5" and set aside.
3. Cut ivory scrap  to 2.5" x 3.5".
4. Stamp bird image with Fired Brick ink on the top portion of the piece just cut.
5. Using the blending tool, apply Brushed Corduroy ink around the outside edges of the cardstock, with circular motion, moving to the inner area. The ink will get lighter as you move in.
6. Using the ink pad, swipe the outside edges with the Fired Brick ink and let dry.
7. Cut a piece of paper, the same as the background layer, to measure 3.5" x 1" and stamp sentiment with Soot ink.
8. Cut a piece of drywall tape a little longer than the card length and apply Turquoise ink. Dry with heat tool. Pounce glue pad on top of the ink. Sprinkle with glitter. Dump excess glitter back into the container.
9. To assemble:   Place the patterned piece in the center of the card front. Do not attach to the card front yet!  Lay the mesh over the top, lining up the left edges, and push down onto the papers (remember the mesh is sticky and does not need any additional adhesive).  Attach (use adhesive for this piece) the bird image piece, centered, on top of the assembled pieces.  Center the sentiment piece over the bird image, toward the bottom edge.  Attach the brads through all the layers. NOW, attach the assembled piece to the card front.
10. Trim the mesh even with the edges of the card
11. Sign your work!

Note:  By attaching the brads to the assembled piece before attaching it to the card front, keeps the brad prongs from showing when you open the card.

I hope you've enjoyed this little tutorial to help you create an embellishment that is not only cheaper, but one that will match your projects each and every time without the frustration of looking for that 'just right' color.