Fun with Flocking

Flocking isn't new by any means but it has found it's way back into our cards and now scrapbooks. There are now foil/flocking kits offered by various companies making flocking "easy" ~ translate into pricy! Yes, you can use these kits and they are very convenient ~ they contain an adhesive shape or sentiment that you lay a sheet of flocking or foil over the top of and burnish. It is quick and painless. There are a couple limitations with these kits though ~ you only get one or two colors of flocking with the kit and your design options are very limited. Flocking the old faishioned way ;) isn't all that hard. All you need is the powdered flock material (which is ava. right now at Hobby Lobby for 1.99 for 2 colors or other craft stores); adhesive of some sort and something to flock!

To flock all you have to do is apply your adhesive, shake the flocking particles onto the adhesive and shake off excess. If you didn't cover the entire image simply add more flocking until it's completely covered. It's really very quick & simple! Here are various examples of flocked items and how I made them.

The snowflakes were stamped using Palette's Glue Pad. Now, I'm not a big fan of this stuff as it's unpredictible to use. Sometimes I can get it to work great and other times it doesn't work worth a hoot. I'm sure the mfg. would tell you it's operator error which could be but it's a very fussy to stamp with. I found it worked best on glossy cardstock. It says you have to heat it just a bit to activate the sticky...well that's easier said than done. It doesn't tell you HOW long, just to do it. Soooo, it's basically a guessing game. A couple of times I heated it too long and once not long enough. When you don't get it just right not much will stick (if anything). This example was the 3rd of 4 attempts.

This example was made with the Sailor Marker type applicator. It's huge and looks like a sharpie, you know the industrial size ones! Anyway, I just wrote out the word, let it set for about a minute then shook the flock over top. It worked the very first time, no messing around with heating. Set aside to dry completely.

This card was made by using a couple different techniques. The word is actually a Provo Craft adhesive sticky that was meant to be used with the micro beads. PC has since discontinued the item but it can be found on E-bay and other clearence type web-sites. They are very inexpensive and come in many themes with about 15-20 adhesive shapes or words per package.

The flocked flourishes are Grunge Board (this stuff is amazing!!). To covere the flourish I used a Zig adhesive pen, flocked and let dry. VERY easy!

This last project is an image that I again used the Zig adhesive pen on. To make, I stamped the image using Archival Ink (so it was waterproof - very important when using liquid adhesives). I covered a select section with adhesive and sprinkled with flocking. **When you are using multiple colors of flocking you need to work with one color at a time making sure that you have covered all of the adhesive very well. If it's not completely covered you risk cross contamination for a poor quality outcome.

Now that you see how easy it really is, go ahead ~ give it a try :) It really is lots of fun and adds a fun detail to any project!

Supplies: Flocking - Hobby Lobby Crafts Etc.; Palette Glue Pad; Zig Glue Pen; Sailor Glue Marker; Provo Craft Sticky Words; Grunge Board - Idea-ology; Santa Stamp - Stampers Anonymous; Flourishes - Fancy Pants; Distress Ink, Crackle Paint, Distress Embossing Powder, Archival Ink, Cut & Dry Nibs - Ranger; Wire, Ribbon, Eyelets - Unknown