Rolling Marble Technique - Tutorial

I discovered this technique a couple of weeks ago on StampTV
(Thank you Gina K).

The cleanup I found to be extremely messy unless I wanted to throw away the plastic containers. So I got creative and realized that my paper card boxes would be PERFECT for this technique and also reusable as long as I lined them with foil. (If you do not line them with foil, the ink may soak thru and stain whatever is underneath.) This way the only things that get thrown away are two small pieces of foil and the marbles if you do not want to clean them. WEAR plastic gloves if you plan to clean the marbles, otherwise you will have dyed fingers for a couple of days (voice of experience ... LOL)

Make two card boxes with lids. You only need one lid for the technique, but a 2nd is good for storage if you keep the boxes to use again or if you want to create two design sheets at the same time. I reinforced the corners on the outer surfaces of the boxes with scotch tape and line the bases/bottoms with heavy duty foil. Keep your foil as smooth on the bottom as possible. No need to line the lids with foil. Directions for the boxes are found on my blog:

http://kreateskards.blogspot.com/2009/07/lets-make-card-box-tutorial.html

When you make the boxes, use heavy weight cardstock in any color or design. Remember these are not for display, but for the technique.

Using a Stampin' Up Ink Refill ... I use Bermuda Bay for the first box. I dropped 3 small drops of ink on the foil. Do not squeeze the refill bottle, you will get too much ink on the surface. I have placed 5 marbles in the box also.

Marbles can be hard to find in the toys stores now a days. I finally found them at a craft store in the floral section. Any color, any size is fine. I tried staying with a medium marble size which is what most of the floral stores had.

Gently roll the marbles around the box. If you are concerned, put the lid on before doing this. See how the marbles are picking up the ink and turning the Bermuda Bay Color. Do not be concerned about the splotches of color on the foil, it will not affect your design.

I used Glossy White Paper that was cut 4 1/2" x 5 1/2". I put a tiny piece of double sided tape on the back of the glossy paper and then set it inside the lid of the box.

Put the lid on the box and flip everything over so that the lid is now facing down. KEEP the box together and hold on firmly to both pieces of the box. Now shake, rattle and roll the marbles. Flip the box back over, remove the lid and check your design. If there is enough color, move on to the next step. If you want more, stop and repeat this sequence. Do not remove the glossy white paper.

Take the second box bottom and add in your second color of ink. I used Melon Mambo for this one. Added in 3 drops of ink just like before and gently rolled the marbles till they had color to them. This piece of foil had a bit too much crinkle in it (sorry, didn't know what else to call it). Smooth out as much as possible, it just makes adhering the color to the marbles easier with a smooth surface to work with.

Now repeat the step above where you did the shake, rattle, and roll to add in your second color.

Remove the lid and here is the finished design.

Without adding in more ink, I decided to use the 2nd lid with a new piece of glossy cardstock and repeat the process. You can typically get 2 design sheets out of the 3 drops of ink in each box. The first design will be darker and the 2nd lighter ... I like both designs.

Set your lids aside with the finished designs in them. They will need to air dry just a bit to dry completely.

Gently fold up the foil with the inked marbles from each of the boxes and throw out. If you want to clean the marbles (which is definitely MORE environmentally friendly), then put on rubber gloves and clean them with a baby wipe and then dry before storing in the boxes. Do them one at a time. If you drop an inked one, you will have ink where ever it touches.

Once the designs are dry, carefully remove them from the lids. Put the lids on the boxes and put the boxes up to use again later. There may be a few ink spots on the sides of the boxes, but that won't affect any future designs.

I'm not going to give a complete tutorial on how I did these two cards, but will give an overview.

I took the design sheet and using the Scallop Punch edged both sides of it. I attached Bermuda Bay Polka-Dot Ribbon (you are seeing the reverse side of it) to the design and scotch taped to the back of the design piece. Then I put double sided tape down the back of the design and attached all of it to the Melon Mambo card base. I used the Picture Frame punch to created the triangle style design and the Modern Label for the I love you.

I used the small and the large star punch (punch the small star first, then line the large punch over the opening to get this great outline) for the stars. The stamped images were stamped in Melon Mambo classic ink on Whisper White Cardstock. I used the Scallop Border punch for the edges on the designed piece. The stamp set I used is: Sporting Item #115072.

If you go to this section of my blog:

http://kreateskards.blogspot.com/2009/07/i-love-you-cards-cards-for-soldiers.html

you will find additional photos of cards where I used the rolling marble technique. Also the design sheets are great to use as the cardstock if you are making butterflies or other punched out designs. Be creative.

Hope you will try the technique and let me know what you think of it.

Mary
http://marydirector.stampinup.net/
Stampin' Up! -- Discover Your Creativity
(On-line ordering now available thru my website)