Makin' Rain

Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens...

I saw this technique on YouTube several months ago and I figured I would give it a try. Worked like a charm!

Materials:
Glossy Accents (any brand is probably fine, I use this one from Ranger)
Blue Re-Inker (any brand and color is probably fine, I used Not Quite Navy from Stampin' Up)
Non-Stick Craft Sheet (I use this one from Ranger)
Mixing Container
Toothpick

Directions:
1. Find something to mix your materials in.  I used a shot glass, but a Dixie cup or a clean soda bottle cap would probably work fine too.

2. Squeeze a blob of Glossy Accents into your mixing container - I used a blob about the size of a nickle.

3. Mix in one drop of the blue re-inker at a time, and mix with the glossy accents with the toothpick. A little bit of ink goes a looong way.  But you can totally adjust the color to your preference.  If you want the color a little bit darker: add another drop of the re-inker and mix until the Glossy Accents has no more streaks in it. If it's too dark: add more Glossy Accents to it... just make sure your mixture is evenly mixed before your start making your drops.

4. Make sure your non-stick craft sheet is clean and flat.  If you do not have a non-stick craft sheet you can probably use a sheet of wax paper. 

5. Using the toothpick, pick up a drop of the colored Glossy Accents.  Place the drop of Glossy Accents on the non-stick sheet.  Then, with the tip of the toothpick, gently drag a bit of the Glossy Accents in one direction to achieve the teardrop shape.  You may need to pick up more Glossy Accents from your mixing container to fill in the shape. 

6. Leave to dry for at least 30 minutes.  If your drops are small, it shouldn't take them too long to air dry.  Since I am a worry wart, I left mine to air dry for about an hour.  Do not use your heat gun to dry your drops, they will bubble and it ruins the smooth finish. :(


Storage:
I made a bunch of these drops to use on a current project, and then stored the rest in an empty clear mount stamp case from Stampin' Up.  I used my paper piercer to gently remove the dried drops from my non-stick craft sheet and I put a tiny dot of glue on the back of each drop before I stuck it to the empty case.  Now I can pull out my pre-made, hand-made embellishments when I need them for a future card! I just use my paper piercer to pick up the drops and add more glue before I add them to my cards. 


Ideas:
I used these drops as rain, but you can also use them as tears, splash drops, drips from faucets, dew drops on flowers... etc. 

Instead of blue ink, you can use red ink to make blood droplets for Halloween cards!  HA! Genius!