Happy Friday and welcome to the first day of Going Green Week!! I am so excited to be the one to be getting this event started. What is "Going Green" week you ask? Well, we will be celebrating the beautiful color green, St. Patrick's Day green, or that other "going green", the recycle, re-purpose , reuse, eco green!  You can join in the fun too, just add a link to your creation at the bottom of this post.

I grew up in California, with a Mom that was slightly "crunchy granola", if you know what I mean. (If you don't, then I will tell you that my Mom was a little bit of a "Hippie". The funny thing is I had no idea until I was an adult!) Anyway, recycling was always a part of my life, so when I saw the theme "Going Green" I thought Eco Green! (And honestly, I didn't think you really wanted to see another Leprechaun from me anyway!) So I went through my recycle basket, pulled out a few things, and challenged myself to create something fun and beautiful using these items!


I ended up with a bunch of projects from this pile of "trash"! So today I am going to share some aluminum can embellishments with you, and show you how you an make some yourself. This is something I have done a few times before, but each time I learn something new. I started with an empty soda pop can. I cut off the ends with a pair of kitchen shears, then cut up the middle (on the seam) so I could roll it out flat. Please be very careful when doing this, maybe even wear some gloves, those edges can be sharp.

    
I used my trimmer to cut off any jagged edges and even it all up.













Then I used an Impressabilities Die, Flourishes K-304, to add some texture and interest. I tried using my embossing folders for this also, and they worked beautifully, with an even deeper embossed image!









Using my Copic Marker refill inks, I added some color. I added a couple of drops of ink  to a felt strip and dabbed it onto the metal. It is alcohol ink after all, and works the same way as other alcohol inks! These are two of my favorite greens to use YG03 and YG17.

When it dried I lightly sanded it to expose the metal on the raised areas. I just like the more weathered look myself.





Then I used my Nestabilities to cut out some different shapes. This is wonderful because the die kind of curls the edges a little. So there isn't a sharp edge to worry about! I have used my punches as well, but they leave a bit of a sharp edge.





  




For this card I cut my Nestability Labels 5 (K-298) shape in half, so I could add a piece to the top and bottom of my sweet focal image from Fibi and Lilly (R-3284). Paper is from the Hemmingway collection (V-836) and Mocha Divine card stock from Color Caboodles set F (V-387).

For this next card I went for a completely different look.

Using the Flowers Impressability Die (K-306)on an aluminum strip. Nestabillities Labels 4 (K-302) with a polka dot embossing folder, and some scalloped ribbon that I have been hoarding saving for a special project! The sentiment  is from Joyful Notes (T-3334). The flower was created by rolling my scalloped ribbon into a coil (like a snail) onto a one inch circle that I had covered with glue dots. I cut tear drop shapes from some felt and added as leaves.

 There you have it! I hope that you will give some of these aluminum can embellishments a try. Don't forget to come back on Monday for more "Going Green" week with Guest Designer Kerry Urbatch. I can't wait to see what she has created to inspire us!

Have a wonderful weekend!!

Come visit me next week on my blog  www.angelakelley.blogspot.com if you would see what I did with the rest of my "trash"! :)


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