Altered Playing Cards

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  Step 1

  Our family has been playing a game called SPLIT for at least eight years and we recently ran out of score sheets and the cards were Cheeto-stained, bent and in pretty bad shape (like me some days). So we grudgingly opened a new box (I had bought a couple when the company folded) but no one could bear the thought of throwing away the old cards. This project is born from happy memories meets uncharachteristic sentiment (we're usually pretty cold-hearted about stuff).

  I prepared the cards with a thick layer of gesso applied with a palette knife. You waste a lot less this way than if you use a brush and spreading is quick and as easy as buttering bread.

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  Step 2

  This is a great time for mark-making so etch into some of the gesso. I mostly made hearts as they're easy. You can make marks with the back of a paintbrush, a skewer, pencil, stick - whatever.

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  Step 3

  Drying time. *sigh* The bane of my existence and I've gotten weird about preferring natural air drying over using my heat gun. Why? It seems more stable to me. And I'm a nut.

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  Step 4

  Anyhow...

  Since I wanted to maximize what was accomplished during my (eternal) dry time I spritzed them with spray ink. This is a very unintentional step. Don't stress it. Some will look good, some will pool and muddle and look bad. It's all fine. Once it dries gesso and ink combine and the results are rarely recognizable from what you see at this stage.

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  Step 5

  Then, just for sh*ts and giggles I splash around some alcohol ink. Love this stuff. Never used it as intended. I just splash, splash, splash the stuff all over my projects and then grin at it like the Cheshire Cat. It's good stuff. Covers everything. Spreads like a zombie virus. Win all around.

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  Step 6

  Here's one batch of cards. I did one craft mat (official distance measure in my house) worth of cards at a time. Waited an hour or three until they were safe to move off onto the table (Still very sticky, but moveable) and then made another set. It took all day but all 104 are now prepared.

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  Step 7

  I sorted them according to the ones that were awesome and the ones that sucked. I'd dress it up but that would be dishonest. Me:

  Suck. Suck.
  Really, Nicole? Suck!!!
  Awesome. Everyone come see this, it's so cool!
  Suck. Suck. Good.
  Like it. Like it. Like it. Um, no.

  Then in my traditional backwards way of doing things, I started with the ones I hated so if I wrecked them, they were already destined for the trash and it would fall under the 'no harm no foul' rule.

  They were ugly. As you can see in the pic above (left side), my gold alcohol ink (just found it in a box) made brown splotches. Not even brown really, more like puce. Ick.

  So I added some ink, spread some large mica flakes and did my best to salvage them.

  Now I luuurve them. So pretty and fun. No Cheeto stains.

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