Wednesday 30 April 2014

Butterflies Again ....

I have seen a few cards out in blog land made using die cuts on the front of the card to give a different cut and finish to cards.  Naturally I just had to try it.


I have used a colour scheme of Marina Mist, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso and Natural Ivory, DSP is from the Polka Dot Parade paper pack and the Subtles and Neutrals Paper Stacks.  Stamp sets used are Flower Shop, Sassy Salutations, Secret Garden and Backyard Basics (that butterfly again coloured with Early Espresso and Marina Mist using a blender pen).  The flowers were made by white embossing on vellum and then punching them out with the matching pansy punch, large pearls for the centres.  The leaves are from the Secret Garden stamp set and matching die (stamped with Marina Mist on Marina Mist) and the Little Leaves Sizzlit (in Early Espresso).   I used the Deco Labels Collection Framelits for shape on the front and the inside of the card.  The sentiment is from the Sassy Salutations stamp set, this was stamped on a scrap of Crumb Cake and backed with Marina Mist, pearls were added on the side to finish.


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This is the inside of the card.

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Mojo Monday #343

If you have not already guessed, I have fallen in love with the butterfly from the Backyard Basics stamps set and the co-ordinating die.  I have been putting in on everything.


The Mojo Monday Challenge #343 this week is based on this sketch by Julee Tilman:
I have used the Modern Medley DSP along with Basic Black, Very Vanilla and Baked Brown Sugar cardstock.  I made the flower using the Blossoms, Pansy and Petite Petals punches, Coaster Board and Basic Black cardstock.  I put the Blossoms shape through the Bigshot with the Beautifully Baroque embossing folder, then inked it up with Baked Brown Sugar.  Once the flower was layered up, I used an Antique brad for the centre.  The stamp sets used are Backyard Basics and Teeny Tiny Sentiments.






Sunday 13 April 2014

Creating Backgrounds - Emboss Resist

Hi everyone, another background that I promised to post.  It is a version of the Emboss Resist Technique.  I have used Rose Red, Sahara Sand, Baked Brown Sugar and Crumb Cake for the background stamping.  The flourish was stamped using Early Espresso.


Step 1 - Using the water mark stamp from the "Happy Watercolour" stamp set, stamp randomly over a piece of Whisper White cardstock with Rose Red, Sahara Sand, Baked Brown Sugar and Crumb Cake.



Step 2 - Stamp the large flourish from the "Flowering Flourishes" stamp set over the top of this using the Early Espresso.


Step 3 - Using the solid flower stamp from the "Secret Garden" stamp set, stamp the flower over the piece using Versamark ink.  Add Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder over this and heat set.


Step 4 - Sponge Early Espresso over the entire piece.  Once you are happy with the depth of colour, wipe over the top with a tissue to remove the ink residue from the clear embossed piece.


Step 5 - You are now ready to make your card.  This is my card that I made with my finished background piece.

BG14

Saturday 12 April 2014

Creating Backgrounds - Distressed Perfect Polka Dots

Hi everyone, this is another quick and easy background technique, Distressed Perfect Polka Dots.  I have used the "Timeless Talk" stamp set to create this set of cards, all using the Distressed Perfect Polka Dots background.


DISTDOTS1


To create the background, place a piece of Whisper White cardstock in the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder and put it through the Bigshot.  Now drag the Smoky Slate stamp pad across the Perfect Polka Dots embossed piece.  The colour will pick up on the dots and fill in some of the white space between the dots.  Just keep dragging the Smoky Slate stamp pad across the embossed piece until you are happy with the depth of colour.  You can make the edges darker than the centre if you wish.

The background is now finished (told you it was quick and easy) ready for you to make your card.

Detailed below are the measurements that I have used on each of the cards.  I used a colour scheme of Whisper White and Basic Black, with Staz-on Jet Black Ink and Stampin' Up Smoky Slate Ink.  Black Candy Dots and Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon were used for embellishments along with some pierced holes made using the Essentials Paper Piercing Pack, Stampin' Pierce Mat and paper-piercing tool. 


Card base - Whisper White A2
Black Mat - 9.5cm x 13.8 cm
Distressed Background - 9cm  13.3cm
White (for image) - 6.5cm x 8.5cm
Black mat - 7cm x 9cm



Card base - Whisper White A2
Black Mat - 9.5cm x 13.8 cm
Distressed Background - 9cm  13.3cm
White (for image) - 6cm x 7cm
Black mat - 6.5cm x 7.5cm


Card base - Whisper White A2
Black Mat - 9.5cm x 13.8 cm
Distressed Background - 9cm  13.3cm
White (for image) - 6.5cm x 7.5cm
Black mat - 7cm x 8cm

Creating Backgrounds - Distressed Embossing

Hi everyone, this is the fifth background that I promised to post (I am finally getting around to posting the backgrounds that I shared with everyone at a recent Stamparoo's get together).


The technique is distressed embossing.  It is a quick and effective technique that gives a terrific finish.  I have used Basic Gray as my base however you can use any base colour, just experiment until you find the colour combination that you like.  Gold on Basic Black is quite stunning.


Step 1 - I started with a piece of Basic Gray cardstock (9cm x 13.3cm) and embossed this with gold embossing powder.  Make sure you cover the entire piece (I dragged the Versamark over the cardstock to get the best coverage). 

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Step 2 - Put the gold embossed piece of Basic Gray into the Beautifully Baroque Embossing Folder and put through the Bigshot.


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Step 3 - This is now the fun part, distressing the gold embossing with the Stampin' Sanding Block.  Sand over the entire piece, this will remove some of the gold from the raised embossing.  Be careful with this step, as if you sand too heavily you will tear the background piece (this can be repaired with a bit of double sided tape on the back - it is distressed after all).  The Basic Gray will now appear through the gold embossing.

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Step 4 - Make your card.  I used a Basic Gray A2 card base, a Basic Black mat 9.5cm x 13.8cm and Basic Black Taffeta Ribbon (this is retired from the Stampin' Up Catalogue but I still have a little left in my stash and it went perfectly with my card).  The sentiment is from the Petite Pairs stamp set, stamped with Basic Gray on Naturals White then punched out using the Large Oval and matted on a Basic Black Scalloped Oval.


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Wednesday 2 April 2014

Creating Backgrounds - Distressing with Ink Pads

Hi everyone, this is the fourth of the background techniques that I promised to post.  It is a basic technique of distressing with the Classic Stampin' Ink Pads, very simple and quick.


Step 1 - Stamp the "Dictionary" stamp onto a piece of Naturals Ivory (I used a piece 9.5cm x 13.8cm) using Jet Black Staz-on ink.
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Step2 - Drag the Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Ink Pad across the card piece, you can do this as light or as heavy as you like, depending upon the end result you are after.  I have posted 2 cards at the end of these instructions, one with a heavy inking and one with a light inking to give you an example of what I am trying to explain.
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Step 3 - Drag the Baked Brown Sugar Classic Stampin' Ink Pad across the piece, over the top of the Early Espresso.
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You are now ready to make your card. On my card I use the telephone from the "Timeless Talk" stamp set, stamped in Jet Black Staz-on ink on Naturals Ivory, coloured with the Baked Brown Sugar Stampin' Write Marker .   This was matted onto a piece of Basic Black, with some "Natural Trim" as an embellishment.  I distressed the edges of all the pieces with the Stampin' Distress Tool.  The distress piece was matted onto a piece of Naturals Ivory which was adhered to at Basic Black card base.

These are my finished cards.
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This is the darker inked card.

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This is the lighter inked card.


Tuesday 1 April 2014

Creating Backgrounds - Emboss Resist

Hi everyone, this is the third technique that I promised to post.  It is a version of an emboss resist technique.


Step 1 - Using Versamark Ink stamp the En Francais stamp onto a piece of Naturals White cardstock and emboss this with Stampin' Emboss Clear embossing powder.


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Step 2 - Using Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Chocolate Chip and Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pads apply ink directly onto the Clear-Mount Block F.  Always start with the Crumb Cake first, then Soft Suede, Chocolate Chip and Early Espresso last.  Go lightly with the amount of Early Espresso that you use unless you want your piece to be quite dark.


Step 3 - Spritz the inked block with water using a Stampin' Spritzer.  The more water you use then the more the ink will spread on your Naturals White piece, if you want some white patches then go lightly on the water spritzing.  You can add more water to the block after you have stamped it the first time and reapply and this will move the ink around more.  The choice is yours depending upon the effect that you want, just experiment to get the effect that you like.

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Step 4 - Stamp the block onto the embossed Naturals White cardstock and leave it sit for a few seconds to allow the ink to position itself on the cardstock.

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Step 5 - Remove the stamp from the cardstock piece and blot off with a piece of hand towel.  You can let this dry naturally or speed up the process with a heat gun.

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Step 6 - You can now use your background piece to make a card.  This is my finished card using the emboss resist background piece I created.

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