Glittery Embossed Christmas Stocking

Today's card incorporates a fun technique that I'm excited to share with you!  I created this card for this week's Try a New Technique Challenge at Splitcoast Stampers.  We were challenged to use the Glittery Embossing technique, which uses dry embossing, glitter glue and a brayer.  What fun! 

Here's my card:

I decided to use a square card to accommodate my large scalloped circles, so I cut a 5 x 5 card base from Real Red card stock.  I cut a 4.75 x 4.75 piece of Whisper White card stock to layer on top of the base (in this photo it looks more like silver than white, but it's actually a white square).  I die cut a piece of silver card stock and a piece of Real Red card stock with scalloped circle dies.  For the glittery embossing, I dry embossed the red circle with the Snowburst embossing folder in my Big Shot and set it aside.  I squirted some some Stickles (glitter glue) on a piece of scrap card stock and spread it out a bit, then ran my brayer through the Stickles until it was completely covered.  (I used Star Dust Stickles to create an icy look, but it's hard to see in this picture.)  I ran my brayer several times over my embossed red scalloped circle to deposit the glitter glue all over the embossed piece, then set it aside to dry. 

Next I stamped my stocking in Real Red on another piece of white card stock and die cut it.  I added silver glitter glue to the top and tiny rhinestones to the center of each snowflake.  I set the stocking aside to allow the glitter glue to dry overnight.

The next day, I adhered the layers to each other and attached the stocking with dimensionals (I added a bit of Tombow Mono Multi glue on top of the dimensionals because I find that helps adhere things to embossed backgrounds).  I curled the edges of the red embossed piece to add even more dimension.  I added a rhinestone to each corner of the card and a white liner to the inside panel.  Easy peasy!  Although it took two days to create this card (to allow the glitter glue to dry), I didn't spend a lot of time working on it at each session. 

I have a few tips to share with you today, all based on my own mistakes while making this card.  First, if you are going to die cut and emboss a piece of card stock, be sure to cut first, emboss second.  If you do it the other way, your embossing will get squished.  Second, if you smudge your ink, there are ways to fix it.  I smudged the red on my stocking onto the white area around it (in a very small place, but it really bothered me) so I used a white gel pen to cover up the red marks.  If you layer it on slowly, it usually works.  I got a little too ambitious, however, and ended up getting the white gel ink on the red stocking...grrrr.  So I used a tip I learned from another blogger recently: I grabbed my blender pen and some Real Red ink and blended the red ink over the white marks.  It worked like a charm!  I can't remember which blogger shared the tip, but she successfully uses her blender pen to fill in gaps on stamped images that have "bald spots" where the ink didn't transfer.  This is a pretty handy trick to have up your sleeve!

I hope to try the glittery embossing technique on some larger panels that I can use to make my own background papers.  There are many options and variations on this technique, and I hope you will give it a try, too!

Thanks for stopping by!

Products Used:

 

Ink: Real Red Classic Dye Ink (Stampin' Up!)

Paper: Real Red, Whisper White card stock (Stampin' Up!); silver card stock (unknown)

Stamp and Matching Die: Hero Arts Stamp & Cut Christmas Stockings set

Tools and Accessories: Nestabilities Scalloped Classic Circles Large (Spellbinders); Star Dust Stickles (Ranger);

Silver Glitter Glue (Studio G); Big Shot (Sizzix); Snowburst embossing folder (Sizzix/Stampin' Up!);

Stampin' Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!); Mono Multi glue (Tombow); rhinestones

Embossed Snowflakes CASE

How can we be approaching the middle of November already?  What a month it has been!  My baby has gone from taking just a few steps at time to practically sprinting everywhere, keeping this mama running from one end of the house to the other all day.  While she's wearing me out, she's also wearing herself out, which means she's sleeping better and I can get a little more crafting time in at night.  So there is a silver lining!

Today's card is for the Featured Stamper challenge at Splitcoast Stampers.  For this challenge, we pick a card from that person's gallery to CASE (Copy and Share Everything).  We are asked to make at least two changes so the card is not an exact duplicate.  Here is a link to the card I chose to CASE:  Embossed Snowflakes

And here is my card:

While I kept the overall design and color scheme of the original card, I made a few changes.  I used a different snowflake embossing folder because I don't own the one she used.  Her embossing folder left a flat area for stamping in the bottom right-hand corner, but mine does not, so I stamped my sentiment on a label and attached it to the panel.  I sponged ink around my sentiment to add dimension to the label against the white background.  I didn't have the sentiment she used so I chose a different one, and instead of pearls in the centers of the snowflakes, I used White Enamel Accents. 

I started by dry embossing a piece of Whisper White card stock with an embossing folder in my Big Shot.  Next I stamped my sentiment on another piece of white card stock.  I didn't like the color I was getting with Night of Navy by itself, so I inked my stamp first with Cobalt and then with Night of Navy.  This achieved the deeper color I was looking for.  I cut out the sentiment with a labels die in my Big Shot, sponged around the edges with Night of Navy, then adhered the sentiment to the white panel.  I attached the white panel to the Night of Navy card base, then added White Enamel Accents on the snowflake centers, which I left to dry overnight.  This card was quick and easy to put together, and I love the colors for winter.  I could easily change the sentiment to something "not-Christmasy" for a winter card that could be used throughout the season.

Here's a tip for using an embossing folder in a die cut machine (such as the Big Shot): If my card stock isn't getting as deep of an impression as I'd like, I mist the card stock with a bit of water right before putting it in the embossing folder.  I will sometimes run the folder through my machine more than once, but I usually find the water mist does the trick with just one pass through the machine.

I have a few more cards in the works and hope to post another one tomorrow.  Thanks for stopping by!

Products Used:

 

Stamp: WordPlay - Joy (Stampin' Up!)

Paper: Whisper White and Night of Navy card stock (Stampin' Up!)

Ink: Ancient Page Dye Ink in Cobalt (Clearsnap); Night of Navy Classic Ink (Stampin' Up!)

Tools and Accessories: Big Shot (Sizzix); Snowflakes #9 embossing folder (Sizzix); Nestabilities Labels Eighteen (Spellbinders); White Enamel Accents (Inkssentials)

Ready for Snow!

Happy November!   This month I'm spending some of my time working on winter and Valentine's cards to donate to Operation Write Home.  Today's project is a snowman card using OWH Sketch #144 and this week's Ways to Use It Challenge at Splitcoast Stampers, which challenges us to make a card using anything except Autumn colors (no red, orange or yellow). 

Here's the sketch:

And here's my card:

This card's colors are off-white, brown and blue to match the colors in the patterned paper (I could not get the colors to photograph well today without the picture becoming too dark).  To create this card, I started by embossing the front of an Ultrasmooth Vanilla card base with a snowburst embossing folder.  (Ultrasmooth Vanilla is no longer available, but it's comparable to Very Vanilla.)  I cut a strip of the patterned paper and mounted it on brown card stock.  I cut a panel of Ultrasmooth Vanilla, stamped it with my sentiment in Memento Rich Cocoa (I just love this color) and mounted it on brown card stock.  I die cut a snowflake in Ultrasmooth Vanilla and sponged it with Bordering Blue to match the blue in the patterned paper.  I added some pearls to the snowflake and attached it to the sentiment panel, then adhered the panels to the card base.  Because I'd weakened the card front with my embossing, I added a liner on the upper portion of the inside to balance the weight of the layers.  This extra blank space inside also allows the sender to write a longer message.

Now that I've finished this winter card, it's time to get outside and enjoy the unseasonably warm weather we're having this week.  Thanks for stopping by! 

Products Used:

 

Stamp: Thanks Snow Much (Stampin' Up!)

Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa (Tsukineko); Bordering Blue (Stampin' Up!)

Paper: Ultrasmooth Vanilla card stock (Stampin' Up!);

snowmen patterned paper (The Paper Studio); brown card stock (unknown)

Tools and Accessories: Big Shot (Sizzix); Snowflake #23 (Sizzix);
Textured Impressions Snowburst (Sizzix for Stampin' Up!);  Pearls (KaiserCraft)

 

The Snowman's Second Life

Today's card was created for "What Are the Odds?", this week's Ways to Use It Challenge at Splitcoast Stampers.  The requirement for this card was to use an odd number of some element on the card.  I used three snowflakes for my "odd".  Here's my card:

I have a box of unfinished projects in my craft room, and every once in awhile I will unearth a piece of a project and give it a second life.  For this card, I dug into the box and found this adorable snowman image.  I had stamped it, colored it with watercolor pencils, added some Stickles and layered it on red and black card stock, and then for some reason I never finished whatever project I had intended it for.  It's nice to repurpose your own work sometimes, so I decided to use this piece to make a new card.

I cut a larger piece of the same textured red card stock and adhered it to a black card base.  Using a black gem, white fiber and dimensionals, I attached the image to the card by hanging it from the gem.  I die cut three snowflakes and added them to the card.  I stamped the sentiment on white card stock and layered it on black card stock, then adhered that piece to the card base.  I finished by adding more Stickles to the snowman and snowflakes.  It's hard to see in the picture, but those Stickles really add some snowy sparkle to the card.

This card has reminded me that winter will be here soon, which means I really need to get cracking on my Christmas shopping!  That sounds like the perfect excuse to go shopping this weekend, doesn't it?

Thanks for stopping by! 

 

Products used on this card:

Snowman Image: Snow Angels (Stampin' Up!)

Sentiment: Close to My Heart

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Snowflakes: ProvoCraft

Other: Watercolor pencils, black gem, white fiber, Stickles