Playing With Water, Magicals, and a 20+ Year Old Embossing Folder

 

The theme this week for the Just Us Girls Challenge is water which can include techniques using water.  It has been a while since I played with Lindy's Magicals and embossing folders, a technique which would also would allow me to enter the Can You Handle the Pressure Challenge with an optional twist of "Tie It Up.  I grabbed a few folders including this one by Lifestyle Crafts that I bought at MJ Designs which closed in 2003.  Now I have some things in my stash that I have had for decades and still use regularly, but this folder is not one of them.  I cannot remember the last time I used it which makes it a candidate for the Neglected Stuff Challenge.  

This folder normally creates a raised pattern similar to a chain link fence.  I did not want that.  I wanted the "fence" to be pushed down into the paper creating "valleys" surrounded by "mountains" resembling pillows.  This meant I had to use the folder with the logo facing down on the mat and the fold away from me, so when I opened it the logo side was closest to me.  I put my watercolor paper on that side closest to me aka the "flat" side.  I used a fan brush to sprinkle powders from the Lindy's Magicals Nuneka's Outer Space set on the paper and misted it with water until it started moving.  I then carefully folded the "bumpy" side over the wet paper and ran it through my embossing machine.  In other words I used the folder upside down with the logo facing down and not visible, so the panel ended up resembling snake skin thanks to the colors I used.  It reminds me of the the cover of Alice Cooper's album, "Billion Dollar Baby."  

I didn't want to cover much of the background, so I decided to use a Simon Says Stamp brand die to cut sentiment as the focal point for the Word Power Challenge and the Cut It Up Challenge to use a sentiment.  I cut the word three times and stacked them for dimension and backed it with the shadow in gold mirror cardstock to help it stand out from the background.  To grab a little more attention and fit the Can You Handle the Pressure Challenge twist, I backed the T with an accent of gold thread that I bought a few years ago, used twice, and forgot about.  You could call that thread neglected.  I think I will use it more now that I found it.  I swiped a Rustic Wilderness Distress Oxide pad along the edge of the background to ground it before attaching it to a card base.  I finished the card off off with a few sparkles.

I made a few other backgrounds with other embossing folders because I can't resist trying different combinations and techniques while I have everything out.  You may see some of those in future posts.  In the meantime, thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Snowflake in a Night Sky

 

Viewed straight on:

Viewed when you tip it in the light:

I am in well into Christmas card making madness.  Snowflakes are one for my favorite design elements, and of course this Freshly Made Sketch screamed snowflake to me.

I have been playing with embossing folders and ink lately, so I went straight to my favorite snowflake embossing folder, Snowflake Swirls by Darice, for the background.  I started with black watercolor paper, embossed it and sprayed it with Juniper Berry mica spray by Tim Holtz, and Balmy Night shimmer spray by Dylusions plus water and let it dry naturally.  Once it was totally dry I embossed it again because all that ink and water flattened the design a bit.  Next I used a brayer to apply metallic pigment ink from Color Box to bring out the snowflakes and swirls. 

For the snowflake I used the Sizzix 3D Impresslits Snowflake folder by Tim Holtz  to cut one from silver and one from white 110 lb white cardstock and stacked them.  I topped it with two snowflakes cut using the Beautiful Blizzard die from Stampin' Up which I stacked and embellished it with a blue sparkle.  I heat embossed a sentiment from the Very Merry Christmas stamp set by Close to My Heart and edged the strip with more of the Color Box silver metallic ink.  I finished the card with some bitty sparkles from Close to My Heart in the centers of the background snowflakes.

I addition to the Freshly Made Sketches challenge, I plan to enter this card in the Cut It Up Add Embellishments,  Can You Handle the Pressure Anything Goes With A Twist Of Fall (optional), and BYSH (Build Your Stash Holiday) Cardmakers Falling for the Holidays 2025 Linky Party challenges.  Why not check out the other entries in these challenges and maybe be inspired to enter yourself? 

Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Digging Into My Stash to Make a Birthday Card

I need a birthday card for someone who loves cats and gardening.  The Shopping Our Stash theme is "The Cat is in the Bag" which means use a cat (no problem for this proud, crazy cat lady) or a purse, bag, backpack, etc.  I decided to challenge myself to use mostly old, as in retired, products.  When I saw this Freshly Made Sketch my concept began to form in my head.

I do not have arch dies, but I do have a retired die, Kitty Window, from Tutti Designs featuring cats looking on a garden through a cathedral shaped window.  I cut two from 110 lb white cardstock and stacked them.  Now for a background to go behind the window.  I looked though my stash of backgrounds and found one with appropriate colors made using Lindy's Magicals.  Because the current theme at Seize the Birthday is embossing, I put the background upside down in a retired 3D Fern embossing folder from Stampin' Up so that the design would be debossed, that is pressed down into the paper.  Then I rubbed a Stampin' Up ink pad in Wild Wasabi, a retired color, over it, so you could see the ferns.

Please forgive my stained craft mat and the quality of photos taken with my phone as I worked.  After selecting the part I wanted to use I traced around the window portion and cut it out.

Because the background was done on thick watercolor paper, the window portion of the die cut would be thicker than the window sill and cats' tails, so I needed make another die cut from watercolor paper, trim off the part I needed and glue it on the back to level up the die cut.

Now that my focal point was done I could work on the rest of my card.  I cut a 4 x 5.25 inch panel and embossed it with a retired Stampin Up embossing folder which I think was called Subtle.  I gilded the edges by holding the panel vertically and pressing each edge into Versamark ink, then Ranger Princess Gold embossing power, and melting the powder with my heat tool. 

I used the the retired Perfect Sentiments stamp and die from Pink Fresh Studio for the sentiment.  It is a single stamp and die which makes eleven  assorted sentiments at a time.  Because part of the sentiment over laps the cat die cut I ran into the same issue of having the prop up the part that was hanging off.  I put two small pieces of card stack and one of watercolor paper under the Happy Birthday sentiment in the die to make shadow pieces pieces that I could stack so they were the same height as the cat die and then snipped off part of it to glue onto the back of the sentiment to make it level.

Now all I had to do was put everything together on a card base and I had a birthday card.  Except for the paper, Magicals, and embossing powder, everything used in this card is not only older, but no longer available.  I also plan enter this card in the Sisterhood of Crafters Birthdays challenge.  

This is what it looks like when you tilt it to light.  I love Lindy's Magicals.

Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

A Simple Quick(ish) Christmas Card

 

'Tis the season for stepping up my Christmas card making.  To make it easier I have an 8 x 14 lucite bin that I store all my Christmas themed dies, embossing folders, stencils, and leftover die cuts.  I keep the stamps separately "filed" in a drawer by theme such as sentiments, snowflakes, trees, religious, etc.    Because snowflakes are my favorite design element, I get out all my snowflake dies early in the year and cut multiples of each and keep them sorted in clear "flip flop" pockets.  If I need a quick Christmas card I can get out a card base, pick a background from my stash or a trimming from one, add a large snowflake or several small ones, a leftover sentiment or quickly stamp one, add a sparkle in the center of the snowflakes and I have a card.  If I have time I can add a few more touches like an extra layer or embossing.  

Towards the end of summer I go through my other stencils, embossing folders, and dies and add any that might be useful to my Christmas bin to have handy,  Let's face it.  Most of the cards I will be making for the next few months will be holiday cards.  Last week when I was looking through my embossing folders I found a Sizzix 3D Impresslits Snowflake folder by Tim Holtz hiding in the back which was easy for it to do given that it's only @ 3 x 4.5 inches.  It cuts and embosses a 2.75 and 1.75 inch snowflake in one step.  Talk about a time saver!  I bought it as part of the 2021 release and forgot all about it.  It has now lost it's status as a NBUS (Never Been Used Stuff).  I used it and the sketch below from CAS Colours and Sketches for the Alphabet K for Keep it Simple Challenge.

I followed the "add a few more touches" version of my quick(ish) formula.  I picked a strip left over after trimming a background I made, I don't know how long ago, and swiped the edges with ColorBox silver metallic pigment ink.  I put a small scrap of silver foil into the newly rediscovered embossing folder, ran it through my die cut machine and had a 3D snowflake to use now and a small one for my stash.  I looked through my snowflake stash and selected one cut using the retired Beautiful Blizzard die from Stampin' Up to layer on the silver one and finished my focal point with a sparkle.  I cut a 4 x 5.25 piece of white to add a layer for interest and heat embossed a sentiment from Close to My Heart's Snow Flurries set in silver.  All that was left to do is attach everything to the card base and stamp a sentiment inside.  In less than half an hour I had a card.

I also plan to enter this in the NBUS, Jingle Belles Cardstock Christmas (no patterned paper), Can You Handle the Pressure Anything  Goes Using an Embossing Folder, and Peace on Earth Anything Christmas Goes Challenges.  Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Winter Snowflakes

 

It is Christmas in July at the Just Add Ink challenge blog, and it is always Christmas at Peace on Earth Christmas.  Although the Peace on Earth challenge is always anything Christmas/winter holiday goes they put up an optional mood board which this time features snowmen.  The current challenge at Cut It Up is something monochromatic.  After thinking about all three challenges I had my concept. 

I embossed a piece of watercolor paper using the Sizzex Winter Snowflakes 3D embossing folder and sprayed it with Tim Holtz Distress mica sprays in Snow Flurries, Juniper Berry, and Brushed Pewter along with water to move the inks around.  Once it was dry I ran it through in the embossing folder again to crisp up the impression because all that liquid flattened it out a bit.  I used my finger to lightly rub Color Box Silver metallic ink on the raised parts to bring out the snowflakes.  Holding the panel vertically I pressed the edges into a Versamark inkpad and then Ranger Super Fine embossing powder and heated them.  I put a slightly smaller piece of heavy cardstock behind the panel to give it some lift and attached it to the card base.  I used a die from Paper Rose to cut Merry Christmas three times and stacked them for the sentiment.  I finished the card with clear sparkles in the center of some of the snowflakes.  

I now have two Christmas cards which I can repeat in other colors.  Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Trying a New Technique With a Never Used Embossing Folder

 

For this card I used a new to me technique featured in this Jennifer McGuire video.  You emboss a piece of watercolor paper, spray it with your favorite ink spray and water, let it dry, and repeat until you like how it looks.  Then, because all that water will somewhat flatten out the paper, you emboss it again.  Embossing before spraying encourages the ink to pool in ways that enhance the design.  I needed a birthday card for my husband, so I flipped through my embossing folders for something a little masculine and found a Tim Holtz 3D Texture Fades folder that I have had for something like five years and had never used!  How did that happen?!  I am sure y'all never lose track of what you have...  The folder is called Foundry and I used Tree Lot, Frosted Juniper, and Antiqued Bronze Distress Mica sprays.  I used A Paper Rose die to cut the sentiment twice in thick black cardstock and once in Copper Foil paper and stacked them.  The cats were cut from some brown metallic paper from Michael's using a set from Impression Obsession and stacked on more black cardstock.  I found they faded into the background, so I used some Pebo Copper Guilding Wax which is a new addition to my craft collection, I mean stash, to give them more dimension and make them pop out.  Our pointy ear darlings would tell you that is how it should be because the cats are the most important element.

Here is the inside of the card.

I stamped a sentiment from Close to My Heart twice using Rustic Wilderness Distress Oxide ink and then dabbed a Copper Color Box pigment pad on some of the edges of the stamp and stamped a few times.  I love my MISTI!  It doesn't show well in the photo but shines in real life.  The strip at the bottom was leftover after trimming down the front panel.  My water color paper is 9x12 so I start with 4.5x6 paper.  Tim Holtz embossing folders are 6 inches inches long to accommodate standard the card size in the U.K.  I like having trimmings to play with.

I plan to enter this card in the Cut It Up challenge to use a new product, tool, technique, etc., the Die Cut Divas challenge to use a never been used item, Seize the Birthday challenge to use embossing, Color Hues Challenge to use copper and green, and the Mix It Up challenge to make anything with the option of mixed media.

Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Magicals and Embossing Folders

 

I have been experimenting with Lindy's Magicals, and after seeing this Jennifer McGuire video, I have been thinking it might be fun to try them with embossing folders.  Can You Handle the Pressure, a new to me challenge, has provided the motivation to actually do it.  Can You Handle the Pressure is an anything using an embossing folder goes with an optional twist challenge which begins on the second and fourth Saturday of each month at 12:00 a.m. and ends at 8:00 p.m. the Wednesday before the next challenge begins.  The current optional twist is borders. 

After trying all three of Jennifer's techniques with different folders I selected one using Hydrangea Blue and Sweet Violet Purple Teal from Lindy's Magicals' Victorian Bouquet set and the Swirls and Curls embossing folder from Stampin' Up,  I embossed a piece of watercolor paper, sprinkled the powders on it, and spritzed with lots of water.   It doesn't show in the picture above that the mica in Sweet Violet Purple Teal is teal.  It shows a bit better in this photo I took outside with the card angled to the sun:

Now to make a card!  I used this sketch from the Global Design Project:

I cut the embossed panel into sections.  Two pieces to use for this card, a full length strip to use on another card, and three smaller leftover pieces to put in my scrap organizer for use later.

 

I edged the embossed pieces with Villainous Potion Distress ink and attached them to a piece of watercolor paper with a strip of silver foil paper to separate them.   When I place the panel against the card it didn't seem grounded, so I cut a mat in white and inked the edges with Villainous Potion Distress Oxide ink which was too bright, so I toned it down with a little Dusty Concord Distress Oxide.  I made three hello die cuts using a Birch Press Design die and stacked them for dimension.  Lastly I nestled some silver pearls from Stampin' Up in the swirls on the purple side.

I also plan to enter this in the Birthstone Challenges, a new challenge that runs in six week cycles beginning the first of of each odd numbered month and ending the 15th of even numbered months.  For each challenge we are asked to create any project featuring the birthstone colors of the challenge period which for January and February would be garnet and amethyst meaning red and/or purple.  You may use one or both colors and include other colors, but the birthstone colors must be dominant.

Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi