Leaf

Every time I use an embossing folder – especially a 3D design – I fall in love with dry embossing all over again . . .

To enhance the leaves, I took a small, flat rubber stamp having no image, inked it up, and skimmed it over the very dimensional dry embossed leaves.  A navy blue branch in a dry embossed vase, a few clusters of sparkly leaves, and we’re done!

 

Cardstock:   Nicole #140 Premiere Watercolor 

Inks:              Distress Salty Ocean, Chipped Sapphire, Mowed Lawn

Dies:             Lil Inker Stitched Mats Rectangles, Impression Obsession

Vase Set, Bare Branch, DieVersions Font Noodles                   

Emb Fldr:      Sizzix Leaves, Darice Crackle

Doo Dads:    Wink of Stella Clear

Musicorum

The ancient music background may or may not be in Latin, but I decided that using the Latin word for “music” would still work . . .

 

Stamping the same image onto two different colors of cardstock added some nice interest.  The seam was covered with a burgundy strip and because I am not fluent in Latin, I Googled the Latin word for ‘music’, die cut the letters and glued them down.

This card is going to a retired chorale director who traveled the world with his group for several decades . . . I’m quite sure he doesn’t need to Google the Latin word for ‘music’.  Hopefully he’ll enjoy his card!

 

Cardstock:   Bazzill Raven, Strathmore Ultimate White, Nicole Licorice,

Scrap Burgundy  

Stamps:        Above the Mark Abbey Music

Inks:              Hero Black, ColorBox Frost White

Emb Pwdr:   Hero White

Dies:             Memory Box Wrapped Stitch Rectangles, AliExpress

Modern Music Score, Kat Scrappiness Stitched Fishtail

Banner, MemoryBox Alphabet Soup                   

Doo Dads:   Stickles Silver          

Bloom

My love affair with Gel Duo continues!  Remember, I warned you I’d be playing with this cream a lot . . .

As Gel Duo is most commonly applied via a stencil, the new layered stencil sets now sweeping the industry are tailor made for this cream.  First, stencil the complete layered stencil design in whatever colors you want to use.  Then, take a look at whatever layer will provide the highlight you want, and re-stencil that – this time with the Gel Duo.  When dry, add the leaf or foil. 

In this case, I stenciled the flower veining with the Gel Duo and then added the gold leaf.  The Gel Duo adds even more dimension than heat embossing with embossing powder would, and I hope the camera shows off at least some of this lovely feature.

Cardstock:   Bazzill Carrot Cake, Canson #140 Montval Watercolor,

Glossy Gold

Stamps:        Hero Frames with Sprigs, Stampin’ Up “It’s your day”

Inks:              Distress Dried Marigold, Spiced Marmalade, Vintage Photo,

Ancient Page Sage

Dies:             Lil Inker Stitched Mats: Rectangles, Hero Frames with

Sprigs, DieNamics Pierced Rectangle Frame, Memory Box

Alphabet Soup            

Stencil:         Pink Fresh Be Strong

Doo Dads:    Therm O Web Transfer Gel Duo, Nuvo leaf Gold, May Arts

                      Jute, Viva Paper Pen Gold              

African Adventures

The last of the archive posts . . . my new hard drive and my full return to health means I'm back on schedule, thank heavens . . .

For this background, I had another glorious session with some Schmincke dry gouache powder, this time in copper . . .

 . . . as before, I stenciled first with embossing paste and then dusted the wet paste with the powder.  I tapped off the excess and am loving the results.  As I may have previously noted, the Schmincke powder is so fine that if I scattered it in the air, it would probably stay there for a long time before gravity finally prevailed.  Because it is so fine, a very little goes a very long way.  The jar may look to be on the small side, but don't be fooled.  You'll have plenty to play with for a long time to come . . .

 

Cardstock:   The Paper Cut Taurus Variety: Copper, Nicole Licorice          

Stamps:       Creative Dies set Giraffe, Hanko “African Adventures”,

                     Stamp Out Cute  “Republique Francaise” (postoid)

Inks:             Encore Copper, ColorBox Black

Emb Pwdr:   BMuse True Copper, Distress Black Soot

Dies:             Pink Fresh Slim Stitched Rectangles, Creative Dies set

                      Giraffe, Fyore “Stitched Stamp-edged Rectangles”    

Doo Dads:    Schmincke Dry Gouache Copper,  Ranger Texture

                       Paste Transparent Matte

 

Love

You’re getting a two-fer today:  be sure to scroll down for the second card!

 This very novel heart die really grabbed me . . .

 

I lifted the inner curved edges of the heart with tiny pop dots to emphasize the shapes.  Next time, I may experiment with trying different coordinating patterns that might accomplish the same thing.

 

Cardstock:   Nicole #140 Premiere Watercolor, Bazzill Pomegranate,

Mirri Reflective Silver        

Stamps:        Judikins Origami Background

Inks:               ColorBox Cream White

Emb Pwdr:   Stamp ‘n Stuff Ivory Pearl

Dies:              InLoveArtShop Heart Shaper Background, Papertrey Ink

Super Succulents Set Love”, Poppy Grosgrain Bow              

This second card was born of a need to quickly respond to a dear friend who was not on my original Valentine’s Day list.  But she is now!  Very similar to my first card, I used a different die which kept the design very simple.  Time was short and I had to hustle . . .

Cardstock:   Nicole #140 Premiere Watercolor, Bazzill Pomegranate,

Mirri Reflective Silver                   

Stamps:        Judikins Origami Background

Inks:               ColorBox Cream White

Emb Pwdr:   Stamp ‘n Stuff Ivory Pearl

Dies:              InLoveArtShop Heart Shape, DeeCee Love                

Doo Dads:    Wink of Stella Black

Breathe

From the archives, as I am still catching up from illness and a fried hard drive . . .

Today's stamping session was absolutely thrilling and I am crossing fingers that the camera will pick up at least some of the gorgeous results.  Know that whatever the camera captures, it won't be anything like what it is in real life . . .

 

For years, I've had six different metallic colors of Schmincke metallic powders resting peacefully in my stash:  three golds, two silvers, and a copper.  They are a very fine powdered dry gouache that I've not really used because for some reason, I thought they required a fixative.  My experience with spray-on fixatives is that they dull anything metallic.  But when I actually read the label, I found that a fixative was already mixed in and activates with water or anything moist. 

So I stenciled the fern with translucent matte paste and randomly dusted it with the gold powder - a tiny bit goes a long way.  I tapped off the excess and once the paste was dry, I used a soft brush to dust away the rest.  The powder produces a super-rich gold gleam that no other product has and it is utterly spellbinding. The card has been sitting on my office desk and I've been gawking at it all day long.

The "breathe" text was also created the same way and I love its dimension - I used lots of paste so the word really stands out.  For the butterfly, I tried adding a few drops of water to some of the powder and then painted with it.  Worked great!  I think I'll just move all six bottles onto my work table and keep right on playing with these powders!

Cardstock:   Marcos Jute, Love Nicole Licorice   

Dies:              Pink Fresh Slim Stitched Rectangles, Impression

                        Obsession Medium Butterflies set                   

Stencil:          Club Scrap Fern with Text

Doo Dads:    Schmincke Dry Gouache Rich Pale Gold, Ranger

                        Texture Paste Transparent Matte, VIVA Paper

                        Pen Gold       

Happy Birthday

I am having the very best time with Thermoweb’s Transfer Gel Duo!  For those who are new to my blog, here’s a little repeat information about it (scroll down to my previous post for more).  It was designed to be used with foil and its main advantage is that it doesn’t require heat or any other special equipment.  Gel Duo gets stenciled on, allowed to dry for about an hour, and then the foil is applied onto the dry but sticky design.  Here, I’ve used it with gilding flakes, AKA ‘Leaf’ . . .

I prefer leaf to foil as leaf has a lovely texture which is more interesting to me than just a hard shine.  I also prefer it because I’ve got a boatload of the stuff and need to make a dent in it.

I stenciled the tile textured background with the Duo Gel, let it dry an hour, and then pressed the leaf over the texture with my fingers.  A swirling motion with a stiff stencil brush took care of the excess.  I also smeared Duo Gel over the die cut leaves and flowers and leafed them too.  I’ve got more gilding flakes projects in the works, so please stay tuned!

Cardstock:   Bazzill Purple, Multimedia #140 Aquarelle, Tim Holtz

Silver Sparkle         

Stamps:        KaiserCraft Marble, Printworks “Happy Birthday”

Inks:               Ancient Page Stone Gray, Plum Wine, ColorBox Silver

Emb Pwdr:   Delafield Silver

Dies:              InLoveArtShop Flowers in Vase             

Stencil:          The Crafter’s Workshop Mini Tile Texture

Doo Dads:    Therm O Web Transfer Gel Duo, Nuvo leaf Silver

Bouillon        

Breathe

I’m having fun with a new-to-me product called “Deco Foil Transfer Gel Duo”.  It is used with a stencil and is a great way to get glue applied in a controlled shape onto your project so that you can top it with anything. 

Gel Duo is a cream that starts out white but turns clear when it is ready.  It will be very tacky to the touch when dry and this is what adheres your foil or leaf.  Depending on how thickly you apply it, you’ll need to wait an hour before adding your foil.  So I do up several, put them aside, and work on something else until it’s ready.  Here’s my first attempt:

The beauty of Gel Duo is that heat isn’t required.  I’ve begun with some of Amy’s Magic Leaf and am going to experiment with adhering other items, such as glitter, embossing powder, Flower Soft, and anything else I can think of.  When I try those things, I’ll post the results.

For this sample, I used #140 watercolor paper to prevent warping and brushed on green and blue inks for the background.  Then I stenciled the fern with the Gel Duo.  An hour later, I added the leaf and pressed down a little with my fingers to adhere.  Then I took a firm brush and whisked off the excess – an old toothbrush works great.  I think the results are stunning and I hope the camera captures the gleaming beauty.

           

Cardstock:   Bazzill Pear, Aquarelle #140 Multimedia 

Inks:              VersaFine Olympia Green, Majestic Blue,

ColorBox Gold

Emb Pwdr:   Ranger Gold

Stencil:        Club Scrap Fern (and text)

Doo Dads:   Deco Foil Transfer Gel Duo, Amy’s Magic Leaf Sea Spray