Monthly Archives: March 2012

Bright and happy

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Spring is in full swing, and I’m thinking of colorful cards.

The card below is bold thanks to the bright pop of glittery orange from the embossing powder. I love embossing. It can get messy, with powder getting everywhere (much like glitter does), but the effect is eye-catching.

If you’ve never embossed before, be careful when using the heat gun because it becomes very hot. Don’t let the gun get too close to the paper. Also, don’t keep the heat on the powder for too long. Both can cause the embossing to look “overcooked.” When you turn on the heat gun, hold it upright for several seconds to safely heat it up. When embossing, heat the powder until it is “just done.”

Any stamping ink will work with embossing powders, but I recommend Versamark for its clear color and slow drying time. Although, when embossing in black, black ink will give the embossed image a more intense color.

Clear concept

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I use transparencies often in card making. If you haven’t, don’t be intimidated by the slick surface. You can stamp on them, fold them and glue them to paper easily.

To fold a transparency for a card, it’s best to have something to score the fold with. I have a scoring blade for my paper trimmer. It’s really just a dull tip, which is great for paper, too, because it won’t cut through it.

I use my trusty tape runner to adhere cardstock to transparencies, but to adhere transparencies to cardstock, I use a small dots of glue that dries clear, such as Aleene’s Jewel-It.

I’ll feature stamping on transparencies in future posts. The key ingredient: Staz-On ink. It’s permanent and usable on many types of surfaces.

This card’s transparency is flocked, which is something I’d never seen before. I upped the fuzz factor with flocked patterned paper.

Musical memo

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Years ago, I bought a piece of paper that has a pattern of broken sheet music. I bought it because I was a “band geek” from elementary school through high school, and nostalgia kicked in. I hadn’t thought of a use for it, though, until recently. I remembered a bird stamp I’ve had for a couple of years, and something clicked.

I suppose the lesson here is that those old pieces of patterned paper that have gone unused may one day become a part of something great — you just have to wait until the right ingredient comes along. Or until you remember that you have a stamp that would be perfect for it.

This card features some distressed edges. I have a distressing tool, but until I had that, I moved the paper back and forth between two tines of a fork.

I also cut out part of the stamped image to give some dimension. Detail scissors are key for this.

There are two benefits from this card: I used a paper I’d thought I’d never use, and I have a card for future use. The latter is good for me, because I typically create cards as I need them. It’s good to have some “emergency” cards on hand.

Triple treat

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Another cupcake card? Mmmmm, cupcakes …

I’m featuring this card because of two techniques: Sakura Glaze pens and lining up Slice cutouts on one piece of paper.

I used a black Glaze pen on the cupcakes stamped on white cardstock. Glaze pens offer a slightly raised, shiny appearance and are an alternative to embossing powders. When I stamped the images in black, they weren’t vivid enough, particularly because I used textured cardstock.

This is the first time I’ve tried to line up cuts with the Slice. I saw a video on this and wanted to test it out. My first cut didn’t go well — it went off the paper. My second try was successful. To mark on the glitter paper, I used a white Sakura Gelly Roll pen, which makes the markings clearly visible. To cover up the markings, I used a brush pen in a color close to the color of the glitter paper.

If you don’t own a Slice, you could use a 2-inch punch.

Green cards

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I’ve amassed quite the collection of supplies over the years. Stamps, paper, punches, “bling,” ribbon, stamps, rub-ons and stickers, ink, embossing powders, glitter … did I mention stamps?

Somehow, I keep it all organized in a craft cart on wheels and on a 72-inch shelf in a closet.

The majority of all this fantastic stuff was bought in craft stores, at scrapbooking events and online. Often, though, I turn to items I find around the house to use in card making.

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