TEA THEMED CARD.

I used a cut-out card from Regal Craft Cards to make this card, which I won't be giving to other because it didn't quite work out the way I wanted, for a variety of reasons.  Still, one always learns at least as much from mistakes as success, so lets have a look at what went right and what didn't.

The success was the mottled background paper.  I had some large leafed loose vanilla tea, which I enjoyed as a cuppa, and then spread the leaves over a piece of plain white card, leaving it overnight to dry.  The leaves died the card this great mottled brown but also gave it a lovely vanilla scent that lasted for a couple of months!

The issues arose with the teacup.  I stamped it on thick cardboard with a dye ink, and then heat embossed it with three layers of ultra thick clear embossing powder.  This is where it all went astray.  Firstly, the Versamark and molten embossing powder caused the stamped writing to run just a little.  This wasn't too bad in this context but could cause problems if a crisp image was important.  Next time I will try heat set pigment ink and if this doesn't work, Staz-On.

The next problem was the embossing, even although the cardboard was quite thick, it wasn't thick enough for the layers of embossing powder and the heating involved and it curled quite badly.  Again, as I wanted to crack the powder it didn't matter too much, and I could straighten it out however it wasn't ideal, and next time I'll die cut two or three thick cups and glue them together to make an ultra-thick base.

Lastly, I wanted to crack the embossing powder and ink over it with sepia ink .  I tried to do this by bending the teacup shape backwards and forwards with the results that some pieces came parially off the page, whilst others absolutely refused to break!  When I inked it, instead of sitting in subtle cracks the ink leaked under the broken edges and ended up making the whole thing look a bit more smudgy than cracked.  So......next time I might try the freezer method, and a thicker ink (I used distress ink).

Next time might be a while though......I'll have to work up to it!  On the bright side, I do love the little teacup and tea bag dies from Paper Roses, and I'll definitely put them to good use on other projects.

RESIST STAMPING

STAMPING RESIST

We used to do something very similar to this with crayons in grade three, but this is the "grown up" version.

Colour the base paper with permanent markers - I've used really bright colours and a swirly pattern just to make the sample obvious, but you can be more subtle.

Stamp on an image (one with lots of solid area is most effective, this one is from G45) using embossing or watermark ink (I used Versamark) and heat emboss using clear powder.

Go over the whole thing with a dark dye ink , and then gently wipe off the embossed areas to reveal the colour beneath.

COLOURING WITH EMBOSSING POWDERS

COLOURING WITH EMBOSSING POWDERS

I don't think that I'll do much of this as I was a bit underwhelmed with the result, however this might just be a function of lack of practice so I probably should give it a few more tries before I give up.

I stamped and embossed the fish with black powder, then used a versamark pen to colour in the silver bits of the fish, then the copper, gold and white in turn, heating between each addition, and finally covered the brown background with clear embossing powder.

You can see on the back that the silver powder is "overcooked" and patchy, whilst he white powder has "escaped" its borders, spreading more that the copper and gold which, if anything, seemed to shrink when heated.

If I try this technique again, I think I'll try just heating the powders until they are stuck in place until the final layer to try to avoid the overheating issue, and I might also choose a design that's larger so that I can space out  the embossed areas a bit between heating,  A sensible person would also do a little trial to determine the properties of each of the different embossing powders before throwing them onto the main project!

Still....it kind of looks OK, and is quite nicely raised and textured (even if the latter is not quite in the "supposed to be" category) so I've probably talked myself into trying again during the course of writing this entry!

GOLD EMBOSSED IMAGE COLOURED WITH TOMBOW PENS

EMBOSSED AND COLOURED IMAGE

Back in the day.............and I'm talking 20+ years ago, this is how we did our stamping for greeting cards.

Emboss the outline with gold and reach for the marker pens!

It still looks nice, and is ironically less "old hat" today than it was five years ago.

I've used Tombows and a blender pen for the colouring, and cut the lovely design (from Paper Roses) in half to fit over the aperture, mounting the top on some foam tape to add dimension.

A final "retro" touch is the gold outline sticker that I've carefully stretched around the edge of the oval cut out..  This is a little reminder to myself that no matter how exciting new techniques are sometimes the "oldies but goodies"are worth dusting off too.

USE YOUR DIES TO EMBOSS

SHIP EMBOSSED WITH KAISER DIE

I'm guessing most people with a die-cutting/embossing machine already know about this technique but ........

Don't forget that you can use your dies (this one if from Kaiser) to emboss by using a rubber mat with your B plates (or C plate and cardboard if its thick),

I've used a core colour card and sanded it after embossing to make the embossing more pronounced in this example.

The anchors on the red card behind were done more conventionally with an embossing folder.  After embossing the raised pattern was "swiped" with white ink to give a similar effect to the blue embossing even although each was achieved in quite a different way.

EMBOSSING FOLDER STORAGE

I've never been entirely happy with the way my embossing folders have been stored - thus far in a series of shoe boxes followed by wooden boxes made for the purpose.  The latter were fine, but always looked a bit messy.

Marvin (my husband, but not his real name) built this great storage unit - the boxes are based on the largest size of embossing folder, and lift out so that if I'm working with them I can just take them out, sit them on the desk and rummage.  Even although I have quite a collection it certainly doesn't fill up all the boxes.  The others have been used to store cards that I've made, my little collection of cards I wish I'd made, and blank cards ready to be decorated.

Marvin thought it would be a good idea to add labels to make things easy to find, and knobs to make the boxes easier to remove.  He is absolutely right except that I just love the plain white faces of the boxes "as is".  We can always add them on afterwards if it proves to be an issue.

 I still have quite a few of the small Cuttlebug folders as well as several border folders, that need a little bit of containment before being stored.  I found that the small folders fitted perfectly inside a business card folder - these are usually available from discount stores at a very reasonable price - I think mine was about $2.00.  I tried a variety of things with the border folders before settling on a 6 x 4 top opening pocket photo album (another $2.00 investment).  The folders wanted to slip around and slide together.  Marvin suggested placing a split pin at the top of the page between the folders and this worked brilliantly!!

Oh, and if you're wondering, the big vase in the floor is going to be for all those awkward rolls of brown paper etc. that just won't fit in the cupboard....once I find where I put them because I couldn't find anywhere in my old room!

A Work in Progess

Small folder storage

Storage for Embossing folders and cards

INKLESS HEAT EMBOSSING

INK FREE HEAT EMBOSSING

I have to work really hard not to get loose embossing powder all over the place when I heat emboss.  (I do know that this is because I don't follow my own advice re: not touching the surface, flicking stray bits off with a hard brush, and in extreme cases using an anti-static pad etc etc).

After a particularly messy effort (due to lack of effort on my part) I wondered if this could be "a technique" - perhaps for a little star trail (as in the picture), or specks of rain, or seaspray etc, so I just sprinkled  a bit of embossing powder here and there and heated it.

Rule one (of course) is don't lift it up or, without ink or some other medium to hold it in place the powder will simply fall off.  Rule two is if you are going to heat it flat then do so on a heat resistant surface.

It worked OK I guess but a little too randomly for my liking.  Unlike heat embossing with ink, you can't just shake off the bits that aren't exactly where you want them.  I'll stick to little dots with an embossing pen in the future but inkless embossing is possible.

STAMP AND EMBOSS PRINTING

Stamp and Folder

Stamped Embossing

This is a quick and easy technique that could result in some really interesting backgrounds - I'm not claiming that my example is one of them, but it should give you some idea of how it works.  I've used a foam stamp (any stamp will do but I'm fairly sure that the less detail the better), ink it up with a non-permanent ink (I've used a chalk pigment), stamp onto your embossing folder, then insert a piece of paper or card and run through your Cuttlebug (or Bigshot etc).  I'm going to play a bit more with this technique - perhaps make some of my own stamps from fun foam?  If it works out I'll post the results at a later date.

CLEAR EMBOSSED BLACK CARD

CLEAR EMBOSSED BLACK CARD

This is a rather bad photo of clear-embossed Versamark on a black background.  I hope you take my word for it, that it does, in reality look great!!

I used a flash to photograph it, hence, the reflection of the stamped image, and the appearance of a far greater contrast between the image and background than exists in the real world.

The actual example is very subtle and would make a great background for cards.  Try it yourself to see!!

EMBOSSING WITH CARBON PAPER

CARBON PAPER EMBOSSED SAMPLES

Often I'm playing with various bits and pieces in the craftroom and have a "good idea" only to be disappointed to find only a few thousand other people have already posted the same idea to Pinterest, their blogs and any other place you like to name.

I'm pretty sure someone, somewhere has put this one up too, but I haven't seen it yet!  Its a stupidly simple idea too - just pop a sheet of carbon paper (blue side down towards your paper) inside your embossing folder before winding through your Cuttlebug or Big Shot.

You get the same result as inking up your folder without making a mess (not that this has ever deterred me, but I know its an issue for some folk).  The blue and white is, as they say on all the home reno shows "on trend" at the moment, and you can get some really cool results by re-using the carbon paper with a second patterned folder.

I did this with the top example (the paisley), apart from being lighter, if you look closely you can see shadows of the little flowers in the background.  The carbon is fairly stable, but you could probably spray some sealer on top if you want to be extra sure that the blue stays in place.

COLOURING EMBOSSED METAL

EMBOSSED METAL COLOURED WITH SHARPIES

Last week, I showed an example of colouring a stamped image with Fusion pens, which didn't work overly well on metal.

This week I've embossed an image, again on the reverse of a soft drink can, and coloured the image with Sharpie pens.

I'm much happier with the results - still a little patchy but not nearly as bad as my last try.

It was also a lot easier colouring the debossed areas of the panel, which had a nice easy to feel edge (yes, my eyesight is terrible - and yes, that may explain a lot!), but also meant that there was no need to carefully avoid a Staz-on stamped outline.

All in all though, I have to confess to preferring the plain black ink stamped Beethoven image I posted ages ago!

EASY FRIDGE MAGNETS

FRIDGE MAGNETS

Here are a couple of ideas for easy fridge magnets.

The first isn't strictly papercraft but it does involve a couple of things you might have in your craft room - the thin magnet sheet that comes with most dies, a die (in this case a Spellbinders dress stand), and a die-cutting machine in which to use it.  (I used my trusty Cuttlebug).
I expected to be able to cut the shape with the die, but was pleasantly surprised to find that with the rubber embossing mat, the detail could be embossed onto the magnet!  I made this over a year ago, and have been kind of waiting for the detail to disappear - it hasn't!

The second magnet is just some pretty Washi stuck onto a glass cabouchon, with a fairly heavy duty magnet (due to the weight of the glass) stuck onto the back.

I'm happy enough with both of them to allow them a spot on the side of the fridge!

BISCUIT BLISTER CARD

SUNFLOWER BISCUIT CARD

Its really tempting to look at all the fabulous ideas around on Pinterest and in magazines and reproduce the work of some of those amazing crafters.  The trouble being, of course, that its their work.

Sometimes, though a little inspiration is needed so I've been making a conscious effort to look at things other than cards for card ideas.

This example started as a big of a joke, but actually ended up OK....not sure that I'd give it to anyone but the concept kind of works.

Being a creature of habit, I have one of these little cheese and biscuit packs as an  afternoon snack, almost every day at work, so this particular piece of inspiration was close at hand.

I inked a small-patterned Cuttlebug folder with brown ink before embossing some dark yellow card, as a reference to the colours and vague design of the biscuits.  I made a tile by stamping into paperclay and then colouring it with water-based markers in biscuit and cheese colours, and then cut a little dark yellow butterfly.  I cut a piece of craft card, traced around the plastic blister of the biscuit container, and cut just inside the line of this as well.  After adding a few embossed lines for decoration, I pushed the container through the hold, and taped the edges to the back.

I used a Kraft basecard and put the embossed layer next.  I stuck the tile and butterfly (with wings raised) to some pretty Graphic 45 paper and secured it to the back of the blister, then stuck the whole assembly on top of the embossed panel.  A quote (also cut from Graphic 45 paper) finished the card.

Yes it is a bit wierd but its inspired me to look a little further afield for card ideas, and besides, it was fun!

EMBOSSING WITH WHITE CRAYON RESIST

WHITE CRAYON AND WATERCOLOUR WASH

A nice batik-like result can be obtained by colouring part of a dry embossed image with white crayon, then adding a watercolour wash.
Colourless crayons are also available if you wanted to try the technique over patterned or coloured paper.

Now....on a different topic.  I've been doing a Papertrek posting every week for three years and three days now!  This means that there are over 150 posts so I have a collection of techniques preserved for myself to browse and hopefully to be of use to other folk who find their way to the blog.

I think its time to concentrate a bit more on quality over quantity now.  Like most people, I'm rather time poor so rather than just put things up for the sake of it, I'll wait until I have something I think is worth sharing.  So....I might post a few weeks in a row, I might have a few weeks "off" or I might even put up a lots things in two or three days.  Who knows.  The blog will continue but for now.......I'm taking a couple of weeks holiday.  Be back soon.

DOUBLE EMBOSSED SMALL CUTTLEBUG FOLDER

SMALL CUTTLEBUG FOLDER "BUTTON"

I was sorting out my embossing folders when I found a business card holder book (storage tip) filled to the brim with little Cuttlebug folders.

I don't know why I haven't used them for years as I could instantly think of 101 great things to do with them.   (Suspect its more likely I've improved over time than they have).

Here's one simple idea which was just to ink up the folder with Versamark run it through with paper inside, and then heat emboss with gold embossing powder.  I used my circle punch to cut the central emblem from the folder and there we are -  a cool little embossed "button" to use on a card.

DISTRESS INK EMBOSSING

DISTRESS INK EMBOSSING

I was going to put this little example in the bin about three times but something stopped me.

It was created by swooshing a few different colours of distress ink, straight from the cubes onto the plastic surface of an embossing folder,( whilst talking to a room full of people, although that bit is optional)  then running it through the Cuttlebug.

Distress inks are very watery . (They are supposed to be), this means that they tend to bead on plastic and smoosh together more than a lot of other inks, when this technique is used.

I kind of like the random nature of the result.  If I was doing it again with a bit more thought I'd choose colours closer on the colour wheel (perhaps yellow-orange-red) and maybe even add a little spray of water to encourage the inks to spread a little bit more.

There's a l lot of potential to play here and, for those who stress about such things, the ink came straight off the embossing folder with a baby wipe!!

EMBOSSING WITH ALUMINIUM FOIL

ALFOIL EMBOSSING

This is a simple technique that just involves wrapping some stiff cardboard (I used packaging) with a two or three layers of aluminium cooking foil, and embossing with your Cuttlebug (or whatever machine you have).

I just secured the foil with a bit of tape at the back but some double-sided Jac would be a more stable way to fix it.

This was a quick snap taken under a fluorescent light but I'm quite taken with the photographic applications of a really shiny embossed surface, as well as its obvious craft uses.  (If you look closely there's a little bit of me in this shot!).

Colour could be added in a variety of ways.....perhaps for future posts????

ALL SORTS EMBOSSING

ALL-SORTS EMBOSSING

Following on from last week's theme of using what you already have, is this week's example of some of the things you can use to emboss in your Cuttlebug/Bigshot etc.
The possibilities are endless but from the few things I tried, I'd suggest that best results are obtained with low, stiff items such as the mesh, second best with low stretchy things like the rubber bands, and less successfully higher things like the paper clips and coins.  The latter tend to tear the paper.  I used 200g card, but imagine that if you used a softer handmade paper and perhaps made it just a little damp (not wet) you'd probably have less tearing.
To emboss "all sorts" in the Cuttlebug you need a rubber embossing mat, which goes on top of the paper.  The items go underneath.  You'll also need at least one plate (probably your white A plate), if not two (B or C plate) on the very bottom of the stack, and ideally another plate (B) on the top.  Its a matter of juggling the plates (possibly with the addition of cardboard shims) to make the right combo that is thick enough to have the desired embossing effect without endangering your machine in any way.  Cuttlebugs are tough little machines but they will break if you force things through so proceed with caution!!
I've also used white card for these examples actually didn't think this would work anywhere near as well as it did.  As I'm a bit overly busy at the moment I don't have time to repeat using a core colour paper and sanding or even inking over the design, but I think both would enhance the effect. Mind you, this does give me something else to post when I do have more time to play!!

USING STENCILS IN CUTTLEBUG

MACHINE EMBOSSED STENCILS

One of my on-going resolutions regarding my craft supplies is to "use or lose it."   Now of course I don't want to get rid of anything potentially useful - which is just about everything, so I've been raiding the shelves and re-discovering some almost forgotten "toys."

In the olden days (i.e. a few years ago) machines like the Cuttlebug and Bigshot were rarities and when we wanted to emboss a pattern we used either a lightbox or a window and a brass or plastic stencil combined with a stylus to hand-emboss our paper.

With the advent of embossing folders my collection of brass and plastic stencils has stayed unused and unloved for a very long time.  I've just bought a new rubber embossing mat for my Cuttlebug so I thought it was a good time to try it out with these stencils.  Previously I hadn't been overly impressed with the results but this mat is fabulous and suddenly I'm all enthused about using all my long-neglected stencils again, especially as I don't have to laboriously trace around them all by hand!!  The main thing I have learnt is that the type of embossing mat used DOES make a difference.

The stack I used was A, B, stencil, paper, rubber mat, B.  Do be aware though, that despite a lot of info around that suggest otherwise, there is no magic combination that suits all situations - it really depends on the thickness of your paper/card, the thickness of your rubber mats, whether your plates have a bit of a bend or not etc.  The trick is to do a few trial runs before the main project, and never force a stack that feels too thick through the machine.  The examples shown in the photo were my trial runs and hence they aren't properly centred etc.  I had anticipated having to muck around with bits of cardboard etc. and was pleasantly surprised to find it worked first pop with both kinds of stencil!

CHALK/EYE SHADOWS ON BLACK CARD

EYESHADOW/CHALKS ON BLACK CARD

Just when you thought I'd put the eye shadow away.....I didn't expect much in the way of impact when I tried the eye shadows on black card (chalks will work the same way) but was pleasantly surprised.  The real thing has a slightly dreamy feel to it and the colour is quite subtle but it is there.  I used an embossing folder in my Cuttlebug as decoration - embossing on black alone doesn't show up particularly well because of the abscence of shadow but the chalk/eye shadow highlighted it nicely without being over the top.  I added the text on the computer as it looked a bit bare and I didn't have time to make a "proper card" but hopefully you get the idea.