Texture Paste + Embossing Powder ft. STAMPlorations

EDIT:
  
Cards in Envy: Favorite / Joy Clair: Winner / HLS Mixed Media Favorite
Fall is right around the corner, so I'd like to share a fall-inspired card for today. :) I thought about making a Thanksgiving card so I searched for sentiments that are thanks-related. And this one from STAMPloration's Fond Expressions 2 fits perfectly. The "heartfelt" part inspired me to use the Rows of Hearts stencil along with my Memory Box heart nesting dies. So yup, this card is full of lots of hearts! <3 


The colors and kraft card base is inspired by this month's CASEplorations card. I like how there's a light blue shade among the warm colors, so I decided to add a green heart in my card as well. It's surprising that a green heart doesn't look odd at all! I'm actually quite pleased with this color combination. I also totally love the idea of repetition; so I cased her cascading cups with my cascading heart layout. Did you notice that I incorporated the banner element into my sentiment? Like the case card, I heat set my sentiment in white embossing powder. White always look good on kraft!

First I die cut three hearts from a sheet of masking paper. Then I laid the stencil on top and secured all sides with micropore tape. 

After applying a layer of texture paste, I sprinkled some gold embossing powder while the paste is still wet. I really think the gold tone matches and enhances the warm tone of a kraft card. And it adds some interest to this relatively simple design, too!

When the paste is dry after a 20-30 minute wait, I heat embossed the parts with the powder. I watched Jennifer McGuire's comparison video on embossing paste and texture paste before, so I knew that I'll get some bubbles from heat setting the texture paste. Even though the uneven texture is cool, I personally prefer a smooth, even look. So I'm planning on getting the embossing paste and trying it with heat embossing soon. 

Now it's time to add some color. I wanted to keep this design clean so I'm only sponging on the raised area. You can do this by piecing the masking paper and stencil back on to the card. This will keep the kraft areas covered and only the embossed areas exposed. I sponged several shades of distress inks onto each of the hearts and made sure they blended together to give the ombre look. 

I can rarely finish a card without adding some extra shine with my wink of stella. (I actually tried misting Perfect Pearls but the result isn't as outstanding) I love how the tiny gold sparkles match the tone of the gold embossing powder. I hope my card has warmed your heart and brightened your day a little. Thanks for stopping by, xoxo. 

Challenges Entered: 
 
CASEplorations September / SSS: Powder Power / SSS: ATG / MFT Sketch 300

 
Cards in Envy: Fall theme/color / Joy Clair: Color Inspiration / YNS Color Challenge #48

  

AAA Cards: Masking / Memory Box #16: Stencils / HLS Mixed Media: Distress

 
SSS: STAMPtember & Autumn Colors / Penny Black & More: Add a Sentiment / STAMPlorations ATG

STAMPlorations Spotlight I was inspired by Cornelia's post to create your own stencil.