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. 

Stained Glass Christmas Card ft. My Favorite Things

When I read about My Favorite Thing's Superstar Card Contest, I knew I had to give it a shot. BUT the problem is I'm still on vacation in Taiwan and I won't be back until the 19th. As you can see in the graphic below, the contest ends on the 22nd, which is also the first day of class at UCSD. This means I only have a couple of days to unpack, get ready for school, and pull together a card that will hopefully catch the judges' attention. Quite a timed challenge! :)

  

I don't own a lot of products from MFT, and I thought this is a great opportunity to add some to my stash. As I scrolled through their online shop, the Abstract Background stamp caught my eye and immediately I thought about the majestic stained glass windows I once saw in France. I was inspired to create a stained glass piece with the cross, which will make a perfect Christmas card for a Christian family I know. (I also did some Google search afterwards to see if there's really a window that looks like the one I created, and there is!)

I started off by inking the stamp with black Versafine ink and clear heat embossed the image on Tim Holtz's watercolor cardstock. Then I marked 4 pencil lines to create my cross. I used several shades of yellow, orange, brown Distress Inks to color each triangle individually. 

For the outside four rectangular areas, I used blues and greens and repeated the coloring process. For each triangle I mixed different shades of colors to create more depth and interest. So it's quite time consuming but super therapeutic!

After the watercolored background was dry I sprayed a layer of Perfect Pearls mist over the entire panel to give it a subtle shimmer. You can barely see it in the photos but it's there!

I heat set the entire panel again until the mist has completely dried. Then I pressed my Versa Mark ink pad onto the bottom half of the panel and heat embossed with clear embossing powder. You can see that the embossing powder adds a glossy finish to the card and really mimics the stained glass look. I repeated the same steps with the upper half of the panel.

 

I felt that one coat of embossing powder isn't enough since there are still spots that are splotchy (left photo). So I went ahead and embossed two more times. Three coats of embossing powder really made the panel very shiny and dimensional. 

My original plan was to frame the cross with thin strips of black cardstock, but I didn't like how bold it looked. So instead I used my Copic Multiliner to trace the pencil lines I made earlier. 

I wanted to keep the focus of the card on the faux stained glass window so I kept the rest of it very simple. I heat embossed the "Merry Christmas" sentiment on a strip of vellum with silver embossing powder. The sentiment is from MFT's Hand Lettered Holiday set. 

 

The Words of Inspiration (left) and Cheerful Blessings (right) sets also work well with this design. There are plenty of great sentiments for prayer or appreciation cards. 

 

I hope you have enjoyed looking at my creation and are inspired to use your background stamps in different ways. Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Challenges Entered:

MFT Superstar Card Contest / SSS Work It Wednesday: STAMPtember
  
Penny Black & More: Add a Sentiment / ATSM: Make Your Mark / STAMPlorations Spotlight: I was inspired by the way Becca adds shading in her watercoloring
 
HLS Christmas: Song (Joy to the World) / HLS Mixed Media: Distress

Texture Paste with Heart Stencil ft. STAMPlorations

It's only been two years since I discovered Distress Inks, photopolymer stamps, dies and the Cuttlebug machine. I'm constantly overwhelmed and amazed by the plethora of products that are available in the American crafting community. This week I've finally got a chance to experiment with Ranger's Texture Paste, another great product that is new to me. 

You might have noticed that I'm a frequent participant in STAMPloration's card challenges. And I'm proud to announce that I've been accepted to join their team and will be guest designing over at STAMPlorations for the next three months. 

For today's card I used Memory Box's Cross Stitch My Heart Die to die cut the heart shape, then I placed STAMPloration's Rows of Hearts Stencil on top of the die cut and applied a thin layer of Texture Paste. Once the paste is dry, I sponged Shaded Lilac, Victorian Velvet, and Tattered Rose Distress Inks onto the die cut. For the sentiment, I used the Amazing Word Die and heat embossed the die cut with sparkle embossing powder. It's a simple card today, and I hope you liked it :)

Challenges Entered: 

  

Memory Box #16: Stencils / STAMPlorations ATG CAS / STAMPlorations ATG

ATSM: Make Your Mark