Springy Pink & Embossed

This card has a spring like feel to it with a feminine touch. If you want a card that is real girly girl, this is the one for you.

You'll spend most of the time to make this card with inking and embossing. It takes a while but you get a really pretty look. If you've never done any heat embossing before, you might find this project a little difficult.

White card stock 5 1/2 x 8 1/2" for base card, 4 x 5 1/4", 3 x 3 3/4", 2 3/4 x 3 1/2",1 3/4 x 2 3/4",
                           1 3/8 X 2 3/8"
Pale pink card stock2 X 3", 1 1/2 X 2 1/2"
Marina Mist ink
Regal Rose ink
More Mustard ink
Versa Mark ink
Clear Embossing Powder
Regarding Dahlias stamp set (#130327)
Trust God stamp set (#126702)
3/8" Melon Mambo Striped Organdy ribbon (#129293)
Sherbet Buttons (#116312) or other buttons that has a pale pink
Paper Piercing Pack
Paper Piercing Tool
Paper Piercing mat or mouse pad
Glue Dots

1. Distress the 4 x 5 1/4" piece, the 2 3/4 x 3 1/2" piece and the 1 3/4 x 2 3/4" piece of white card stock. I start with the yellow ink. Dab the felt or other distressing medium on the More Mustard ink pad and then directly onto the white card stock. Next, do the same thing with the Regal Rose ink going over top of the More Mustard. Finish with the Marina Mist ink over the Regal Rose. You will not cover the card stock solid with any one color. As you dab the ink onto the card stock, use a rubbing motion to get a good coverage around the card stock.

 2. Ink your image (I used the dahlia from the stamp set) with the Versa Mark ink. Stamp it randomly around the distressed card stock.

3. Place the card stock in a tray, on a lid or a sheet of paper. Sprinkle clear embossing powder to cover the card stock.

Shake off any excess powder. Return excess powder to the jar to use in your next embossing project.
4. Heat the entire card stock until the embossing powder melts.

When it is melted, it will have a glossy, shiny look.
Repeat this technique with the 3 pieces of white card stock.
5. Adhere the embossed card stock on to the plain white card stock leaving about 1/8" border all the way around each piece. The smallest embossed piece should be adhered to a piece of pale pink card stock. Layer the layers according to size with the smallest on top.
6. With the smallest piece of card stock, stamp a greeting from the Trust God stamp set in the center with Regal Rose ink. Use Marina Mist ink to distress with the blue around the outer edge of the card stock. Adhere it to the other piece of pale pink card stock with a border around the greeting piece.
7. Using the Paper Piercing tool or a very sharp needle(not recommended but it will work) punch holes all the way around the white card stock with the saying. Adhere this to the bottom right side of the card, overlapping the other layers.
8. Wrap ribbon around the right side of the card and tie in a bow. Sometimes I use glue dots to keep my bow in place.
9. Place glue dots on the back of a large pink button and adhere to the top left rectangle as shown in the picture.
10. Adhere the card front on to the card base, leaving a white border all the way around the card.

Garden Party

I know that there is snow on the ground in many parts of the country but, IMO, that's a great time to pick up someone's spirit's with a bunch of flowers! Putting them on a card is a great way to send flowers.

Materials needed:
Patterned Pack II patterned paper (#114325) 4 1/4 x 5 1/2"
Wild Wasabi card stock scrap
White card stock
Flower Shop stamp set (#130942)
Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set (#115370)
Wild Wasabi embossing powder (#123224)
Melon Mambo embossing powder (#123223)
Ranger Gold embossing powder
Raspberry Ripple ink
Wild Wasabi ink
Versa Mark pad (#102283)
Stampin Dimenionals (#104430)
Blossom punch (#125603)
Word Window punch (#119857)
Modern Label punch (#119849)

1. Stamp 5 flower images on white card stock with Versa Mark ink. I did this 1 or 2 at a time. Sprinkle embossing powder on as desired and then heat with your heat tool.
2. Stamp 4 flower images on white card stock with Raspberry Ripple ink, Melon Mambo ink and Wild Wasabi ink. 
3. I just love punches that match up with a stamp set! Use the Blossom punch to punch out the flower images that you embossed and that you stamped.
4. Adhere the stamped images on to the patterned paper. Place Stampin' Dimensionals on the back of the embossed images. Place them on the patterned paper overlapping the stamped images. Leave about a 2-3" space empty on the bottom center of the card.
5. Stamp the "thinking of you" greeting from Teeny tiny Wishes stamp set on white card stock with Versa Mark ink. Sprinkle Wild Wisabi embossing powder on the stamped image. Set with the heat tool.
6. Punch out the greeting with the Word Window punch. Punch out a Modern Label from the Wild Wasabi card stock. Adhere them together. Place stampin' dimensionals on the back and adhere it to the bottom center of the card.
7. Adhere the card front to a card base and add a greeting or hand written message to the inside.
Now send this card to someone to brighten their day a bit!

God's Art Work

It's cold in my part of the world today, in the low 30's. I know for some that's just barely cool but for me here in Central Texas, that's a lot colder than I like! It was in the low 20's last night. So anyway, I'm feeling cold so I've given you this cold card. No matter what I think of the weather, it's still part of God's creations so I'll praise Him even when I don't like the temperature.

Materials needed:
Marina Mist card stock 4 1/4 x 5 1/2"
white card stock
Zoo Review stamp set (#122197)
Trust God stamp set (#126702)
Early Espresso ink
Early Espresso marker
Island Indigo ink
Versa Mark ink pad
Stampin' Emboss Powder clear (#109130)
Heat tool (#129053)
Large Oval punch (#119855)
Stampin' Dimensionals (#104430)

1. Stamp the polar bear image with Early Espresso ink on white card stock. Rub Versa Mark ink on top of the image. Sprinkle the embossing powder on top of the ink and heat until the powder melts.

Just to show you the difference in using clear embossing powder and just to stamp it on white card stock, I've got a picture to show you.

The bear at the top is just stamped in Early Espresso ink. The bear on the bottom has been embossed. The embossed image has more shine and the ink seems to pop out better.
2. Cut the bear around the outside of the image.
3.  Stamp the saying from the Trust God stamp set in Island Indigo ink on white card stock. Punch it out using the large oval punch. Rub the edges of the punched out image across the Island Indigo ink pad. IMO, this helps it to pop better.
4. Using your Early Espresso marker, draw some lines on the Marina Mist card stock to look like ice.. Place Stampin' Dimensionals on the back of the bear image and place it on the "ice."
5. Place dimensionals on the back of the saying and place it on the top left side.
6. Adhere this to a card base and you have a card that you could send to anyone who is one of God's special works of art.

Heat Embossing

We talked about dry embossing on Tuesday so today we are going to talk about heat embossing. The tools you need for this process are: a rubber stamp, cardstock, embossing powder, Versa Mark ink and a heat tool. Things like Powder Pals trays and a dry paint brush are helpful.

1. Ink up your stamp on the VersaMark pad(#102283). Then stamp your image onto your cardstock. I used the rose from Fifth Avenue Floral(#113734) and Daffodil Delight cardstock.

2. After you apply the Versa Mark, it will look like this picture below. You will barely be able to see the ink.

3. Sprinkle the embossing powder directly over the ink. You will want to have it over a Powder Pal, tray or sheet of paper to catch the excess. On this project I used clear Stampin' Emboss Powder(#109130). Embossing powder comes in a large variety of colors. SU! currently carries 10 different colors plus the clear.

4. After the image is covered with the powder, shake off the excess. I try to shake as much as possible back into the container but I have my Powder Pal tray under it. All the excess, pour back into the container to use on your next project.

Your image will now look something like this. Again, you can barely see it, with the clear powder. If you use a different color, you will be able to see whatever color your embossing powder is.

 5. Turn on and point your heat tool (#100005) directly at the image. I usually hold mine up and out away from me. I've found that if I leave it laying directly on a surface, the surface will sometimes warp from the heat of the gun. The reason it is laying down in this picture is because I had to have one hand for my camera. lol

6.You will be able to see the embossing powder melting right before your very eyes. It's almost like magic! It will take 10-15 seconds before it starts to melt but then it will melt fairly quickly. If you are embossing a large image, you will need to move your heat gun around on the project to cover the area. In the picture to the left, you can see that they powder has started to melt.

Here is my finished rose, ready to go on my card or scrapbook page.

7.  Sometimes, if you have an image with empty areas, like this polar bear,

you can end up with Versa Mark in the center of the image or around the

edges.

That is actually an easy thing to fix BEFORE you use the heat gun. Simply wipe, rub or scartch the excess embossing powder from the card.

This image was embossed with a silver embossing powder. The polar bear and the lion both came from the Zoo Review (#122197) stamp set. The lion was embossed with gold embossing powder.

Whether you are using the dry or heat embossing method, it can add some extra zip to your projects. If you have any questions, just ask. I will try my best to answer.