Emboss Resist

This card was a bit time consuming to make, but well worth it when I see the finished product. I was inspired by a card I saw in the Splitcoast gallery a while back. I'm still looking for the card so I can give proper credit.

I started with a piece of Whispering White Cardstock and stamped the Lexicon of Love "Friend" stamp across it in the Basic Black ink until the background filled. I then took the Paint Prints stamp and the Versamark ink and stamped a few of flowers. I sprinkled on the clear embossing powder and heat them until they were set. Next came the Creamy Caramel ink which I applied all over the front of the card with a brayer. I'm still not totally competent with a brayer, so it took a bit of work for it to be even. I once again stamped a few more flowers with the Versamark, sprinkled with clear embossing powder and set with the embossing gun. Then I covered the entire card with Close To Cocoa ink using the brayer. After it was evenly covered, I took a tissue to make sure and get all the extra ink off the embossed flowers, which in turn made them pop to the eye. I couldn't quite figure out how to finish the card off, so I set it down for a day or two. I finally decided it was time to take out the twill tape and chip board and attempt something new. I sponged the chip board piece with Creamy Caramel several times. It seemed as if the chip board would just suck up the color. But then I noticed a kind of suede look to it which I really liked. So I once again took the Lexicon of Love stamp and inked only the large Friend and stamped it on the Twill Tape. I attached the chip board with some brads from the SU Hodgepodge Hardware.

One of the things I really love about the way the browns worked together is that although it has flowers on it, it has a masculine feel as well. I love versatile cards!

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Lexicon of Love, Paint Prints
Ink: Versamark, Basic Black, Creamy Caramel, Close To Cocoa
Paper: Whispering White
Other: Brayer, Twill Tape, Chipboard, Hodgepodge Hardware, Sponge, Clear Embossing Powder

Masculine Cards

I have often found myself struggling with creating cards with a more masculine feel to them. It is so easy to reach for all the different flower stamps and pastels and create something beautiful and pleasing to the female eye. A friend pointed out that guys like receiving cards too and I was being somewhat discriminatory in thinking that they didn't appreciate them as much as females. Although this was all said in friendly banter, I stopped to think about the comment and realized it was true. I decided to make a concerted effort to regularly make cards that didn't include flowers and could be used as masculine cards.

I am attaching a card I made for a male . I think it is actually my favorite of all the cards I have created. One reason is that it was so fun to make. As I was trying to decide which way to go, all these ideas started coming into my head which resulted in my using two of my favorite techniques, bleaching and embossing. It sounds really complicated, but the difficulty level on the card was actually easy to moderate.

I learned the bleaching technique at a Stamp Camp I attended (thanks Heather). We took a stamp, sprayed it with bleach, stamped it on colored paper and waited for it to dry. As it is dried the paper color changed to reveal a slightly distorted version of the stamp, and a really unique look. I LOVED it!! As I was trying to decide how to prepare the background of my masculine card, I decided to bleach to French Script background stamp onto the More Mustard paper. In the photo it is not as easily defined as it is in person, though you can still notice the somewhat weathered look it created. I felt it still needed a bit of color so I stamped off the Print Pattern background stamp with basic black. I then moved on to the Musical Manuscript stamp. I first stamped it in the basic black on the So Saffron paper. I then took a dauber and lightly stamped around the edges in Creamy Carmel. Then comes the fun part, the embossing. Since I wanted it to have a "cracked glass" look to it, it was going to require layering of the embossing powder. After applying the Versamark to the entire piece of paper, I covered it with the clear embossing powder and heated it. I then applied two more layers of embossing before placing the paper in the freezer. If you leave it there just a minute or two, when you take it out, it is nice and crisp. Start bending it and the cracks appear. I just love the look of that. I finished it off by rubbing some Creamy Carmel on the top to make a cracks stand out a bit more before adhering to the black paper to frame it. I was very pleased with the end result. Sometimes we just don't realize how creative we can be until someone presents us with a challenge.