Howdy friends! Today I have a quick, fun technique project for you that will have you making cards in minutes. Feel free to substitute supplies I used for ones you have on hand. You can use ANY watercolor paint for this. I use Gel Sticks on the card base but if you don’t have them try watercolor crayons, oil pastels or even kid’s crayons. It’s not about having the most resources at your disposal, it’s about being the most resourceful! Here is the video!
Here are a couple close ups of the quick cards from the video.
You can do this! You don’t need hours to create something worthwhile. Use those little snippets of time and make something wonderful! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!
Here is an easy card you can make for an enlisted friend or family member or for Operation Write Home:
I made this card for my niece’s husband who is leaving for basic training, it was also his birthday. I built it on a kraft cardbase, tore a book page and sprayed it with my homemade shimmer spray and layered an embossed blue panel that I glided a white Gel Stick on top to bring out the design. I stamped a never before inked Statue of Liberty and colored it with Gel Sticks. Added a few eyelets and a Happy Birthday sentiment and that was it! Easy peasy! Have a great Monday everyone and til next time happy crafting!
Howdy there! I’m so happy today because I get to give away the beautiful Camellia Background stamp from About Art Accents I used on this card (a brand new one though) and all you need to do is leave a comment on this post to have a chance at winning. I’ll draw a name next Tuesday so be sure to sign up before then. Have you ever tried to heat emboss transparencies or vellum and ended up with a warped mess? Well, no more! I’ll show you how to do it right today even with the thinnest materials!
I used ink-jet transparencies on my project because one side has a coating that will allow ink or watercolors to dry on it, just like it does with printer ink. If you are using regular overhead transparencies or un-coated acetate you can still do this but instead of painting the backside with watercolors use acrylic paint and let it dry naturally. Watch the video to learn this technique and complete the card!
My favorite part about this card is how it shines, shimmers and changes depending on how it catches the light, photos do not do it justice.
I hope you enjoyed this technique and give it a try! Thanks for stopping by and till next time happy crafting!
OK, stop reading if you don’t want to be enabled to buy a fun crafty goodie…well, don’t say I didn’t warn you LOL! I have wanted to buy the Faber Castells Gelato pastels for a while now, I would even pretend to buy them by putting them into my online shopping card then freaking out at the price and shutting off the computer (sad, isn’t it?) but last week I saw a set of 12 in a nice variety of colors for $11, AND a set of 6 for $6! So I nabbed them with free shipping! For $17 I bought what would have cost me $45 at a scrapbook store, WOW! Color me frugal, look at all the money I saved (and never mind the $17 I spent ha ha Look how pretty they are in a bowl on my desk, Happy What’s on Your Workdesk Wednesday everyone!
I spent the day playing with these Gel Sticks/Gelatos and I was amazed, I thought they would wear down quickly but I did not even have to twist them up, they are in chapstick like tubes, and smooth and creamy. Check out the video to see a demonstration and learn some fun techniques:
I think someone switched my coffee with decaf Taster’s Choice LOL! I was just so mellow, either that or I was channeling Bob Ross, hence the “happy little flowers” comment. Here is a look at some of the backgrounds I made in the video with a brief how to:
Above is the embossed watercolor effect. Emboss an organic style design on watercolor paper, color raised area with gelatos and brush over with water. Top with a spritz of shimmer spray if desired. Faux Washi tape: Stick a piece of masking tape on a non stick mat, color with gelatos and brush with water. Stamp over design if desired. Also see yesterday’s blog post for another embossed watercolor gelato background.
Faux Metallic: Emboss a graphic pattern on black cardstock. Color raised areas with metallic gelato and rub over with a piece of fun-foam to blend.
Stamping with Gelatos (instead of ink): Spritz stamp with water. Color rubber with gelatos and stamp on smooth cardstock. You may be able to stamp twice without recoloring. Experiment!
Thanks for joining me for WOYWW, if you want to see other crafters desks hop over to the Stamping Ground for all the fun…or as I lovingly refer to it ‘Craft Hoarders Enabling er I mean Support Group’ Lord knows I did enough enabling myself today LOL! Speaking of enabling, if you want the link of the shops I bought the gel sticks from they are here: Metallic Gel Sticks and Gel Sticks 12 count the price seems to fluctuate a bit, the metallic gel stocks went up $1 but the others were the same. I got free shipping because my order was over $25 due to another purchase. Happy crafting!
I had a pretty busy day yesterday but I managed to sneak down to my studio to play a bit:
I love anything Wizard of Oz themed! I’ve had this set from Crafty Secrets for quite a while, uninked, and I had to remedy that! I decided to do a video on the chevron resist background and also one on how I colored the image since I get asked for coloring videos a lot. Up first is the background video:
To be honest I scorched the sample in the video, there was smoke coming from my paper but it did not show up in the video LOL! The resist was fine but not as bold as the one on the rectangle card. It wouldn’t be one of my videos without some mishap! Now here is a video on how I colored the image, you will learn a gradient blend and how to get the look of metal.
Here is a close up of the coloring:
And here are my cards:
And since it is What’s on Your Workdesk Wednesday here is my messy post videos desk:
Well, that just about does it! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!
Hi there crafters! I was in need of a birthday card for a guy and came up with this:
I die cut some gears from cardstock and wanted them to look like metal so I inked them with pigment ink and used copper embossing powder and heat it…but wait? Where is my shiny finish?!? My old embossing powder had tarnished from either age, humidity or both and my gears looked rusty…but wait, I like it!
I even bent the gear in the center to crack the embossing and it flaked off like real rust, score! I never thought I’d be so excited about rust LOL! In case rust is not your thing you can get a metal look too, check out these tags. The one on the left I inked with tumbled glass distress ink and swiped with a gold inkpad (I also tried it with gold powder eyeshadow and it worked great too!) then I inked up an embossing folder with brown ink (the side that will face the right side of the tag) and ran it through my big shot. Since the tag was damp with ink I quickly dipped it in clear embossing powder and heated it for a glassy shine. Since I used some gold ink it look rather metallic but to enhance the effect you can use more metallic inks, it is all up to you.
To grungify the tag on the right I did all the steps as the other tag then brushed some acrylic paint over the raised area and sprinkled my tarnished copper EP on top. I heated it and the paint cracked and the EP got all rusty, overall a great old distressed look I think!
I guess I won’t be throwing away my old embossing powders after all Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!
Happy Sunday folks! Today I am going to share a card with you I made earlier this week with my homemade stain daubers. I was experimenting with embossed resists, technique I have done many times with good results BUT this time I couldn’t get a raised image (!?!) my powder kept melting into the paper.
I was stumped. Why does bad embossing happen to good people? So I posed my question to the experts on the OSA yahoo group I belong to and they had some ideas why all of a sudden my embossing powder might be giving me grief:
Old powder. This could definitely be a culprit, I have picked up EP at yard sales and on clearance and honestly my powder stash is likely to be between 5-15 years old. I heard-tell that EP is only good for 2 years BUT I think it has to do with the metals oxidizing and tarnishing in the metallic powders. I really don’t think plain clear or colored powder would be affected.
Overheating the embossing powder. I think this might be the problem. If you ever do the “faux batik” technique you emboss a design, color the paper then iron off the embossing powder. That is what this reminds me of. I wear out my heat guns after a few years because I use them daily. Also I noticed a little paper scorching the other day and I was using the gun as I always had.
Moisture in air/paper. My dehumidifier had been kicking on a lot this week, it has been very damp and I craft in my basement. Could the damp paper be soaking in the ink/powder?
BTW I have a quick tip, If you are trying to punch a shape from paper (or use deco scissors) and the paper wants to snag or is getting stuck in the punch blast the paper with the heat gun for a few seconds to remove any moisture and it will punch perfectly. If your punch is jammed shut with paper stuck inside place in the freezer for a few moments and it will release. Don’t just randomly jab sharp objects at the bottom of the punch hoping to dislodge the paper, you will only end up injuring yourself…don’t ask me how I know that.
Have a great Memorial Day (in the US) and be sure to check back this week, I have lots of fun projects planned, from calligraphy to Father’s Day to fun summer projects with the kids, check it out! Til then happy crafting!
Howdy folks, It is a beautiful Monday in Maine, I’m so glad to see the sun (Let’s hope it stays!) Here is a thank you card with a steampunk flair. I like the fact that you could replace the sentiment with “Happy Birthday”, “Congrats” or whatever. I have a hard time with cards for guys so this could fit the bill for many occasions:
Stamp Credits: The schematic blueprint stamp is by Technique Tuesday, the 3 men is by Tim Holtz and the “Much Obliged” is by Inkadinkado.
Tip: Ink up the embossing folder before embossing for a letterpress look as I did for the gear panel at the bottom of the card.
Allrightie, I think I need to make something pink and frilly now:) Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!
I used the large embossing rollers to emboss an entire sheet of kraft cardstock then dry-brushed pastel yellow paint over it. I used the rotary cutters to cut scalloped strips and the smaller embossers to emboss the dots on the strips. I used the die cutter to die-cut paper, cardstock and burlap. I tried out everything except the adhesive because that would require me to look at the manual since I have not used so much as a sticker maker before LOL!
Tip: I saved the burlap bag that my basmati rice came in and cut a strip to make the ruffle under the main photo. I painted a piece if burlap to keep it from fraying before I die cut it in a heart shape. Place the burlap between a piece of wax paper to keep paint from transferring to the die and to keep fibers from unpainted pieces from going everywhere.
Since it is WOYWW I snapped a photo of my desk during my creatopia experiment:
I have since cleaned it up and found a permanent spot in my craft room for the machine (it is about the same size as my Cricut expression!) Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!
My apologies to all of my subscribers who had an unedited draft of this post emailed to them.
I love a card that uses a lot of techniques but doesn’t cost a fortune to make.
That is the case with this card. I was going to save it for Earth Day next month but I was afraid I would forget so you get it today instead!
Technique #1: Fabric flowers with homemade ”Gluebers”
What’s a glueber you might ask? Well, it is a really big glue dot and it is used to make fabric and twine flowers. It is also expensive so here is how you make your own gluebers and glue dots: You need a bottle of Aleens Tack It Over & Over glue (you can order it online line from joann or custom crops and most craft stores for about $3 a bottle-it lasts a LONG time!) Squirt out a circle of glue on waxed paper the size you want. For the flower my circle was about 2.5″ wide. Let the glue dry. After the glue is dry cover the sheet of dots with another sheet of waxed paper to save for later. Cut apart the large dots. To make the flower cut a 2″ wide strip of fabric (whatever kind you like and have on hand) and tie a knot close to the end. Press the knot in the center of the glue circle and twist the remaining fabric as you wrap it in a spiral around the knot pressing the fabric in the glue as you go. Stick the fabric tail to the back and snip off any excess. I used about 24″ of fabric for this. It took all of 3 minutes. You can try low temp hot glue as well for this technique, just work on a silicone mat:)
I love this technique and it is so easy, just wrap yarn around 3 fingers and scrunch up some in the middle and press into a gob or hot glue. EASY! then you can add little plastic eggs. FUN!
Technique 4: Raid your back yard!
When I needed a bit of organic goodness for my card I poked around in my back yard for twigs and pinecones. Free & fabulous!
Technique #5 (for those of you with Stampmakers) Stencil & Embosss!
I made a stencil with my TC Stampmaker and stenciled the background. I’m not sure I am in love with the stencil packs because I could cut a better stencil on my die cut machine. The stencil is thicker than it should be I think HOWEVER I tried embossing with the stencil in my big shot die cutter and it worked beautifully. Also I made a woodgrain embossing plate with my stampmaker (see the kraft paper under the nest) and I quite enjoy that.
So, there you have it! Lots of fun techniques you can try! Til next time happy crafting!
Look how pretty they are in a bowl on my desk, Happy 
Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!
