ThePowerOfACard: January 2021

Wednesday, January 27, 2021

Magical Crinkles - Dyed and Embossed Tissue Paper Technique

It's time to have some fun! You might get your fingers a little messy (but you can wear gloves if you prefer), but I think you are going to be thrilled with the unique papers you can create with tissue paper, some ink and embossing powders! Watch the video to see how. I've interspersed examples with my instructions for inspiration.

I tried several methods and believe I found one that minimizes the mess and yields great results. This is what you'll need:

Strips of white tissue paper
Glass baking dish (9"x13" is a fantastic size)
Ink (best from ink refills, but you could also use ink pads or Brusho crystals)
Spray bottle
Full sized adhesive label sheets from an office supply store
Basic White cardstock and Multipurpose Glue
Versamark and Embossing Powder
Heat Tool

Cut your tissue paper into strips - I found that a 5" by about 12" strip worked quite well, but I also had narrower strips and they were good too (a smaller size just limits how you use the piece when you're done). Place one of the sheets under your glass dish to act as a guide for ink placement and to help you see the colors better.

Next, select your colors. You want colors that will blend together nicely. For example, opposites on the color wheel (think blue and orange) will blend to be a brownish mess. Colors next to each other work well (red, orange and yellow or just red and yellow since they will blend to give you an orange mix anyway). Dot the colors onto the dish - you don't need much (certainly not full drops) - scattering where you place them so you can get a good blending after you activate it with water. Spritz with your water bottle until you get the blend you want. You could mix it up a bit with your finger if desired.

Take two sheets of tissue paper and place into the plate - they will absorb all that lovely color. Pick them up one at a time and place on your counter to dry. If your counter might get stained, I suggest covering it with plastic wrap or foil to protect it. I tried using paper towels, but that seemed to absorb too much of my color. You can keep coloring more pieces, adding a little more ink and water as you go, then rinse the baking dish before moving to your next color combination.

The tissue pieces will dry in an hour or two. I didn't have any of them stick to my counter, but I did try to lift them a few times as they dried just to make sure they didn't stick. After everything is dry, gather them up and head back to your crafting space. Don't forget to clean up your counter as there will be ink residue left behind.

The next step is to crinkle up your tissue paper into a ball. Yes, you heard me correctly. Scrunch it all up, then carefully unfold it and slightly smooth it out with your hands. Cut a piece of the label sheet and a piece of your cardstock to be the same size as your tissue paper. Peel off the backing to the label and adhere the crumpled tissue paper, keeping the fine wrinkles. Adhere this label to your cardstock, spreading a thin layer of glue all over the back of the label. You want good coverage of glue because you will be cutting the paper up into small bits and you want it stuck to the cardstock.

Take your Versamark stamp pad and lightly, very lightly, run it over the ridges of the tissue paper. Sprinkle on your favorite color of embossing powder (I used white most often as it really popped against the colors). Shake off the extra powder and heat set with your Heat Tool. You are now ready to cut out labels or background pieces from this beautiful and striking paper. If you cut out shapes (like flowers or leaves), I recommend cutting out a small portion of the paper that is just a little bit bigger than the shape you are cutting to minimize the flattening of your remaining tissue paper. Have fun and please share your results on my Facebook group!

Karen

ThePowerOfACard@gmail.com

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Product List

Pacific Point Classic Stampin' Ink Refill

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$3.75

Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Ink Refill

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Multipurpose Liquid Glue

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Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

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Versamark Pad

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White Stampin' Emboss Powder

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Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder

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Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder

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Heat Tool (Us And Canada)

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Pretty Perennials Bundle

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Paper Trimmer

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Tuesday, January 12, 2021

Pops of Color - Coloring your DSP with Blends

I love black and white Designer Series Paper and the newest pack from Stampin' Up! called True Love DSP is amazing! Of course, the paper is stunning all by itself, but it is also perfect for this technique! I highlight five ways to use your Stampin' Blends to spice up your DSP. Here is the video - I hope you like it, add your comments and share it with your friends!

The first way is to cut out a section of the paper and color it. Using your Paper Snips, cut right along the black outline of one of the flower sections. Normally when I cut my DSP around an image printed, I leave a little white space, but for this technique, cut right at the edge. Color your flowers using Stampin' Blends - I used Poppy Parade, Granny Apple Green and Mango Melody. Then take the brush end of your Basic Black Stampin' Write marker and run it around the cut edge. By blackening the cut edge, it gives it a more finished look. I will include the products I used to make the finished card, but really, I just want to focus on the techniques.

The second method is to color a full panel of the DSP. This card was sent to me from Penny Miller, my best friend and team member. She colored the large flowers with the same few shades of Blends, but because she varied where she put them on the flowers, she achieved a variety of looks for the flowers.

If you don't want to color a full panel, try the spotlight technique. Cut a shape out of your DSP panel and only color the flowers in that section. It won't take as much time as coloring the entire piece and looks quite striking when you pop it back in place with Dimensionals.

The fourth way is to selectively color your paper. In this example, I only colored a few scattered flowers. It's fast and easy and it's fun to coordinate with your card base.

The last method is to color the background instead of the flowers. It is also less coloring (and simpler because you use only one marker color) and it really makes the flowers pop! I like to use my Subtle embossing folder after I color because it makes it look like linen.

Finally, I wanted to show you that you can stamp images onto your DSP, especially the ones with subtle designs or color shifting patterns. In this card, I stamped butterflies onto Artistry Blooms DSP, then colored portions of the wings with Blends.

I hope this has inspired you to try at least one variation of this color popping technique. Let me know in the comments of the video which one (or ones) you tried. Happy coloring!

Karen

ThePowerOfACard@gmail.com

Etsy Shop: The Power of a Card

https://karensliwinski.stampinup.net

Images Copyright Stampin’ Up!®

Join my Facebook Group (The Power of a Cardmaker): https://www.facebook.com/groups/1042676296088278/?ref=share

My current host code is: 6NFDC6R2 Please use this for orders less than $150

and you’ll get a special treat from me. For order over $150, you will

qualify for host rewards from Stampin’ Up! (plus a treat from me!).

Product List