ThePowerOfACard

Tuesday, October 18, 2022

Shimmery White Embossing Paste - Ooh La La!

The Shimmery White Embossing Paste (also available in a matte finish) is one product you may never have noticed in the catalog. For those of you who may want to have a little more fun with your cards and add sparkly texture, let me show you in my video how you can add this to your arsenal of skills!

In addition to the paste itself, you will need a few other supplies to get the best experience: Silicone Craft Sheet, Palette Knives, Decorative Masks and a basin of water to assist with cleanup. It is also important to keep the paste closed tightly to prevent it from drying out. I take out what I need and close it right away and even keep the jar in a plastic bag (not sure if this really helps, but it certainly doesn't hurt!).

Gather your supplies:

Cardstock: Thick Basic White 5-1/2" x 8-1/2"; Basic White 3-1/4" x 6"; Coastal Cabana 2-1/8" x 5-3/4"
Stamp Bundle: Art Gallery
Ink: Fresh Freesia, Highland Heather, Granny Apple Green, Basic Gray
Ribbon: White Glittered Organdy 12"
Other: Shimmery White Embossing Paste, Palette Knives, Artistic Mix Decorative Masks
Adhesive and Tools including the Silicon Craft Sheet

I want to give some tips about using the paste before we start making the card. Start with a small amount of paste because you might be surprised at how far it will spread using the palette knives. Decorative masks (or stencils) with smaller designs work better than large openings. Unless you have colored the paste (which I will show with examples later in the video), put any excess paste back into the container. As soon as you are done applying the paste, place your tools and stencils in the basin of water. This will make cleanup a breeze and avoid having the paste dry on your tools, making it very difficult to remove.

Start with the piece of Coastal Cabana paper. Position it on the Silicon Craft Sheet and lay the Decorative Mask on top. Apply a small amount of paste and spread it thinly over the paper with the Palette Knives. When using stencils, I like the largest/widest of the tools as it allows me to spread a wider amount. If you have any excess paste, you and return it to the container. Lift the mask off the paper and place the tools in the basin. Set the paper off to the side to dry.

On the piece of white paper, stamp the leaves in Granny Apple Green, and the flower in Fresh Freesia (the more solid part of the flower) and Highland Heather (the smaller detail flower part). Lastly, stamp the sentiment in Basic Gray. Using the dies from the bundle, cut out all three pieces on the Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine. Lastly, tie a bow with the Glittered Organdy ribbon.

Once the embossing paste has dried, adhere this panel to your card base of Thick Basic White. I like to leave a small gap of white showing on the left side. I normally make my embossed piece a little larger than the finished size, which will allow me to trim off any edges that may not have been covered completely with the paste. Add the flower pieces and sentiment to the card front with Stampin' Dimensionals. Attach the bow (which coordinates perfectly with the shimmery paste!) to the flower stem with a Mini Glue Dot.

My next application of the paste features Penguin Place. On a panel of white, I stamped the snowy slope in Smoky Slate. Using one of the smaller Palette Knives, I applied paste to the slope to make it look like glittery snow. After that dried, I stamped the penguin about to slide down the hill (complete with little blue hat and orange beak). I then used by Blending Brushes and Balmy Blue to add a little color to the sky and dotted that with snowflakes. I added this with a thin border of Pacific Point and added a little banner with the sentiment. More snowflakes were added on the card base before adding the penguin layer.

This next card shows how you can make glimmer paper in any color - something I found by accident! Cut a piece of Basic White just a little larger than the butterfly die (Brilliant Wings Dies). Apply a thin layer of embossing paste and let dry completely. Apply color with Blending Brushes as desired and cut the butterfly out with the die. The rest of this card is simple! Add a panel of the Gingham Cottage DPS and a sentiment label (this one if from the Geraniums Dies and Celebrate with Tags) and the lovely glimmer butterfly does the rest!

The Artistic Mix Decorative Masks have two labels. I used the curvy one on a piece of Splendid Day DSP and blended on Bermuda Bay to make it darker. Then I added a thin layer of paste and let it dry. A sentiment from the Charming Sentiments Bundle stands out so nicely on the shimmery paste label! I added a few layers to the DSP panel and popped it up on a Bermuda Bay card base.

For my last card, I wanted to show how you can color the paste, another application that is a favorite of mine. Since you can't return any unused paste to the container, I suggest having several other pieces of paper ready to use up any colored paste. I also recommend taking a little more than you expect to use because it would be difficult to get the same exact shade if you needed to mix more. On your Silicon Craft Sheet, add a drop of re-inker to the paste and mix completely.

For this card, I thought I'd use the Split Card Texture Dies to make my own stencil using vellum. I taped the vellum stencil to my card panel. After mixing the paste with a drop of Daffodil Delight, I applied it to my Very Vanilla layer. What I learned is that you have to move quickly as the vellum becomes wet and doesn't keep it's shape very well for long. My result isn't perfect, but it still looks pretty good. I added some Potted Geraniums and a sentiment label with Dimensionals to complete this striking birthday card. Because I had some leftover yellow paste, I used a retired Decorative Mask (oh how I miss this one being in the catalog!) and added it to a piece of cardstock to use for another card.

I hope I have inspired you to try the embossing paste - whether it be to make fun textures using stencils, or by making your own glimmer paper. It's really not hard to do and definitely takes adds some fun and bling to your cards!

Karen

ThePowerOfACard@gmail.com

Etsy Shop: The Power of a Card

https://karensliwinski.stampinup.net

https://ThePowerOfACard.blogspot.com

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 for October is: HTC6XGRJ

Please use this for orders less than $150 and you’ll get a special treat from me.

For orders over $150, you qualify for host rewards from Stampin’ Up! (plus a treat from me!).

Product List

Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock

[159229]

$8.75

Coastal Cabana 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[131297]

$9.25

Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[159276]

$10.25

Art Gallery Bundle

[156227]

$50.25

Fresh Freesia Classic Stampin' Pad

[155611]

$8.00

Highland Heather Classic Stampin' Pad

[147103]

$8.00

Granny Apple Green Stampin' Pad

[147095]

$8.00

Basic Gray Classic Stampin' Pad

[149165]

$8.00

Shimmery White Embossing Paste

[145645]

$9.00

Palette Knives

[142808]

$5.00

Artistic Mix Decorative Masks

[159178]

$10.00

Silicone Craft Sheet

[127853]

$6.50

White 3/8'' (1 Cm) Glittered Organdy Ribbon

[156408]

$8.50

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]

$4.25

Mini Stampin' Dimensionals

[144108]

$4.25

Mini Glue Dots

[103683]

$5.25

Multipurpose Liquid Glue

[110755]

$4.00

Paper Snips

[103579]

$11.00

Paper Trimmer

[152392]

$25.00

Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine

[149653]

$125.00

Tuesday, October 4, 2022

Halloween Cards Without a Halloween Stamp Set!

I'm not a huge fan of Halloween, so I don't always get the Halloween stamp sets each year from Stampin' Up! I do however, have some friends who love Halloween, so I thought I'd show you how to make some cards for your Halloween loving friends with other stamp sets and a little creativity! I do use the Alphabest bundle in many of these cards as it's the easiest way to make those Halloween sentiments. A big thank you goes to my daughter, Kristin, who gave me the idea for this video and was a huge help in seeing the Halloween potential in my stamp sets on the shelf! I hope this video inspires you to look at your stamps, dies and punches a little differently - you never know what's lurking around the corner!

Gather your supplies:

Cardstock: Thick Basic White 5-1/2" x 8-1/2"; Basic White 3-1/2" x 4-3/4"; Gingham Cottage DSP 4" x 5-1/4"; Pumpkin Pie 2-1/2" x 2-1/2"
Stamp Sets/Bundles: Hello Harvest, Biggest Wish, Alphabest
Die: Stitched with Whimsey
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Memento Black
Other: Black and Soft Suede Stampin' Write Markers
Adhesive and Tools including a pencil and eraser

When thinking of Halloween, jack-o-lanterns are a staple. So the pumpkin from Hello Harvest is the perfect start. I stamped the pumpkin in black ink on Pumpkin Pie cardstock and cut it out with the dies. I colored the stem with my Soft Suede marker (you could also use a Stampin' Blend or Watercolor Pencils to make it brown).

Making the "face" - here is where I like to use a pencil. I chose to make the simplest of faces because that's what I would do on a real pumpkin. Draw triangles for the eyes and nose. For the mouth, I drew a smile and added the teeth. Then all I had to do was color in the shapes with my black marker. When done, erase the pencil lines and you have your jack-o-lantern! The great thing about this method is that you can make any kind of face you want - from happy to scary to funny!

On the piece of white, use the second largest Stitched with Whimsey die to add a stitched design. Stamp Hello in Pumpkin Pie and friend in black in the top left corner. Pop up the jack-o-lantern with Stampin' Dimensionals and add this piece to the layer of DSP on the front of your card.

For the inside of the card, you could use the Alphabest stamps to spell out happy halloween, or simply write your greeting like I did. If you own some retired stamp sets with a Halloween message, grab those. For my envelope, I added boo! in the corner.

This next card was one I created for my September Card Class and it features the dies from the Kindest Gnomes. To make the hat of the gnome, take strips of Basic White (3/4"), Pumpkin Pie (7/16") and Daffodil Delight (3/4") and glue them to a piece of copier paper. Then you can cut out the hat with the die and have candy corn hat! How adorable is that?? I used Basic White for the beard and nose (which I then colored with Natural Tones Blends) and Basic Gray for the shoes. I used Gingham Cottage DSP to cut 1-1/2" squares, topped that with a thin strip of Basic White and Black Matte Dots. The boo! was created with the Alphabest bundle. This card was quite a hit at my last card class - I hope you like it too!

My spooky tree card starts out with a piece of Basic White cardstock where I used my Blending Brushes to color a night sky, starting at the bottom with Pumpkin Pie, then Highland Heather and finishing with Night of Navy. I stamped the bare trees from the Beauty of Friendship set in black and added my spooky on the right side. The ground was a strip of Basic Black paper that I cut to have some small slopes and dips. Lastly, I spritzed the sky with my Black marker and matted it on Pumpkin Pie on top of the Gorgeous Grape card base.

My next card has some witches brew! I stamped bottles in Merry Merlot, Evening Evergreen and Crushed Curry from Bottled Happiness. I fussy cut them out and added a Eye of Newt label to one of them. The background is Gray Granite, embossed with the Brick & Mortar 3D folder and table is from the Neutrals 6" x 6" DSP. Beware was stamped with Crushed Curry and Evening Evergreen and the final touch are the bubbles coming from the short bottle - these came from Brewed for You.

I love this last card! I turned a cute little ladybug into a scary spider! The background was stamped with the Spiral Dye in Smoky Slate. I used the Ladybug Builder punch to cut the spider out of Basic Gray and cut off the antenae. Using my pencil, I traced around the spider body for placement, then drew the legs. When I was happy with them, I colored over the lines with my Black Stampin' Blend. I drew a vertical line from the top edge using my Black Stampin' Write marker. The Red Rhinestones Basic Jewels are perfect for the glowing eyes of the spider, which I popped up with Dimensionals. I added a little Metallic Mesh ribbon in the lower right corner and topped that with my sentiment which was stamped in Poppy Parade ink on a small Stylish Shapes circle.

If you have the retired Apple Builder punch, it would make a fabulous spooky apple (purple with black menacing eyes and mouth). A Frankenstein style monster would be easy to create with your snips and just a little creativity. I'm sure there are lots of other things you can use to make Halloween happen for you!

Spookily yours,

Karen

ThePowerOfACard@gmail.com

Etsy Shop: The Power of a Card

https://karensliwinski.stampinup.net

https://ThePowerOfACard.blogspot.com

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 for October is: HTC6XGRJ

Please use this for orders less than $150 and you’ll get a special treat from me.

For orders over $150, you qualify for host rewards from Stampin’ Up! (plus a treat from me!).

Product List

Hello Harvest Bundle (English)

[159644]

$49.50

Biggest Wish Photopolymer Stamp Set (English)

[155052]

$17.00

Alphabest Bundle

[158886]

$32.25

Stitched With Whimsy Dies

[155314]

$29.00

Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock

[159229]

$8.75

Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[159276]

$10.25

Pumpkin Pie 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[105117]

$9.25

Gingham Cottage 12" X 12" (30,5 X 30,5 Cm) Designer Series Paper

[159651]

$30.00

Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Pad

[147086]

$8.00

Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad

[132708]

$6.00

Neutrals Stampin' Write Markers

[147158]

$30.00

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]

$4.25

Multipurpose Liquid Glue

[110755]

$4.00

Paper Trimmer

[152392]

$25.00

Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine

[149653]

$125.00

Wednesday, September 21, 2022

I love when I find a great color palette! When I was looking back at some of my old cards I made several years ago, I found one with a great color combination that was featured in the catalog (always a wonderful source on inspiration!). I really loved the layout and wanted to recreate it with colors from our current catalog. The colors I put together are bright and happy and I knew I had a winning combination.

The other piece to my inspiration was a new set of dies - only available in September - that pair with the Apple Harvest stamp set. I love that this die set is jam packed with pieces - many of them are additional pieces that compliment the stamp set. For the card in my video, I use the flowers and leaves, but stay tuned because I use some of the other dies and stamps too.

Gather your supplies:

Cardstock: Bermuda Bay 5-1/2" x 8-1/2"; Basic White (2) 4" x 5-1/4" and 1-1/2" x 4"; Bermuda Bay, Parakeet Party, Daffodil Delight, Polished Pink and Orchid Oasis 1/2" strip plus scraps
Stamp Sets: Celebrate with Tags and Quiet Meadow
Die: Apple Blossom and Stylish Shapes
Embossing Folder: Timeworn Type 3D
Ink: Bermuda Bay, Parakeet Party, Daffodil Delight, Polished Pink and Orchid Oasis
Other: Iridescent Pearls
Adhesive and Tools

For my white panel, I wanted an embossed design that was subtle so I chose the Timeworn Type. On top of this, I layered my strips of color diagonally with a tiny gap between the colors. To make them a little more interesting, I stamped the dots from the Quiet Meadow stamp set in the same ink as the paper. You can use any texture type stamp for this - just something rather small in scale. Once these are glued in place, trim off the edges and adhere this to your Bermuda Bay card base.

Next stamp your birthday sentiment on the small white piece. Cut this out with the banner die, along with flowers and leaves from the scraps of cardstock. I used one large flower, five small flowers (three for the inside) and six leaves (two large and four small). I added the flowers and sentiment with Dimensionals to my card front, and tucked the leaves under the flowers with glue. Iridescent Pearls add just a touch of bling to the flower centers.

The inside panel has Let's Celebrate You stamped in Orchid Oasis surrounded by three small flowers. I used the small flower from the Apple Harvest stamp set to add a few to the corner of my envelope.

There were so many ideas I had in my head with this fabulous color palette! Staying with the Apple Harvest bundle to begin, I stamped the pair of apples and colored them with Stampin' Blends. I used the color lifter to make the inside of golden delicious apple even lighter. After cutting it out with the die, I mounted it on a vellum circle (again, from my favorite Stylish Shapes dies) and popped this up on paper from the Tea Boutique DSP pack, which I had added a few of the crosshatch designs to in the corners. The sentiment was cut with a die (I used the trick to shorten a die shape to make it fit better) and placed over the white baker's twine.

Next I used the scallop (a sweet addition to the die set!) to cut a scallop off the top on 1-1/2" x 4" rectangles in each of my five colors. Save that little scallop for the next card. Layer the five colors together for your card front. I used the Better Days stamp set and fussy cut the design. The sentiment is matted in black and trimmed with the Black & White Gingham ribbon.

Time to use those tiny scallops! I adhered them to a black panel and added a black and white tea cup from the Cup of Tea bundle next to them. The flowers and greenery use all five colors and like I did on my first card, I used Iridescent Pearls for my flower centers.

The next three cards branch away from the Apple Harvest dies, but stay with the color palette. This one is super easy! I used the Watercolor Shapes stamp set to add circles down the right side (and envelope flap) of a Thick Basic White card base. The sentiment is from Good Feelings and Matte Black Dots are all that is needed to make this happy card.

The next two cards are made with Fluid 100 Watercolor paper. Both use a 3" x 4-1/4" piece which gets matted in black when dry, Water Painters and Ink Refills to color the designs. One uses stripes of color, dried between each addition and the other has all the colors blending into each other to form a colorful backdrop. I used the Summer Shadows dies for the flowers and leaves on the striped background and Stazon ink for the sentiment. Before mounting it to my card base, I spritzed it with a black Stampin' Write marker. The sentiment for the other one was embossed in white using the Charming Sentiments bundle. Before adding the colorful panel to my card base, I spritzed it with Wink of Stella to add just a lovely amount of sparkle. This one is a wedding card for my best friend's daughter who is getting married later this week.

I had a blast playing with this color scheme and the Apple Harvest Bundle. The dies are only available while supplies last during the month of September. There are other great dies available for this special offering too - don't miss out!

Karen

ThePowerOfACard@gmail.com

Etsy Shop: The Power of a Card

https://karensliwinski.stampinup.net

https://ThePowerOfACard.blogspot.com

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 for September is: XN3TGHA6

Please use this for orders less than $150 and you’ll get a special treat from me.

For orders over $150, you qualify for host rewards from Stampin’ Up! (plus a treat from me!).

Product List