Technique Blog Hop - January - Emboss Resist

Hello all, and welcome to this month's Technique Blog Hop.  This is the first in a year-long series of monthly blog hops focusing on techniques for card makers.  Each month we will feature a new technique . . . a new fold . . . a new product.  We've assembled a team of cardmakers who range from new to advanced, so you will see a great variety of cards and ideas. 

This month we will be focusing on the emboss resist techniques and WOW have we got some cool cards for you today.  I caught a sneak peek of them earlier in the week, and I can't wait to hop myself.

We love feedback, so please be sure to comment on each of the blogs in today's hop.  Each comment on the 12 hops throughout the year will be entered into a prize drawing for a $25 Blitsy.com gift certificate at the end of the year.

Now, on with my projects for the hop.I tried a couple of techniques, and the best advice I can give is not to give up on whatever artistic panels you create.  I'll admit a few hit the bottom of my trash barrel, but sometimes you need marinate on them overnight in order to see the creativity. 

First up for me is a card created using white embossing powder and "fill" images from a two-step stamp.  I white embossed the watercolor cardstock, and then used dye inks  to fill in the color.  I also sponged the blue background. 

I will admit that I struggled with this because the stamped fill was outside of the lines.  But I followed thru and finished the card, regardless.  I also sponged the blue background, and the green and pink colors went a bit out of the lines even more!  Note that I cut the finished piece into random panels and embossed the edges in gold. 

For my second card I wanted to try embossing an entire watercolor panel using a background stamp and then masking and adding color to an inner framed portion.  I'll admit that I struggled with this one as well.  I'm such a linear scrapper!  The embossing powder on this one was clear.   I used distress ink to watercolor the flowers and leaves. 

I do love looking at it close up, as opposed to from a distance.  That's when you can see that the embossing covered the entire panel.  

My third card was my favorite.  Can you say clean lines and linear?  This is right up my alley.  For this one I used a pre-embossed piece of cardstock from Stampin' Up.  I sponged dye ink over the panel and tried to stay darker on the outer edges.  I die cut the star images, and popped it over my white card base.  

 My sentiment spoke of "sparkle" so I added some sparkle in the form of the rhinestones in the stars and some black glitter embossing powder on the edges of the sentiment. 

And my second favorite was created using Kevin Oliver Color Bursts on watercolor paper.  For this one I embossed the dog and paw images first, and then spritzed the entire piece with water.   I then applied two colors of the Color Burst over the panel  Then more spritzing.  Then more color burst.  Maybe more spritzing.  Just play until you get what you want. 

I also sprayed with water that had Perfect Pearls . . . hence that sheen that is showing below.  

 I really love the contrast of shading on this panel.  I love the darker areas of the panel.

Up next is  Sharon at A Piece of Heart

I hope these will inspire some creativity, and I hope you find some time to create!

Here's today's line-up in case you get lost along the way
 Theresa  -  http://scrapsbygracie.blogspot.com/
Kim  - http://katydidcards.com/
Claudia  - http://www.claudiahenderson.blogspot.com/
Denise  - http://www.craftconfectionery.com/
Debbie  - http://pawstoscrap.blogspot.com/
Sharon  - http://piece-ofheart.blogspot.com/
Lisa  - http://lisaslittlerascals.blogspot.com/
Jearise  -http://lorbysworld.blogspot.com/

Supplies Used - Happy Valentines Day

Cardstock:  Solar White (Neenah), Basic Black (Stampin' Up), Watercolor (Close To My Heart)

Stamps:  Beloved Bouquet (Close To My Heart)

Ink:  Cotton Candy, Topiary, Glacier (Close To My Heart) and Versamark

Other:  Gold and White Embossing Powders (Ranger), Sparkling Clear Sequins (Pretty Pink Posh)

Supplies Used - Thanks So Much

Cardstock:  Solar White (Neenah), Basic Black (Stampin' Up), Watercolor (Bee)

Stamps:  Cover-a-Card Roses (Impression Obsession), Mini Messages (Mama Elephant)

Dies:  Mini Tags (Mama Elephant)

Ink:  Worn Lipstick, Festive Berries, Pine Needles (Ranger Distress); Versamark

Ribbon:  Twine (The Stamps of Life)

Other:  Clear and White Embossing Powders (Ranger), Sparkling Clear Sequins (Pretty Pink Posh)

Supplies Used - Sparkle

Cardstock:  Marshmallow (Bazzill) and White Daisy (CTMH)

Pattern Paper:  Irristibly Yours DSP (Stampin' Up)

Stamps:  Shiny Happy Sentiments (Lil' Inker)

Dies:  Stitched Stars (Lil' Inker)

Ink:  Juniper (Close To My Heart), Tuxedo Black (Memento), Versamark

Other:  Bitty Sparkles (Close To My Heart), Black Sparkle Embossing Powder (Ranger)

Supplies Used - Feeling Ruff

Cardstock:  Marshmallow (Bazzill), Chocolate Chip (Stampin' Up), Watercolor Paper (Close To My Heart)

Stamps:  Love My Dog (Close To My Heart)

Ink:  Versamark, Merlot and Sepia Color (Ken Oliver Color Burst), Candied Apple (Ranger Distress Marker)

Ribbon:  Scallop Dot (Stampin' Up)

Other: White Embossing Powder (Ranger), Liquid Glass (Close To My Heart)

Ring in the New Year

Happy Wednesday!

I'm popping in with extra excitement today, as I was asked to guest design for one of my favorite crafty places . . . StampNation!

I know that I've both talked and written about StampNation before.  It's my favorite place for inspiration, and not just because of the creative genius that I see there on a regular basis.  It's also because the people are amazing.  That includes the founder, design team and membership.  It is an amazing community of creativity and camaraderie.  And did I mention there were over 500 video tutorials on StampNation?  

So today I am sharing a sneak peek of the cards, including mine, that were designed for StampNation.  Their newest challenge  - Ring in the New Year - went live this morning for the members. 

Now if you are not a member and would like to check it out, you can click HERE or click on the StampNation image above.

And if you are a member already and want to head to the home page of StampNation, you can click HERE.  You will find the newest challenge under "Newest Threads" on the right (or scroll down to find challenges underneath the tutorials section). 

I'm glad you stopped by, and I hope you find some time to create today! 

Bokeh for Can You Case It

Someone at my favorite crafty place, StampNation, posted a bokeh card today.  I love bokeh, and I could not wait to sit down and stamp and create a bokeh creation.  The color scheme comes from the challenge at Can You Case It, where the suggested colors were purples, blues and neutrals. 

I used distress markers to create my card panel.  Colors used were Broken China, Stormy Sky, Seedless Preserves and Victorian Velvet.  After scribbling color on a watercolor panel, I spritzed with a lot of water and used a heat gun to dry.  It was still splotchy, but I used round stamps (they can be the back of a sentiment stamp that is round) in varying sizes stamped in white pigment ink. 

A super fun technique that gives great results.  I hope you find some time to create, and when you do, I highly recommend you give this technique a try.  

 

Supplies Used - Thanks for Being Wonderful You

Cardstock:  Bazzill* and Bee Watercolor Paper

Stamps:  Hand Lettered Winter Wishes*, minis4circles and award2stamp from The Stamps of Life

Ink:  Simon Says Stamp White Pigment Ink*, Ranger Distress Markers, Simon Says Stamp

Other:  Pearls from Simon Says Stamp

*from January Simon Says Stamp Card Kit

A Merry Card for CASology

Today's card was inspired by the cue card at CASology.

I used supplies that were on hand from a Studio Calico kit.

Admittedly, I was especially excited to try my hand using that decorative masking tape. 

I hope you find some time to create today . . . and perhaps use up some old supplies in your stash!  

Supplies Used - Merriest

Cardstock:  Studio Calico*

Pattern Paper:  Studio Calico*

Stamps:  City Stamp Set (Life.Love.Paper)*

Ink:  Stampin' Up

Ribbon:   Stampin' Up

Other:  Sentiment Masking Tape from Studio Calico* and Enamel Dots from Twine + Ink*

*Items noted were from Studio Calico Park Avenue Card Kit

All Dies and No Ink for Simon Says Stamp

The challenge at Simon Says Stamp this week was Die Crazy!  So I wanted to go with a card that had no stamping at all.  I practically had to lock up my ink!

I used paper and embellishments from my December Simon Says Stamp Card Kit, but steered clear of any stamps so I could focus on the dies.  The dies used were Stitched Rentables, Jingle Snowflakes and Happy Winter and Christmas . . . all from Simon Says Stamp. 

It's definitely a different card for me, but I do like the incorporation of all the dies with my kit supplies.

I hope you find some time to create! 

Supplies Used - Happy Christmas

Cardstock:  Simon Says Stamp* and American Crafts POW Paper

Pattern Paper:  Pink Fresh Studio Christmas Wishes*

Dies:  Stitched Rectangles, Jingle Snowflakes, and Happy Winter and Christmas, all from Simon Says Stamp

Other:  Jillibean Soup Sticky Sequins*

Two Sketches - Two Cards

I focused on non-holiday cards and played along with two sketches.  The first one was a sketch from My Favorite Things.  Here is the sketch . . .

And here is my card . . .

For this one I used pattern papers in my stash.   The stamp set used here is Amazing which is new from My Favorite Things.  I stamped in Versamark and used Ranger White Embossing powder for the "Amazing" and used Close To My Heart inks for the smaller sentiment pieces, which I masked so the words would be separate. 

I used a Pico Embellisher (Wedding Dress) which I splattered on with a paint brush.  I like it, but I'm also on the fence about it.  I also used some "drops" from Queen & Company. 

My second card was for the Pals Paper Arts challenge.  Loved this sketch and was intrigued to use some Simon Says Stamp kit supplies from the November Kit.  I was a little bummed that I was short on Thanksgiving cards this year, so I'm one card ahead for 2016 (just hope I store it well and can find it come November).

Here is the sketch . . .

And here is my card . . .

I let the paper do most of the talking on this one.  For the sentiment, I used gold embossing powder.  Love the effect of the gold on the orange cardstock.  

I hope you find some time to create!

Cheers.

Supplies Used - Amazing

Cardstock:  Bazzill

Pattern Paper:  The Paper Studio

Stamps:  Amazing from My Favorite Things

Ink:  Close To My Heart, Versamark and Ranger Embossing Powder

Other:  irRESISTible Pico Embellisher, Queen and Company Epoxy Dots

Supplies Used - Grateful

Cardstock:  Simon Says Stamp*

Pattern Paper:  Pebbles Designer Papers*

Stamps:  Apple of My Pie from Simon Says Stamp*

Dies:  Stitched Squares from Simon Says Stamp

Ink:  Versamark and Ranger Gold Embossing Powder

Other:  Leaf Embellishment from Pebbles Harvest Collection, Little Things from Lucy's Cards

*from Simon Says Stamp November Card Kit

 

Flakes for Inkspirational Challenge

Inkspirational's Challenge for this week was the word prompt . . .

Here is my card inspired by this challenge . . .

Not sure where the pink hues in the photo are coming from, as the card was blue, white and black.  I created this card using a watercolor panel with some Colorburst powders (fun!).  I used white embossing powder for a resist effect. 

The stamps used were from Snowy Sayings from CASual Fridays for Stamp of Approval.  If you don't know anything about Stamp of Approval - I highly recommend you check it out.  It's super cool stuff in a box.

Cheers! 

Supplies Used - Joy to the World

Cardstock:  Bazzill and Strathmore Watercolor

Stamps:  Snowy Sayings from Casual Fridays for Stamp of Approval

Ink:  Versamark, Ranger Embossing Powder, Versafine, Colorburst

Other:  Rhinestones frcom Eyelet Outlet

The Stockings Were Hung . . .

I created today's card based on the color inspiration from The Paper Players, and used dies and stamps from The Stamps of Life. The stocking pieces were cut with dies from various patterns of paper. 

I  pieced these stocking dies together, and I love the shadows created from popping the individual pieces.  

Feels great to be creating again.  Looking forward to the weekend which will hopefully present some time to create. 

Cheers!  Now go create something fabulous. 

 

Supplies Used - Joy

Cardstock:  Bazzill and The Stamps of Life

Pattern Paper:  Authentique

Stamps:  stockings4Christmas from The Stamps of Life

Dies:  Stockings Dies from The Stamps of Life

Ink:  Stampin' Up

Ribbon:  Stampin' Up

Other:  Sequins from Pretty Pink Posh