A heartfelt, handmade card is a treasure that can be cherished for years to come. It shows the recipient that you took the time and effort to create something special just for them, and that extra …

As you all may know, there are two main kinds of embossing that we do. One is "dry embossing", where you emboss the paper with either a stencil or embossing folder, using a die cut machine or an embossing stylus. The other is heat embossing, where you apply powder to ink on your paper and heat it until it melts. For this technique, we are doing both kinds! RUBBER MAT Before I get into the technique, I want to talk about rubber mats. To emboss a stencil or die using your die cut machine (Big Shot or Cuttlebug) you need a rubber mat. In this technique I used a regular rubber mat (Spellbinders tan mat) and had to shim with 5 pieces of cardstock to get it to make an adequate impression. Lynell Harlow, who pioneered this technique, developed a thicker mat to use, that works much better. Art 'n Soul is going to try to obtain some of these mats from Stampendous. Lynell has said that Stampendous has some in stock, but it's uncertain whether they will continue to carry it. We plan to try to get them in before Lynell's classes in August (which you should not miss; please scroll down for details) Please order one of these mats from Art 'n Soul if you want one, because they may not be available indefinitely. Now for this technique: I should say that I learned this from Lynell Harlow, and it's not only beautiful, but it's fun to do. My way is slightly different from Lynell's, but both work. I chose the Magenta Triangles stencil (TM-221) for this technique. I cut a panel of 80# Neenah Solar White cardstock to 3.75" x 5", using the Lawn Fawn LF-768 Small Stitched Rectangle Stackables die. I taped the panel to the back of the stencil and embossed it in my Big Shot machine. Every machine is different, and you may have to figure out the appropriate sandwich for your machine. For mine, I opened Tab 1 (you should set up your machine the way you would to emboss with an embossing folder) and I put down a metal shim, my rubber mat, 5 pieces of shim cardstock, my stencil with the panel taped to it, and both cutting plates. Once my panel was dry embossed, I added color using a mini blender and Distress Oxide inks in Wilted Violet, Broken China, and Cracked Pistachio. (The panel was still taped to the stencil at this point). If you move quickly with this process, you can remove the stencil and add your embossing powder to your panel, since Oxide inks are a fusion of dye and pigment inks and can be heat embossed. Unfortunately, since I did not move quickly enough, the bottom of my panel had dried. I replaced the stencil and added Versamark ink with a mini blending tool and added clear embossing powder over the panel. Once the panel was heat set, I decided to add another coat of clear embossing, so I placed the stencil again and added more Versamark ink, then more clear embossing powder. Placing the stencil is very easy at this point, because the triangles and squares have become raised up by the double embossing. Once I had the second layer of embossing done, I absolutely loved the look of the shiny and bright triangles and squares! I cut a strip of the panel, matted it in So Silk Glamour Green cardstock, and adhered it to my base card of Neenah Solar White 110# cardstock. I then die cut "Thank You" out of glossy black cardstock, using the Hero Arts Fancy Thank You die DI080. I sprinkled a few sequins at the end, and I still have half a panel to make another card. I hope you try this beautiful technique! Come in and see the card at the shop, it is so cool in real life. If this technique appeals to you, please check out Lynell Harlow's 4 new incredible stencil classes. Magenta Products Used: (If you are local, please look for products at Art 'n Soul. If you are not local and wish to find Magenta products, you can click on the link in the stamp or product name below each image, or you can visit the Magenta online store here). TM221 Triangles Other Products Used: Distress Oxide inks: Wilted Violet, Broken China, Cracked Pistachio Versamark ink JudiKins clear detail embossing powder Lawn Fawn LF768 Small Stitched Rectangle Stackables Hero Arts DI080 Fancy Thank You Glossy black cardstock So Silk Glamour Green cardstock Neenah Solar White 80# & 110# cardstock

Hello and welcome here! This month is a busy month over at Inspired Stamps , the DT are sharing some Tutorials and there is a New Release ...

I am stopping in with a quick card and then a little Q&A! I get lots of emails with different questions, so I thought I would put a few together and answer them! Here is my card for today... Can you see the faint polka dots on the side? I stamped them in Versa Mark and they are kinda hard to see in the picture! And some more of that Copically altered seam binding! This copic matched up perfectly to Melon Berry cardstock! I didn't color it in solid this time! I left some white streaks for a kind of distressed look! I also embossed part of this brown paper bag with an embossing folder and then scored a line with my Scor-Pal right below it! Yes that is a brown paper bag!! It's kraft colored and thin so it embosses beautifully! Kinda fun! So I get quite a few emails asking questions...mostly because I am so bad at supply lists! Sorry about that! I am really trying to do better! So I thought I would come and answer a few questions all in one place! The number one question I get emails about, is how I take my pictures! Do I use a light box? Yes and no. I love natural light the most! If that is available then that is what I use. If not, I have a foam core light box and I use a lamp for light! What kind of camera do you use? I have a Canon Rebel T1i. LOVE. What kind of photo editing do you use? I don't. I do have Photoshop Elements but I use my pics SOOC (Straight out of the camera!)...except for cropping and watermark! What makes the reflection below my pictures? A good ole piece of acetate..which I don't use much anymore! Some random questions... Where do you get your Seam Binding? HERE...a great buy!! And so easy to make this Winter White color into what ever color you want! When you color on this with Copics you only have to color one side! Easy peasy! I even used my Airbrush system on the ribbon today! Makes a great soft look! How do you tie your bows? Practice? I love having a bow with a nice flat knot! I have been asked to do a video several times but I know Dawn McVey has a great video on tying bows! Her bows are always gorgeous! Check out her video HERE! How do you tie the bows where one tail is up and one is down! Basically when you get your bow tied, just fold one tail the opposite way of the other tail. Then put your fingers in each loop and pull tight! (I was going to take a picture of how I hold the bow and forgot too! I will do that soon!) Do you make your own blog headers? Yes I do! In Photoshop! It's pretty easy once you have it figured out and I hate the thought of paying someone else to do it! :) How do you get your impression plates to impress so well? I was told by my sweet friend Andrea, to mist the cardstock with water first! I have also recently found out that when I use Bazzill, I get a much better impression! It's a thinner weight cardstock! I have to say Thank you so much to those of you who take the time to leave such sweet comments! I also get some fabulous emails that make my day each time I get one! If I left any questions out, let me know! Have a great day! Laurie Supplies all PTI unless noted... Stamps: Fresh Alphabet, Polka Dot Basics Paper: True Black, Melon Berry and a brown paper bag :) Ink: Versamark, True Black Misc: Winter White Seam Binding, R22 Copic, Silver Pearls, SU Lattice Embossing Folder, Scor-Pal

Hi everyone. Today I'm playing with acetate again. That is the CAS Mix Up March Challenge, hosted by Susan. After seeing Julia's fun card at the launch of the challenge with the dry embossed acetate, I had to give it a try. I used just a piece of acetate that came off the back of a stamp set, dry embossing it with a script embossing folder. I keep any acetate pieces I get for acetate smooshing ... and now dry embossing. :) This turned out so cool. I love the clear texture. I used a small piece of watercoloured tissue that was in my stash. I ripped it and glued it to the back of my embossed acetate using Tombow Multi-Mono liquid glue, which dries clear. There is a bit of gold on the tissue (hard to see in photo), so I wanted to add a gold die-cut leaf and sentiment to match. I don't have this colour of gold card stock, so I used some matching acrylic paint and painted a piece of card stock. Once dry, die-cut my leaf. I have left over of this card stock to use on other projects. Stamped the sentiment with Delicata Gold ink which doesn't need heat embossing. Popped the acetate panel on top of my card base, adhering clear pop dots under the tissue area only Happy with my CAS design using acetate, embossing folder, watercolour tissue, die-cut and stamping. :) Here's a close-up ... Always great to up-cycle those acetate sheets that you probably all have from stamp sets you've bought. Come check out the challenge blog where you'll see the wonderful inspiration cards from our Designers and special Guest Designer, Cathy. And if you have time, check out the videos that Susan has provided. Lots of different ways to use acetate! :) Also a reminder that we are celebrating our 2nd birthday at CAS Mix Up this month. We hope you'll help us celebrate by playing along!! Stamps: Many Everyday Messages (Hero Arts) Paper: White card base (Neenah 110 lb.); white tissue paper Ink: Real Red, Tangergine Tango, Daffodil Delight (SU!); Delicata Gold (Tsukineko) Accessories & Tools: water mister for watercoloured tissue paper, acetate sheet, Script embossing folder (Sizzix), Little Leaves die-cut (Sizzix); Metallic Gold Acrylic Paint (Lumiere), paint brush, kook tak clear adhesive foam pads Challenges: CAS Mix Up March Challenge - Acetate

I was tidying up the desk this morning and found some bits and pieces and thought I'd better use them up.... a bit of lace, some left over v...

Happy Saturday. So happy to see the weekend here. I was inspired by the challenge at Splitcoast. (inspired by bowl below from the Global Table site) My card is pretty straight forward. I began with a piece of heavy cardstock and inked it up using Distress inks, some Memento markers and water. When the piece was dry, I die cut the ferns and added them to the embossed card front. Stamped the sentiment then used a circle punch to add it to the front of my card with pop dots. I am also adding my card to these challenges: Addicted to CAS- die cuts Little Red Wagon- all purpose card CASology- bubbly Cas(E) this Sketch Hope you enjoy your weekend and that you get a few snippet of time to yourself. Supplies: stamp; Rubbernecker/ die-Memory Box/ Cuttlebug eb folder/ pop dots

A little more of Bree's vacation photos. When they went on vacation, some of the things that they did was what the adults wanted to do. The history part. I had to laugh because Bree never wants to go places where she will learn something about the past. She is more of a live in the present kind of person and doesn't want to look back. She complained about the history part of the vacation but went on and on about the ocean and the "spooky" parts of it. This 2 page lay-out is all about her first trip to the ocean. I kept things simple and clean on the lay-out and used the items I had on hand which included a Martha Steward border punch, various dies, and Cricut Cartridges. Two beach themed printed papers make up the background and accents. Page one is the view from their hotel and various sites on the beach. Page 2 of the lay-out was her and her friend playing in the ocean for the first time. It may be awhile before I get back to the scrap-room to do the last lay-out but I will post it when I get there. I have one challenge to complete and one Christmas Ornament exchange to complete before I scrap again. Not to mention work on Christmas gifts. I can't believe that Christmas is less than 90 days away. Happy Scrappin' ! ! ! Brenda

Enjoying some time paper crafting by breaking out all the simple stamping techniques to make this card! We have: -Heat embossing -Die cutting -Punches -Dry embossing -Paper layers No… you do not...

It's quite remarkable how we're able to get intricate and delicate die-cuts with Thinlits dies. Did

"You are like the Willy Wonka of cardmaking" laughed one of my class participants earlier this year. At the time I was demonstrating how to attach a pearl string embellishment to a card using a little clear fishing wire. I'd not thought of myself like that before, but I've since had a little laugh to myself when these words have come back to me, as I've been in the process of picking up an odd household item to put to use at my craft desk. This project, featuring the lovely tree branches die from the exclusive Thoughtful Branches bundle, was one such time! Clever Stampin' Up! bloggers from around the globe have flooded the Internet with gorgeous paper-crafts featuring this limited time special August product offer. I wanted to try something a little different and loved the idea of doing a little dry embossing with a die from the collection. I grabbed an old rubber mouse pad from my desk and experimented with using it in the Big Shot to cushion the die so it would imprint rather than completely cut through the whisper white card panel. I was delighted with the result! The team at Stampin' Up! thought it was a fun idea too and shared it on Instagram this week. Big love to all of you who liked the post, left a comment and/or found and followed me on Instagram as a result!! From #ArtisanDesignTeam Member Jennifer Frost (@papercraftbyjenniferfrost): "'Stretch' your dies by dry embossing with them! To do this, I’ve layered my Stampin' Up! Big Shot "sandwich" as follows: platform, cutting pad, an old mouse pad, cardstock, thinlit die, and cutting pad." (Note: Stampin’ Up! tested this tip using a mouse pad measuring 6-1/8" x 7-7/8" and approximately 1/8" thick and achieved similar results. Please note that results will vary depending on mouse pad used. We do not recommend using anything thicker than 1/8" as this could possibly damage your products or have an undesirable effect.) #ADTTipsAndTricks #TechniqueTuesday A photo posted by Stampin' Up! (@stampinup) on Aug 23, 2016 at 12:23pm PDT Please find below a link to the key products used to put this project together! Thoughtful Branches Photopolymer Bundle [144328] Whisper White A4 Card Stock [106549] Sahara Sand Classic Stampin' Pad [126976] Mint Macaron Classic Stampin' Pad [138326] Sahara Sand A4 Card Stock [121695] Mint Macaron A4 Cardstock [138344] Layering Circle Framelits Dies [141705] Versamark Pad [102283] White Stampin' Emboss Powder [109132] Very Vanilla 1/2" (1.3 Cm) Lace Trim [141672] Linen Thread [104199]

Hi friends! I had a little crafting time today so I put together a quick card for CASology. Their cue word is Washi. Blew the dust off my jar and came up with this!! I think this Washi came from the Craft Junction after having a card published in Cards magazine a while back. I like the creamy off white and gray color combo. After adding it to my vintage cream panel, I dry embossed a portion of it with a Henna Embossing folder. A fancy font sentiment (Impression Obsession) seemed appropriate here. My in house critic likes this one, it's one of his faves! He said it was "quite elegant!" Hope you like it too. Thanks for stopping by ~Lisa

Today I have a quick and fun tutorial for you. We will be using a Stampin' Up Textured Impressions die with a brayer and ink to ink the background around an embossed image. For this tutorial you will need the following items: cardstock, classic ink, brayer, Big Shot, Big Shot platform and standard cutting pads. Have your cardstock cut and ready to go. I am using Whisper White cardstock cut at 4" x 5 1/4". Use your classic ink pad to ink up your brayer by rolling the brayer across the ink pad several times. Add ink to the debossed or back of the embossing folder. Make sure to cover the folder with ink where your cardstock is going to go. From here on you will want to work pretty fast so your ink is still really wet. Place your cardstock inside your embossing folder, close the folder and run it through the big shot with the two standard cutting pads and Tab 2 on the platform. I ran the folder through twice to be sure I got a really good image with the ink. Remove your cardstock from your embossing folder and oooh and aaah over the wonderful result. To clean your embossing folder simply rinse the folder under running water and set aside to air dry. Thats all there is too it! Now you have a beautiful textured and inked image that can be used to decorate a card. Come back tomorrow to see the card I make with the inked and dry embossed cardstock I made in this tutorial!

As you all may know, there are two main kinds of embossing that we do. One is "dry embossing", where you emboss the paper with either a stencil or embossing folder, using a die cut machine or an embossing stylus. The other is heat embossing, where you apply powder to ink on your paper and heat it until it melts. For this technique, we are doing both kinds! RUBBER MAT Before I get into the technique, I want to talk about rubber mats. To emboss a stencil or die using your die cut machine (Big Shot or Cuttlebug) you need a rubber mat. In this technique I used a regular rubber mat (Spellbinders tan mat) and had to shim with 5 pieces of cardstock to get it to make an adequate impression. Lynell Harlow, who pioneered this technique, developed a thicker mat to use, that works much better. Art 'n Soul is going to try to obtain some of these mats from Stampendous. Lynell has said that Stampendous has some in stock, but it's uncertain whether they will continue to carry it. We plan to try to get them in before Lynell's classes in August (which you should not miss; please scroll down for details) Please order one of these mats from Art 'n Soul if you want one, because they may not be available indefinitely. Now for this technique: I should say that I learned this from Lynell Harlow, and it's not only beautiful, but it's fun to do. My way is slightly different from Lynell's, but both work. I chose the Magenta Triangles stencil (TM-221) for this technique. I cut a panel of 80# Neenah Solar White cardstock to 3.75" x 5", using the Lawn Fawn LF-768 Small Stitched Rectangle Stackables die. I taped the panel to the back of the stencil and embossed it in my Big Shot machine. Every machine is different, and you may have to figure out the appropriate sandwich for your machine. For mine, I opened Tab 1 (you should set up your machine the way you would to emboss with an embossing folder) and I put down a metal shim, my rubber mat, 5 pieces of shim cardstock, my stencil with the panel taped to it, and both cutting plates. Once my panel was dry embossed, I added color using a mini blender and Distress Oxide inks in Wilted Violet, Broken China, and Cracked Pistachio. (The panel was still taped to the stencil at this point). If you move quickly with this process, you can remove the stencil and add your embossing powder to your panel, since Oxide inks are a fusion of dye and pigment inks and can be heat embossed. Unfortunately, since I did not move quickly enough, the bottom of my panel had dried. I replaced the stencil and added Versamark ink with a mini blending tool and added clear embossing powder over the panel. Once the panel was heat set, I decided to add another coat of clear embossing, so I placed the stencil again and added more Versamark ink, then more clear embossing powder. Placing the stencil is very easy at this point, because the triangles and squares have become raised up by the double embossing. Once I had the second layer of embossing done, I absolutely loved the look of the shiny and bright triangles and squares! I cut a strip of the panel, matted it in So Silk Glamour Green cardstock, and adhered it to my base card of Neenah Solar White 110# cardstock. I then die cut "Thank You" out of glossy black cardstock, using the Hero Arts Fancy Thank You die DI080. I sprinkled a few sequins at the end, and I still have half a panel to make another card. I hope you try this beautiful technique! Come in and see the card at the shop, it is so cool in real life. If this technique appeals to you, please check out Lynell Harlow's 4 new incredible stencil classes. Magenta Products Used: (If you are local, please look for products at Art 'n Soul. If you are not local and wish to find Magenta products, you can click on the link in the stamp or product name below each image, or you can visit the Magenta online store here). TM221 Triangles Other Products Used: Distress Oxide inks: Wilted Violet, Broken China, Cracked Pistachio Versamark ink JudiKins clear detail embossing powder Lawn Fawn LF768 Small Stitched Rectangle Stackables Hero Arts DI080 Fancy Thank You Glossy black cardstock So Silk Glamour Green cardstock Neenah Solar White 80# & 110# cardstock

If you have a Cuttle Bug you most likely have tried to emboss with your brass stencils. I did, and didn't have much luck, even when I follo...

Hi everyone and happy Friday to ya! Did you enjoy all the fun DeNami had for National Stamping Month? You sure won't want to miss out on to...

Welcome Stampin' Friends! Now that Christmas has passed I wanted to share with you the two other 365 journals I made for my other two sisters. You can see the first one I made here. This one is for my sister Angie, she loves bright colors and flowers. My favorite...

Morning everybody, You know I am on a holiday at the moment. But I brought along few cardstocks, some mini stamp sets and dies and my cuttlebug. I wanted to make some frames. But as I browsed Moxie Fab Challenge, I found the Cool Tools Week challenges. Loved them all and wanted to participate. I wondered how to make a card with what I have and enter a challenge? Embossing and debossing challenge caught my eye. Since I had dies for the mini stamp sets, I decided to use them and make my own embossing plate :) I diecut strawberries out of a Xbox game package, which we bought yesterday. I then stuck them on a scrap cardstock. This became my embossing plate. I ran my cardstock over it using my cuttlebug and Voila! my cardstock had embossed strawberries on them :) Cool huh! I am pretty happy with the result lol! I am entering this card for Embossing Debossing Challenge as well as Around the House challenge at Moxie Fab Cool Tools Week challenges. Supplies: Cardstock: Stamper's Select White from Papertrey Ink and Bazzill textured white. Stamp Set: Fruit fusion Berry from Papertrey Ink Ink: Melon Mambo from SU. Pure Poppy and Ripe Avacado from Papertrey Ink, Stazon Black Ink Accessories: Cuttlebug, Fruit Fusion Berry die from Papertrey Ink, Xbox game package, scrap cardstock. This is my second post for today. My first post has my reject cards I made for Papercraft submissions. Thanks for visiting :) Have a great day! Pin It

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Hello and welcome here! This month is a busy month over at Inspired Stamps , the DT are sharing some Tutorials and there is a New Release ...

Explore Doreen W13's photos on Flickr!

Happy Friday! I can't believe it's already time for another release. The Verve Release Party kicks off at 9PM Eastern TONIGHT! I hope you'll come, because Mr. Verve and I can't wait to chat with y'all! All of our new sets will be available following the release party. The Divas are peeking a set called Forever in Our Hearts over on the Verve Blog today. Be sure to check it out for a chance to win! I'm actually a day behind on my peeks, since I took yesterday off for the Bella blog hop. So today I'll be sharing a project I made with Just for You and Kindred Spirits. This is one of my favorite projects I've made in a long time and I went a little photo happy, so get your cup o' joe. This was a special gift set I gave my Mom for her birthday last week. I honestly don't think she's ever been as thrilled about something I made her as she was when she saw this one. She just kept picking it up and touching it. That made my heart smile. I was inspired by Jen Tapler's money holder she made with last month's release and since my Mom is hard to buy for, I just figured I'd give her a little mad money all dressed up in a pretty money holder. I just measured a dollar bill, added a little room for margins, then scored twice and folded. I added a little piercing to the Everafter DP (Cosmo Cricket) before glueing to the Kraft money holder base, then adhered 18" lengths of kraft taffeta to the front side with sticky strip, leaving the ends trailing off to allow for tieing. The oval frame stamp is from the Kindred Spirits and I've added the From: Me To: You stamp from Just for You to the center, then cut and matted with Oval Nestabilties. A little Fleur de lis punch on either side and a couple chocolate pearls accented it beautifully. I didn't do a whole lot to the back, just added a little strip of the Everafter paper and tied up the bows. This card was the basis for the VSJUN04 sketch. I really didn't think the layout was going to work at first, but I just loved how the card turned out - so I had to make it into a sketch! The card came together so quickly! I embossed the script Cuttlebug folder on Kraft, then cut a 4 inch square of the Everafter paper and cut on the diagonal for a triangle. I punched this with the EK Success border punch, then layered over the Kraft and tied with chocolate taffeta. Next I punched a single fleur de lis, covered with Diamond stickles and glued below the ribbon for a faux charm. The circle frame and sentiment are from the Just for You set and it reads, "I'm so blessed to have you in my life". It's cut out with Classic Circle Nestabilities and then I added some diamond stickles for a little sparkle on each scallop. What's In It? Stamps: Kindred Spirits , Just for You (Verve) Paper: Kraft, Chocolate Chip (SU!), Everafter DP (Cosmo Cricket) Ink: Chocolate Chip (SU!), Vintage Photo, Tea Dye (Ranger Distress) Accessories: Classic & Scallop Ovals, Classic & Scallop Circles (Nestabilities), fleur de lis punch & border punch (EK Success), Kraft and Chocolate taffeta (SU!), Chocolate pearls (Kaiser Craft), sponge, Diamond Stickles, script embossing folder (Cuttlebug)

This handmade card features a beautiful sailboat out on the open ocean on a bright and sunny day. Sign me up! It was created using a variety of techniques including stamping, dry embossing, paper punching, and die-cutting. This card design is available in four different color combos (please choose from the drop-down menu): (1) red sails, (2) navy blue sails, (3) coral sails, and (4) one red sail/one navy blue sail. Card measures 5.5 x 4.25 inches and comes with a white envelope. Sentiment on the front reads: "Hope it's your BEST. DAY. EVER." Inside is blank for writing your own message. * Each card is made by hand, so please keep in mind that slight variations may occur.

Hello all! Thanks for stopping by today! I suspect that most of you are stopping over from the Paper Crafts Connection blog where I had a post up talking about all of the fun crafting holidays that are coming up in September alone. If not, you can check it out HERE if you like. In my post, I shared a card that had some embossing on it that was created with metal dies. Here's a sneak of what the embossing looks like. And as promised I have a quick tutorial today showing you how to use your dies to emboss only on a paper project. 1) Start by arranging your die templates on your paper. To create the sun's rays above, I layered four nesting die templates on a card stock rectangle and embossed with out cutting the shape out. Secure with a low tac (washi tape works wonderfully). 2) Build sandwich using the embossing feature only on you die cutting machine. On the Spellbinders™ Grand Calibur® die cutting machine, you'll be using the base plate, embossing mat and embossing plate. 3) Run sandwich through machine. And that's it. Very simple and a great way to add texture to your project! Variations: If you are embossing a pattern onto your paper using a single die, then you would run the die template through your machine multiple times to obtain a repeat pattern of the single die template. Please let me know if you have any questions & have a lovely day! Products used: Spellbinders - Grand Calibur Spellbinders Labels Twenty-four *Crate Paper PRETTY PARTY 12 x 12 Paper Collection Kit 680046 Papertrey Ink White Cardstock InLinkz.com

I made this card for the Simon Says Stamp challenge this week which is to use your dies and/or punches. I'm using 2 Simon Says Stamp dies - the hexagon border, and the fresh daisies, along with some black, white, and green galore cardstock. The sentiment was done with an Inkadinkado stamper and was cut with a jewel tag punch, and adhered with a black pearl. I placed the daisies on a SB oval die cut and popped it up on foam tape, then added some black ribbon. Yes, interchanging the little hexagons is time consuming, but I find that very relaxing, which is why I do it. Working out the design I want to do with the different colors is the difficult part. I die cut the daises with all 3 colors and interchanged the cardstock for those as well, just so it would tie in with the colorful border below. I think you should check out the details for this challenge because this is something you won't want to miss! Click here for all the details! Make it a great Thursday and thanks for stopping by! Carol

I am catching up with my homework. Here are two backgrounds I created from Day 5. The other two that I created are still drying so I will show them in a separate post. I love this "shabby chic" or Victorian looking background: I used distress inks and a mini dauber to color the dry embossed background. The embossing folder is an Anna Griffin by Cuttlebug. This next background was created with a Sizzix embossing folder and then blended distress inks: Thanks for coming by!

Hello everyone! Welcome back to another amazing challenge over at CAS-ual Fridays! This week’s theme is embossing and it can be either heat or dry, its totally up to you :-). Our sponsor is E…

Happy Friday Peeps!!! Toady I am sharing a card made using the sketch challenge this week on Splitcoaststampers. I love this color combo altho it is not one I play with alot. I used Concord Crush and Wisteria Wonder along with whisper white and the DSP is from the Sweet Shop paper pack. I just got the Lattice Die this week, so I had to try it out, not sure why I waited so long to get it. I love the look of it. On my card here it looks almost like a trellis that my flowers are growing on. I used the Flower Fusion die to make my flowers. I laid each layer onto the foam piece from my matt pack and used my stylus to make small circles on each petal , applying a bit of pressure the petals curl up a bit. I layered each pieced alternating each petal and then added a large pearl to the center. The sentiment on here is from the Petite Pairs stamp set and is stamped with black stazon onto the white circle. I used my 1-3/8 inch circle and 1-1/2 inch circle punches to make the sentiment piece. Well, that is all from me today, thanks for stopping by and HAPPY STAMPING!!! Vicki

Hello and welcome here! This month is a busy month over at Inspired Stamps , the DT are sharing some Tutorials and there is a New Release ...

Embossing folders are a lot of fun. They're an easy way to add texture and interest to cards and, I suppose, to scrapbook pages, too. They can also be used in ways other than just sticking card stock or paper inside the folder and rolling it through a machine. That's what I mean by Cuttling, or what I should probably refer to now as selective embossing, since Sizzix and QuicKutz are now releasing their versions of the plastic embossing folder. I dunno though. Cuttling sounds so much more fun than selective embossing. And little did I know how quickly the term would spread when I first started using it about a year ago. Anyway, one of the questions that's come up frequently is, "I can't find wood die cuts--can I use something else?" The short answer is, yes! The reason why I use what I use is that it's usually handy, cheap, and easy. So, where I might use craft sticks, someone else might find a scrap piece of acrylic, trim it to size with a band saw, and then use it the same way. It's the same reason why I'll use the backing to Cuttlebug folder packaging as my shims. They're handy. It's repurposing. I think it also gives a good reference point when other folks want to try something I've described. And yep, and I have lots of 'em! So, here's another way to do diagonal embossing. That post periodically gets lots of hits and I know that not everyone has the narrow cutting plates that I used. You can get the same look using chipboard, and I just want to show that there is more than one way to Cuttle a folder. ;-) These are just some pieces of chipboard--I get these with stamps from the USPS when I order online. Also pictured are a sheet of transparency and some repositionable poster tape. It's a bit out of focus, but what I was trying to show was that 3 sheets of chipboard are close to the thickness of a cutting plate. I wanted to err on the thin side, so I think I managed that. My bone folder is showing how I might like to place a diagonal on an A2 size card. My chipboard pieces are intentionally bigger than the card and than an embossing folder. That gives me some room to play with the position of the chipboard on the folder. Ahhh, the things that you learn from experience. :-) Still narrow enough to fit through the Big Shot and through the Cuttlebug though. I think you can see how the extra size gives you a little room to move your folder, tilt it to change the angle of the diagonal, or whatever. I cut my chipboard on a diagonal with a few passes of a craft knife. I then glued the layers together using my ATG. You can just make out the transparency, I think. I glued the top stack of chipboard in place to the transparency. The bottom part I wanted to leave loose since I might want different widths of unembossed diagonal strips on my card front. Here you can see that I've put a piece of the repositionable tape on the chipboard. I made it a little less sticky by pressing it to my jeans a bit before sticking it to my transparency. Also pictured is an A2 size card with the card front inside the Floral Fantasy Cuttlebug folder and the back tucked behind. This is how I positioned the folder over the chipboard pieces. The transparency helped keep things from moving but still let me see what I was doing. The stack was: multipurpose platform with no tabs, chipboard, card inside embossing folder, clear plate. Here is how that turned out. As I've suggested before, you can accentuate the border between the embossed and unembossed areas by scoring. I use my Scor-It. And here's another card with a bigger diagonal strip, just for comparison. So, to get back to my original point, there are lots of ways of getting different looks by selectively embossing. The above photo shows some of the items that I've used to accomplish that. It's by no means an exhaustive list. These are meant to be suggestions. Everyone probably has something a little different that they can use that will work. When choosing something to use, what's easiest is finding something that's of uniform thickness and roughly the same thickness as a cutting plate. It's best if it's firm, without too much give to it so that you can get a nice crisp embossing--you want an even pressure to be applied to the folder by the rollers. Softer stuff like fun foam and rubber gasket can work, and while it's definitely cheap and easy to use, the embossing isn't as crisp as what you get when you use something with very little give to it, like wood, acrylic, or even chipboard. Try it and compare--that's what I did. And as always, when you experiment, start thin and gradually work your way thicker with shims until you get the look you want--you don't want to end up breaking your machine or your plates. As for embossing smaller folders, whether border folders or the smaller size folders made by any of the manufacturers, if you have problems with the edges of the folder being embossed, this is where using something narrower than the border folder or slightly smaller than the small embossing folder can be helpful (my examples are numbers 3, 4, 7 in the last photo)--no pressure on the edges means no lines, eh? After all, no one likes unsightly lines. ;-) Addendum: A couple of folks have asked about the "sandwich" for the Cuttlebug. For embossing folders used with the Cuttlebug, the sandwich from the bottom up is usually A plate, B plate, embossing folder with card or card stock inside, B plate. Depending on what you use to selectively emboss, just plan on substituting that chipboard or wood die or whatever for one of the B plates (I usually swap out the one on the bottom.) and then adding shims until you're satisfied with the look of the embossing.

Okay, I admit it, I'm a dog lover. I just love that unconditional love, the wet noses, all of it. Maybe that is why this card was so fun to make! It really is miraculous how that adorable dog appears right before your eyes just from strategically placed pieces of cut paper! Can you think ... Read more