Friday, January 31, 2020

Memory Box Heart Bouquet 3D Embossing Folder

Hello, friends!  First off, I want you to know that I will be out of the Studio for most of February, but I will be back in full swing by March!  The first part of the month, my husband and I are going on a cruise to the Caribbean. Considering what's coming down the pike for me next, I am planning to enjoy it to the fullest.

Some of you already know that I have Multiple Sclerosis (MS).  I have been on several treatments for this, which are not working.  It is a somewhat sticky situation because I already do what is called a "Biological" for my RA.  In 2014, I was on two different biologicals, plus Methotrexate, which is Chemo in pill form.  The combination nearly killed me when I caught a cold and developed severe complications and almost died from said cold.  This past year has been a very tough one for me physically with a lot of pain involved, and we have to do something as my MS is progressing, so we can't continue to do nothing.

Beginning on January 10th, I'll be starting a round of infusions that will be all day, for 4 days in a row and will give me flu-like symptoms for up to two weeks following the conclusion of this first round of infusions.  So, you'll notice that I won't be posting or around much for the next month.  But after this initial treatment of multiple infusions, it will be one infusion, once every 4 weeks, so I'll get back in the swing of things after that. I hope you'll stick with me while I take some time away to attend to my health situation.


Today's Memory Box project uses Card Stock, Nuvo Dream Drops, and the gorgeous Heart Bouquet 3D Embossing Folder, the Love Airy Script, and one of the dies from the Champagne Heart Dies.  It is simply stunning by itself, but I wanted to create a jazzed-up version for you doing a technique that I developed not too long ago where I "paint" with Nuvo Drops onto the embossed parts of the card stock. I'm just using the tip of the bottle for my paintbrush.

For whatever reason, I have found the consistency of the Nuvo Dream Drops to work the best for this technique.  The Regular Nuvo Drops seem a bit thicker and they don't level out as much as the Dream Drops which are all iridescent in color. I was hoping they would add some new colors to this year's offering, but so far that hasn't happened.  The six colors remain Cloud 9, Fairy Wings, Gold Luxe, Love Potion, Indigo Eclipse, and Dragon Scales.

This technique is very easy, but it does take some time and I would recommend practicing before you do a full-on project.  I love this folder, so I really wanted to use this technique.  Start by misting your cardstock with water only on the front and back to keep your paper from cracking and help get a really crisp design.  This folder works better with a heavier weight card stock.  I used 110# Cougar Super Smooth Digital White cardstock.


Once the cardstock is completely dry, I use a blending brush to go over it in a color from the same family.  This creates the darker shadows.   Once that is done and dry, I start painting with the very tip of the Dream Drops Bottle.  Since the drops are self-leveling, they kind of spread out a bit and show some of the leafy details as well as some of the flowers better, making it easier to paint.  The wreath is so pretty by itself, but this is a great way to focus on just it, and if you want more, you can add a die-cut or two, to the card as well.

Here are some more examples for you of the card done in aqua.






And also a few views of the pink one where I am not putting a sentiment on it as of yet.  I'm not sure who I'll send this to, so I want to hold off on that until I decide.



This card has quite a bit more details that have been painted, so I will want to keep the sentiment simple.  This is a quick post, but as I said, I hope you try out the technique.  I have some other ones I want to try as well, but it will be several weeks before I have time.  I apologize again that I just haven't had very good light to work with for my photos.  

I'll be back and the end of the month with new projects for you.  See you then!





Supplies




Saturday, January 25, 2020

Keeping Christmas - January 2020 Edition


















Hello there!  It’s the 25th of the month and I have my first Christmas Cards of the year on my blog today for our Monthly Keeping Christmas Blog Hop.  Kelly Lunceford started this tradition on her blog many months ago (February 25, 2017) and eventually the former "The Challenge" designers came to be a part of it.  We share Christmas cards and projects with you on the 25th of each month to show you different ideas, techniques or projects to help you get a jump start on your Holiday cards and tags for the coming year.  All of the designers have projects to share with you today.  We have 3 new members this year and I know they are names you’ll recognize!  We are joined by Carol Hintermeier, Nancy Penir and Marybeth Lopez this year! Here is the Blog Roll:


I have a single card for you today.  I normally try to do multiple cards or projects, but I haven't had much time in the last several weeks.  We did a lot of traveling in the weeks before and after Christmas and we are getting ready to go on a short vacation the first of February so I'm scrambling slightly to get my work done before we leave.  I've also made several cards for other things as well.  We lost my Mother-In-Law between Christmas and New Years Day, so I had several "Thank You" cards to make for some of the special people who helped as we were making arrangements to say goodbye.  So I've been creating, just not necessarily on Design Team projects.


I got this beautiful Stitched Poinsettia Die from Pretty Pink Posh just a few weeks before Christmas, but since I was finished with all of my cards, I hadn't had a chance to use it yet.  I set it aside, but still on my desk to use for this month's card.


I used some Pure Poppy Cardstock to die cut the bloom with Ripe Avocado for the leaves. I used some iridescent Gold Shimmer Mist on the cardstock once I die cut it and let that dry.  I wanted something a little less traditional for the card base and I chose to use Aqua Mist Cardstock.  The label I used is an old favorite.  I got it at the Dallas Scrapbook Expo in 2006 at the Spellbinders Booth.  It is a bookplate label that has been unavailable for many years.  I still love it and it both cuts and embosses!  It embosses much better if you mist the cardstock from the backside before you run it through with an embossing mat. Then, leaving the paper in the die, I also inked it up through the openings to add the colored detail using Aqua Mist Ink. This particular Spellbinders die can also be used as a stencil for the details.  I think most of their dies work like that, but I'm not positive.


I just wanted to make something simple for this month.  I will be gone for most of February and will just be getting back in time to work on next month's Keeping Christmas Blog Hop Projects. The sentiment that I used here is from the Papertrey Ink "Happiest of Holidays".  I used Versamark to ink it up and then heat embossed it with Simon Says Stamp Antique Gold Embossing Powder which continues to be my favorite.


Thanks for stopping by today!  Have a great month and get a jump start on your holiday cards!  

Friday, January 24, 2020

Memory Box Valentine's Day Card with Selective Coloring


Hello everyone!  Vicki here with you today sharing a Valentine's Day card that uses typical supplies in a less than typical way.

By now, I am sure you all know of my love for gold foiled cardstock and papers.  I wanted to create a card that shows you one of the reasons that I love white and gold foiled papers in particular.


Last week I was in the city for an appointment and I had time to run into Joann's as I was looking for Sateen Supima Cotton in a certain color and the particular store I was in has a much larger fabric selection than the one near my home.  I didn't find the fabric I was looking for, but I almost always do a quick walkthrough of the Scrapbooking section on my way out.  I was pretty excited when I saw this 6 x 6 Mat Stack from Die Cuts With a View that contained all white and gold foiled cardstock.  It doesn't have a GSM or weight on the paper but it's comparable to Text Weight Papers if you want a comparison.  Anyhow, there were two of these at 60% off and I grabbed them both.  My total came to $4.00 and some change.  

While I do love the gold, I also love the things you can create using White & Gold papers like these.  You can do ink blending on them to get the exact background color you want, or you can use any one of several coloring media to make it your own, which is what I did today.  

I grabbed my drawer containing all of my Red and Red Violet Copic Markers and sat down to start coloring the sheet seen above.  I have a stacking four drawer unit that has all of my markers in them and those two color groups are in the same drawer.  

I knew I wanted to use a favorite Memory Box Die to create this card but I wanted something other than a solid color behind it so I started coloring in the flowers.  I could also have colored in the leaves, but I didn't want that look, so I only colored the flowers.  Let me just say, I am not a person who has "Mad Coloring Skills" as they like to say in this industry.  But I was really only looking to enhance the white paper by adding bits of color.  My approach would have been different if I wanted to use it for the whole background, but for what I wanted, this was great.  


The single 6 by 6 sheet yielded two hearts for behind the La Rue Heart.  In order to get the correct sized heart to go behind, I used the negative piece from the Die Cut Gold La Rue Heart as my template. 


If I would have used the die for my template to trace around, it would have been too large, so I traced the negative opening and then fussy cut them.  Yes, I did actually fussy cut the two hearts!  Most of my followers know that I detest fussy cutting, but sometimes you just have to do it.  I slipped the extra heart into the stamp pocket that has the La Rue Heart in it for future use.  


After I did that, I also had this long diagonal piece left to use.  I used it to put a band across the bottom of the card for my die cut Love Airy Script Die.  I die cut a background panel from red cardstock for the base using the largest Basic Rectangle Dies.  I cut the second largest rectangle from some scrapbooking paper in a similar color to the flowers that I colored with Copics.  It's not quite red, but not quite coral either.  And with the gold foil accents, it was perfect! 


I love how this card turned out and there won't be another like it anywhere.  That is one of the many advantages of using White and Gold Coiled cardstock and making it your own. 

  
This made such a striking card!  I love that I could add a single little gem to the center of the La Rue Heart for that additional touch of bling. 


In case you'd like to try this technique for yourself, I did a few other examples of adding color to White and Gold Foiled Papers for you here. The sky is the limit.  I also love that many times the patterns for this are geometric because most guys like geometric patterns.  You can make stripes in straight or diagonal lines, quilt patterns or any kind of random coloring you want.  Use Ink Blending Brushes, Mini Round Ink Blending Tools, Markers, or even paint if you have the time and desire to do that.  The amount of time you spend is up to you.  I hope you enjoyed this post and if you try this out, be sure to tag us on social media!  

Don't forget this month's challenge is a friendship card and this would be a fun way to make something special.  



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Saturday, January 18, 2020

Memory Box Valentine's 2020 Collection


Hello everyone!  I have several cards for you today featuring the Memory Box Valentine's 2020 Collection.  You know how much I love to use gold on my cards and so of course, I have a few of those.  I also have some cards that don't use gold and where I used the Drifting Hearts Stencil with some Glitz Glitter Gel on colored cardstock to make my own backgrounds.  I know - it's a shocker!  I definitely have a signature style for a lot of things but I also work really hard to bring you fresh ideas and content.


The first three cards I have for you today do feature gilded paper and gold foil die-cuts as well as some heat embossing.  I started with my foiled background paper and die cut it with the Rectangle Basics in the 2nd to the largest size. Once I had that cut, I used the largest Scallop Pinpoint Loving Heart Dies in the largest size with an embossing sandwich to put the impression into the background panel.


Next, I die cut the Verdant Leaf Loving Heart Die from Gold Foiled Cardstock and Sweet Blush Cardstock.  I carefully glued the Gold Outline to the background panel with Ranger Multi Medium Matte.  Then using the leaves from the pink cardstock, I inlaid them into the frame and glued them down.

I got super close to the card in these next two images so that you can see that detail impressed into the paper.  This makes a natural impression so that it's easy to line up your die cut with the impression.

Can you see the little scallop detail that's impressed in the background panel?  Next, using the leftovers from the pink cardstock, I heat embossed the sentiment from the Big and Little Valentines Clear Stamp Set.  I added that to a foil mat cut just a bit larger.  I used a paper trimmer to do this, so nothing fancy.  You could also use a pair of scissors if you have some with a long blade.  I attached the finished card panel to a Rose Gold Shimmer Cardstock top-folding card base.


 This card uses another sheet of those papers from the same kit.  It doesn't say which company the papers are from, so I'm no help there.  This time I wanted to use the Berry Branch Loving Heart.  Again, I impressed the Scallop Pinpoint Loving Heart Die to emboss the detail into the background panel.


For this card, I die cut two of the Berry Branch Loving Hearts from plain gold cardstock and then added a layer of the gold foiled cardstock for the top layer.


It's very cloudy on the day I am taking pictures so I have several for you as I feel it was hard to get an accurate color representation.  The card base for this card is Ink to Paper's Rustic White.  There are very faint words in the background lin columns like you would see in a dictionary and then the more prominent gold foiled leaf and branch and images.


I used lots of gems and pearls to add that special touch to this card.  The Pearls are from Little Things from Lucy's cards in Glossy Eggshell.  The gems are some I've had around for ages and I have no idea if they are available anymore.  I'm pretty sure these were from Close To My Heart.



I heat embossed the"Valentine's Day" sentiment from the Big and Little Valentines and die cut the Love Airy Script word from Gold Foil Cardstock.

Next up, I have this beautiful Gilded Tree Paper.  These papers all came from a kit I got from Simon Says Stamp over a year ago.  For this one, I did not make the Scallop Pinpoint Heart impression as I thought you wouldn't really see it with all of the tree branches or the die-cut Leafy Heart. I know it is hard to see on the others as well.


I used one of the scraps to heat emboss my sentiment and matted that in gold foiled cardstock as well.  All of these cards were very simple to make because I used golded papers and added gold die cuts.  It's also fun to add heat embossed sentiments to the printed papers as long as the pattern is small enough to use.


I thought this would be a nice, not too girly card to send to my father-in-law for Valentine's day so he'll know we're thinking about him, but it's not too lovey-dovey for him.

Next up, I have a couple of cards featuring the Drifting Hearts Stencil.  For my first card, I used Scarlet Jewel Cardstock with the stencil and a palette knife to apply some Gina K Designs Glitz Glitter Gel in White.  I carefully removed the stencil once I had the glitter gel applied and set that aside to dry. You want to clean your stencil off at this point before the paste dries.


Once I had it cleaned and dried it off, I repeated the process on a piece of Sweet Blush Cardstock using Bubblegum Pink Glitz Glitter Gel.  It seems like it only took about 15 minutes for these to dry and I did some die cutting while I was waiting, so I don't know for sure how long it took.


I actually had some Magenta Foiled Cardstock and Glitter Paper.  I even embossed the Sentiment using Wow Metallic Platinum Sparkle embossing powder and added a triple-stacked layer of the Magenta Foil Hugs Loving Heart as one did not seem sufficient.  I have to say, this is my least favorite of the group.  It looks like a sugary pink confection that I'll send to my grandaughters for Valentine's Day.  They will love it!  It's cute, but I prefer a more elegant and sophisticated color palette for sure.




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