Leaves and More Leaves on Many Cards

Leaves are beautiful whether green as they are now and brilliant reds, oranges and yellow as they are so briefly in the fall. I just had a play with some new press plates, embossing folders and dies and am sharing the finished cards here. I am loving my Spellbinders press plates because they can be pressed with ink in the Betterpress System or foiled in the Glimmer System so there are many ways to use the same products. I just got the Spellbinders Autumn Leaves Press Plates with matching dies and made these cards with it. 

I had a play with Simon Hurley's glitter Astro Pastes and tried it on an embossed mirror card and then added some sponged embossed leaves cut and embossed with a set from Stampin' up. All of the rest of these leaves cards were made with that SU hybrid embossing folder that also cuts:

More Inky Embossed Beauties from my Newest Video

I love this card I shared in my newest video here featuring the black out technique and a 3D embossing folder and die set from Memory Box called Anemone Bunches. If you haven't tried the black out technique yet, it is all over internet land and is easy to do. Simply add bright inks to the images on the  DEBOSSED side, then swipe with black ink to fill the flat areas and add a bit of highlighting to the images. I finished this card by spattering on white paint. I also created the following card with that technique and embossed white and colored lilacs made with a Simon Says Stamp embossing folder.

Here are a couple more cards I share in the new video where I simply added ink directly to the embossed backgrounds:

The card on the left features an Eyelet embossing folder from Stampin up and a fun sentiment die from Picket Fence Studios. On the card on the right, I swiped gold ink on a background created with a new Penny Black script embossing folder called Noted, and then added a stamped and die cut flower from 49 and Market and Sizzix.

Inking Images Created with Embossing Folders

I love creating backgrounds with embossing folders but find them a bit boring if they are all one color. In my new video here, I share many cards and many ways to add ink to embossed images taking them from average to awesome.

This is the card I show step by step how to create with a Simon Says Stamp lilacs embossing folder. I was inspired by a card and video by Caly Person to add light purple, dark purple and blue inks to the embossed lilacs in the foreground. 

The background started out as embossed black lilacs but I swiped on Lisa Horton's Interference Cloud 9 Peacock Tails and then added a little copper highlights with Stardust Metallic pigments from Stamperia. I also used those two products on this card which was embossed with a script embossing folder from Penny Black called Noted. 

Here is another card I share in the new video showing the two colors you get by swiping Lisa Horton's Peacock Tails Interference ink over both white and black embossing:

The embossing folder is a new one from Stampin Up and the layered sentiment is from Simon Says Stamp.

To see many more inky embossed cards and how I made the lilacs card, watch the new video here.

I hope you have a great inky week to come!

Five Different Ways to Use The New Divinity Designs Lantern Dies

I knew the new Shining Light Lantern die set along with its Add-ons Scenery dies from Divinity Designs just had to come home to me the minute I saw them! As soon as I received it, I started playing and in no time I had four cards designed and a great idea for another, and you can see all five of them in my newest video here.

To see how I made the fifth card and to really see the other cards, you should watch the new video, but here are some pictures of that one:

I put the Divinity Designs Shining Light Lantern on the Crealies new Triple Fun Folds Card with Octagons die set for a fun z-fold look. I also showed how to make the lantern embossed with that gorgeous brass shine too by adding Ranger/Distress Mined Foundry Wax after embossing it with a Stampin' up embossing folder. The "thinking of you" die is from Karen Burniston and the birds die is from Sizzix. Here is another of my favorites of the cards I made with this great die set:

One of my favorite products to design with are Clear Views transparencies from The Mark-It Place and available at Let's Create here. I put it in a lantern embossed with a new Stampin' up embossing folder and attached it over a Pinpoint Burst background created with a die from Memory Box.

This card was so easy to create with the Shining Light Lantern and Lantern Add-ons from Divinity Designs as well as their Landscape scenery designer paper. I simply added a sentiment die from Crealies and a bird die from Sizzix. 

I had great fun creating five different cards with these great die sets and show them all in the new video here. I hope my cards encourage you to give some of these ideas and products a try!

Tea Bag Folding Made So Easy With Dies and Stamps

When I bought the Tea Bag Folding dies from Creative Expressions and Jamie Rodgers, I also bought a matching stamp set that stamps a pattern in any paper that can be used for the tea bag folding, backgrounds and sentiments on our cards as I did on this card from my newest video. 

I am loving the focal point of all of these cards which are dimensional tea bag rosettes or medallions! The background on this card is a Dotted Sun stitched background die from Crealies and the sentiment die is from Sue Wilson. 

Above is a wedding card with a pretty peach tea bag folded rosette on a stenciled background (A Colorful Life Designs) with a layered sentiment die from Tonic Studios. And here is one more card similar to the one I made step by step in the new video but with different two sided paper from Stampin up:

I love how all these cards turned out and hope my new video and these cards encourage you to give this technique and products a try!

I am entering the last card in the Flowers challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday.

See Through Fabulous Foiled Acetate Cards

Acetate see through cards can be lovely but in my newest video I am showing how fabulous foiled acetate can be on your card and six different ideas on how to use it. I recently discovered Butterfly Blush Luxury Foiled Acetate from Paper Wishes and after creating several cards I realized it is pink foil on one side and gold on the other, so the design and color options are unlimited! This is the spanner card I make in the video from start to finish:

It is much easier to see in the new video, but each card features the high quality acetate sheets with gold or pink foil patterns. On this card I also added 49 & Market floral and butterfly rub-ons and pretty patterned paper strips from Stampin' up. The front spanner part opens to see these two layers:

"Hello" was cut with a Karen Burnston die and the amazing sentiment on the inside is from Sue Wilson and Creative Expressions. The wonky stitched square die is from Kat Scrappiness. I promised to show a picture of my template for this 5 x 7 spanner card, but of course it is much easier to see how to make this card by watching the video here.

In the new video I share six different ways to use the Butterfly Blush Luxury Foiled Acetate on our cards and the easiest way to get the acetate to lay totally flat and attach to the front of the card is to add a scored flap of cardstock along the top like I did on this card:

I also used rub-ons from 49 & Market on the acetate on this card and added a scripty "hello" from Tonic Studios along the top. Here is another view of this card style:

In the video I show many more card ideas with foiled acetate so click this link and watch the new video here. I hope my cards inspire you to give some of the ideas and products a try and then you will send some of your handmade joy out into our world! 

Debossed Inking Technique Beauty and Video

The minute I watched Erum Tasneed's tutorial on what she called Adding Inking Effects to Embossed Panels I knew I would have to take some time to play with this awesome technique! It is so easy to learn how to make these gorgeous debossed backgrounds as I show in my new video here. 

Isn't this pretty? The embossing folder is from Stampin' Up and I used Wilted Violet, Mermaid Lagoon and Black Soot Distress Oxide inks, then added some Glitter Silver Embossing Powder from Tonic Studios. 

One of my favorite of the cards I made with this technique features the new Acorn 3D Embossing Folder from Tim Holtz and Sizzix. The sentiment die is from Sue Wilson and Creative Expressions. In the new video I show how to make a panel just like this one with Candied Apple and Spiced Marmalade Distress Oxide inks and Ground Expresso Distress Ink, but decided to teach how to make a fall gift card wallet with the pretty fall colors. I learned how to make the wallet from Sam of Mixed Up Crafts here.

The wallet opens up to show places for money and/or gift card gifts or secret notes:

I share step by step how to make this gift card wallet and how to use the debossed side of an inked piece of cardstock to make these beautiful colorful cards and card pieces, so be sure to watch the new video here.

My Last 10 3D Embossed 5 Minute Cards From My Newest Video

Got 5 minutes, a 3D embossing folder like this one from Tim Holtz and Sizzix, some inks and sentiment dies? In no time you can have three (or 27!) pretty cards for your stash as I show in my newest video here. 

These three cards were all made with the Tim Holtz Sizzix Doily 3D embossing folder and the letterpress technique where distress ink was applied directly to the flatter side of the embossing folder before the cardstock was inserted and embossed. 

These two cards were made in minutes with a Stampin up 3D embossing folder, brushed on ink and sentiment dies. These last two cards feature Lisa Horton's Botanical Ferns 3D embossing folder with more ink and sentiment dies: 

Whew! My card stash is full with 5 minute cards I will be proud to send out or hand out all made with 3D embossing folders PLUS. I hope you will check out all the cards and techniques here and give some of the ideas and products a try!