How To Make A Stunning Page Quick and Easy With Embossing

Today I have a new tutorial that shows you how to make a stunning page the quick and easy way. This process lets clear Embossing Powder steal the show with a Mixed Media twist. It's all the hard work of a messy fingers project without the drying time.

~ Special Event ~

My weekend in Tacoma with this dear friend was an exceptional experience. We relaxed, saw the sights, and reconnected over plenty of coffee. Blue Fern Studios new collection Spring Parade shares the emotions of that time with its pastel tones and garden images. These tags with the titles Special Event and Small Moments pulled it all together.

The sketch I used for this page has a background heart shape. I wanted to incorporate a Mixed Media element but didn't want to take the time for the layers to dry. I decided to put my Wow Embossing Powder to work and it was CLEARLY a success.

I made this sweet Teddy ATC to illustrate the process I used for the green tone-on-tone heart on my layout.

To begin I cut a heart shape from cardstock and taped it over my purple ATC blank. Over that I placed a stencil with a very open pattern. Finally I dabbed it heavily with clear embossing ink.

 I dusted my ATC with clear Wow Embossing Powder then heat set it.

 I again taped the heart shape over my purple ATC. I dribbled a darker purple mist onto a cotton round then rubbed it across the embossed surface. 

 The mist tinted only the bare paper and wiped off the embossing. The finished product offers a tone-on-tone Mixed Media background. The ATC took mere minutes to produce!

Special Event is my entry for Stuck Sketches June 15th Challenge. Here is the sketch by Laura Whitaker.

Layout Supplies:
Paper:Blue Fern Studio
Flowers:Prima
Flower Centers, Acetate:Glitz Design
Tags, Tickets:Crate Paper
Die Cut Banner:Fancy Pants
Pearls:Close To My Heart
Embossing Folder:Crafter's Companion

Purple Mist:Clear Snap
Stencil:The Crafters Warehouse
Embossing Powder:Wow Embossing

ATC Supplies:
Paper:Close To My Heart

Cardstock:Recollections

Twine:Twinery
Stickers:Echo Park, Bella Blvd
Teddy:ClipartView.com

Stencil:Kite
Embossing Powder:Wow Embossing

Scrap On!

~charity~

Make a wish...

ATC's are little morsels of goodness that can be designed anyway you want.

The only official rule is that they measure 2.5 x3.5 inches.

~ Make A Wish... ~

Just as the title says, they are Artist Trading Cards. 

This set of ATC's is in the process of being traded with 12 other designers.

Can't wait till I get my set of trades. The group is ultra talented

 and very diverse in their decorative choices!

This lovely rainbow paper is a Kreaxions product. 

The fade from dark to light adds to its novelty.

Supplies:

Paper:Kreaxions

Stamps:Close To My Heart, Teresa Collins

Ink:Ranger and Color Box

Embossing Powder:WOW

Scrap On!

~charity~

Hello There

Today's project is a card for Just Imagine.

The circle frame with punched design uses Kreaxions Circle Cutter as well as Punch #916. I can't say enough how perfectly the Circle Cutter measures out the dimensions exactly. Reproducing a project exactly is a snap!

~ Hello There ~

I like to think inspiration is everywhere. For this card I found the following image on Pinterest and knew I wanted to use it as a sketch. Sticks don't make it through the mail to easily so I settled for modeling paste and a similar shape.

Do you find sketches and inspiration in unexpected places?

Supplies:

Paper:Craftsmith

Modeling Paste:Liquitex

Metal Charms:Michaels

Flowers:Previous Kit

Stamp:CTMH

Ink:Colorbox

Embossing Powder:Zing

Feather Die:Lawn Fawn

 

Scrap On!

~charity~

Celebrate

I've been seeing beautiful mixed media cards with twine and other items looped to add depth to a card. I decided to recreate this look with paper.

~ Celebrate ~

The pink shreds of paper were simple to create and look so striking against the black paper. For this card I cut a 5" circle with the Kreaxions Circle Cutter. I reset the cutter to 1/2 inch smaller and repeated the process till I had several circles. I cut the circles in half and adhered them to the card front.

I trimmed the ends individually until I had a staggered look. I misted a flower to match the paper shreds and and attched it over the top with leaves. The gold crowns have a dot of adhesive and a strand of twine that lets them drape from under the flower.

Supplies:

Paper:Glitz, Fancy Pants, Craftsmith

Florals:Prima

Twine:Queen and Co

Stamp, Ink:Close To My Heart

Crown Punch:Kreaxions #611

Circle Cutter:Kreaxions

Scrap On!

~charity~

Friend

Thanks for stopping by my blog! Today is the

Kreaxions DT Reveal. This month our theme is Flowers.
Follow the link ^^^ to see what the other ladies have created!

~ Friend ~

I have been so inspired by all the mixed media tags popping up on Facebook and Instagram. The designers create such gorgeous pieces. I tried my hand at it and put together this mash-up of glitter, flowers, and paper.
SO MUCH FUN!

For more mixed media delight try out one of these pages on Facebook:
Finnabair and Friends - Open Studio
Art Anthology Adventures In Art
The Mixed Media Monthly Challenge

Supplies:

Paper:Craftsmith

Ink:Colorbox, CTMH
Mist:Colorbox
Embossing Powder:WOW

Flowers:Prima

Flourish Dies:Echo Park

Sequins:Spiegel Mom Scraps

Stamps:CTMH, Kaiser Craft

Glitter Paste:Bo Bunny

Trim:Stash

Punch:Kreaxions #302

Scrap On!

~charity~

How to Make a Beautiful Box From a Vintage Book

For a lovely teacher appreciation gift, read through this tutorial on how to make a beautiful box from a vintage book. I created this project for the Robin's Nest DT Hunt. I got a little carried away, but Si's teacher loves it! 

~ Captured Memories ~

The Hot-Air Balloon, Ferris Wheel, and title on the cover of this book is stamped and heat embossed. This highly decorated book opens to reveal a mini-album and hinges with fluttering pennants.

The inside cover is an illustration I fussy-cut from a 12x12 sheet of paper. I added Stickles and Bling, Gems and Tear Drops, Stamping and Embossing Powder until the design was just about opulent enough!
~ Hollow Book ~

 

But before I could take the book from Vintage to Wow I had to hollow it out to hold the mini-album.

 I began by selecting the first section of pages and wrapping parchment paper around them. Bound books can be placed on their end with the covers pulled back so that the sections are visible.

 I taped the parchment paper to the front to hold the pages out of the way.

 On the inside I marked a cutting edge of 1/2 an inch. Next I made a 1:1 glue/water solution. I painted this on the outer edge of the pages of the book. It soaks in quickly with an old book so I painted on a few layers.

 I straightened the parchment paper so it fully protected the unglued portion when the book closed. I placed a few encyclopedias on the top to press it down and left it for a weekend. To add to the vintage feel I used Inka-Gold metallic rub along the edges of the pages. I painted them with glue and let them dry again.

When the book was completely dry I cut along the lines with a utility knife. To keep the sides of the cavity as straight as possible I tried to cut in layers of about 20 pages. I painted the inside edges of my pages and let it dry again.

I released the pages I had wrapped with parchment paper and glued them over the top to cover the mess the glue had made when it was pressed. I cut the center out and my hollow book was finished!
~ Hinges ~
To hold the book open for display I made simple hinges of embroidery floss. The trick is to use enough floss so that the book cover leans slightly past the center. 

First I pierced a hole 1/2 inch in from the corner of the front cover.
 I threaded floss through the hole so that it ran over the top and around the side of the book.

  I tied the floss at the side and stretched it to the opposite edge of the book.
I threaded it through twice and tied it off. 

After doing this to each side I added banners from washi tape. They held the ends of the floss and framed the design.

~ Mini Album ~
The mini-album for the inside of the book was fairly easy to make. I measured and cut the pages to fit inside the hollow. I inked the edges of the papers and stamped the corners.

Instructions to make the Hot-Air Balloon on the front cover can be found here:

Escape

Hollow Book Supplies:

Paper:Glitz Design

Flowers:Prima

Gems:MME, Prima, Recollections, Glitz

Tear Drops:Vintage

Stickles:Ranger

Stamp:Kaiser Craft

Ink:Clearsnap

Embossing Powder:Wow

Floss:Prism

Washi Tape:Love My Tapes

Metallic Rub:Inka Gold

Mini Album Supplies:

Paper:Fancy Pants, Pink Paislee, Kreaxions

Floss:Prism

Brads:Recollections

Ink:CTMH 

Stamps:Bo Bunny, Glitz Design, Inkadinkado

Trim:stash

Scrap On!

~charity~

Escape

I love the look of Hot Air Balloons floating against the blue sky or the bright colors of a sunset. They look like a most elegant form of
~ Escape ~

To make this balloon you will need the following supplies:

3.5 and a 2.5 inch circle.
3.5 x 6 inch card stock

2 colors of Floss, 4 ft long

3.5 and 2.5 length of trim

Assorted mini-brads

Cut the 2.5 inch circle in half, then cut 1/2 inch off the rounded end.

Ink the edges of both circles.

Use dimensional adhesive or craft foam cut to size under the circle.

 Adhere the circles to the card front.

Use the mini-brads to tack the trim to the center of the balloon and the rim of the basket.

Thread the floss between the brads, using one color at a time and skipping every other brad, as shown. To keep the floss from pulling too tight place a sharpie or other cylinder between the card front and the floss as you wrap it.

Tie off the ends and glue them to the under side.

Place card front on a 5x7 card base.

Supplies:

Paper:Fancy Pants, Pink Pasilee, Craftsmith

Brads, Craft Foam:Recollections
Floss:Prism
Trim:Stash

Ink:CTMH

Sentiment:Echo Park

Alpha:Webster's Pages

Circle Cutter:Kreaxions

Scrap On!

~charity~

Hello Fall

Today's project is an Autumn banner.
Our rainy weather dried up just long enough to grab a photo on my wooden fence. So quaint!

~ Hello Fall ~

I like to use journal blocks for quick projects. For this one I just rounded the corners and adhered them to the circles.

More details and product links on the Just Imagine Crafts blog. Link in side bar.

Supplies:Paper:Fancy Pants
Journaling Blocks:October Afternoon

Ink:Close To My Heart

Twine:Dollar Tree

Circle Cutter:Kreaxions

Border Punch #915:Kreaxions

Scrap On!

~charity~