glittered embossing

Every once in a while I like to add some glitz to my cards. I tend not to use glitter all that often because it can be so messy. That's why I tend to use Stickles or hot fix crystals instead. But glitter can add such a splash of color!

I used Ritz microfine glitter on the following card....

I'd applied three 1/4" strips of double-sided tape and then embossed it using a Cuttlebug border folder. I then exposed one strip and glittered it. I removed the next liner and added glitter of a different color. You can guess what I did next--yes, I stripped off the last bit and added the final color of glitter, burnishing after each addition. I then stamped my images and sentiment which are all by Hero Arts and were stamped using Memento dye inks. The score lines were made using the Scor-it.

This is a close up of the card. Here you can appreciate the embossed diamonds of the glittered border. Glitter and embossing can be a striking combo. :-)

accenting with the Scor-It

If you've arrived via the Scor-it newsletter where I'm featured "In the Spotlight" this month, welcome! The following post is essentially what was linked in the newsletter. I decided to post it here as well since the photos here can be clicked on and enlarged and the effects of the scoring can be better appreciated, I think.

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Originally I purchased the Scor-it because of the great scores it would make for my card folds. I use it for a lot more than that these days. I like to use scores as accents on my cards, and I really enjoy using the Scor-it in combination with some of my other crafting tools.

One of my more recent crafting acquisitions has been the Slice by Making Memories. This small electronic die cutter is fun for card making and pairs up nicely with the Scor-it and the sorts of things that I like to do with it.

Pictured above is a tag that I cut with my Slice and scored with my Scor-it.

This is simply a piece of card stock that I scored with the idea of using it later as an accent on a card. The Scor-it ruler made it really easy to score this quickly.

Here is the card that I made with the tag. I'd applied glue to the raised score lines with my Essential Glue Pad and then dusted them with Pearl Ex. The sentiment and die cuts were also made using the Slice. The additional scoring on the green layer was made using the Scor-it.

On this card I used the scored card stock to add some visual interest behind the flowers and the sentiment. Again the die cuts and sentiment were made using the Slice. The stamped image is by Studio G. The embellishments are butterfly shaped Robin's Nest Dew Drops.

Here I combined an accordion fold that I made using the Scor-it with a sentiment that I'd made by cutting out the individual letters with the Slice. I thought it was a fun 3-D look. The flower embellishments are by Prima.

Now for a quickie tutorial. Sometimes I like to make pretty edging even more interesting to look at and to feel.

The above border was made using the Garden Trellis deep edge punch by Martha Stewart. It's gorgeous, but I wanted more! :-)

I decided to try adding a little texture to it by running my scoring tool along the junctions of the trellis.

Here's how it turned out. I liked the effect! Gave it a little more pop.

Here's how it looked when I turned the whole thing into a card. The sentiment is by Hero Arts. The decorative paper is by Autumn Leaves. The background floral stamps and the sentiment were stamped using Memento inks. The flower embellishments are Primas with copper half-pearl centers added.

This is a closer look at that decorative edge. I thought the scoring was a fun addition. :-)

I hope that this post serves as a reminder that there are lots of great crafting tools out there--they can look even better when used to complement each other. Score lines made using the Scor-it can look particularly good when used to embellish die cuts made using manual and electric die cutters. I hope I've shown that scores can add some pop to punched edges, too. It's fun to think about the possibilities. :-)

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Thanks to Tim Hammonds for asking me to be featured in his newsletter. I was happy to oblige because I do love to use the Scor-it board and ruler in my crafting. And no, I'm not being compensated for saying that--I'm just a happy customer/crafter. :-) If you aren't a Scor-it newsletter subscriber, it's easy to become one. Just click over to the Scor-it, or rather, the Scor-it-All site, as it's now named. The sign up form is on their homepage. There are lots of great ideas in the newsletters and on the site. And just an FYI, I just published another post that I'd held until the newsletter came out. It features another card made using the Scor-it in combination with a border punch, if you're interested in seeing another example. :-) I also recently added a page to this blog that contains links to the cards/tutorials/info about the Scor-it and Scor-it ruler here on IndigoInklings. The link can be found at the top of my blog page, just underneath the header image.

score lines and border dies, a fun pair

One thing that I really like about crafting tools is the way that they can be used together to effect some fun looks. *ahem* Not to mention that this also helps justify buying more tools. :-)

I've been having fun recently by finding different ways to incorporate scoring into my card-making. My latest forays have involved my Scor-it and border punches.

Here's an example of what I mean....

For this card, which is the second half of the pair that I mentioned the other day, I used the Martha Stewart Iron Gate border punch on the red card stock layer. I then made the score lines using my Scor-it to add some visual interest. The stamped images are all by Hero Arts and stamped on decorative card stock using Memento inks. I added some glitz to the fleur-de-lis and the peacock with my clear Copic Atyou glitter pen and then added the tiny hot fix bling crystals to finish it off.

smiling

Ugh. I think all of the gray days have been getting to me. Not much enthusiasm for crafting lately. The sun was out today though, and that put a bounce in my step. Got going early. Did a morning work out. Made a card! It was simple and quick, but maybe this will get me going.

The stamped sentiment and images are by Hero Arts and stamped using Memento ink. The embossing was made using the Japanese Scales folder by ProvoCraft. The "friends" punch is by EK Success. By the way, this punch was not with the other punches if you go looking for it. I found it at Michael's in the American Girl section near the kids' stuff. I added color to the owls with Spica glitter pens.

Happy New Year!

Belated holiday greetings to those of you who are still checking in here. :-) It's been a busy holiday season, but a fun one. I wanted to share one of the versions of my holiday cards for 2009. I made these in various colors, keeping the same general theme.


This one happens to be the light green. I used pre-folded, textured cards by DCWV, embossed the trees across the bottom, adding some sparkle to them with Copic Spica glitter pens. The sentiment is by Hero Arts. The die cuts were made using Martha Stewart punches.

Happy New Year, everyone!

punching around the page

I have a quick post with a couple of cards that I made using two of Martha Stewart's Punch Around the Page corner and edge punches. They were called continuous edge punches before. Different name now, but the same idea, and this time there were even instructions included! LOL! Progress!


This first card was made using the Scallop 3-Dot punches. Same deal as before. You still need to cut your card stock to specific sizes for the corner design to match up with the edge. The two white squares that I started with were 5 x 5 inches and 3.25 x 3.25 inches. The edges need to be cut in increments of 1.75" to work, so 6.75 inches and 8.5 inches, and so on, would work as well. That background stamp was by Hero Arts and the sunflower is by Inkadinkado and colored using Copic Spica glitter markers.


For this card I used the Fall Leaves punches on a 3.25 x 5 inch piece of orange card stock. The stamped images and sentiment are by Inkadinkado and stamped using Memento inks. The embossed flourish was made using a Cuttlebug border embossing folder from the Organic Flourishes set.

That's it for now. We've been playing the guess if this is a cold vs the flu for the past week and a half. Been a bit of a challenge, but I think everyone is on the right track again and back in school so I had a bit of time to craft while also trying to catch up on errands. Fun stuff! :-)

one pass, two cards embellished

These are a couple of cards that were fairly quick and easy to make. I used the Cuttlebug Damask Frame A2 die to cut some patterned Die Cuts With a View card stock. I think this was from the Taj Mahal collection.


I adhered some of the die cuts to the front of this card, backing the opening of the damask design with white card stock that I'd embossed using the A2 embossing folder that made up the other half of the Damask Frame combo. The sentiment is by Hero Arts.


Here you can see that I embossed the entire card front using the A2 embossing folder, or at least as much of the card front that I could fit into the folder. I scored some lines near the top fold using my Scor-It. I didn't like the blank space that had been left up there. This time I used the 'negative' of that die cut over some white card stock. The images are by Technique Tuesday and stamped using Memento dye inks.

I wasn't sure if I'd use the die part of this combo very often, but now that I've given it a try, I'm starting to see more possibilities, not to mention that I was able to get a fair amount of mileage from a single pass through the die cut machine.

a sunflower bouquet - DCM challenge

It's been ages since I've made a card for a challenge. This week's daring cardmakers theme of sunflowers got me out of my chair and down the stairs to create a card though. Here are the details:

So, this week it's Rein's turn to set the dare and the theme is simple and straightforward;

SUNFLOWERS

We love their happy, sunny appearance, somehow seeing them never fails to cheer, does it? So we'd like to see lots and lots of glorious, cheerful sunflowers on your cards. Poor Rein has had a nasty fall and is very sore and bruised, so hopefully a great big bouquet of sunflowers will cheer her up and bring a smile back to her face.

Here's my card....


The sunflower die cut was made using sunflower dies by Spellbinders. The background layer was edged using the Fiskars lace and lattice corner edger punch and was stamped with sunflower and sun images by Hero Arts. The sentiment is also by Hero Arts. Originally I was going to trim the sunflower and keep the card A2 size. Once I tacked it on the card front though, I decided that I liked the way it looked sticking out beyond the edges and decided to leave it in all its popping-out-of-the-card glory.

Loved the theme, Rein, and I hope that you feel better. :-)

scored die cuts

Two or three weeks ago, I had this idea of using the Scor-It board and ruler in a different way. I wanted to decoratively score die cuts instead of card layers or card fronts--not that there's anything at all wrong with doing either of those things. I just wanted a change. I tried it. I liked it. I wanted to share it, but I also enjoy posting cards as examples. Well, that's what caused the delay. Took me a while to get back to my crafting because of the beginning of school and all of the activities that go along with that, and also because omigosh, I have a high schooler now! LOL! Time really does fly!

Things are settling down now, so here are a couple of cards that I made earlier using those die cuts....


I used Spellbinders scalloped circle Nestabilities dies for this card and scored it using my Scor-It and Scor-It ruler. The background stamping was done using an image by A Muse Art Stamps and Memento dye inks. The sentiment is by Hampton Arts and stamped with Versafine Black Onyx ink.


For this card I used another Spellbinders Nestabilities die, this time from the scalloped hearts set. The stamped image and sentiment are by Hero Arts. Again the scoring was done using my Scor-It board and Scor-It ruler.

I think that venturing into the realm of scored die cuts ended up being a not-so-bad idea, even if it did take me quite a while to get around to showcasing it, and it's an idea that I think I'll be using again. :-)

three more cards using Thanks edge punch

I made an informal challenge to myself this weekend to come up with more ways to use the Martha Stewart Thanks edge punch. I came up with a few more ideas.

Here are three more cards....


For this card I punched along the edges of a strip of card stock and embossed Cuttlebug images between. I mounted that strip on a card front that I embossed using the C'bug Stylized Flowers A2 embossing folder. I accented the card with a bit of bling and some colorful hemp fibers.


This card was made from a base of gray Bazzill card stock that I embossed using the C'bug Thanks embossing folder. This time I used the Thanks edge punch by punching two different colors of card stock and then offsetting them just a bit to get sort of a drop shadow effect. I then embossed those two layers using one of the Sizzix thank you textured impressions embossing folders.


The photo above just shows what I meant by the drop shadow effect.


And finally, this is a flip card that I made using the Thanks edge punch and Taj Mahal decorative card stock by DCWV. The lantern image is by Inkadinkado and stamped using Brilliance Graphite Black ink.


That's the view from the front as the card is opened.


This is a view of the back as the center panel begins to flip around.


And this is a closer view of the back panel. The sentiment says, "You brighten my day" and is by Hero Arts.

So there you have three more cards that illustrate how this new Thanks edge punch by Martha Stewart can be used. :-) Have I enabled you enough yet? ;-)

amazing friend

I seem to recall saying that some of these new folders would probably be great in combination with some of the previously released ones. Here's one of my first attempts at combining designs--this would be essentially what I've described here before as double 'bossing....


This is the Stars design debossed then inked with Lulu Lavender Memento dye ink. I then embossed with the Bird Call embossing folder and inked the design with Memento Grape Jelly ink. Both folders are by ProvoCraft (Cuttlebug). The die cut label was made using one of the Spellbinders labels dies. The sentiment is by Hero Arts and also stamped using Sweet Plum Memento ink. I like the way this card turned out.

still more cards made with new Cuttlebug folders

I found some time to play with a few more of these new Cuttlebug embossing folders.

This card was made using the Harlequin folder. This is one of the folders that is only sold as part of the complete bundle of new folders, at least for right now. The stamped images and sentiment are by Hero Arts. The scores were made using the Scor-It. The doodling was mine.

I used the Diamond Plate folder on some polished stone for this card. The image of the boy and the 'dream' sentiment are from Cornish Heritage Farms. Again, the scoring was made using my Scor-It.

For this last card I essentially used the double Cuttle technique that I've described here before. I first embossed with the Herringbone folder then with the Flourished Frame folder. I stamped the images by Basic Grey using Memento dye inks, cut them out, and then popped them off the front of the card. The embellishments are Kaisercraft colored pearls.

I think that brings my total to 10 of the 11 new folders used on cards in the last three or so days. Just like with the last release, it's fun to have new designs to play with. A few things to note though:

• I already mentioned that Moroccan Screen debosses if placed in the folder as you normally would. It's easy enough to flip over, but if you're planning to emboss decorated card stock or a card front, it's something to keep in mind.
• These folders still do not emboss an A2 size card front from edge to edge. They still leave a bit of an unembossed border around the edges. That has not changed.
• For a number of these new folders, ProvoCraft has gone back to doing something that was kind of bothersome in the past. They start the embossed design very close to the folded edge of the embossing folder. That means that when you place a card front or piece of card stock inside the folder, you're limited as to where you can place it. Sometimes I wonder if the folks who come up with the designs ever actually use the folders. Yes, the embossing is very crisp and clean and the designs are lovely, but if I put a piece of A2 size card stock in the folder and roll it through my machine, the design will start very near the top edge and leave a large unembossed border at the bottom. That's a shortsighted way of making these. To be most useful, the design should have been cheated toward the open edge of the folder, if anything. That would leave a lot more options as far as placing the design on a card front or piece of card stock. I was disappointed to see that.

All in all though, these Cuttlebug embossing folders are still a lot of fun. I've used them alone and a few in combination. One of these days I'll have to pull out some of the older folders and try more techniques since there are now even more possibilities as far as combinations. And maybe I'll come up with a good way to use the Journal Card folder that I haven't used yet. :-)

two more cards

I made two more cards today using some of the newly released Cuttlebug folders.

For this first card I embossed some navy ruche paper with the new Fleur de lis diamonds folder. I then sprayed that with some Coffee Glimmer Mist by Tattered Angels for some added sparkle. The stamped sentiment is by Hero Arts and stamped using Memento dye inks. The Eiffel Tower die cut was made using a QuicKutz die.

For this card I decided to go long, narrow, and monochromatic. I used the new Stars embossing folder for this one. The USA die cut is by QuicKutz and I set it off by popping it up off the card front. The decorative scores were made using the Scor-It.

By the way, it looks like HSN (Home Shopping Network) is currently sold out of the new bundle of embossing folders. It was a special event sale, so I'm not sure if they'll offer them at that price again. From what it sounds like, the folders went very quickly. I know that there are quite a few online vendors who are taking preorders on these folders, so they should be more widely available once they're officially released.

my new Cuttlebug embossing folders are here!

I knew that the new folders that I'd ordered were on the way, but I didn't dream that they could possibly arrive so soon! Imagine that thrill of hearing the dog bark and seeing the Big Brown Truck out front! Yes! The box was imprinted with the HSN logo! Hey, it was a deal that I couldn't pass up, eh?

They arrived in a fairly small box with these 11 folders each wrapped in its own plastic sleeve. I like that there wasn't a lot of extra waste, though I usually do manage to put the backings to good use.

Here's another look at them. Just had to look up all their names so I could label each one.

This card was debossed with the new Moroccan Screen embossing folder then inked with Memento Dandelion ink. Just as a side note, this folder debosses rather than embosses if you place it inside the folder with the Cuttlebug logo facing the front. I then embossed with the Owl Flourish folder--double 'bossing--and accented it with Memento inks and added the die cut sentiment, also by Cuttlebug. The decorative scoring on the card front was made using the Scor-It.

I've always liked the look of embossing on decorative card stock and papers. This is some DCWV Taj Mahal card stock that I embossed using the new C'bug Victoria folder. I accented the embossing with white craft ink. The sentiment is by Hero Arts. The flowers are Primas and the decorative pearls are by Kaisercraft.

This is the Celtic Knot embossing folder that I used on some polished stone card stock. I accented the embossing with Memento ink. This is one of the folders that is supposedly only available if the new folders are purchased as a set. I think the other is the Harlequin design. The stamps used are by Scottish Borders Stamping. The die cut was made using a Spellbinders scalloped circle Nestabilities die and the accent scores near the sentiment were made using the Scor-It.

I can't say that I would have purchased all of these at the regular price, but for what amounted to just a bit more than $3 per folder, including shipping and handling, it seemed worth it to go for the bundle. These were delivered very quickly, too! Kudos to HSN for that. I was very pleasantly surprised. :-)

more Scor-It ruler fun & a couple of shout-outs

I'm still having fun making decorative scores with my Scor-It and the new Scor-It ruler that goes with it.

Here are a few more cards that I've made....


Scoring diagonals and diamond shapes is easy when you have a ruler at the top and at the bottom of what you're scoring. The sentiment and images are all by Hero Arts and stamped using Memento dye inks.


Here I was just trying my hand at some decorative scoring to frame an image. I also used some of the newer colors of Ranger alcohol inks for the polished stone background. The stamped images and sentiment are by Hero Arts.


Here's the full view of a Tri-Shutter card design that I had to try. The sentiment here is by Penny Black.


This is just a view to give a better look at the scoring that I did on this card using the Scor-It and its ruler.

Last but not least, I'd like to give shout outs to IndigoInklings blog reader, Vivian, and to the President of HAMMONDSgroup Inc, maker of the Scor-It, Tim Hammonds. Apparently after reading my post about the new Scor-It ruler and my aside about missing one of the little rubber feet on my Scor-It, Vivian dropped a note in Tim Hammonds' inbox. Tim, in turn, surprised me by dropping a note in my inbox, offering to send me a replacement foot for my Scor-It. Wow! That was so cool! The crafting community really is the best. :-) Thank you so much, Vivian. And many thanks also to Tim. I've mentioned here and elsewhere the outstanding customer service that I've received from the Scor-It folks, and this is another fine example of how they go above and beyond when it comes to standing by their product and satisfying their customers. And that's no small feat! ;-) Okay, it may be one small foot in my case, but it's much appreciated. :-)

more fun with the Scor-It ruler

In my recent post describing the Scor-It ruler, I tried my hand at a pattern of scores that I'd seen on the Scor-It site called Starbursts. I'd modified it a bit by making my scores a little farther apart. This time I took that same idea and modified it a little more. I made my initial scores 1/2" apart in the starburst pattern, then I turned my card stock over and repeated the scores 1/2" apart, but made them halfway between each of the original scores. Follow that? So basically I ended up with mountain and valley scores that were 1/4" apart and which look kinda neat when they're in a starburst pattern.


This is what I mean. There are scored lines every 1/4", but they alternate being debossed vs embossed. I know that wasn't a great photo, but it still showed the effect of the alternating scores rather nicely.


Here it is on a quickie card. The stamped image is by Hero Arts. The sentiment is by PSX. The die cuts were made using a Sizzlit embosslit die. All inks are Memento dye inks.

I'm having a lot of fun playing with this new Scor-It ruler. :-)

Guest Design Spot: flower pounding

Please note: this article was originally published on the Cuttlebug Challenge blog. I think enough time has passed that I'm publishing it here as well so that it can go out to my email subscribers and be linked along with my other tutorials.

Hello everyone! This is Jay from IndigoInklings dropping by for another visit this month at Maggie's request. Recently I read about a technique that was done using the Wizard by Spellbinders. It's called flower pounding. Flower pounding itself isn't new. As you might guess, it's been done using a hammer or a mallet and a nice flat solid surface. Flowers were placed atop paper and pounded to release and transfer the pigment. What was different was that this was done with less effort (and noise!) by using a die cutting machine. I decided to adapt this technique for the Cuttlebug and share it here.

Now thankfully, this time of year there are lots of flowers in my backyard. These are a few that I picked just for this project. Love the wonderful variety of shapes, textures, and colors!

What you need to have on hand for flower pounding, besides some fresh flowers, are your Cuttlebug machine and plates and some card stock or water color paper. What I did was cut the sheets in half and then fold each half in half to make a folder. There's no need to be neat about this. I know my Scor-It is in the photo, but it was there primarily to be a nice backdrop.

Here is the sandwich that I used for flower pounding: A, B, and C plates, with the flowers placed inside the folder. I've found that the side that releases most of the pigment is the face of the flower, so if you don't use a folder, then put the bloom face down onto your card stock, then cover it with a layer of scrap paper before sandwiching it and putting it through.

Here you can see that I did place the folder between the plates before rolling it through. You can also see why I used a folder. This can be a juicy project. Depending on what type of flower you use, it can be really juicy! This is why I mentioned that water color paper would also be a good option.

This is what it looked like when I opened up the folder. You can see that pigment has been transferred from these shrub rose blooms to the card stock.

This is how it looked after I peeled the flower petals etc away. Both sides of the folder are potentially usable, so that's another neat thing.

Here is the same sandwich, different flowers. These were much thinner than the first blooms. I had a shim handy, just in case it looked like the blooms needed to be squeezed harder, but I didn't need it. It's a good idea to have at least one or two of them close by though.

Again, here is the folder opened up.

And this is the design that's left once the flowers are removed. You can gently rub the flowers off with a finger. Often you can peel up an edge of a petal with a fingernail then pull it off the rest of the way. I found that using a scrap piece of card stock as a scraper worked nicely, too.

This is one more example with a Bachelor Button. I used watercolor paper for this one. I've had a lot of moisture get forced out of this type of flower before, so I learned from that!

This is one side of the outside of the folder after rolling it through.

This is the other side. I really liked the colors and the delicate look.

Here is the folder opened up. The flower was squeezed from the top then down toward the stem. This is why I also tended to place my flowers near the edge of the folder that would be going through the machine first. Think of the Cuttlebug as a wringer with all of the pigment and moisture getting squeezed out and forced along as the bloom moves between the rollers. It's much less messy to have excess folder at the trailing edge to catch all of that. Yes, as you might guess, that's the voice of experience. :-)

This is one side with the flower parts removed.

This is the other side. The amount of pigment left by the flowers can be impressive. And don't discount the stems and leaves, or the stamen and the pollen. They can all leave color, shapes, and texture behind.

This is a card made with flower pounded shrub roses. Notice the bright yellow that was transferred from the pollen. You might recognize the scalloped QuicKutz border embossing folder that I used as the background for their layer. The sentiment is by Hero Arts and was stamped using Memento dye ink.

Since the pounded Yellow Loosestrife blooms left behind an image so reminiscent of stars, I paired them with the above sentiment from The Little Prince made by Silver Crow Creations, and I added some QuicKutz die cut flourishes.

The focus of this card is that Bachelor Button "image" that was on the outside of the folder. As I said, the delicate look appealed to me and I wanted to go with something more subtle. The stamped sentiment is by Hampton Art Stamps and I added the score lines using my Scor-It.

I made this last card using one of the images made with a shrub rose bloom. I cut and embossed it using Spellbinders Nestabilities dies and layered it on top of white card stock with some decorative scoring that I again made using my Scor-It. The decorative edges were made using the Fiskars Upper Crest border punch. The sentiment is by Hero Arts and was stamped using white craft ink.

So, no tips or tricks using embossing folders this time, but I hope that I've inspired you to try a technique that doesn't get much more complicated than going outside and picking some flowers. I've found that fresh blooms work better, by the way. Again, it's that voice of experience. :-) And for those of you who are Big Shot users, or even owners of the original red Sizzix machine, click on over to my blog where I've described how to flower pound using those die cutters.

Have a good day everyone! Enjoy your weekends! And be sure to have fun checking out all of the special features that will be published on this blog in the upcoming days. :-)