I hope everyone is doing well and carving out a bit of time for card making. A lot of people I know, who are not card makers or into paper crafting of any kind, believe card making to be a safe, non- life threatening, low key hobby. One time a friend joked, “What is the worse than can happen? You might get a paper cut!” I literally laughed out loud!
Cardmaking is a dangerous undertaking! I have jabbed myself with a paper piercer more than once, have been almost overcome by fumes of spray adhesives (in a very well ventilated area), sliced my finger with paper snips while trimming ribbon, and yes...I have had my fair share of paper cuts!
When I was preparing cards for this post I experienced something that was almost too much excitement for one day! I was busily working on some backgrounds and using an old heat tool (not Stampin’ Up!®️) I have had for 15 years or longer. I tend to use it when I am working in my area reserved for messy techniques, because it has quite a long cord and the outlet is not all that close. I was happily drying my project when sparks began flying out of the heat tool, then a small flame shot out, and finally there was black smoke coming from the area where the cord attaches to the heat tool! The end of the heat tool around the cord was coated in a black soot like substance! I was so calm, eerily so for me! I unplugged the heat tool and took it outside. There was still dark smoke rolling out of it, and the barrel was quite warm.
I showed it to my husband. He assured me something inside the tool had failed, but asked if the circuit had tripped and shut off the electricity in the craft room. It had not, but he still checked the outlet for me with some meter he has amongst his tools. He is a retired Air Force Aircraft Maintenance Chief Master Sergeant, and now a retired building contractor, so trouble shooting and testing systems is right up his alley! Him checking things out made me feel better!
Once I knew all was well, I suddenly felt a little shaky, but that passed quickly. I made certain the tool was no longer smoking and was cool to the touch, before I sadly tossed it into the barn trash bin. I will miss that heat tool.
I returned to my craft room to find tiny dots of black soot spattered across the project I had been working on! The dots were not coming off, so I just stamped over them. To my amazement the ink hid the spots! So this story is proof card making can not only be a bit dangerous, it can also be quite exciting and surprising!
I would love to hear about your harrowing adventures in card making. Tell me about them in the comments section below!
So... now that I have recovered from my heat tool blowing up, let’s talk background techniques! Today I have a fun background technique to share. The technique is simple and moves along quickly if you have a heat tool (hopefully one that will not decide to blow up). If you do not have a heat tool, simply allow the background panels to air dry. Today’s technique uses plain white glue, Basic White Cardstock, ink, and a blending brush to create a background with some texture, a bit of color gradient, and a little sheen. I have included step by step written instructions for a sample card using this technique, plus an instructional video.
Here is one of the cards I made using the “glue” technique, the SEASIDE NOTIONS stamp set, and the HAPPY THOUGHTS stamp set.
SEASIDE NOTIONS
(annual catalog retiring item)
HAPPY THOUGHTS
(mini catalog - item retires 30 June 2021)
Here is another card I made using the same technique and the same stamp sets. The card base is Pool Party, the mat is Pretty Peacock. The inks used for the background piece are Pool Party and Bermuda Bay. The images were stamped with Pretty Peacock ink. The sentiment is stamped on Pool Party cardstock using Pretty Peacock ink. The sentiment piece was punched out using the Tailored Tag Punch. The sentiment piece is matted on a piece of Pretty Peacock cardstock that was punched out with the Tailored Tag Punch. The punch out was cut in half and adhered to the back of sentiment piece. The sentiment was adhered to the card front with dimensionals. I used a few of the Holiday Rhinestones (Coastal Cabana) to add a bit of sparkle.
This next background is quite different. It is not at all what I was expecting!? I used Pretty Peacock, Bermuda Bay, and just a bit of Calypso Coral. The Bermuda Bay over the Pretty Peacock created a gray to bluish- gray color in some areas of the card. The checked image is from the GAME ON stamp set, another retiring item from the annual catalog. The images were stamped using Basic Gray ink. The background panel was mounted on Pretty Peacock cardstock, and placed on a Basic Gray card base. The sentiment (from HAPPY THOUGHTS) is stamped in Pretty Peacock on Smokey Slate cardstock, die cut with the Stitched Rectangles Dies and mounted on a piece of Basic Gray cardstock that has also been die cut with the Stitched Rectangles Dies.
GAME ON
(annual catalog retiring item)
This is the version of the card we will make today.
SUPPLIES NEEDED:
* Card base: Flirty Flamingo 8 1/2” x 5 1/2” scored and folded at 4 1/4”.
* A piece of Cinnamon Cider cardstock cut at 5 1/4” x 4” (mat for focal piece)
* A piece of Petal Pink cardstock cut at 5 1/4” x 4” (for the inside of the card)
* A piece of Basic White cardstock cut at 5” x 3 3/4”
* A piece of scrap Flirty Flaming for the sentiment
* White glue, such as Elmer’s®️ School Glue
* Silicone craft sheet or wax paper to place the cardstock on while you spread the glue.
* Something to spread the glue with, tongue depressors, craft sticks, plates spoon or knife, et.
* Blending Brush - you can also use sponge daubers, or sponges, or sponge brayers
* The Stitched Shapes Dies - Oval, second to smallest
*Apply the glue to the Basic White cardstock. It just takes a light coat. Move the glue around to different areas of the cardstock, but do not covering every bit of the cardstock.
* Use your heat tool to dry the cardstock. If you do not have a heat tool allow the piece to air dry for about 30 minutes.
* Begin adding ink to the cardstock with the blending brush. I used Rococo Rose first, the moved on to Calypso Coral, the added a bit more Rococo Rose, cleaning off my blending brush between colors. To clean the blending brush just lightly rub it on scrap paper or paper towel in a circular motion. I use the same blending brush for several colors that are similar.
* Once you are satisfied with the color of the background piece, set the ink with the heat gun, or allow the ink to dry for 20-30 minutes.
* Next begin stamping the shell images. I used Flirty Flamingo for the largest shell, Calypso Coral for the medium sized shell. And Cinnamon Cider for the smallest shell. Stamp the shell images with a tiny bit of caution, because they can smear in areas where the glue is present. After the images are stamped, set the ink with your heat tool, or allow the piece to air dry.
ASSEMBLING THE CARD
* On the Petal Pink cardstock stamp the inside sentiment in Cinnamon Cider. Then stamp the largest shell image in the lower right corner with Flirty Flamingo ink. Adhere this panel to the inside of the card.
* On the scrap piece of Flirty Flamingo cardstock stamp the sentiment for the front of the card using the Cinnamon Cider ink. Use the Stitched Shapes oval die cut to cut out the sentiment. Put dimensionals on the back of this piece.
* Adhere the background piece to the Cinnamon Cider mat, then adhere this to the cardbase.
* Place the sentiment on the front of the card, and the card is complete.
The STAMPIN’ UP! 2021-22 ANNUAL CATALOG sales period begins Tuesday 4 May 2021. For my customers (those who purchased from me between June 2020 - February 2021), your catalogs will arrive in your mailbox toward the end of April or before. If you do not have a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator, and would like a catalog, please contact me. There is a contact form at the bottom of this blog. On 4 May I will post a link to the online version of the catalog. In a little over a week my blog post will feature a preview of new catalog items accompanied by a video of those products.
THE STAMPIN’ UP! 2021-23 IN COLORS
The IN COLORS for 2021-23 are SOFT SUCCULENT, EVENING EVERGREEN, PALE PAPAYA, POLISHED PINK, and FRESH FREESIA.
Below are charts featuring each of the brand new IN COLORS and suggested color combinations.
(Click on the chart to enlarge.)
All of the new IN COLOR products (Classic Stampin’ Pads, Ink refills, Stampin’ Write Markers, Stampin’ Blends, Designer Series Paper, Cardstock, and Ribbon) will be available when the new annual catalog sales period begins on Tuesday 4 May 2021.
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