two creative ways to use your embossing folders and stencils

I'm directing you to the Carta Bella blog today to check out two pretty cool tutorials I have created for you. The first one is a fantastic way to use your embossing folders to create a faux letterpress look. When ink is added to an embossing folder before it is passed through a manual die cutting machine, it creates impressive (no pun intended) results! Look at the world map on the background of this card! 

For a tutorial visit: Designer Embossing Folders

Personal note...in the photo there are two pieces sitting on the book. The first one is a watch. That is the watch I gave my husband the day we got married, 17 years ago. The other is a monogrammed tie clip that belonged to my beloved grandpa. He died before he even met my husband, but they remind me of each other in so many ways, not just the fact that they were both electrical engineers. I miss my grandpa terribly. This past spring, we were at a family wedding and the little man wanted to wear a tie. It was the perfect time to give him the tie clip. Wouldn't my grandpa be proud? 

This card is also in an antique or heritage look and I love the grey tones! For this card's background, I embossed patterned paper with a stencil. You know that is one of my favorite techniques for a stencil! I took it one step farther and sanded off the raised edges of the patterned paper! How beautiful is that?!

For a tutorial visit: Designer Stamps, Dies, and Stencils

thanks for stopping by!

kimberly

Supplies for Explore:

InLinkz.com

Supplies for Hello:

InLinkz.com

3 ways to use embossing folders or my love of pineapples

 I am thrilled to be sharing a fun post over at the Scrapbook & Cards Today Magazine blog on their Card Cafe Thursday! Stop over and learn three ways to use your embossing folders, and see how deep my love for pineapples truly is!

thanks for stopping by!

~kimberly

WCMD Double Faux Letterpress Video Tutorial + MFT Sneak Peek

Welcome back for my second post of the day! I hope you are having fun on World Card Making Day already!

The idea behind today is kicking off the holiday card making season, so with that in mind, I have some pretty great techniques and ideas for creating mail-able cards. I love creating layers on my cards, but that just doesn't work well when I need to mail them. Its fine for an occasional birthday card, but to mail in bulk? Nope. Be sure and take a look at all the ideas I am sharing today; beautiful cards with great techniques that make them look layered and elegant.

With that idea in mind, here is a video tutorial about a technique I happened upon the other night. I wanted to create a beautiful cardstock panel. One that would have depth and color and stand alone on a card. I started by simply Faux Letterpressing with an embossing folder, but I decided to take it one step further. 

Take a look.

Click image below:

Direct Link: Double Faux Letterpress

As today progresses, I will be sharing these Mail-able Card tips, in green, below. Keep an eye out on all my posts, and I hope they inspire you as you start creating your holiday cards!

Mail-able Card Idea #1:

Create a beautiful panel of cardstock to use as a focal point.

Mail-able Card Idea #2:

Trim your cardstock panel and insert the sentiment, instead of layering it on top.

Here is another card using the Double Faux Letterpress technique.

Mail-able Card Idea #3:

Use a piece of cardstock or patterned paper to die cut or punch a focal image.

Mail-able Card Idea #4:

Instead of creating another layer with a die cut shape, emboss-only with your die template.

SNEAK PEEK ALERT!

Shhhhhh! I got permission to share a little bit of the October release from My Favorite Things early! This set of dies is going to be the Free with $60 purchase set this month! Die-namics Christmas Tree Cut-Out makes this fantastic tree! I thought it would be great to use the Double Faux Letterpress background panel to create a focal image.

And be sure and head over to the MFT Blog because there are amazing prizes to be won!

Check out my blog prize HERE.
PRIZE DETAILS:

Leave a comment on each of my blog posts today by 10 PM CST Sunday, October 5. Each comment will get you another entry. I will draw a name Sunday night and announce the winner here on Monday.

see you soon! thanks for stopping by!

~kimberly

Supplies for Sending Christmas Cheer card:

InLinkz.com

Supplies for Happy Holidays card:

InLinkz.com

faux letterpress with embossing folders video tutorial

Here it is! The video tutorial on how to create a faux letterpress look using embossing folders. This technique creates a piece of cardstock with an elegant look. You could use it as is, or die cut or punch shapes from it. 

Now, if you like this idea, but want to faux letterpress with acutal shapes and not just an embossing folder, check out this older video tutorial here: Faux Letterpress with Shapes

thanks for stopping by!

~kimberly

thinking of you with faux letterpress

Happy Monday! Hope you had a great weekend! As I always seem to say, things have been busy. The little man started with a new teacher on Monday because their class sizes were so big. They added another teacher and split the students evenly. I am glad. He loves his new teacher. Whew. Cub Scouts and swimming started. I am now singing in the choir (and soon playing worship team) at church, and all the usual running around life throws our way. You know what? Life is good. :)

The look of negative space is so popular. I love it. Using Viola Sprouts, a die template from Simon Says Stamp, I die a piece of cardstock. (I set the flowers aside for another project.) 

Then I thought it would be fun to make a faux letter press pattern to place behind my open flowers. To create it, I simply inked up the raised edges of an embossing folder, placed cardstock inside the folder, and ran it through my manual die cutting machine. I adhered the faux letterpressed cardstock behind the open flowers with Crafty Foam Tape. The whole panel was attached to a card base.

And it looks like I need to film a video tutorial on this super fun technique! Soon. Its going on my list!

thanks for stopping by!

~kimberly