Hello stampers and happy Wednesday to you. Today I have a beautiful tinted embossing paste butterfly card for you. If you have been following me on my YouTube channel, then you might know that I have been a little obsessed with embossing paste. Once you open a jar, you just want to keep playing. Want to see what I made??
Beautiful tinted embossing paste butterfly
First off: a disclaimer. The Butterflies & Flowers layering decorative masks are no longer available. Every year Stampin’Up! “retires” some products and this is one such product. They have different masks available now but this was one I had on hand that would really show off the tinted embossing paste technique.
I first used a blending brush to make a solid butterfly image. Then I used the detailed image at the bottom to use with the embossing paste. Just two drops of pool party reinker were added to about a tablespoon of embossing paste. I put it in a little bowl and stirred it with the smallest palette knife. If you want to see the whole card being made, just watch the YouTube video tutorial at the end of this blog post.
Here you can see how nice the tinted embossing paste looks up close.
Video Tutorial
More Embossing Ideas
Did you know that I am a member of the International Create With Us tutorial bundle team? This month our tutorial bundle features embossing folders. You can get this fifteen card tutorial for free if you order online through me or you can purchase it in the tutorials section of my blog. Below is a sneak peek of our tutorial. PDF tutorials are a great way to jump start your creativity and to become a more talented stamper. Enjoy!!
Thanks for joining me today, I hope you have a super day!
Hello stampers. I squeezed in a little time yesterday to play with the new pigment sprinkles. I would really like to meet someone who doesn’t get dirty when playing with this product! Time was of the essence since I had a class in an hour, so I didn’t get to play as much as I would have liked. Freshly Made Sketches is a website that offers a weekly sketch that you can play along with. I have been wanting to do this for months but simply never got around to it. This might be the card that finally makes it into the challenge! Here is the sketch.
You don’t actually have to use a butterfly for your card but I had a butterfly card in my mind that I have been wanting to make for a while now. I made one similar to this years ago for an event. For this card I used the new pigment sprinkles and I knew I was going to get dirty! I don’t mind getting dirty hands although it is a different story when you ruin your cards by getting ink in unwanted places. I really don’t like wearing gloves, but it is handy to have wipes and paper towels handy to clean up the mess as you go.
This was the first card I made. I was hoping to structure my stripes a bit by using an aqua painter to make a guide for the pigment sprinkles one colour at a time. It sort of worked but I wanted to try it again with less structure. Take a look at the next card and tell me which one is your favourite.
I think I prefer the second card but it is a very loose interpretation of the sketch challenge since my stripes are more fluid. I do love the smoothness of our new watercolour paper. If you cut it in half you get two pieces of 3 1/2′ by 5″. That leaves a nice space at the bottom of the card for your words. These words came from the July Paper Pumpkin On My Mind.
As you can see in the picture, the pigment sprinkles come in six colours. They have a flip top cover under the lid with three little holes already made for you to sprinkle on your wet watercolour paper. I will definitely be doing more with this product, I also think you can use it together with our old Brusho paint crystals. I think I could make it the theme of one of my regular Tuesday night Facebook live videos.
There are only six days left to get Bonus Bucks for August. With every $60 you spend you will get a $6 bonus days coupon to use in August. If you order online, please use the host code XBTQ47UR if your order is less than $200. If your order is $200 or more you will receive host benefits that you can use for exclusive host sets like the one below or for any product you like. Host sets are your best value since the price on them is roughly half of what they are worth.
If you place an online order and you reach $200 then you will be prompted to redeem host rewards. You can choose these sets as one of your options. I hope this is helpful. You cannot add these to a regular order. You can find more information on these exclusive sets at the back of the annual catalog on page 205-207.
Thanks so much for stopping by, I hope you have a wonderful weekend. I am going to be having some beach time with Rachel and then some Oma time tonight and tomorrow. That means no time for pdfs just yet. Thanks for your patience!
Hello stampers. Unexpected kindness is always such a lovely surprise. People who are prepared in advance to be ready for such opportunities inspire me. Kay used Butterfly Wishes to make this lovely card and she had it ready just in case it would be needed! Let me tell you a story about what happened one evening on the ship.
Every evening we would go to the formal dining room at 8:30 for our assigned seating. We had a lovely group of people to sit with and we looked forward to sharing stories of the days adventures. I had also noticed that the ship’s crew would often sing with great enthusiasm at different tables for someone’s birthday. All the tables around us were also populated by Stampin’Up! people. About four or five tables away I saw someone being celebrated one night, so after supper was over and I saw this group of people congregated outside the dining room I also offered my congratulations. There was an eruption of mirth! It turns out that it really wasn’t anyone’s birthday at all,but there was a fun American prankster who thought it would add some life to the party to just celebrate someone each night. He came up to me on the pool deck the following day and suggested that we should celebrate my daughter Rachel that night. Why not?
Sure enough, he talked to our head waiter, and at the end of another lovely meal, there came a piece of chocolate cake with a candle burning brightly and a group of ship staff from many different countries all singing happy birthday with their adorable accents. Rachel was shocked but she went along with it. The song was barely over and there comes the lovely Kay Smith from Newfoundland who was sitting at the table next to us with a birthday card for Rachel!!! Rachel whispered that it wasn’t really her birthday that day but the card was already signed, sealed and delivered. I thought it deserved it’s very own blog post! Thanks Kay for being such a wonderful inspiration! I always want to be that person who has cards at the ready to hand out to people but most often that is not the case. This is a habit I want to cultivate because spreading joy is contagious. Here is Kay’s card:
I love how Kay used basic gray for the branch and because Butterfly Wishes is a DistINKtive stamp it comes out two-toned! This card was a blessing to Rachel, but also for me since it gave me the raw material for a blog post! I have been struggling with chronic nose bleeds so my energy level is down and my stress level is up, so this was a real God send. Yes, I have a doctor’s appointment and I picked up a new bottle of liquid iron so I am doing what I can to stay healthy. It is a genetic thing for sure, my Pap had terrible nose bleeds as a child and also as a senior. We used to think it would kill him in his eighties, but he is still alive and well at 92 and doesn’t have them very often any more.
What do you think about the unusual combination of Terracotta Tile and Seaside Spray on this card? I really like it a lot. Like I said in my blog post on Saturday, the easiest source of inspiration for colour combinations is looking at the list of colours that are found in our designer series paper. You really can’t go wrong!
Would you like the dimensions of this fun card? I know I always appreciate when I get the dimensions and don’t have to struggle to figure it out. The card base is 11″ by 4 1/4″ scored at 2 1/2″ and 5 1/2″. The smaller “Z” is 3″ by 9″ scored at 3″ and 6″. Kay’s card actually looks amazing considering it traveled across the ocean for 10 hours by plane, several hours on a train and also in a cab and then our own car! Only the front panel was run through the embossing folder. On the inside back panel Kay used a piece of patterned paper from Woven Threads that is 4″ by 5 1/4″. Hopefully I will have time some time this week to do a video showing you how to put this card together. If I run out of time which is entirely possible, then I will feature it in my Facebook live next week Tuesday at 7pm. Every Tuesday starting tomorrow I am committed to doing a Facebook live with the theme “Coffee and a Card Revisited”. I hope you tune in!
Now my goal is to have in my purse at all time a thank you card, a birthday card and a thinking of you card. That should cover the basics don’t you think? I think I will keep them in a clear stamp case so that they don’t get dinged up too badly. If you have any random acts of kindness stories to share that involve cards, I would love for you to share in the comments below. I will choose one lucky winner to get a Paper Pumpkin stamp set from me. Thanks so much for dropping by, I appreciate each and every one of you. If you need any of the supplies below and you live in Canada, then please do click on the images and you will go straight to my online store. Please use the current host code as it helps me keep my costs down and be able to offer blog candy now and then. Host code: XBTQ47UR
Hello stampers. This Spring Sampler is a little late, but it is officially still spring! Last year I made samplers for each season and my customers were requesting more of them. They are such fun to make! While making cards is very gratifying, they get sent away. A sampler is your creative work framed for all to see. Do you want to see what I made?
I didn’t have time to take pictures of each individual rectangle but I can tell you which stamps I used and the colours. The colours are whisper white, petal pink, calypso coral and pear pizzazz. I used a new stamp set called Butterfly Wishes as well as Enjoy Life, Beautiful You and the Large Letter framelits. The letters are popped up with mini dimensionals over vellum which was layered on the Petal Promenade designer series paper. With the new catalog going live today both the letter framelits and this pretty paper is now discontinued.
Measurements
frame: 8″ by 10″
bottom panels: calypso coral 3 5/8″ by 2 7/8″ white: 3 3/8″ by 2 5/8″
centre panel- petal promenade paper: 2 7/8″ by 7 1/2″ vellum: 2 1/2″ by 7″
top panels: 2 3/8″ by 3 1/4 (one was calypso coral, two were grapefruit grove) white or patterned paper 2 1/4″ by 3 1/8″
The panel with the lady from Beautiful You was a happy accident. I used the wavy framelet from Lilypad Lake to make an intricate design on the one end but instead it cut it right off leaving a nice wavy edge, so I just added some pretty paper from the Petal Promenade collection to add interest. It is 2 5/8″ wide and is tucked behind the white panel.
I added a scrap of ribbon to the top right panel that has the saying from Enjoy Life. Tomorrow I hope to share my Summer Sampler. We will be making this sampler on Saturday June 15 at 1pm. the cost is $25. I can make a kit that you can order but I cannot include stamped images. Thanks for dropping by and remember the new catalog goes live today!! What is at the top of your wish list?
Hello stampers. Today we are going to do a little exploring of a very fun but easily overlooked product in our Stampin’Up! catalog: Brusho paint crystals. Brusho is the name brand of these gorgeous intensely coloured paint crystals that are activated with water. It is really quite a fine powder. You poke a hole in the lid with a push pin or thumbtack and then tap the powder out where you want it. You then keep the hole sealed with the push pin or thumbtack when you are not using it. Rather than talk about it, I will show you the cards that I made and then explain what I did on each one.
Here is the first card, it was a complete case (copy and share everything) from the catalog. I love the bold colours here. I stamped some images from Beautiful Promenade in versamark on shimmery white cardstock and white embossed with the heat gun. Then I sprinkled on mostly red and gamboge Brusho paint crystals and a little bit of yellow. I then spritzed lightly with water to activate the crystals. You might see a few blue spots, they can appear magically because of some fine powder left on my hands, on the work surface or even in the air!!
The card base is poppy parade, the edge is from Delicate Lace edgelits and the saying was stamped in Poppy Parade on Powder Pink. It comes from Birthday Cheer in the Occasions catalog on page 17. This card is a bit of an odd shape (I think because I messed up!) It is 1/4 inch shorter than normal- 5 1/4″ by 4 1/4″.
This card uses all the Brusho paint crystals. I cased it from the talented Connie Collins. I took a piece of shimmery white cardstock that was 4 1/4″ by 5 1/2″ and I misted it with water. I sprinkled on an angle starting at the top in this order: red, gamboge, yellow, moss green and prussian blue. I then gently misted again just to get the colours to run and blend a little bit. I let it dry naturally (if you use a heat gun that tends to mute the colours a bit) I then cut out the butterflies with the dies from the Beauty Abounds bundle on page 13 of the Occasions catalog. The sentiment is from Well Said and it was embossed in white on basic black cardstock. The butterfly was adhered using glue dots only on the bodies of the biggest butterflies to allow for the feeling of movement.
This Let it Ride card was cased from the internet. I think the original creator was Lynn Dunn but I was not able to find a corresponding blog post. This card is a work in progress. I made this one with shimmery white cardstock but am going to do it again using watercolour paper. I masked the horse using only a mask made with a sticky note which got rather soggy. The blue bled through on his nose making it look like he is wearing a bridle!! The top of the card around the horse was sprinkled with Prussian Blue brusho crystals and then spritzed with water. I used a aqua painter to spread it around close to the horse. The bottom part was simply coloured with Granny Apple Green blends. The sentiment was embossed in white before I applied the Brusho.
This last card is one of my favourite techniques with Brusho. You put a piece of painters tape across your piece of watercolour paper near the top leaving room for your sentiment. You then drop little dabs of Brusho powder along the bottom of the tape. I alternated between Prussian Blue and Yellow. They mingle nicely to add some green in between. You then hold the card at an angle and spritz down, just a little bit so that you still get colour droplets and not a messy trail running all the way down your card. This piece measures 3 3/4″ by 5″. The words are from the Well Said bundle. This is a high ticket item on page 27 of the Occasions catalog- $103.50 for the bundle. I highly recommend that you put it in a starter kit. You save the shipping and taxes which for this bundle alone would be $23.69. You would still have $121.50 that you could choose products with and then pay only $135 for all that amazing stuff!!!
I have done several other posts on Brusho. If you type Brusho into the search box at the top right of the page you will see them all. Here is one to make it easy for you.
Saleabration is winding down, so be sure to get what you want on your wish list so that you can get some freebies as well. A LOT of our beautiful products are selling out, so don’t be disappointed and get what you want in the Occasions catalog today. If your wish list is long, I am telling you once again that the starter kit is THE way to go. No need to feel badly if you think you are only going to be a “kitnapper”. Stampin’Up! is willing to take that chance and I just want you to get the most value for your money. Diva Day is this Saturday from 10am till 4pm and you get to spend a day with me being pampered with food, fun stamping and free products in a goodie bag, but only if you have joined my team during saleabration.
I hope you have a super day! Be sure to pop a card in the mail today and make someone happy, or keep one in your purse to give to someone while you are out and about in your community. It’s little things like that that make the world a better place.
Hello stampers! The last time I used That’s The Tag bundle was at OnStage in November in Ottawa. I fell in love with the Occasions catalog there and ordered a LOT of stuff with the intention of using it all at least once in a class. I have fulfilled that resolution. Finally I am using this set and I am especially loving the versatility of the framelits. While they are all nice, my favourite is the one with the flower that you can paper piece. Check it out (thanks to Jan Brown for the inspiration for this striking card)
One of the other framelits is also suited to paper piecing and I used copper foil sheets, basic black and crumb cake with a bit of very vanilla.
I like the way the ovals repeat with the framelit and the embossing folder. It is called Pretty Paisleys but unfortunately it is no longer available. The last card I made uses framelits that focus on the cut-out pieces. You can either paper-piece them or put the solid oval behind so that the colour pops through.
The pretty copper embossed paper is from the Affectionately Yours specialty designer series paper. You can find it on page 45. Check it out here. The embossing folder is one of those bigger square ones, great for adding scrapbook accents as well. It is called Fluttering.
If you want to order any of these products, be sure to use the host code on the side, I try very hard to keep it updated, but you know me, not always the most organized person on the planet!! The interesting thing about this bundle is that it is all about tags, and I haven’t made one tag with it, just cards! Oh the possibilities. I am sure you will agree with me that this is a very versatile set, good for many occasions and for both men and women.
Tomorrow morning I will be on the 6:18 train to Toronto where I will be attending OnStage, a local Stampin’Up! “Convention”. Our first grandchild is also due tomorrow, so lots of excitement in store. My next post will feature the suite I am going to be presenting at OnStage. I can’t wait, I know you will love it as much as I do and I am planning a big event to showcase it. That’s all for now, have a super day.
