Embossing Folder Cards

I’m seeing embossing folders around more and more lately. They seem to be having something of a resurgence. I don’t have very many embossing folders, but I do enjoy using them. I even made a video a couple of years ago talking about different ways to use them, which you can find here if you’re interested. I also have another video talking about extending embossing folders for slimline cards. But that’s not what I’m meant to be talking about, I’m meant to be talking about the cards I’m sharing today.

Card 1 – Christmas Coffee

The first card uses an embossing folder very simply. Before I got to that though I started on my focal image using Waffle Flower’s Coffee Time stamp set. I stamped it with Versafine Onyx Black ink onto a snippet of red, a snippet of black, and a snippet of white. I then fussy cut the entire image in the red, just the lid and sleeve on the black, and a strip through the centre from the white. I added detail to all the pieces with my Spectrum Noir Illustrator markers, the adhered them together with double sided tape.

With the focal panel I worked on my background. I found a large snippet of white and trimmed it to be a square. I then embossed it with a snowflake embossing folder that I have from an old Love From Lizi card kit. I used double sided tape to adhere it to a black card base made to be just a little bigger than the embossed panel. I also used my craft knife and ruler to cut a tiny snippet of gold mirror card to create a belt buckle for my Father Christmas coffee.

I decided to add a sentiment, and heat embossed one from Pink and Main‘s (retired) hOWLIdays stamp set with Love From Lizi’s Golden Crown embossing powder onto a strip of vellum. If I’d planned ahead I would have attached this before adhering the background panel down, because then I would have been able to wrap it around the panel to adhere at the back. As I had already adhered the panel however, I instead used the coffee cup to anchor the strip, and also added a little liquid glue hidden behind the embossed wording.

Challenges:

ABC Christmas Challenge – O for Off To One Side

Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers Hop – Christmas In July

Caffeine Fueled Paper Play – Coffee

Simon Says Stamp Monday – Food and/or Drink

The House That Stamps Built – Christmas In July

The Sisterhood of Crafters – Embossing

Waffle Flower Challenge – Christmas In July

Watercooler Wednesday – All About Occasions

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Card 2 – Striped Thanks

My second card was a bit of an experiment that didn’t quite work out… I decided to share it anyway, but I can’t decide whether or not I dislike it…

I started by smooshing a piece of watercolour paper with a variety of pink Distress Inks and Distress Oxides. I started with Spun Sugar then Victorian Velvet in the Distress Inks, then switched to Worn Lipstick and finally Festive Berries in Distress Oxide. I dried with my WOW! Dual Speed heat gun in between each layer as I built up the colour.

Next came the experimental part of the design. I took the 3D Botanical folder and used wide washi to mask off alternating inch wide stripes. I then inked up the unmasked portions of the folder with Cracked Pistachio Distress Oxide. I peeled away the washi tape, then placed my pink smooshed panel into the folder, before running it through my die cutting machine to emboss it. The colour didn’t transfer as well as I would have liked, so I repeated the process to get a better coverage. I then switched the masking to the alternate stripes and inked with Versacolor ink in Midnight.

Once I had finished the coverage still wasn’t how I was envisioning, and it kind of just looked messy. I wasn’t happy with it. Rather than giving up I figured I’d try to work through the ugly. I took some very small ink blending brushes and carefully blended the stripes with their appropriate ink colour to try and improve the coverage. It kind-of-sort-of-maybe worked. I decided it would do.

I pulled some Tonic Gold Pearl Satin Mirror card from my stash and adhered a strip of it down the left hand side of my card base, then also cut some with Pink and Main‘s (retired) Thanks die (they have Big Thank You dies, as another option). I used double sided tape to adhere the embossed panel onto the card base, leaving the edge of the gold strip peeking through, then trimmed away the excess. Finally I adhered the die cut sentiment into place with liquid glue.

Challenges:

Global Design Project – Color Palette

The Flower Challenge – Add Spots or Stripes

Uniko Challenge – Flowers

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I seem to be doing a lot of “two ways” kind of posts lately. Which of these do you prefer? The ‘traditional’ use of the folder, or the messy stripey letterpress technique?

Love,

Charlotte E (Lady Joyful) Email thejoyfulsoulcreates@gmail.com

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