Tag Archives: embossing

Blended Ink Background Technique

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Welcome, it’s Make It Monday again! Today I wanted to share a background technique that is quick and easy and provides great results by blending ink.

make it monday logo

Kristie-Sloan-blended-ink-background_pin

It seems like every time I use this technique I use at least three colors. Today is no different. Supplies needed:

  • glossy card stock
  • ink pads (today I used dye based ink)
  • foam tipped daubers or sponge (I used my sponge rounds and cut them into 6 sections)
Minimal supplies for a background

Minimal supplies for a background.

So that you don’t cross contaminate your ink pads with a totally different color, be sure to use an applicator dedicated to one color. You don’t have to have one for each ink pad, but have one for yellow, one for orange, one for green, etc.

I like to start with the lightest color and apply it first. Just use your applicator and rub it on your ink pad. Then apply it on the glossy side of your glossy card stock.

Apply your first color

Apply your first color.

Next, you want to apply your second color, blending it up into the first color as you add it. You can use circular motions or just swipe back and forth.

Apply second color, blending it into the first color

Apply second color, blending it into the first color.

You may have already guessed, now you apply the third color! Again, blend it into to color you applied previously. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Remember it is going to be a background!

Apply the third color; again blending into the previous color

Apply the third color; again blending into the previous color.

A baby wipe can help you blend the color even more. However it will lift off a bit of the color as well, but can create a little different look.

A baby wipe can further blend the colors

A baby wipe can further blend the colors.

For the card I made with this background, I stamped a tree with Versamark ink, and then used black heat embossing powder. Because heat embossing will resist the ink, you can also emboss the image before you blend your ink onto the paper. Either way will work if you are heat embossing.

This was such a quick card. I used Bronze Shimmer Trim for even more pizzaz! And finished it off with a bit of bling from the Sparkles Brown and Tan Assortment. I already had the tree stamp, but it is very similar to the Always Grateful, Close to My Heart set.

A sunset background using the a blended ink technique

A sunset background using the a blended ink technique

 

 

make it monday logoI hope you’ve been enjoying the Make It Monday blog hops as much as I have! Did you land here from Digital Scrapbooking HQ? Melissa Shanhun always has great ideas on making memory keeping fast and easy. Today she shares how to use the new Project Life App for documenting a Week in the Life project. Next on the hop is Alice from Scrapbook Wonderland with a brilliant tip on using a postcard on a layout. Remember, to think broader than scrapbooks — think art journaling or mixed media, too!

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to leave a comment.  You are always welcome to shop at my online Close to My Heart store if you are in the USA. The links for some of today’s products are below.

Cheers to YOUR Artful Adventures,

KS

 

 

 


Creating a Background Effect with Handwriting

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handwriting background techniqueWelcome to the Make It Monday blog hop. If you’ve come from Gina Zee’s site, you’re in the right place! She always has clever up-cycling/recycling ideas for crafting! I’ll give you info on all the sites in this week’s blog hop at the end of this post so you don’t miss anything you may be interested in!

Have you ever thought about creating your own background paper with your own handwriting? Now before you tune me out, I don’t want to hear any, “My handwriting is awful!” because it doesn’t even matter for the technique I’m going to show you. This can actually be a way to do some disguised journaling. Or you can just use words that relate to a certain theme. You don’t even have to use full sentences. The choice is yours, and there is no right or wrong way to do this.

First you’ll need to decide what you’ll use for your background. This technique could easily be used for scrapbooking, art journaling, mixed media, card making, or whatever else you can think of to use it for. Then you’ll need something to write with that is a water soluble medium. Today I’m just going to use water color pencils. They are readily available and not too expensive, and hopefully you already have some on hand.

I took a couple of water color pencils in colors I wanted to coordinate with the fall theme I had in mind and I just randomly wrote about the fall season. See, I don’t have great handwriting, and I didn’t even try to be neat.
handwriting-background-1

Even though I had already written on card stock, instead of just jumping in, I decided to first try this on water color paper. I did more “journaling” about fall with watercolor pencils and on the top of the page I brushed on water to activate the water color pencils. On the bottom, I simply used a baby wipe, with no additional water. The bottom created the look I was after!

Testing in watercolor paper journal

Testing the method in a water color paper journal. The top was brushed with water, the bottom buffed with a baby wipe.

Since the look I liked didn’t use water, I knew it would work on card stock without treating the card stock in any special way.  I decided to create a scrapbook layout with a photo I had taken, so I grabbed out a sheet of off-white card stock to make the background. This time I added a bit of a third color to the writing, a bit of yellow over some of the brown and the orange. Then I used a baby wipe and buffed in a circular motion. You can blend as much as desired. You don’t need to be able to read any of the words to realize that it is handwriting. If the wipe becomes too dry, grab another one, or dampen it ever so slightly.

Filled page with journaling about the fall season

Filled page with journaling about the fall season.

Now I created my layout. The leaves and tiny “title” were stamped with pigment ink, heat embossed, and the leaves cut out. The stamp set is “Fall Harvest, #C1504” from Close to My Heart. Bronze Shimmer Trim was added for a bit more pizazz. The outer edges were inked and buffed, as well.

The finished layout

The finished layout.

The yellow leaf was raised up a bit with foam squares to add just a bit more dimension.

Foam squares were used to raise the yellow leaf

Foam squares were used to raise the yellow leaf.

Overall, I was pleased with the outcome. I would use the handwriting effect again. I think it would be perfect for art journaling, and I can’t wait to try in on a mixed media piece with a different water soluble medium to write with!

Visit the other Make it Monday sites below and please feel free to shop my Close to My Heart online store if you live in the US.

Make It Monday blog hop participants this week.

Cheers to YOUR Artful Adventures!

KS

Embrace the Embossibilities

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One of my favorite things to do is emboss! I said, “EMboss” not “BOSS! I have loved dry embossing since I had to do it with a light table, a brass stencil and a stylus! Then came along all the tools to make it easy! Heat embossing, I love that, too! If you like embossing, like I like embossing, or if you want to learn more, join the free scrapinar on August 26th. Even if you can’t make it live, be sure and sign up so you can have access to the replay!

Emboss Free

Sign up so you can have access to the replay!

Embossing can add so much dimension and interest to a piece! Are you getting all you can from your embossing tools? You know it is always amazing to learn how to get even more mileage from tools you ALREADY own! Plus, who doesn’t like to learn a few tricks with tools we may want to put on our never ending shopping list?

Scrapbook Super Star, Becki Adams will show us how to get some new looks with our tools, and we’ll leave wondering, “Why didn’t I think of that?”

Click here to sign up now!

Cheers to YOUR creativity!

KS

St. Patrick’s Day Digital Printable Jazzed Up

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Thanks for joining me again this week!  Our Artful Adventure today continues with ideas to jazz up a word art digital download. Digital downloads can make quick word of creating something special, whether you want a piece of decor or a card to send.

Here you can see the original version of the template.  Since this version is able to be quickly transformed, you’ll see that it was easy to tweak the color just a wee bit.  Only the green has been changed.  This makes it such an easy way to personalize it in a way that best fits your color needs.

St. Patrick's Day Template

Original colors of download

St. Patrick's Day Template Color Change

The green color was tweaked just a wee bit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One way to change up your printable is to print it out and then use a fine tip marker to outline some of the words.  If you don’t really feel confident with your hand lettering skills, this is a perfect way to have a little practice.

Remember, it doesn’t have to be perfect.  Note to self, don’t have so much caffeine before you do this again!  Some of my lines are less than desirable, but that’s okay.  I was rather pleased with the outcome.

This was meant to show you a quick project, so I only did some of the larger words, which I knew would be much easier to outline.  When you try something like this, you’ll begin to notice the little nuances of the particular font of the word you are working on.  That is what lettering is all about, the little things that each letter has in common.

St. Patrick's Day printable enhanced by outlined letters

Pick some of the words with larger lettering to outline! Glad this isn’t under glass yet, I see I forgot to do part of the “k” in “lucky.”

As long as you are going to print it out, why not make a smaller size and create a card?  Here is a card that was created from the same template.

Lucky Printable Card

Reduce the template before you print and you can create a card!

Lucky Printable Card with embossing

Just a little embossing can really jazz up a quick card! The Hollogram Effects embossing powder combines a bit of glitter in a clear embossing powder, which will let the ink color show through!

Card Recipe

  1. Half sheet of black card stock (cut 8.5″ x 5.5″), folded in half
  2. Lucky Limeade card stock (cut 4″x5.25″)
  3. Printable Template reduced to allow some of the white border (cut 3.75″x5″)
  4. Before assembling the card pieces wipe the printout with an embossing buddy
  5. Use Versamark marker over some of the letters.
  6. Sprinkle Hollogram Embossing powder and use heat tool to emboss!
  7. Assemble card pieces

TaDah!  You are done!

Okay, now that the card is finished, I realized that the Hollogram embossing powder is no longer available!  SO….. some other ideas to add a quick bit of sparkle or shine (these are options, not steps):

  • Use 2-way Glue Pen over selected letters and sprinkle with glitter.
  • Use Clear Embossing powder
  • Use Dazzling Details on selected areas
  • Try some Crystal Effects on a few letters!

Using an Embossing Folder for Texture

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Here is a quick tutorial on using an embossing folder with the Big Shot.  This is the type of folder I used on the cupcake with hearts frosting, which was the Stripes folder mentioned in the video; as well the Petals-a-Plenty folder used on the heart couple.  When you have these little folders on hand, you can make quick work of adding some dimension to a card, scrapbook page, and even fun elements on an art journaling page, or mixed media piece.