Something Saturday - A little something with Vellum

 Hi there Creators

A friend of mine, when I asked her if there was anything she'd like to see on my videos commented that vellum would be good (how it turns white when pressure is added to it)

For those of you who have done Pergamano work you'll know all about this, and Pergamano is all about vellum and the stunning effects you can get with it although it is somewhat painstaking! (it's been quite a few years since I did Pergamano work), however I happy to say there is a much quicker and simpler way to get some really cool effects with vellum 😃

First up, I had (before the video) made up this card, as you can see I've used the Wintry 3D embossing folder to create the snowflakes using vellum, I've actually used the Iridescent rhinestones for the 'bling' but coloured them with the dark Night of Navy Stampin' Blend (bear in mind the Stampin' blends are alcohol based so don't rub off if you use them to colour embellishments or ribbon).  Also if you're going to stamp on Vellum, you'll need to either use Stazon Ink, as waterbased inks will rub off, or stamp with Versamark and heat emboss with whatever colour suits your work.

I wanted to try out my new Gingham embossing folder next , and as I only wanted the pattern 1/2 way up the vellum I've put the Vellum all the way into the folder then the folder into my Stampin' Cut & Emboss machine sideways, so that I could run the folder only 1/2 way into the machine before backing it out again, If you put the vellum only partially into the folder (so the vellum sticks out at one end) and run it all the way through you end up with a line where the folder stops, and I didn't want that, I wanted it to kind of fade into the vellum rather than stopping abruptly.  Then I figured the Round and Square brads kind of went nicely with the design and also the Classic Matte Dots (I'm going with this being a 'bloke'y' card!)

Then lastly I've used my Simply scored Scoring Tool, the great thing about the Stampin' Up! one is that it's actually 12x12 so you can fit your whole scrap book papers into it (admittedly it does take up a fair bit of space)  Anyway I cut the vellum to 4" x 5 1/2" so I could score it into 1/2" blocks.

I find some of the designer paper a bit too dark, so I thought this would be a good way to lighten it up but still see it, I added a saying from Good Feeling Stamps, and used some of the cute little Loose flower flourishes that I usually forget about!  the leaves are cut using the Bough punch, you don't have to use the whole punch I just cut a couple of leaves off the end.  Oh and I added some of the iridescent pearl basic jewels in the centre of the flourishes, although they have sticky backs I did fill up the centre of the flowers with a bit of tombow first to make sure they definitely stuck well (seems to have worked 😉)

If you missed the video here it is: 

I hope this inspires you to have a play with your vellum and see what you can create!

God Bless love

Heather xox

Embossing folders 3D & Standard

 Hi There Creators, 

I had a request to do an Embossing folders video, so that's what this weeks video is all about.  They can be a little confusing as they come in small, medium and large, Standard and 3D.  And how do you know how to get them through your machine so they actually work?

Stampin' Up! has 2 Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machines, the mini and the standard.  The Standard one is a similar size to the Bigshot (I find it has a tad more room for the plate, the Bigshot used to shave bits off my plates if I didn't have them lined up exactly, I haven't noticed that with the Cut & Emboss machine)

Anyway, as you'll see from this picture our embossing folders come in a thin (small) size, which would emboss around 2/3 of your card front, a Medium size, which completely embosses your A6 card front and also a "large" which is 6" x6" sized (handy if you want the pattern on an angle!)   An important tip is to make sure the fold of the embossing folder is facing your machine when it goes through so it can't get out of sync and break the spine.

the 3D folders are a lot thicker than the standard folders, and so they can't go through your machine with the same plates.  If you have one of the Stampin' Up! machines they make it easy, as it says on the plates what you need!  if you don't however, what you can do is experiment, most machines have a base plate, so start with that and keep layering up till the folders work, sometimes you'll need to add a "shim" or two, this is just a piece of A5 cardstock, all it does is boost up the plates a fraction, which might be all you need!, you just pop it on top of your base plate, and add the other layers on top.

I promised in the video that I'd show you what I made with the embossed pieces, so here goes:

this first one using the fabulous Seashells 3D embossing folder, 3D means that the embossing is at varying depths, sometimes 'de-bossed' too.  I've done a special technique on the back of it, called "smooching" it creates a really cool watercolour effect (I'll tell you more after I've shown you the cards).

these 2 cards use the Wintry 3D embossing folders, all I've done is essentially added a bit of ribbon and a saying! and buffed over the embossing with an inked dauber.

Then these last 2 folders are called Meadow Moments, they are standard embossing folders which means that all the embossing is pretty much the same depth, again I've just added ribbon, a saying, and buffed over the embossing with an inked dauber.

I mentioned the "smooching" technique to create a watercolour background, here's how you do it:

Take a large clear block, add some drops of re-inkers (I used Pool party and Soft Sea foam initially), then spray it with water till it liquefies all over the block and all the re-inker is spread around.  You'll then need some Shimmery White cardstock, and you press it onto the watery/inky block., keep doing it till you  have covered the area you want to.  You can then let it dry naturally (or if you're impatient like me, get your heat tool out!)  I then went back over mine and did it again with Pear Pizzazz re-inker.

This is how mine turned out:

 isn't it so cool?  I reckon I'm going to be making a heap of these backgrounds (and they'll all be different, how exciting!)😁

If you haven't seen the video and would like to here is a link to it:

I hope these cards inspire you to create! 

God Bless love
Heather xox