Happy birthday cards

It's been a while since I've updated. The last couple of weeks has been rough work wise, life wise. Fortunately, I can't say that anything bad has happened to me. But watching the hardships of other people is a reality check for me. I cope with prayer and distract myself with some good ole happy card making.

The tope whale card is an effort to mimic a papyrus card that I saw. Though in terms of technical skills it is not perfect, it seems to be everyone's favorite. Any one want a happy birthday card? Email me your addy :)

Happy Birthday Card

I was feeling productive today after having cleaned the house + my room and especially my craft desk. It inspired me to create a new card. Having an extra birthday cards are always handy to have on hand. This is what I came up with.

Supplies: 

Chipboard Alphabet by K&Company

Cupcake Dimensional Stickers by Jolee's Boutique

My Girl Dot Paper by KI Memories

Happy Trails Hot Dots Flat Paper by K&Company

White Gelly Roll Pen

Pink Ribbon

Elmer's Rubber Cement

Tombo Mono Multi Liquid Glue Pen

Embossing Tutorial

Hello!



Wanted to do a quick tutorial. Embossing is one of the most versatile techniques in card making and scrapbooking. This is the best definition I could find regarding the type of embossing I am referring to.

em·boss 
To decorate with or as if with a raised design


Let's jump in! This tutorial will cover how to emboss and even show you how acrylic stamps work.


Here are the basic supplies that you will need. 

(Clockwise from the top) 1. Versamark Ink 2. Acrylic block 3. Studio G acrylic stamp
 4. Darice Heat Tool 5. and 6. Embossing Powder

Most of these items were bought from Michael's, AC Moore or Joanns. Versamark Ink costs roughly $7 but is very useful and worth the investment. With this and different stamps, you can create your own pattern paper! Acrylic block and stamp are from the dollar bins of Michaels. There are many different varieties all year round to be found. Heat tool might look like a blow dryer. But these are a little bit different in that it gets MUCH MUCH hotter. The heat needs to get hot enough to melt the powder.  These are about $20. I searched for a 40% off coupon for Michael's and purchased it for a lot less. Embossing powder comes in sparkles, clear, color, texture etc. Possibilities are endless!

From left to right:

Peel the arylic stamp from the packaging. Place it on top of the acrylic block. It should stick well. If you have problems with it sticking to the block, wash it with soap and water and dry with a paper towel and try again.

Take the versmark ink and place the ink on top of the stamp. I find this technique equals better ink coverage. 

Hold the acrylic block and stamp onto a piece of paper. You will be left with a darkened image of the stamp. You can always use the versamark for this purpose as well. It takes a little bit of time for it to dry but if you needed a subtle background image, you can use versamark ink to make the impression. 

Otherwise, pour the embossing powder over the image. Shake off the excess and you should be left with a white image of the fish.

Turn your heat gun on. CAUTION! Do NOT touch the end as it gets hot enough to burn. Be careful where you point the heat too. I've had carpet fibers burn up because of the heat. In slow motions, wave the heat gun over the fish. Be careful not to keep the heat gun in one area for too long as it can burn and warp the paper.

As the powder begins to melt, move onto a different area. You will be left with a bumpy/raised image of the fish!

The end!

I want to end the post with my process of creating a card. Pictures are fairly self explanatory in explaining my chaos when it comes to creating a card.

Hi! Just because.

My find for my card making supplies

So while I do not have any new projects (I do have several unfinished projects such as : cable knit scarf, tiny amigurumi dragon, vday card, amigurumi eggs, crochet cowl scarf, knitted infinity scarf) <~ oi vey
I wanted to show you these new cardstock I stumbled upon at TJ Maxx. Rarely, do I fall in love with a cardstock pack. Usually I will like a couple of designs in the packet plus it's on sale, so it makes it worth it. But I think I would have paid full price for these pack because I loved EVERY single sheeeeet.

Take a look at a couple. It's by K&C Company Designer Pack titled 'Daydreams'

How... whimsical are these patterns? I have not yet figured out what I could do with these cardstocks but I do have high hopes! Hope to display them on the blog soon.

Tip to save money: While I know that every TJ Maxx is different due to where they get their inventory, the local TJ Maxx near me has random scrapbooking supplies marked down very cheap. For example, the pack of these 12x12 36 sheet cardstock was only 4.99 compared to 19.99 at AC Moore or Michaels. I also purchased two EK punches for 3.99 each compared to 10.99 - 14.99 at AC Moore or Michaels. The trick to buying items at TJ Maxx or similar is to not buy crap. It's so easy to see the discounted prices and justify that you will use all the supplies. But I promise, there are reasons why a good chunk of these items end up at TJ Maxx. Nobody wanted them to begin with. 

Focus on items that have multiple uses. For example, butterfly and heart punches are usually safe bets that it will get used. A witches hat punch probably won't find much use. A textured colored cardstock is a basic necessity for card making so purchasing them is a great buy. Metallic sparkles.. probably not so much. But I guess you can argue personal tastes!

Anywho, I hope to have more interesting entries to come!