Monday, March 17, 2025

AN ARCH OF SUNSHINE

This week I will be using the Everyday Arches Bundle.  The dies alone were enough to entice me to purchase this OnLive Exclusive, but the sentiments that fit in the arches sealed the deal.


Today's card uses a very old technique that I call Dry Embossing with a Shim.  It's not a very enticing name but it was the most descriptive I could come up with.

We used this technique in the "olden" days when I first started stamping.  As I recall, embossing folders came into being before we started having the huge variety of dies that we have today.  We used this technique to create a "flat" spot in the middle of an embossed piece of cardstock.  


Today, we usually just put a die cut on top of the embossed cardstock layer so we have a flat surface for our stamped images or sentiments.  The drawback to using an additional die cut is that you add another layer to your card, and all those extra layers add up to more postage.

If you are not familiar with how to do this technique watch my Learning with Friends video where I show you.  

I hesitated about even making this video because the technique was so old.  However after sharing it I was really surprised by the number of people that told me they had never heard of the technique before.  I guess there is some truth to the saying, "what's old becomes new again".  Kind of like hip hugger and bell bottom pants!


Today's card has an arched flat shape in the center of the Eyelet 3D embossed layer.  To create my "Arch of Sunshine", I used a mask made with one of the Everyday Arches dies to mask the Basic White cardstock layer before I embossed it.  Then I used Blending brushes to create my sky.  

After I completed by sky, I then made a shim using the same arch die and embossed the Basic White cardstock with the Shim Technique.  The sentiment and hot air ballons were added after embossing.

For all the details on how to make this card you can download a FREE tutorial at this link.  It includes Step by Step directions, all the dimensions you need and a list of the products used.  The tutorial also includes all the written directions and some additional hints for the Dry Embossing with Shim Technique.  There is also a link to the video so you will always be able to easily find it.

For the inside of my card, I used the mask again to create another pretty sky and then stamped some more hot air balloons.  There is plenty of room to write your message in the sky!

Listed below are the supplies that I used for the card.  You can click on any image to get additional information or easily make a purchase.


Product List

Friday, March 14, 2025

TRUST IN THE LORD

Today's card is a super quick and simple card that will probably take less than 10 minutes to make.  And that assumes you use 5 of those minutes deciding which beautiful scene to choose from the Thoughtful Journey Designer Series Paper.

As I indicated on Monday, this is my favorite sentiment from the You are Beautiful stamp set.

Today's card pairs it with this beautiful scene from Thoughtful Journey Designer Series Paper.  

There are so many gorgeous scenes to choose from in the DSP collection that it was hard to decide which to use.  I thought the peacefulness, calm and quiet of this scene would make a perfect sympathy card and when we are going through difficult times we need to Trust God to get us through.  

Also, we often need a sympathy card when we don't have time to create one.  So, this card was kept super simple by stamping the sentiment with Night of Navy ink directly on the DSP.  The cardstock colors were selected from the colors in the DSP--Night of Navy and Fresh Freesia.  Three Brushed Brass Butterflies finish the card.


The sympathy sentiment for the inside of the card is from the Country Flowers stamp set.

An additional strip of the same DSP finishes off both the inside of the card and the envelope.  The sentiment stamped on the envelop flap is also from Country Flowers.

Use this link to download a copy of the tutorial.  It will give you all the dimensions to make CASEing the card even quicker.

The short list of products used is shown below.

Product List

Wednesday, March 12, 2025

YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL AND BACKGROUND FUN

I love this card.  It is my personal favorite Background Fun Technique.


This technique combines my all-time favorite technique, Shaving Cream Backgrounds, with the use of Decorative Masks.  I was a little doubtful whether this would work or not, but I have to admit, I was so excited with how it turned out.

I used mask #4 from the Linked Together Decorative Masks which has openings that are Pentagon Shaped.  My initial concern was that the shaving cream would get under the mask and the shapes would be lost.  Because of that concern I chose a mask that had larger covered areas than some of the other masks.  There were a couple of places where the seepage did occur, but it in no way detracted from the beautiful result.


I turned to my Color Coach for some color advice.  I wanted something a little unique.  Since the 2023 - 2025 In-Colors will retire soon, I thought I would start there.

Here is the combination I came across.  I knew it was something I would never have chosen but decided to try it.  I dropped 3-4 drops of each of these colors on my shaving cream and started my technique process.  I was amazed at how pretty these colors were together.  I never would have chosen them, but it is an amazing combination.

Watch the above Learning with Friends video if you want to watch the Technique in Process.  Don't try to match my result exactly, as no two results will ever be the same!  A huge part of the fun in in the surprise result!

Look closely at each little pentagon shape.  Each one looks like a piece of unique art!

I didn't want to cover up much of my masterpiece, so at first I tried to just lay the large leafy branch from You are Beautiful directly over the Technique Background, but it kind of got lost.  So I added an Around it All die cut behind it and then also decided to add the other smaller stem from the set.  Both are stamped with Wild Wheat ink.  This set does not include coordinating dies, so I fussy cut them.  The berries on the smaller stem are made from Moody Mauve In-Color Dots.  Wild Wheat berries just didn't look "right", so I covered them with the Opaque Sparkle Dots.

For the inside of my card, I used a strip from a 2nd Technique Sheet that I had made.  I also used a portion of the 2nd sheet to decorate the front of my envelop.  Doesn't this make a pretty card set?

Use this link to download the written tutorial with all the dimensions for the card.

A list of the Stampin' Up! products I used is shown below.

Product List