Theme Ink Blending or Stenciling
Week 2
Good day, fellow crafters. In the spirit of timeless elegance and in time for the festive season, I present to you a card design that is sure to evoke the charm of yesteryears. Each bauble on this card tells a story, echoing the joy of bygone celebrations and the warmth of cherished memories. With a touch of creativity, I bring you a card that not only captures the essence of tradition but also adds a touch of sophistication to my seasonal greetings. This is the second week of the Run Up to Christmas Hop 2023 series. Join us in embracing the spirit of the season where love, joy, and creativity harmoniously converge. I hope you enjoy my submission to these challenges and if you would like to see the work the other participants in the hop have done then check out #runuptochristmashop2023 or head over to my Instagram page @forgetmenotcardco, find my post with this card, and then follow the other participants listed in the description.
To create this card I decided that I wanted to include both of the prompted design techniques suggestions instead of either one or the other. In order to do that I first began with some white cardstock and the Taylored Expressions Beautiful Baubles layered stencil set ( TESN087), featured left, specifically the layer marked 1 in the diagram. I secured my cardstock to my worksurface and then secured the stencil into place. With that done I selected three shades of Gina K inks that I felt were Christmas-like but had a vintage appearance to my mind when thinking about my grandparent’s Christmas decorations and ink-blended each color until I was happy with the hue.
I next removed stencil layer one and then aligned and secured the layer marked 2 in the diagram. With this stencil layer in place, I used accenting colors for each of the baubles and ink-blended them until I was happy with the hue. I then removed the stencil layer and allowed the inks to dry.
Once it was ready it was time for the magic that makes this Christmas card stand out. I aligned and secured the stencil layer marked 3 in the diagram but instead of applying more ink, I opted to give my design both color and texture at the same time by incorporating Lunar Paste! To do this I utilized a small pallet knife and Lunar Paste in the colors Slippery When Wet (gold) and Silver Lining (silver) and spread a thin coat over the stencil cutouts. Once they were in place I slowly lifted the stencil layer off and allowed the background panel to dry thoroughly. This turned out AMAZING! I love how the colors and textures all blend together to really bring this design to life.
The next step was to step up my game and add some classic appeal and I have to be honest, the method I chose I really had to practice to get just right. I am only now getting good at using my hot foiling machine and if I can say anything about the process to someone who has never tried it, it would be to not give up as each machine seems to be just a little different so you try different techniques until you find the right way for your machine. For example, my machine needs a minimum of three heats to get my glimmer plates to work the way they are intended. That said I heated my machine and the Spellbinders Essential Duo Lines (SLP-258), featured right, and then with Spellbinders Polished Brass (GPOF-SEP21) foil, created the dual edge banding around my baubles. I was able to get a really clean transfer with only the barest minimum of overfoil that was easily cleaned off. While I had the supplies out I also decided to foil the sentiment from the Spellbinders Mini Everyday Sentiment Glimmer set (GLP-260), featured above right, in the same foil color. I then used a sentiment tag die and cut it out.
The last stage was the assembly. I first trimmed down the background panel to its final dimensions, and then using a cover-sized rectangular die cut a metallic gold mat. I next adhered my background panel to the mat with double-sided tape and then that composite to a white card base. The sentiment was then adhered into place with some liquid glue. Lastly, I wanted to add a bit more dimension so I incorporated some Pink Fresh Studio flat-backed gold metallic pearls. With that I called this card complete.
