Welcome, I'm glad you're here! My name is Carolyn and I'm thrilled to be a part of today's celebration of crafty happiness. For the past several weeks, baking in my kitchen and crafting in my studio have been a source of joy, and I hope that you have also been able to find an escape from our current reality through the arts.
My project today highlights the Essentials by Ellen product line from Ellen Hutson. I've been a member of her Design Ambassadors for several years and her signature product line contains products I reach for again and again.
This card is a CAS project that has just enough detail to make it interesting, yet is simple enough that even a beginner could have success making it.
TIP #1 : Here's a trick if you only have a dye ink pad, but want to emboss (which typically requires pigment ink). The process is to stamp with a dye ink in your chosen colour, then stamp on top of that with clear embossing ink, and heat emboss with clear powder.
Here's what that process looks like on today's card: First, you'll want to use a stamp positioner and place your pink cardstock and flower stamp in position. Then, apply pink ink to the stamp and stamp it. Next, gently clean the stamp without removing it from the positioner. Apply clear embossing ink to it and re-stamp directly on top of the pink ink. Quickly remove the cardstock, sprinkle with clear embossing powder, then heat emboss the flower. Ta-dah! This is a great way to get added mileage out of dye inks!
TIP #2 : One of the highest impact things I think you can do to add visual interest to CAS cards is to add depth and dimension via foam tape and stacking. On today's project I did this in two places:
1) I added foam tape under the flower (but not the leaves), so that it is raised ever so slightly from the cardstock background.
2) I cut four of the 'hello' die cut greetings from cardstock, then glued them one on top of the other to create a chipboard-like effect. As you can see in the sample photo, by stacking the die cuts together they cast a brilliant shadow due to their depth from the background. The more die cuts you stack, the higher your 'faux chipboard' will be. Typically I opt for between 3-5 layers when I am using this technique.
TIP #3 : Utilize the subtlety of tone on tone. The 'hello' greeting on the front of my card is white on a white background, but in my opinion, it's the very fact that it doesn't pop from the background that helps the card look fresh and modern! Honestly, I tried putting a colour on there, but in the end, I loved how the white kept the whole card soft, and subtle. So while I agree that sometimes you need big, in your face colour... there are times when tone on tone is just the thing to cap off your design - don't be afraid to try it!
Supply list:
Stamps: Mondo Chrysanthemum, Everyday Punnies by Ellen Hutson
Dies: Mondo Chrysanthemum, Big Scripty Hello, Stitching Lines by Ellen Hutson
Inks: It's a Girl by Catherine Pooler, Emboss it Clear Embossing ink by Ranger
Embossing Powder: White by Ranger, Clear by Hero Arts
Cardstock: Solar White by Neenah (as my card base), Peony and Meadow by Hero Arts
Other: MISTI Stamp positioner (large or small, either will work for cards), Crafty Foam Tape by Scrapbook Adhesives, Die Cutting machine.
Stamps: Mondo Chrysanthemum, Everyday Punnies by Ellen Hutson
Dies: Mondo Chrysanthemum, Big Scripty Hello, Stitching Lines by Ellen Hutson
Inks: It's a Girl by Catherine Pooler, Emboss it Clear Embossing ink by Ranger
Embossing Powder: White by Ranger, Clear by Hero Arts
Cardstock: Solar White by Neenah (as my card base), Peony and Meadow by Hero Arts
Other: MISTI Stamp positioner (large or small, either will work for cards), Crafty Foam Tape by Scrapbook Adhesives, Die Cutting machine.
PRIZES
There are 31 generous Sponsors who are a part of today's festivities.
Prizes will be randomly drawn from all the blogs and all the comments. I encourage you to leave as many comments on as many blogs as you can - the more comments you leave, the greater your odds at winning! Also, some of the sponsoring companies are offering discounts and freebies. If they are offering something, that info will be found on the company blogs.
Deadline to enter is April 24 for prizes. Winners will be announced on Monday, April 27 on the Catherine Pooler and Hedgehog Hollow blogs.
Your next stop on the blog hop is with Laura Volpes, enjoy!