I was completely out of sympathy cards already so I wanted to use the retired set Branch out to make one. I centered my design around the Make the Sketch Challenge #33 and knew I wanted to use the new Typeset Specialty Designer Series Papers. Then, I decided to use the Woodgrain embossing folder on Basic Black Core'dinations cardstock to make my background.
When I pulled out my Very Vanilla cardstock file to grab cardstock for my card base, a die-cut of a maple leaf fell out of the folder (die-cut with the Autumn Accents Bigz die). It was a leftover that hadn't been used on a previous project and that I had left with my vanilla cardstock. I thought it would make a great accent to go with the tree image, so I decided to include it in the design on a whim.
The front panel is a piece of designer paper on which I embossed the tree in Black powder. I also stamped the splatter image from the Gorgeous Grunge stamp set in Gold powder. The center panel is a piece of Brushed Gold cardstock, which gives just the perfect subtle shimmer to my project.
I used a piece of the new Gold satin ribbon (which is just luscious) and wanted to add a button on top. I first thought of the new Gold Basic Metal Buttons we carry in the Holidays catalogue, but the tone-on-tone wasn't popping enough, so I remembered the Very Vintage Designer Buttons. I also remembered a trick Shelli Gardner had shared at convention a little while back: rolling the top bottom of your bottom on your VersaMark pad then dipping it in Gold Stampin' Emboss powder. Beautiful result! I added a bow made out of Gold baker's twine as well.
Here's my tip to you: The metallic baker's twine (silver and gold) comes undone easily, so don't even bother trying to put it through the button holes. It's too finicky and you'll lose your patience and your mind over it. I simply tied a bow and added it to the top of a button with a mini glue dot. Much simpler and allows for perfect placement!
The sentiment comes from the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set. It is interesting to note that I've been keeping track of the use I've made of my supplies to see what I use most and what I don't use enough of and I noticed that I have used my Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set on 74 projects so far!! Now, if that doesn't prove that this sentiment set is the most useful and versatile stamp set you can invest in, I don't know what will! It includes sentiments for all occasions and is the perfect size to fit on your project, whether it's on a tab, a punched piece, a little tag, etc. I try to vary the sets I use, but this is the one I always fall back on whenever I can't find what I need in any other sets.
Notice how the envelope is decorated as well? This is a piece I salvaged from my first try, that didn't make it on the card. I tried doing a resist technique by embossing the tree in clear powder and rubbing ink around it. The Specialty paper is very, very thin (think dictionary pages) so the embossing on it wasn't as crisp as it usually is and I didn't like the look of the emboss resist. I was using So Saffron ink and we could barely see the tree amongst the dictionary entry, so I switched gear and stamped another image on another piece of paper. At the end, though, instead of chucking my initial image, I thought I would experiment with it. I wanted to know if I covered the whole paper with VersaMark then gold powder, if the tree image would show through once I heated the powder. It didn't, but you could kind of see the shadow of an image in the light because the clear embossing was a little thicker. Definitely not enough to be a main image, but I did like how we could see the dictionary text through the gold embossing. My first idea was to die-cut another leaf to decorate the envelope or the inside of the card, but then I decided to keep experimenting instead. I stamped the tree again in VersaMark OVER the embossing and added black powder, then heated. The image stayed in place but it did melt into the gold powder instead of being raised and the black image isn't as glossy as regular embossing is. It's a neat, different result, and I wanted to showcase it on the envelope. Goes to show that you can find some cool ideas when you try and reuse the leftover pieces you have on your craft table.
Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Branch Out, Voeux mignons (Teeny Tiny Wishes), Gorgeous Grunge
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Basic Black Core'dinations, Brushed Gold
Specialty Designer Series Papers: Typeset
Ink: VersaMark
Accessories: Very Vintage Designer Buttons, Gold Satin Ribbon, Gold Baker's Twine,
Autumn Accents Bigz Die, Stampin' Emboss Powders (Black, Gold), Vanilla Envelope,
Woodgrain Embossing Folder
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