…And The Greatest Of These Is Love – Embossed Impression Technique

Image ~ 22 November 201621 February 2018 ~ Anna Krol ~ 8 Comments

Hello and welcome!

Today, I’ve got for you card using beautiful Bloomin’ Heart Thinlits Dies. I’ve made various cards using this die in the past, but this time I wanted to try something new: an Embossed Impression Technique. This is very easy, yet effective technique. And great way to stretch your dies too.

I’ve used Stampin’ Up! White Shimmery cardstock for this technique, as I planned to do a bit of water colouring later on. I prepared my Big Shot sandwich: Big Shot on Tab 1 -> Cutting Plate -> Silicon {embossing) mat -> cardstock (I swiped the cardstock with embossing buddy). Next, I tapped Versamark over the cutting edge of the die very gently, and placed the die, cutting edge down, on my cardstock. Remember, once it’s on the paper don’t move it or you will mess up your image. I then carefully placed the second cutting plate over the top and run it through the big shot.

Because I put Versamark Ink on the die, now I had that ink in all the ‘valleys’ of the impression I just made. So I sprinkled Gold Stampin’ Emboss Powder over it and heat embossed it.

I love those tiny gold lines! Next, I made few watercolour washes over my piece, using Mint Macaron ink pad and Pool Party reinker. Once dry, I cut my panel to 3-7/8″x 4-3/8″.

I also die cut five flowers, two large and three small, from Whisper White cardstock (I probably should have used Shimmery White cardstock for them too), and adhered them to my piece with glue dots. I’ve added some soft Mint Macaron watercolour wash to the flowers to add some depth to them

My card base is Very Vanilla. I stamped ‘Love’ in Mint Macaron using Brushwork Alphabet stamp set. I adhered my embossed panel with liquid glue to a piece of Mint Macaron mat (4″x 4-1/2″), and add them both to the card base with dimensionals.

To finish off my card I’ve added some shimmer to the flowers with Clear Wink of Stella Glitter Brush and put a rhinestone in each flower centre.

I hope you like my card, and that you give this technique a try.

As always, if you wish to purchase any of the products I have used, simply click the images below to go directly to my online shop.

Thank you for stopping by and have a blessed day

Brushwork Alphabet Photopolymer Stamp Set

[141772]

£23.00

Bloomin’ Heart Thinlits Dies

[140621]

£22.00

Very Vanilla A4 Card Stock

[106550]

£8.25

Shimmery White A4 Card Stock

[121717]

£7.25

Mint Macaron A4 Cardstock

[138344]

£7.25

Whisper White A4 Card Stock

[106549]

£8.25

Mint Macaron Classic Stampin’ Pad

[138326]

£6.00

Pool Party Classic Stampin’ Ink Refill

[122933]

£3.00

Versamark Pad

[102283]

£7.75

Embossing Buddy

[103083]

£5.50

Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush

[141897]

£7.25

Gold Stampin’ Emboss Powder

[109129]

£4.50

Rhinestone Basic Jewels Embellishments

[119246]

£4.50

Aqua Painters

[103954]

£15.50

Stampin’ Dimensionals

[104430]

£3.75

Liquid Multipurpose Glue

[110755]

£3.75

Silicone Craft Sheet

[127853]

£5.50

Heat Tool – Uk Plug

[129054]

£27.00

Big Shot

[143263]

£99.00

Simply Sketched Saturday Challenge #15 – Follow Your Dreams

Image ~ 19 November 201621 February 2018 ~ Anna Krol ~ 14 Comments

Anna’ Stampin’ Cave – Simply Sketched Saturday Challenge #15 – Follow Your Dreams

Thank you for joining us for another Simply Sketched Saturday Challenge! We are so excited to be sharing this hop with you. The products used are all available in the current Annual, or seasonal, Stampin’ Up!® Catalogues*. Simply use the buttons at the bottom of the post to keep hopping!

Welcome to our 15th sketch challenge blog hop! This month it was me who had a pleasure to create a sketch we are gonna work with. Here it is:

When creating this sketch, I won’t be lying, I had our new Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies in mind. And however I don’t have these dies yet myself, I hope to see them used a lot through this blog hop.

I know that in the ‘age’ of everything ‘clean and simple‘ and ‘less is more‘ in crafting world, layered, ‘busy’ and distressed cards are kinda faux pas. But I can’t help I love them the most! I love all the organic, (sometimes messy) creative process of designing a card.

For my card base, I’ve used Island Indigo cardstock (standard top folding A6 size). The first layer is Vellum that measures 4”x 5-5/8” and next one is Whisper White 3-7/8”x 5-1/2” panel which I stamped using Hardwood background stamp in Sahara Sand. But because it felt rather ‘boring’ I also added few ‘splotches’ from Gorgeous Grunge stamp set in Mint Macaron, stamping them off a couple of times. I distressed the edges of my panel using regular scissors.

I also created a similar panel for the inside of the card, but this time I also stamped off the Hardwood image few times, so it wasn’t as crisp as the one on the card front.

I took two pieces of Blooms & Bliss DSP, which measure 4”x 1” each, and cut them into banners. One of the banners I adhered flat down using a fast fuse and a second one I pop with dimensionals with few lengths of Linen Thread underneath.

To create large roses I punched six flowers using Pansy punch from Mint Macaron cardstock (three flowers create one rose). For white tiny roses, I punched nine flowers using Petite Petals punch (again three flowers create one rose). I also punched one petite petals flower from Mint Macaron cardstock to create tiny leaves: I cut the shape apart so I end up with two double ‘leaves’ and one single ‘leaf’. White roses appeared bit ‘blunt’ so I decided to add some interest to them: using Island Indigo ink and a small paint brush I added some ‘speckles’ to them.

I also decided to add some sparkle to my flowers. I dipped the edges of petals first in watered-down Multipurpose Liquid Glue and next in Dazzling Diamonds glitter, and let it dry. Once they were ready I adhered them to the card with glue dots.

For the sentiment, I decided to use this awesome quote you probably have seen many times on the net: “Follow your dreams”. We might don’t have a stamp set with this sentiment, but this is where our amazing various alphabet sets come in handy.

Using Labeler Alphabet stamp set and Basic Black Archival ink pad, I stamped “follow your” on a 2/8” wide strip of Whisper White cardstock and cut it apart. Next, using Brushwork Alphabet stamp set and Basic Black Archival ink pad again, I stamped “Dreams” on a Whisper White panel that measures 7/8”x 3-1/2”, and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder for extra oomph. I pop ‘narrow’ part of the sentiment with dimensionals. For a wider piece, I created a vellum mat that measures 3-5/8”x 1”, and adhered them to the card front with a fast fuse.

Do you like my project?! If so, please leave me a comment. I would love to hear from you!

Now, be sure to hop along and see more inspiring projects. Your next stop is Jillian’s blog – go and see what she has made for you.

Thank you for stopping by and have a blessed day,

Elegant Monochromatic With Pop Of Colour

Image ~ 29 September 201622 February 2018 ~ Anna Krol ~ 2 Comments

Anna’ Stampin’ Cave – Elegant Monochromatic With Pop Of Colour

Wow! It’s hard to believe, but today is last day with My Hero Stamp Set from Stampin’ Up! Yep, 5 weeks have passed!

For my final project, I’ve created this striking yet elegant, almost monochromatic card, in shades of grey but with a pop of colour in form of dainty orange flowers.

For the base of my card I took an A4 sheet of Smoky Slate cardstock, cut it in half at 4-1/8″ and folded in half at 5-7/8″. I run the front of the base through Big Shot with Festive Embossing Folder. The panel is a piece of Basic Grey cardstock that measures 2″ x 5-7/8″. I adhere it to the base with Multipurpose Liquid Adhesive.

Next, I created my floral composition using Botanical Builder Framelits Dies. I die cut a couple of leaves from vellum and six flowers: three tiny flowers and three small 3D flowers from a scrap of Whisper White cardstock.

Savvy Tip: Don’t know what to do with random off cuts that are to small to use on cards or to punch anything out of them? Don’t throw them away! I save all my off cuts and use them up when need to die cut small elements, flowers, etc using framelits dies

To add a little bit of colour to my flowers I sponged the edges of the tiny flowers with Watermelon Wonder. For 3D flowers, I decided for more ‘dramatic’ look I sponged entire flowers using Pumpkin Pie ink pad and a dab of Watermelon Wonder to the centres. I also added a large rhinestone to each centre. You can’t really tell from the photos (blame the awful English weather) but I’ve added a touch of shimmer using Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush to each flower (tiny ones too).

Next, I took a strip of vellum ( 1/2″ x 4-1/8″) and stamped a ‘Celebrate’ from My Hero Stamp Set in Versamark. Of course, I’ve used an Embossing Buddy prior to stamping. I heat embossed the sentiment with Silver Stampin’ Emboss Powder.

Tip: For best results with heat embossing always treat your cardstock, dsp, vellum, etc with embossing buddy. I takes off the statick from the surface of your paper, and makes the powder stick only to the areas you stamped.

Tip 2: If you don’t have an embossing buddy or any other antistatic tool you can use cornflour instead. Just sprinkle a little amount of flour over the surface of your cardstock, spread it with fingers or paint brush, and shake off the excess. Now you can stamp and heat emboss.

I assembled my composition using Glue Dots and liquid adhesive. Two tiny flowers on the vellum banner are hiding adhesive that I’ve used to adhere the banner to the card base.

I really like how this card turned out. I love the monochromatic, cold look of greys with a pop of bright orange. And what do you think about this colour combination? Do you like it? I would love to hear from you in comments below.

Thank you for stopping by and have a blessed day,

Simply Sketched Saturday Challenge #13 – Birthday In Marina Mist Blues

Image ~ 24 September 201622 February 2018 ~ Anna Krol ~ 13 Comments

Anna’ Stampin’ Cave – Birthday In Marina Mist Blues

Welcome welcome! We are back with our monthly challenge after a long summer break. Did you miss us?

This week sketch was designed by our lovely Mandy and it is…anything goes. I know! A nice little warm-up for us – thank you, Mandy.

I know you see more and more holidays related projects lately. But I decided to keep the warm summer days for a little bit longer. And what says ‘summer’ more than blue skies and butterflies?

This is a birthday card for sweet ‘sixteen’ who loves blue. The base of my card is Marina Mist cardstock, standard A6 size. The first panel is a piece of Color Me Irresistible Specialty DSP that measures 5-5/8″x 3-7/8″. I chose to use white, embossed woodgrain pattern and gently sponged Marina Mist over my piece and adhere it to the base. Next, I cut a strip of Marina Mist cardstock, 1″ wide, and stamped little roses from Number Of Years Stamp Set all over the piece and adhere it across the sponged panel.

I die-cut two circles: large one from Whisper White ( I pierced it around the edge) and smaller one again from Color Me Irresistible Specialty DSP. I sponged this smaller one with Marina Mist. But this time, I’ve added lots of ink for really deep shade. I adhered smaller circle on top of the large one, off-setting it.

I stamped butterfly from Butterfly Basics on a piece of Whisper White in Marina Mist and die cut it using coordinating die. I also die cut larger, detailed butterfly from vellum, using the same die set. Next, I attached small butterfly on top of detailed one, with Silver Metallic Thread in between. I adhered them both to the circles using glue dots and attached the whole piece to the card base, off-setting it to the left.

I stamped numbers 1 and 6, from Number of Years Stamp Set, in Marina Mist of course, and die-cut it with coordinating dies (I love this set!!!). Next, I stamped banner and word ‘birthday’ inside of the banner and die-cut it. For the word ‘happy’ I had to adjust it a little bit, and with help of masking, and partial die-cutting, I was able to create matching smaller banner. I attached the numbers and banners to the card base using dimensionals.

There’s no such a thing as bling-free teenage girl card, right? So my finish touch was to add a gentle shimmer to the butterfly, circle, and numbers with Clear Wink of Stella Glitter Brush. I think it’s my first card ever where I’ve used one ink pad colour only. And to be honest I really like this monochromatic look.

And what do you think? Do you like monochromatic? Please let me know in comments below.

As always, if you wish to purchase any of the products I have used, simply click the images below to go directly to my online shop and don’t forget to enter the hostess code for the month of September RKW34AHD, to receive a gift from me.

Now, be sure to hop along and see more inspiring projects. Your next stop is Mandy’s blog – go and see what she has made for you.

Thank you for stopping by and have a blessed day

Product List

Number Of Years Photopolymer Stamp Set [140653] £24.00	Large Numbers Framelits Dies [140622] £28.00	Butterfly Basics Wood Stamp Set [138813] £44.00	Butterfly Basics Clear Stamp Set [138816] £33.00	Butterfly Basics Photopolymer Stamp Set [137154] £22.00
Butterflies Thinlits Dies [137360] £24.00	Layering Circle Framelits Dies [141705] £32.00	Marina Mist A4 Card Stock [121682] £7.25	Whisper White A4 Card Stock [106549] £8.25	White Vellum A4 Card Stock [106584] £6.00
Marina Mist Classic Stampin’ Pad [126962] £6.00	Silver Metallic Thread [138402] £2.75	Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush [141897] £7.25	Paper-Piercing Tool [126189] £3.75	Stamping Sponges [141337] £3.25
SNAIL Permanent Adhesive [104332] £6.25	Glue Dots [103683] £4.75	Clear Block Starter Bundle [129851] £18.50	Clear Block Caddy Storage [120279] £15.50	Stampin’ Trimmer [129722] £27.00
Big Shot [143263] £99.00

You Are My Hero

Image ~ 22 September 201621 February 2018 ~ Anna Krol ~ Leave a comment

Anna’ Stampin’ Cave – You Are My Hero

Another week has passed by, and it’s that time again when our little group of demonstrators is showcasing you this lovely stamp set called ‘My Hero’. I love the versatility of this set, as it covers all major holidays/occasions throughout the year. But not only that. This is Ronald McDonald House Charities stamp set, which means for every set purchased, Stampin’ Up! donates £2 to the RMHC. Visit www.stampinup.com/giving_uk to learn how you can help too.

For today’s project, I’ve chosen ‘You are my #1 hero’ sentiment. I’ve seen many beautiful samples using this stamp. It’s perfect for all those oh-so-hard-to-make masculine cards. But I decided to make a card with a feminine twist. After all, women can be heroes too.

This is a very simple card. For the card base, I chose beautiful and very vibrant Emerald Envy cardstock (standard A6 size). Next layer is a piece of DSP from Playful Palette Designer Series Paper Stack. I took half of the sheet of my chosen design ( 3″x 6″) and trimmed 1/4″ from both sides. I adhered the larger piece to the base first and next, those tiny strips on each side of the panel, but reverse side up. Because the base is smaller than 6″ wide, I trimmed any overhanging paper using my scissors. It’s easier, and for sure you won’t end up with a too small panel. Unfortunately, my strips slightly ‘disappeared’, when adhered to the card base. So I draw few black lines along the edges using Project Life Journaling Pens.

Tip: learn from my mistakes! If, like me, you chose a design that has a kinda symmetrical pattern on the reverse, make sure you trim your panel so you have the same pattern on both strips you’ve trimmed.

Now to the focal point. I stamped my sentiment in Flirty Flamingo, on a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock and fussy cut it. It’s an easy shape to do so. I distressed the edges slightly. To make the sentiment ‘pop’ I decided to add a square Basic Black cardstock underneath. I could dry emboss it but instead, I decided to create a fun panel using Layering Squares Framelits. I’ve seen this idea just recently, on Carolyn Bennie blog and just had to try it myself. Carolyn is an amazing Australian demo. You should definitely check her out.

I arranged five scalloped squares dies on a piece of Basic Black cardstock, but offset them slightly. I secured dies to the paper with washi tape and run it through the big shot. Before I removed my dies, I’ve added washi tape underneath of the panel, to keep the squares together. I took another piece of Basic Black cardstock and adhered my die cut squares to that panel. I trimmed it to the 2-3/8″ square.

I adhered my fun square to the card base with a couple of dimensionals. Next, I’ve added my sentiment on top of it, with regular snail adhesive. Few rhinestones on the corners of the badge finish off my card.

Thank you for stopping by and have a blessed day,

Anna' Stampin' Cave

creative life by anna krol – stampin' up! uk independent demonstrator

Stampin’ Up!

…And The Greatest Of These Is Love – Embossed Impression Technique

Simply Sketched Saturday Challenge #15 – Follow Your Dreams

Elegant Monochromatic With Pop Of Colour

Savvy Tip: Don’t know what to do with random off cuts that are to small to use on cards or to punch anything out of them? Don’t throw them away! I save all my off cuts and use them up when need to die cut small elements, flowers, etc using framelits dies

Tip: For best results with heat embossing always treat your cardstock, dsp, vellum, etc with embossing buddy. I takes off the statick from the surface of your paper, and makes the powder stick only to the areas you stamped.

Tip 2: If you don’t have an embossing buddy or any other antistatic tool you can use cornflour instead. Just sprinkle a little amount of flour over the surface of your cardstock, spread it with fingers or paint brush, and shake off the excess. Now you can stamp and heat emboss.

Simply Sketched Saturday Challenge #13 – Birthday In Marina Mist Blues

You Are My Hero