My Cards and Tags: Faux Dry Embossing Technique using Tim Holtz's Cutout Upper Alphabet Dies

Have you ever organized your craft space and then can't find any of your supplies?  Such was the case with me this past week when dry embossing was declared the theme for this week's Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge!  After an organizational sweep that was apparently too innovative for my own self, I could not for the life of me find my embossing folders or a rubber mat to use with a die cutter for dry embossing techniques.  What to do??  I started thinking about embossing and how it basically just means a raised surface that stands out from the background, so I stacked up my letters and will call this a "faux dry embossing technique."

I started by cutting out four sets of letters using Tim Holtz's Cutout Alphabet- Upper Case dies and my Sizzix Big Shot.  I used Strathmore Mixed Media paper.

Next I glued them all on top of each other and then glued my letter stacks onto more Strathmore Mixed Media paper.

Did someone call for some Dina Wakley gloss spray?  Yes, please!  I spritzed on some Blackberry, Night and Mineral, then sprayed it with water.

I smeared on some acrylic paint-- mainly Dina Wakley's Night and Lapis.

I put white paint on a palette knife and swiped it over the letters (like buttering bread) so that the letters would stand out again.

I felt like I needed some different colors in the mix, so I added some Peeled Paint Distress paint and Dina's Sky.  I also stuck a strip of text paper on the bottom, but it promptly got covered up with more paint.

I loved the colors, but they were a bit too POW in real life, so I toned everything down with some white paint.  Then I wanted to add a bit of yellow and orange.  I also tacked on some bingo-looking numbers using Simple Stories' Family Fun paper and another strip of text paper (I stamped it myself-- it's leftover from my last project post).  I also thought this card needed another element, so I colored a Tim Holtz paper doll with Distress Crayons and made her a spiffy hat.

All that was left was to put this thing together, which I did...as you saw at the beginning of the post.  I thought I'd added TOO much white, though, so I added more color back in for the final result (story of my life-- add color, remove it, add it back in-- eye roll).

But I did enjoy this project and quite adore these fine products that you can find at Simon Says Stamp:

Tim-Holtz-Sizzix-ALPHANUMERIC-CUTOUT-UPPER-Thinlits-Die-Set-663073	Sizzix Big Shot	Strathmore Mixed Media Paper	UHU Glue Stick	Dina Wakley Night Gloss Spray
Dina Wakley Mineral Gloss Spray	Dina Wakley Blackberry Gloss Spray	Tim Holtz DISTRESS SPRAYER	Dina Wakley Ranger NIGHT acrylic paint	Dina Wakley Ranger LAPIS 1 oz Media Acrylic Paint
Dina Wakley Sky acrylic paint	Dina Wakley LEMON Media Acrylic Paint	Dina Wakley Ranger WHITE acrylic paint	Peeled Paint Flip Top Distress Paint	Dylusions Strawberry Daquiri Paint
Dylusions Mango Punch paint	Tim Holtz Distress Crayons Set 2	Tim Holtz Distress Crayons set 4	Idea-ology Paper Dolls	Simple Stories Family Fun 12x12 Paper Pack
Dina Wakley Palette Knife

Hopefully you know where your supplies are for dry embossing (and if not, just invent something else and call if Faux Dry Embossing like I did).  No matter what your interpretation of dry embossing is, why not join in on our Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge?  You could win a voucher to the Simon Says Stamp store and inspire countless others with your embossy-ness.

My Other Creations: Dyalog Insert Re-Do using Tim Holtz's Big Number Blocks and AALL & Create's Vivre Washi Tape

Hello to anyone out there who still takes the time to read this blog (thank you)!  It's been awhile since I've posted.  I had some life challenges that really sent me for a loop (I'm sure many of you can relate) and I lost my artsy muse for quite some time.  Art, the ability to create, is inextricably tied to our emotions and our mental state, so when things crumble in our lives, our creativity often pays the price.  This practice of artistic expression that can bring us so much therapy and joy can also become a debilitating and frustrating experience when our hands and our heart lose their connection. But I'm here trying again, even though it's kind of terrifying.  If you're feeling the same way, believe me when I say that you're not alone!  And I am sincerely rooting for you wherever you may be in your crafty journey because I'm struggling and hoping right there beside you.  Baby steps!!  Baby steps!!

And so, with fingers crossed that I can still make some okay stuff, I am honored and grateful to be back on the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog team!  Our theme this week is heat embossing, so I dug up my embossing powder, a Dyalog insert book, and gave it a go.

My theory is often, "when in doubt, cover it with paint or gesso," which is how I started this project.  I used a Dylusions Dyalog insert book and covered it with a thick layer of gesso.  While that was drying, I used Tim Holtz's Big Number Blocks stamp set and stamped a 5 and a 4 with embossing ink onto Strathmore Mixed Media paper.  Then I sprinkled some black embossing powder on top and hit it with a heat tool.

Next I took the numbers and drizzled some Dylusions shimmer spray on them, then spritzed them with water to get more coverage from the spray.  I used Bubble Gum and Lemon Zest spray.  I smeared some white paint on top in some spots to tone it down a bit.

I am always addicted to turquoise, so I added some Dina Wakley Turquoise paint to the numbers, along with a touch of Dina's Olive.

While the paint dried, I made some patterned text paper for the background by stamping some text (Inky Antic's Encouraging Words) onto a scrap of paper.

I still felt the yen to emboss, so I put a stencil (Altenew's Bubble Wrap) onto my gesso notebook cover and traced inside the circles using an embossing pen, then sprinkled on more black embossing powder and heat it up.  Wah-la!  Instant circles (another addiction of mine).

I painted the surface next using Izink Ice (this is like a translucent glaze that adds beautiful layers of color) and then I added some more acrylic paint (Dylusions' London Blue, Balmy Night and Tropical Sangria and Dina Wakley's Sky).

I had all of my components in place, so I glued down my text-stamped scraps using an UHU glue stick.  I also tore off a strip of fabulous washi tape from AALL & Create called "Vivre" and glued that on for my page's sentiment.

I finished the project by gluing on my number 5 (apparently I'll save number 4 for another project on another day), and I added some of Dina Wakley's Umber to darken up the edges of the notebook.  I also used a Dina Wakley clip to keep it closed, but here is it open and ready for new adventures:

And a close-up:

It's good to be back again and thanks again for hanging in there with me as we all find our footing in these crazy times!

Here are the supplies I used that you can find at Simon Says Stamp:

Dylusions Blank 2 Dyalog Insert Book

Dina Wakley White Gesso

Tim Holtz Big Number Block Stamps

Strathmore Mixed Media Paper

Distress Clear Embossing Ink

Ranger Black Embossing Powder

Dylusions Shimmer Spray: Bubble Gum

Dylusions Shimmer Spray: Lemon Zest

Dina Wakley Turquoise Paint

Dina Wakley Olive Paint

Dina Wakley Umber Paint

Dina Wakley Sky Paint

Ranger Jet Black Archival Ink

Inky Antics Encouraging Words Stamp Set

Altenew Bubble Wrap Stencil

WOW Embossing Pen

Izink Ice: Frostbite

Dylusions Tropical Sangria Paint

Dylusions Balmy Night Paint

Dylusions London Blue

AALL & Create Vivre Washi Tape

UHU Glue Stick

Dina Wakley Binder Clip

If you're needing a creative nudge, give our heat embossing challenge a try!  What's the worst that could happen (besides potentially burning a hole in your crafting table 😉)?  Just upload your creation to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog for your chance to win a $25 voucher to the Simon Says Stamp store.

My Cards and Tags: Using Inky Antics' Color Wheel and Alcohol Ink

Our theme for this week's Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge is using alcohol inks.  I used different shades of blue, yellow, turquoise and green alcohol ink to make the background of this tag.

I started out with a sheet of deli paper that I stenciled dots onto using white paint and a dotted stencil.  Then I dripped alcohol ink onto it in some places and smeared alcohol ink in other places.

Next I cut a tag out of both the deli paper and a sheet of Strathmore Mixed Media paper and glued the deli paper to the thicker Strathmore paper.

Next I cut out some arch shapes using a dog die (it's the outline of the dog's torso) and painted those then outlined them with a black Sharpie.  I glued them to my tag.

I smeared some white acrylic paint over the arches to tone them down and blend them in a bit.

Lastly, I stamped some color palette circles onto the tag, filled in the circles with paint, then stamped a sentiment, cut it out and added it to the tag.

Here are the supplies I used that you can find at Simon Says Stamp:

Inky Antics Color Wheel stamp set	My Favorite Things Wonky Dots Stencil	Simon Says Stamp Picture Book Labrador die	Tim Holtz Sizzix Tag Collection	Tim Holtz Alcohol Pearls Ink TRANQUIL Ranger
Tim Holtz Alcohol Pearls Ink SUBLIME Ranger	Ranger Alcohol Ink in Cloudy Blue	Citrus - Alcohol Ink	Adirondack Alcohol Ink In Aqua	Ranger Alcohol Ink Sunshine Yellow
Dina Wakley Ranger WHITE acrylic paint	Dina Wakley Carnation Heavy Body Acrylic Paints	Dina Wakley LEMON Media Acrylic Paint	Dina Wakley Lime paint	Dina Wakley Tangerine paint
Dylusions Tropical Sangria	Dylusions London Blue paint	Dina Wakley Palette Knife	Sizzix Big Shot	Strathmore Mixed Media 6x8 Paper
Black Permanent Sharpie Marker	Ranger Archival Jet Black Ink Pad	Gina K Designs SET OF FIVE COMFORT ACRYLIC BLOCKS With Carrying Case	Ranger Non Stick Craft Sheet

What wonders will you work with alcohol ink? Upload your creations to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog for your chance to win a $25 voucher to the Simon Says Stamp store.