Howdy! It seems that has been a while since my last post. Well, at least for me seems that way. We had some remodeling going on at the house and we are not done, as a matter of fact we are just getting started. So, life has been pretty busy. But, here I am today with a new post and a brand new class at the Altenew Academy called “Clean & Simple Boutique Cards”. I love this class. especially because everything is supposed to be clean and simple. I have made plenty of these cards in the past and today’s card is no exception.

Today’s inspiration is this lovely card by Jennifer Rzasa. And I love what she did here, so, I decided to recreate something similar. This card was super easy and quick to make with minimal supplies, so this is what I did.

First, as always I gathered my supples. I cut my paper to 9″ x 8″ and scored at 4″. This is the typical size of a slimline card; if desired, you can trim off about 3/8″ on both sides, that way you can use a full sheet of 8×11 to create a slimline envelope and do not end up wasting a lot of paper. I would just like to mention that for this technique you will need a laminator. I also want to point out that I made two cards using this technique. Now, the first card that I made was a total bust! I did not like how it turned out, so, I simply had to redo it, but I changed the steps in which I created this card, and the results were much better. So, let’s get goin’.

After I had all my supplies handy, the first thing I did was turning on the heat gun and the laminator. You definitely want these tools to get nice and hot for this project.

Step one EMBOSSING: for this I used a MISTI stamping tool, but a simple stamping block will do for smaller images. When embossing always remember to prepare your paper before stamping by generously applying antistatic powder. For this you can use inexpensive baby powder or even corn starch. What this does is remove all the oils and static from the paper so the stamp image will look clean and sharp and it prevent the embossing powder from sticking all over the paper. After that, I inked up the stamp with Versamark Ink and pour clear embossing powder over it. I then heat set it, or melted with my heat gun and repeated the process with a smaller stamp. I have to put a big note here for all of you who want to try this technique. For better results use STICKY EMBOSSING POWDER. Now, I was completely out of this embossing powder and my local craft stores did not have it in stock, so I ended up using a regular clear embossing powder by WOW. Now, my foil did transfer, but the results would have been much better if I used sticky embossing powder.

Step two LAMINATING: For this step I used Deco Foil. This is an easy and simple way to add foil to your projects and Deco Foil is very affordable. So I simply trimmed my foil enough to cover my embossed image, I wrapped it in a piece of baking sheet and put it through the preheated laminator. Putting a project between folded paper, or in my case baking sheet, insures that the foil will not move once put through the laminator, but stick to the image. For better transfer, I always like to repeat this processes a couple of times, only this this time without the baking sheet. This was the laminator will apply enough heat and pressure to a project for better looking images.

Step three STAMPING: When using layering stamps especially if they are on a bigger size, I like to use a stamping positioner. There is a lot of different ones on the market that do the same thing, but I do find that a MISTI stamping positioner is the absolute best. I simply put my foiled project in the MISTI, positioned then inked up the stamps with die ink from Altenew (in this project I used Mountain Mist) and transfer the image onto the paper. The stamp set I used in today’s card is by Altenew and it is called Leaf Canopy. Now in this is when I realized that the stamping over the foiled image is not going to work. The stamp picked up some of the foil and because foil does not absorb ink, I ended up with the smudges all over the paper. (See image below) I realized that this was not good for my stamps either; I had foil residue all over them and I had to scrub my stamps to get the foil off. So this was no good!

Since this card came together quick and easy, I decided to make another card using the same technique only this time I changed the steps. This time I stamped the images first and then I did the foiling. The results were much better! I have to admit that I forgot to prep my paper with the anti static powder which caused the embossing powder to melt all over my card, but I looked at it as a happy mistake. I covered most of the speckles with gold embellishments which gave it a very cool look.

Overall, I did learn some from my mistakes : do not rush and think! :) And I am sure this is something most of us can relate to.

These are the two finished cards next to each other and you can definitely see the difference. This was super fun and easy thing to do. This technique gave a lot of shine and sophistication to the finish card. There are some things here and there that I will change next time I use this technique, but overall happy with the final results. What do you think?

Thank you so much for visiting me today and see you soon in the next post.