You had to be a Big Shot, did ya?

Oh my gosh, are you ready for this?? I am SO excited because today i learned an amazingly easy yet awe-inspiring technique to use with my already-much-loved Big Shot. I've seen some cards with this done, but had no idea how these people were doing it. Well, thanks to Splitcoast, i now know, and i think i'll be using this technique a LOT. Check it out:


This card was so easy it's almost funny. I ran a piece of Crushed Curry cardstock through my Big Shot with a Texturz plate. I already love these plates, but sometimes i want the embossed image to be more obvious. I thought there was some complicated way to achieve this...but all you do is flip the cardstock over (to the side with indents rather than bumps) and run your brayer over it with a darker ink! And out pops whatever image was embossed, showing up as whatever color cardstock you used! So you end up with this amazing looking card, when really it was one of the easiest things you'll ever make.

I added a layer underneath, chose Dusty Durango for the card base (apparently Ruby Red + Crushed Curry = Dusty Durango - who knew?!), added the ribbon, and turned it into a love or wedding card by adding one of the sentiments from the Baroque Motifs set. And there you go!


All supplies from Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted.

Stamp set: Baroque Motifs
Cardstock: Dusty Durango, Crushed Curry
Ink: Dusty Durango, Ruby Red
Tools: Bone folder, Brayer, Big Shot, Eyelet Texturz plate, Large Oval punch
Adhesive: Snail, Dimensionals
Other: Dusty Durango grosgrain ribbon

Mustardless Medallion

For some reason, the day i made this card, i was in the mood for these kinds of colors. I found myself reaching for Earth Elements over and over. Maybe i was so busy in the fall this year that i just didn't get enough, or maybe it was because i have been working with Bold Brights a lot lately for some wedding invitations. Either way, these deep rich colors were just calling out to me.

So this is an example of another way to use the emboss resist technique. Would you believe that the piece of cardstock with the huge medallion (which i LOVE, by the way...it's my favorite stamp lately) stamped on it was originally More Mustard? By the time i was done with it, you can't see any true More Mustard anywhere.

I wheeled More Mustard and Really Rust onto the mustard piece with the Texture wheel. Then i stamped the Medallion image with Versamark and embossed with clear powder, then brayered & sponged Chocolate Chip ink all over it. Actually, in the end, to get it really dark, i just smashed my Chocolate Chip ink pad over it again and again. Then wiped the ink off the image with a towel, and voila!



All supplies from Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted.

Stamp sets: Medallion, Texture (wheel), Inspired by Nature
Cardstock: Dusty Durango, Summer Sun, More Mustard
Ink: Chocolate Chip, More Mustard, Really Rust, VersaMark
Tools: Bone folder, Embossing Buddy, Heat Tool, Brayer, Stampin' Sponges
Adhesive: Snail
Other: Clear Embossing Powder

Beautiful Butterfly

The card i'm sharing today is one i made for a bridal shower. Unfortunately, the scanner just doesn't do it justice...it's even more beautiful in real life. The butterfly looks like it's about to fly right off the card, and the sentiment has a faint shadow behind it.

I really love the new Sweet Pea DSP stack. There are SO many beautiful papers in that one pad! I cut the butterfly (top and bottom) and the flowered strip out of one piece of 12x12. I hate to admit it, but this is the first time i'm using something from the Pretties Kit (the halfback pearl)...i've been hoarding those beautiful embellishments for months!

All supplies from Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted.

Stamp set: Well Scripted
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Barely Banana
Designer Series Paper: Sweet Pea DSP stack
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink
Tools: Bone folder, Big Shot, Beautiful Butterflies Bigz die, Scallop Trim Border punch, Stamp-a-ma-jig
Adhesive: Snail, Dimensionals
Other:Pretties Kit

Batik Daisy

I was checking out various technique tutorials on Splitcoast today and was wowed by a variation on emboss resist. I started playing around with it and came up with this card.

What fun this was! The color peeking through the daisies was done with sponges. I tried doing it with various solid image stamps (which was what they used for the tutorial), but it just didn't work well for me. I had a lot more success with just sponging splashes of color all over, then clear embossing the daisies on top. Then i brayered Chocolate Chip ink over the whole thing and wiped off the daisies. Cool, huh?

All supplies from Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted.

Stamp sets: Inspired by Nature, Sincere Salutations
Cardstock: Ruby Red, Summer Sun, Taken with Teal
Ink: VersaMark, Chocolate Chip, Ruby Red, Summer Sun, Taken with Teal
Tools: Bone folder, Wide Oval punch, Embossing Buddy, Heat Tool, Brayer
Adhesive: Snail, Dimensionals
Other: Clear Embossing Powder, Stampin' Sponges