It’s Tuesday. It’s still raining. I have a huge list of things to accomplish today. But am I sad,? Oh no. That’s because, after getting held up in Quebec for a few days my recent orders are due to be delivered. There’s some staples (card and adhesives) but also some new products from the Annual Catalogue for me and some local customers. Plus I’ll also receive products pre-ordered from the July To December Mini Catalogue. It’s definitely a day to celebrate. But first, a birthday card for you to enjoy.

EMBOSSING FOLDER TECHNIQUE

I’ll be honest from the start and say that this project isn’t perfect, but that’s OK. It’s handmade and imperfections are proof of that. With new products arriving soon I thought I ought to use some things that I already have but haven’t got around to yet. So I pulled out the Let’s Celebrate Embossing Folders, and chose the one covered in birthday greetings in various languages. This embossing folder can be used as is, but I decided to accentuate the embossing with ink.

TIP: I prepare a new embossing folder for inking by rubbing the smoother of the two inside surfaces with a basic eraser. This helps remove any manufacturing residue that might be on the surface and allows the ink to cling better.

After preparing the embossing folder I gently pressed a Starry Sky ink pad over the surface until it was covered with ink. Then I placed the open folder onto my embossing machine with the uninked side flat on the platform. Next I put down a 5-1/4″ x 5-1/2″ piece of Basic White Card before closing the inked side on top. Then after completing the required ‘sandwich’ for my Cut & Emboss Machine I ran it through the machine.

After that I carefully lifted out the card and I set it aside to give the ink time to dry. Meanwhile I could prepare the rest of the pieces for my project.

Starry Sky is my new favorite blue and so that’s what I chose for the card base. Using my Paper Trimmer I cut and scored the card, then folded it along the scored line before sharpening the crease with a Bone Folder.

CELEBRATE WITH BALLOONS

While I loved the effect of the inked embossing I did want to add some additional details. So after some thought I pulled out the balloon image from the Elephant Parade Stamp Set. First, using Starry Sky ink I stamped the balloon three times onto a scrap of Thick Basic White Card. Then I stamped it twice on the front of a Basic White Medium Envelope. Finally I stamped the balloon twice more in the bottom right corner of a 4″ x 5-1/4″ layer of Basic White Card.

With all the stamping done I then coloured in the balloons using the light and dark Daffodil Delight Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers followed by a Wink of Stella Clear Glitter Brush. Now I was ready to put the card together.

First I used Multipurpose Liquid Glue to fix the Basic White layer to the inside of the card base.

Next I trimmed the embossed card piece to 3-3/4″ x 5-1/2″ leaving a white border at the top and bottom. Then I glued it to the front of the card base.

Finally I used the coordinating Elephant Dies to cut out the three remaining balloons. Using liquid glue once more I fixed two of them directly onto the embossed layer, leaving one last balloon to attach. For this one I put a Stampin’ Dimensional under the balloon but liquid glue behind the bottom of the string. Then I added it to the card front and my project was done.

As I said this project is not perfect, with some bleeding of the ink onto the embossed words. That said, I still love it. Have you ever tried this technique?

PRODUCT LIST

LET’S CELEBRATE EMBOSSING FOLDERS – There are two embossing folders in the pack, the one used today plus another covered in Congratulations sentiments in multiple languages. Both folders are designed to fit through the Mini Cut & Emboss Machine. I used them with the full-size Cut and Emboss Machine today because I chose to use it with card that was cut wider than the folder.

BUNDLE BONUS – I bought the Elephant Parade Stamp Set in a bundle with the coordinating Elephant Dies (I’ll never like that name!). Buying them using the single “bundle” item number saved me 10% off the cost of buying the two products separately. I’ve included links for both options below in case you want to compare them.