As I sat down to create today’s project I had just a very vague idea of what I was doing. All I knew was that I wanted to experiment a little more with the Fern 3D Embossing Folder. In previous experiments I’d simply embossed coloured card, which turned out remarkably well. After that I’d inked up some card before embossing the fern design into it, and adding other ink colours afterwards. Today I wanted to see what would happen if I started by embossing Basic White Card before inking it.
AUTUMN FERN
As with many of my experimental pieces I decided this would eventually become a gift tag. So I cut it out some Basic White Card using the largest of the flat-topped dies from the Tailor Made Tags Dies. With that done I placed the die-cut piece inside the Fern 3D Embossing Folder and ran it through my Cut & Emboss Machine.
For my colour scheme I wanted to use warm autumn colours applied using Blending Brushes. First I applied a very light layer of Pumpkin Pie ink over the whole tag. On top of that I added a light layer of Merry Merlot ink while avoiding the very centre. Finally I used Cajun Craze ink around the outside, making it even darker at the corners. This gave me quite a different effect than my other experiments which just goes to show the versatility of the Fern 3D Embossing Folder.
Obviously it’s difficult to write on embossed card so at this point I realised I needed to die-cut a second piece of Basic White Card. Having done that I brushed a very light layer of Cajun Craze ink around the edges of the second tag. Then I fixed the two tags back-to-back using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow).
Before moving on I cut 6″ of gold cord from the Simply Elegant Trim pack and folded it in half. After passing the loop through the hole, I threaded the cut ends through the loop and pulled gently to secure it in place.
STYLISH STITCHING
With the experimental part of the process complete I now decided to add a birthday sentiment. I found a pretty but compact “happy birthday” in the Very Best Occasions Stamp Set which was ideal for what I had in mind. So next I found a scrap of Thick Basic White Card and stamped the sentiment using Merry Merlot ink.
I considered using a punch to cut out the sentiment but wondered if I had a suitable die. In fact I found exactly what I needed in the Stylish Shapes Dies. This set of 15 dies all feature pierced borders (both sides of the cutting edge). However instead of straight “stitches” these dies add small round holes exactly like the holes around my main tag layer.
So from the Stylish Shapes Dies I chose the #2 circle (counting from the smallest) to cut out the sentiment. I also used the slightly larger #3 circle to cut out some gold glittery card from the Glimmer 12″ x 12″ Specialty Paper pack.
Going back to the sentiment I used a Blending Brush to add a light layer of Cajun Craze ink over the surface. Then I made the edges darker with a little more ink.
Finally I used Stampin’ Dimensionals to layer the sentiment onto the Glimmer Paper circle. Then with more Stampin’ Dimensionals I attached the layered sentiment to the tag and my project was complete.
This tag project is actually quite a simple idea and would work well in lots of different colours. While I love the embossed fern design I want to use other embossing folders from my stash. I thick the technique would work well as layers on cards and other projects too.
In the meantime, for more projects using the Fern 3D Embossing Folder see these earlier blog posts:
PRODUCT LIST
BUNDLE BONUS – I bought the Very Best Occasions Stamp Set in a bundle with the Very Best Trio Punch (not used today). Using the single ‘bundle’ item number on my order meant I saved 10% off the cost of buying the two items separately. I’ve included a link to the bundle below in case you want to explore that option.
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