Did you look at the Framed Florets Stamp Set and see poppies? No me neither until this morning as I was thinking about what I should make for today’s blog post. I suspect that as poppies have been very visible these past few weeks I’ve been reminded of their shape. So in honour of Remembrance Day I designed this “Thinking of you” card. It’s a simple layout made special by the addition of black heat embossing. But to prevent damage to the glossy embossing I needed to utilise my Stamparatus.

FLORETS FIRST

I began with a 3″ x 4-1/4″ piece of Basic White Card held in place on my Stamparatus stamp positioning platform using the strong magnets. From the Framed Florets Stamp Set I took the image of two blooms and leaves and placed it face down on the card piece. Then I closed the hinged plate to pick up the stamp and opened it ready to add the ink.

Next, I inked up the stamp with Tuxedo Black ink and closed the plate again to stamp on the card. This time when I opened the plate I wiped the ink off the surface of the stamp using my Simply Shammy, taking extra care not to disturb the stamp.

I was also careful to leave the stamped card in exactly the same place on the Stamparatus while I coloured in the image. This was a quick and easy process using Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers. I chose light Poppy Parade for the petals, with light Basic Black in the centres. On the leaves I used dark Parakeet Party.

For my coordinating feature I chose the larger of the single flower head images in the Framed Florets Stamp Set. First, using Tuxedo Black ink I stamped it in the centre of the flap on a Basic White Medium Envelope. I also stamped it in the centre near the top of a 4″ x 5-1/4″ layer of Basic White Card. Then I coloured in these two images with the light Poppy Parade Stampin’ Blends.

For my card base I decided to keep things simple with Thick Basic White Card. After using my Paper Trimmer to cut and score the card, I folded it along the scored line and sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder. Then I fixed the larger Basic White layer on the inside using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow).

GO TO GREETINGS

Going back to the coloured poppies on the Stamparatus I was now ready to stamp a second time. Because I hadn’t moved the stamped piece or the photopolymer stamp I knew I could stamp the image again in exactly the same place. This time however I inked up the stamp using VersaMark ink.

After stamping the VersaMark onto the coloured image I removed the piece from the platform and sprinkled it with black powder from the Basics Embossing Powder pack. Then I tapped off the excess powder and removed a few stray specks. Finally I melted the remaining embossing powder using my Heat Tool set on 2 (high).

For my sentiment I turned to the Go To Greetings Stamp Set. From the three “thinking of you” sentiments included in this set I chose the middle-sized one. Then I stamped it below the embossed poppies using VersaMark ink and embossed it in black.

All I needed now was a couple more pieces of card for my mat layers. First I choose Poppy Parade Card. I cut the card to 3-1/8″ x 4-3/8″ and mounted the completed white piece on top with liquid glue.

Then I cut a 3-1/4″ x 4-1/2″ piece of Basic Black Card. My original thought was to use this as a second layer directly beneath the Poppy Parade one. However after a little experimentation I decided I preferred it at an angle. So using liquid glue I fixed the Basic Black layer directly onto the front of the card base. Then I added the layered focal piece using Stampin’ Dimensionals and my latest Framed Florets project was finished.

I love heat embossing on top of Stampin’ Blends colouring. It really brings out the details of the image, especially where they’re lost under the black marker. This two-step method also means that the alcohol in the markers doesn’t take the shine off the embossing. Why don’t you try it for yourself and let me know what you think by leaving a comment below?

PRODUCT LIST

BUNDLE BONUS – I bought the Framed Florets Stamp Set together with the coordinating Framed Florets Dies (not used today). Using a single “bundle” item number when I ordered meant I saved 10% off the cost of buying the same two items separately. I’ve included a link to the bundle in case you want to explore this option. This bundle will also appear in the January to April 2023 Mini Catalogue.