A couple of weeks ago I showed you how to create a simple birthday card using layers of Designer Series Paper. Then last week I stepped it up using a little ribbon and sparkly embellishments. Today I thought I should take it one step further with by using foil sheet for the mat layers, and heat embossing the sentiment. Essentially it’s still the same card but these changes give it a whole different look.

PARISIAN BLOSSOMS WITH FOIL SHEET MATS

The colour scheme for this card was inspired by the Parisian Blossoms Specialty Designer Series Paper (DSP). For my largest panel I chose a piece featuring flowers with champagne foil accents. The colours used in this design were Pool Party, Petal Pink and Basic Black.

It would have been so easy to make this a girly pink card, but instead I chose Pool Party for the card base. For the mat layers I selected Champagne Foil Sheet. That just left a delicate Petal Pink design for the smaller layer, also from the Parisian Blossoms Specialty DSP pack.

Once again I opted to keep the ribbon very simple with no bow or knot to tie. Then for the embellishments in the top corner I chose Champagne Rhinestone Basic Jewels instead of the pearls I used last time.

STEPPED UP SIMPLE SENTIMENT

As before I used the “happy birthday” sentiment from the Peaceful Moments Stamp Set. This time though I embossed the sentiment using Black Stampin’ Emboss Powder.

To get a crisp clean heat embossed sentiment it’s important to prepare properly…

• I always make sure my VersaMark ink pad has sufficient ink. If there’s not enough ink when I stamp my embossing won’t puff up properly.
• Then I always wipe the card with an Embossing Buddy to remove any oils and static before I stamp. This will help ensure that the embossing powder only sticks to the VersaMark ink.
• Then I turn on my Heat Tool to make sure that it’s really hot when I’m ready to use it.
• Once I’ve stamped my sentiment or image with the VersaMark I sprinkle it with the embossing powder and tap off the excess. Then I check the piece carefully and remove any stray specks. This is a simple if tedious process using the tip of the piercing attachment from my Take Your Pick Tool. The embossing powder sticks to the card because of static, so the metal tool takes advantage of that simply by touching the specks. Each time I pick up a speck I remove it from the tool (usually by wiping it on my sweater) before going back to get the next speck.
• Only when I have removed all the stray specks do I begin to heat the embossing powder. As my Heat Tool is already hot the embossing powder starts to melt almost immediately. This means I’m less likely to overheat the powder or warp the card.

Once all my pieces were cut, layered onto the foil sheet with Multipurpose Liquid Glue and my sentiment embossed. It was a simple process of assembling the card exactly as I’d done before.

LOOKING BACK

If you missed first two cards in this layout series here are the links to those blog posts.

First the original masculine #simplestamping card with all the sizes and dimensions to create it, that’s in Layering patterned paper can work.

Then the second version with ribbon and pearls is in Stepping it up with threads and pearls.

So now after adding the foil sheet and embossed sentiment in this third version think I need to go all out. Now using exactly the same layout I plan to create a really fancy version for all you avid crafters out there. Watch this space!

ORNATE GARDEN SUITE JUST ANNOUNCED!

Oh my goodness, today Stampin’ Up! announced that they’ll be releasing a new suite of products from the 2020-2021 Annual Catalogue two months early! From April 1st customers will be able to buy the entire suite including two stamp sets, two sets of ornate dies (one for layering and one for borders), plus Specialty DSP, a ribbon combo pack and gold embellishments. This is a suite not a product medley so you’ll be able to buy it all, or just the individual parts.

If you don’t want to wait to get the Ornate Garden Suite then why not join Stampin’ Up! and choose parts of the suite for your Starter Kit? Check out my Join Stampin’ Up! page for more details or contact me for more information.

PRODUCT LIST

BUNDLE BONUS – I bought the Peaceful Moments Stamp Set in a bundle with the coordinating Poppy Moments Dies. This 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 wanted to consider this option.