Embossing with Boards
Embossing Using An Embossing Board
This is by far the easiest method of embossing and for me the most fun and enjoyable although I do enjoy the other two methods too.
You will need to have an embossing board, I personally love the boards created by the glitter girls Babs and Kathy at http://www.theglittergirls.co.uk/ which are not too expensive although you will probably find you soon become hooked and want to buy more boards to compliment and mix and match with the one you already have.
You do not need a light box with this type of embossing but you will need a 6mm embossing tool which you may find comes with the board depending upon where you bought it from.
This type of embossing is so easy that it is ideal for children too.
Firstly, you will need to prepare your card by rubbing wax paper, soap, or corn flour over the surface to be embossed. This will help the tool to glide smoothly over your card.
You then place your card prepared side up on top of your chosen board and then you follow the groove for the design you 
wish to emboss. If you should slip out of the groove and make a mark where you did not want one then just turn the card over and go over the error with your embossing tool this will smooth it out and it should be hardly visible.
You can then cut around your design if you wish or use it to emboss the edge of your cards or envelopes.
You can create some of the most beautiful cards with this method and can use designs from many different boards so that your cards are always fresh and original and if you add embellishments too then you can really personalise the card to suit your mood.
For more details and demonstrations please visit my page embossing 3 and my website
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Christmas Card Making
Christmas is Coming the Goose is Getting Fat But Have You Started Those Christmas Cards Yet?
OK so here we are it’s almost Christmas again and the day are going so fast. Once you get Halloween, Bonfire Night and Thanks Giving out of the way then preparations for Christmas really get under way.
If you are a crafter and card maker then you know that the earlier you start making your Holiday cards the better. In fact some of the craft channels on TV have been selling Christmas stock for a couple of months already.
Every year at the build up to Christmas I seem to be playing catch up and always end up leaving my card making to the last minute. In fact to my own shame I left it so late last year I actually had to buy cards from the store as I didn’t give myself enough time (or energy left) to make my own. I found this very galling as I know I could make them far nicer and more personal for my friends and family.
So this year I have added my Christmas Card page to my website easy-cardmaking.com so that my visitors can start making cards whenever they want from now until Christmas and hopefully it will give you some ideas for making cards, card verses and even paper handbag decorations for the tree.
A good way to make the cards is to firstly create your designs, work out how many cards you are going to need to make (for example 40 cards) and then each evening whilst watching tv, take one element and spend the evening just doing that one part for as many cards as you are going to need i.e 40. For instance cutting and folding, embossing, stamping etc one activity per night but make a batch of however many you are going to need, until you have all the elements and then just put them together to create your cards.
So now when December arrives and you want to be out partying or shopping that is one job that you know you will have already done. And if you are really organised you could even write them and put them in envelopes ready to mail in December.
It might be a good idea to make a few extra cards in case you get any last minute cards at Christmas from people you forgot to put on your list too.
As for me well I intend to start creating my christmas cards as soon as the vacation season is over so that I don’t get caught out again this year. After all Christmas is the same date every year so with 12 months in which to make them I ought to be able to organise my time a little bit better.
Embossing with Stencils and Pergamano
As promised last time here is Part 2 of the Embossing Series…
This embossing requires a lot more patience than the heat gun and embossing powder method and you will find a light box is extremely useful if not essential. You can use a stencil or copy an image onto parchment and then you use an embossing tool to press around the outline or fill in the middle sections.
This type of embossing is ideal for making little butterflies or flowers as embellishments or a whole parchment or vellum cover to place over the outside of your card.
There are several other techniques that you can use on parchment to compliment the initial embossing including colouring the parchment and stippling.
Pergamano is the name for a style and technique used in parchment to create intricate and delicate designs sometimes giving a lacy quality and is for the more advanced. It is very pretty giving an intricate and delicate design to your work.
There are many books about pergamano and it can be quite expensive to buy all the tools and patterns but you can practice this technique to start with by using one or 2 embossing tools and for pricking the holes in your design you could use a small pin although you will need to be very careful. There are specialist mats that you can buy but when I did it I used an old mouse mat. The effects are not quite as good but it is a great way to practice techniques and to see if you enjoy this type of craft.
For more details and demonstrations please visit my page embossing part 2 at www.easy-cardmaking.com
Next time I will discuss Embossing Part 3…
Embossing with Heat Gun
When you first start getting into card making it won’t be long before you discover Embossing.
What is Embossing?
Embossing is a way of making an image stand out as a raised outline or if you turn it over an indented image. However in card making embossing is also the term used for images that have been stamped and then using a special embossing powder and a heat gun giving the image a special raised, glossy or shiny quality.
I have included embossing on my website in 3 separate parts as I found this the easiest way to describe this fantastic and fun craft.
Embossing with Heat Gun and Powders
As mentioned above you will need to have a heat gun and embossing powders but they are not that expensive and the effects you get are fantastic.
You can emboss over any stamped image but the ink or versamark must still be wet when you add the powder and you will need to work fairly quickly if you use ink as it dries quickly.
I use a piece of A4 paper or card folded down the center to catch any excess powder I then place my card with stamped image over this paper before pouring the powder onto the image and then tap any excess onto the paper. Carefully folding the paper I pour any excess powder back into the container and this makes it very economical and your powders will last a very long time. You can buy special plastic trays to catch the powder but for beginners a piece of A4 paper or card works fairly well.
I particularly like to emboss words like Happy Birthday or Merry Christmas when they have been embossed I cut around them in a rectangular shape and then stick them to a coloured piece of card or mirrored card and cut around this. I then use foam pads to stick this to my card as an embellishment.
For more details and demonstrations please visit my page embossing 1.
Next Time I will write about Embossing using Vellum and Parchment Paper Part 2…
Author: Easy-Card Making
Mothers Day
Treat Your Mom to a Special Card & Gift This Mothers Day
Mothers Day is the time of year when you can show your Mom some real appreciation for everything that she has done for you over the years. You can make a special card for Her or even a special gift. But what if you haven’t much time and you don’t want to just buy a manufactured card over the counter but would prefer to give her something a little more personalised. Well here are some things you can do…
In A Hurry?
If you are short of time and are not able to cut your own card blanks or find time to do stamping or any fancy techniques then cheat. You could buy card blanks and embellishments and make a quick card that way or even buy a card pack with all the bits and pieces all ready for you to put together so that she still gets a hand made card from you.
You could also print off a card from your computer perhaps with a family photo or a picture of your Mom’s favorite flower or animal. You could send an ecard although I know that my Mum would not be too keen on an ecard as she would prefer something a bit more traditional.
I personally put together a couple of quick cards today because I did my cheating weeks ago by making various elements in advance and storing them until I was ready to use them.
Getting Elements Together In Advance
A while ago I bought some very pretty gold embellished vellums from the craft TV shopping channel so that I could make a quick but effective cards in a hurry. I then cut card blanks to the same size in various colours to compliment the vellums ie purple card with purple vellums, yellow card with yellow vellums etc and using a glue stick I attached the vellums to the outside of the scored card blanks at the back folded edge and along front folded edge and put them away until I needed them. Don’t worry too much if you don’t have any vellum wraps you can use some pretty floral scrap booking papers instead.
Creating Embellishments Using Peel Offs
I like to sit and create embellishments whilst watching TV in the evenings and I love to use peel offs. For Example: I had some pretty butterfly peel offs which I stuck on foil card and then cut out the shape of the butterfly, (this works well for all sorts of peel offs from flowers to hats and shoes to clocks).
I also have a crafting CD full of butterflies and I printed these off from my computer on a sheet. I like to use glitter glue to add a bit of sparkle to the edge of the wings so I do this whilst they are still on the sheet and then leave them overnight to dry.
The next day I cut them out and put together a smaller butterfly and a matching larger butterfly and joined these together with a tiny piece of double sided foam which gives a double layered butterfly. I then put them away in an old shoe box until I need them.
I sometimes buy foil stickers (the sort that are produced for children) things like butterflies, lady bugs, Disney characters etc. These are usually available in toy shops and some newsagents or even some supermarkets. These are also very handy to put on small areas of your card where something else is needed.
Putting the Card Together
Card 1 – From my pre made stock I took a card blank (as mentioned above) with a gold embossed mottled pink and cream vellum with butterflies already printed on it. I then attached one of my pre made craft CD Butterflies with double sided tape and added a couple of pieces of edge peel off just above the body of the butterfly to create antennae. I then carefully lifted the edges of the smaller butterfly to give a bit of lift to the embellishment. I then attached a small foil butterfly sticker at an angle to the main butterfly. I added a “Mothers Day” peel off to the front and then the card was ready to write and send.
Card 2 - I took a purple vellum butterfly card stock this time and attached a foil and peel off butterfly which had been made using blue foil card this one already had antennae (as mentioned above). I then carefully folded the wings back slightly from the body of the butterfly to add depth.
To this card I added 2 small foil butterfly stickers and decided that as there was not enough room on the front that I would put the “Mothers Day” peel off on the inside of the card as a greeting instead of a verse or leaving it blank.
Creating Different Elements Each Night
If you are just starting to learn card making then it is a good idea to make lots of these elements together at the same time. For instance one night you can sit and create embellishments. Another night you can cut and fold card blanks. Another night you can do stamping another teabag folding etc.
And Finally
You may not realise it but the UK and USA have different dates for celebrating Mothers Day so I have put these down for both 2010 and 2011.
Mothers Day Dates
UK – 14 March 2010 - 03 April 2011
USA – May 09 2010 - May 08 2011
If you would like to see more designs and information about making Mothers Day Cards please visit our website www.easy-cardmaking.com
If you have made a Mothers Day Card or some card making tips that you would like to share with others then please leave details in the comments box or email me with details on how you made your card and some photos and I will add it to the website www.easy-cardmaking.com
Please make sure that all cards are original designs and do not infringe on any copyright laws and that the design is your own and not copied from anyone else’s design.