When you are first 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 Date: 02 June 2010

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.

584840 – Multi Technique 5 Floral Prints Paper, Vellum & Sticker Card Making Kit Create some fun and original craft pieces with this versatile kit. You can use a variety of techniques, such as decoupage and iris folding, plus the kit boasts five unique floral designs in bright colours. You’ll get: 10 printed cards, 10 vellum sheets, 10 printed papers, 10 sticky back papers of adhesive alphabet letters, 10 decoupage cards, 10 ‘rub and sniff’ scented images and 10 A4 pearl sheets. There are also glue motifs, 4 tubes of glitter, 30 folded cards, 30 envelopes in three sizes and an envelope template. Comes with an instructions leaflet.

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.

Window Cards

Have you ever thought about creating an Aperture or window card, but you’re not quite sure what to do with them.  If you are not even sure what I mean by this term, an aperture or window card is a card with a hole cut out on the front of the card, often in the centre and can be almost any shape or size, but more often than not are oval, circular or square.

These are very versatile and can be used for any occasion. For example a Heart Shape is ideal for Valentines, or Romantic Cards and for Weddings or Anniversaries you could cut out the shape of an arch to represent a church doorway.

Making Your Card Into A  Window

Square apertures are useful as they can be made to look like windows and using acetate to represent the glass you can either make your card as if looking in or out of a room.  I particularly like this for Christmas Cards where you can have a “window” with a fireplace on the inside of the card with stockings hanging and maybe cotton wool on the outside of the acetate to represent snow.   Or maybe you could make a window card with a cat sitting on a sofa showing through the window for a “Welcome to Your New Home” card.

You can purchase card blanks with the shapes already cut out in many outlets and craft shops or with a little effort you can cut out or punch your own shapes, but you will need to be accurate.

You can easily make an aperture card into a shaker card or a Peek a Boo card, which are especially good for children’s cards.

And for Mother’s Day or Mom’s Birthday you can put dried, silk,  or stencilled flowers  or Photos in the centre of the aperture.  Or what about a picture of an elegant lady from the art deco era, you could embellish this by adding small beads or gold peel off “dots” as earrings or a necklace on the picture or maybe feathers on a hat if the Lady is wearing one.

Punching Holes

If you wanted to punch 2 or 3 Medium sized holes down the right hand side of your card you could place flowers, or stickers in the apertures and then embellish the outside of your card  with ribbons and peel offs to make a simple but affective birthday card.

For more ideas and inspiration pop across to www.easy-cardmaking.com .

If you have any comments or ideas for card making then please add them to the box below or email me at info

Perhaps you have made a window or shaker card for friends and family that you would like to share, if so you can add the details about how you made the card to the comments box or send me some photos of your designs with a description of how you made them to info so that I can add them to the website www.easy-cardmaking.com.

Please include your name and Country of origin so that you can be credited for your work if you wish or let me know if you would prefer to remain anonymous.  Please make sure that you have not copied anyone else’s designs and that your work is unique and or copyright free and that you give full permission for your design or card to be posted on the above website.