QUIRKY VALENTINES for February

So February being just around the corner and Valentines Day being the big event for the month and all, I created a set of 6 quirky valentines cards focusing on 4 elements - Metal, Stamping, Die-cuts and Embossing. Here is a quick overall snapshot of all. 

Now I am going to show you each of the cards all up close and personal and write a little description of how I included the stamps, metal, die-cuts and embossing powder in these quirky little Valentines Cards.

METAL: Brads and  Lab tubes. To make the bottles look like a lab set, I shaped black craft wire into a system of lab tubes and raised the bottles/beakers on foam tape.

DIE CUTS / EMBOSSING POWDER: Tim Holtz Apothecary Bottles die-cut out of Ranger Shrink Plastic, Heat-Shrunk and dipped in melted UTEE (Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel). Provocraft Books and Apple Die

STAMPS:  Santoro Gorjuss New Heights Stamp (I drew in a different face though).I shadow stamped the blue-printy image from the Tim Holtz Steampunk Collection so that I had faint formula-esque background.

METAL: Junkyard Findings Jeans Plate and Metal Brads

DIE-CUT: Tim Holtz Fanciful Flight (Bottom wing)

EMBOSSING POWDER:  I mixed a bit of iridescent glitter into some UTEE that I ground up finer in an old coffee Grinder and made sparkly embossing powder.  I coated the wings in that and het set. 

STAMPING:  Wood grain stamp from Heidi Swapp, Cartographer from (Prima??), various other Map stamps.

METAL:  I made some metal embellishments by twisting thick gauge wire into shapes and hammering it flat (cos I’m wild like that!).  I made all the grungy scratches with ridged flat-pliers.

DIE-CUTS:  the “Wild Thang” sentiment was cut from the Tim Holtz Chip Block Strip-Die, the little heart die-cuts were from the Sizzix Movers and Shapers.

EMBOSSING POWDER:  the background is actually an embossing folder from the Provocraft line which I inked up with a pigment based dye-pad (CHISWICK), I then ran that through the Cuttlebug and then coated it in Ranger Fine Embossing powder so that it stuck to the inked debossed bits and heat-set.  I also stamped the border of the card with one of the branches and fossil leaves stamp set  from  Inkadinkado. I stamped the teeny hearts with a music score stamp that I got ages ago and dont know who makes it.

METAL:  Pen Nib Tim Holtz Alterations

DIE-CUT: Tiny Heart Sizzix Movers & Shapers, Bottles (not technically a die-cut as much as it was a fussy-cut.

EMBOSSING POWDER: I used a Ranger Embossing pen to selectively mark and fill-in the areas that I wanted to be all glossy and glass-like on the bottles, I then coated that in UTEE ( I LOVE UTEE), the bottles started to look glass-like after about 3 coats of UTEE.  You have to do this on low heat though to get it to look glassy but without it bubbling and burning.

STAMPING:  the “letters” are all stamped in various background text stamps.  The Bottles were all stamps as well.

METAL:  I shaped pink craft wire into the Love Sentiment. Metal Brad on the banner.

DIE-CUT:  the hot-air Balloons are cut from X-CUT Build-a-scene Hot Air Balloons and the teeny balloons are actually ornament dies from provocraft.

EMBOSSING POWDER: I made some homemade pearly coloured embossing powders by mixing in crushed eyeshadow (YUP, that’s right eyeshadow!!!) into UTEE. I used an embossing pen from Ranger to fill in the sections of the balloon and used the homemade Pearly EP to add colour to the little balloon.  I stamped the background card with the swirl set from Chiswick and used clear EP to create a tone-on-tone effect.

STAMPING: I first stamped the “sky” background with the swirl from Chiswick in watermark ink on stamping paper. It created a nice resist.  I then stamped all over that with  the Hot-Air Balloon stamp (from Inkadinkado I think, the set with the blimp etc).  I added more blue tones to the sky with distress ink in Broken China, Milled Lavender and Tumbled Glass.  The Swirl on the background card that I mentioned above is stamped in Clear Embossing Ink.

METAL:  Brads DIE-CUT:  Ornate Label 2-die-for, the “hide” die is a self-design and cut with my plotter.

EMBOSSING POWDER:  I covered the entire hide in embossing ink using the Ranger Emboss It Dauber.  I coated it in Fine Clear Embossing Powder and then did an Iron-off technique to take the glossiness down a tad. I made the hide look like leather this way

STAMPING:  I stamped the heart in a zebra pattern (cant really see it behind the jute bow there in this picture). I did the ol’ ink up your embossing folder stamping trick again to create the black and white zebra pattern.  I also stamped random leaf, twig and and map designs on the background card.