Embossing technique with suede

Hi everyone!

Myry again and this time I gonna show you a embossing technique with suede.

Maybe you've heard of this technique or used it before but for me it has been the discovery of the year! 

So I'm going to use the Jack-O-Lantern Mini Album and a piece of thin suede of an indescribable pumpkin color.

Take one piece and draw the outline with a 5mm margin on a two pieces of cardboard.

Equalize the edges with the help of the nail file. When you're done use this piece as a template for the cardstock.

Before continuing, if you want to make a notebook I advise you to use one of these pieces to draw its contour on paper, in my case, I'll use colored paper folded in half.

Lump together in two groups of three the pieces of the pumpkin (in one you must have the two smiley pieces an another empty one).

Use one of the smiley pieces as a template for the empty piece.

Now glue the pieces of each group one on top of the other.

We need this thickness to get the embossing effect.

Then glue them on top of the cardboard (remember the orientation of the covers so as not to glue the back cover upside down).

And now we're going to start to see how this embossing technique works!

We move forward little by little starting by putting glue on the eyels and the mouth (the "less raised" parts). Make sure the glue you use doesn't get transfer.

Extend the suede over the piece and sink the fabric with your finger until you start to see the relief.

You can also use a paper bending tool to help you with the corners.

Once dry (and not before) put glue on one half of the pumpkin and smooth the suede well.

Use a brush to spread the glue on the edge of the piece.

Do the same with the other half and let it dry for a few hours.

Once dry you can finish the covers.

By the way, remember that before gluing the cardstock behind the covers you must make the binding the closure.

So what did you think of this technique? I leave to your imagination how to use it but I'll show you how my work ended. I was in doubt whether to make a book binding (for which I would have to separate the colored sheets) or make a sewn binding with the sheets folded in half. 

I hope you liked it and are encouraged to put it into practice with some of Gypsy's chipboards!

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts items used:

Jack-O-Lantern Mini Album

Other items used:

Cardboard 5mm

Suede

Cardstock and paper

Glue, cutter and scissors

Paperaper bending tool, brush, nail file and paper clips

Altered Relations-A Peek-a-Boo Project

I’m one of many who love finding old pictures at antique stores, online, or if we are lucky maybe our family’s attic. These often have no known name and become adopted as our “Found Relatives”. These are the inspirations for this instillation with a Halloween Twist.

1.  Start by making Photocopies of “Found Relatives” and Transparency of Halloween Masks.

 

 

2.  Alter Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts-Lace Frames using Embossing Ink with a Roller Applicator and Allure Oil Rubbed Bronze and Hammered Metal Embossing Powders, Curing with a Heating Tool.

 

3.  Once Cooled Add Patina Using Acrylic Paint-Copper, Black, Quinacridone Nickle Azo Gold with a Paintbrush.

 

4.   Place Halloween Masks Over “Found Relatives” transforming them into “Altered Relations”. For this first go around, I taped them to photocopies and printed again.

 

5.  I traced around inner circle of GSLC Lace Frames and glued “Altered Relations” to back before gluing down to red cardstock using Weldbond.

 

6.  I dried them flat and was very surprised and disappointed when I looked at them the next day. The glue had bled the photocopies and they were no longer useful.

7.  So, the mother of invention, out of necessity, I had to come up with a second plan.
8.  With new photocopies of “Found Relatives” and new transparency masks, I used Glossy Accents to attach the masks.

9.  Once dry I used a sharpie to trace the new “Altered Relations” and glued them to the center of the GSLC Lace Frames.
10.                Once they were dried flat, I added a layer of Glossy Accent to make it appear as if the GSLC Lace Frames has a Glass Insert.
11.                Final step was to fussy cut GSLC Lace Frames from the Red Card stock.

Some Final Thoughts.
Some projects turn out just as we planned them, others are happy surprises, this one was neither. I am still not thrilled with the outcome but leave it here as a reminder to “walk away and look at it again through fresh eyes.” I think the process and technique has great potential and I am proud of myself for persevering. Much like our genetic families and found families we must take the bad with the good, the easy with the hard. I by far know that I am not perfect and have many idiosyncrasies that some may find annoying, but I am thankful for those who show me grace and companionship. In this season of wearing masks and pretending to be something we are not may we find solace and solitude in those we have chosen to love and those who walk beside us.
“If we wear a mask for too long, there will come a time when you cannot remove it without removing your face.”
-Matshona Dhilwayo

 

 

 

Supplies:  Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts-Lace Frame, Photocopies of “Found Relatives”. Transparency of Halloween Masks, Pencil, Red Card-stock, Scissors, Embossing Ink with a Roller Applicator, Allure Oil Rubbed Bronze and Hammered Metal Embossing Powder, Heating Tool, Acrylic Paint-Copper, Black, Quinacridone Nickle Azo Gold, Paintbrush, Weldbond, Glossy Accent, Sharpie
I cannot wait to see your interpretation of this project. Share it on the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Craft Group Page on Facebook. I would love to see what new creations you are working on!

Photography

We live in a world where we always have a phone close by and the ability to snap a picture and store it whenever we want. How did we get here? Some of the earliest photos were Daguerreotypes taken by photographers in the 1850s. They were fragile, degraded by light and handling. The Kodak Brownie cameras in the early 1900s gave everyone a way to capture their own photos. Improvements of cameras and film led us to what we use today. 

My Mother saved every photograph from both sides of our family and gave them to me a few years ago.  Some had names and dates on the back, some had nothing. Honestly, there were hundreds! I wanted to make a mini album with some of them. I tried using inks on the frames, but nothing looked better than the plain chipboard and the sepia tones of the pictures.  There were a lot of Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts frames and choosing just the right one for each picture was easy. Some frames had residual color from the laser process and looked like they had been distressed, which was perfect for this project.

I clipped the flourishes that were on the inside of this frame for an unobstructed view of this unknown gentleman dressed in his best suit.

Flourished Frame Bella

These beautiful children's names were on the back of this photo, indicating that they were from our maternal great grandfather's family. I used one of the two pieces of this frame.

Layered Frame Angela

This was our maternal great grandfather. I've used this frame in several other projects.

 

Flourished Frame Laurel

This was an unknown couple - very typical of the 1900s photo - poised and in their best clothes.

Flourished Frames Evie

This was our maternal grandmother 1905.

Flourished Frames Evie

My maternal grandmother with one of her brothers. 

Doodle Hearts Frames

All of these photos were from the early 1900s, taken by professional photographers.  The Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts frames were perfect! I really liked the challenge of using the chipboard without adding color to it.

Haunted Card

 Hi Everyone, 

Today I have my first Halloween card of the year to share with you.  To make it, I used an old alcohol ink background from my stash, a paper bag and a chipboard from Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts. 

Here's how it came together:

I had some dark alcohol inked backgrounds leftover from other projects.  These dark ones were made with black and a lot of silver and they are so shiny.

I think I might have overdone it with the silver as they took ages to dry lol.

So I wanted to use this background for my card and it measures 5 x 7 inches, so I cut a 6 x 8 rectangle from my green paper bag to give 0.5 inch border around it.

I decided to use black cardstock for my card base but as my card was so large I had to make a card base from two pieces of cardstock and glue them together.  

After gluing I left them under something heavy to hold them in place.  

I used a mixture of metallic paints to add some splatters on the green paper and the black cardstock, concentrating on the edges that would be seen. I used the same paint to edge the black card using a paintbrush.  

Since I like it so much and don't want to waste it, I added the leftover paint to my art journal.

 

I gave the chipboard a coat of white acrylic, and when it was dry I added the embossing powder and did the heat embossing.

It's Halloween card so of course it had to be Glow In The Dark embossing powder!

Now I had all my pieces, it was time to put my card together.

Once all the layers were stuck down, I used some PVA to glue down the Haunted word and held it in place with something heavy till it dried. 

Here's a closer look at the heat embossed chipboard word.  

After dark, I attempted a photo of the Glow In The Dark effect and it turned out pretty good! 

If you are using GITD embossing powder, or paint or any other GITD product, it's really important to leave it in the daylight to charge up for a while so you will get a better GITD effect when it gets dark.  

Hope you enjoyed this card tutorial.  If you make any Halloween cards, I'd love to see them.

Elle
Empire of the Cat

 

Project Recipe:

GSL Haunted Title Word chipboard BB2
metallic copper paint
glow-in-the-dark embossing powder, embossing ink
white acrylic paint
matte gel medium, white glue
black cardstock
From stash: alcohol ink bg, lime green paper bag

 

 

Halloween Composition Box

Happy Saturday, everyone! Connie here with something festive for the season. I made a Halloween display from a GSL Composition Box – 25. This kit comes with a large (9.25 by 6.75 inches) box, 3 small boxes, a large key and the number 25. The 25 makes it ideal for a Christmas display but I set those aside and decorated it for Halloween instead. 

I assembled the boxes with tacky glue then set out deciding where I wanted each one to be placed in the display.

The front edges of the boxes were painted with off white acrylic paint. All of the papers in this project came from Carta Bella's Haunted collection. 

With the boxes papered I set out to find decorations to fill them. I painted the large key black as well as one of the GSL Chipboard Bats Set available over at Alpha Stamps. The key got a pumpkin face made from a plastic button. I also used a big plastic spider set on top of a sparkly orange button, some tiny jars filled with microbeads and glitter and some glow in the dark bones.

The boxes were glued in place, along with a Halloween themed bingo card from Creative Scraps.

A candy corn colored bottle brush tree and some acrylic pumpkins complete the scene.

 Thanks for stopping by!

GSL Products Used 

Composition Box – 25

Chipboard Bats Set

Other Supplies Used

Tacky glue

Acrylic paint

Carta Bella Haunted papers

Halloween bingo card by Creative Scraps

Bottle brush tree

Acrylic pumpkin and glow in the dark bone vase fillers

Miniature bottles, microbeads, glitter

Bits & bobs