A Touch of Grace

Hi everyone,

Sorry to have been gone for so long.  We were on vacation for nine days in July, I returned home for a day and then headed over to Orlando and spent a week at CHA; and last week I traveled to my parents’ home and spent a week with them.  I’m back at home and will try to get in another post before I leave for Nashville next Friday to help my son get settled back in at school. Where did the summer go?

I’m excited to be a part of the Stamp Simply 100th Challenge Birthday Celebration.  I have prepared for you a stencil embossing tutorial utilizing a light box below, as well as a paper tole birthday card.  At the bottom of this post you’ll find shopping links to A Touch of Grace - Paper Boutique for the stencils and products I used for the birthday card and the tutorial card.  You’ll also find links to all the other designers that are participating in the celebration.  Be sure to check out all the wonderful projects the ladies are sharing, you won’t be disappointed! 

Inspiration for my birthday card came from a Kubla Crafts photo frame shown below:

A close up of the toled flowers.

The focal image was hand drawn, painted and paper toled. 

In celebration of the 100th Stamp Simply challenge I’ve put together a stencil embossing tutorial for you.

For successful embossing it’s important that you use a paper that is not too thin or too thick.  I have found a paper that I feel is perfect for embossing that is for sale in my store, A Touch of Grace - Paper Boutique.  The stencil I have chosen for this design can be hand embossed or run through a die cutter.  When I run my stencils through a die cutting machine, the Wizard by Spellbinders is my die cutter of choice.  For purposes of this tutorial, the design is hand embossed using a light box, a stylus, and Perga Soft wax (an oil free wax manufactured by Pergamano, especially formulated for hand embossing). 

I recommend before you begin embossing this design that you practice on inexpensive cardstock until you have the hang of it.  Begin by using light pressure to stretch your paper, if you use too much pressure, you may tear or pearce through your paper.  Go back over the area you’ve embossed a second time using more pressure for best results. 

In this design embossing is done on the back side of the paper; pay careful attention to how the stencil is placed on the light box.  If placed in the wrong direction, your embossing will be the reverse of what you want it to be when you turn your paper over.  Use your stylus to trace the outline of the portion of the stencil you are embossing and not the center, this results in a nice raised section.  If you rub the entire area with your stylus, the result will not be as smooth and elegant.

I recommend that you change the blade on your craft knife every time you start a new card if you’re doing a lot of cut work.  Blades are inexpensive; it’s better to toss a questionable blade than to ruin a beautifully embossed piece that you’ve worked several minutes on.  Work in a well lighted room; natural light is the most desirable.  I use an OTT lamp when working at night. 

Embossing tools needed for embossing.

Perga Soft (oil free embossing wax)

 

Place stencil down on light box as shown in picture. Tape down with removable tape so that stencil doesn’t move while embossing.  Grid paper assures that your stencil is perfectly straight.

Lay your cardstock (embossing paper) down on the stencil as shown and emboss.  I embossed only a portion of the stencil in the center panel of the design.

Remove tape, turn embossed panel over, right side up, the embossing should be on the lower right corner as shown.

Turn stencil over and tape it back down to light box facing the opposite direction that you just embossed.

Place your cardstock (embossing paper) down on the stencil as shown, embossing only a portion of the stencil as you did above in the center panel.

Turn paper over, right side up, the embossed designs should be on the upper left and lower right corners of the center panel.

Tape stencil to light box as shown.  Remember, you’re working on the reverse side. Place paper down over the stencil, right side down, as shown in the picture and emboss the entire stencil. 

Turn the paper over, your design should look as shown in the illustration above.

Turn the stencil over in the opposite direction and tape down to the light box.  Place your paper down over the stencil, right side down, and emboss the entire stencil, as shown in the illustration.

Turn your paper over, right side facing up.  The embossing is complete and should look like the illustration above.

Place the stencil down on the paper, right side facing up.  On the left panel lightly trace (using a mechanical pencil) inside the lines that you will be cutting as shown on the left side of the paper. These lines are guidelines for cutting.

After tracing all areas to be cut, place your embossed design on a cutting mat; using a craft knife with a new cutting blade, cut just outside the traced lines. When finished, your design should look like the picture above.  The cutting will take you approximately 5 to 10 minutes, according to skill level.

Place your stencil over the left and right arches (you’ll need to flip the stencil over to fit the embossed pattern on the right side) and trace around the outside edges with a mechanical pencil.  Using a craft knife cut inside the pencil lines.  If you have any pencil marks left on the paper, gently erase them being careful not to damage the tooth of the paper.  The embossing and cutting is complete.

I traced drawings onto parchment paper using a mechanical pencil. 

The traced drawings were transferred to the embossing paper by using the stylus.  Do not use too much pressure as you don’t want any debossed lines on your paper.

Using Gold Tinta Ink and a mapping pen I drew over the transferred image.

The gold mapping is complete and dry.  Any visible graphite lines can be removed with a soft, putty like, erasure.

Using colored pencils, I colored the images.  Tools needed for this technique are blending stumps, a sanding paddle, and Gamsol or odorless turpentine.

Trace around the outside edges of the stencil on two pieces of pink cardstock and cut out.

Illustration of cut pieces.

Two small pieces of pink paper were cut to cover the cut out portions of the center panel.

A gold Krylon pen was used to outline the black panel.  Hold the tip so that it touches the edge of the cardstock, the tip retracts giving you control of the ink flow.

Draw lines around all four corners of the black and pink cardstock.

Adhere panels together and attach a card holder.

You’ll want to add your embellishments (ribbon, pearls, punched butterflies) and a sentiment before adhering the panels together. 

Supplies for the Birthday card:

Stencil:  Anja Style Stencil Frame (FE6122), embossing paper (Carnation White, Heather), Swarovski crystals, Gold Tinta Ink, mapping pen, Perga Soft wax, sanding paddle, stylus, Zip Dry adhesive, removable tape, grid paper, Fancy Crafts flower punch, glitter, Happy Birthday Gold Sticker, ribbon, craft knife, light box, cutting mat, colored pencils, mechanical pencil, Bow Easy, Spellbinders die, deckle scissors, Scor It, craft knife, MS punch, crystal lacquer, Yes adhesive, Quickie Glue Pen

Supplies for Tutorial card:

Stencil:  Luxe Labels stencil (AS0703) , parchment paper, embossing paper (light pink, black, carnation white), card holder, Gold Tinta Ink, mapping pen, Perga Soft wax, pearls, Krylon 18K Gold Leaf pen, blending stumps, sanding paddle, stylus, Zip Dry adhesive, removable tape, grid paper, Marvy butterfly punch, glitter, Verve sentiment stamp, ribbon, craft knife, light box, cutting mat, colored pencils, mechanical pencil, Scor It, MS punch, Quickie Glue Pen, Bow Easy

I hope you find this tutorial helpful. 

You’ll want to visit these blogs to see what all the girls have come up with for the birthday celebration:

1.      Pat Adam - Christmas Gift Tags with BLOG CANDY

2.      AJ - 1 Card Done 3 Ways

3.      Janine - A Stress Free Summer Menu with BLOG CANDY 

4.      Tammy - Birthday Reminder Book with BLOG CANDY

5.      Jennifer - Birthday Card with BLOG CANDY

6.      Julie - Card Set in Tote with Directions 

7.      Barbara-  Birthday Card with BLOG CANDY

8.      Deb- Tutorial on Dying Silk Ribbon Using Copics and Refills

9.      Jenny- Birthday Card with BLOG CANDY

10.  Joan- Birthday Card and Etched Glass with BLOG CANDY

11.  LeAnne - Birthday Card with Glitter

12.  Barb- Birthday Cake 3-D Gift Item with BLOG CANDY

13.  Darlene - Birthday Card with Special Recipe

14.  Rose Ann- Birthday Card with BLOG CANDY

15.  Leslie - Gift Tin of Soaps with Coordinating Card

16.  Heather - Birthday Card

17.  Sabrina- Birthday Card with BLOG CANDY

18.  Sharon- Monogrammed Birthday Gift Set with BLOG CANDY 

Many Blessings,

 

Edited to Add:  The stencil can be purchased at A Touch of Grace - Paper Boutique.  Yesterday it was a gorgeous day here in Tampa, we had lots of  sunshine.  I took advantage of the sunlight and photographed some finished designs.  I mentioned in a previous post that we are having renovations made in our home and our bedroom, where I take all my photographs, is upside down.

I made this card for Mom for Mother’s Day.  The images are drawings she recently gave me that she drew some 26/27 years ago.  Mom used to paint on china and designed several pieces that I proudly display in my home.  You can imagine my excitement when she recently told me she had kept all of her drawings, paints, supplies, etc.   On Easter Sunday she and I went through a large box she had stored in the closet of my bedroom (my parents still live in the house I was raised in), we were like two little girls in a candy store!   Mom sent the box home with me so I have a hunch you’re going to be seeing a lot more of these lovely drawings.

Using tracing paper, I rearranged the flowers and leaves on this design to fit within the parameters of the embossing.  I then used graphite paper and transferred the drawings directly to the card stock after I embossed and did the cut out work.  I used a Pergamano mapping pen with a brass nib to draw over the graphite lines in gold ink.  Once dry, I used colored pencils to color the image.  The little butterflies were punched with a Fiskars punch.  Those adorable pink bows were a dream to make, I used May Arts 1/4″ silk that I purchased from the Stamp Simply Ribbon Store.

Editing to add if you would like a full size picture of the card, I would be happy to e-mail it to you, just leave a comment below and I’ll forward it on.

The Kaiser pearls I purchased at Joan’s Gardens are a very light pink, so pretty on this design.  The sentiment is from Verve’s Beautiful You stamp set.

To have the flowers facing each other on the end panels I simply turned the graphite paper over and traced from the reverse side.  I can’t wait to give Mom this card!

Here’s a picture I took of one of Mom’s pieces, isn’t it beautiful!  I treasure each and every piece she has given me.

Thanks for stopping by, I wish you and yours many blessings in the upcoming week!

Today I’m posting the first in a two part series of a Floral and Aviary ensemble I designed back in February.  There are four cards to this series that go in a portfolio that I designed and watercolored to hold the cards.  I gave the fuchsia and hummingbird card to my mother-in-law for Mother’s Day and the blue bird and rose card was given as a sympathy card.  The cards were embossed on Fabriano Medioevalis folded cards and then watercolored. Tomorrow I’ll post the other two cards in the series, together with the portfolio that I kept them in.

Thank you for stopping by, I wish you a wonderful day!

• Paper:  Fabriano Medioevalis Folded Cards
• Ink:  Versamark
• Accessories:  Tombow markers, heating tool, Ranger gold EP, watercolor brush, craft knife, dimensionals, Dazzling Diamonds

• Stamps:  Elegant Inspirations (SU)
• Paper: Fabriano Medioevalis Folded Cards
• Ink: Versamark,
• Accessories: Tombow markers, heating tool, Ranger gold EP, watercolor brush, Versamarker, Nestibilities Small Ovals