A Touch of Grace

Hi Ladies, today is the last day of my JustRite Autumn Blessings Thanksgiving Ensemble series.  I’ve designed a menu that opens up to present the holiday fare.   If you like the idea of a menu, be sure to check out the tutorial below.  As with the other items featured in the series, I’ve used an open passe-partout stencil that I sell in my store,  A Touch of Grace - Paper Boutique.  The menu is easy to make and very elegant on the dining room table.   If you’ve been following the series, you know I’ve embossed all of the designs with the Wizard by Spellbinders.  The embossing was quick, easy, and done in a snap!  The stencils in my store can also be embossed in the Cuttlebug.  

Blog candy is being given away today as well.  I’m giving away a stencil and a Bow Easy, as well as five yards of the olive green 1.25″ May Arts ribbon that you’ve seen in this project.  I know you’re going to fall in love with the silk ribbon, as I have.  It can be purchased at the Stamp Simply Ribbon Store.  To be eligible all you have to do is leave a comment and tell me why you would like today’s blog candy and how it will help you in your holiday preparations.  You have until Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to leave a comment.  The winner will be announced at 2:00 p.m. Sunday afternoon.  The winner will be chosen by Random.org.  Good luck ladies!  Shopping links are provided at the bottom of this post.

If you missed Monday’s post featuring the wall hanging and tutorial, click here to view it.  Tuesday I posted a beautiful place card that can be viewed here, and yesterday I posted a napkin holder that can be viewed here.  Blog candy is still available on those posts.  If you haven’t left a comment, be sure to take a peak and leave one, you have until this Sunday.

If you have any problems understanding the tutorial, please write to me with your questions.  If I don’t get back to you within a day or so, please be patient, as I’m writing these tutorials on a daily basis.  They are quite lengthy and take a lot of time.  Thank you for understanding.

I just had to show you how pretty the menu is against my lace tablecloth.  I love lace for the dining room table!

The inside of the menu features the food that will be served at our Thanksgiving dinner. 

In this close up you’ll see that I’ve layered the center diamond shaped panel on foam pads, as well as the paper toled cornstalk, and the tiny cornstalks on the tag.

I’ve used 1/8″ and 1/4″ May Arts SK16 olive ribbon for the bows and tags. 

Menu Tutorial:

Cut a piece of embossing paper 5 1/2″ x 7 5/8″.  Score down the center of the paper, center the stencil on the right side of the paper as shown in the picture.  Tape your stencil down with Scotch Removable Tape.  Run the stencil through your die cutting/embossing machine.

As you can see in the above picture, the score line remains intact, it doesn’t flatten out.  My stencil didn’t slide and I have a perfect embossed image.  Gently erase any sticky residue from the tape using an adhesive remover.

Trace around all the edges with an 18 Kt. Gold Krylon pen and let dry.  If you find that your gold smears, spray with Krylon Fixative (can be purchased at Michael’s).  I’ll show you how to get the gold center line below.

Fold the menu in half, turn it over and on the back side gently press the score line flat using a bone folder.  Turn the menu back over and using the Krylon pen, draw a line down the scored line. 

Using a hand held punch, punch a 1/8″ hole one-half inch down from the top of the menu.  Set your menu aside.

Place your stencil on a piece of embossing paper slightly larger than the stencil, tape the stencil with removable tape and emboss.  With the stencil still on the embossing paper, use a .5 mechanical pencil to lightly trace lines in the inner diamond shaped portion of the stencil, cut it out using a craft knife.  Trace around the outer edges of the diamond shape as shown in the above picture with a Krylon pen.  No need to erase the pencil lines if you use the Krylon pen.

Cut a piece of olive cardstock slightly larger than the stencil, tape the stencil down with removable tape and emboss. 

Keep the stencil on the cardstock and lightly trace the above shown lines with a .5 mechanical pencil.  Remove the stencil and erase any sticky residue left from the removable tape with an adhesive remover.

Using a craft knife cut along the traced lines.  I have illustrated two different ways you can cut your cardstock.  Gently erase any pencil lines.

Type your menu on your computer and print it out. I recommend printing on xerox paper first, place your stencil on the copy to see if your print is too small or too large.  You may need to test a few times to get it the exact fit.  Once you have the right size, print the menu on your embossing paper.  Cut your embossing paper slightly larger than the stencil and place the stencil down, centering it on your printed menu.  Tape it down with removable tape, you do not want it to slide or your menu won’t fit, emboss your menu.  Leaving the stencil on the embossing paper, gently trace with a mechanical pencil.  No need to erase your pencil lines if you use a Krylon pen to trace around the edges.  Add pearls, bow and any decoration you’d like.  My punched shapes came from a border punch.

Center and adhere the typed menu inside your menu.  I used Zip Dry Adhesive. 

Take the cornstalk that you colored for your focal image and, using a color printer, reduce the image by 60%.  I printed two images and sprayed them with Krylon Fixative. 

Using Spellbinders Large Scalloped Ovals, choose a die that best fits the size of your miniature cornstalk; cut four and emboss two.  Using an 18 Kt. Gold Krylon pen, trace around the edges of the two embossed ovals.  After your miniature cornstalks have completely dried, adhere them to the embossed ovals.

Cut a 1/8″ piece of green silk ribbon about 8-to-9″ in length.  Run the ribbon through the hole that you made in your card and create a knot about 1/2″ down from the top of the ribbon.  This will leave two dangling tails.  Adhere the tails between the two ovals as shown above.  You’ll use the ovals that you didn’t emboss for the backs as shown below.

This is what the back of your tag should look like.

Using 1/4″ olive silk ribbon, make a double looped bow on your Bow Easy and adhere on top of the knot that you made when you attached the 1/8″ ribbon.  I did NOT paper tole the miniature cornstalks .   .   . LOL .   .   . NO WAY!!! They don’t need to be, they’re so pretty with the Triple Thick glaze I purchased at Michael’s. 

Attach your paper toled cornstalk to the diamond shape you cut out and adhere to the front of the menu on foam tabs and you’re done. 

I hope you’ve enjoyed this Thanksgiving Autumn Blessings series. 

I’ll be back with some Christmas ideas soon!  I’ve got to get my creative wheels spinning! 

Shopping:

A Touch of Grace:  EH1819 Open Passe-Partout stencil; Pergakit Silicon Adhesive, Joy Craft Pearls, Joy Foam Pads, 18 Kt. Gold Krylon Pen, Zip Dry Adhesive, Carnation White embossing paper, Cream embossing paper, Scotch Removable Tape

JustRite:   Autumn Blessings Centers and Borders

Stamp Simply Ribbon Store:  May Arts Ribbon, Bow Easy

Recipe:

Stamps:  Autumn Blessings Centers and Borders (JustRite)

Paper:  Carnation White embossing paper, Cream embossing paper, Old Olive cardstock

Ink:  Old Olive, Chocolate Chip

Accessories:  Genesis Paper Trimmer, Wizard, Scotch Removable Tape, Zip Dry Adhesive, Joy Foam Pads, Joy Craft Pearls, craft knife, PergaKit Silicon Adhesive, Triple Thick glaze, cutting mat, large ball stylus, graph paper, May Arts silk ribbons, wooden skewer, adhesive remover, Spellbinders’ Large Scalloped Ovals nesties, computer, color printer, Bow Easy, May Arts ribbon, EH1819 open passe-partout stencil, 18 Kt. Gold Krylon pen, EK Success border punch

Thank you so much for stopping by, I truly appreciate your visits. 

Hi ladies, today’s post features the place card I designed for my JustRite Autumn Blessings Thanksgiving Ensemble.  I love place cards on my holiday table.   This place card is no exception, it’s so pretty on my table.  It was simple to make and packs a big “wow” factor!   The colors I chose for the cornstalk work so well with my harvest floral arrangements.   I’ll show you how to make this place card with an open passe-partout stencil that I sell in my store,  A Touch of Grace - Paper Boutique in the tutorial below.  Using the Wizard by Spellbinders, embossing is a snap!  Blog candy is being given away as well.  I love games; you’ll  have to read through my post to find the candy and how to win.

This place card has a lot of dimension; however, you could easily use just one layer of the cornstalk and still have a beautiful place card.  As I advised in yesterday’s post, the stencils can be embossed in the Cuttlebug as well.  I don’t have the sandwich recipe, but I have been advised by some of you that you’ve had no problems using the stencils with your “bugs.”  If you missed yesterday’s post featuring the wall hanging and tutorial, click here to view it.

If you have any problems understanding the tutorial, please write to me with your questions.  If I don’t get back to you within a day or so, please be patient, as I’m writing these tutorials on a daily basis.  They are quite lengthy and take a lot of time.  Thank you for understanding.

This picture is a beautiful illustration of the dimension of the paper toling done with the cornstalk image.  See this post for directions on how to paper tole the cornstalk, scroll down until you come to the pictures and directions in the tutorial for the paper toling. 

A close up of the cornstalk shows just how glassy the glaze is that I used.  It’s called Triple Thick.  It’s a bear to work with, but very pretty once dry. 

Anyone who has ever seen my handwriting will know why I used a computer to create the name tag for the place card.  This card has my Mom’s name on it.  Gee, who would have guessed my Mom’s name is “Kay” .   .   . LOL!  I’ll give you three guesses as to what my Dad’s name is.   Leave a comment below with your guess.  All those who guess correctly will be entered in a drawing for a free stencil and a JustRite monogram kit.   I’ll announce the winner this Sunday at 2:00 p.m.  The winner will be chosen by Random.org.  Shopping links are provided at the end of the post.  No purchase is required to be eligible to win the blog candy .   .   .   .  okay, I just had to add that language .   .   .  LOL .   .   . reminds me of radio commercial.

Place Card Tutorial:

Cut a piece of embossing paper 5 1/2″ x 7″ and tape your stencil as shown in the photo above using Scotch Removable Tape.  As you can see, I have placed my stencil on a Wizard embossing plate.  If you’re using a Wizard, turn the stencil face down on the embossing plate and lay your tan embossing pad on top.  Place your other embossing plate on top of the tan pad and run through the Wizard.  It’s as simple as that, you’re finished with your embossing.  

If you get any sticky residue from the tape on your embossing paper, simply use an adhesive remover (as shown in the above photo) to gently remove the residue.  As you can see, the Wizard embosses these stencils beautifully.

For visual purposes of this tutorial only, I drew a line where the scoring line is.  Because I want my score line to be exactly where my drawn line is, I used a ruler and bone folder to create the score line.  I was worried that if I used a Scor Pal or Scor It, I might be a smidgeon off.   I did not draw the line on my original place card.  Visually it was difficult to see exactly where to score.  I used a clear Tim Holtz ruler and was able to see exactly where to place the score line, then using a bone folder, I ran the tool along the edge of the ruler, scoring the paper.

Fold the place card in half (the bottom will be about 1/4″ longer if you cut using the dimensions I used) and place the stencil over the embossing.

Using a .5 mechanical pencil, lightly trace lines as shown in this picture.  You’ll see some of the lines are not completely connected.  We’ll take care of that in the next step.

Remember those dot-to-dot books you played with as a kid?  Well, that’s what you’ll do here, connect the dots/lines as shown in this picture.

As you can see in the picture above this one .   .   .  oops!  .   .   . I neglected to draw all of the lines.  I realized it as I was taking the picture.  No problem, I placed the stencil back over the embossing and traced the remaining lines. 

Using a sharp craft knife, cut along the drawn lines through both layers of embossing paper.  Before you start cutting, look at the picture below where the cutting has been completed as a guide.  Do Not cut the upper portion of your place card or you’ll sever the seam and have two pieces.  Only cut out the notches as shown below.  Okay, now look back up at the picture above and you can see where I drew the two notches.  You have the option of not cutting those two small notches or cutting them.  I cut mine.  This picture illustrates what your cutting should look like halfway through.

Once you’ve finished cutting, open your card as shown above and cut the traced lines. 

Once you’ve completed the cutting, gently erase any pencils marks left on the paper.

Turn your place card over so that the debossed lines are facing up.  Using a ruler, draw straight lines along the bottom of the place card.  I love the Tim Holtz clear ruler, I’m a very visual person, I like to see every thing. 

Trim the lines using your craft knife as shown above.

Turn your card back over and place on a flat surface.  Your card will sit perfectly flat without rocking.  You don’t have to do this step, but because of the weight of the paper toled cornstalk, I chose to do this to ensure my place card wouldn’t rock. 

And that’s it!  That’s all there is to it.  Very simple, easy, and fast to make.

Adhere your cornstalk using foam pads, as well as your name tag and a sweet simple bow.  I used May Arts 1/4″ SK16 olive green silk ribbon for the bow.  For perfect bows every time, I use the Bow Easy.  There are some tools I can live without, but I would never give up my Bow Easy.  The name tag was computer generated, printed, and punched with an SU small oval punch.  I used an 18 Kt. Gold Krylon pen to trace around the edges of the tag.

A side view to show you how the place cards sits on a flat surface. 

And my finished place card.  I can’t wait to see Mom’s face when she sees this!

Shopping:

JustRite:   Autumn Blessings Centers and Borders

A Touch of Grace:  EH1819 Open Passe-Partout stencil; Pergakit Silicon Adhesive, Joy Craft Pearls, Joy Foam Pads, 18 Kt. Gold Krylon Pen, Zip Dry Adhesive, Carnation White embossing paper, Cream embossing paper, Scotch Removable Tape

Stamp Simply Ribbon Store:  May Arts Ribbon, Bow Easy

Recipe:

Stamps:  Autumn Blessings Centers and Borders (JustRite)

Paper:  Carnation White embossing paper, Cream embossing paper, Old Olive cardstock

Ink:  Old Olive, Chocolate Chip

Accessories:  Genesis Paper Trimmer, Wizard, SU small oval punch, Scotch Removable Tape, Zip Dry Adhesive, Joy Foam Pads, Joy Craft Pearls, craft knife, PergaKit Silicon Adhesive, Triple Thick glaze, cutting mat, large ball stylus, graph paper, May Arts silk ribbons, wooden skewer, adhesive remover, computer, printer

Thank you for stopping by.  Be sure to stop by tomorrow for day three of the Thanksgiving Table Decor designs.

I’ve been working on my Thanksgiving table decorations and am tickled pink with the designs I’ve come up with using the Autumn Blessings JustRite stamp set.  Typically I use JustRite stamps for monograms or for fun whimsical designs, but as you can see, JustRite stamps can be elegant as well.  Each day this week I’ll show you table decor designs with tutorials using an open passe-partout stencil that I sell in my store, A Touch of Grace - Paper Boutique and the Autumn Blessings kit.   

Most of you who follow my blog know that I love using a lot of dimension in my designs.  Typically I hand emboss most of my designs since I like to custom design with my stencils.  However, every embossed piece you see in this entire ensemble was embossed using the Wizard by Spellbinders.  The stencils can be embossed in the Cuttlebug as well.  I don’t have the sandwich recipe, but I have been advised by some of you that you’ve had no problems using the stencils with your “bugs.”  I have provided a tutorial below of the wall hanging and will be back each day with a tutorial for a placecard, menu, and napkin holder.

If you have any problems understanding the tutorial, please write me with your questions.  If I don’t get back to you within a day or so, please be patient, as I’m writing these tutorials on a daily basis.  They are quite lengthy and take a lot of time.  Thank you for understanding.

Due to the size of the wall hanging, I was not able to get a large photograph of the entire piece so I’ve taken photographs of each panel to give you a closer view.  The dimensions of the completed design are 4 5/8″ x 22.”

The top and bottom panels are 3 1/2″ x 5 1/8.”  I embossed all three panels with an open passe-partout stencil that I sell in my store, A Touch of Grace - Paper Boutique.   All ribbon used on the design is May Arts silk ribbon in 1/4″, 1.25″ and 1/8″ SK16 Olive.  I purchased it from the Stamp Simply Ribbon Store.  Shopping links are provided at the end of the tutorial.

The center panel was designed larger than the top and bottom panels.  The top and bottom panels have a cream inner layer, whereas the center panel has a carnation white inner layer.  Pale yellow Joy Craft pearls were used throughout the design. 

Three 1/4″ silk ribbons hold the panels together.  Large bows have been placed between the panels and on the hanger, they add just the splash of color that is needed for the design.

Looking closely, you’ll see that all panels have been elevated using Joy Craft foam pads.  The small leaves were cut with a craft knife and elevated with PergaKit silicone adhesive.  Because the leaves are so small, I would not have been able to use the foam pads without them showing.  Can you see the PergaKit adhesive?  It dries clear.  I just love it for paper toling.  I’ll show you how to use the PergaKit in the tutorial below.

This photo illustrates the dimension of the paper toling. 

Tutorial for wall hanging:

EH1819 Open Passe-Partout stencil was used to emboss Carnation White embossing paper (shopping links are provided at the end of the tutorial).  Using Scotch removable tape, I taped the stencil to the embossing paper and ran it through the Wizard.   Taping the stencil prevents it from sliding around.  If you get sticky residue on your paper, remove it using an adhesive remover.  I use the 2″ square adhesive remover that SU sells.  Emboss  two carnation white panels.

Place the stencil over the embossed panels and lightly trace cutting lines using a .5 mechanical pencil.  For visual purposes of this tutorial I made the lines dark.  You’ll want to trace lightly so that you can gently erase any lines that are left after you are finished cutting.

Use a sharp craft knife to cut along the traced lines.   Gently erase any left over pencil marks.  Your two panels should look like the above photo.  (Look at the finished design at the top of this post, you can see in the upper and lower panels that I have cut more out of the center sections to show more of the cream paper.  You may choose to cut more as I did, or leave the cutting as is shown in this picture).

Please note that the tracing and cutting are different on the center panel.  The center panel is larger than the top and bottom panels, it has a larger border.   You will not trace around the outside of the stencil and cut the outer lines as was done on the first two panels.  The panel measurements are 4 1/8″ x 5  7/8.”   Center the stencil on the panel, tape it to the embossing paper and emboss.  Lightly trace your cutting lines as shown in the picture above. 

Cut the traced lines, your panel should look like the picture above.  You now will have three embossed and cut panels.  Draw around all edges of the three panels with an 18 Kt. Gold Krylon pen.

Each of the three panels have four layers.  The top layer is the embossed and cut layer, the second layer is the cream layer (on the top and bottom panels, carnation white for the center panel), the third layer is and old olive layer, and the fourth layer is an old oliver layer.  Your ribbon will be sandwiched in between the two old olive layers.  You will place foam pads on the back of the embossed layer to place on top of the cream layer.  That panel will then be adhered to the old olive layers.  It’s easier to sandwich in the ribbons between the old olive layers first before adhering the embossed panel and cream layer to the old olive layers.   

For the smaller panels:  (1) cut two panels of a pale yellow or cream colored cardstock slightly smaller than the two embossed and cut panels; (2) using foam pads (you’ll need to cut them in half to fit in some areas) attach the embossed panels to the cream panels; set aside (3) cut four olive green panels 3 1/2″ x 5 1/8.”  Trace around the edges of the panels with an 18 Kt. Gold Krylon pen, set aside to dry.

For the larger center panel: (1) cut a carnation white panel slightly smaller than the center embossed panel; (2) using foam pads (you’ll need to cut them in half to fit in some areas) attach the embossed center panel to the panel you’ve just cut (see the finished design if you’re having difficulty following me, we’re just layering panels here); (3) cut two olive green panels 4 5/8″ x 6 1/4″ and trace the edges with an 18 Kt. Gold Krylon pen, set aside to dry.

Take 3 olive green panels (top, center, and bottom) and mark three sets of lines 1/4″ apart on the lower edge of the top panel; do the same on the upper and lower edges of the center panel, and on the upper edge of the lower panel.  The sets of lines will be in the center of the paper as shown in the picture.  I know this is terribly confusing, please look at the picture for a visual.

For the hanger, cut two strips of 1/4″ olive ribbon 8″ in length.  Come in 3/4″ from the outer edges of the top panel and mark your paper; adhere the two ribbons, one on top of the other to both marked sides of the olive green panel form a loop or hanger.  See this picture of the finished design for a visual of where to place the ribbons. 

(1) Cut six 4″ strips of 1/4″ ribbon; (2) adhere the ribbon within the sets of lines that you drew as shown in the picture above, trim off excess ribbon (the gold edges that you drew earlier are on the outside of the panels); (3) connect all three panels, i.e., top panel to center panel and center panel to lower panel; (4) now take the second set of old olive panels and adhere them to the panels you’ve just glued the ribbons to making sure that you sandwich the ribbons between the panels.  Remember that the gold edges are on the outside edges of the panels.  This gives the back of your design a beautiful appearance. 

This is what your panels should look like from the back once you’ve adhered the two old olive pieces together (please note in this photo I did not trace around the edges of the panels with the Krylon pen, I’m merely showing you how the ribbon should look from the front and back side of the design once it’s sandwiched between the panels).  You are now ready to adhere the embossed panels to the three old olive panels.  Please refer to pictures here of the completed project for placement of the embossed panels onto the old olive panels.  I used Zip Dry adhesive for gluing the ribbons and the panels.  I find that Zip Dry does not warp, wrinkle, or buckle the paper. 

Your panels are complete and attached to the wall hanging.  Set it aside while we move on to the focal images which are attached last. You do not want to attach them while you’re working on assembling the paneled sections so that you don’t damage the paper toling.

The image with the black “X” on it is my original stamped and colored image.  I used Prismacolor Colored Pencils to color the image.  Using an inkjet printer I made several copies and sprayed them with a fixative. 

I’m providing a close up of the colored image for your coloring purposes.

Take one of the images and cut and emboss it using the largest oval from Spellbinders’ Small Ovals nesties.  Using olive green paper cut and emboss a scalloped oval using the second largest scalloped oval from the Large Scallop Ovals nesties. 

To make the layers fit, use a craft knife and cut just outside the embossed line on the image. Use an 18 Kt. Gold Krylon pen and trace around the edges of the oval.

The piece you cut using the nestie die will be the base for your paper toled image,.  Cut your pieces from the remaining six images as shown in the above picture with a sharp craft knife. I cut all of the leaves for my original designs, I did not do so for the purpose of this tutorial.

Take piece #2 and tole the edges using a large stylus with a medium to large ball, print side down, white side up.  To tole the paper, place it on a piece of foam and empress the edges until they slightly curl up.  Place balls of PergaKit silicone adhesive toward the center of the image using a wooden skewer or tooth pick.  If you don’t have PergaKit, you can use foam pads (dimensionals). 

Using tweezers, gently place the piece on top of the base oval, being careful to line up the images.   Do not press too hard or you’ll flatten out the PergaKit.  If you choose to use PergaKit, you’ll need to wait about 20 minutes between the paper toled layers.  The weight of the silicone will flatten the layers if it’s not dry or you might accidentally move the pieces. 

Carefully tole each layer as you go.  Using the PergaKit, continue building the layers.  In this picture you’ll see a ball of PergaKit on the wooden skewer (I purchased the 4″ skewers at my local supermarket, they very inexpensive, 100 for $1 I believe.).  Squeeze a bit out of the tube onto the skewer in the form of a small ball and then gently place it on the paper.

You can begin to see the layers of the paper tole in this image.

Continue on using the same technique, you can see the layers of the bow building here.

I’ve completed all the layers and added on two of the leaves as a visual for you.  The leaves are quite tedious to cut and mount on the silicone.  As you can see, I did not bother with the acorns, they were too small, even for me  . . . LOL. 

Let your layers completely dry for a few hours.  At this point you can apply the glaze if you desire it on your design.  As you can see, it’s quite pretty without the glaze.   If you do use glaze, follow the instructions on your bottle.  Let it dry thoroughly between coats and before handling the design.  Once it’s dry (I let mine dry overnight), adhere the paper toled panel to the olive green scalloped panel using foam pads.     

A close up of a completed panel using a glaze.  I used a product called Triple Thick that I purchased at Michael’s.  It’s somewhat tricky to work with, but I like it better than crystal lacquer.  It dries with a crystal clear wet look, like nail polish, leaving no bubbles.  I let the glaze dry several hours.  Once completely dry, I adhered the paper toled panels to the embossed panels. For the wall hanging you’ll need to make two of the cornstalk paper toled panels.  The center panel has a sentiment on it with a paper toled bow.  The small leaves were individually cut and toled on all three focal images. 

A close up of the sentiment on the center panel.

Using the Bow Easy, I made three large bows using the 1.25″ May Arts olive ribbon and attached them to the wall hanging.  The tails of the bow on the hanger are longer than the two other bows.

Shopping:

JustRite:   Autumn Blessings Centers and Borders

A Touch of Grace:  EH1819 Open Passe-Partout stencil; Pergakit Silicon Adhesive, Joy Craft Pearls, Joy Foam Pads, 18 Kt. Gold Krylon Pen, Zip Dry Adhesive, Carnation White embossing paper, Cream embossing paper, Scotch Removable Tape

Stamp Simply Ribbon Store:  May Arts Ribbon, Bow Easy

Recipe:

Stamps:  Autumn Blessings Centers and Borders (JustRite)

Paper:  Carnation White embossing paper, Cream embossing paper, Old Olive cardstock

Ink:  Old Olive, Chocolate Chip

Accessories:  Genesis Paper Trimmer, Wizard, Small Ovals and Large Scallop Ovals Nesties, Scotch Removable Tape, Zip Dry Adhesive, Joy Foam Pads, Joy Craft Pearls, craft knife, PergaKit Silicon Adhesive, Triple Thick glaze, cutting mat, large ball stylus, graph paper, May Arts silk ribbons, Swarovski Crystals, wooden skewer

Thank you for stopping by.  Be sure to stop by tomorrow for day two of the Thanksgiving Table Decor designs.

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,

       I’m excited to share with you today that my fabulously fun friend, Jenny Gropp, from  One Krafty Cat has invited me to be the guest designer for the challenge today over at  Our Creative Corner.   I’m absolutely thrilled and honored to be playing along with the very talented designers of Our Creative Corner.

The details for the challenge are:

      Triple Play:   Less is not always More! You must pick at least three types of embellishments to use on your card or project. These are your choices: Brads, Eyelets, Bling, Ribbon, Buttons, Thread/Floss, Beads, Charms, Rub Ons, Liquid Applique, Crystal Lacquer  (items highlighted in pink are the elements I used in my design).

       I agree with Jenny, less is not always more.  Those of you who are familiar with my blog know that I typically design more is more designs so this challenge is right up my alley.

       A little about the design:  I recently came across a picture of an egg that was beautifully decorated by an artist with paper tole.  I’ve seen paper tole in books, but have never attempted it and decided to give it a try for the challenge.  I’m sure I’ve made some mistakes with this technique, but overall I’m very happy with my first attempt.  I’m thoroughly hooked on this form of art and hope to learn more!  A drawing was provided by the artist for the design that was on the egg.  I transferred it onto Bristol paper and painted it with acrylic paints.  Once it was dry I made four photocopies on white cardstock using a color printer.  I cut out the flowers only from one of the photocopies and adhered them flat onto the cardstock.  I then painted in the foliage around the flowers directly onto the embossed cardstock.  Using a craft knife, I cut the petals and stems from the copies, toled the paper, and adhered the pieces down using thick crafters’ glue.  I continued to do this for three layers.  The petals were painted with Mod Podge.  I punched several leaves with a Martha Stewart punch and cut small tendrils of green paper.  I wrapped the tendrils around a paintbrush to curl them.  I adhered bits and pieces of the leaves down randomly creating the foliage and painted them with Mod Podge.  Once the Mod Podge was dry, I painted the entire design with crystal lacquer, giving it an enameled lustre.  I finished the floral arrangement by painting gold paint around the petals, stems, leaves, and green tendrils. Once that portion of the design was complete, I went to work on the butterfly.  I stamped and embossed it onto cardstock using gold embossing powder.  I painted the butterfly using the same acrylics that I used in the painting.  I used the same technique to tole the butterfly as I did with the flowers. 

      You can see touches of pink and lavender in the petals in this picture.  I’m including several close up photographs at different angles to show you the detail and dimension of the design.  I love the little flower buds.  Each flower and bud is four layers.  Looking carefully you can see the tiny stems, they are two paper layers thick.

       In this photograph you can see the dimension of the layers of the buds, stems, and the center flowers.  A closer view of the background painting is shown in this photo as well.  I used a liner brush to paint in small stems and leaves.  The same liner brush was used to paint the gold on the edges of the flowers, leaves, stems, tendrils, and the butterfly.   

       I had to squeeze some ribbon in here somewhere .   .   . LOL .   .   . what are flowers without the stems being tied with beautiful white silk ribbon to hold them together!

      This photograph shows off the Swarovski crystals.  They sparkle like diamonds in real life.  Off white, ballet pink, peony, and lavender acrylics were used to paint the flowers and buds. I painted the flowers Off White and then glazed the petals with pink and lavender hues.  You can see hints of the colors in the petals.

      A close up shot of the bejeweled butterfly, her abdomen consists of six 2mm green Swarovski crystals, her wings and antennae are loaded with 1.5mm crystals.

      I’m giving away a $25.00 gift certificate to my store, A Touch of Grace - Paper Boutique to one lucky winner.  To enter all you have to do is play along with the OCC challenge, follow the rules provided above, post your card on your blog or your gallery at Splitcoaststampers using the keyword OCCC.  Leave a comment on the OCC blog linking your design so they can check it out.  The drawing is random, the winner will be announced next Saturday on the OCC blog.  Be sure to check back there next Friday to see if you’ve won.  

      If you’re looking for inspiration for the challenge, be sure to check out the fabulous designs of the OCC Ladies on their blogs - Jenny Gropp, Silke Ledlow, Cindy Haffner (my DDA sister, big hugs Girl!), Jennifer Meyer, Vicki Garrett, Loretta Lock, Joycelyn Turner, and Frances Byrne.

      Shopping info:   A Touch of Grace - Paper Boutique -  Embossing Paper:  Carnation White, Light Pink, Olive Green, Hunter Green, Bristol paper,  light box, 18K Gold Krylon pen, PergaKit 3D Adhesive, acrylic paints,  Removable Tape, Zip Dry adhesive, parchment paper, Perga Soft, craft knife, stylus/embosser, Joy! Foam Pads, Joy Pearls, Martha Stewart leaf punch, paint brushes, Mod Podge, thick crafters’ glue, tweezers, Swarovski crystals, gold paint, Ranger gold embossing powder, heating tool, Encore gold ink, color printer, computer, white card stock, crystal lacquer

      Parked on Rubber:  butterfly stamp

      Stamp Simply Ribbon Store - Bow Easy, white silk ribbon

      Thank you for stopping by, I truly appreciate your visit! 

A few weeks ago Sharon published a challenge using half circles.  I wanted to play but had a few other commitments to get out of the way before I started this design.  The challenge called for large half circles to be part of the design.  Well I think I most certainly met that requirement!  There were no layouts to follow, we were to create our own. 

I drew the design and transferred it to pearly White embossing paper.  I embossed the side circles first in carnation white and then in Pearly white and layered the pearly white on top of the carnation white.  I drew blackberries on both of the panels as well.  I’m providing a template I drew of the outer edge of the pattern for the half circles and the arch for the mauve paper to those who purchase the stencil. 

After coloring the image, I made colored copies of it and reduced the image to 50% to make my own designer paper.  I embossed and cut three small fans and used the designer paper for the centers of the fan.

Small butterflies are adhered to the centers of the smaller bows and larger elegant butterflies were adhered to the larger bows.  The card has a card holder attached to the back that holds the card up for viewing.

A close up of the large bow.

A close up of the smaller bows and fan.

These are the stencils I used for the design.  The Lacy Basket stencil is approximately 5.5″ x 3″ and the Anja Style Fan is approimately 3″ x 1.5″.  The fan stencil comes with a larger fan that is approximately 5″ x 3″.  I ran the stencils through a Wizard to emboss the fan panels and the side panels.  The top center panel was embossed by hand.  I’ve had several questions about the time involved in embossing and cutting the stencils.  It merely took seconds to run the stencils through the Wizard, a couple of minutes to hand emboss a very small portion of the stencil for the top center panel.  The cutting of the two side panels took about 15 minutes each.  Cutting the fan was incredibly fast and easy, 2 minutes per panel and I was finished.  I free hand the cutting, but it can also be done by placing the stencil back over the embossed design and drawing lines with a pencil.  You can then use those lines as guidelines for the cutting. 

Shopping info:   A Touch of Grace - Paper Boutique - Lacy Basket stencil EH1856, Anja Style Fan #3 FE6117, Embossing Paper Colors used:  Pearly White, Carnation White, Mauve, Pergamano Tinta Gold, Tracing Pen, light box, 18K Gold Krylon pen, PergaKit 3D Adhesive, Caran d’Ache colored pencils, Removable Tape, Zip Dry adhesive, sanding paddle, blending stumps, parchment paper, Perga Soft, craft knife, stylus/embosser, Joy! Foam Pads, larger butterfly punch, All Night Media, small butterfly punch, Fancy Crafts.

Stamp Simply Ribbon Store - Bow Easy, lavendar silk ribbon

Thank you for visiting my blog, I truly appreciate your visit! 

   Summer is here and in full swing in sunny (hot and humid) Florida .   .   . LOL!  I love the idea of making a recipe card and thought with the 4th of July coming up, this would be a perfect opportunity to share a recipe that’s perfect for the upcoming holiday and always a summer time hit with my family. I made this recipe card set for the Stamp Simply Summer Recipes challenge featured on Sharon’s blog.  The challenge is to make a card or recipe card to share with others.
     I love cobblers, especially blueberry and cherry.  I pulled a favorite recipe and designed this ensemble using a stencil from A Touch of Grace - Paper Boutique. 

     My uncle’s blueberries grow on a fence, which gave me the idea to create a lattice frame using this stencil.  I embossed two panels, cut them out with a craft knife, and adhered them to the front of my card on either side of the blueberry drawing.  To have the images facing each other I simply embossed one panel, flipped the stencil over and embossed a second panel.

A close up of the card showing the embossing detail and cut work.  I used a craft knife for the cutting and adhered the darker blue paper behind some of the cutout work in the scrolls.  The blueberries were drawn directly onto the embossing paper and colored with colored pencils.  I used a mapping pen and gold Tinta ink to cover the graphite lines of the drawing.  The butterflies and blueberries at the top of the photo and on the lattice were applied with Perga Kit 3D adhesive.  Perga Kit works like using dimensionals or foam dots, only it dries clear and is barely noticeable - no more visible white foam on my cards!

A close up of the recipe card that will go inside the card when it’s mailed.  I used my computer to print the recipe on the embossing paper.  Although it appears black in this photo, the recipe is in dark blue ink.  A Krylon 18K Gold Leaf pen was used on the edges of the card and recipe card.  Blending stumps were used to blend the colors.  When using blending stumps, remember to sand the color off your blending stump with a sanding paddle when changing colors so that you don’t accidentally lay a color on top of another color you don’t want contaminated.

Shopping info:   A Touch of Grace - Paper Boutique - Lacy Fence Stencil - EH1857, Embossing Paper, Pergamano Tinta Gold, Tracing Pen, light box, 18K Gold Krylon pen, PergaKit 3D Adhesive, Caran d’Ache colored pencils, Removable Tape, Zip Dry adhesive, sanding paddle, blending stumps, parchment paper, Perga Soft, craft knife, stylus/embosser, Joy! Foam Pads

Stamp Simply Ribbon Store - Bow Easy, dark blue Taffeta ribbon

Thanks for stopping by, I truly appreciate your visiting my blog. 

A few weeks ago I posted an Easter card and told you about a bow tying secret that I had picked up from Jenny Gropp, One Krafty Kat.  Since that time I’ve posted a few more cards with beautiful bows that I’ve made using that same “secret” method for perfect bows.  Several of you have written to me asking how I make such beautiful bows with both tails on the back side of the bow.

Well today I’m pleased to share the good news with you, the “secret” Jenny shared with me.  The “secret” is the Bow Easy.  Yes, that’s right, Bow Easy, and is it ever easy to tie the most beautiful bows you’ll ever make.  So what’s this Bow Easy?  Take a peek here and you’ll see what the Bow Easy is all about.  I’m pleased to share with you that the Stamp Simply Ribbon Store is selling the Bow Easy at the very low fee of $6.  Personally, I would have paid a small fortune for something that would help me create such beautiful bows, but there was no need . . . LOL!  The Bow Easy is so incredibly easy to use.  The green bows shown on the card above are only one inch in length and have triple loops.  With the Bow Easy you can make as many or as little loops as you like, and you can make seven different size bows.  To illustrate this I made a large bow with two loops from May Arts one inch sheer ribbon and then made a small bow from of May Arts 1/4″ silk ribbon and adhered it on top of the larger bow.  To see a wide variety of beautiful bows on samples boards made by Jenny, click here.

I recommend that you be the first to order the Bow Easy from the Stamp Simply Ribbon Store before it sells out, I have a feeling Sharon’s supply won’t last long; and, while you’re there, check out the beautiful variety of May Arts ribbons that Sharon has available.  My personal favorites are the sheers and the silks, but all are gorgeous!!

Check back with me later in the week, if all goes as planned, I’ll have a bow tying video posted showing you just how easy the Bow Easy really is.

I made this card for the Stamp Simply Challenge #85 - Let the Sun Shine.  No stamps were used, the image is my design.  It was drawn to fit within the parameters of the embossing.  Those sweet little butterflies were made with a new punch I just love.  I adhered them on the tassel and on the bow centers.

If you’re still not convinced the Bow Easy is for you, I invite you to check out the designs of these very talented designers:

Sharon Johnson, owner of the Stamp Simply Ribbon Store.

Jenny Gropp, who so willingly shared her “secret” with Sharon and me.  You’ll definitely want to check out this link, Jenny is offering a Bow Easy as blog candy.

Joan Fricker, of Joan’s Gardens, designed this fabulous card.

• Image:  hand drawn
• Paper:  Embossing Paper
• Ink:  Tinta Gold
• Accessories:  Embossing stencil, light box, craft knife, Krylon gold leafing pen, mini butterfly punch, small butterfly punch, Bow Easy, 3D glue, glitter, May Arts ribbons, gold cord, green glass beads, pearls, mapping pen, colored pencils, Gamsol, blending stump, dimensionals, Zip Dry adhesive

Shopping:

A Touch of Grace-Paper Boutique: Stencil

Stamp Simply Ribbon Store:  May Arts ribbons, Bow Easy

Joan’s Gardens:  Zip Dry adhesive

Thank you so much for visiting my blog.  Please be sure to check back later in the week for the Bow Easy tutorial and Bow Easy blog candy.  Wishing you a wonderful day with all His 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!