Friday Fun Fold – Double Z Fold version two

By | July 30, 2021
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Hi there

Last week I shared a Double Z Fold card and today I have another variation to share with you. The base is folded in the same way but this version has a narrow ‘double Z’ banner compared with last weeks shorter banner.

As we come to the end of the Designer Series Paper (DSP) sale I thought I’d create my card using as much DSP as possible. The only stamping on this card is the sentiment. I’ve used three different sheets of the Pansy Petal DSP for this card – one for the background, one for the large and small pansies and one for the leaves. The good news is that four of the dies coordinate with the images from the paper so no fussy cutting.

From this view you get a better picture of the ‘double Z’ banner. For this version the banner is the same length as the card base and I made it 2.5cm high. Score the cardstock at the same measurements as your base. I found it easier to place the banner in position with the long section on the front of the card making sure it was the correct orientation before adhering the back section and finally the front section. Make sure you add adhesive to only the left half of the front section otherwise your card won’t open.

I decided to keep the front free from writing so you get the full effect of the DSP. I added a panel on the back where you can write your birthday message – this is the small pansy cut from the same DSP as the large pansy on the front of the card.

I hope you give these Double Z Fold cards a go – they’re effective and easy to make.

Don’t forget you have until Monday night to order selected packs of DSP and save 15%. Contact me if you would like to place an order.

Until next time …

Technique Tuesday – Pinwheel technique

By | July 27, 2021
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HI there

We are in the last week of the July Designer Series Paper (DSP) promotion. This week my featured DSP is the Pansy Petals. This paper is part of the Pansy Petals Suite – you can see all the products included in this suite on page 28 and 29 of the Annual Catalogue. To create the Pinwheel technique you need eight squares of DSP – four of two designs.

For my first card I used both sides of the one paper – the ‘busy’ with the ‘plain’. The squares measure 1 1/4″ and are adhered to two squares of Blackberry Bliss cardstock measuring 2 5/8″. These have been adhered on top of each other – one in a ‘diamond’ orientation and the other in a ‘square’ orientation. The next step is to adhere your pieces of DSP to the cardstock base. For the first square only place adhesive on the right hand side otherwise you won’t be able to slip the last square underneath it. To cover where all the corners of DSP meet I used the largest Polished Pink new 2021-2023 In Color Jewels.

For my background Basic White mat instead of dry embossing it I used the new Stitched Greenery Die which doesn’t cut out but gives this wonderful stitched pattern. You use it in the same way you would with our normal dies – Platform/Cutting Plate/Cardstock/Die/Cutting Plate and then run it through your die cutting machine. I think this is going to become a favourite and will go with so many different stamp sets and dies.

I made a second card with this same Pinwheel technique except this time I matted each piece of DSP before adding it to the cardstock base.

I also used two different sheets of DSP – one the ‘busy’ design like the first card but teamed it up with a gingham design in Fresh Freesia. The DSP squares are still 1 1/4″ and have a 1 3/8″ cardstock mat in Blackberry Bliss and then the two squares are 3″. Adhere the DSP to the small mats and then adhere together as per the above card.

The sentiments for both cards use the ‘happy birthday!’ from Turtle Friends and has been heat embossed in white on Blackberry Bliss. The sentiment has been die cut using the label die from the Beautiful Trees dies.

Don’t forget to check out the selected DSP that is part of the July promotion – last day is Monday 2nd August. Contact me if you would like to place an order.

Until next time …

Friday Fun Fold – Double Z Fold

By | July 23, 2021
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Hi there

There are lots of ‘Z Fold’ variations and today I have a Double Z Fold. One of the guys at worked turned 21 last weekend and I wanted to make him a fun card. I’ve paired a fun fold (always good for a masculine card) with a fun stamp set – Turtle Friends. There are heaps of really cool cards around using this bundle.

Isn’t he cute? I decided to keep with this weeks Designer Series Paper (DSP) theme of In Good Taste so that was the basis for my colour scheme. I thought Gray Granite went well with my chosen paper and then I accented it with Merry Merlot – a favourite of mine.

From this photo you can see how I’ve layered my turtle. The original outline image has been stamped on Very Vanilla with Memento, punched out with the coordinating punch and then his feet, neck and head have been coloured in using the Light Gray Granite Stampin’ Blend. His toes have been done in Dark Gray Granite. I then stamped the outline image on a scrap big enough for this shell outline then stamped the ‘shell’ inside using Merry Merlot. To get the shell looking glossy I applied Shimmery Crystal Effects – you do need to give this plenty of time to dry. The Turtle Friends bundle comes with a stamp set and coordinating punch although I did ‘fussy cut’ his shell. The party hat finishes him off.

And here’s a view from the top to show how the fold looks. My ‘double’ cardstock measures 3″ x 10′ scored at 4″ and 7″ with the 4″ panel on the front. The numbers are die cut using the Playful Alphabet Dies – I must for any crafter.

I can’t wait to create more cards using the Turtle Friends set.

Until next time …

Technique Tuesday – Starburst Card

By | July 20, 2021
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Hi there

As we have the Designer Series Paper sale on during July I thought I’d share another technique using one of the Designer Series Paper (DSP) that is part of the sale – In Good Taste. I’m so glad that this paper carried over from last years catalogue. It’s great for masculine cards and I love the selection of textures within the pack.

Here are the finished cards – you get two samples for this technique as I created a quick tutorial to show you how I made this.

Cut four pieces of DSP that measure 1 1/2″ x 4″ and then cut them on the angle as shown (I’ve made a few cards lately with this cut) either top left to bottom right or top right to bottom left. It doesn’t matter. This will give you eight pieces. You will also need a piece of copy paper or scrap cardstock – make a pencil mark at the halfway mark along the long side as shown above. For my design my copy paper measures 2 3/4″ x 5″. If you make this bigger you may need to cut five or six pieces of DSP instead of my four.

Because I was making two samples I took one triangle of each design for my layout. Make sure all your triangles are facing the same orientation and work out which order you want the pattern to be in before you adhere them to the copy paper. To adhere your DSP you need to cover the copy paper with adhesive. I found the easiest way to do this was by cutting a piece of Adhesive Sheet the same size, adhering it to the copy paper worked really well. You could use liquid glue but that might get a bit messy. Start placing your DSP triangles as per the top photo matching the straight edge of the DSP to the pencil marks. Continue adhering your DSP until all the copy paper is covered – there will be ‘overhang’ on all sides.

Trim the excess DSP so that you are left with a nice 2 3/4″ x 5″ design. Now it’s time to create your card.

For this card I gave it a small mat of Basic Black (9cm x 13cm), stamped my sentiment (from Turtle Friends) on a scrap length of Very Vanilla and then covered the ‘join’ with a length of Early Espresso Faux Suede Trim. To give the card some dimension I adhered it to the base with dimensionals.

For this card I added Gray Granite Shimmer Ribbon and then an additional mat of Merry Merlot (love this colour) measuring 10cm x 14.3cm. The mat has been adhered directly to the Thick Very Vanilla card base with the other mat layer adhered with dimensionals.

You can use this design in a portrait orientation but I like it in the landscape. I hope you’ll give this technique a go with some of your favourite papers. If you would like to purchase a pack or two of DSP July is the month to do so as you can save 15% on selected papers. Check out which ones are included in the sale here.

Until next time …

Friday Fun Fold – Angled Z Fold

By | July 16, 2021
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Hi there

I hope you’ve all had a good week. It’s hard to believe we are already half way through July. Today’s card is a variation on a Z fold card. It ticks all the boxes for a good fun fold for me – I can get two cards from a sheet of cardstock, easy and fun to create plus being versatile for all occasions.

This is a great card design to showcase our wonderful Designer Series Paper (DSP). Don’t forget we have a 15% off sale on selected DSP packs this month. The Hand-Penned paper is one of the selected papers. For this card I used one design but was able to show both sides of the paper.

I don’t have the Hand-Penned Petals Bundle so I used the Color and Contour bundle which goes well with this paper. This stamp set is a ‘two-step’ stamp set – the outline image is stamped in Memento Black and then the colour for the flower is stamped. I used Pale Papaya which coordinates with the card base. The flower on the inside of the card is done in the same way. There isn’t a stamp for the leaves so I coloured them in with my Soft Succulent Stampin’ Blend. As part of this bundle there are dies with a coordinating die for this main flower image. The ‘sprinkle’ image has been stamped in Pale Papaya for a ‘tone on tone’ look. I did try using VersaMark but it didn’t show up as well on the pale cardstock.

I just love the font and size of the Biggest Wish sentiments – this has fast become a ‘go to’ stamp set. The Elegant Faceted Gems come in three colours – Clear, Petal Pink and Pearlescent White. I used the clear ones as the pick up the colour of what is behind them – in this card the Pale Papaya base or the Soft Succulent of the leaf.

The measurements for this card are: on the long side score at 9.9cm and 19.8cm then on the short side measure (and mark) down 14.5cm from the top left and 6.5cm down on the right from the top. Place your cardstock in the trimmer so that the pencil marks are in the cutting groove and cut. This will give you two card bases. Decorate with your chosen DSP, stamp set and embellishments. Each panel of DSP measures 9.6cm across by however high the vertical edge is.

I’d love to see what papers and stamps you use to recreate this card.

Until next time …

Technique Tuesday – Angle Cut Recess Panel

By | July 13, 2021
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Hi there

With the current promotion for July being 15% off selected Designer Series Paper (DSP) I thought I’d do a project that uses one of the selected DSP packs. I’ve chosen the Hand-Penned 12″ x 12″ DSP which features the new Pale Papaya In Colour along with 9 other colours.

I created two designs using the same cutting technique of the Basic White as shown in the photos below.

The Basic White measures 2 1/2″ x 13.1cm and has been cut on an angle. I decided to give the inside edge a mat (in Soft Succulent) and this piece of cardstock measured 2 5/8″ x 13.1cm. You only need a strip of DSP – I cut mine to 5cm x 13.1cm. It then has a base mat of Soft Succulent measuring 9.3cm x 13.1cm. The card base is Pale Papaya.

The flowers are from the Flowers of Friendship stamp set and come with a coordinating punch – Flowers and Leaves. You can buy the stamp set and punch as a bundle – a saving of 10%. I used the Light & Dark Pale Papaya Stampin Blends to colour my flowers. The ‘Happy Birthday’ sentiment comes from the Pansy Patch stamp set. To finish off my cards I added some Genial Gems – these gems coordinate perfectly with the Hand-Penned Suite.

Check back on Friday for another card using this DSP.

Until then …

Friday Fun Fold – Double Triangle Fold

By | July 9, 2021
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Hi there

I have two cards for you today using the same fold – one in a portrait orientation and the other in a landscape orientation. This fold is called a Double Triangle fold and it uses half a sheet of cardstock – cut on the diagonal.

I had some pansies and leaves (from the Pansy Petals Suite) already stamped and die cut sitting on my desk so that was the starting point for my card.

To create this card start with a full sheet of cardstock (21cm x 29.7cm). Place your cardstock in the paper trimmer in the portrait position and score at 10.5cm, turn the cardstock to the landscape position and score again at 14.8cm, now cut your cardstock in half but on the diagonal. I found it easier to remove the scoring blade as you need the whole length of the cutting groove. Position your cardstock in the trimmer on the diagonal, lining the upper left corner and the bottom right corner so they are in line with the cutting groove. Cut your cardstock so you have two halves.

To create a portrait card make sure the long side of the cardstock is in the vertical position on your left then fold the right hand triangle over and the top triangle down. Give the folds a good burnish with your bone folder and decorate.

To create a landscape folded card make sure the long side of the cardstock is in the horizontal position at the bottom and the short side is on your right. Fold the top triangle down and the left triangle over. Give the folds a good burnish with your bone folder and decorate.

My card base is Pale Papaya with a piece of Pansy Petals Designer Series Paper. For the colours of the pansies check out my blog post here – they were left overs from this project. I added some coordinating ‘bling’ from the 2021-2023 In Color Jewels.

One quick tip – when you adhere your embellishment to the front of the card make sure to only adhere half of it otherwise your card won’t open. I also die cut another circle to match the card base to give the embellishment a bit more strength.

I love how both these cards are able to stand up on their own. I hope you’ve enjoyed these cards.

Until next time …

Designer Series Paper sale

By | July 7, 2021
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We all love gorgeous Designer Series Paper, and during this incredible sale, you can enjoy a 15% discount on select papers from the 2021–2022 Annual Catalogue! Now is a great time to stock up and save on some of our most popular paper designs!

Contact me to order or you can order via my online store here

Technique Tuesday – Inlaid Floating Technique

By | July 6, 2021
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Hi there

I decided to do the Floating Technique this week and went in search of some videos to get some inspiration. I came across one by Alisa Tilsner (an Australian demo) where she had done this technique with an ‘inlaid’ section using a die. I didn’t want to do a ‘flower’ design so went looking in my stash of dies and came up with the Love You More Than dies and the coordinating Nothing’s Better Than stamp set.

When I started creating this I wasn’t sure what the finished design would be but I’m pleased with the finished look.

I started with a piece of Window Sheet (measuring 10cm x 14.3cm) and placed my strips in order to make sure they fitted. I then stamped my sentiment in Early Espresso to the Crumb Cake strip and adhered the cardstock to the Window Sheet. It was actually quite hard getting the gaps the same spacing so some may not be perfect. There are a variety of widths (7mm to 2cm or 1/4″ to 3/4″) in Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede and Sahara Sand. Once everything was adhered I decided to trim it down using one of the Stitched Rectangle dies and then die cut the ‘chocolates’ outline from the centre – you do have to run it through the die cutting machine a few times as the Window Sheet is quite thick. To make sure I stamped my image in the correct place I traced around the inside of the ‘chocolates’ and then stamped the image in Memento and coloured my chocolates with Crumb Cake and Soft Suede Stampin’ Blends. The word ‘chocolate’ has been die cut from Early Espresso cardstock. Before I die cut the words I adhered a piece of Adhesive Sheet to the back of the cardstock – this makes adhering so much easier than trying to add liquid glue.

The Window Sheet has been adhered with dimensionals to give the ‘floating’ look.

I’ve used it again – Biggest Wish – this is one of my top favourites from the 2021-2022 Annual Catalogue.

I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing a variation on this technique and ways to use different products on your projects. If you don’t own Window Sheets or Adhesive Sheets add them to your next order.

Until next time …

Friday Fun Fold – Double Point Card

By | July 2, 2021
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Hi there

The good thing with sharing a fun fold project each Friday is that it’s making me make fun fold cards I’ve wanted to but never got round to. Today’s Double Point card is one I can now cross off my list. I’m not sure why it’s taken me so long to make one.

I’m in need of masculine cards at the moment for all the work birthday cards and this stamp set (A Good Man) is my ‘go to’ for masculine cards. I’ve teamed it up with the In Good Taste Designer Series Paper (DSP) which has thankfully carried over from last years catalogue. This card gets it’s name from the two pieces of DSP which have been folded into a point as you will see in the next photo. The stamped image and mat are adhered only at the top to create a flap which reveals the Basic White panel.

This sentiment is from one of my favourite sets in the new 2021-2022 Annual Catalogue – the stamp set is call Biggest Wish and can be found on page 63. It has 5 different words that come in two different font sizes and styles which gives you the option to mix and match especially for ‘Happy Birthday’. I’ve chosen the solid bold font for this card as I thought it was more appropriate for guys and it also fills up the space.

I’m making the most of my Basic Border dies to create my clouds – check out my previous post on creating a ‘cloud’ template and also how to create your ‘ground’ template. My man has been coloured in with Stampin Blends’ – Ivory for the skin, Light Soft Suede for his shorts, Light Night of Navy for his t-shirt, Dark Soft Suede for his hat and the chair is Light Mossy Meadow.

I decided to put my card front onto a base so that it can stand up on it’s own – you can just make your card using the card front and adhere another piece of Basic White to the back of the mat to write your message. I used Gray Granite for my card base with Merry Merlot for the mat. My sponging was a bit heavy in one part on the front so to cover it up I stamped the sentiment on Gray Granite then die cut it using the ‘label’ die from the Beautiful Trees die – I’ve used this a number of times for sentiments as it’s a great length. So there are no mistakes in crafting just opportunities for embellishments.

Well that’s it for now. Until next time …

Technique Tuesday – ‘Cloud’ Template

By | June 29, 2021
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Hi there

Today’s card is the second card we made at my recent workshop – you can see the Pansy Card we made here. This card uses a number of new products from the 2021-2022 Annual Catalogue. The base product is the Beauty of Friendship Bundle from pages 10 and 11. I really love the versatility of the images in the Beauty of Friendship stamp set. This is a ‘two-step’ stamp set with two styles of tree canopies that coordinate with the one trunk image. By changing the colour of your tree canopy you get trees for all seasons.

I made two samples – the one on the right uses the Notecards & Envelops and then the one on the left is a full sized card. By changing the size of the mat you can use the same design for both card sizes.

The mat is Polished Pink – one of the new 2021-2023 In Colors – with a layer of Vellum Cardstock. My tag has been die cut using the largest tag from the new Tailor Made Tags dies. I stamped my tree first before adding the clouds and grass at the bottom. The trunk is stamped in Soft Suede and the canopy is stamped in Granny Apple Green and Garden Green. The sentiment has been stamped in Misty Moonlight and die cut from one of the dies in the Beautiful Trees dies.

The technique I want to share from this card is how I created the ‘clouds’. Have you seen the new Basic Borders dies on page 162? There are six different designs in this set that can be used for edges and also to create a ‘cloud’ template.

Using a scrap piece of cardstock (or a piece of window sheet) I die cut the ‘scallop’ die out keeping the ‘stitched’ edged piece. I wrote ‘Top’ and ‘Bottom’ to help with my sponging.

For my sample I used another new set of dies from page 166 – the Tailor Made Tags.

Place your ‘cloud’ template on top of your cardstock – you are going to be sponging above the die cut so make sure you have it going in the correct direction. Using your Blending Blushes and desired ink – I went with Balmy Blue – sponge above the edge of the template to the top of your cardstock. To get another ‘layer’ of clouds move your template down. I didn’t reink my Blending Brush but used the ink that was already on the brush to apply colour – I wanted it a bit light than the original brushing. And there you have your clouds.

To create my ‘grass/hills’ at the bottom of the card I took a piece of scrap cardstock and gently ripped it to create the contours of the land. This time you want to put your template the opposite way from the clouds (with the ripped edge to the bottom) so that you sponge below the edge to create your hills. Sponge in different shades to give depth.

I hope you give these two techniques a go to create a ‘scene’ for your projects – either a card or scrapbook page.

Well that’s it for now. Until next time …

Friday Fun Fold – Arrow Fold Card

By | June 25, 2021
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Hi there

I’ve been having fun making Arrow Fold cards lately. This fold has been around for some time but I’ve been a bit slow to give them a go – but now I can’t stop making them :). The are so quick and fun to make. Today’s Arrow Fold is in a landscape orientation. You can also create these in a vertical orientation.

I’ve been trying to use up my Snail Mail Designer Series Paper (DSP) before it retires next Wednesday – it’s rather cute.

For this card you need a standard card base, a piece of DSP measuring 10cm x 14.3cm and a card insert measuring 10cm x 14.3cm. To create the ‘arrow’ make a pencil mark half way along the bottom edge and half way on both sides. Using your scoring blade on your paper trimmer or a ruler and stylus score from the pencil mark on the bottom to the pencil mark on the left hand side. Then score another line from the bottom to the top left hand corner of your card front. Repeat these two score lines on the right.

Fold your score lines in a valley ‘V’, mountain ‘M’ formation. I adhered them together with a bit of liquid glue. You can see it better on the next photo. For the DSP make a pencil mark at the half way point on the bottom edge then cut from that mark up to the top left and then top right to create the two side triangles and the large centre triangle. I’ve kept my paper the same design for inside and outside but you can use the design on both sides if you want.

Here you can see how the fold looks from the inside and how I mentioned above about adhering down the ‘flaps’. Adhere the two triangles to the inside and decorate the front of your card. As you know I love fun folds where you can get two out of a sheet of A4 and this ticks that box plus you don’t need heaps of supplies and it’s another great way to use up your DSP.

I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing this fold – even if it’s an ‘old’ fold for you.

Until next time …

Technique Tuesday – Partial Dry Embossing

By | June 22, 2021
1 Comment

Hi there

Last Saturday I held a workshop for a lovely group of ladies – we had a great afternoon crafting and here is one of the cards we made. It uses the partial dry embossing technique. This is where you dry emboss your cardstock front but leave an area free of the embossing to allow you to stamp an image or sentiment. Keep reading to find out how I did this.

When you first look at the card above I’m sure you thought this had a couple of layers – the dry embossed background, the coloured circle mat and then the plain circle with the sentiment stamped in the middle. Well the background and the stamped sentiment are all one layer and the ‘mat’ is just a thin circle edging layered over the top. To create this ‘ring’ I used the Layering Circles dies (6th & 7th biggest) nested together. The pansies are from the Pansy Patch Bundle and have been added on top of the Basic White layer.

To create the partial embossing first you need to make a ‘shim’ as in the picture on the far left. I die cut a circle from two pieces of scrap card board and taped them together. You could use any shape you want – it could even be done with a punch. Next place your cardstock in your chosen embossing folder. I used the new Checks & Dots Embossing Folder. Place the ‘shim’ on top of the embossing folder and run it through your die cutting machine. The pressure from the rollers will only transfer the indentations from the folder to the cardstock where the shim is directly touching the folder, leaving the ‘circle’ area flat and allowing you to stamp on this space.

I also made this same card design into a full sized card by adding an additional mat. The colours I used for my pansies were: Calypso Coral, Pale Papaya and Bumblebee; Melon Mambo, Polished Pink and Daffodil Delight; Gorgeous Grape, Highland Heather and Daffodil Delight (on the left hand card); Gorgeous Grape, Fresh Freesia, Rich Razzleberry and Daffodil Delight (notecard on right). The leaves are Evening Evergreen and Soft Succulent. The mat and sentiment are using Evening Evergreen.

This is a fun and easy technique to create that gives the impression of extra layers to your card. Have fun recreating this technique with dies and punches you have in your stash.

Until next time …

Friday Fun Fold – Double Tri-Fold Shutter Card

By | June 18, 2021
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Hi there

Today’s card is a variation on a Tri-Fold Shutter card (which I have yet to share with you). I was away last weekend with some fellow demos and CASED this design from one of them. Her card had been made using a 6″ x 12″ piece of cardstock so I adapted the design to fit a 14.8cm x 29.7cm piece of cardstock. I still need to make some tweaks but was pleased with how my first attempt turned out. This card is for my brother who goes for a ‘little’ (up to 100km) bike ride every Saturday morning.

This card has a number of score lines – some go the whole height and some are partial – plus some horizontal cuts to allow the ‘concertina’ effect.

I don’t have any current bike stamps so borrowed this retired image. The background sponging of the clouds and grass really bring the image to life. I used the new Basic Borders dies to create my cloud template and sponged with my Blending Brush and Balmy Blue. The grass is Granny Apple Green.

There is space on the back to write your message so that the front scene doesn’t get spoilt. My card base is Crumb Cake and I used the In Good Taste Designer Series Paper (DSP) matted on Early Espresso.

The view from the top shows all the folds.

And here it is ready to go in an envelope. The ‘belly band’ is Early Espresso with some Gray Granite Shimmer Ribbon wrapped around then a separate length added – tied in a knot. There is a bit of work in this card but the end result was so worth it.

Have a great weekend. Until next time …

Technique Tuesday – Split Negative

By | June 15, 2021
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Hi there

Today we have the Split Negative technique. This is a new one for me – I can’t believe I’ve never made a card using this cool technique. I’m so glad we’ve got black embossing powder back in our catalogue although you could do this with Memento Black ink.

To create this card you need two pieces of cardstock the exact same size – I’ve gone with Basic Black and Basic White and then matted them on Coastal Cabana and Pacific Point – colours I don’t use a huge amount.

Stamp your image – mine is from Dragonfly Garden – with VersaMark on both pieces in the same location. I used the Stampartus so I got it correct. Apply the opposite colour embossing powder and then heat. So black powder on my Basic White card base and white embossing powder on my Basic Black card base. The sentiment is from Pansy Patch and has been punched out with the Double Oval punch.

Once heated cut your image in half and swap the halves over, lining up your images to create the black/white image. As my image was tall and thin I decided to cut my pieces on the diagonal. You can cut it vertically or horizontally – do whatever suits your image.

You can see the Dragonfly image on the inside and a double mat.

This technique is a great way to create two cards at the same time.

Until next time …