Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Playing Around with Embossing Paste

The day has finally arrived! I have been seeing all of these gorgeous, textured cards made using embossing paste and was so jealous. I ordered a jar of my own and have been anxiously awaiting its arrival. After practically mauling the UPS man yesterday in my excitement, I dipped into my very first project.

I apparently ordered the "crackle" embossing paste by accident. Oh well! It it still created a really neat, albeit different, texture. 

Somebody told me that you should let it air dry for clean lines because the heat tool makes it bubble up. Naturally, I had to experiment so I made two cards!

When using an embossing paste, the first step is to find something to create the texture. I chose a polka dot stencil. Next, tape down the stencil very firmly to a crafting mat so no paste gets below the stencil. 



Next, begin to spread the paste over the stencil with a putty knife. Continue until the entire image is covered. 



Scrape off any excess and put it back in the jar before slowly peeling off the tape and lifting the stencil. 

You can choose to air dry, or you can choose to heat dry. I let the red card air dry and it did create a much cleaner outline of the stencil. It also cracked more, which is how this particular paste should work. On the blue and yellow card, I immediately sprinkled some clear glitter embossing powder over the paste, then dried with my heat tool. It didn't crack at all but did bubble up and create and amazing texture. I prefer the heat dry effect, but will have to try both with other stencils, too.




 The Retro Sketches site is my new all-time favorite sketch site. I'm going to enter my red card into their weekly sketch challenge

The red background just screamed Christmas to me, so I incorporated it into a holiday card using Stampin Up's Bells and Boughs set to create a colored poinsettia and added a little sparkly embossing powder to the holiday sentiment. I decided to play along in Merry Monday's Christmas Bingo challenge this week, too! 

Here's the finished Christmas card:





Other challenges I'm submitting to:
Simon Says Stamp's Monday Challenge "Stencils and Stamps"
A Blog Named Hero's Challenge "Papers Please"

I decided to use the second card to make a card for my Aunt Jana. Last year her little boy was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer that affects children. He was such a strong boy and fought and won the battle. At his last check-up, however, they found some build up in his lungs, which is often the first sign to relapse. Doctors don't seem too concerned at this point, but are beginning to monitor him more closely. If you all could keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers, I would really appreciate it. 

I added a tag to the card and used STAMPlorations amazing "Bloom Sketches" set. STAMPlorations is having a new kind of contest that I'm really excited about. They have now have a never-ending challenge for anyone who uses their stamps. For every 50 cards that are uploaded to their gallery, they are giving away free product! Woohoo! I better get the ball rolling! 




I painted over the daisy with Perfect Pearls "perfect white" for a little shimmer and embossed the "Be Well" sentiment in gold. Overall, I think it complements the background perfectly!




Challenges I'm submitting this card to:
Simon Says Stamps Wednesday Challenge "Tag It"
Pile It On's Challenge: "Shiny"
Simon Says Stamp's Monday Challenge "Stencils and Stamps"

Thanks for staying with me on this unusually long post! Your comments are much appreciated!

19 comments:

  1. 2 beauties, Becca! I'd say your first try with the paste was a success! Wonderful Christmas card & I love the colors for your floral card!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow! Cool technique and wonderful cards, both of them!!! Fantastic texture!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Two gorgeous cards using the technique, I like the bright colors on both!

    ReplyDelete
  4. WOW! These are GORGEOUS!!!! Your backgrounds are incredible!!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great card! I recently started using Texture Paste too and made a couple of cards for a Simon Says challenge last week. Have fun!

    ReplyDelete
  6. So very pretty, Becca!! I love your experiments with the paste!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Both beautiful cards, Becca! I especially love the second one and how that daisy looks like it's peeking from the back of the tag. Great use of embossing paste!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Awesome cards! That looks like fun to do!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Beautiful cards and your tutorials are excellent

    ReplyDelete
  10. Both cards are fantastic! The stenciled / texture backgrounds look amazing! Thanks for joining along with the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge!

    ReplyDelete
  11. You did beautifully with the embossing paste, Becca! Love that Christmas card with all the red and white goodness! Pretty second card too and prayers are sent out for your family! I think they'll enjoy the bright, hopeful card! Thanks for sharing with us at Merry Monday!

    ReplyDelete
  12. These are gorgeous! The crackle embossing paste adds such amazing texture! Thanks for joining us at Merry Monday!

    ReplyDelete
  13. both your cards are lovely - love the colors in the second one. i need to get the embossing paste out again and play - you've given me some impetus to get going!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Awesome cards and the technique you used for the backgrounds - you've inspired me to get out my stencils and paste! Thanks so much for joining us this week at Merry Monday!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Two equally beautiful ways to use the stencil. Fabulou designs. Love the paste on the red cardstock. Thank you for joining in with us at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge!

    ReplyDelete
  16. These cards are both amazing! I can't believe I've never heat-embossed paste (I see that happening very soon!) love the texture it created. I will definitely keep your aunt & cousin in my thoughts. What an awful feeling it must be waiting to hear that kind of news :(

    ReplyDelete
  17. Both cards are lovely, this is a great technique. Thank you for joining us for Merry Monday this week.

    ReplyDelete
  18. These are gorgeous. Texture paste is fun. Hugz

    ReplyDelete