Zen and the Art of Cutting Stuff Out of Cereal Boxes

A few days ago, I promised (threatened)? that I was going to try Mel's technique for making custom embossing plates using old cereal boxes! Well OMG, I am hooked! I finally have a reason to be grateful for the inhuman quantities of breakfast cereal that my teen aged son eats! (Keep eating, honey).

Mel's folders were made by cutting stamped images out of cereal box cardboard and adhering them to a flat panel, also cut from the cereal box. The whole thing gets sealed with a layer of Mod Podge and then you can run it through your cuttlebug to create your own custom embossed paper! There aren't enough exclamation points in the world to get me through this post!!!!

When I looked through my stamps, I just didn't have the images that I wanted for this technique, so I turned to my trusty QuicKutz Silhouette. I selected the images I wanted and cut them from cardstock first since the Silhouette won't cut through cardboard. Then I traced my die cuts onto the cardboard and cut them by hand. Here are the four plates I have made so far:

(I know, I know. But I like cutting things out! It makes me feel very Zen) I used the paisley folder to make the Valentine's card for Kristina Werner's Color Challenge - see previous post. Then I decided to experiment a bit and I made this card.

Basically, I embossed the chandelier on black cardstock, then swiped Gesso all over it. I sanded it to make the embossed image pop, but it still wasn't standing out the way I wanted. So I used Prisma Pencils and Gamsol to colour the background area pink with yellow highlights. Then it was a bit too garish for my liking. So I gessoed and sanded again. Finally, I coloured the raised areas of the chandelier with a clear Stardust pen, which doesn't really show in this picture. In real life, it really adds some glamour! This card is a little funky (even for me) so I'm back to the drawing board to see if I can come up with more ideas for using my new toys.

So now I think I'm going to spend about a week cutting stuff out of cereal boxes until I have the biggest collection of custom embossing plates on the planet! Plus, all that cutting will practically qualify me to be a Buddhist monk!

I'm Feeling the Love....

I'm not usually a big Valentine's Day girl, but when I saw this great paper from K and Company, I felt inspired to spread a little love! The first card, I made for my husband. It looks kind of old and raggedy (much like himself)!

It involves podging waxed paper to a cardstock panel and running it through your machine with an embossing folder. Then I alternated inking and sanding the panel until I got the kind of effect I wanted - kind of like an ancient fresco. I loved the texture on this panel! Then I just layered it up with some masculine (sort of) colours, ribbon, brads, and an embossed cuttlebug heart. The central image is cut from the K and Co. Paper and mounted over top.

Then I decided to make a second card for my son. This one is a little more colourful (much like himself)!

This one started as a plain white cardstock panel, embossed with the perfectly paisley cuttlebug folder then coloured with oil pastels on the raised images. I coated the whole thing with two coats of gesso, then sanded it selectively when dry to reveal more of the colours underneath. Love it! I cut the wave edge by hand and did lots of layering. Another image from the K and Co. paper, some ribbons and brads and it was done.

I'm really enjoying these cuttlebug techniques. There is a tutorial up today at Mel Stampz on how to make your own embossing folders! I can't wait to try it!

Musings on Imperfection

As much as I admire perfection in other people, I have found it just about impossible to achieve both in my life and in my crafts. You know the saying "measure twice and cut once?" This doesn't work for me. If I measure twice, I get two different results. Which then, should I cut?

But I have learned to work with, indeed, be inspired by my imperfections! Last night, as I backed out of the impossibly small and crowded parking lot where I work, I managed to back directly into a parked car. As I heard the metallic crunch somewhere over my right shoulder, it occurred to me that I really should try the new distressed metal tile technique I had read about earlier that day at the incredible Mel Stampz blog!

I love this technique! It's actually not difficult. Start by adhering a piece of aluminum foil to a panel of cardstock - use a brayer to get most of the wrinkles out - then run it through your cuttlebug with your choice of embossing folders. I used "Textile Texture." Then turn it face down on your Scor Pal and emboss a grid on the panel to emulate tiles. Cool huh? To distress the panel, I brushed on a layer of gesso, then sanded it lightly when dry. To really make the texture pop, I lightly brayered some Timber Brown StazOn ink over the raised areas.

To assemble the card, I layered a panel of Basic Grey Sultry patterned paper on a kiwi card base. Then I matted the tin panel with dark brown cardstock and adhered it the centre of my card. I stamped the Wildflower Seed image from Inque Boutique on a scrap of Basic Grey (I think it was from the Wassail collection, then coloured with chalks and highlighted with an opaque white gel pen. I matted the stamped image on dark brown cardstock and layered it on an angle to a Spellbinders lable that I had die cut from a medium blush cardstock. This went on the card with foam adhesive and I finished with a couple of scraps of kiwi coloured ribbon, tucked under the edges of the patterned paper.

Quite frankly, I'm much happier with this bit of distressed metal than I was with the distressed effect I created on my neighbour's car last night!