Faux Patina'd Hello

Tonight I am holding my monthly techniques class where I am featuring two techniques to help get more from our Textured Impressions Embossing Folders.  One of the techniques I'll be teaching is the Faux Patina technique.  Here is the project we'll be doing:

Thinking of you card featuring the Tap, Tap, Tap stamp set and using the Faux Patina technique

I wanted to include a masculine card in this month's class and the Faux Patina technique is perfect for a man-card!  I began by inking the Alphabet Press TIEF with Crumb Cake ink and running it through the Big Shot with a piece of Whisper White card stock.  Then I sponged the entire piece with Island Indigo ink, followed by Always Artichoke and then Early Espresso.  I ran the embossing buddy all over it and then lightly ran the Versamark ink pad across the raised letterining.  I sprinkled on some gold embossing powder and heated.  The result is a WOW everytime! 

I layered the embossed panel on a Crumb Cake card base that I stamped all over with the image from the Tap, Tap, Tap stamp set and lightly sponged with Crumb Cake ink.  The DSP is from the Typeset pack and is punched with the Spiral Border punch and distressed with Crumb Cake ink.  The typewriter image is heat embossed in gold on Very Vanilla card stock and then lightly sponged with Sahra Sand ink.  The sentiment is stamped in Basic Black.  I added a mini library clip (retired) and some Linen Thread by way of embellishment...suitably manly, right?

On the inside I stamped and other sentiment from the Tap, Tap, Tap set in Basic Black and the border image in Crumb Cake ink.  If you haven't yet tried this technique I highly recommend it...just beware...it is a wee bit addictive!

Don't forget...the FREE SHIPPING promotion expires tomorrow at midnight.  Don't miss out on the savings!!

Faux Patina'd Birthday

Happy third Sunday of Advent!  Just a few more days till Christmas.  Today marks the beginning of a new challenge over at Sunday Stamps.  This one runs for three weeks, so there is plenty of time to play along!  Check it out:

 Here is my project:

Masculine birthday card featuring the Sassy Salutations stamp set and using the Faux Patina technique.

Now when I start to design this project I began playing with the ink colours.  I sponged some Bermuda Bay ink over the Daffodil Delight ink and LOVED the amazing shade of green it produced.  I just knew I had to use it for the Faux Patina technique.  Here is what I did:

• Beginning with a 4"x 5-1/4" piece of Whisper White card stock, I sponged Daffodil Delight ink all over it.  Then I lightly sponged on Bermuda Bay ink, blending the colours as I went.  I left some areas a bit more yellow...I liked the depth it created.
• I ran the sponged card stock through the Big Shot with the Alphabet Press TIEF.  Then I sponged again, lightly, with Bermuda Bay ink to highlight  the raised areas.
• I lightly ran a Versamark pad over the entire surface, taking care to try to only hit the raised pattern.  I sprinkled on gold embossing powder, shook off the excess and then heated it with my heat tool.  I love the way it turned out!

The star image from the Many Merry Stars set.  I stamped it in Versamark ink on Soft Suede card stock and then heat embossed in gold.  I die cut it out using the Stars framelits.  This brings me to my little clock embellishment.  It is from the long-retired Tea Time Trinkets.  I wanted something in gold, but the trinkets in that set are silver, so I took matters into my own hands.  I mashed the little clock into my Versamark pad and then dunked it into my pot of gold embossing powder.  I heated it and...voila...a gold clock!!

Cool, huh??  Remember this little trick the next time you need the perfect embellishment ;)
The rest of the card is pretty simple...I stamped the sentiment from Sassy Salutations in Bermuda Bay ink and trimmed it into a pennant.  I added a few In-Colour sequins to add a little more bling. The card front is mounted on a Soft Suede card base.

Have a wonderful Sunday!

More Twisted Faux Patina

Today I have another card I did for this week's Faux Patina challenge at The Technique Twist.  Check it out...

Thank you card featuring the Faux Patina technique and using the Wonderful Wreath stamp and the Seasonal Sayings stamp set.

For this one I wanted to get a more rusted look, so I changed up my colour choices for the Faux Patina.  Here is what I did:

• I inked the smooth side of my Beautifully Baroque TIEF with my Crumb Cake ink pad and ran a piece of Naturals Ivory card stock through.  Then I sponged the entire surface with (in this order) Cajun Craze, Always Artichoke and Early Espresso ink.  I then lightly brushed the panel with my Versamark and heat embossed with gold embossing powder.  
• I cut the Faux Patina panel into four after completing the technique.  (Use the Rotary attachment for your Stampin' Trimmer...you'll get a perfect cut!)
• I inked the wreath in Crushed Curry and then daubed the outer and inner edges with Cajun Craze.  I stamped it on Very Vanilla and then die cut it using the Circles Collection Framelits.
• The sentiment is heat embossed in Early Espresso.
• The kinky twine is pulled from a strip of the 1-1/4" burlap ribbon.  It is a nice, bulkier alternative to Linen Thread.

If you haven't already done so, be sure to check out The Technique Twist blog for more great takes on Faux Patina from our design team!

Time for a new Twisted Challenge

Today is the 15th which means its time for a new technique challenge over at The Technique Twist!  This week we're all about Faux Patina...one of my very favourite techniques!  Today I'm going to share one of two cards I did for this challenge...

Any-occasion Man-card featuring the Faux Patina technique, along with the Seasonal Sayings (128009), Clockworks (131973) and Off the Grid (130736) stamp sets.

There is lots going on on this card!  I did this one with my monthly techniques group last week and they loved it.  Here is a rundown on what I did:

• To create the Faux Patina panel I inked the smooth side of my Alphabet Press TIEF with my Crumb Cake ink pad and then ran a piece of Whisper White card stock through it.  I then sponged with Island Indigo, Always Artichoke and Early Espresso ink (in that order) to get the depth of colour.  Then I lightly rubbed my Versamark ink pad across the whole panel and heat embossed with both gold and silver embossing powder.
• The background panel is a piece of Early Espresso card stock that I stamped with the Off the Grid stamp and then heat embossed with Early Espresso embossing powder.  I then stamped the gears from the Clockworks stamp set using the silver Encore Metallic ink pad (132142).
• The sentiment is also heat embossed but this time I used gold, silver and Early Espresso embossing powder.  I sponged the edges lightly with Early Espresso ink and curled the banner with my bone folder before adding the Antique Brad (117273).

I really loved creating this card.  It has been a while since I did this technique...it really can be addicting, especially when you start playing with other ink colour combinations.  Be sure to visit the other design team members' blogs to see their fantastic creations the stop by later this week to see my second project and you'll see how switching up the ink colours gives a whole new look to this technique. 

And now back to Christmas!

After a brief venture into Fall yesterday, today I'm back with another Christmas card.  The moment I saw the new Lacy Brocade TIEF in the Holiday catty I was dying to see what it looked like used with the Faux Patina technique.  I knew it would be gorgeous...and I was right!  Check this out:

Faux Patina Christmas card featuring the Ornament Keepsakes and Greetings of the Season stamp sets.

Isn't that stunning?!?  I love the way the embossed pattern almost pops off the page with this technique!  Faux Patina lovers, you MUST GET this folder!  Now, to stamp the ornaments, I couldn't just do plain single-colour stamping with a background like that; so I inked the stamp with Marina Mist and then daubed Always Artichoke around the edges using a sponge dauber.  By the way, both of those colours are ones I used for the Faux Patina technique.  I cut the ornaments out with my Holiday Ornaments Framelits, added a bit of linen thread and some pearls and viola...easy, elegant Christmas card!

If you like this card and would like to get your hands on the Ornaments Keepsake stamp set, check out my Events page for details on my Ornament Keepsakes Stamp Camp coming up at the end of the month.  You won't want  to miss the FOUR beautiful 3D projects I have planned.  Since seating is limited, you'll want to reserve your spot ASAP.  Don't be disappointed!

Now for the REALLY big news!  I'm an Auntie again!  Check this little angel out:

Happy Birthday baby Matthew!

My newest nephew was born just after 9:00 Thursday morning weighing in at a whopping 9lbs, 6oz!  My SIL and little Matthew are doing great.  We seem to make big boys in our family!  We've got all boys and everyone of them was over 9lbs when he was born!  That might explain why all the moms have C-section scars!!  A HUGE congratulations to Donna, Rob and big brother Michael...Matthew truly is a miracle!

One more...

Ok, I know I said last week that I was done with the Faux Patina projects for a while.  Here's the thing:  after demonstrating the technique five times last Saturday I was left with five card-sized pieces of gorgeous Faux Patina.  Now I couldn't very well just throw them out, could I??  So, I decided to use one to create a sample for my techniques group this week.  It is a bit of a variation on one of the cards I showed you last week...which just goes to show how versatile this beautiful technique is!  Have a look...

Friendship card featuring the Field Flowers stamp set and using the Faux Patina technique.

Simple and elegant, eh?  I can't get enough of those Labels framelits (and I have it on very good authority that there are more to come in the upcoming Holiday Catalogue!).  I also used a little ribbon saving trick.  I used less than 5 inches of lace trim on this card.  I trimmed short little bits for either end and adhered them to the front and the back of the cardfront with glue dots.  The label is so large why would I want to waste all that beautiful lace hiding behind it?  I also used a wee bit of lace on the brad, simply sticking the prongs of the brad through the holes in the lace.  Easy-peasy and cost-effective to boot! 
Now I'm off to work on more XL cards.  I have SIX MORE to make for our ladies year-end event.  We have three staff members having babies and three who are leaving for other  schools.  That's a lot of big cards!  Time to get creative with filling all that extra space...

One more Faux Patina project

Are you sick of Faux Patina yet??  Can you tell that has been my focus for the last week or so?  Today I have the last of the projects using this great technique.  It is another card I designed for our event this weekend...and I think we'll likely do it at my monthly techniques group this month too!  Have a look...

Simple friendship card featuring the Field Flowers and Tiny Tags stamp sets.

Inside view.

A couple of days ago I mentioned that I was playing around with different colours of embossing powder for this technique.  For this card I used gold...a completely different look from the pewter, don't you think?  I also allowed more of the blue to show through because I knew I wanted the background to coordinate with my flowers.  The basic design of this card is CASE'd from one I found on Splitcoast Stampers...lots of great inspiration there!!  I hope you've enjoyed these four Faux Patina projects...I sure did have fun making them!

Remember when...

As I was designing my scrapbook layout for my demonstration coming up this Saturday I found myself struggling to design a page without an actual photo to work with.  So I dug through my wedding photos and found one that worked perfectly with the Faux Patina technique.  It was done in sepia, which worked so well with what I wanted to do.  Have a look...

8 x 8" scrapbook layout featuring the Faux Patina technique and using a sentiment from the Word Play stamp set.

So....this whole scrapbooking thing is WAY out of my comfort zone.  I am an instant gratification kinda gal...I like to sit down for a couple of hours and have a finished project...hence my tendency to gravitate toward mini albums and cards.  I have never done an entire scrapbook in my life, though I likely should get started if I am ever going to do something with the thousands of baby pictures we took of my son!  Since I had to do a layout for this demonstration I decided to go with an 8x8...didn't want to try a 12x12 just yet.  I have to say I am quite pleased with the way this turned out...I may even frame it!  I especially like the little bouquet of satin roses (retired)...reminds me of my wedding dress!  I also like that my husband is wearing that crazy top hat in this photo...makes it look all the more vintage.  He's also holding a cane...went all-out at the tuxedo rental place (they saw him coming!).  I didn't even know he was doing all of that until he showed up at the wedding!  Anyhow...it was a great day...seems like just yesterday, yet we're celebrating our 8th anniversary this fall!  Hard to believe, yet when we look in the mirror we sure look a whole lot older...funny how that happens!!

Faux metal box

Today I have the second project in my series of Faux Patina samples.  This one is a little box I made using the Petite Pocket die.  Super easy to put a box together with that die...though this one took a little longer because of the Faux Patina technique.  The result is pretty cool though...check it out...

Faux-metal box made using the Petite Pocket die and the Faux Patina technique and featuring the Creative Elements and Tiny Tags stamp sets

Tag detail.

I have to say that these photos really don't do it much justice...they're overexposed AGAIN!  I really need to get a proper light box for taking photos of my stuff!    Anyhow...neat project and it goes perfectly with the card I posted yesterday for a lovely gift ensemble for Father's Day.  This box will hold a bottle of cologne quite nicely.
Tomorrow I'm heading waaayyy out of my comfort zone and showing you an 8x8 scrapbook page I did using this technique...stay tuned...

Vintage Dad

Next weekend I am participating in a demo-only event being held by my upline.  I've been asked to participate in a forum of sorts in which I will demonstrate the Faux Patina technique.  Yesterday I spent time creating my samples for the event:  a card, a 3D item and a scrapbook layout that all use that technique.  Today I have the card to show you.  It is another masculine card (good thing Father's Day will soon be here!) which qualifies it for this week's challenge over at Stampin' Royalty.  Have a look...

Father's Day card for SR126 using the Faux Patina technique and featuring the Artistic Etchings stamp set.

Hmmm...looking at this photo I realize it is a bit overexposed.  The focal image isn't actually that stark white!  Ah well, you get the idea...no time for a retake!  In making this card, I experimented with various embossing powders.  I like the pewter powder best, which is what I used for this card.  Gonna need to order more of that stuff...so glad it carried over into the new Catty!! 
This card uses tons of my favourite products:  First Edition DSP...that's one I don't think I could live without...and then there are those antique brads...haven't used them in a while but they are still my all-time favourite embelly!   Of course, those gorgeous images are from one of my fav stamp sets:  Artistic Etchings...I will cry long and loud if they ever retire that one! 
Not sure if I'll send this one to my dad...he's not the world-traveling type.  If I don't I can easily switch up the little tag for a friend's birthday...gotta love convertible cards!