Gift Card Holder Tutorial

It was brought to my attention recently that I never posted the tutorial for the gift card holder from this post.  So sorry!!  Here it is, I hope it helps!

Downloadable PDF:  Gift Card Holder Tutorial

Embossing Folder Background

Howdy!!  I know it's been a long time since I posted; I've spent a lot of time collecting these past several months and not as much time crafting.  But I spent Labor Day getting my craft on, and boy was it fun!

Today I wanted to share a fun way to make a background using embossing folders and ink.  I love embossing folders; they add a lot of dimension to cards.  But you can also use them to make colored backgrounds for your cards; it's fun and easy!!  

Here are three examples I made, using different Stampin' Up! embossing folders, each with a different color combo:

Colors used:

Honeycomb folder: Crushed Curry, Tangerine Tango, and Real Red.  

Vintage Wallpaper folder: Crushed Curry, Old Olive, and Midnight Muse

Stylish Stripes folder: Rich Razzleberry and Midnight Muse

To do this technique, you will need the following:

• Embossing folder
• 1 or more Ink pad
• Sponges or ink daubers
• Spray bottle or mister with water
• Watercolor paper
• Paper towels

And here's the instructions:

1. Determine which side of your embossing folder you want to use.  If you aren't sure what it will look like, you can experiment first with some paper towels to get an idea of what it will look like.
2. Using a sponge or ink dauber, tap ink onto the inside of your embossing folder.  You can use a single color, or you can mix two or more colors that blend well together. Make sure you work from the lightest color to the darkest, to avoid color transfer to your daubers or ink pads. 
3. When you are happy with how the folder is inked, mist it lightly with water.  Make sure it is wet enough to activate the ink, but not too wet.  If you get it too wet, the pattern will blur.
4. Place the watercolor paper in the folder and close the folder.  Rub it all over with your fingers or a brayer.
5. Open the embossing folder and carefully remove the paper.  Depending on how saturated you would like the color, blot the paper with a paper towel
6. Let it dry, and you have a beautiful background!

You can get different looks, depending on whether you blot the paper and how long you let it sit before you blot:

The longer you let the ink sit before blotting, the darker and more saturated it will be.  If you blot it as soon as you remove the paper from the folder, you will have a more muted, pastel look.  

Finally, each embossing folder can do two different looks, depending on which side of the embossing folder you use: the embossed side or the debossed side.  Both can be fun, it just depends on what you need for your project!! 

I hope you enjoyed this technique.  Happy crafting!