January 8, 2016

A Year of Card Techniques ~ January Blog Hop ~ Emboss Resist

Welcome to

 January Blog Hop


This is the first in a year long series of monthly blog hops focusing on techniques for card makers.

Each month we'll feature a different technique or fold or product.

We've assembled a team of card makers who range from new to advanced so you'll get a great variety of cards and ideas.

This month we will be focusing on emboss resist techniques and WOW have we got some cool cards for you today. We really love feedback so please leave a comment on each of the blogs in today's hop. Each comment on the 12 hops throughout the year will be entered into a prize drawing for a $25 Blitsy.com gift certificate at the end of the year.

Now on with the projects.



... What is emboss resist you might ask? 
One simple answer could be... a piece of paper is prepared with a sticky ink; embossing powder is added to it and a heat gun melts the powder into a sealed surface. All areas covered with the melted embossing powder will resist inks, ...distress inks, watercolors etc. I know, sounds complicated, but it really isn't. Let's see on some examples I prepared how this technique looks like:

... Stamp Projects


Both these cards started out the same way. I used a dotted stamp set and Watermark Ink(clear sticky ink) to stamp the dots onto pieces of watercolor paper. 

Next, I added some clear embossing powder over the stamped images and made sure all excess powder was taken off and put aside before I continued.

I let my heating gun warm up and slowly moved it over the powder. After a few seconds you can see how the powder is beginning to melt. I continued to heat the powder until everything was melted. From now on these dots wont take on any ink or color. You could also use white embossing powder for an even brighter contrast. 

For the blue card I used a variety of blue "ZIG Clean Color Real Brush Markers" and sprayed them with water to archive the background. 
For the orange card I used Distress inks in red, orange and yellow and a sponge to apply the color. 




... Stencil Projects

Here I used a stencil instead of a stamp set. The stencil works great, but it sometimes will not give you the crisp edges you are looking for. 

I placed the stencil onto watercolor paper and fasted it with some washi tape. The watermark ink pad is very sticky, so I move carefully over the stencil. I also made sure to clean my stencil right away with water and soap. The rest of the procedure is the same, place embossing powder onto the inked area and heat until melted. In both cases I used ZIG markers again, but the orange one is sprayed with water and color added to it, while the green color was applied with a brush and lot's of water.

... Pigment Ink Project

Last but not least, I used Memento Dandelion ink (yellow) to stamp the stars. First I placed a circle in the middle before I stamped the image. Then I removed the circle before I added clear embossing powder. The clear powder lets the ink color shine through, which makes for a pretty shiny background. Make sure the ink is wet and add the powder quickly after you stamped the image.

I went on to use a sponge and three different shades of blue distress inks to blend colors together to create this background.

More detailed information about each of the cards and how I made them will be on my blog following this post (Fridays).



Well, I hope you like my projects and how about trying this technique yourself? Let us know if you have questions and don't forget to leave a comment here and along the way for a chance to win. 


Up next is the talented Denise with her blog "Craft Confectionery"...click HERE to hop over and see here creations.


Here's today's line-up in case you get lost along the way

26 comments:

  1. Claudia, all the cards are great but orange being my favorite color, I'm slightly partial to those two. Great job!
    Thanks for taking this journey with me.

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    1. Oh it's gonna be a fun ride. Love it and don't know why I haven't done this earlier....looking forward to the rest of the year. Thanks for inviting me to this

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  2. Claudia, all of your cards are wonderful! I love the stencils you used. I think my favorite is the orange card with the white dots. I love how you stamped your image right on top of the orange background. Welcome to your first hop! You did a great job :-)

    It was fun hopping with you.

    Sharon
    A Piece Of Heart Blog
    **Make sure to visit my blog to grab some really great FREE Digi Sentiments.**

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    1. Thanks Sharon, now that I know how things run....it's going to be a fun ride. Love all the different projects that everyone comes up with using the same technique....

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  3. Wow, wow, wow! And may I say WOW! I thoroughly enjoyed seeing how you used this technique to create five unique cards. I have learned a lot from reading how you accomplished the finished product and I think I'll be learning a lot more from you throughout this year. It was fun hopping with you!

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    1. Thanks Kim, I can't wait for the next one. I try to explain on my blog how I did it and for these cards I will follow up later this month with more detailed photos and instructions....looking forward for some fun time this year :-)

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  4. I really love all your cards. I also love how the butterflies look like they have a shadow.

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    1. Thanks Janet...I placed two vellum butterflies together. The bottom one stamped with white ink the top one in silver...

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  5. Such beautiful cards. I couldn't select a favorite if I tried.

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    1. Thanks Lisa...;-) you don't have too. I am glad you liked them. Keep following the hop and naturally if you like my blog too LOL

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  6. The orange gate fold card is my favorite! Great cards. TFS!

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    1. Thanks Amanda...I am not an orange color fan normally, but this color turned out nice I agree...I might get to like it more ;-)

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  7. Love your cards. The stenciled ones are great. Love the softness of stenciled cards . . . they're not crisp (as you said) but they have a unique calming quality. Beautiful colors too. Your owl card is adorable. You created an adorable little scene there.

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    1. Thanks Debbie and nice seeing you here :-) I will show more details of each card in the coming weeks if you are interested...Thanks for stopping by

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  8. I'm so happy Theresa invited me to this hop. Such wonderful cards and new ideas. Great job !!!

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    1. Glad you are in the group too Carrie and thanks for the complements...:-)

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  9. Wow, I've never seen stencils used with this technique before, what a great idea! Love all of your cards.

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    1. Thank you Tina...sometime you have to think outside the box ;-) Check back to see more detailed pictures of the card in the upcoming weeks....and other nice ones :-) thanks for hoping by

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  10. Such an awesome job! I love how you made different uses out of one technique. I love them all! Thanks for hopping along!

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    1. Thank you Lisa for checking my blog out....more is coming :-)

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  11. What a great idea to play with stencils and emboss them they look wonderful :)

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    1. Thanks Nikki, stay tuned for more techniques to come each month

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  12. Your cards re wonderful! I liked all the techniques you shared.

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    1. Thank you Sarah, stay tuned for more fun techniques to come each month :-) and my creations for the rest of the time LOL

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  13. How cool are those. I really like the orange one because it is so bold.

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    1. Thank you Denise,I love the bold orange too. Check out next months hop..Feb 13th :-)

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