Well, I thought I'd better pop-in to share some cards and let you know that I'm still breathing. Not crafting much due to never-ending work and there are times when I feel I should just pack away my craft stuff and give it all up. However, I recently embraced sleep deprivation and put together some cards using my Big Shot. There seems to be no limit on techniques to try with this machine.
In the card above, I've used dry embossing through the Big Shot combined with heat embossing. I also stripe-embossed the satin ribbon in the Big Shot (with thanks to Angela Sargeant for this idea). I tried the "faux suede" technique (basically de-laminating cardstock into thinner layers with a rough surface by tearing, along with some scrunching and sponge-inking) and cut out the flower petals and leaves. A die-cut "Hi" finished it off but a stamped greeting would have done the job too.
Did you know you can emboss aluminium foil? Thanks to Clare McIllhattan for this idea. Clare's foil was smoother than mine...must get a tip on "how-to smooth" from Clare. And you can cut and emboss fabric with the Big Shot. Picture me in a local needlecraft store feeling like a fish-outta-water. Imagine the look I got when I told the saleslady (aka superb needle crafter) that I was going to cut up her lovely pink fabric into scraps and die-cut it into a butterfly for a card:
I sure do admire the works of needle-crafters. I just can't do it myself. Each to their own I say.
Next is a card front that has been what I term selectively embossed. I managed to leave the centre panel of the card un-embossed ready for stamping. Quite tricky but once I got the hang of it, I was away. I finished up stamping a solid daisy in white ink and using my pencils to add colour (termed "Black Magic" colouring within some circles).
Do you like the frame around the main image? I used two nesting dies through the machine at same time and dry embossed them afterwards to get the grooves in the frame. I snuck a little green "faux bow" in there too.
Anyway, hope you found this interesting. I'm currently helping my cherub with a school project and the best thing about it is using my alphabet die-cuts to make the poster title (I know, I'm easily amused).
Thanks for looking. Please get in contact if you have any questions.
Love from Crafty Kim
