Sponged Embossing

In cardmaking, new products and techniques abound.  When I first saw a Cricut demonstrated on TV years ago, I admit, I scoffed at the very idea.  I'm not laughing now

Four years ago, I tried to talk myself out of wanting a Cuttlebug.  I eventually gave in.  Now I use both that and a Sizzix Big Shot and can't imagine doing without them.  

I do my share of die-cutting these days, but I was first looking for a good embossed image for sponging.  Recently I played with sponging again.  It takes on a new look on kraft paper.

Here I embossed a piece with the Poppy Fields folder from Darice.

I trimmed this and sponging it with Rich Cocoa dye ink.

With pastel pencils, I added color to the poppies and a few of the tall flowers and leaves...

...smoothing and filling it in with a cotton swab.

I used:

Cardstock:  kraft (Hobby Lobby, Inc.), Watercolor Paper stack (Making Memories)

Embossing folder:  Poppy Field (Darice)

Stamps:  Hot Air Balloon Framelits w/stamps set #660690 (Sizzix)

Dye Ink:  Rich Cocoa Memento Dew Drop (Tsukineko/Imagine Crafts)

Dies:  Puffy Cloud Borders (Lawn Fawn)

Chalk Pastel Pencils:  light blue, sap green, orange (General’s)

Sponge dauber (Tsukineko/Imagine Crafts)

Die-cutting/embossing machine (Sizzix)

Brads:  4 copper (Hobby Lobby, Inc.)

Glue dots

Cotton swab

Clearsnap Color Challenge

Hello!  It's been a long time.  I didn't realize just how long, until I was skimming through here last week.  I haven't posted since February?  Really?  Ouch.  

Well, I can't say everything's quite back to normal, but I am trying to get back bit by bit--back to calligraphy (I dived in with a fun piece I designed for a wedding gift), back to smocking (with thre projects going at once!), back to cardmaking.  Cardmaking! I'd better get back, because my mother's stash is getting mighty low,...and we've still got more birthdays coming up.

While perusing some of my old haunts, I discovered the Clearsnap blog, and with it their Color Challenge. Since I use a lot of Clearsnap inks, I thought I'd like to enter the

June Color Challenge

I've had this poppy embossing folder I've been wanting to use since Christmas time, but I just never had a good idea for it before.  I used it to emboss a scrap of white cardstock, then sponged this with Yellow Ochre blending into Caliente in the lower right corner, and Ice Blue blending into Surf in the opposite corner.  I attached this to the front of a pre-folded white card and added a tag for my message.  Done!  Fast and fun.

Materials:

pre-folded white card; white cardstock

Poppy Field embossing folder from Darice, Inc.

Ice Blue, Surf, Yellow Ochre and Caliente inks from Clearsnap

Stitched Tags die set from Pretty Pink Posh
sentiment is in an old set from Printworks

I've missed you.  Let me know what you've been up to!