Peaceful Peonies Floral Arch

Peaceful Peonies Floral Arch

For this card I've used a 7" x 7" card base and trimmed the Peaceful Peonies sheet from the small paper pad to 6 1/2" by 6 1/2".  I've also used some pink metallic card and gold metallic card.

I've foiled the paper in gold using the Peony Bouquet hot foil stamp.  This has to be done before the paper is stuck to the pink metallic mat layer.   As this hot foil stamp has some fairly large solid areas, I found it best to use a fresh set of card shims when foiling it using my GoPress & Foil.  This is because any texture in the card shims from previous use could show in the solid foiled areas. This isn't an issue with hot foil stamps that have narrower lines and smaller solid areas. 

In my video I show you how to position the hot foil stamp.  I have a wide die cutting machine (it takes A4 size cutting plates) so my paper can stick out of the side of my GoPress & Foil hot plate, but if you have a narrower die cutting machine, you'll need to cut the paper into 2 pieces approximately 1" from the left hand edge, and join it back together when you stick the paper down on the pink mat later.  You should be able to hide the join with flowers and leaves.

The arch is made using the corners of the Latticework die set.  I've cut one of each of the corners from some brown card and positioned them about 1/2" in from either side of the paper.  This leaves a gap in the middle which is hidden behind the piece made using the Peony Bouquet cut/foil/emboss die.  I've used some of the pink metallic card for this and gold foil - see my video.

For the die cut flowers I've used a mixture of white pearl card and pink metallic card for the solid layer and for the detail layer I've used pink metallic and gold metallic card.  These are cut using the Layered Trilliums die set.  I've only used two of the layers and only stick the layers together in the centre.  The large leaves are foiled in gold onto white pearl card using the Leafy Branch cut/foil/emboss die.  I love the detail you get using this cut/foil/emboss die, without having lots of fiddly bits to stick down.

For the sentiment I've stamped onto a tag die cut and foiled using a die from the Modern Essentials Bracket Frames cut/foil/emboss die set.   I've added sections of a honeycomb die cut behind the sentiment.

I've also added a butterfly on the right hand side to give the foiled area some dimension. This is foiled in gold on pink metallic card.

Couture Creations Products Used:

CO727351 - Paper Pad - 6 1/2 x 6 1/2in - Peaceful Peonies - (24 sheets)

CO727416 - Cut, Foil & Emboss Die - Peaceful Peonies - Leafy Branch (1pc)

CO727417 - Cut, Foil & Emboss Die- Peaceful Peonies - Peony Bouquet

CO727383 - Cutting die set (3pc) - Peaceful Peonies - Layered Trilliums

CO727386 - Cutting die set (3pc) - Peaceful Peonies - Latticework

CO727412 - Hotfoil Stamp - Peaceful Peonies - Peony Bouquet

CO727409 - Mini Stamp - Peaceful Peonies - Follow Your Dreams 

CO727392 - Mini Cutting die set (2pc) - Peaceful Peonies - Tall Branches

CO726467 - Cut, Foil and Emboss die set - Modern Essentials - Nesting Butterfly Frames (butterfly)

CO726459 - Cut, Foil and Emboss nesting die set - Modern Essentials  - Bracket Frames 
CO725385 - Foil Heat activated- Gold (Mirror Finish)

CO726552 - Mini cutting die - Butterfly Garden - Beehive 

Peaceful Peonies - Floral Frame Card

Peaceful Peonies - Floral Frame Card

The small paper pad in this collection is 6 1/2" square.  I've simply matted and layered this sheet with some plain pink and silver card onto a 7" square card blank..  I've used the same pink card as a mat for the sentiment, which is hot foiled on white pearl card.

The Peaceful Peonies collection has some beautiful cut, foil and emboss dies.  These are great as you can achieve a very detailed look without lots of fiddly bits to glue down.  I've used foil on this card, but the cut, foil, emboss dies can be inked and die cut instead, or just die cut and coloured using the contours as a guide.

For the foiling I've used my GoPress & Foil, along with the Couture Creations Conversion Plate for the cut, foil and emboss dies. (see my video)

I've used a peach coloured semi-transparent foil for the Peony Bouquet, on some white pearl card.

For the leaves (Leafy Branch), I've foiled in silver on both some more of the white pearl card, and also on some green pearl card.

To fit the leaves around the right hand side of the sentiment I cut into one of the pieces and separated it into two parts.  Some of the leaves are stuck down underneath the sentiment panel.

My video shows you how I used the cut, foil and emboss dies to make the elements on this card, including how to use them without foil.

Couture Creations Products Used:

CO727351 - Paper Pad - 6 1/2 x 6 1/2in - Peaceful Peonies - (24 sheets)

CO727416 - Cut, Foil & Emboss Die - Peaceful Peonies - Leafy Branch (1pc)

CO727417 - Cut, Foil & Emboss Die- Peaceful Peonies - Peony Bouquet

CO726567 - Hotfoil Stamp - Butterfly Garden - Live, Laugh, Love

CO726043 - Foil - Peach (Matte Finish) - Heat activated

CO725350 - Heat Activated Foil - Silver (Mirror Finish)

Men's Mini Stamps - Timepiece and Golf Swing

Men's Mini Stamps - Timepiece and Golf Swing

For these cards I've been trying out ideas for using Couture Creations Men's Stamps - the Timepiece and Golf Swing mini stamps.

I've used the Timepiece mini stamp to create two card backgrounds - I made one using some sparkly pigment inks and also used stamps from the Gentlemans Emporium collection; and the other by stamping in black onto kraft card.

For the sentiments on these cards I've used cut/foil/emboss dies from the Delightful Sentiments collection but used ink or gilding waxes instead of hot foiling with them.

On the first card the sentiment is cut from black card and then treated with gilding waxes.  It's best to cut 2 layers and glue them together, as it makes it easier to apply the gilding wax without accidentally bending the die cut.

I like to use several different colour gilding waxes and apply very sparingly to gradually build up the effect of worn metal work.  (see video)

On the other Timepiece card, to contrast with the Kraft card, I've die cut the sentiments from white card and used some sparkly pigment ink on the die.

For this Golf Swing card, I've used papers from the Gentlemans Emporium collection, and die cut a tag from some white card to stamp onto. 

I've coloured the golfer using ink from pigment ink pads and a water brush.  Just press the stamp pad on a glass mat or acrylic block and pick up the colour on the water brush tip. You can mix colours using the water brush too, and water them down if lighter, less intense colour is needed.  

The topper on the other Golf Swing card is made using a die from the Modern Essentials Bracket Frames nesting cut/foil/emboss die set.  I've inked the die before cutting out to get a coloured line around the edge of the die cut.

I made a mask for the stamp by stamping on some plain white card, cutting out and covering the back of the card using a Zig 2 way glue pen.  Make sure the glue has dried thoroughly before using as a mask.

Stamp the golfer using a permanent ink, such as Staz-On.  Ensure the stamping ink is dry, and then place the mask over the top of it.  This will protect the stamped area from the ink used for the background.

To create the hills in the background, I made a mask from some copy paper - just draw a rough zig zag line using a wet paint brush or water brush and tear along the wet line (see video).  Once the paper has dried out use it as a mask and apply a little pigment ink using a blending tool.  Make several rows of hills starting at the top, and come down as far as the golfer's belt line.

Use a water brush to pick up some colour and just paint it on from side to side to create the ground in front of the hills.  Add more colour towards the bottom.

I added a little colour from a black pigment ink pad, mixed with the colour used for the hills to add the impression of trees and shrubs at the base of the hills - I just dab with the brush and add a few vertical lines to give the impression of trees (see video).

Once the background is complete, remove the mask and add colour to the stamped image.  Start by adding colour where the creases in the clothing and shadows are, then colour the rest of the clothing.




For the sentiment on this card I used one of the cut/foil/emboss dies from the Dazzlia sentiment range.  You can either add ink to the die using a blending tool for a subtle effect, or add ink to the die from your pigment ink pads but then pounce (tap) on it lightly with a sponge blending tool - this evens out the ink coverage.

Couture Creations Products Used:

CO726790 - Men's Collection - Golf Swing mini stamp

CO726783 - Men's Collection - Timepiece mini stamp

CO726837 - Gentlemans Emporium - Gentlemans Corner Mini Stamp

CO726840 - Gentlemans Emporium - Ornate Icon mini stamp

CO726459  - Modern Essentials Cut, Foil and Emboss dies - Bracket Frames

CO726965 - Delightful Sentiments - Cut, Foil and Emboss die - Amazing

CO726934 - Delightful Sentiments - Cut, Foil and Emboss die - You

CO726717 - Dazzlia Sentiments - Cut, Foil and Emboss die - Birthday Wishes.

ZMSB20M - Glue - Zig 2 Way Glue 2mm (Fine)

Elegant Hanging Beaded Bauble - Cardmaker Square Foiled Aperture

Elegant Hanging Beaded Bauble and 

Card maker Reverse Squares Foiled Aperture

For this card I've combined one of the Couture Creations Dimensional Decorations - Beaded Bauble, with Couture Creations Cut, Foil and emboss square aperture Cardmaker Reverse Squares die set.  Both are foiled using my Couture Creations GoPress & Foil.

My card is made from an A5 card blank cut down to a square card 14.8cm x 14.8cm.  I've covered the front of the card blank with some deep red card.  The gold mat is 14cm square and the card front is 13.6cm square.  You need to remove the middle of the gold mat, before sticking it in place, so that the red card will be seen in the opening that will be created using the square die.  See my video.

As these are Cut/Foil/Emboss dies, you need to use the Couture Creations Conversion Plate (thick metal plate) on your GoPress & Foil, or alternatively 2 thin metal die cutting shims.  You may also need an additional card shim, depending on the pressure from your die cutting machine and the thickness of your card.

In order to get the aperture exactly in the centre of the card I created a paper template.  

• Start by cutting a piece of copier paper to the exact same size as your card front.  

• Carefully fold it in half in both directions, so that you can see where the mid point of each side is.

• Line up our die on the template so that the fold marks go through the corners, tape it down and die cut it out of the paper.

• Lay the paper template over your piece for your card front, making sure the edges are exactly lined up and tape it in place.

• Use a straight edge to draw in guide lines between the corners in both directions.  These will be used to line up the corners of the die.

Trim a piece of foil to just a little bigger than the outside edge of the die, and use a craft knife to remove the centre.  I do this laying the foil and die on a self healing cutting mat or sheet of copier paper, taping in place and the cutting out the middle a few mm (1/8") from the inside edge of the die.

Remove the paper template from the card front and use the guide lines you have drawn to line up the corners of the die, with the foil underneath it, and tape it in place.  The die needs to be cutting edge down and it's best to tape it to the card in the centre as this will be waste.  See my video for how to do this.

Once you are happy with the position of the die and foil, place them on the metal plate on the GoPress & Foil with the card on top of the die.   Allow about a  minute for the die to heat before rolling the GoPress & Foil through your die cutting machine.  See my Video.

Clean up any over foiling around the edge of the aperture (the space left by the die cut) before adding foam pads to the back of the card front, and tape a short length of thread in place to hang the Beaded Bauble.

Foil the Beaded Bauble - stick the die and foil onto a piece of card and heat on the GoPress (on the conversion plate or metal shims), and then the GoPress through your die cutting machine.  You need 3 of the Beaded Baubles, with 2 of them creased down the middle.  I did this using the Couture Creations Mini Scoring Board.  Stick the 2 creased baubles in the centre of the base one.

Once the glue is dry stick the thread to the back of the bauble.

Finally stick the card front in place on to of your gold mat, and add a sentiment.   I used one of the Dazzlia Cut/Foil/Emboss sentiments.  This is foiled in the same way as the Beaded Bauble.

Couture Creations Products Used:

CO726880 – Cut, Foil and Emboss Die - Cardmaker Frames - Nesting Negative Squares

CO727008 - Cut, Foil and Emboss Die - Dimensional Decorations - Beaded Bauble
CO726834 - Mini Die - Gentlemans Emporium - Gentlemans Corner Mini Die
CO725355 - Foil - Gold (Vintage Matte Finish)
CO726725 - Cut, Foil and Emboss Die- Dazzlia - Lots of Love 

Christmas Foiled Paper Napkins / Serviettes

Christmas Foiled Paper Napkins / Serviettes

Today I tried out foiling onto paper napkins / serviettes, using my GoPress and Foil, and I love how they turned out.  I've used plain, white serviettes and transformed them with a variety of foils.  You could use the same technique to foil onto any colour serviettes.

I've used my GoPress & Foil, and Couture Creations heat activated foils, along with a selection of Couture Creations hot foil stamps from their Naughty Or Nice release.

I found that there was a greater tendency for over foiling than when foiling on card, because the surface of the serviettes is soft -  but any over foiling easily brushed away using a soft, clean brush. 

This is what one of the snowflakes looked like when I peeled off the foil.  The gaps in the snowflake are filled in - but the extra foil just brushed away.

This is what the snow flake looked like after I had brushed away the over-foiling.



In my video I show you how easy it is to create these gorgeous paper napkins / serviettes.

Couture Creations Products Used:

CO726924 - Naughty Or Nice - Ornate Christmas Tree Hotfoil Stamp
CO726920 - Naughty Or Nice - Merry Christmas Snowflakes Hotfoil Stamp
CO726923 - Naughty Or Nice - Christmas Borders Hotfoil Stamps (set of 3)
CO725685 - Foil - Gold (Warm Mirror Finish)
CO726065 - Foil - Silver Foil (Iridescent Speckle Pattern)
CO725358 - Foil - Blue Foil (Mirror Finish)
CO725390 - Foil - Deep Red Foil (Mirror Finish)

Naughty Or Nice - Christmas Card Trio

Naughty or Nice - Christmas Card Trio

Here are 3 different Christmas Cards all made using the papers and foiling elements in Couture Creations "Naughty Or Nice" Collection.

 

 

I've brought these three cards together in one blog post to take a look at how using hot foil stamps compares to cut, foil and emboss dies.  I love working with both, but how I plan the elements in my cards is different depending on which type of foiling plate I'm going to use.

Working with cut, foil and emboss dies, is much the same as working with normal die cuts in a design (they just have foil on them) in that you can just add things as you go along or foil and cut lots of elements and then work out how to arrange them.

Working with hot foil stamps is more similar to conventional stamping, in that you need to make sure you've done all the foiling you want to do on the various elements before you start sticking them down. Also like stamping you have to get it in the right place first time - you can't move it afterwards.

Christmas Collage Card

For this card I've really just layered lots of die cut elements, with an arrange of a flower and foliage in the bottom left corner with the end of a lacy die cut strip tucked under it.  The Cut/Foil Curling Christmas Tree, Noel Frame and Merry Christmas Cut/Foil sentiment are then layered so that the lace is still just visible below them, so they do not have the appearance of floating in mid air.

Santa Topper Card

This card needed a little more planning for the sections of paper used for topper mat and top layer, but no more that I would have needed if I was just die cutting those panels.  I always trim the centre out of the foil I use with the cut, foil and emboss frames.  This means I can see exactly how the die and foil are lined up on the patterned paper, and also saves foil - if I cut the foil carefully and start with the largest layer first, I can then use the foil I cut out of the middle, to foil the next smaller size layer, or a sentiment.

All of the die cut elements, including the foiled sentiment and Christmas Tree can be added after the topper has been stuck down.

Three Panel Card

When making this card I had to remember to do all of my foiling before I started sticking anything down.  I cut out all of the panels, and their dark red mats (to give the red borders) before foiling anything.  The topper is cut from one of the 12x12 sheets and also matted onto some dark red card. 
I've used one of the border hot foil stamps on both the left hand panel and also on the strip at the bottom of the topper.  

I use a stamp press type magnet (wrapped in masking tape to create a handle) to position the hot foil stamp first on my card or paper, and then transfer it to exactly the right place on my GoPress & Foil hot plate.  I line the paper up with the white surround along one edge or in a corner, so that I can leave the hot foil stamp in place, take the card/paper away, add foil and then put the card/paper back in exactly the same place and tape it to the white edge (which doesn't get hot).  For the strip at the bottom of the topper, I taped my thin strip of card to a wider piece to make it easier to position and tape to the edge.  I'll show how to do this in my video.

I also use my magnet to to position the sentiment hot foil stamp in the topper and the Christmas Tree hot foil stamp used on the right hand panel.

Couture Creations Products Used

CO726927 - Naughty Or Nice - Curling Christmas Tree Cut, Foil and Emboss Die

CO726906 - Naughty Or Nice - Noel Frame Set mini dies

CO726343 - Mini Guillotine Trimmer
CO726889 - Naughty Or Nice - Collection Pack 12x12 Papers + Stickers and Postcards
CO726932 - Naughty Or Nice - Merry Christmas Cut, Foil, Emboss die
CO726903 - Naughty Or Nice - Die Cut Ephemera Set

CO726923 - Naughty Or Nice - Christmas Borders Set hot foil stamps

CO726920 - Naughty Or Nice - Merry Christmas Snowflakes hot foil stamp

CO726924 - Naughty Or Nice - Ornate Christmas Tree hot foil stamp