Embossing Paste Background

 Hello Friend!!  A couple of weeks ago one of my grandsons was hanging out in my stamp room inspecting stuff.  Well, he was actually being curious and checking out what I had sitting around.  He wanted to know what the cool palette knives were for and could he play with them.  So we had a little show and tell about Embossing Paste.  I hadn't used it in ages and was surprised it wasn't dried out.  Yay!  Since we added some paste to cardstock using stencils, that means I have a couple pieces of background to create with.  

The background here is a quarter piece of the new Parakeet Party.  I wanted the green color to be a little darker behind the embossing paste, so I used a Water Painter and some Parakeet Party ink to do a wash in the area I'd be putting the paste.  I used the Heat Tool to quickly dry the area so we could play.  

When using embossing paste, there are a couple things that are important to remember.  1.  Take out the amount of paste you think you'll need and close the container right away, so it doesn't dry out.  2.  When using a plastic stencil to make a design, tape it down so it doesn't shift when scraping across it.  3.  Make sure you keep the embossing paste fairly thin on your project.  Scrape off any excess.  4.  Clean your stencil and tools immediately after using so the paste doesn't get dried on like cement.

After taking the stencil off, set it aside to air dry.  This will take a little while, so it's a good idea to make several background pieces at the same time while it's all out.  Then do your clean-up.  Test to check for dryness before handling the piece.  After drying, the piece was trimmed down to 5" x 3 3/4".

To go with the background, I chose to use the Quiet Meadow stamp set and the matching Meadow Dies.  I love the simple organic dies that make a quick, but stunning, image on your card.  I cut two different ones from Basic Black cardstock, and one from some Black Glimmer paper from last Halloween.  I thought the more subtle bit of glittery-ness was a nice touch.  All of these pieces were just attached with Multi Purpose Liquid Glue to lay nice and flat.  Then the whole layer was attached with adhesive to the Basic Black layer that was cut 5 1/4" x 4".

The die set also has this pretty label die that I used to cut a piece of Basic White cardstock.  The sentiment is from the Quiet Meadow set and was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  The label was attached to the card front with Dimenisonals to give it a pop.

The new Parakeet Party 1/8" Metallic Woven Ribbon was used to accent the label.  I cut two pieces about 4"-5" each.   They are threaded through the loops on the die-cut label and attached behind the Basic Black layer with small strips of Tear & Tape Adhesive.  This is a trick I used to do a lot, but sort of forgot about lately.  It does make a pretty little accent though.

The inside of the Basic White card base has a stem of flowers from the Quiet Meadow set stamped at the bottom corner using Parakeet Party ink.  This is an easy way to bring some of the design from the front inside your card.  All the layers are then attached to the Basic White card base using Dimensionals.

As an added bit of bling, three Rhinestone Basic Jewels are sprinkled on the card front.  Just enough for an extra dose of pretty!

That's it for today's post.  I have to apologize about the quality of the pictures.  With all the dreary weather, I haven't been able to get any decent pictures to share with you.  I think each picture I took had some shadowing on it somewhere.  I've tried different lighting and different areas of the house trying to get something decent.  So it's either don't post, or have you deal with sub-par photos.  And you see what you are ending up with.  😒  Sorry!

One last picture for you.  Now that we've played with the Embossing Paste, I'll have to get it out more often.  It really is fun and leaves some wonderful texture on your design.  If you're like me and like to touch the finished card, this is a product you should try.  Have fun and remember to clean up right away!  I just cleaned up in a sink.  Easy peasy.

Thanks for stopping by today.  If you're planning on ordering soon, remember that the 2022 January - June Mini Catalog expires the end of May so you have just a few more days left to order from it.  And please use the current Host Code shown at the top right corner of my blog posts.  You're very appreciated!  Thank you for everything!  Blessings!!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon