Christmas Cards 2017

Introducing my 2017 Christmas Card!  I am well aware of my delusions of grandeur about how anyone shares my excitement over this card.   But it was not easy getting to this year's card.   This year I dabbled in embossing which is a very cool technique involving ink, powder and a heat source.  It's also a very acquired technique.  It took months of practice to get it just right.   The end result was pretty and simple.   Too simple I thought at first, but my best friend told me it was the best card I've created.   She said the simplicity of it was just stunning.   

Phase one of my card was a disaster.   I had this vision of red glitter with frosty white glitter on a white card.  The concept was brilliant.  The execution was a major fail.  This is the best of the worst: 

When I mentioned earlier that embossing is an acquired skill I was totally serious.   And through trial and error, I realized my first plan was a bit too ambitious.  So I went with plan B.   I used a stamp with a thin outline.   I found using this stamp was within my skill set.     

I used red ink with red glittered embossing powder.   It's hard to capture (in a picture) just how impressive the raised letters and the shine of the glitter really is. 

I took pictures of my process because I didn't want to forget how I did this.   That was the initial thought but after making 30 cards I'm pretty sure I won't forget the step process. 

On the inside of the card, I used black ink with clear embossing powder.   First I stamped the card with black ink then sprinkled (liberally) the embossing powder on:

Then I shook off the excess:

Then I applied heat with the heating tool.   The heating tool projects heat through a steady stream of heat.   Once the powder starts to get hot, it will transform into these beautifully raised, shiny letters:

One I knew I had a handle on the process ( and it took LOTS of practice), I started a production line:

After the first one was made, the rest was done within a couple of hours and the next day I signed them and headed off to the post office!