time to play "catch-up"

I can't believe how long it's been since I could steal a minute to post! It's been crazy busy around here, so now I have a little catching up to do. Last week was my oldest son's last week of school. His wonderful teacher retired at the end of the school year :( along with three other teachers in the school. Of course I volunteered to make the retirement cards! The colors I used are super-retired (as in, they probably have their own condos down in Florida by now), but they layout is great, and there's a really cool technique I wanted to share.

This square card measures 5"x5". (If you can't live without knowing which retired colors I used, they are Marigold Morning, Vintage Violet, and Baroque Burgundy.) I stamped the lovely message in Vintage Violet onto Whisper White card stock that I cut on the BigShot with the 3" Circle Die. I stamped again in Marigold Morning and used my Paper Snips to cut out the arrow image. After adhering the arrow image, I sponged the edges in both Marigold Morning and Vintage Violet. The 3-1/2" Circle Die makes a perfect layer behind the focal point. I used the Beautiful Wings Embosslit (118138) to make those fabulous butterflies, on which I sponged a little color around the edges.

Here's the cool technique I wanted to share with you. See that single "row" of dry embossing on the Vintage Violet card stock? Before spritzing the card stock with my Shimmer Paint mixture, I used the Finial Press Embossing Folder (115963) and my BigShot to add this subtle detail. Here's how I did it:

I actually bought two of these Embossing Folders. I used my second folder to dry emboss a layer of card stock. Then I drew out my cutting plan with a pencil onto the card stock. When I was satisfied, I used my Craft & Rubber Scissors (103179) to cut the plastic folder into strips. Just be sure to open the folder before you start cutting so you only cut one layer of plastic at a time.

Place your platform on your BigShot, using "no tabs." Build the layers as you normally would with an embossing folder - Standard Cutting Pad on the platform, cut embossing folder strip with card stock inside, another Standard Cutting Pad on top. Roll it through and you get a nice little detail to use on your project.

I hope you get a chance to try this technique on your own. It works really well when you want a subtle detail on a larger piece of card stock, but you don't want to add another layer.
After finishing these cards up, I had to pack all of my fun tools and toys for a weekend alumni event at a local college. I ran the cropping room and taught a class, where I got to introduce stamping to several people. It was an exhausting weekend, but so much fun!