So Many New Things - Part 2 - Embossing Folders & Die Cuts

My love affair with embossing folders continues.  I don't think I've really hit the sweet spot for using embossing folders, but that doesn't stop me from acquiring them...

At some point I ran across a card made with the apocryphal Cuttlebug Raindrops/Snowflake embossing folder, seemingly was only ever available in Europe.  This card from I'm In Heaven uses it:

Of course, as something unattainable, this became something I must have, something to search for online, on Ebay, anywhere.  In my searching, I came across Taylored Expressions, which has a very similar folder.  I ordered that one and a couple of others at some point last spring.

Snowfall

Music

Walking on Sunshine

I see now that Taylored Expressions does have a separate "rain" folder.  I may have to think about that one, but only after I actually use the "snow" folder for something.

Back at the Heirloom Show last spring, I picked up a few folders and die cuts from various vendors.  I think I gave most of my money that day to Impression Obsession (more about their stamps in a future post).  I love tile cuts like these two below (and really want one from Memory Box that I can't get any more...) as an easy way to add texture to a cover and let a background paper show through.  My first attempt at using one of them is below.  I don't love it, but I'll keep working at it...

Fancy Cut-out Border

Square Cut-out

I spent a long time at the IO booth, dithering over stamp choices and watching demos.  There was one sample card I kept coming back to:

I never make cards with cats, but I'm drawn to cards with night skies, moons and snow/stars.  So I found and purchased that die cut too.

Sun & Moon Die

There are approximately a million Memory Box (and Poppystamps) items that I want, or at least want to look at.  Looking at them is key for me, and that's the hard part.  There are no stores near me that carry these products, and though I was hoping to encounter a vendor at the Heirloom show, only Marco's Paper had even a few products.  Here's what I got:

Breezy Clouds Detail Plate

Brilliant Circle Outline

I really have no idea how to use a "Detail Plate."  I think it's all embossing, but it's not a folder, and it's therefore different and confusing to the likes of me.  But I bet if I try it and get the sandwich right, it'll be fine.  I like the Brilliant Circles because they look like citrus slices.  There's another die that's a solid background companion to this one, but that was nowhere in evidence at the show.

Sometime over the summer I did an order from Scrapbook.com.  Among other things, I picked up a couple of items that had been on my wish list for a long time:  Ink-its Letterpress Plates by Sizzix.

Music

Trellis Corner

These plates are designed for letterpress printing, but I bet they work just fine for dry embossing (or debossing), and as I really want to figure out letterpress printing with embossing folders hopefully these will encourage me to keep working at it.

While I was on the Scrapbook.com site, I found another (sort-of) embossing product I hadn't seen before:  Spellbinders Texture Plates.   These seem to be designed for non-paper applications, especially metal and foil, but I'm going to try them on paper.  I was drawn in by the designs.  I'm so consistent in my tastes...

French Script

Music

Poetry

At various points along the way, I picked up a few other Spellbinders products.  From their M-bossabilities line, this is their Cabbage Rose folder.  I love this Art Deco rose pattern.  One of Tim Holtz stencils I featured in my previous post has them, and I have a few other products on my list with this similar pattern.

I never quite understood the need for nesting dies, but finding this set on sale, I picked it up.  I do use some layers in my card making, so this basic rectangles set from Spellbinders Nestabilities series may be useful.  I really should try to find the set that is based on A2 card scaling, because that's the card size I use all the time.

I found the Nestabilities at a small shop, Stamp Therapy, in Grand Rapids, MI when I was passing through town on a work trip.  The other thing I picked up there was a set of embossing folders made by the Project Life folks.  This set is called Southern Wedding, for a reason I can't fathom.

I don't love the florals, but the ATC-sized garlands are so cute, I couldn't resist. 

And finally, this set from We R Memory Keepers came from my local Paper Source.  I think the Thank You strip will see a lot of use, even if the other don't.

Next up, new stamps!!!!!!

So Many New Things - Part 1

It's been six weeks since I posted here, so clearly summer has gotten away from me.  I walk past my craft room daily, longing to go in there and play for a while.  I read blogs, pin card ideas to Pinterest, and make lists of challenges that, for once, I'm going to participate in.  But free time is fleeting, and the task list is pressing, so the crafts will have to wait a little longer.

But have all of these preoccupations stopped me from shopping?  Of course not!

Looking at my summer loot (and going back to the Heirloom show in April), there are a lot of stencils, dry embossing folders, and the like, some stamps, and a few other assorted tools.  There are too many pictures to put in one post, so I'll split it into several.  Today:  stencils.

I'm not sure where we are on the stencil fad continuum, but I'm still pretty new to them.*  I think they have great potential for beautiful backgrounds, so I want to keep playing with them until I get the hang of them. 

Tim Holtz's layering stencils have great appeal because of their tag shape and easy storage.  I have about 10 of them, three of them recent additions:

Though the middle stencil is called Scribbles, to me the image is clearly art deco-style roses. I used it in a card from my last post.

I'm looking forward to using all three of these, especially with ombre inks and my air marker spritzer, which I'm only just starting to figure out how to use.

On a recent trip to New York, I made a special pilgrimage to the newly re-opened Moon Rose in Huntington.  The shop area is small, but packed with wonderful things.  Among my purchases were three stencils from The Crafter's Workshop.

Tea Remant - Actual size:  4x4

Trivet Remnant - Actual size:  4x4

Well-Rounded - Actual size:  6x6

I haven't seen many pictures of these three in action, so if you know of any, send them my way.  I love seeing what other people have done and using that as a jumping-off point for my work.

I would love to hear from you about how and if you're using stencils in your papercrafting.  Is dimensional paste avoidable (I'm resisting - it crosses the line of easy/messy for me)?  Do you have a favorite tool or method to apply ink over the stencil?

*In writing this post, I realized that I'm not really new to using stencils.  One of the themes I loved early on in my rubber stamping days was faux postage.  I made my own or used pre-made stencils to create banks of postage which featured heavily in my card-making.  I still love faux postage and the technique with the unlovely name, "inchies," but that's a post for another day...