You Are Special...a gold leaf embossed card

Hi and Happy Sunday to you all! 

I am still so excited about the Precision Dies!  I have gone nuts making cards this weekend to send out to family!

Today's is about a 4 on the difficulty scale (1-5).  You may want to get adventurous and try it out for yourself!

There are a few techniques on this card.

To create the inside of the card (what shows through the square windows):

1. Take an embossing folder and the paper you intend to emboss.  Select an ink (I used Distress Ink in Crushed Sapphire.) (I learned this from Tim Holtz!)

• Find the side of the embossing folder that has the debossed pattern.
• Take your ink pad and using the direct to paper method, cover the folder with ink
• working quickly, lay your paper carefully on the embossing foler and close it, being careful not to move the paper once it's been placed down.
• put the embossing folder and paper through your chosen machine and dry emboss the paper.
• take out the paper carefully and set aside (you can let it air dry or if you have no patience like me, you can use a heat gun to dry it)
• rinse your folder out immediately (which is why I use dye ink - it comes right off)

2. Take your dry embossed and colored paper, and either a versa mark pad or ranger embossing pad (perfect pearl pads work as well) - have gold embossing powder ready, and a small to medium brush (I used one without stiff bristles) and your heat gun

• wipe the versa mark (or whatever) pad gently over the top of your paper - try to only hit the embossed raised sections.  Expect to get some in the non raised - but thats what the brush is for!
• Holding your card by the edge (no fingerprints), pour on (or spoon on) your gold embossing powder.
• working with your brush, whisk away any embossing powder that is sticking to the background color part of your card
• using your heat gun, heat the embossing powder until it melts. working along (follow the melt!) until all embossing powder has melted.
• do not touch the heated embossing pwder - let it cool before touching
• do not reheat melted embossing powder if you can - it will eventually melt into the paper - heat embossing should be raised off the paper

Front of Card:
3. The squares for the front of my card were cut using a 6-square Precision Die by Frantic Stamper.  I cut one side and then the other

4. I dry embossed the front after I cut out my window panes.

Close Up!

Here you get a really good look at the heat embossing done to the top of the dry embossed leaves.

The label

Hope you try some of these techniques out for yourself!

Take care and see you next time!
Lis