Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Technique Tuesday: Colored core cardstock and a freebie

Hello everyone,
Once again I must apologize...it is not Tuesday but of course it's Wednesday. I won't go on and on..just know that I am sorry! Now on to the technique!

I love the effects of the paper with the colored core that when you sand or tear it the color magically appears. However, I don't have it available in my neck of the woods. I know I could order it but...I have a ton of cardstock so I figured why not try making my own. Keep reading to find out how you can too! It's sooo easy!



Now for some examples. I'll post a completed card using my new colored core cardstock later on in this post.



Hints:

It is very important you don't use white core cardstock. Look at the edge of your cardstock if you see white then you can not use it for this technique. See if you sand white core cardstock the color will be sanded away and you'll be left with the white ebmossing instead of colored. However, if you want white embossing and you don't have any white paper then by all means go ahead and use the white core cardstock.

It is also very important to let you paint or ink dry completely before embossing. If not and you go to sand you will not get crisp colored embossing instead you will just streak your paint or ink.

In my #3 turquoise snowflake example I noticed the paper becomes somewhat thin in certain areas so I had to be careful not to sand too much or holes will appear

You can sand as little or as much as you like to make the color come through. If you get a few stubborn spots that won't sand away just use an emery board to concentrate on specific spots.

When inking or painting try to put on a lot of color..your cardstock color should not be visible. When inking press your ink pad or blending tool into the paper making sure the ink gets into those fibers. For painting dab on the paint again pushing it into the fibers.

I think this technique is a great way to make the most of your embossing folders. Plus with all the ink colors and paint colors available now a days the combos are endless. Pink/red for Valentines, green/gold for St. Patricks day, dark pink/light pink for baby shower. You could even choose your friends and families favorite colors or match a patterned paper. I know I'm excited to find a use for all the acrylic paint I stashed. I used to be a decorative painter before my kids started occupying my time!

Okay now to show you my card.



I once again tried my hand at coloring with my Copic markers. I was actually looking forward to coloring a smaller area as the ink started drying out when coloring the flower last week but.....this paper was giving me fits! I used Georgia Pacific and it has a tendency to bleed like crazy. I was always the good girl that colored inside the lines so when that ink kept creeping out of the black lines it was driving me nuts. It took quite a few tries and a couple coats of a workable fixative spray but I think I finally have a decent image on my card. I had to be careful not to color too close to the black lines especially with the darker colors. I will definitely be ordering different paper soon and seeing if that helps. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. This being my only second try...they say three times the charm right! Hopefully, I'll have better luck coloring next time.

Oh I forgot to say I used At You Spica Glitter makers for the drawn bells. I also used an Elmer's white painter's pen for details. I have one more tip for you. See photo below.



I wanted a silver mat around my image but didn't have any silver paper...so I just ran ink around the edge of a white scrap and let it dry. You can also use your copics and the broad tip to draw a border on any old scrap paper to make a mat too! Sooo frugal..gotta love it!

If you like the jingle bell die cut I used in my card you can get the digital cutter file in my membership club. Click preview below to purchase. On the bell for my card I used some paint meant for drawing silver dots on fabric..probably not the best choice! I should have used multiple layers of silver embossing powder to make it look more like metal bell. Oh well live and learn!



I know I promised you a freebie. Thanks for allowing me to show you my newly discovered technique! As a parting gift I am going to give you the digi stamp I used on my card for free. I will be selling digi stamps in the store at some point in time. I am a little confused as far as what format you all would prefer: jpg., transparent png, tif etc. Also would you like to see a whole sheet of images so you can instantly print them without having to copy and paste? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Click on the preview to download. I have included a transparent PNG and a JPG. You do not need photo editing software just bring the jpg into MS Word and print. I am not sure what type of digi images you would like to see me put in the store. So please e-mail me at shellysart@verizon.net with any ideas. Oh and please do not share this digi stamp with others send them here to download the file themselves. Please abide by the enclosed TOU. This freebie will expire in 24 hours. Sorry freebie expired!



I hope you all have a wonderful day/night depending on when you are reading this! Thanks for stopping by. Join me here Friday for a Frugal Friday special...$1.00 file!

Shelly
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11 comments:

Elizabeth said...

Awesome technique, thanks Shelly.

Carol said...

Thanks for the freebie. I have not used digi much, so I don't have any comments on format.

Carol

Unknown said...

This is great! Thank u shelly! I prefer png format, b/c i can easily layer them over other digis to create a new look.

Anonymous said...

Thank you! Your blog post will be advertised on the DigiFree Blog Cutting Freebie search engine today (look for timestamp: 02 Dec [LA 02:00pm, NY 05:00pm, UK 10:00pm] - 03 Dec [OZ 09:00am]).

Caroline said...

way cool digi stamp Shelly!! Thanks :)

Anonymous said...

Wow Shelly, what an awesome technique. You just saved us all a bunch of money. Thank you for the freebie too, I love it.

Hugs
Carol P

Trisha said...

Love the techniques you shared! Thanks! And thanks for the cute freebie jingles!!

Trisha

Anonymous said...

Thanks Shelly for both of the files! They are both darling!
jlwclanfam (Jan W.)

jzayler said...

Thanks for the freebie and the techniques. I really appreciate all the extra "tips" saves me from experimenting.

Lisa Avolio said...

The digi stamp is really cute.
There are problems with bleeding depending on what type of printer ink + marker combo one uses. I don't know if that's waht happened to you. I am still learning, but inkjet sometimes requires heat setting before coloring. Solvent markers are best for it. I have an old laser printer, and it works best with my watercolor pencils or water-based markers.

color correction of photographs said...

Cute stmp.
Great stuff.
Thanks.

Regards,
image coloring