Embossing with vellum

 My name is Alison & I live in beautiful Melbourne, Australia. For those of you who have previously visited my blog & are now returning, thank you. For those of you who are here for the first time, welcome!

 Here's a little bit about me. I love creating cards & gifts for my loved ones & this blog will show you how to create something special for those you love. I blog twice a week, once on a Sunday where I mainly showcase a stamp set or dies, embossing folders, projects & sometimes special DSP and Wednesday evenings when I highlight a technique, fun folds or tools & tips. I would love to hear from you if you have any questions or suggestions & my email address for that is craftedbyalison@gmail.com.

Stampin' Up® 's Annual Catalogue was released last year with a very different format & it's a beauty! It's set out quite differently to previous catalogues but there are benefits to that. They now have sectioned it to have beginners, which is a step by step collection of materials in kits, then there is quick & easy where you select base materials & packs of pre-printed or diecut materials plus some stamp sets then there is create your way where you choose all the materials, stamps etc yourself & create your way! In the quick & easy section Stampin' Up® have also provided some inspiration with a colour wheel & information of various ways to use colour combinations. I explored this in a bit more detail in my 1/1/25 mid week blog. The new mini catalogue was launched on January 7th with lots of lovely stamps, dies & papers to ooh & aah over. If you would like a copy of this new catalogue then please contact me at craftedbyalison@gmail.com. Stampin' Up® also have products available only online. These are called Online exclusives & have no end date, when the stock is sold out, that's the end of it.

Embossing folders are great for adding an interesting element to your cards, creations or scrapbook pages & this week I am sharing some creations I made with embossing folders & vellum.

Vellum adds a softer layer & when you run it through an embossing machine the result is also softer than when you use cardstock. Sadly, Stampin' Up® no longer carry plain vellum in their store, they do have patterned vellum but for this blog I chose some retired plain vellums as they give a better result. 

This week I played around with some folders & vellum and love the results. I hope you enjoy them too.

Now, when you look at the pictures they don't look much different from a regular card but when you see a closeup...

you can see a difference.

This first card is a very simple one. The base is Soft Sea Foam which teams nicely with 2021-23 In Colour Shimmer Vellum. I cut a matte & ran it through the embossing machine using the Floral Sprig folder, one of the ones added when Close To My Heart was acquired.

On the reverse side I used Light & Dark Shaded Spruce Stampin' Blends for the leaves. The flowers are coloured with a retired Stampin' Chalk Marker & the centre is coloured with Dark Pumpkin Pie.

To adhere the vellum to the base without leaving any streaky marks I squeezed some liquid glue onto my silicone mat & spread it onto the vellum with a piece of sponge. When using glue this way you have to be quick to add it to the cardstock as the glue dries quickly.

The next step was to add a sentiment, matted with Lost Lagoon. Then I added some Clear ribboned dots from the Pecan Pie & Clear Ribboned Adhesive Backed dots pack.

A lovely, simple card, ready to go.

And so, onto the second card.

I started with a Basic White base. Using some plain vellum & the Fern embossing folder I created a prettty layer to add to a Basic White matte. I then chose a gorgeous gold fern leaf from the retired Forever Gold Specialty paper & adhered it to the front.

The sentiment, from Country Flowers, is heat embossed in gold & diecut with the Christmas Labels dies. This particular label has some cut areas included which is where I threaded some Gold Trim through before wrapping it around the card front. A little bow was added & the finished front was added to the base.

I chose 'sending love' as the sentiment as this meant that the card could then be used for a Sympathy card or just to send some love.

So that's it for this post. I really enjoyed creating with vellum & embossing folders, now I'd like to share some of the latest news from Stampin' Up®.

Stampin' Up® has a number of ways to purchase their lovely products. You can look through their physical catalogue or browse through the catalogues online but there are also some products that are only available exclusively online that don't appear in any catalogues. These products are called the Online Exclusives & are only available under the Online Exclusives section of the Stampin' Up® shop. Check out the online exclusives in my online store. Stampin' Up® adds more product items to the online shop so don't forget to keep checking the store to see what's new. There are some lovely new products now available including kits, embellishments, stamps, dies & embossing folders. Something for everyone! If you would like a copy of the catalogue please send me a message at craftedbyalison@gmail.com or on my Facebook page, craftedbyalison. 

Stampin' Up® have a great range of Kits including crafting, card making & gift giving. There were 2 brand new kits just added to the collection. Click here to check them all out in my online shop. As Stampin' Up® have so many beautiful kits available I feature a different kit in each blog so that you can see the range. 

This week's featured kit is Painted Wishes, a pretty floral kit with simple steps to crate 9 beautiful cards with matching envelopes.

Here's how Stampin' Up® describes the kit...

If you’re looking for a way to spread love and kindness around you then the Painted Wishes Kit is what you need! Rich in watercolour designs, colourful florals, and heartfelt greetings, this kit includes the supplies to create nine all-occasion greeting cards that will make kind words flourish all around you!

If you feel that you need to add this to your list then click here to purchase one from my online store. 

If you shop with me then don't forget to use this month's host code QTKJG2A2. This will allow me to pass on any hostess benefits to customers when the sales reach the required qualifying amount.

Lastly, there have been lots of great items added to the clearance rack which is now called Last Chance items so make sure you check them out using this link to my online store.

If you would like to purchase any of my creations that I feature in my blogs they can be found in my FaceBook shop at craftedbyalison or you can order something unique. 

I hope you've enjoyed today's post. I certainly had a lot of fun creating with leftovers. If you would like me to send you a copy of the current Annual catalogue or the new mini  then please message me via my FaceBook page, Crafted by Alison or send me an email at craftedbyalison@gmail.com.

That's all I have for you this week. My next blog is on Wednesday & I will look at colouring using re-inkers.

In my next Sunday blog I will have a new Scrapbooking page for you.

I hope you can join me for both of them.

Well, that's it for another week. I hope you enjoyed this post & come back for more. 

Til next time, take care & keep creating! XX Alison.

Here are some links to the kit I used today & some craft room essentials.

Shop with me

Stamps, Dies, Embossing folders & punches

• Country Flowers stamp set
• Fern 3D embossing folder
• Floral Sprig embossing folder
• Christmas Labels comes in a bundle with stamp set

Cardstock, DSP & paper goods

• Basic White Thick cardstock
• Soft Sea Foam cardstock

Inks & Markers

• Shaded Spruce Stampin' Blends
• Pumpkin Pie Stampin' Blends
• Versamark ink
• WOW Metallics embossing powders

Embellishments

• Pecan Pie & Clear ribboned adhesive backed dots
• Gold & Silver trim combo pack

Adhesives

• Multipurpose liquid glue
• Tear and tape
• Dimensionals
  
• Mini Dimensionals
  
• Foam adhesive strips
• Mini Glue Dots
• Adhesive sheets

Tools

• Paper Trimmer
• Take Your Pick tool
• Paper Snips scissors
• Stampin' Cut & Emboss machine
• Water painters
• Heat tool
• Blending Brushes
  
• Sponge daubers