Crazy about Chevron

Since I got back from Stampin' Up!'s Convention in July, I have been absolutely crazy about anything Chevron and combine that with the trendiest of all colorcombos right now: yellow/gray and you have me swooning! I spent a little time browsing through Etsy the other day looking for a knick knack to go in my diningroom which is...you guessed it...yellow/gray with a hint of teal. I didn't find what I was looking for but saw so many other fabulous creations especially with fabric. I decided that I had to make my own creation with paper using the Chevron Embossing Folder (127749) with Basic Gray and the new In Color Summer Starfruit.

I love how it turned out with all the sparkle. I inked up the Embossing folder inside on one side with Versamark (102283) for a two-tone effect on my Summer Starfruit Cardstock and ran it through the Big Shot (113439) - seriously every crafter needs one of those! The corners are rounded with the 1 1/4" Circle Punch (119861) for a more wide rounded corner. For the banner I cut a small strip of the NEW Howlstooth & Scaringbone Designer Series Paper (126906)  from the Holiday Catalog a bit wider that my card base. Around it I attached a piece of the Summer Starfruit Stitched Satin Ribbon (126846). On top is another banner... I stamped the arrow looking stamp from the Border Banter stamp set (128930) from the Holiday Catalog in Basic Gray Classic Ink on Whisper White Card stock. Underneath is a border of the Silver Glimmer Paper (124005) cut with the Finishing Touches Edgelits die (127010) and the Big Shot. The Happy Birthday Banner is part of the Itty Bitty Banners stampset (126257) and all the sayings in the set coordinate with the Bitty Banners Framelits die (129267), so easy and no need to use the scissor or papertrimmer - Love that! I used the Many Marvelous Markers in Basic Gray and Summer Starfruit coloring directly on the stamp for that multi colored look.

The finishing touch it to create the flower. I punched two Summer Starfruit pieces with the 1 1/4" Scallop Circle punch (127811) which is NEW in the Holiday Catalog. Lightly sprayed them with water using the the Stampin' Spritzer (126185) and crumbled them up. When dry I used the Papersnips (103579) to snip petals in one of the scallop circles - that one will be the top one. Sticking them together with a Glue Dot, adding a big Vintage Faceted Designer Button (127555) on top and a big Rhineston Basic Jewel (119246) in the middle of the button for the final bling, and I had an amazing card to give to a fashion lover.

After making the above card I had some extra pieces laying around, so I decided to make another card. Instead of using Versamark for inking up the Embossing folder I thought it would fun to use some actual ink.

I think it turned out great. It can be a little tricky to make it look crisp and avoid the ink smearing but if it doesn't work for you the first time just try again. Now for those of you who haven't tried this technique before here is a quick step by step tutorial.

You will need an embossing folder of your choice. You can totally use other ones and not just the Chevron like I did and play around. You will also need some Classic Ink and most importantly a Brayer (102395) for even application of the ink on the embossing folder.

Open up the embossing folder and ink up the brayer. Apply ink to one side only. Make sure the ink is evenly distributed on the folder. Please note on the Chevron folder that both sides are the same. If you are using a different embossing folder you will often have two different sides, so experiment with what side you like the best.

Carefully line up your cardstock to the fold of the embossing folder and let the cardstock fall in place - dont press the paper down. Close the embossing folder while it is still laying on your table.

Now pick it up carefully holding it at the fold of the Embossing folder and roll it through your Big Shot.

When embossed open it carefully... there will still be ink on the folder and it can smear your paper ....now you have a fun piece of home-made Designer Series Paper you can use on your creations. For easy clean up just rinse the embossing folder and brayer under warm water (exception is Versamark...it is sticky so I add a small drop of dish detergent to clean the folder).

I used a lot of the same supplies on these two cards. However it is worth mentioning a couple of things that was different on this one.

The ruffle on the bottom of the card is made by adding a piece of Sticky Strip to the back of the embossed cardstock and attaching 3/8" Basic Black Taffeta Ribbon (119962) in a folding motion. The banner is created by punching out circles in different Designer Series Paper and cardstock with the 1" Circle punch (119868) and folded over a piece of the White Bakers Twine (124262) - they are held together with a Glue Dot so you can easily slide them on the twine. For the Chevron embossed flags they were leftover scraps after I had trimmed my cardstock down to fit my card front. I cut them to 1/2" wide and using the design embossed on the paper I used my Papersnips to make the ends ....just like the circles I wrapped them around the twine and adhered with a Glue Dot.

I hope you enjoyed today's projects. I would love to hear what you think!