Monday, September 30, 2019

I Caught a Unicorn

I decided to catch a unicorn this weekend.

And by that, I mean I did the dumbest thing ever.

I made a card with the following properties:
  • White on white
  • Dry embossed
  • Foil
  • Glitter
Four things that absolutely cannot be photographed!! WHY? WHY DO I DO THESE THINGS???

I took about 100 terrible photos that editing  couldn't fix. 

And then I went outside. I set it on a board on our fence and angled it to catch the sun. 

And dag nab it if it didn't work!

All I had to do was cut out the background and bumped the brightness a bit and voila! You can actually see the details. IT'S A MIRACLE.

So first, I used my Gemini Junior and the Foil Press with this lovely Thank You die to both deboss and hot foil the sentiment on cold press watercolor paper. I just like the way foil looks on watercolor paper. It gives such a deep deboss and the foiling looks so elegant. I used their gold hot foil.

The card base is watercolor paper too - and I used this gorgeous 3D embossing folder on that, and added a teeny strip of no-shed glitter paper.


A few tips on hot foiling. 

Heat the machine for a long time - longer than you think with the die on the plate. Sometimes if you don't, your first attempt is a wash, so just keep resetting that timer. I usually heat it up, then set the timer for 4 minutes, put the plate on top and wait. 

Put the foil pretty side down onto the die, and use the grid on the base of the Foil Press to align your cardstock on top of that. Put the plate on top and run it through your Junior (which is on sale right now). IT'S MIRACULOUS.

Sometimes, a little dusting of foil outside your image might cling to your media. It's SUPER easy to remove. I just brush it briskly with this little brush and it's then clean and perfect.

The combination of that letterpress look with foil is just so elegant.

Also, since I was asked recently what the difference is between the foil you use for hot foil dies like these, and the foil you use with a laminator or Minc, etc. The difference is the medium that ACTIVATES the foil. Yes, both processes use heat, but traditional foil is activated by toner, not heat. The foil I used today is activated by heat alone. Hope that clears up any confusion. If you want to use hot foiling dies, you need the kind of foil I've used today. Here are all the patterns they have

Give it a try! All supplies are below.

Loveyameanitbye.

FOILPRESS Thank You Foil Stamp Die...
[ CRF ]
5"x7" 3D Embossing Folder - Regency...
[ CRF ]
Gemini Junior Cutting and Embossing...
[ CRF ]
Gemini Foilpress Machine | Crafter's...
[ CRF ]
FOILPRESS Papercraft Foil - Gold |...
[ CRF ]
Fabriano WATERCOLOR PAPER 5x7 BLOCK...
[ SSS | BLIC ]
Blick Economy White Bristle Stencil...
[ BLIC ]
Foil Rolls | Foiling | Papercraft
[ CRF ]
Concord & 9th NEUTRALS GLITTER 6x6...
[ SSS | C&9 ]
Mermaid tidy towel case and glue...
[ ETS ]
Art Anthology BIG CRAFT MAT 24x36 311473
[ SSS ]
MISTI Stamping Tool
[ MSP | HA | SSS | ELH | MFT | UNT ]
Rotatrim Professional Series Cutter -...
[ BLIC ]
Scor-Pal MINI SCOR-BUDDY Scoring...
[ SSS ]
LightView 2in1 LED Magnifier for...
[ BRG ]
Essentials by Ellen Storage...
[ ELH ]
Die Storage - Clear Storage Pockets...
[ CHC ]
XL Stamp Storage Pockets
[ ELH ]
Lawn Fawn STAMP SHAMMY Cleaner LF1045
[ SSS | CST ]
Airtable: Organize your stamps & dies
[ ART ]

Friday, September 27, 2019

Masking Fluid Surprise!

I had a little brainwave not too long ago after getting my nails done by the one and only Kristina Werner.

So I thought I'd bring this to you today - no card, just a video! Enjoy this unexpected art supply! This is the one I found that I LOVE, but I've included the two that didn't work for me, because I only tested them on one paper. You might get results with them on another paper.




Amazon.com : Nail Art Liquid Latex...
[ AMZUS ]
Amazon.com : PrettyDiva Liquid Latex...
[ AMZUS ]

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Hello, My Baby, Hello My Honey, Hello My Ragtime Gal

Earworm, much?

You're welcome.

You will be singing that alllllll day and you have me to thank for it!

Well you actually have the makers of this adorable frog stamp to thank for it. I laughed so hard when I saw this in a group and he had to come live with me.

I had what I thought was a great idea to paint! I was going to do a very abstract watercolor audience as a backdrop for my froggy - and you know how theater seats are always red - they are here, anyway, in the vintage theaters - so I very carefully painted a sharp edge for the spotlight around my frog and did just that.

Then I painted some boards for the floor, loosely using this tutorial and my Cut-Align for the gaps.

I watercolored all of it with Daniel Smith, and added the sentiment with Nocturne - see the little motion lines around his hat and eyes? Hysterical.

Anyway, I was all proud of myself until I realized in my scene, this little frog has his back to the audience!!!

Were I back in my English program at the U of R I would had written an essay about the implied presence of a narrator only the frog could see, and how that symbolized the human need to have an inner critic to please, but in reality I just did it wrong. :) But I think he's cute anyway, so whatever. I wasn't allowed to say that in college but now I do what I want. FROG, Y'ALL! (PS there's a cut file for this frog here.)
One time, when we were camping in Maine - I don't remember if this was before or after my sister got leeches all over her in a lake, or a creepy old man on the dock gave me Necco wafers, or when I was the only one sleeping in the downstairs of our creepy cabin in the woods and an animal came in the unlocked door and stole my stuffed lobster out of my arms in the middle of the night with its glowing eyeholes locked on mine, BUT we caught a giant toad - that was like four feet long and we put him (he barely fit) in a galvanized trashcan with a lid on it and a heavy rock on top so that we could show him to everyone. His name was Francis for the brief time before this super toad busted out of the trashcan and went on to terrorize another family.

All that to say Maine is a terrifying, weird place but I still love all manner of amphibians.

So I painted him again, this time with my awesome brush markers, and then masked him and stenciled Sea Glass ink around him with this stencil and my Life Changing Blender Brushes. So cute. (Don't forget - you can use code LydiaFan10 here to get all stencils at 10% off).
Salutation Toad - Unity Stamp Company
[ UNT ]
Salutation Toad - Digital Cut File -...
[ UNT ]
Vortex - A Colorful Life Designs
[ CLD ]
Karin — MARKER UNIVERSE
[ MRK ]
Zots™ Singles • Medium | Therm O Web...
[ THR ]
The Ultimate Mixing Palette: a World...
[ BLR ]
Life Changing Blender Brushes. 4 Pack...
[ PFS ]
GKD Color Companions Ink Pad- Sea...
[ GNK ]
Fadeout No Line coloring Detail Ink
[ INK ]
VersaFine Clair Ink Pad, Nocturne -...
[ ELH | SSS ]
Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolors
[ BLIC ]
Escoda Versatil Brushes, Travel Round...
[ UTR | BLIC | INK ]
Fabriano Extra White Cold Press...
[ BLIC ]
MISTI Stamping Tool
[ MSP | HA | SSS | ELH | MFT | UNT ]
Cut Align
[ MSP ]
Lawn Fawn STAMP SHAMMY Cleaner LF1045
[ SSS | ELH | CST | ART ]
Rotatrim Professional Series Cutter -...
[ BLIC ]
Nesting Porcelain Bowls - BLICK art...
[ BLIC ]
My Favorite Watercolor Sketchbook
[ UTR ]
Tombow MONO MULTI Liquid Glue Two...
[ SSS | MFT ]
LightView 2in1 LED Magnifier for...
[ BRG ]
Airtable: Organize your stamps & dies
[ ART ]


You got any creepy Maine or camping stories? Lay them on me in the comments!

Loveyameanitbye. 

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