Materials List:
- Heavyweight, heat-resistant vellum (see my link in “My Favorites” to the brand I use)
- Altenew Hello and Hugs Stamp and Die Set
- Altenew Garden Trellis Cover Die
- Gina K Designs Sentiment Strips Dies
- Layered Flowers & Leaves dies – I used an assortment from different brands, use what you have!
- Waffle Flower A2 Layers Dies
- Hero Arts Butterflies Infinity Nesting Dies
- Simon Says Stamp! Friendship Text Background Stamp
- Black Superfine Detail Embossing Powder
- White Superfine Detail Embossing Powder
- Wow! White Pearl Super Fine Embossing Powder
- Versafine Embossing Ink
- Distress Spray Stains: Forest Moss, Picked Raspberry, Black Soot
- Distress Mica Stains: Fortune Teller & Wicked Elixir (nice mica shine!)
- Versafine Clair Pigment Ink in Nocturne
- A2 Card bases: Hero Arts in Palm, and assorted white card bases
- Waterdroplet embellishments
- Black sequin embellishments
Okay, it’s a thing. I make A LOT of cards for my videos. Today I have four friendship-themed cards using some of my favorite vellum techniques. The video was so long (almost an hour) that I had to delete one of the cards, so BONUS! You can only find the details for that card here on my blog.
Vellum is so versatile and brings a beautiful, light touch to cardmaking. Its transparency works really well with inks of all kinds, particularly alcohol inks and distress sprays. How gorgeous are those purple Distress Spray flowers in the Hello, Awesome Friend card? And a tricky part of vellum (the curling) was a huge plus for these layered flowers. Okay, on to the making:
Start by cutting seven A2-size panels from the vellum of your choice. You’ll need at least one panel for each of the cards.
Card #1 – Purple Flowers
I started by inking two vellum panels in my spray box; one for the leaves and one for the purple layered flowers. For the leaves I used a Distress Spray Stain in Forest Moss for the first layer. I sprayed the stain and then gave the panel a quick spritz of water to help the stain move around a bit. I dried this layer with my heat tool then applied a quick spray of Distress Mica Stain in Wicked Elixir. The mica stain has a shimmer that really amps up the color. After applying a quick misting of water I dried this layer. For the final touch I applied a quick “timid spray” of Distress Spray Stain in Black Soot. (If you are unfamiliar with my timid vs all in spray technique see my Wicked Good Halloween video linked in that blog post. It’s a real thing, I promise.) Then I set that panel aside to dry.
For the flower vellum panel I followed the exact same process, only the ink colors are Picked Raspberry, Fortune Teller and Black Soot splatter accents. Dry the ink between color+water applications and set the panel aside to dry.
Next I taped an A2 vellum panel to the cutting side of the Garden Trellis cover die. Vellum will slide around during die cutting so tape it securely! I ran this through my die cut machine and then spent a few minutes cleaning up all those little diamond die cut scraps….
For the greeting I stamped the large “hello” greeting stamp onto a scrap of white cardstock using Versamark embossing ink, then applied Midnight Black embossing powder. I heat-set the powder then used the coordinating shadow die to cut a shadow layer from vellum. For the sentiment strip I stamped the “awesome friend” stamp on scrap white cardstock with embossing ink and heat embossed with the same Midnight Black embossing powder. I used a sentiment strip die from the Gina K Designs sentiment strips set to die cut the sentiment and an additional strip so I could layer the two. I used the die that was just slightly narrower than the greeting for some balance.
Next I used the A2 Layers Dies to cut two frames for my front panel. I used the second and third largest dies and centered them on white A2 size cardstock panels. I cut two sets as the Rose card also uses these frames and it is a huge time saver to die cut in bulk.
I wanted to create some contrast on the vellum trellis piece so I used a sponge dabber that I have earmarked for this purpose to apply embossing powder to random places on the trellis. I applied White Pearl embossing powder and heat set. This adds a little pop of shine that helps to break up all the flat white on the background.
At this point my two color panels were dry so I moved on to die cutting for the flowers and leaves. I did not use a specific die set for this process. I have an assortment of layered flower, leaf and stem dies that I keep in the same stamp and die envelope. Some are from Amazon, some are Sizzix. I used some layered flowers, stems and leaves that looked good together and fit the size of my front panel. It was fun to find different spaces on the inked panels that produced nice layers and contrast for the flowers and leaves. Once this die cutting was complete I was ready to assemble the card. I wanted the trellis panel to be free floating in the center of the panel so I adhered the frames to this panel first by placing adhesive only around the perimeter of the frames. I then adhered this completed panel to the front of the card using adhesive only on the perimeter of the panel. This allows the trellis layer to pop up a bit and creates a bit of a shadow that adds dimension to the card. Since the vellum flowers and leaves are inked with darker colors I could used liquid adhesive to adhere them to the card front on the left. I applied some black embellishments to the centers of the flowers to give some depth. I adhered the greeting to the vellum shadow layer and then adhered that to the card front on the top right, with the sentiment strip popped up on foam tape and applied below the greeting just slightly overlapping the bottom of the “ls” in Hello.
I applied some water droplet embellishments just below the sentiment in a diamond shape, and the card was complete.
Card #2 – Roses
For this card I was going for a softer, more transparent look for the flowers. I chose some flower stamps from the Altenew Flower Garden Stamp and Die set and stamped those in my Misti onto one of the vellum panels using Versamark embossing ink. I applied White Pearl embossing powder and then heat set the powder. These are outline stamps and they worked perfectly for this technique. I used the coordinating dies to die cut the flowers and leaves. For the Copic coloring I wanted to stay with the soft, transparent look so I chose lighter colors; a pale pink and a slightly darker shade for the flowers and a pale green for the leaves. I applied the alcohol marker to the back side of the vellum panel (the non-embossed side) using the darker shade of pink (actually red) to shade the center of the roses and base of the petals.
I used the coordinating dies to die cut the images – This set comes with so many flowers and dies in an array of sizes.
For this card I wanted an embossed trellis panel so adhered the cover die to a white A2 cardstock panel and ran this through my die cut machine using an embossing sandwich. For my Platinum 6 this consists of the platform on the bottom, die and cardstock on top of this, flexible embossing mat next and the embossing plate on the top. Your stack might be different depending on your machine, cardstock, etc.
I wanted to coordinate the cardstock color for the sentiment strip with a color I was already using on the front of the card so I inked up a scrap of white cardstock with the R85 comic marker and used that for cardstock. I stamped the “thinking of you my friend” sentiment with embossing ink, applied a white detail embossing powder, then heat set. I used only a sentiment on this card and I love all the white space and open feel.
To assemble the card I first applied the two frames I cut earlier to the trellis panel using liquid adhesive. I then arranged the vellum roses on the front, going with a draping effect from bottom left up and over the top. I attached the roses with double sided tape, taking care to apply the tape to the back of the roses in areas where the inking was a little darker or where the flowers overlapped. I attached the sentiment strip with foam tape and added a few water droplet embellishments. This card was quick and easy will be perfect to pull out when I just want to send a little hello to a friend.
Card #3 – Butterflies
For this card I wanted a soft, ink-blended front panel with spring colors. I chose Distress Oxide inks in Tattered Rose, Scattered Straw and Evergreen Bough and I applied with a light hand, taking care to blend the colors smoothly in the transition areas.
For the greeting and sentiment I chose the Hello and You Are Amazing stamps from the Hello and Hugs set (Yes, I fell in love with this set for this project. It will definitely be in my cardmaking rotation for the near future.) I heat embossed the greeting in Midnight Black embossing powder and for the shadow layer I just used white heavy cardstock. I stamped the sentiment strip in Versafine Clair Nocturne and can I say that the soft, ink blended colors are really set off by the black text on this card. Love.
For the butterflies I used the Friendship Text background stamp on vellum – I created two panels, inking these with embossing ink and heat embossing with White Pearl embossing powder. I used the second and third largest butterflies dies in the Hero Arts Butterflies Infinity Dies set to cut two butterflies (and antennae) for layering. I applied Distress Oxide ink in Wilted Violet very lightly to the outline of the butterflies just to add some contrast. This step is not in the video! I am a serial card alterer. I also folded the butterflies along the center to give them some dimension when they are layered.
To assemble the card I applied double sided tape to the backs of each butterfly only along that center fold. This will help to hide the adhesive on the finished card. I layered the smaller butterfly on top of the larger butterfly and then used the exposed adhesive on the back of the larger butterfly to adhere the antenna.
To assemble the card I adhered the butterflies to the center of the inked panel and then spaced the greeting above to the left and the sentiment strip below to the right using liquid adhesive. I added three water drop embellishments in a triangle shape on the bottom left and then adhered this panel to the front of an A2 white card base. I added some Glossy Accents to the tips of the antenna and the card was complete.
Vellum is so versatile and these are only a few of the ways I’ve been using it lately in my cardmaking. I’m working on one more blog post for an additional card that didn’t make it into this YouTube video. I’m trying to keep those below 30 minutes and I’m also working on some shorts for YouTube that will be coming next week.
Cheers!
Cynthia
prettypaperblackbirds.com 