-dex Cards! - July 2023 Cards, Tags, & More Kit + Mixed Media Kit
Hey, y’all! Whew! Made it to the end of July without getting too overheated! I hope you had a fan-tab-u-lous July and are getting ready to catch the August Kit reveals on Tuesday! (Hint: August is filled with beautiful products, just like every month!)
For my final July creation, I have a few –dex cards for you using this month’s Cards, Tags, & More Kit and the Botanical Stains from this month’s Mixed Media Kit. Be sure to check out the video to get the details about my thought process during all this, and to watch how long it takes for me to realize a pen leaked all over me!
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To get the process started, I cut one of the white cardstock sheets into two, 4”x11” strips. I didn’t know exactly how tall my finished cards would end up being, so I didn’t want to limit my heights yet. For the patterned paper fronts on the cards, I kept the 3-1/2” width of the paper from the pack – to use as the height – then cut the width of them at 4”.
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To start the decorating process, I grabbed up my set of Tim Holtz’s “Floral Trim” Stamps and some permanent inks. I had thought to try “Barely Beige” from Simon Says Stamp, but, as you can see, it really is Barely! So I did all of my stamping with “Chrome Yellow” Archival Ink. The color of the ink didn’t really matter all that much in this case since I was planning on adding embossing, but if I was just going to color in the stampings, using a light ink that is easily disguised tends to work best – unless you want the outlines to show that is!
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After the stamping was done, I coated the patterned paper with clear gesso and started using the Botanical Stains as watercolors to fill in the designs. There are two ways I talked about in the video, you can stamp the image, add your color(s), then add your embossing, which would keep your embossing lines “clean.”
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The second method is to just start out with your embossed image and then add your color(s). The embossing acts as a resist, and in this case, the botanical stains are easily wiped off, but if I were to do the same thing with more permeant mediums – such as markers or acrylic paint - I would save my embossing for last!
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With all of the stamping, embossing, and shading finished, it was only a matter of attaching the ephemera, punching the bottom slots, and figuring out how much – if any – of the white cardstock I wanted to show.
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For the card with the Tres Jolie Chipboard Butterfly on it, I first added white embossing powder to the chipboard, then used Glossy Accents to glue it down to the card front. I made sure there were no gaps between the butterfly and the card front so I would be able to fill in the wings with a thin layer of Glossy Accents with a few drops of the Marigold and Woad Blue Botanical Stains added in. Then I just let the colors in the wings mix and air dry before adding the little word snippets.
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To create a grungier look and provide a bit of definition around the words and phrases on the “Focus On The Good” card, I started outlining the ephemera with a bit of black Stabilo pencil, then added in some of the “Black Bean” Botanical Stain to help spread it around.
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With a little extra pencil around the edges, a spray of water, and some smearing using my fingers, this card was ready to set aside to dry!
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I added Glossy Accents to a few of the word snippets or ephemera pieces to create a faux enameled look before adding them to the cards, as you can see on the “Dream” –dex card.
Then, for the top of the “Dream” card, I hand-drew a wavy line on the white cardstock, cut it out, and added a bit of the Woad Blue Botanical Stain. To help the stain spread out, I spritzed on a bit of water and then set the card off to air dry.
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For this fourth and final card, I created a little cluster of ephemera, added the tab topper with a few mini staples, and glued down a few of my faux enameled word snippets! No extra mediums were added to the card front on this one!
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Thank you for joining me here on the blog today! I hope you enjoyed these –dex cards and they gave you some ideas of what you can make using this month’s Cards, Tags, & More and Mixed Media Kits!
Stay Crafty, Friends
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In addition to this month’s Cards, Tags, & More Kit and Mixed Media Kit (from previous Tres Jolie Kits), I used:
Ranger White Embossing Powder, Ranger Archival Ink “Chrome Yellow,” Lawn Fawn “Celery Stick” Dye Ink, Finnabair Clear Gesso, Tim Holtz “Floral Trims” Stamp Set, Tim Holtz Stamp Platform, Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher, Prima Water Brush, We R Memory Keepers 3-way Corner Punch, Heidi Swapp Memory Dex Punch, UHU Stic, Glossy Accents