Hello Sunshine - Faux Embroidery with Embossing Paste

I fell in love with embroidery at a very young age, watching both my mom and grandma stitch beautiful art. It's been such a joy to see embroidery, once again, coming back into the mainstream. Have you noticed it all around lately? 

Last year, among the lovely embroidered details we added to our decor, I also found the dreamiest embroidered dress and wore it practically all Summer. I can't wait for the mercury to rise so I can slip into it once again :)

Until then, I've been playing with a bit of embroidery in the craft room. I'm not exactly the needle + thread connoisseur like the ladies in my family, but I sure can work embossing paste. 

So I've got a cheat embroidery look for you today and it's as simple as can be.

______________________________________________________________________

SUPPLIES

a stencil of your choice (here is the one above, but this one is pretty too
molding paste,
a variety of ink refills or other color mediums to dye your paste,
a palette knife, and
some cardstock, watercolor paper, or thick art journal paper -  the weight of your paper will depend on how wet your paste is. The molding paste I use is rather dry, so it doesn't buckle or warp cardstock, and I love it for that reason.

______________________________________________________________________

STEPS

1. Position the stencil over the card base, and secure it to your working surface with some tape. I use Post-It Labeling and Cover Up tape, and it works like a charm, leaving no sticky residue behind. It's easy to remove, and doesn't tear the paper either.

2. Once the surface is prepped, it's time to tint the embossing paste! To do this, make a few mounds on your palette, and then color each mound with a drop of a water-based re-inker color. For this card, I used Distress re-inkers in colors of Peeled Paint, Fossilized Amber,  Abandoned Coral, and Peacock Feathers. 

3. Lastly, apply the paste over the stencil with a palette knife, paying attention to alternate colors between leaves and flowers. Remove stencil and enjoy!

______________________________________________________________________

TIP

For an ombre look, such as in the flowers below, partially mix your paste with color, and embrace the variation!

______________________________________________________________________

Once my background was all dry, I layered the 'embroidered' card base onto some polka dotted patterned paper, and stamped a few dots and miniature florals around the leaves, using the same colors of ink.

I added a floral cluster, stamped using Wplus9's Fresh Cut Florals stamps and dies.

To the side, I added a fussy cut banner, stamped with Crate Paper's Little You stamp set, which is the sweetest, cutest little stamp!

To the center, I added a sentiment, stamped on vellum, in a stitched font. I don't recall what set this sentiment is from, but I thought the stitched letters were perfect for this look, and I think the softness of the vellum and white embossing helps to not take attention away from the 'embroidery'.

I framed the vellum with a scalloped border, cut using PTI's Tag Sale #10 die, and I colored the little dots with a yellow marker.

At the bottom, I added some more stamped dots and tiny flowers, as well as a few liquid pearls.

I'm loving the way this card turned out, and I think it's the perfect way to quickly fake an embroidered look. What do you think?  Does it remind you of embroidery?

Before I head off, I wanted to share another card I created recently, using the April Monthly Challenge sketch inspo over on the Pinkfresh Blog.

I thought the sketch was perfect for framing this fun, adorable cake, stamped with the Sweet Treats stamp set by Pinkfresh.

Because the cake was so colorful, I decided to just carry that theme throughout the whole card and create an explosion of colors and textures. This style is definitely a bit of a departure for me. I'm still not sure if I like so much detail...What do you all think??

I stared with a white card base. I used Distress Inks to color the chipboard frame in colors of Shabby Shutters, Peacock Feathers, Spun Sugar, Abandoned Coral and Fossilized Amber.

I used the brand new Sweet Treats stamp set from Pinkfresh to stamp the cake, itty bitty florals and sentiment. And I think I looooove this set! It may just need to be permanently added to my collection :)

I used the coordinating dies,  to cut the cake and stand. Before stamping the cake layers, I watercolored my cardstock in a rainbow of stripes. Then I stamped two of the cake layers, embossing them in Ranger Fine Detail White embossing powder.. I added some liquid pearls to mimic delicate icing, and stamped the cake stand in a soft pink color.

I stamped and embossed the cake sparkler and sentiment on acetate so that I could layer the bitty bits across the cake. I've recently been using heat-safe acetate that works wonders when embossed, and doesn't melt or buckle at all. I absolutely love how it gives a look of floating, and allows me to add delicate details to any card.

For all the little flower clusters, I loosely watercolored each one, using the same Distress Ink colors as I used for the frame.

At the bottom of the card, I added some patterns - some dotted pink paper and a pretty yellow pattern.

Along the side of the frame, I sprinkled on some buttons, fussy cut butterflies from Pink Paislee's Turn the Page collection, heart border from the PTI's Confetti Garlands, and oodles of sequins, liquid pearls and star stamps.

As busy as this card is, it sort of makes me really happy!

I'm so thankful for your visits and sweet notes. Wishing you all a wonderful week :)

Ivana

p.s. Friends - I'm trying out a NEW supplies list that will be featured at the end of each post. I hope it will make shopping a little easier and allow you to quickly see products I've used on each project. Using this feature will not add any additional costs to your purchase, but it will go a long way in helping me maintain this little blog of mine. Your purchases through any of the AMAZON, BLITSY or SCRAPBOOK.COM links below will help me convert a small portion of your sales towards running this little blog and creating new, exciting content on an on-going basis. So if you like what you see here and you enjoy visiting my creative space, please consider using these links when you shop.

Also please note, although I do make a small commission on the sale of some products I feature, all products used on this blog and opinions shared are my own and are not influenced in any way.
I simply love to share the goodies that make crafting fun for me, in hopes that they'll do the same for you! :)

I want to extend a HUGE thank you to anyone who has already used these links! Your support means the world to me and I cannot express my gratitude enough. Thank you!