Technique of the Week: Easy Inlay

I got the idea for this technique from Jennifer McGuire's blog. She's always thinking up easier ways to do complicated things, and we like that!

I thought it would be fun to show this technique using Yupo paper and alcohol ink. I wanted to show how you can die-cut Yupo paper with beautiful results.

For this technique I chose a Poppy die 1840 Gentle Leaf Collage, and the Magenta stamp 07.928.I With Sympathy. 

I applied alcohol ink to a piece of Yupo paper, using the same technique shown here. I wanted to show that you can also die cut the Yupo paper, although it can't be torn. For this piece I used some of my favorite new colors of alcohol ink, Amethyst, Limeade, Valencia, and Turquoise.

In planning my design, first I cut the die out of white paper and placed the Yupo paper colored with alcohol inks behind it. It's pretty, but I want the colors of the alcohol ink piece to show up more, and I may need more space for my sentiment.

Clearly my chosen sentiment won't quite fit in

I put the die onto another piece of white cardstock onto my cutting plates and placed the sentiment where I wanted it. I moved the die around until I thought there would be plenty of room for both; then removed the stamp before running the die through with the white cardstock.

I then arranged my die on the Yupo paper. My goal was for the die to cut through the Yupo paper, but for all the pieces to remain in the paper.

I looked carefully at the back of the Yupo paper, with the die still stuck to the other side. It looked like it all cut through.

This is the Yupo paper next to the white die cut cardstock. I'm leaving the pieces in the Yupo paper for now.

I carefully placed the front of the white cut out onto the back of the Yupo paper so that they matched up perfectly.

The white die cut panel lined up with the back of the Yupo paper panel

Working on the back of the white die cut piece that is lined up on the Yupo paper, I adhered scor tape to the entire area of the die cut opening.

The effect of this is that there will be adhesive facing through all of the holes in the front of the die cut opening.

Once the back was completely covered, I flipped it over to the front, and the die is still attached to it.

I poked a sharp tool through all of the holes in the back of the die to ensure that the Yupo paper would release from the die.

As I peeled the die carefully away from the Yupo paper, it revealed that the die cut pieces were still in place, and this is what you want. If any pieces fall out (two of mine did), place them back in their spaces. I pressed the colored Yupo side very firmly.

Since I put adhesive on the back of the white panel that is positioned right behind the Yupo panel, all of the die cut pieces in the Yupo panel stuck to that adhesive. The Yupo pieces only stuck where there was adhesive facing through the die cut.

I carefully peeled the Yupo panel off of the white panel underneath, and the die cut pieces of Yupo paper stayed behind, stuck to the adhesive. If any of them tried to peel up with the Yupo panel, I pressed them down with my sharp tool, so that they all stayed behind, stuck to the scor tape.

The white panel has the Yupo pieces beautifully inlaid into the die cut holes, and I have a beautiful Yupo panel that I can use on another card.

I placed the panel into my MISTI to stamp the sentiment, but first I wanted to stamp it onto a piece of grid paper to ensure that it was perfectly straight. After I did all of this work, I didn't want any mistakes here at the end.

With the first stamping, the sentiment did not stamp all the way. It took a number of stampings to get it all stamped and I found myself wishing I had used the Creative Corners for the MISTI. Sometimes when you stamp close to the edges some stamps do not stamp well there.

I finally got the sentiment right, but can you see in the upper right that I got a little smudge of ink?

I have found that these Mono Sand erasers work very well at removing minor smudges, without damage to the cardstock. We do have these erasers at Art 'n Soul. They are very popular and we have trouble keeping them in stock.

Much better with no smudge

I hope you will give this technique a try! It's much easier to do it than explain it! It really is much easier than trying to individually place each die cut piece by hand.

Magenta Products Used:

(If you are local, please look for products at Art 'n Soul. If you are not local and wish to find Magenta products, you can click on the link in the stamp or product name below each image, or you can visit the Magenta online store here).

07.928.I With Sympathy

Other Products Used:

Poppy die 1840 Gentle Leaf Collage

Tim Holtz Yupo paper (1/2 sheet)

Ranger alcohol ink: 

Amethyst, Limeade, Valencia, and Turquoise

Neenah Solar White cardstock 80# and 110#

So Silk Black cardstock

Versafine Onyx Black ink

Smiling Heart

This is one of my favorite sentiment stamps, and also one of my favorite techniques, stencil stamping. You can see other posts using this technique here, here and here.  This post is on the Magenta blog today.

I covered a piece of watercolor cardstock with Distress inks Picked Raspberry, Wilted Violet and Peacock Feathers. I sprayed the Laces stencil with water mixed with Perfect Pearls powder and placed the wet stencil onto the colored panel.

Once the panel had completely dried, I stamped the sentiment in the center and embossed it with White Diamond embossing powder. I cut a panel from white felted cardstock with the stitched rectangle die from the Die-namics MFT-463 Blueprints  13 die set. I then cut an oval opening using the Die-namics MFT-846 Inside & Outside Stitched Oval die set. I placed the resulting frame onto the stencil stamped panel.

Magenta Products Used:

(If you are local, please look for products at Art 'n Soul. If you are not local and wish to find Magenta products, you can click on the link in the stamp or product name below each image, or you can visit the Magenta online store here).

07.861.K You make my heart Smile

TM220 Laces

Other Products used:

Distress ink: Wilted Violet; Peacock Feathers; Picked Raspberry

Perfect Pearls pearl powder

Versamark ink

JudiKins White Diamond embossing powder

Die-namics MFT846 Inside & Outside Stitched Ovals

Die-namics MFT-463 Blueprints 13 die set

Tim Holtz watercolor cardstock

White felted cardstock

Various sequins

Thinking About Summer

For this card I used one of my favorite Magenta stamps: Clover Silhouette, designed by Magenta DT member Ellie Knol. This post is also on the Magenta Blog today.

On watercolor cardstock I sprinkled some Nuance powder in the general areas that I planned to stamp. I inked the stamp with Memento Gray Flannel ink and spritzed it with water, then stamped it in the areas where the Nuance had been sprinkled. I stamped it twice, spritzing the stamp once more in between stamping. I lightly spritzed some water to activate the rest of the powder on the card. I added some circles with Memento Teal Zeal ink, using a finger dauber and the Bubble Path Duo stencil.

I added the sentiment by stamping onto a strip of vellum with Distress Oxide Broken China ink. I embossed the sentiment with JudiKins Iridescent Sparkle embossing powder. I wrapped the vellum strip around the back of the watercolor panel and taped it down. I also put dots of Ranger Multi Medium Matte adhesive behind the sentiment to stick it down without showing from the front.

Magenta Products Used:

(If you are local, please look for products at Art 'n Soul. If you are not local and wish to find Magenta products, you can click on the link in the stamp or product name below each image, or you can visit the Magenta online store here).

48.011.L Clover Silhouette

07.954.G Think about you often

TM179 Bubble Path Duo

MNU001 Turquoise

MNU007 Raspberry

Other Products used:

Memento ink: Gray Flannel; Teal Zeal

Distress Oxide: Broken China

JudiKins Iridescent Sparkle embossing powder

Die-namics MFT-463 Blueprints 13

So Silk Glamour Green cardstock

various sequins

Awesome Nuance

I love playing with Nuance and stencils. This post is on the Magenta blog today.

For this card, I placed some of the Floral Crest masks on watercolor card stock, sprinkled some Nuance powder, and spritzed with water.

Once the panel had dried, I added some additional circles using Memento ink and the Bubble Path Duo stencils. To better define where the Crests were placed, I drew around and in them with a black Micron 01 pen. At the end, I added the sentiment using Versafine Onyx Black ink. 

I cut the panel out with the largest die in Lawn Fawn's LF768 Small Stitched Rectangle Stackables, and mounted it onto So Silk Fair Blue card stock.

Magenta Products Used:

(If you are local, please look for products at Art 'n Soul. If you are not local and wish to find Magenta products, you can click on the link in the stamp or product name below each image, or you can visit the Magenta online store here).

Crests 02

MC28 Temari Small

TM179 Bubble Path Duo

07.876.F You are Awesome

MNU001 Turquoise

MNU007 Raspberry

MNU013 Royal Blue

Other Products used:

Memento ink: Rosebud

Versafine Black Onyx ink

Micron Black 01 

Lawn Fawn LF768 Small Stitched Rectangle Stackables

So Silk Fair blue card stock