Valentines Cards

Making a Card with the Faux Metal Technique

Valentines cards are so pretty and are probably one of the most personal cards we send.

"Love is a symbol of eternity.
It wipes out all sense of time, destroying all memory of a beginning
and all fear of an end.
~Author Unknown"

Why not take this special occasion to tell someone you love how you feel about them?

I chose the faux metal technique to make some cards for Valentine's Day. It is quick and rather spectacular to make them. And like so many cardmaking techniques, once you know how to make faux metal, it's really easy to do! I like to call it the Super Embossing technique.

Of course, it wouldn't be a Valentines Card unless I used a heart on it, and using the faux metal technique really gives the image a lot of depth and interest. All you need is a stamp and some embossing powder, and a few other bits and pieces.

Something to keep in mind is that the deeper your stamp is cut, the more detail your image will happen to have at the end. The shallower the cut, the more molten the image seems to look.

You Will Need:

• Cardstock, embellishments, pens and other desired decorative elements
  
• Embossing Powder of choice
  
• Clear Versamark inkpad
  
• A rubber or acrylic stamp of choice
  
• Heat gun
  
• Scissors, adhesive
  
• A wooden stick or pencil to hold your image steady while you heat it
  

Here's What to Do:

• First take some cardstock and coat an area a little larger than your stamped image will be in Versamark

  

• Add embossing powder to the Versamarked area, shake off excess powder, then heat the remainder with your heat gun
  

  

• Before the embossing powder is set or dry, quickly add another layer of powder to the cardstock and heat it. (When the embossing powder is not yet set, it acts as an adhesive for the next layer of embossing powder)
  

  

• Before layer 2 is set, add some more embossing powder and heat that layer, making sure your stamp is handy as you will need to be able to get it quickly for the next step
  

  

• Before layer three is set, quickly press your stamp into the hot embossing powder
  

  

• Leave the stamp to cool in the powder for awhile
  

  

• When it is cool, carefully peel the stamp off the embossing powder. There will be no residue left on the stamp and you should have a raised image in the embossing powder
  

  

• TROUBLESHOOTING: If you do not get a deep enough image after adding three layers of embossing powder and pressing the stamp into it, just reheat the embossed image. It will flatten out, and you can add another layer of powder. Then try pressing the stamp into it again
  

Now you can use your completed image to finish making your card.

Here's some more examples of faux metal images I made for different cards. Once I got started, it was hard to stop!

If you try this technique, I hope you will write and let me know! I'd love to see your cards or paper crafting projects!

Do You Have A Favourite Handmade Card to Share?

Have you made a card lately and have fallen in love with it? Do you have a picture of it too? We'd love you to share it!

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