Partial Embossing

Today I decided to try the technique shown in this video by "The Frugal Crafter" (Lindsay Weirich).  The card on the left was basically made the way she showed.  The one on the right I ended up cutting the circle out, inking around the edges of it, and putting the surrounding embossed portion up on foam tape. 

Other than that, I made these both basically the same way - with a slight color variation.

Step 1 - Preparation: Cut a piece of card stock just a bit smaller than the card base.  From a large piece of post-it notes, die cut a circle out of it.  Set the circle aside.  The remainder will be used as a mask.  Cut a small circle out of the sticky part of a post-it note to serve as a mask for the moon.  Cut another larger piece of post-it note along the sticky edge to serve as a mask for the landscape (refer to the video).  If you do not have the plastic partial embossing frames (Darice EZ Frames are one), create your own by cutting a circle out of a 5 x 7 piece of chip board.

Step 2 - Shade and stamp the circle as shown in the video (4 step process with first section forming the sky & remaining 3 sections forming snowy hills.  To stamp, use small stamps or portions of larger ones to form the foliage.  Here I used stampscapes stamps, Gina K build-a-wreath stamps, Heartfelt Creations Woodland Wonder set of stamps, and some stamps that came with cardmaking magazines.  

Step 3 - Emboss- remove all masks, and place the piece in your embossing folder (I used "5 x 7 Damask" by Darice.  Center the stamped circle inside the circle of the partial embossing frame, with the frame on the OUTSIDE of the embossing folder.  Tape it to the outside of the embossing folder & run through your machine - adjusting your sandwich as needed (I used chip board & grey & raspberry plates for the Grand Caliber).  NOTE: for the card on the right, I cut out the center using a circle die, then ran it through the embossing folder without need of the partial frame.

Step 4 - Ink - Apply ink using a round sponge applicator or brush - going in a circular motion and using the same colors as you used in your stamped circle - start with lightest colors and move to darker - keeping darker toward the outer edges & leaving a little bit of white around the stamped circle.  I used slightly different variations on the two cards.  Both used Crafters "Midnight" med-dark blue ink.  The card on the left added "Salty Ocean" distress ink.  The one on the right used both of those along with Broken China & Chipped Sapphire distress inks.

Step 5 - Finish your card front - The card on the left was finished with a 1/2" organza ribbon & a tag.  The tag was cut using a die from Spellbinder's Celtic Accents, stenciled and stamped, in the same colors as used elsewhere on the card, using a stamp from the HOTP Small Stamp called "Snowflakes".  For the card on the right, after using the embossed piece to figure placement, I glued down the stamped circle.  After adding a couple different glitter ribbon pieces for a border near the bottom, I cut a piece of dark blue fun foam to the same size as the embossed piece and used it to add dimension as I attached the embossed frame.  I created a tag in a similar way as for the other card, but used Spellbinder's Fancy Tags Two die and a stamp from a HOTP Christmas pack.  This one I added with dark blue fun foam cut with the same die so I once again had added dimension.  I scribbled areas of the snowy focal with a glue pen (Quickie glue - Sakura) and added clear glitter - would have preferred microfine glitter, but all I had was old school large pieces - still looks nice.  I finished both by adding some blue Jewel Dazzles (HOTP).

INSIDE:

For the inside of each I added an embossed strip that had been inked with the same colors as on the front.  A blue sparkle ribbon across the bottom formed the "ground" that the deer stand on.  The deer are stamped & die cut from the Woodsy Critters set (Heartfelt Creations) - stamped with brown dye ink & then colored in with Inktense "Oak" pencil & a water brush.