Pssst... I've got a secret!

It's me - Bev Grey. Tomorrow I'm going to be the guest blogger on the Creating Keepsakes' blog. I can't wait to share the project with all of you! But today I'm going to share a technique that didn't make it on the final project.

Guest blogging was harder than I thought it would be. I followed a CK sketch to create the background. I printed all my photos and matted them. I had the title figured out and created some accents to make it really pop. I took pictures of each step and wrote up instructions. Then my daughter came home. I had used some fuchsia ink to make the accents. My daughter used to love pink. Now she prefers purple. Since the layout was completely about her, I decided to change up the project. Although you won't see fushcia embellishments on the finished project, here are the instructions for making pink faux letterpress accents. (By the way, my daughter was just reading the draft of this blog post and pointed out you could make purple accents instead. I told her that she could write up her own blog post and use purple for her project. She put on headphones and turned up the music. What's not to love about the teen years?)

1. I wanted the accents to have some dimension and be a little girly. So I got out a modern, floral embossing folder and my Cuttlebug. I also put down a craft mat. (I've been known to occasionally drop an ink pad and I wanted to protect my work surface.)
    
   
2. Now I'm sure many of you regularly emboss paper but I wanted these accents to be a little more dimensional. I decided to emboss some Technique Tiles. Technique Tiles are like chipboard in that they are thin (about 1/16th of an inch thick) and they are light-weight. But unlike chipboard, Technique Tiles are white. You can easily add color by dragging an ink pad around the edges or across the entire tile. Or you can stamp words or an image on the Technique Tiles. (Guess what else? Technique Tiles are on sale!)
    
   
3. For this project, I inked up my folder with the fuschia ink pad. Then I placed the Technique Tile into the folder and rolled it through the machine. When I opened up the folder, I totally loved the faux-letter press Technique Tile accent.
    
   
4. When I was done making accents, I used a wet wipe to clean up the folder. Here is one of the finished Technique Tile accents. (I'm going to be sending someone a card with this lovely pink accent soon!)
    
   
   

Now before all you embossing machine owners race out and start making Technique Tile accents, I have some tips for you:

• The sandwich that I used was an A plate, B plate, the closed folder with the Technique Tile nestled inside, and then another B plate. That seems to work well on my home Cuttlebug.
  
  However, the Cuttlebug at the Technique Tuesday offices doesn't like that sandwich. When I am at the office, I use an A plate, B plate, the folder with the Technique Tile laying on top of the open folder, and finally a C plate. (Yes... you will get some ink on your C plate but a wet wipe will take it right off.)
  
  My advice is to do a search for the sandwiches that are recommended for the machine you own and then experiment with your specific machine. When you roll your sandwich through the machine it should take some effort but it should not feel like you are forcing the sandwich into the machine. If you do force it, you can break your plates or damage your machine. And sometimes when you force it through the machine, the handle kicks back as the folder exits the machine. If the handle hits you, it really hurts. (Yes... I did it and it wasn't fun so just don't go there!)


• I used chalk ink for this project. I really prefer chalk ink when I'm working with Technique Tiles. The brand doesn't seem to matter. As long as it's chalk ink, it looks great on the Technique Tiles. You can learn more about adding color to Technique Tile accents in this tutorial on our website.
  
  


• If you'd like to see a variation on this faux letter press technique that's not as messy, check out Teri's video tutorial.
  
  

I hope you enjoyed this faux letterpress tutorial. And I hope you'll check out my guest blog post on the Creating Keepsakes blog tomorrow! We're going to be giving away some of the new stamp sets and Story Cards. Plus you'll want to check back here too for even more giveaways and sneak peeks. Come join us!

Comments

[Tanis]

Hooray! I love this.
I think I might have to go get my Cuttlebug stuff out tonight!
Thanks for the inspiration :)

[Nancy Peterson]

I love this look and can't wait to do it. Thanks so much! And, yeah, aren't those teen years sweet!!?

[Kathi R]

Fabulous! I haven't tried the letterpress technique, but I have embossed the tiles and smooshed ink across them. Yes. Smooshed. It's a technical term.

I do love that pink tile though.

[Joyce]

What a fun technique, I would love to know the vagabond sandwich, will have to play a bit to try it out!
Happy Friday the 13th! Today must be your lucky day with that awesome secret!

[Anita J]

Love this technique ... very interesting & beautiful. Thanks for sharing and inspiring me to try something new!

[Berni]

Great technique with amazing results. TFS

[Renee]

What a great idea--I can't wait to try this! Thank you for the inspiration (again).

[Cherri Simon]

Cool idea. Definitely going to use this one!

[Dee]

What a beautiful accent! I love this technique! Thanks for the inspiration.......I need that embossing folder.....love it