Bold sayings and two techniques: Fun birthday cards

Hi!

Today I wanted to share with you a set of birthday cards I made using the new Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous stamp set 'Bold Sayings' (CMS433).

For the first two cards I used the old embossing diffuser technique in which parts of the embossing folder are left without pressure and the embossing folder pattern is printed only partly. Perfect technique for creating lovely frames for your cards!

My existing Sizzix/Tim Holtz diffuser plates did not have the needed shape nor size for the bold word stamps, so I created my own frame diffuser plate by gluing down three layers of chipboard strips. I checked that the thickness of the frame was quite the same than what the original diffusor plate has. You don't want to make your embossing sandwich too thick!
The center of the frame is measured to match the birthday wishes stamp exactly 😊.

On the first card I also stamped some texture to the background using the new gear stamp from 'Observations' set. The second floral frame card I just inked to reveal the embossed frame pattern.

Once I had finished inking the frame I placed the card on the stamping platform and stamped the text with black Archival.

The second card set is made in 'CAS - clean and simple' style but with more colours:

I placed the stamp and the cardstock on the stamping platform and starting from top I masked and inked one row at a time, using different Distress Oxide colours. I love how bright and vibrant those colours are even on a craft colour cardstock!

While inking I used standard post-it notes for masking the remaining lines.

Once finished I cleaned the ink from the stamp and stamped the text one more time using clear embossing ink. I heat embossed the text with clear embossing powder to create a nice shiny finish on the text.