This was for Daedalist’s birthday, which is today
It took around 2 hours to make, including the interior (torn white linen paper, edged in raisin, shadow block in 2nd impression tea dye, ‘Happy Birthday’ in raisin, pocket watch stamped randomly around the edges. Given I am still learning how to use my embossing machine as well as experimenting with the steampunk style, I am very happy with the results.
If you want to find out how I did it, and see the envelope, read on . . .
The card:
The airship image is from a sheet of steampunk clip art images. I stained it with antique linen distress ink, then fussy cut it out. It has been layered on a piece of glossy card stock that I have treated in what I call my batik style. This is when I stamp something on gloss card in white (alabaster) chalk ink). When it is dry, I then rub chalk ink in another colour over the top. In this case it was my honeycomb stamp and I rubbed bisque chalk over the top, and then edged the card in Adirondack raisin ink.
This was mounted on a scrap of marbled burgundy paper, which was layered on a piece of Core’dinations Tim Holtz Ranger card stock (they have a different coloured core to the outside) which has been embossed with my steampunk cogs embossing folder, sanded to reveal the core, and then stained in parts with tea dye distress ink. This was layered on to a piece of paper covered in vintage clocks and pocket watches, which was also edged in raisin ink.
The base card has had the cogs from the Artful Muse embossing folder set embossed in two diagonally opposite corners. This was then rubbed with tea dye ink using Stamp in Style’s Stylish Sponging Blocks (I can’t live without these things, I have about a dozen for different ink pads). I stamped Italian poetry in the bottom right corner, ‘Creare’ (latin for ‘to create’) in the top left both in tea dye, and ‘imagine’ in the lower centre in raisin. The edges of the whole card were sponged with tea dye using the sponging block.
The envelope
Tattered flowers (as seen in the last post) dye cut on ledger paper and vintage ruler paper and with a champagne coloured gem stuck in the centre. Artful Muse cogs embossed in each of the lower corners and sponged with tea dye. Pocket watch stamped in raisin down the left hand side. Edges of the card swiped with the stylish sponging block in tea dye.
Very happy with both parts of the card / envelope set. Hopefully it would not take so long to reproduce something similar, part of the time was thinking how to create what I pictured in my mind and then working out how to make it. And of course it was all to go with the present I got, the Girl Genius Omnibus Vol 1.
Comments /feedback / suggestions? Do the colours work? What could I do differently? What images does the theme steampunk suggest to you?
Hi dude 🙂
That is really cool card, I like the aged look. A steampunk theme would be great for a range of cards.
I have been playing with a wax based guilding cream that you could use on embossed areas like if you want to go metalic on the gears. They have bronze, copper, and a couple of different golds.
You could also etch on copper for a steampunk look, probably too heavy for a card but could be good for a book cover or something. You can get the etchant at electronic shops like J-car and you can use a lot of different stuff as a resist, even just texta ink. You can either use a stamp with a resistant ink, or print out onto this special blue paper they use for circuit boards and iron the pattern directly on the copper. If you use texta you can just draw a design straight on.
Coke cans are an easy source for a contrasting metal to copper. I have seen a dude online recently who has cut strips out of a drink can and fed it through one of those letter embossing guns with good effect, you could try that on your embossing machine if you want to work with metal.
The linen & tea inks are great. I always think of bronze & copper when I think of steampunk and I think they would fit well with the colours you are already working with (yes I am a metalhead). A cream like Rub n Buff might be easier to control than a metalic ink when you have already embossed the pattern as you can slowly rub it on with a finger and it won’t just blob everywhere. Sanding off the embossed area is a cool idea, I have not heard of that before.
Anyhoo…
Keep up the good work and have a great week 🙂
Hey Andy,
thanks for the feedback. I have read about the etching stuff in a few of my crafting magazines but never tried it. If you are experimenting with it atm then maybe I should see what you are up to some time. And yeah, soft drink cans are often suggested as a source to work on.
I have some Rub n Buff and Treasure Gold rub ons, pewter and antique gold I think, and some metallic rub ons in a range of colours. I don’t use them a lot, but had already put them aside for when I work with medium other than paper. I have found it doesn’t spread so well on paper if it is too absorbant.
And sanding surfaces is very popular. You can use a sanding block, some craft companies put out easy to use hand held ones, or even an emery board will work. I do edges for an aged look too, when I’m not tearing them for a ragged finish.
Once I feel a bit more confident with the theme I want to move onto a canvas, or perhaps even an altered book, so some of those suggestions are really good. And I would love to see what you are working on 🙂
oh – forgot to say the really nice thing about those distress inks, other than the wide range of colours, is that they are designed to wick. If you apply them then wet the ink, they will run and streak and create all kinds of nifty effects.
Not necessarily what you want on paper, but I sometimes prep cardstock by crumpling it up, then sanding the creases, then applying the ink the spritzing with a water spray. Makes great aged effects.
The gears on the envelope are a great effect – you should do more steampunk cards using that.
The gears are embossed, so they are actually a raised texture. I sponged them with ink so they stand out more visually.