Faux Tiles

As promised, here is my other Technique class card.... Faux Tiles this time. This technique has been around for ages, but I hadn't done it for a while, so it was time for a revival. I've made my "tiles" on gloss cardstock, so they are shiny like real tiles, but any cardstock will work. I've stamped a background on mine and then brayered over the top, but you can also sponge it. I scored the "tiles" using the scoring blade of my trimmer, and then stamped a background with the gorgeous flourish in the friends 24-7 set in Baja Breeze ink. It's quite faint in the photo but much more obvious in real life. Next I brayered Baja Breeze ink over the top, and the ink doesn't go into the score lines, giving the appearance of tiles. You can accentuate the "grout" with a white gel pen if you like. You can experiment and make your tiles, square, rectangles or diamonds.

I stamped the bird in Close to Cocoa and lightly watercoloured it with ink and a Blender pen. I wanted it to be glossy, so I embossed it with a couple of layers of clear embossing powder.

TIP: When you want to completely cover a piece of cardstock with embossing powder, take a second piece of cardstock exactly the same size as your first. Adhere the 2 layers of cardstock together, but don't apply the adhesive to the entire piece. Leave part of it open, so you can hold it with a pair of tweezers. This gives you something to hold on to while you apply embossing powder and heat it. Then when you are done, stick the open part down. Not only does it make it easier to emboss (without burning your fingers or getting tweezer marks), but the 2 layers make it sturdier too :o)

I embellished the card with some Vintage brads and some wide Baja Breeze Stitched ribbon. I used a strip of Baja Breeze Patterns DSP for the lower part of the card, and stamped my greeting on top. The greeting is also from Friends 24-7, It says "Here for You" but I used a Chocolate Chip marker to just ink the words "for you".



Materials (all Stampin' Up!)
stamps: Friends 24-7
ink: Baja Breeze, Close to Cocoa, Versamark, Sage Shadow
card: Sage Shadow, Close to Cocoa, Glossy White, Whisper White
other: Wide Oval punch, Vintage Brads, Wide Baja Breeze Stitched ribbon, Baja Breeze patterns DSP, Trimmer with scoring Blade, Blender pen, Dimensionals, Clear Embossing Powder