Week 2 Day 2 - Life Stinks Card & Cloud Tutorial

Hello all, I really should be in bed and making some Zzzz's, but I have to "hand in" my week 2 day 2 assignment before I go. Today we learned a lot of neat heat embossing tricks. I love heat embossing and I can't wait to try out all the new techniques. In this card I was able to use the embossed resist technique. I love the outcome of it and I use it quite often in my card making. Oh and please scroll all the way down to check out the quick picture-tutorial I put together showing you how to make the 3D looking clouds in my card.

The green "cloud" is not a cloud nor a speech bubble. I'm sure you can guess what it is. LOL!

This little guy came from a Simon Says Stamp set called Stinkin Cute. I added a white strip on his head to make him look more like a skunk. The faux wooden frame was created using the embossed resist technique and my new Hero Arts's Wood Background stamp from the True Love Collection.

Fluffy Cloud Tutorial

This tutorial shows you how to make 3D looking clouds.

Step 1 - put your background paper into a cloud embossing folder, the one I used is made by Darice called Cloudy Sky.

Step 2 - mix some white opaque paint (here I used Copic's Opaque White paint) with water. I would go with a 1 part paint to 3 parts water ratio. You want the paint to be pretty thin when your first layer

Step 3 - take a dry Q-tip and pick up a small amount of paint and then dab it (in a straight up and down motion) onto the raised cloud areas. You want to keep the Q-tip dry similar to the dry brush painting technique.

Step 4 - after the first layer of paint dries (which only takes several seconds) dab on a second coat, but this time focus on the tops of the clouds where the sun would shine on. Leave the bottom of the clouds somewhat transparent to show the blue from the background paper.  

Helpful hints - remember to use an up and down dabbing motion to create the round texture in the clouds. Do not "paint" with the Q-tip, because that would create a smooth finish and you would lose the 3D effect.

Hope you enjoyed my card and my very first tutorial. I would love to hear comments about my tutorial and please let me know if it's too wordy. I used to be a teacher and I tend to break instructions down to teeny tiny steps. Often times I would go overboard and complicate things rather than simplify them. =P

Before I head to bed, I leave you with my little thought. Often times our lives would stink. We might have to plug our noses and endure some stinging in our eyes. But soon enough the stink will leave and we can enjoy the fresh clean air once again! Have a not-so-stinking day! =) 

To see my other homework assignments from past days please click the following links.

Week 1 Day 1

Week 1 Day 2

Week 1 Day 3

Week 1 Day 4

Week 1 Day 5

Week 2 Day 1

Thanks for visiting,

Cheryl ~