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A very warm welcome to my teeny, tiny part of the huge world of blogging. This is where I share my passion for making hand made greeting cards. So - why "Always with a Heart"? Well this is for two reasons. Firstly, it is because every card I produce carries a heart on it somewhere. This can be big and bold or small and almost hidden - the fun sometimes is just trying to find it! Secondly it is because I put my heart into everything I produce. I hope that any visitors enjoy seeing what I post. If you drop by then please leave me a comment so that I know you called. It would be nice to know that you have found my heart in what I do.

Monday 12 December 2011

HAPPY HANDY HIPPO DAY - WEEK 15

Good morning everyone

Another week has come and gone .. .. where are these days and weeks whizzzing off to?!?!?

December always seems to be a month of trying to cram far too much in .. .. which I think is why January seems such a relaxed time .. .. prompting us to make all of those rash promises known as "New Year Resolutions".   I think I am going to give them a miss next year LOL!!!

I steered away from the Christmas images again this week for my Handy Hippo project because I simply "had" to use this lovely cling stamp.  This is going to be so useful for wedding anniversaries and wedding day makes .. .. but will also come into its own for "sending love on your birthday" cards, "sending lots of love to make you feel better soon" and of course those lovely soppy valentine projects that are only just around the corner.

I didn't actually put a sentiment on the front of this one as I thought I would then be able to use it for any of the above .. .. .. either by adding a sentiment later to the front or by simply letting my insert do all the talking!!







Below you can find the Handy Hippo magic button .. .. and if you click on it you can see all the lovely goodies I used to make this little creation. Everything I have used has been automatically added to a shopping basket and as always you can remove anything you do not need (or add anything else you can't resist).


I love the papers in this paper stack - such gorgeous colours.
This week you might have noticed that I have done a bit of silver embossing around the edge of my paper ... .. .. although the light isn't catching it too well for you to see the full effect.
I find this quite a therapeutic technique.  There is just something about watching the embossing powder turn to its finished shiny state that I love.
This is how I do mine .. .. ..

First of all I gently rub around the edge of
my paper or card with my Versamark Ink Pad
(which is like a clear glue pad and is brilliant for
embossing or creating a watermark effect
on your card if left to just dry)

Here you can "just about" see the ink
on the edges of my paper

Next sprinkle embossing powder over
the Versamark ink .. .. the powder sticks to the
ink.  If you feel the embossing is going to be a little
too heavy for your liking then you can simply brush
away any excess at this stage with a dry paint brush.

Next you emboss with your heat gun - but remember
the embossing will be hot for a short while .. .. ..
this is my favourite stage.  I love watching the powder
change (it doesn't take much to amuse me LOL!!)

Then here it is all finished.
If you have found that your card or paper is no
longer flat then simply heat from the opposite side
to straighten everything out again.
I usually emboss from the top and even everything
out by then heating from underneath.

If you feel the finished result isn't as
embossed as you would like it to be
then you can keep repeating the steps above until
you get your desired look.

So a big week of preparing for Christmas here in The House of Hearts.  There is still quite a bit to do before the magic day .. .. and I am determined to get ahead of the game this year. 

I hope all you want to do is going to plan.

Have a great week and I will see you next Monday.

Don't forget that Handy Hippo have started to do Promarkers in single colours now .. .. and at a brilliant price.  You can find them all here.

Love



and all the lovely friendly people at Handy Hippo

27 comments:

M said...

Ahh Jules I'm so glad I visited this post.. I have been wondering how to get my heat embossed projects flat! I made a lovely card... but it's all wonky! I'll go back to it and emboss from the bottom...excellent! Thank you! M x

M said...

p.s. i love watching it change too, never gets old!

Juls said...

so so gorgeous!! Loving thosr funky hearts! Hugs Juls

pinky said...

Its gorgeous Jules, love the colour combination and must have a go at that embossed edging, haven't used that in ages:)

Beryl K said...

Beautiful card Jules, love the embossed edges
Beryl x

Paper Hearts Handmade Cards said...

gorgeous Jules a very versatile stamp indeed K x

Louise said...

Love that silver edging Jules will have to try this and such a pretty card.
Hugs louise xx

Di said...

Oooer, I love this to pieces - no pun intended :) And, I found the heart(s) straight away too. Grin!! Love, Di xx

Debs M said...

fabby card x

Sarn said...

SUPER card and I love the embossed edge. Very nice. Love the hearts image too x

vickisunshine said...

Gorgeous card Jules. Love the colour combo and image. Great for lots of occasions! No problem spotting the 'heart' on this one!!-lol.
Hugs
Vicki x

Marie-Louise said...

Fabulous card. Love the embossed edges.

Doreen said...

This is gorgeous Jules,love the heart stamp and your colours.Thanks for the tutorial on the silver edging.xxx

G Peplow said...

OOh Look gorgeous hearts and spotty paper, yum yum:0) Love your cards Jules, Gay xxx

Gillian R said...

Lovely card Jules, it is great to see some non christmas cards and bright colours.

Sue B said...

Wow this is gorgeous Jules! Love the image and how you've paper pieced two of the hearts - looks fab! Beautiful papers and bellies and love the silver embossing around the edge. It's a real stunner!
Have a good week!
Hugs Sue xx

Anonymous said...

Fabulous Jules, love the colours and thanks for the great tutorial, must give that a go!
Helen x

Sally said...

A beautiful creation Jules. Love those papers & the way you've paper pieced the stamped hearts looks great. Thanx for the little tut & the tip on getting the paper/card to go flat again. All is good with me today 'cos I had a visit from my daughter Janis & little Kai, love 'im. Thanx for asking.
Sally x

♥Gemma♥ said...

Wow Jules...its gorgeous hunni, love the way you have paper pieced the hearts & great embossed edges too!
hugs and xxx
Gemma

Wendy said...

Gorgeous card Jules, love the silver edging.
Wendy xx

Misty's said...

Hi Jules
Amazing card! Love the colours, the stamp and also the embossed edge which I would never think of myself. That's a really great idea! Thank you for that.
Michaela xx

Unknown said...

Wow Jules this is gorgeous, love the colours and the silver embossing on the sides. Thank you for sharing, what a great idea, will definitely keep it in mind to try it out xxx

Irene said...

Beautiful card Jules, and what a fabulous colour combination, the added silver around the card is perfect.

luv
irene
xxxx

Pop's Cards said...

Morning sweetie, this is absolutely gorgeous sweetie, hugs pops x

coops said...

stunning card jules.i love the embossed edges and gorgeous colours and hearts :D

xx coops xx

Anonymous said...

Fabulous colours Jules!I really like the way you've embossed the paper edges - very effective.
xx

Anonymous said...

but wheres the heart? :-p

Just love this, pink and purple are great together!!!!