Hello crafty friends! Today, I’m sharing this card that I made for a ScrappyShak Design Team. My challenge was to use Eileen Hull’s Silverware embossing folder. And… as it just happens to be MY BIRTHDAY, I seem to have cake on my mind. I usually (I said usually) eat cake with silverware, so it seemed like a good fit.

I wanted to use the eroded metallic technique that Tim Holtz has been demoing recently. He uses various Distress Paints to color mixed media paper, dries the paint, then applies a thin layer of metallic Distress Paint. After that, water is applied, more in some areas, and the metallic paint is quickly dried. A paper towel is used to soak up the water and wet paint, exposing some of the base colors, giving an eroded metal look.You can find the technique in his YouTube video from 4/22/23.

I didn’t have any Distress Paints (placing my order to ScrappyShak today!), so I thought I’d try it with oxide inks. I applied some Oxide inks randomly to a piece of mixed media paper with a sponge blending tool. I then sealed the inks with Distress Micro Glaze, applied with a sponge blending tool. I wiped off the extra microglaze with a paper towel. I dried it slightly with a heat tool. In hindsight, it might be good to let it air dry for a while. I will try that next time. I think this yielded decent results, using what I had. What I learned was that after I applied the layer of metallic Brushed Pewter Distress Paint it began to dry quicker than I anticipated. It’s a quick process. Once you put the metallic Distress Paint down, you need to quickly add the water (don’t overthink it!), apply a few seconds of heat from a heat tool, then use a paper towel to soak up the wet paint. I know it will work better with the paint, but it worked okay for me with the sealed oxide ink. It might not exactly be the look I expected, but I like it for this card, and I’m glad I took time to experiment with this technique.

After the background was dry, I embossed my panel with the Eileen Hull Silverware embossing folder.

The sentiment for the card is from the Bold Text Halloweeen Thinlit dies – “I’m here for the candy”, but I replaced “candy” with “cake”, I have in the past found the letters that I needed to change the wording within the Bold Text die sets. Recently, I got the Alphanumeric Bold die set, which matches the font for all of the Bold Text sentiment die sets. I don’t believe ScrappyShak has the Bold Text Halloween in stock at the moment, but you can also find great sentiments in Bold Text #1 or Bold Text #2. Or, use a Birthday die or stamped sentiment that you already have. To add some dimension, I cut the letters out of white cardstock, and layered two layers underneath my teal cardstock. The cake is from the Celebrate Colorize Thinlit set. I used scraps to cut out the shapes, and used Bearly Arts glue with the precision tip to assemble the cake. Not quite as delicious as using frosting to assemble a cake, but easier to mail.

I hope you enjoyed this card. I had a bit of trouble with the lighting for the photography, as it’s been pouring and/or overcast for days here in Northern Virginia. Thank you for stopping by my blog, I appreciate you!

Products used, available at ScrappyShak:
Sizzix Eileen Hull Silverware 3-D Textured Impressions Embossing Folder
Sizzix Tim Holtz Celebrate Colorize Thinlits
Sizzix Tim Holtz Thinlits Bold Text #1 or Bold Text #2 (option)
Ranger Distress Oxide Ink Pad – Salvaged Patina, Uncharted Mariner, Peeled Paint
Ranger Distress Paint – Brushed Pewter
Ranger Distress Micro Glaze
Bearly Arts Glue with precision tip

Also used:
Sizzix Tim Holtz Thinlits Bold Text Halloween
Sizzix Tim Holtz Thinlits Alphanumeric Bold