While we are no longer making active post of Cricut projects on this blog as of 8/1/2013, we invite you to use it for continued die cut inspiration as we will leave the blog up for viewing. Happy Cricuting !

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Valentine Card - I Hope You See


 Hi everyone, Maria here from Stamp, Cut, Create! Today I'm sharing another Valentine I made along with a mini tutorial on using UTEE (Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel). My card was inspired by an Inkadinkado stamp that resembled an eye chart. I don't have the stamp, but instead created the image using Word and then printing it out. The red frame is from the Art Philosophy cartridge and I used the Gypsy to tweek the size, adjusting the height and width so it would just fit around the printed image. I then added some doodling with a white Gelly Roll pen.
The glasses are from the Forever Young cartridge. I wanted them to look like shiny plastic frames, and that's where the UTEE comes in. Like any embossing powder, the first step is use a medium that will make it stick to the surface you are heat embossing. For this, I use Versamark. When I'm covering an entire image, I simply place it directly on the pad and tamp it down to completely coat it with the Versamark.
This is what the piece should look like with a good, wet covering of the Versamark.
The next step is to coat the piece with the UTEE. I store my UTEE along with a plastic spoon in a plastic container with a lid. (Not my original idea, but a good one!) I hold the piece with tweezers over the container and sprinkle the UTEE on it until it's completely covered.
 Then I tap the piece until all the excess UTEE falls off. There will be a small space where the tweezers were, but you can simply dip that corner in the tub and again tap off the excess.
The next step is to use the heat gun to melt the UTEE. I have a ZAP! by American Crafts and so far have been very happy with it. Start applying the heat and in a few seconds you will see the UTEE begin to melt, keep moving the heat source along the entire piece until it is all melted. I use long tweezers for this step, because it does get hot and I've burned my fingers on more than one occasion! Don't keep the heat on too long or the UTEE will turn white.
After the first coat your image will sometimes look bumpy like this. Not to worry though, simply repeat the process of  Versamark, UTEE, then heat and it should come out like this:
Doesn't that look like a plastic eye glass frame? I think so! You can actually continue to add coats of UTEE until the piece is your desired thickness. Another nice thing, if you end up with a blemish on it, you can simply re-apply the heat and melt it out.
Here are the completed glasses with all the layers put together. I  added some bling with Swarovski heat set crystals and adhered it to the card with foam tape.
The heart paper is from SEI's With All My Heart Collection. It's mounted on a slightly larger piece of Hollyhock paper from CTMH. I machine stitched the edges with a silver metallic thread by Sulky. Finally, I added some adhesive rhinestones to the bottom of the card.
Thanks again for stopping by today. I hope you enjoyed the card and the mini tutorial. I also hope you all have a very happy Valentine's Day!
Maria

17 comments:

  1. WOW!!! I love this card, nice job.

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  2. Thanks for the tutorial. I like how you store the UTEE. I love your card, it is so creative and fun! TFS.
    Colleen

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  3. Cute card! Thanks for the UTEE tutorial. I have some but have yet to use it.

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  4. Wow!!! They do look like plastic frames! I love that! Great card!

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  5. Really ingenous how you did the sentiment and the glasses!

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  6. I love, love, love this! Such a clever idea with the glasses.

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  7. Terrific idea - the use of the red letters in the eye chart is perfect. Love the glasses and the UTEE! Thanks for the reminding me to try UTEE - it's a darling card!

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  8. Great idea! Love the eye chart!

    Carol (Carol's Creations)
    http://www.4evercarolscreations.blogspot.com/

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  9. Super cute. I love the glossy glasses!

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  10. I guess glasses are in this year for Valentine's Day! I made a glasses card as well. I love the idea of using the Utee! I'll try to remember that next time! Love it!

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  11. Awesome! Great tips about embossing too! I really like this card.

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  12. I LOVE how you did the glasses. I have a big bottle of the UTEE and never use it. You've inspired me to do so! :)

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  13. Adorable - love the cool glasses just as fun as could be. Great job on the card love the senitment. Thanks for sharing.

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  14. Wonderful card! Thanks for the tutorial on UTEE. I've never used it so I may have to try. Love the luck you had with the white gelly roller. I tossed two of them in the trash and resorted to paintbrush and white acrylic paint on hubby's valentine card!

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  15. Maria this is so dang cute ! And you always add that perfect extra touch to make your projects really sing...love those Utee glasses you made !

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  16. ok this is pretty brilliant! love the UTEEing, and love that sentiment!!!

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