Hey friends!
I'm back again, with a couple more cards to share with you featuring the new Masking Stencil sets from Laurie Willison and Taylored Expressions!
Today, I thought I'd show you how you can use them in conjunction with these great new things called EMBOSSING FOLDERS!! Have you ever heard of them??? They're amazing! Taylored Expressions sent me one to work with a few months back (Dotted Lattice) and I fell in love, and now I'm thrilled to say that I've got a few more to use and man, are they fun! They impress a pattern deep into your card stock to create soooo much texture!! You should totally try them! LOL!
Ok, ok, I'm kidding, of course! Yes, I know that I'm like the last person on the planet to use and fall in love with embossing folders! BUT, smarty pants, did you know that they work really well with the new Masking Stencils??? Let me show you! :)
First thing you want to do is use your embossing folder either on the card front or on the piece of card stock you're going to put on the front of your card. In this case, I used the ikat embossing folder and I think it creates the most delicious warm and cozy vibe on a winter card....almost like a great cable knit sweater!
Next up, you're gonna want to place a Masking Stencil on top - in this case, I used the large rectangle - and add your color with your blending brush or other ink blending tool. Remember that these new Masking Stencils have guide lines all around the edges, so you can easily line them up with the edges of your card, to get that rectangle perfectly in the center.
PRO TIP: Be sure to change the direction of your blending motion from time to time! If you only blend in one direction, you're going to have most of your ink on one side of all the embossed edges. To get them all evenly inky, change up your blending motion!
I used the Simply Stamped-Pinecones stamps and dies to create the pinecones, and then stamped and fussy cut the greenery.
Lastly, I topped everything with a few rhinestones from my stash, to add the feel of little red berries.
{Merry Christmas supplies -- click on thumbnails}

Next up, I started out with the Lots of Dots embossing folder on my white card stock panel.
Then, I used the large square Masking Stencil and the lighter color of ink -- Confetti Cake -- and stenciled on a large square.
THEN, I used the small square Masking Stencil on top of the light blue square I'd just added, this time with a darker ink - Blue Raspberry!
PRO TIP: By starting with a lighter color topped with a darker, complimentary color, you can layer the stencils one on top of the other and create the look of a framed square (or a framed circle, etc. You get the idea!)! This would be so fun with, say, a green and blue or a pink and red....even an orange and yellow. You just want to make sure you choose two colors that work well when layered one on top of the other. Otherwise, your center square color will get kind of muddy looking.
Next up, more of the same with the pinecones, but this time, I topped it with a pretty flower from the Layer It - Rustic Floral dies, like I did in yesterday's cards. Lastly, I stamped one of the sentiments from Simply Stamped-Pinecone on a separate piece of white card stock, and notched out a little flag with my paper snips. I added that to the bottom of the "frame", for a fun twist on sentiment placement!
{With Thanks supplies}

All righty, friends, don't forget there's lots more for you on the Taylored Expressions blog, including a list of all the other gals participating in today's showcase! Hope you'll pay them each a visit!
I'll be back tomorrow to share one more fun way I've used these new stencils! Hope you'll join me!
xo,
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