GUEST ARTIST FEATURE: Susan Wymer

Hello! Wplus9 is one of my favorite stamp manufacturers and I am thrilled to be here guest designing!

For my card today, I wanted to resurrect an older technique: Faux Chalkboard with embossing powder. I learned this a few years ago or more in an Online Card Classes section on embossing powders. However, the chalkboard effect is still trendy and my real inspiration came from a chalkboard my daughter just made for my granddaughter’s first day of school.

I had not had the chance to use the Onward & Upward or Modern Roses stamp sets yet, so my thought was to compose something with those. As a base layer, I die cut some WPlus9 black card stock with the Lattice Frame Die. I love this versatile cover plate die and use it a lot. I then stamped the sentiment from Onward & Upward using Ranger Antiquities Frosted Crystal powder. You will see in the video that this embosses clear; however, it creates a pebbly textured, embossed look.

Once I finished heat embossing, I used a pastel stick in white. You could use craft chalk, regular chalk or even sidewalk chalk to rub over the embossed area. The embossing captures some of the white chalk and sets it on to the paper. 

After I was done with this section, I stamped the flowers and the leaves with Memento Tuxedo Black ink which is a Copic marker safe ink. For the flowers, I started by “mapping out my shadows” with G00. Green is a complement to red meaning that it is opposite red on the color wheel. When the two colors are mixed – or glazed in this case – over one another a muted version of the brighter color is produced. Shadows are really just muted colors so that is why I used GOO in the shadowed areas. The rest of the petals were colored with RV11, RV13 and RV14. 

For the leaves I used R00 for the shadows, G20, YG01, YG11, YG13 and YG17. Once I had finished all my coloring I added some detail with colored pencils and die cut each image using the coordinating Modern Roses Die. 

I then worked on assembling two bouquets – one for each opposite corner. I adhered some pieces flat with Gina K Connect Glue and popped the main flower up with 3M foam tape. I then adhered the panel to a 110 lb Neenah Solar White top folding note card. 

Thanks for stopping by, and please, if you have any questions you can leave them in the comments below.

If you’d like to see more of Susan’s work, you can find her on her social sites below:

Here is a list of the featured Wplus9 supplies used in today’s project(s) along with links to purchase for convenience.

Wplus9 Black Cardstock Shop at: WP9	Wplus9 Lattice Frame Die Shop at: WP9	Modern Roses Shop at: WP9	Modern Roses Die Shop at: WP9
Onward & Upward Shop at: WP9