AN ACCIDENT AND WORKING WITH VELLUM

I don't know if you've missed me or not. I usually publish blog posts on Sunday and Wednesday. Well, this past week, Sunday went fine. Wednesday not so much.

You see, Monday evening I had quite an adventure. My first (and hopefully only!) ride in an ambulance!

About 6:45, I was descending down to my Creation Station, all excited about listening to Christmas music and doing Christmas-y crafting . . .  Well, let's say I didn't quite make it. My slippers did their job and made me slip. Yes, I fell headfirst down eight steps, finally lying crumpled at the bottom of the stairs on my stomach with my right arm pinned beneath me and one foot still on the bottom step, bumping my head against the wall several times on the way down and a few more times when I landed at the bottom. And I know I made an infernal amount of noise. Not a pretty scene I'm sure.

My husband called 9-1-1, and soon I had four people tending to my needs. Since my neck and back hurt the most, they backboarded me and got me into the ambulance. Once in the ER, they did a CAT scan from the top of my head to my pelvis. Amazingly, NOTHING was broken! But I am really banged up and bruised. I hurt all over. And it seems to be a new episode each day. One ache improves and another pops up to take its place. Then the old ache returns the next day. Every time I brush my hair or scratch my head, I find another tender spot on my skull.

Suffice it to say, I was in no condition to write a blog post when Tuesday evening rolled around. I debated and debated about giving it a try. After all, I had made a commitment to put out two posts a week, Sunday and Wednesday. I hate to slack when a commitment is involved. Feeling guilty and that I'd somehow failed myself, I decided to forego the Wednesday post.

It is now Saturday, and I feel somewhat more human. Somewhat. So, I thought I would try to do a Sunday post in stages. That's where I'm at right now.

Anyway, with all that happening, I have adopted a new personal theme song. 

I will let BJ Thomas do his thing to entertain you with it: 

Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head: 

Well then. Now that my sordid story has been told, on to the real purpose of this post.

As any papercrafter knows, working with vellum can be tricky and frustrating. 

The lovely strip on which my sentiment is stamped is vellum.

One of the biggest problems presented by working with vellum is that of attaching it to something else. In the case of this card, I simply cut the strip about an inch longer than I needed. I crisply folded the extra 1/2" on either side to the back of my embossed cardstock, taping each end on the back of the piece. It is incredibly easy to do and gives a beautifully finished look.

The other problem you are almost sure to encounter is that, instead of soaking into the vellum like it does on more traditional papers, ink tends to simply ride on the top of the surface, never truly drying. Give it a try. Stamp something on vellum. Wait as long as you want, until you are so sure it MUST be dry. Swipe your finger across the stamping, and I can guarantee that it will smear. 

The way to alleviate this lack of drying and remove the possibility of smearing is to sprinkle the surface with clear embossing powder and heat emboss it. Simple to do. And it looks wonderful.

If you choose to go this route, always remember to rub your Embossing Buddy over the surface of the vellum before stamping. Otherwise, it is difficult to remove stray embossing powder before heating.

In the photo below, you can see the slight shine of the embossing on the letters.

I love the embossed poinsettias on the backdrop for this highly detailed ornament. I'd thought about adding a bow of hanger of some sort to the ornament, but felt it detracted from the overall effect too much.

Now, with two more tricks up your sleeve, 

you are ready to go out and tackle the lovely world of vellum! 

I haven't been downstairs to create since last Sunday. And I'm feeling so sorry for myself. When I'm awake, I have been trying to keep myself busy with sewing on components of an old Stampin' Up! Christmas card kit, fussy cutting images I'd prepared long ago, and putting together a new stamp set I got in the mail today. I hope I don't run out of these projects before I can get back to my regular crafting. All my unfinished Christmas projects are waiting for me downstairs. Woe is me.

Have you been busy with papercrafting projects for Christmas? What have you been working on?

Fallen

Smiles.