Embossing with Acrylic Paint Tutorial and European Trip - Brian Haw and Prince Albert Memorial and Hall

Hello, Friends! I'm sorry I haven't posted anything for the past 3 days. I've been having difficulties getting into the crafting groove. Normally, I'm gearing to get started but the past few days, instead of crafting, I've been doing other things.

If you've been reading my blog for a while now. . .one of my goals is to become healthier through exercise and eating a healthier diet. . .basically, a life style change. I've been very good with the exercise. . .which surprises me. If you were to ask me to workout a few months ago, I'd probably avoid you! LOL! I've actually come to enjoy it! AMAZING!!! I'm not doing as well with the healthy diet but I am reducing my intake of fatty food. I'd like to be better at it but I guess it's one step at a time. Eventually, everything will fall into place. I just need to be patient.

How are you all doing with your New Year resolutions? I read that the 3rd week of January is a period when most people start to feel a little depressed because around this period, many start to break their resolutions and begin to feel a bit defeated. Well, where crafting is concerned, I think I've hit a low. . .:) I've already broken a few crafting resolutions mainly because I've been sick the past 2 weeks. I think I need to give myself another chance at it now that I'm over my cold.

Well, I do have a tutorial for you today! Yay! I'm hoping with time I'll improve on my tutorials. I don't follow any notes as I create the tutorials, so I'm basically winging it which is obvious sometimes when I lose track of what I'm talking about! LOL!

Today's tutorial is focused on creating an embossed background using an embossing folder, acrylic paint, and embossing powder to give the appearance of a textured faux plastic. It's sort of artsy-fartsy but I think it's a fun way to jazz things up a bit. I have a confession to make. . .the reason I created this tutorial is because I have I think every color of the Making Memories Acrylic Paints. I stumbled upon a sale at my local LSS where the Making Memories Acrylic Paints were on sale for 50% and I think I bought every color they carried. Ugggh! Unfortunately, when I got home, well. . .like anything I buy, they ended up in a container never to be used until now! LOL! I know. . .I have to admit, it's quite sad.


Anyway. . .to view the tutorial, scroll down and check out my YouTube video. With the first card above, I decided to keep the card simple because I wanted the embossed card stock to be the focal point. With this card, I cut the embossed card stock using my Sizzix die to create the layered flower.

Here's another angle of the card to show the 3D appearance of the layered flower with the embossing. I added Scribbles Iridescent Paint to create the dots at the bottom of the card.

Here's another view of the flower. . .do you see the rich texture and shine to the flower? I love it. I provide more details about the card on the video. Check it out when you have a chance. Hey, if you could give me an honest opinion of my videos, I would really appreciate it. I don't mind productive criticism. . .honestly, it's the only way I'll improve in creating these tutorials. If you like them, fabulous. . .if I need improvement, let me know. . .:)

Card Details:

1st card: Stamps: Unity Stamps December KOM
Paper: SU Melon Mambo, Pretty in Pink, Sage Shadow, GCD designer paper
Ink: Making Memories Acrylic Paint, SU Melon Mambo, Scribbles Iridescent Paint
Accessories: Clear embossing powder, organdy ribbon, SU Heart to Heart Punch, button, SU Scallop Edge Punch

2nd card: Stamps: CTMH Thing of Beauty
Paper: SU Pink Pirouette, Sage Shadow, K&CO designer paper, GSD designer paper
Ink: Making Memories Acrylic Paint, Black Ink, Scribbles Iridescent Paint
Accessories: Nestabilities, Basic Basic ribbon, Accents Daisy Brad

European Trip - Brian Shaw and Prince Albert Memorial and Hall

England, like in the US, have their share of protesters. I'm not sure if you've heard of Brian Haw, an anti-war protester in England, who has been camped out in front of London Parliament Square since 2001. He first protested against the United States in Afghanistan, then later protested against the Iraq war. I took a picture of his set up in front of Parliament Square. From what I can see, he's now protesting something in regards to Sri Lanka. Because of Brian Haw, there's a new law in England that prohibits protests in front of London Parliament Square but Brian Haw is exempt from this law because he was there before the law was enacted. Boy, he is tenacious isn't he? In the US, they would have probably hauled him out a long time ago. . .I believe we have a law that prohibits camping out on public streets! LOL! I took this picture because I thought it was an interesting shot!

Not a very good picture of us in front of the Prince Albert Memorial or otherwise known as "the Albert Memorial". It was quite early in the morning. One of the benefits of traveling to Europe in the winter is that many of trees are bare so you are able to view many of the monuments and buildings a lot more clearly. During other times of the year, the trees cover many of the views and you would have to walk up close to the different attractions to actually see them. The drawback is mornings come late and evenings come early so you have a tight window to view the attractions during the daylight hours.

The memorial was a dedication to Queen Victoria's husband Prince Albert. For more information on Prince Albert's Memorial: Click Here

We were told by our tour guide that there was another memorial dedicated to Prince Albert but Queen Victoria was not satisfied by it's lack of grandeur and instead, had commissioned a new memorial much more fitting for the Prince. The new memorial is the one pictured above.

Across the street is the Royal Albert Hall; again, another dedication to Prince Albert. They have summer concerts held there each year. It's a beautiful building. Hey, do you see the snow? Boy, I have a story to tell about this snow. . .:) We were told that the snow was a surprise to many of those in England. It started to snow the day we arrived in London. Snow don't usually arrive this early; typically, snow comes in late January and early February. Actually, we were told that this winter was one the harshest winters in England in the past 10 years. Wow, lucky for us to be there when this occurred. Honestly, I loved the snow. I live in sunny Southern California where there's no snow so this was actually a fun experience for me. Unfortunately, it did cause us a HUGE problem. I'll tell you what happened when I discuss our trip through Belgium and the Netherlands in a later post.

Okay, that's it for today. Hopefully, I can get my crafting groove back soon! Hope you all have a wonderful Sunday evening!!