Extreme Quickutz, Part I

How to Put the Bump into your GooseBumpz

by Darlene Johnson Calloway, Guest Diva

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I must admit when I first saw a Quickutz GooseBumpz, I wasn't quite sure what to do with them. But being a Quickutz addict, I had to have them. Now I have had a chance to really play with them, I have come to LOVE my GooseBumpz. I think it is because I love texture in my layouts and they offer an easy way to add the texture I crave.

First off, in case you aren't familiar with Quickutz's GooseBumpz, two thin metal plates are pressed together in the hand tool to create embossed impressions on your cardstock. Currently Quickutz offers fifteen different designs from circles to squares to zigzag and more. You can use these dies to create extra texture on any of your Quickutz die and more. I have found the best results using light weight papers when using these dies. Heavy weight papers, especially ones that already have texture, are difficult to squeeze and you might find your paper buckling or tearing. The light weight papers are easier to emboss and they seems to hold the designs better!

Once you have created your texture, there are a variety of ways to add extra emphasis. In the sample below using the fleur-de-lis die, I have used black chalk on grey paper, paint on black paper, metallic rub-ons on black paper and Brilliance ink on black paper. The Metallic Rub-ons are really fabulous; they give the paper an almost metal look and are easy to apply. You just dab your finger in the little pot and rub it on. The Brillance Pigment Inks especially the copper, gold and platinum inks really make the embossed designs jump out! I just used direct to paper method and applied the ink directly from the stamp pad. Other inks don't seem to provide as smooth ink coverage as the Brillance pigment inks.

You can also create patterns larger than just the 2 inch by 2 inch pattern that appears on the dies. Some of the random pattern dies allow you to just overlap the design. For example on this swimming layout, I simply cutout the matte for the photo and then overlapped with circle design around the entire edge of the matte. On the white matte, I added a little blue chalk to the embossed design to let the design show even more!

And some of the designs have a repeating pattern that allows you to line up your die pattern in the handle. It takes a little practice to get the designs to line up, but here is how you do it. First, to make it easier to line up the patterns, cut a 2 inch strip of paper. Then you will emboss the first design putting the paper all the way into the die. Then you visually line up the pattern about a quarter of an inch in. As you move the paper around you will almost feel the design slip right into place. See the below figure to see how you line up the paper in the die using the diamond die. Then carefully close the die and place into your handle and squeeze. The toughest part is keeping the paper from wiggling once you close your die.

You might have to try it a couple of times but I found great success doing it myself and once you accomplish this you can create much larger pattern pieces and have more flexibility in creating.This method works great for the checkerboard, diamond, fleur-de-lis, Greek key and swirls dies.

You can also use your dies as texturing tools for your clay. I used some cookie cutters I had to cut out letters and butterflies and then I used the swirl pattern to create texture. I added metallic rub-ons to add additional emphasis to the design. Just make sure to use some type of release agent to get the dies to release from the clay.

I think once you start using your GooseBumpz, you too will fall in love! They are really versatile and you may find yourself adding texture to everything in your layouts and more!

P.S. And don't forget you really get two designs from each die. The front and the reversed image!

Stay tuned for the next installment of this series, Extreme Quickutz!