Welcome to the May 2021 Technique Squad Blog Hop! I’m excited to be a part of this fun collaboration with fellow Stampin’ Up! Demonstrators. This month’s theme is the Faux Suede Technique. Keep reading to see my project below, then make sure to hop over to the other blogs to check out more great projects featuring the Faux Suede Technique.

Faux Suede Technique
The Faux Suede technique is where you give your cardstock a different look by separating the layers. This is done by using the bone folder to break down the fibers in the cardstock by pulling the cardstock across the bone folder. Pull the cardstock from different sides and angles to really wear out the cardstock. Keep doing this until you are able to separate the “front” layer from the “back” layer. When pulling the layers apart, go slowly. If a spot doesn’t want to tear easily, then run it over the bone folder some more. Tip: test it out on some smaller pieces first to get the idea of how to do it (larger pieces can be tricky to get apart). Once the two layers are separated, the “inside” part that is revealed has a soft, fuzzy texture that gives the look of suede.

Instructions
I made two cards to show that this technique can be done with different colors. For my first card, I took a 5-1/4″ x 1-1/2″ strip of Crumb Cake cardstock and turned it into my faux suede piece. I adhered this piece to the left edge of a 5-1/4″ x 4″ piece of Very Vanilla cardstock. On the right side of this layer, I stamped the flower image and sentiment from the Dragonfly Garden stamp set with Mossy Meadow ink.

Then, I wrapped about 7″ of the Mossy Meadow Braided Linen Trim along the right edge of the Crumb Cake piece. This layer is added to a Misty Moonlight card base using Dimensionals. I punched out a dragonfly from the Dandy Garden Designer Series Paper (DSP) using the Dragonfly Punch (I picked one with blue wings to match the card base, but you could also stamp one of the dragonflies from the stamp set and color as desired). I brushed some Wink of Stella on the wings and added the dragonfly to the card front with a couple of Dimensionals.

For the inside of the card, I stamped the small image on the bottom left corner of a 5-1/4″ x 4″ piece of Very Vanilla cardstock.

I did the same thing for the second card, with only a couple of changes. The card base is Bumblebee cardstock (and matches another dragonfly from the DSP) and the faux suede piece is Calypso Coral cardstock.



This was an interesting technique to try, but it creates a neat texture for the cards. It definitely takes some practice to get the cardstock fibers broken down to be able to pull it apart, but it’s worth the effort!

Here’s a list of all the other demos participating in this hop. Check out all of their posts for more great projects.
May 2021Technique Squad Blog Hop Roll Call
- Nicole Mahler
- JoAnn Pollock
- Vy Tran
- Amy Jo Farkas Rudd
- Mackenzie Grimme (currently here)
- Kristie Strum
- Carole Garrison
Happy making!
Beautifully textured! Your card is so pretty!
Ooo, the Calypso Coral works well for this too. Beautiful
I like these cards. Really shows off the suede and reminds me to use the dragon flies again!
I love the color combinations you chose Mackenzie! I also like how you show the faux suede piece in a bold yet gentle way.