It is time for another Technique Squad Blog Hop. Today, we are featuring a technique called Black Ice. This was a new technique for me and I was surprised at how easy it was to learn. This technique has several steps and requires the use of a heat tool. It adds a whole new dimension to your card design. It can be done with any color of foil. Best of all, each card will be unique.

To make this card, I used the following materials:

Mint Macaron Card Stock - 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4"

Balmy Blue Card Stock - 4" x 5 1/4" 

Specialty Silver Foil - 3 1/2" x 4"

Basic White Card Stock - 3/4" x 3 1/2"

Basic White Card Stock - 4" x 5 1/4" (inside of card)

1.    The first step to create this card is to stamp your images onto the foil using StazOn Ink. Once you have stamped your image(s), use your Heat Tool to dry the ink. It is very               important that your ink is completely dry before you move to step 2.

2.    Next, you will open the StazOn Ink pad and gently swipe it across the silver foil. I found it best to adhere foil to a piece of scrap paper and start swiping on the scrap paper onto        the foil. This ensured I caught the edges of the foil. In addition, the swiping motion must be completed as one fluid swipe. Do not stop and start again or you will end up with a            line of ink. Repeat this until you have swiped across the entire piece of foil. A light touch is all that is needed. If you press down to hard, you will cover your stamped image(s).            Once you have completed swiping, use your Heat Tool to ensure the ink is completely dry. The ink must be dry before moving to the third step.

3.    Next, repeat the swiping motion using your VersaMark ink pad. The process is the same as with the previous step, but you want to make sure that you have covered the entire            piece of foil.

4.    Next, sprinkle this layer with Clear Embossing powder.

5.    Use your heat tool to melt the clear embossing powder. Heat until all the powder has melted. You may have some patches that appear grainy. As long as the powder is                   melted, do not worry about it. This graininess adds to the black ice look.

6.    I decided to add some color to my card by using my Dark Mint Macaron and Dark Balmy Blue Blend pens. This step is optional, but I thought it added some depth to this layer.

7.    I used Balmy Blue Ink to stamp my sentiment onto the small piece of Basic White Card Stock. You may also stamp an additional sentiment on the inside layer of Basic White            card stock if desired.

8.    Adhere the large piece of Basic White card stock to the inside of the card base.

9.    Adhere the layer of Balmy Blue card stock to the front of the card base.

10.  Adhere the foil to the layer of Balmy Blue card stock. Place it on this layer so that the Basic White sentiment layer can be added and you have even spacing around the these            two pieces of card stock.

Here are a few other cards I made using the Black Ice technique:

I also took a few small squares of blue, silver, copper, and gold foil so you could see how you could use different colors of foil for this technique as well. The foil and clear embossing make photos challenging because they tend to catch a lot of glare, however, I think you can see that using different colors of foil will make beautiful cards.

I hope that I have inspired you to try the Black Ice Technique. If you would like to see a video tutorial, click here.

Be sure to hop over to the other demonstrator participants in this blog hop. They have some amazing creations. Click on the next button to move to the next blog.

Here is a list of the other participants in this Blog Hop, click on their name to move to their blog.

JoAnn Pollock

Carole Garrison (here)

Amy Rudd

Here is a list of the products used to make this card:

Product List

Nature's Prints Cling Stamp Set (English) [158793]	Mint Macaron 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [138337]	Balmy Blue 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [146982]	Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [159276]
Silver Foil 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Pack [163096]	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708]	Versamark Pad [102283]	Basics Embossing Powders [155554]
Mint Macaron Stampin' Blends Combo Pack [154889]	Balmy Blue Stampin' Blends Combo Pack [148544]	Heat Tool (Us And Canada) [129053]

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