Experimentation with 3D embossing folders

Hope you are having a good summer ... the weather here on the West Coast has been hot, hot, hot!  We had a heat wave with forest fires in the interior and up a bit more North ... so much smoke in the air even in the city.  It has started to lift, luckily, but the usual gorgeous ocean views are a bit muted even still.

Here are some pictures from a walk along the sea wall last night:

 And here are the views you usually can see:

Crazy, right?  Well, the weather has started to cool and we are supposed to get some rain this week (less than 1 mm but better than nothing!) so things are looking up. 

Ok, on to the crafty part of this post ... :)

I was so excited to use my new Next Level 3D embossing folders and PTI dies... what fun!  The folders are from We R Memory Keepers.   The cool thing is that they emboss on many different levels so they are something fun and new.  

I bought the Gemstone pack because I love hexagons and the other one really intrigued me too.

We R Next Level Embossing Folders 6"X6" 2/Pkg-Gemstone

I made a super simple embossed panel in Gina K orange and added a PTI Tropical Teal Scripted die cut using four layers built up with some Glossy Accents in between.  Sometimes I add some of this adhesive to the top for some shine but I kept this card super simple.  I did pop the panel up with some foam dots onto a piece of Recollections 110lb cream card stock for added dimension.  It was a bit tight in an A2 envelope but still fit just fine!

I found the best way to use these embossing folders with my Big Kick was to leave all the tabs on the multi purpose platform and then just one cutting plate.  If you are not getting quite enough pressure, you can add a piece of card stock or two.  Because of the multiple levels of embossing, two plates is far too much!  You could add an embossing mat if you so desire.  Experimentation is key!  And don't force it - I broke a machine that way a while back ... Lesson learned! *wink*

I will post another card soon with the other embossing folder - it is gorgeous too!!  I have done some experimenting but haven't finished these cards:

But you can see the amazing dimension with these folders - love them!!

Any new purchases you have made lately?  Please share ... we crafty gals are such enablers! Tee hee!!

-----
If you have a moment, check out my gently used item sale here.  I have stamps, ink pads and other things too ...

Happy summer!