Have you ever had a time where you envisioned a card design, and you just had to make it so you could move on? That happened to me over the weekend, and this card is the result. I was watching a video of a cardmaker creating a card that featured a bunch of die cuts from a recent product release (not from Stampin’ Up!). In the video, the dies could be combined in a way that created an window-like opening in the middle and she put a diecut greeting there. My brain kicked into overdrive, and I wondered if I could create something similar using the Two-Tone Flora dies. Since those dies aren’t created with a window already, I had to create one. It took me ages to get to sleep that night because I was thinking of different ways to accomplish this. I’ll attempt to describe my process later in this post.
I also wanted to share this card because I wanted to encourage you to think about different ways of combining products that weren’t originally sold together. I absolutely love the bundles from Stampin’ Up!, and I also love combining products in different ways so I can get even more out of the supplies that I have. I used 3 different die sets in this card, and two of them are bundled with stamp sets that I didn’t use. And… the stamp set that I did use has a coordinating die set that I didn’t use on the card. It’s ok – the recipient won’t know that these products weren’t designed to be together, and I had fun experimenting with different dies.
I call this card a “wow” because the steps involved to create it are quite involved, and it requires a lot of time to create the finished result. I know that this is not for everyone. In fact, I typically don’t do something this intricate because I want to create multiples, or I need to get other projects done. It honestly was a treat to splurge on the time investment for this single card, and I do really like how it turned out. But… I can’t spend that amount of time very often because I also need to see projects get done quickly for that satisfaction.
Here are the steps that I did to create this card – please forgive me if it’s unclear, it can be challenging to describe in words what you’ve done:
- Cut 4 pieces of Basic White cardstock – 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″
- Diecut the Two-Tone Flora background die on each
- Do your best to get the die centered in the same way for each of the pieces that you are diecutting
- Remove all of the pieces that are meant to come out (this took me ages)
- Overlay two of the diecuts so the images line up and it looks like a single diecut. Use low-tack tape on the edges to hold them together and prevent them from shifting
- Use low tack tape to hold one of the circles in the Stylish Shapes dies to cut out a window in the two diecuts
- Run through your diecutting machine
- Separate the two pieces of the Two-Tone Flora diecut that now has a window, set one aside
- Do not remove the circle die from the diecut you are continuing to work with
- Lay the diecut with the window over another one, again have the diecut imagery line up. Use the low-tack tape on the edges again to hold the layers together.
- Run through your diecutting machine to create the window in the lower diecut
- Repeat steps 5 & 6 with the last piece of Basic White
- Glue together two diecuts with tiny dots of liquid glue, lining them up when you put them together so that they look like a single, thicker diecut when you’re done.
- Don’t worry if the outside edges don’t line up perfectly, we’ll deal with that in a bit.
- Allow the glue some time to dry before going to the next step
- Add a third diecut to the stack in the same way – you want it to look like it’s one diecut image.
- Again, allow the glue to dry before moving on
- Finally, add the fourth diecut to the stack.
- Cut a frame from a scrap of Basic White using two of the Stylish Shapes circles. The inner circle is the one that you used to create the window in the previous steps. The outer circle is the next largest die. I used low-tack tape to hold them positioned so that it was an even distance between the 2 dies all the way around.
- Cut a piece of Basic White Thick cardstock – 4 1/4″ x 11, and score at 5 1/2″
- Fold on the score and use a bone folder to get a crisp fold
- Trim the outer edges of the stacked diecut so that the edges are evened up, and the corners are squared up
- I definitely needed my guillotine cutter to do this, since it’s multiple layers think a “normal” trimmer won’t be up to the task
- If necessary, you may need to trim a little off the side of bottom of the card base so it’s the same dimensions as the trimmed, stacked diecut
- Using the Stamparatus, put card base in the corner and put the stacked diecut over it. Place the stamp inside the window on the diecut. “Grab” the stamp with the Stamparatus plate and remove the stacked diecut.
- Stamp the greeting on the cardbase with coordinating ink
- Glue the stacked diecut to the cardbase
- Glue the frame around the window of the stacked diecut
- Cut out a bunch of flowers from the Flowers of Home dies in coordinating colors; I think 3 diecuts of each color was enough for my card.
- Place the flowers randomly on the card and experiment with placement until you get a look you like.
- Using small dots of liquid glue, glue the flowers to the diecut layer on the card
- Add Wink of Stella to each of the flowers to give them a bit of sparkle
Whew!!! Now you see why I call this a WOW card. All that diecutting, careful layering and fiddly alignment definitely requires some time and patience. Please offer grace to yourself if you try this out and you don’t get the results you like. The absolute most important thing is that you enjoy your crafting time, and if you’re getting frustrated by something then let it go. Also, you can blame me; perhaps I missed an important step in the process. I hope not, but it’s certainly possible.
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