Hello my crafty friends, it’s Raquel Mason here with Pop It Ups Wednesday! With all the snow storms I’ve been hearing about I thought I’d make a cheerful Spring card to warm things up. Let me show you how I made this card.
1. Cut yellow cardstock at 5 x 10 score at 5. Place Garden Bench die on the score line and die cut.
2. Cut stripe paper at 5 x 10 score at 5. Adhere to card base cut from step 1.
3. Die cut the following pieces. See photo below.
Accordion Rectangle – from purple cardstock nest the two rectangle dies to make a frame. Cut white cardstock using the smaller rectangle. Cut purple cardstock using “Hello”.
Outdoor Edges – cut green cardstock at 1.25 x 5 and die cut with grass die. Cut floral paper at 4 x 5. Die cut in the middle using wavy edge to get (2) pieces that measure approximately 2 x 5.
Butterfly Accessories – see butterflies below
All Seasons Tree – see pieces below
Garden Bench – from scrap purple cardstock die cut Garden Bench and cut bench out as shown below. Sponge purple ink onto bench if desired.
4. Adhere purple bench over the yellow bench as shown. Tip: keep card flat when doing this.
5. Adhere die cut pieces to card as shown.
6. Apply Glitter Dots to butterfly antenna, flourish on Garden Bench and floral pattern paper. Apply Border Lines around frame on front of card and along bottom inside of card. Apply Thinking of You peel-off following the wavy die cut shape.
I hope you have enjoyed my tutorial and feel inspired to try it out yourself!
Hello to everyone! It is Els here today with Artist Trading Card (ATC) projects that mix my Jewelry Dies 1 – Sea Glass shapes with dies from our two licensed designers. You’ll find one of Karen Burniston’s Characters, Dutch the Fox, and one of Susan Tierney-Cockburn’s Garden Notes low-relief flowers, the Hydrangea. Well, actually, the background behind the Hydrangea is cardstock that is left after cutting shapes to make the rocks that Dutch is sitting on!
I was inspired by the red fox I see in our back yard in Colorado each day.
Hydrangea ATC:
1. Cut a 2.5″ x 3.5″ rectangle from green cardstock. Cut a second rectangle just a bit smaller from cream-colored cardstock.
2. Die cut Sea Glass shapes from the cream cardstock. Set aside the die cut shapes to use for Dutch the Fox ATC. Lightly ink cardstock with Antique Linen Distress Ink.
3. Glue the die cut cream cardstock, centered, on top of the green cardstock.
4. Die cut and assemble a Garden Notes Hydrangea. For instructions on how two create the Hydrangea, check out Susan’s YouTube video below.
5. Glue Hydrangea to the ATC as shown in the picture of the finished card at the beginning.
Option: Switch to a rose, lily, tulip or other Garden Notes flower.
Dutch the Fox ATC:
1. Cut a 2.5″ x 3.5″ rectangle from black cardstock. Cut a second rectangle just a bit smaller from white cardstock. Ink edges with Pumice Stone Distress Ink. Glue white cardstock, centered, on top of the black cardstock.
2. Use the Pumice Stone Distress Ink, or a mix of colors to add color to die cut Sea Glass shapes. (Use the 9 shapes left from the Hydrangea ATC, or if you are not making that project simply die cut as many Sea Glass shapes as you want for the rocks.) Lightly burnish the back of each rock with a ball stylus to create dimension and realism.
3. Overlap and glue the rocks toward the bottom of the ATC as shown. Tip: Use foam tape to adhere some of the rocks to create even more dimension.
4. Die cut pieces needed for Dutch the Fox; assemble him.
5. Add Dutch to the ATC, using foam tape for dimension behind his tail and upper body and a dab of glue to hold his lower body and feet. (Using glue or tape for his bottom section will anchor him to the rocks so he looks like he’s sitting, not floating.)
I hope you will make a bunch of ATCs to send to your friends! They’re so much fun.
Susan Tierney-Cockburn spent some time in Els’s craft studio in Colorado where they prepared and taped some wonderful YouTube Videos demonstrating all the dies from the Susan’s Garden lines (Garden Notes, Susan’s Garden, and CountryScapes). In the next few weeks, we’ll show you all these amazing videos! Today we would like to start with the Garden Notes – Sunflower. All the flowers are low relief which makes them easy to send by mail if you decide to adhere them on the front of a card. They are also beautiful to decorate a box or a picture frame. We hope you will enjoy this first video!
Stay tuned for more of Susan’s YouTube Videos and learn how to make these beautiful flowers shown in the picture below.
Hello! This is Christine from Dexter, Maine. Boy, has it been cold and snowy here with more snow on the way! I am wanting spring to arrive as I am sure many of you are. I have created this card with Susan’s Garden Notes – Rose 2 die. I have chosen the rose as my first post because I love roses and I really wish they were in bloom in my gardens right now!
Making the card:
1. Cut cardstock to 5-1/2″ x 8-1/2″ then fold in half and ink all edges with distress ink.
2. Take the main die from the Katie Label Accordion die set and cut 1 accordion page from white cardstock. Trim the label from the center flush with the frame and trim off the long tab as shown below.
3. Take two accessory label dies from the same die set and lay them together to cut out a label as shown below. Ink the edges.
4. Cut a piece of Red Metallic Shimmer Sheetz 4″ x 5-1/4″. Emboss with the Heart Strings embossing folder and sand lightly. Attach this piece to the front of the card base using Transparent Double-Sided Adhesive.
5. Stamp the label from step 3 with Winter Spring sentiment in black ink closer to the right side of the label then attach in the center of the card.
6. Attach foam tape to the back of the frame from step 2 and place on card front.
7. Die cut the rose using Garden Notes – Rose 2. Using white Pan Pastel, lightly ink the rose petals and shape the petals, leaves and stems using the toolkit (which will be in stock soon!)
8. Finish by attaching the rose and the red pearls to the card.
I hope this post will inspire you to try these great products from Elizabeth Craft Designs!
Hello, everyone! It’s Judi Kauffman, back as today’s guest designer for the Elizabeth Craft Designs blog. My project: A super simple bracelet that uses the largest Jewelry Dies 1 – Sea Glass shape for the focal elements and a 3/8” wide glittered watch band as the base layer.
Here are some ways to customize the project for your taste and wardrobe:
*Switch to a different color combination for the Shimmer Sheetz and alcohol inks
*Pick another embossing folder or use four different folders
*Use a plain watch band rather than a glittered band
*Substitute ribbon or a piece of colorful elastic instead of the watch band
*Make a belt or choker necklace instead of a bracelet
Instructions –
Layer two 4” x 5” pieces of Black Iridescent Shimmer Sheetz with Transparent Double-Sided Adhesive in between.
Use an ink applicator tool to dapple one or two alcohol inks and one metallic color on one side of the double-layered Shimmer Sheetz. Allow some of the Black Iridescent color to remain visible. Shown: Tim Holtz Alcohol Ink in Clover, Metallic Mixatives in Gold.
Die cut four large Sea Glass shapes from the layered Shimmer Sheetz. TIP: Cut a couple of extras to use for post-back or dangling earrings. (The Jewelry Dies 1 – Sea Glass set includes four shapes in two sizes, small and large. Use the larger size in the set. Refer to project photos.)
REMINDER: You MUST use the Metal Adaptor Plate to die cut Shimmer Sheetz. Place the following inside your machine’s standard cutting plate sandwich in this order – Metal Adaptor Plate, Shimmer Sheetz with ink-altered side FACE UP, die template with cutting side facing DOWN.
Emboss the four shapes with an allover pattern embossing folder. Allow the pattern to occur at random OR control the placement of the pattern by placing the shapes into the folder one at a time to emboss. Note that each of the four shapes has a flower centered on it. Folder shown: Bouquet.
Using a craft knife, straight edge and cutting mat, carefully cut two narrow rectangular slits in each embossed shape as shown above.
TIP: Slits are about half an inch long, 1/16” wide, and are parallel to each other – sized so that the watch band will fit through the openings. Slits are a tight fit so the shapes won’t budge once they’ve been slid into position. Take care not to make the slits bigger than needed!
With the ink-altered side facing up, space the Shimmer Sheetz shapes along the watch band, allowing each shape to curve just slightly for maximum impact. Alternate the orientation of the shapes so they are dancing and slightly askew, rather than having them all face in the same direction. Option: Orient all shapes in the same direction so they match in a more precise manner.
Tim Holtz Alcohol Ink in Clover, Metallic Mixatives in Gold
Ink applicator
Craft knife
Straight edge
Cutting mat
3/8” watch band*
(*Pre-glittered bands can often be found in the bead and jewelry supply aisle of a craft store – this one was pre-glittered, designed to hold slide-on charms.)
Hello my crafty friends! It’s Raquel Mason here today. I like to find multiple uses for my dies and the flower I created on this card is the perfect example of that. Let me show you how to make a multi-dimensional flower using the new Hardware 1 – Hinges dies.
1. Cut kraft cardstock 4 1/4″ x 11″ and score at 5 1/2″. Make two short score lines at 2 3/4″ on the front of the kraft cardstock as shown below. Die cut using the tag die from Tags & More 5 – Sunburst at the score line on the left side of the card front as shown below. Complete the score line after die cutting.
2. Cut a piece of orange cardstock at 4″ x 5 1/4″ and adhere to the inside of the card. Make a small pencil mark at 2 3/4″ and 1 1/4″ from each side. Place one Stand Up Helpers 3 – Hinges on the score line and die cut.* Repeat for the other pencil mark. See photo below.
*Remember – you MUST use the metal adaptor plate when die cutting Shimmer Sheetz. Inside your machine’s standard cutting sandwich place the following in this order: Metal plate, Shimmer Sheetz, die with the cutting side facing DOWN toward the metal plate.
3. Die cut the following pieces as shown below:
From blue cardstock: (1) tag at 2 1/4″ x 4″, (2) corner adornments, (1) strip of small circles at 1/4″ x 4 1/4″
From Peridot Shimmer Sheetz: (2) leaves from Daisy die*
From orange cardstock: (1) circle reinforcement
From Orange Iris Shimmer Sheetz: (6) Hardware 1 – Hinges embossed with Flower Mosaic Embossing Folder*
4. To assemble the flower, bend each Hardware piece in half so the holes line up. Place all Hardware pieces through a brad, poke a hole in the middle of the blue tag, put the brad through the tag and bend the prongs on the reverse side. Adhere the leaves under the flower petals.
5. Adhere the blue tag to the card front. Adhere orange circle reinforcement, thread silver cord through the hole and tie a bow.
6. Adhere corner adornments and blue strip of small circles on the inside of the card.
7. Apply silver Thinking of You Peel-Off above the blue strip of small circles.
8. Apply silver Ribbon Butterfly Peel-Off to the front right side of the card.
I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial and feel inspired to try it out yourself.
Hello everyone, it’s Joset here and I’m exited to show you this little photo booklet that I created using the Tags & More 8 – Lattice die set. This is an easy project but so much fun! I picked the Lattice set as I really like the design but you can create a booklet like this using any of the other Tags & More die sets. I decorated my booklet using some of Elizabeth Craft Designs’ Flower dies. Let me show you how I created this project.
We’re first going to create the 4 pages of our booklet. Each page has a different size so when the booklet is closed, the lattice pattern on each page nicely overlaps.
1. Using the main tag shape die from Tags & More 8 – Lattice, cut one tag from blue patterned paper 6″ long. For information on how to cut a tag using one of the Tags & More dies, watch the video by Els van de Burgt below.
2. Position Lattice decorative overlay die over the tag so the hole in the overlay lines up with the hole in the tag. Run this through your die cutting machine.
3. Using the 4 hole die, cut holes at the bottom of the tag.
4. Cut 4 reinforcements from green cardstock and adhere around the holes from the tag. The picture below shows the finished tag and the dies used to create the tag.
We’re now going to create the rest of the tags that will finally form the 4 pages of your booklet.
5. Cut one basic tag from blue cardstock the same size as the tag cut in step 1. Cut the 4 holes using the 4 hole die.
6. Now cut 6 more tags: 1 tag with lattice pattern 7.5″ long from green patterned paper and 1 basic tag the same size from light green cardstock without lattice pattern. 1 tag with lattice pattern 9″ long from blue patterned paper and 1 basic tag the same size from blue cardstock without pattern. 1 tag with lattice pattern 10.5″ long from green patterned paper and 1 basic tag the same size from light green cardstock without pattern. Cut the 4 holes at the bottom of each tag. In total I cut 8 different tags in 4 different sizes. See photo below.
7. Adhere each tag with lattice pattern on top of matching basic tag. You will now have your 4 pages for your booklet. See photo below.
8. Stack pages and thread ribbon through each of the 4 holes.
And here comes the fun part…decorating your booklet!
9. I decorated the front of my booklet using the new Victorian Flower Set 1 and Victorian Flower Overlay Set 2. Cut solid flowers from Australian Opal Gemstone Shimmer Sheetz. Cut flower overlays from cream cardstock backed with Transparent Double Sided Tape Sheet. Remove release sheet and cover adhesive with Antique Silver Silk Microfine Glitter. Cut 2 flower centers from Green Iridescent Shimmer Sheetz.
Remember – you MUST use the metal adaptor plate when die cutting Shimmer Sheetz. Inside your machine’s standard cutting sandwich place the following in this order: Metal plate, Shimmer Sheetz, die with the cutting side facing DOWN toward the metal plate.
10. Assemble flowers and adhere to front of booklet. Cut 2 Flourish with Flowers from light green cardstock and adhere as shown.
11. Adhere a piece of Australian Opal Gemstone Shimmer Sheetz to a piece of Trandparent Double Sided Tape Sheet the same size. Cut small squares using Lattice decorative overlay die. Place a few squares back in the die cut squares at the top of each tag.
12. Decorate the inside of your booklet as you like. Adhere pieces of cardstock where you can add photos once your booklet is finished. Cut triangle corners using the corner die included in Tags & More 8 – Lattice. Optional: Add gold Glitter Border Peel-offs around cardstock squares. Decorate the pages as shown in the photos above and below, or as you prefer.
The square border on the right is cut using the border die included in Tags & More 8 – Lattice.
Add more corners if you like. Corners above are cut from Australian Opal Gemstone Shimmer Sheetz.
I decorated one of the pages with an embellishment cut with the Flourish with Flowers die (also used on the front cover).
Use Victorian Overlay Set 2 to create a beautiful decorative flower. Cut from cardstock backed with a piece of Transparent Double Sided Tape Sheet. Cover adhesive with Soft Teal Silk Microfine Glitter.
On the last page I created a little pocket for little memories. I cut 2 basic tags using Tags & More 1 – Lace. To create the words “Memories” I used the new Alphabet 1 Caps. Put your cardstock on adhesive first before die cutting as this makes it easier to adhere the letters. TIP: To get the word “Memories” on the right spot, first stick your letters on a piece of leftover backing paper. You can position your paper with the letters just above or below where you want your word. Place the letters one by one in the correct spot.
This was such a fun project to create and I can not wait to start putting some pictures in my little booklet. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and you feel inspired to create a memory booklet too using the versatile Tags & More die sets.
Hi, it’s Karen Burniston with the February Pop it Ups Designer Challenge. Each month I challenge my Designer Challenge team to use Pop it Ups dies for a specific theme. This month I challenged the team and two guest designers as follows: Artsy or Cutesy – Which way will you go? Feel free to do both. Cards should lean very artsy fartsy, with inks and textures and quotes about the soul (or whatever) OR very cutesy, like puppies and kittens and rainbows and sprinkles.
You’ll see a ton of inspiration for both genres today. Many of the team tackled both sides of the challenge, even if it was out of their comfort zone. I took on both sides of the challenge as well and my Artsy card is linked along with the other Artsy cards from the team. For the Cutesy side of the challenge I chose to make a Rectangle Pull Card with Rocky the Crab and I thought it would be fun to have Rocky doffing his cap (lifting his hat) when the card opened. By adding a window to the Rectangle Pull Card I was able to show Rocky in the “closed” position with the hat near his head. Then, when the card opens, the spinner pulls the hat and because I added brads to Rocky’s joints, his claw, arm and body are able to rotate with the spinner to make a really fun motion. Learn how in this video tutorial:
Here are some photos of the finished card. The hearts are from the Rectangle Accordion, the lips are from Props1, and the postage stamp, jewelry tag, arrow and swirlydo are from the Rectangle Pull Card.
Patterned paper is an excellent way to add an interesting background without having any catch points behind Rocky. Notice that the postage stamp is attached far below his range of motion so he can’t get caught up on it when he’s either opening or closing. You definitely want a smooth background for a card like this.
Twine, red brads, transparency, brayer, removable tape
Let’s see what the Designer Challenge Team and our guest designers, Tracy Evans and Sandy Diller, have created for the challenge. For all these projects I highly recommend clicking on the designer’s name to head over to their blog post where you’ll find additional photos and explanation for their techniques. You’ll find some amazing techniques on these blog posts!
ARTSY INSPIRATION
This month I invited Tracy Evans to be a guest designer. I’ve admired Tracy’s work for years and she always has such an interesting way of combining textures and elements. First up is her Tags Pivot Card using the Clock & Gears die. What gorgeous colors!
Kelly Booth also made a Tags Pivot Card in an Artsy style combining a vintage color scheme with a Love You theme. The Heart Pivot Card provided additional accessories for Kelly’s card.
Shelly Hickox is known for her artsy Shellypieces and this Tags Pivot card is no exception. Shelly has combined the perfect stamped images with the Tags and Clock & Gears die to make this masculine card.
Obviously the Tags Pivot Card was calling to a lot of the designers for the Artsy side of the challenge, but they all look so different from each other. Here is a pretty version by Karen Aicken, incorporating the Agatha Edges, Damask embossing folder and script Happy Birthday for an artsy elegant look.
Summer Hills-Painter also used the Tags Pivot Card, but cut the large tag into a folded card to make a double-big-tag pivot card. She used bright bold colors for her background to create an artsy cheerful feel.
Tracy Evans made two great Artsy cards for the challenge. This next one uses the Heart Pivot Card die and once again features Tracy’s signature combination of textures and collage elements. The staples and the wire are fabulous.
Kelly Booth also used the Heart Pivot Card but with a completely different look. Kelly added the Paris Edges in a rainbow of vivid colors. The tight script writing makes a perfect backdrop.
Sandy Diller made two wonderful cards for the challenge including this clever and artsy gatefold double Rectangle Pull Card. Notice her styling of the gear on the spinner inside the card – wings made from the lace butterfly in the Butterfly Pivot Card die set. So clever!
Karen Aicken‘s cards are always so full of sentiment, probably because she always makes them for real people. This masculine card for her son-in-law combines the Happy Birthday pop-up die with the tags from the Tags Pivot Card and edge dies from the Paris edges and Beach edges.
Frances Byrne, I am convinced, has every rubber stamp ever produced! We try to stump her with obscure themes and holidays and she always comes up with the perfect stamps. This is such a beautiful artsy Parisian card featuring the Eiffel Tower die, Paris Edges and Lorna Label.
Fran Sabad made this artsy birthday card using a wonderfully elegant color scheme and the Doublehigh Katie Label Pivot Card technique. The Fancy Accordion decorator labels work perfectly on the doubled Katie.
Caz Counsell used the Fancy Accordion for a 3-page artsy botanical creation featuring various nature stamps and bling. Such a beautiful creation!
Raquel Mason‘s artsy card gives great advice as well as being a lovely combination of colors and elements. The keys from the Heart Pivot Card are used wonderfully on the ends of the card.
Helen Cryer made the background paper for her Artsy card using a clever technique with embossing powder and an iron. She used the Lorna Label, Eiffel Tower and Clock & Gears dies to make this gorgeous card.
Donna Wright created this layered artsy Rectangle Accordion with textural tags from the Tags Pivot Card die and a shimmery Eiffel Tower. So pretty!
Shelly Hickox got very clever with her second Artsy card. The Rectangle Accordion was used to make the structure of this tunnel card and then Shelly made the trapeze lady fly back and forth on a clear support. You can watch a video of this amazing card in action on her blog post.
Karen Burniston (that’s me!) also tackled the Artsy half of the challenge with (naturally) an artistic bathtub card! I filmed a video tutorial on the background technique and you can read (and see) all about it on the blog post.
CUTESY INSPIRATION
Raquel Mason made this brilliant Rectangle Pull Card featuring a shaker jar full of flies on the front and a Props2 balloon, styled like a frog (LOVE THAT!) peeking out.
Open the card and the balloon is attached to the spinner so it moves up to the top of the card along with a Hoppy the Frog, ready for a party.
Speaking of parties, check out this adorable Character party courtesy of Helen Cryer. This rectangle pull card has lots of “peeking” guests in the closed position . . .
. . . then open the card and the use of spinners make the guests arrange themselves into a nice group. Yay!
Donna Wright used the Rectangle Accordion for a 2-page cute card featuring Buster the Dog. Donna always adds her signature miniature clothespins to her cards. Love that!
Sandy Diller made this adorable card using Q-tips to make the ewe! How extremely clever! She animated the sheep on the Lorna Label and embellished with the All Seasons Tree, Agatha and Outdoor Edges.
Kelly Booth is the queen of color! Check out her tie-dyed Adirondack Chair plus the very cool texture on Rocky. What’s super clever about this card is how Kelly suspended Rocky in the air using a clear L-anchor. (Click to her blog post for a photo of the support). Rocky is jumping out of his chair he’s so happy!Frances Byrne shows off the new Star Buddies peel-off stickers that perfectly match the Star Accordion with this cute 4-page Baby card. She added the Star Fancy Frame Edges and the Paris Edges and the words with ECD dies. So cute!
Fran Sabad used one of the Tags & More dies to make a small tag-shaped card and then animated Rocky the Crab (wearing the Props 3 Snorkel Set) inside the card with the spinner die from the Rectangle Pull Card. She also used the Palm Tree & Pail plus Beach Edges dies on this super cute tag card!
Caz Counsell rounds out the Cutesy offerings with this adorable 3-page Rectangle Accordion featuring House Mouse stamps. Awww!
Once again the designers have blown me away with their amazing creations using Pop it Ups dies. Join us next month on Wednesday, March 25, 2015 when the Designers are taking on the “Make ’em Laugh!” theme. We’ll be making funny cards and the post will include another new card video tutorial from me.
Hello, everyone. It’s Judi Kauffman, back as today’s Guest Designer. Who’s ready to make some Razzle Dazzle Inlaid Earrings? They’re as much fun to make as they are to wear. They’re super light in weight and are sure to elicit many compliments.
I used Elizabeth Craft Designs’ Jewelry Set 1 – Sea Glass to create four pairs of post-back earrings, a pair to keep and three pairs for gifts. The die set includes four shapes, two sizes for each shape. Each pair of earrings uses one of the shapes in both its large and small size.
This is a project that’s easy to customize:
*If you prefer earrings that dangle, instead of adding synthetic suede and a post-back finding, all you need to do is punch a hole at the top of the shapes and attach them to earring wires.
*Change the palette from hot to cool, bright to muted, by choosing different Shimmer Sheetz colors and/or by changing the alcohol inks.
*If you don’t have alcohol inks, substitute StazOn. (Allow a bit more drying time with this substitution.)
*For even more sparkle, skip the sanding in step 7.
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Using an ink applicator tool to randomly apply 2 or 3 alcohol inks, alter a 4” x 5” piece of Red Iridescent Shimmer Sheetz with colors of choice (hot colors shown: Raspberry, Lemonade, Tangerine). Allow some of the original surface of the Shimmer Sheetz to remain visible.
2. Back the above rectangle with a 4” x 5” piece of ECD Transparent Double Sided Tape Sheet and a second 4” x 5” piece of Red Iridescent Shimmer Sheetz. This doubled layer gives the earring a nice substantial feel.
3. Choose one of the Sea Glass shapes for each pair of earrings. Each pair uses both the large and small die in the selected shape. Earrings are made as a mirror-image pair (like butterfly wings) – one for the left ear, one for the right. The shapes are NOT identical (that would be like having two left shoes…).
Follow steps 4 and 5 very carefully to make sure the pair is symmetrical (mirror-image)!
*TIP: If steps 4 and 5 seem too complicated, use Jewelry Set 2 – Droplets instead of Sea Glass. The Droplets die shapes are symmetrical and both earrings in a pair are identical.
4. Die cut the large Sea Glass shape for the first earring with the altered side of the Shimmer Sheetz facing TOWARD the cutting edge of the die. Die cut the same large Sea Glass shape for the second earring with the altered side of the Shimmer Sheetz facing AWAY from the cutting edge of the die.
5. Now cut the smaller shape out of each larger shape to create a pair of ring shapes, open at the center. Make sure that the ink-altered side of the shape is facing TOWARD or AWAY from the cutting edge of the die, same as in step 4, to ensure a symmetrical mirror-image pair!
REMINDER: You MUST use the Metal Adaptor Plate to die cut Shimmer Sheetz! Inside your machine’s standard cutting “sandwich” place the metal plate, then the Shimmer Sheetz, then the die with the cutting side facing toward the metal plate.
The cutting side of the die faces the metal plate regardless of which direction the Shimmer Sheetz faces. (for most projects, if there is a “front” and “back” to the Shimmer Sheetz it will face UP, toward the cutting side of the die – for this project the Shimmer Sheetz faces “front side up” once and “front side down” once).
6. Place the ring shapes inside an all-over pattern embossing folder with the ink-altered side of the Shimmer Sheetz facing so that the background will be raised and the pattern shapes will be de-bossed. Folder shown: Swirly Curves. (Experiment with Shimmer Sheetz scraps – you may prefer it the other way.)
7. Lightly sand the alcohol-ink altered side of the de-bossed (or embossed) ring shapes. Do not emboss or sand the smaller pair of shapes.
8. Die cut a mirror-image pair of Sea Glass shapes from Transparent Double Sided Sheet. Expose the adhesive on one side and place the matching embossed ring on the shape, then place the smaller shape in the middle so it looks like an inlay. Repeat for the second earring. Set aside (do not expose the other side of the adhesive till step 10).
9. Die cut a mirror-image pair of Sea Glass shapes from synthetic suede. (Use the metal adaptor plate.) Hold these two pieces together and use an awl to pierce a tiny hole for the post of the earring finding toward the top of the shapes. This will allow the completed earrings to hang down from the earlobe. If the post-back is too low the earrings will flop forward. (Hold the shapes against your ear and look in the mirror to make sure you are getting the posts in the correct place.)
10. Poke the post of the earring findings through the holes in the synthetic suede. Remove the release sheet so the adhesive on the back of the Shimmer Sheetz earrings is exposed, align and firmly position the suede (with the post sticking out and the pad of the post held by the adhesive – All you see on the back of the finished earring is suede and the post). Add the earring stoppers to complete the pair.
Tip: If the suede did not match up perfectly, carefully trim any excess that is visible. Work from the front of the earring to do this trimming, that way you can’t accidentally cut the Shimmer Sheetz.
Alcohol inks; Ink applicator tool; Synthetic suede in color to match Shimmer Sheetz*; Sanding block; Post-back earring findings with earring stoppers in gold tone or silver tone
(*Option – Use basic black or a funky leopard print synthetic suede for all post-back earrings instead of having to buy different colors to match Shimmer Sheetz!)
Created by Mary Prasad for the ECD Susan Tierney-Cockburn Design Team
Hello again! It’s Mary here. I made this card for my sister’s birthday. It’s so cold in Michigan in January that I thought I would send a little spring to her in the form of beautiful, colorful flowers. For this card I used a collection of ECD dies including some of Susan Tierney-Cockburn’s beautiful flower designs.
Making the Card:
1. Cut a piece of 8 1/2″ x 11″ black cardstock in half so you have two 5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″ pieces. Fold one in half to form a card measuring 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″. Place the main tag die of the Tags & More 3 – Leaves at the top of the cardstock making sure that the left side fold is inside the die line – you do not want to cut it. Die cut, then trim the other side to be straight with the tag die cut line.
2. Die cut leaves on the top front of the card using the decorative overlay die. Die cut a piece of green vellum with the main tag die and trim to fit inside the card behind the leaf holes. Die cut the flower hole decorator from red cardstock and paint with Distress Crackle Paint, Rock Candy. Adhere to the inside hole as shown.
3. Adhere black cardstock and red cardstock to Transparent Double-Sided Adhesive and die cut 4 copies of Happy Birthday from black cardstock and one copy from red. Adhere the black copies in a stack to form thick words. Add Distress Crackle Paint, Rock Candy to the red copy and let it dry. Adhere to the top of the black stack.
4. Die cut 3 daisies and 2 chrysanthemums from white velum, one rose from pink vellum (plus extra petals for a bud), one rose from red vellum, and leaves from green vellum. Color the chrysanthemums layers with alcohol markers in yellow and orange (I used Copics: Y18, Y38, YR04) – yellow for the larger, orange for the smaller. Add some pink (R83) to the pink petals (leave the top edge uncolored). Add green (G46) to leaves. Shape petals. Assemble flowers. To make the bud, roll one of the larger pink petals for a center, glue, then add a few petals around this. Die cut one of the calyx (star-type shape) from Garden Patch 1 3/8″ & Mini Daffodils and glue around the base of the bud – you may have to remove one or two sections in order for it to fit well.
5. Using a small brush, paint Distress Crackle Paint, Rock Candy over the flowers and leaves and let it dry. Add Yellow Stickles to the center of the daisies. Add Orange Peel Stickles to the center of the chrysanthemums. Once they dry, add Glossy Accents to the centers over the Stickles to give them dimension.
6. Cut 3 copies of kraft cardstock 3″ x 3 1/2″. Adhere one piece to the inside of the card as shown above. Distress and ink the edges of the second copy using an ink blending tool and adhere to the front of the card. Crimp another piece and rip at a diagonal as shown below and ink the edges. Add light molding paste in places as desired. While wet, sprinkle a small amount of Cool Diamond Silk Microfine Glitter in places to give a subtle shimmer. Adhere to the front of the card.
7. Cut one strip of kraft cardstock 1/2″ by 3 1/4″ (may need to trim slightly for fold). Adhere to the inside of the card as shown above.
8. Tie a bow from jute. Adhere Happy Birthday, flowers, bow, and black gems as shown below. Tie a double bow of twine at the top of the card.
Thank you for taking the time to see how I made my beautiful tag card!
