By Judi Kauffman
I’m glad to be back as guest designer. My project today is a feminine card called Flowers & Flourishes, named for the dies I used. It measures 4” wide by 9.25” tall with the fold at the left side, sized to fit a #10 business envelope.
You can duplicate it precisely as shown by using the dies and materials in the supply list, or you can make your own version by choosing a different color palette and by using different flower dies, ribbon, border peel-offs and embossing folders.
1. Start with pink cardstock for the card base 8” x 9.25”, folded to 4” x 9.25”.
2. Please note the quirky spacing on the flowers. The top and bottom flowers (first and fourth) are both an inch from the edge of the card, but the second and third flowers are 2” apart and closer to the bottom flower, forming an evenly-spaced trio.
There are two reasons for this quirky spacing:
First, I decided to limit myself to only a single 4” x 5” piece of Pink Iridescent Shimmer Sheetz for the 3-layer flowers, ending up with four flowers. (4” x 5” is the size of a piece in a Shimmer Sheetz Sampler pack, or one third of a piece from a standard sheet.)
Second, and more important than the number of flowers – Elizabeth Craft Designs border peel-off strips aren’t as long as this size card so I had to carefully join two pieces on each side of the ribbon band. Look closely and you’ll see that there are nine 1” fans (or scallops) in the Lace Fan peel-off pattern on each of my pieced strips. The pieces join five fans up from the bottom of the card, the seam is hidden under the first flower in the evenly-spaced trio!
Other things to notice:
3. There are two different flourishes in the die set – one with two curling lines, one with three curling lines. Starting at the top of the card front, the flourishes alternate. The first and third are 3-curl flourishes that face at a downward angle, going toward the left and right; the second and fourth are 2-curl flourishes facing at an upward angle, going toward the right and left.
4. The ribbon and lacy border bands are NOT vertically centered on the card front. This asymmetrical visual “weight” helps guide the eye toward the open edge of the card and invite the viewer to see what’s inside. The ribbon band is a tad over 1.25” from the right edge. If you prefer symmetry, center the bands.
5. Emboss and lightly sand the 4” x 5” piece of Shimmer Sheetz before die cutting the flowers. I chose a folder called Bouquet, but any small scale overall pattern will work. Bend the petals upward on the small and medium flower in each 3-layer blossom, but leave the bottom layer (the largest flower) flat. Use a tiny piece of Power Adhesive Tab to hold the layers together.
6. The ribbon band is secured with a piece of Transparent Double-Sided Tape, folded over to the inside of the card at both ends for a finished look. The end of each flourish is secured with a tiny piece cut from a Power Adhesive Tab.
7. A little secret – the middle of each flower is a 5mm “Lure Eye” sticker, the black center of each one is surrounded by a ring of sparkly iridescent purplish gray. In this context they don’t look at all like eyeballs! Substitute a 7018 Black/Silver Glitter Dot Peel-off or a black flat-backed gem or pearl if you prefer.
Important Reminder: Use a Metal Adaptor Plate to die cut Shimmer Sheetz. Review the YouTube video HERE if you are not familiar with this technique.
Supplies:
Elizabeth Craft Designs:
1029 Bunch of Flowers 3, die set coming soon!
1034 Flourishes & Branches, die set coming soon!
Shimmer Sheetz in Pink and Light Pink (or any two colors of choice)
1279 Lace Fan border peel-offs in Black
505 Transparent Double-Sided Tape (10” piece)
Other:
5mm Lure Eye stickers in Gray (Stanislaus Imports, www.lasioux.com)
Power Adhesive Tabs (Tombow)
10” piece of 3/8” wide woven ribbon
Sanding block
Damp cloth or paper towel to wipe sanded Shimmer Sheetz
Pink cardstock
Non-stick scissors (to cut Power Adhesive Tabs)
