Crafty As L

My card this week was for a friend who loves gardening so the Berry Special Die & Stamp set that came with Die-Cutting Essentials #103 magazine seemed a perfect fit. First, I began by die-cutting all the pieces from white card and colouring the pieces using ink blending and Distress Oxide ink pads.   To support the skinny pieces, I put the pieces back into the negative spaces.   I also cut a pair of these pieces to adhere together for extra strength. To give the flowers some dimension, I used a ball tool and foam sheet to gently curve the petals. My inspiration was the card on the cover sheet so I added a gingham checked panel to the front of the card.   To highlight the strawberry plant, I die-cut a circle and stencilled a cloud pattern.   The sentiment was a combo of a couple of the stamps which were white heat-embossed onto a red circle. The strawberries looked a bit flat so I added some Made To Surprise Accent Glaze on top. To bring the card tog...

My cards this week were made using the fabulous sunflower die that came with Issue 102 of Die-Cutting Essentials.   I was particularly taken with the octagonal card on the front cover, made by Nicky Gilburt, editor of Creative Stamping.    First, I die-cut the sunflower and used it as a stencil to create the backgrounds. Next, I stencilled again onto another piece of white card.   Then I trimmed around the sunflower outline and glued it over the stencilled flower. Using the nested notched octagon dies by Creative Craft Products, I die-cut the background panels, then a coloured layer.   The card base was a 7” square card blank that I simply die-cut. The sunflower toppers were fussy-cut and then mounted on a coloured rectangle to match the coloured layer.   This was then adhered to a white rectangle. The cards were finished by attaching the sunflower topper using foam tape, adding a sentiment and embellished with some enamel dots.  

The dies that are included with Die-Cutting Essentials special 100 th edition are so lovely that I thought I’d share my midweek make with you.   To broaden my horizons, I went away from my usual style and opted for a grungy, mixed media style card instead.   First, I die-cut the butterflies and multiple sentiments from white card and blended ink over.   To give the die-cuts some support, I placed them back into the negative space whilst blending the colour on. Next, the backgrounds.   Using Distress Oxide Picked Raspberry , Peacock Feathers and Uncharted Mariner , I stamped a variety of background stamps from Text{ures} Wildflowers Additions stamp set and blended a little ink around the edge of the panel.   I also added a few sections from Inkylicious Handwritten Script in Ranger  Watering Can ink.   For additional texture, I applied Ranger Grit Paste through Visible Image Mesh It Up stencil and, once dry, blended a little more ink over i...