Group of Cardmakers - Inlaid Die-Cutting

Hi everyone.  This month over at the Group of Cardmakers we are highlighting Inlaid Die Cutting.  I made my card using a piece of paper from a pad I bought at The Works quite a time ago with marbling type papers.  I don't use papers very often but these appealed to me and I have used a few from it.  I also used a Presscut die called Background Collection - Art Squares, and a Crafter's Companion set of Inverted Scallop dies, and also a pretty lantern stamp from a set by Hunkydory which came with a magazine called Eastern Moments.  The dies and the stamp are being used for the first time here. 

I started by cutting the Presscut die from a textured gold card and also from the piece of paper chosen from the pad.  I then adhered the gold frame to the 5" x 7" card and started to add the squares.  At first I laid them out so that I had the pattern right but then before glueing them down I decided to add in a few of the gold pieces to break it up a bit.  I then cut a circle from the Crafter's Companion set of Inverted Scallops...I was going to use the outer scalloped edge but I decided that it had to be big enough to get the stamped image on but with the edge it was rather too big and covered up too much of the pretty background, so I used just the inner left over piece.  I stamped the image using a couple of different Brilliance inks and as the Galaxy Gold was a bit too bright and didn't go with the background gold card, I used my stamp positioner and stamped over the top of the gold with an Olive ink, and it darkened it down enough to make it go.  I finished the edges of the white mat by rubbing the gold ink around it.  As a finishing touch I added the sentiment cut from more gold card.

I am entering the following challenges with this card:

We Love Stamping Challenge - Sept. 25 Make it Cute/Anything Goes.

Stamping Sensations Challenge - Sept. '25 CAS/Anything Goes.

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes.

Try it on Tuesday Challenge - Pretty Paper.
NBUS Challenge - No. 78 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

I have a second card using as a background a piece of copy paper over which I ink blended the leaves for my last card here, and I decided the colours and the coverage of the paper worked well.  I also used a set of leaves from Crafter's Companion part of the Nature's Garden collection.

I start by cutting down the background piece, and being thin paper I used some Modge Podge to glue it to white card and I cut it down to leave a small margin of white around the edge.  I then decided on where to place the leaves and die cut them out of the background and then added some double sided tape over the back of the apertures leaving the backing on and I added it to the 6" square card.  I then cut the leaves from kraft card and added a little Spiced Marmalade and Walnut Stain Distress Ink onto them before adding them into the apertures on the card and the tape proved good at holding them firmly.  I finished it with a sentiment stamped from Versafine Vintage Sepia Ink...quite a simple card.

I am entering this second card into the following challenges:

Allsorts Challenge - No. 833 Woodland Critters/Anything Goes.

Die Cut Divas Challenge - Anything Goes.

Ellibelles Garden Party Challenge - No. 7 Anything In or From a Garden Goes.

A Cut Above Challenge - Sept. '25 Anything Goes with a Die.

This technique is fun to do and there are lots of different ways to use it and I hope you will visit us at the Group of Cardmakers to take a look at all the fabulous cards made by the rest of the team, and there are also links to several videos demonstrating different aspects of it, and also a Linky at the bottom for you to share your cards with us which would be great.

Thank you for visiting me here today and I'll see you again soon. 

It Looks Like Fall

Hi everybody.  I was delighted to have be chosen as one of the Top Cuts over at the Cut It Up Challenge recently and was invited to be a Guest Designer for one of their challenges, and I chose this one with the theme of It Looks Like Fall.  I used the centre piece of a scalloped die set from Crafters Companion called Inverted Stitched Scallop Circle, and a set of Sizzix Leaf Fragments which are being used for the first time, and also a Craft Concepts Woodgrain Embossing Folder and a Dutch Doobadoo Birch Trees Mask, and lastly a Chocolate Baroque set of stamps Autumn Poppy and I used two of the different toadstools from the set.

I started by embossing the Birch Trees mask onto a piece of white card cut just a little smaller than the 6" square white card and I adhered it.  I then went on to the circle using a snippet of white card and embossed it with the Woodgrain EF and ink blended using several of the brown Distress Inks on it to bring out the pattern.  I moved on to the Leaf Fragments cut from more snippets of white card and used lots of different Distress Inks blended on them until I was happy with the look.  I continued by stamping the two different toadstools onto snippets of white card using Versafine Vintage Sepia Ink and added the Distress Inks using a waterbrush and cut them out.  I was only going to use the Fly Agaric type ones which do look a bit pink in the photo but I did use a red ink, and I also used a Posca pen for the white markings. but then decided to add a few more of the other shape I liked and cut them up to fit around the red ones.  Finally I added the birthday sentiment stamped using the Vintage Sepia Ink and heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder, and cut into a fishtail banner also using another snippet of white card.

The Cut It Up Challenge lasts for two weeks and I hope you can go over there, and perhaps enter a card which would be great.  Thank you for visiting my blog and I'll see you again soon.

I am entering the following challenges:

We Love Stamping Challenge - Sept. '25 Make it Cute/Anything Goes.

Stamping Sensations Challenge - Sept. '25 CAS/Anything Goes.

Snippets Playground Challenge - No. 515 Where we use our snippets of paper and card etc.

Allsorts Challenge - No. 832 Trees, Leaves and Plants/Anything Goes.

Die Cut Divas Challenge - Sept. '25 Anything Goes.

Can You Handle The Pressure Challenge - Anything Goes/Layers.

NBUS Challenge - No. 78 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

A Pocket Full of Love

Hi everyone.  I have an anniversary card today featuring a Spellbinders die set called A Pocket Full of Love which I have had for a while and recently used just the heart here.  

I cut the heart first and decided on the colour combination of the pink with the silver for the filigree design which can be cut into the card, and with the outside die which I used here to cut it out and also cut a plain pink heart using the outer die alone and glued it behind the silver one.  I moved on to the pocket which again can be cut into the card but I did want to use it as a pocket so cut the outer piece with the flaps which give it that bit of space when stuck down.  I then used some darker pink card and a light grey to add the flower layer, and there are some little bell type flowers on the heart which you can add but I decided not to use these.  I cut the insert piece which you can layer up but I left it without that as I had the idea of adding a photo onto it as a surprise using a photo of them and us taken at hubby's recent birthday celebration which I thought would be fun.  I will probably just put a note in the card to tell them to pull on the heart...hopefully it won't fall apart..lol.  The front piece of the heart attaches to the photo insert layer and is easier done after you have inserted it into the pocket, and then I added a silver heart to the back to give it more strength.  I finished it with a grey embossed sentiment.

Thank you for visiting my blog today and I'll see you again soon.

I am entering the following challenges:

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Layer It Up.

Allsorts Challenge - No. 832 Trees, Leaves and Plants/Anything Goes.

Crafty Calendar Challenge - Lots Of Layers.

I am also joining in with Darnell's I.D.E.A.S.  This is Week 2: Dies/Die Cuts.

Filigree Heart Anniversary

Hi everyone.  I have a simple CAS anniversary card today using the Spellbinders Pocket Full of Love heart and a The Crafter's Workshop stencil called Cactus Dahlia which I am using for the first time.

I cut a background from a snippet of white card and using the stencil I ink blended through it with Spun Sugar Distress Ink.  I placed it towards the top left hand side of the card and reaching just beyond the centre as it is a large stencil and I didn't want to cover the whole of the background with it, and I also inked up the edges with the same ink.  I cut a heart using a further snippet of white card and I embossed it with the same stencil to give it a bit of texture, and then I blended ink onto another snippet using Wilted Violet DI and cut the filigree heart.  I finished by adding a sentiment stamped in the Wilted Violet and heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.

Thank you for stopping by today and I'll see you again soon.

I am entering the following challenges:

Stencil Fun Challenge - Anything Goes/Nature.

Snippets Playground Challenge - No. 514 Where we use our snippets of paper and card etc.

Allsorts Challenge - No. 831 Birthdays/Anything Goes.

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes.

NBUS Challenge - No. 78 Where we use our Never Befo're Used Schtuff.

I am also joining in with Darnell's I.D.E.A.S. and this is Week 1: Ink/Colour Mediums.