Everyone has a friend (or two, or a dozen) that could use a thoughtful "you're the best" card to brighten their day! Personally, I love to receive them, but I love creating them even more!
The Artistic Etchings and Notably Ornate stamp sets, and Love Letter Designer Series Paper, works perfectly together to create beautiful card masterpieces! I love how the elements in all three coordinate with each other flawlessly! It's so easy to layer images because they all look fantastic together!
Too Cool Details: First, I stamped the Early Espresso card front with the diamond shaped image from Artistic Etchings in the same color for a subtle pattern. I provided a close-up, so you could see it better.
The Cherry Cobbler pattern from the Love Letter paper assortment is layered with a strip of Cherry Cobbler card stock cut into large scallops with the Tasteful Trim Die (I use this ALL the time—love it!).
Next, I stamped the large Notably Ornate lined image in Early Espresso onto Very Vanilla card stock, then die-cut it with the Top Note Die. And, I have to show you a fabulous tip that I learned from Carla Brasher about how to die-cut your pre-stamped images!
Die-Cutting Pre-Stamped Images
You know I always say stamp first, then punch, so you can align your image within the punch for perfect alignment. But, when you're working with die-cuts, that's not so easy. Unless you create a template! Here's how:
Start with some lightweight chipboard (like the backing in the Designer Series Paper packages) cut in half: 6 x 12". Score at 6" and fold it in half. Then run the folded piece through your Big Shot with the Top Note Die aligned as close to the open edges as possible.
Next, open the template folder and align the die-cut window on top of the actual die. TIP: Use some tape on the top and bottom of the template to hold it in place. Even a slight movement can keep you from achieving the results you want, and if you line it up correctly every time, you won't accidently cut slivers off the edges, so you can reuse the template again and again!
Finally, add your stamped piece inside the folder and close it. Now you can easily align the card stock within the template (just like you do for punches!). When you get it placed where you want it, run the whole sandwich (with cutting pads top and bottom) through the Big Shot again! Ta-da! Perfectly centered!
The best part is that you can create templates for ALL of your dies, so you will always have a tool to center your die-cut images. Too Cool, Carla! Thanks for the tip!
More Card Details: The Top Note die-cut is sponged with Soft Suede Classic Ink. The "beautiful & fabulous you" words are from the Fabulous Phrases set, stamped in Early Espresso and Cherry Cobbler, then sponged with Soft Suede, and popped up with Dimensionals.
I cut 1-1/4" Early Espresso Striped Grosgrain Ribbon in half for a skinnier ribbon, then tied and trimmed. I had to do a lot of clipping to clean up the frayed strings from cutting in half. I also used my brand spankin' new Craft & Paper Scissors, which is fantastic for cutting fabric and ribbon (and fits so comfortably in my hand)!
The crown image from Artistic Etchings is stamped in Cherry Cobber, hand-cut, sponged with Soft Suede and accented with Basic Rhinestones. The key is stamped in Soft Suede, hand-cut, hole-punched with the Crop-A-Dile, and tied around the ribbon with Linen Thread. I added some Dimensionals under the key to keep it in place.
Card Stock: Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla
Ink: Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Soft Suede
Stamps: Artistic Etchings, Notably Ornate, Fabulous Phrases
Accessories: Love Letter DSP, 1/4" Early Espresso Striped Grosgrain, Basic Rhinestones, Linen Thread, Dimensionals
Tools: Top Note Die, Tasteful Trim Die, Crop-A-Dile, Big Shot, Paper Snips, Sponges
Thanks for looking!
Angie
The hint about creating die cut templates is worth it’s weight in gold! Beautiful cards.