Bringing white die cuts to life|Making an impact|Backgrounds that highlight, not distract
I am ready for spring. A celebration of new beginnings. I am feeling a lot more hope in the air and I think my cards are reflecting that. For all of these cards I used The Greetery BontiCut Wildflower Dies from their latest Spring Release.
If I have learned nothing it's if I am going to cut something once I might as well pass it through the die cut machine a bunch of times. It multiplies the value of your efforts. The effort it takes to take out your die cutter and set it up (if not in a dedicated space), the effort of choosing your inks and coloring the die cuts.... all of that. It will either inspire you to create multiple cards at that time, or allow you to pull from a stash of die cuts for that last minute card in the future.
I kept the die in tact and did not snip apart the the individual metal pieces. Since I was cutting them all from white CS and adding color later, it made it a quick repetitive exercise to get a lot cut. You can see in the picture above some of the inking after math. I kept all the die cut flower pieces in the paper. I chose an ink for each type of flower then used a blending brush and inked the same flower on each piece of CS before moving onto the next color and flower. I did pop out the leafy stems and inked them in various shades of green. Given they were a little bigger they were easier to ink separately and I didn't have to mask anything off to avoid over inking a flower color onto the leaves. I found the Altenew mini blending tools worked well for this. Inking the die cuts gives them more variation than colored CS I think. I also pulled out my colored pencils and added some detail to the centers of some of the flowers.
For once I thought I'd get ahead of an occasion. I usually have a stash of Birthday cards, general all occasion and thank you cards but when it comes to those specific occasions... Mother's Day, Father's Day, Milestone Birthdays, etc I always seem to be pulling it together at the las minute.
The Background is folied. I use iCraft Deco Foil transfer gel over a the Rubbernecker vertical lines stencil (does not seem to be available anymore). The stencil was not a slimline length so I had to apply the gel and then carefully move the stencil down to cover the entire panel. There is a seam at the bottom which I cover up with a sentiment strip so it appears to be a seamless pattern. Once the gel was dry I ran it through my laminator with Heidi Swapp Gold Foil.
The Slimline Scallop Background & Stitched panel - Mama Elephant Slim card basics
Bow - Hero Arts Wish Ornament Yellow Glitter CS - Memory Box
Top Sentiment - PinkFresh Studios Modern Layer Florals
Bottom Sentiment - Altenew Sentimenet Strips 2
Gems - Studio Katia Carmine Red (I don't see them available right now)
I found I liked the flower die cuts more in larger clusters verse single or fewer stems together. I had seen some cards with a die cut envelope but I did not have one so I turned to my cutting machine and made this modifying an SVG cut file for a regular A2 envelope down to the finished size I wanted for my card. Concord & 9th Ballet Slipper CS. The edges where inked with Honey Suckle ink.
Sentiment - Honey Bee pick up lines Stamp & Die -- I am really liking their fonts with the dies to match. White heat embossed on Purple CS
Stenciled Background was a unknown basket weave "like" stencil. I think it gave a nice backdrop to the flowers without making it too busy. Your eyes still go to the flowers.
Embellishments - Trinity Stamps Shiny Baubles
For added interest I put this on a card panel (4 X5 1/4) with 2 pieces of CS scraps behind it for dimension and then it is on an A2 Card.
I tried my hand at a mini slimline for this card. 3.5 X 6 I think is the final Card Size. I was trying to be creative in the way I anchored the flowers. I didn't have a vase die although I am sure I could have found a cut file. I was looking though Pintrest for inspiration and came across a picture of flowers in a pocket.
Pocket - PinkFresh Studios Ornate Banner -- the smallest banner cut to size. Edged with a piece cut from a scrap scallop frame with Memory Box Glitter CS.
Background - PinkFresh Studios Double Chevron Stencil inked in a light blue to compliment the gingham patterned paper. It was just enough to elevate the interest but not compete with the paper of flowers.
For the envelope I had found some top opening slimline envelopes on clearance awhile ago. I just cut the bottom down to fit the card and glued the bottom seam closed.
Background -Birch Press Pinpoint Radial Plate
Sentinment - SSS Banner Greeting
Embellishments - Something New Baubles
Hope this inspires you to find that spring item in your stash and get creating!
Really appreciate you sharing your process here - I got a lot out of the the picture of your negative space from the die cuts that you ink blended! Also great tips in understanding how to "anchor" die cuts - I struggle with die cuts just floating all around the card panel, and all of these examples helped me re-frame my mindset around die cut images!