Hello there! I hope your week is going well so far. I was able to get some crafty work done this weekend and I have some new Valentine cards to share with you. Eileen has three new Chapter 1 Sizzix dies that just got released, the Mandala Thinlits Die, the Folio Page, Pocket & Flowers Thinlits Set, and the Folio Journal XL Die. I used the first two for these valentines:
Here's a closer look:
 |
| I cut doilies with the Mandala die out of Rinea Foil Paper and it really adds some shine! |
Scroll on for some tips and tricks I used to create these cards!
Mixed Media Umbrella Man Card:
I've shared this die hack before but it's a good one so I'll share it again. =) You can use fun foam from the craft store and use your dies to make stamps! (This really extends the use of your dies.)
Step 1 - I cut a piece of fun foam and applied adhesive to one side using my Xyron Creative Station Lite. I also cut a piece of plastic packaging waste that would fit my die cut shape to use as the stamp base.
Next I cut out the Mandala Die shape out of the foam. Thinlits dies easily cut the fun foam. I had to use a die pick to poke out all the little parts which was a bit tedious, but this stamp is reusable so I was okay with putting a bit of time into it.
Once the tiny pieces were out, I just peeled off the release sheet and adhered the foam shape to the plastic. Voila! Stamp made.
Step 2 - You can use paint or ink on these foam stamps. I raided my gel plate print stash and found a nice one to use as my card background. I put a little puddle of paint on my craft sheet and used a brayer to apply the paint to the stamp. (Don't use too much paint or you will glop up the tiny openings.)
I had extra paint so I stamped another print I had laying there. I'll save that for another project. To clean the stamp I just wiped it off with a baby wipe.
Step 3 - Die hack #2! Here's another way to get more use out of your dies. I used Eileen's Hearts Journaling Cards Die Set to make a heart stencil. The plastic I use is overhead projector film which is thin enough to cut easily with the Thinlits dies.
No die hacks for this card but I will say it is very handy to have a stash of gel plate prints on hand to use for backgrounds. The print I chose had some nice pattern in it already so I didn't have to add much. I liked the punchy orange and hot pink colors too.
I cut and dry embossed hearts for the focal point (you must have some hearts on a Valentine card!) I also cut some Mandala Die doilies out of Rinea Foil Paper to add some bling to the background. Rinea Foil Paper is just that, paper that has foil laminated to both sides so it's strong, cuts and folds very easily and can also be bent and formed to shapes. It's fun stuff to work with! (You can see a couple of other projects using it here and here.)
I found it easy to use my Creative Station to apply adhesive to the foil sheets before I cut out the shapes. Once cut, I just peeled off the release sheet and stuck them down onto my card background.
Thanks for stopping by and checking out my post. Be sure to keep an eye on Eileen's blog this month to see all the card ideas the designers will be sharing!
