Hi Everyone!
I hope everyone is enjoying their summer – the weather has been amazing here recently, but only on week days. Sadly the weekends have been clammy and rainy and generally yuck, so I’m missing doing hiking and outdoor stuff a little. However, it does mean that I get more crafty time inside – yey! I took the opportunity this time to play with the Spellbinders Small Die of the Month (August).
I have been subscribing to this (as well as the Large Die of the Month and Monthly Card Kit) for a while now – they are amazing value and you get such pretty stuff included. I am a huge fan and highly recommend them – if you want to subscribe, I’ve provided links to them below. My cards today all use just the Small Die of the Month plus papers/card/stickers from card kits (mostly from August). In the card kit you even get foam squares, envelopes, card bases, double sided tape – you literally don’t need anything else to create amazing cards. I did add a couple of bits not in the kit which I will also link to, but this was very minimal.
Card 1 – Adding ink to die cuts for dimension
To create my first card, I trimmed an A2 panel of the yellow ombre patterned paper paper from the August Card Kit and adhered it to the included A2 notecards with the double sided tape. I then used the Small Die of the Month and die cut the vines twice each from the gold mirror card stock and the aqua texture card stock from the kit. I used a small ink dauber to lightly add Broken China Distress Oxide on the aqua die cuts, gently fading out towards the centre. I adhered the aqua diecuts onto the gold die cuts with liquid adhesive, allowing the gold to peep out. I then arranged them onto the card base and adhered down with liquid adhesive. I trimmed off any sticking over the edge of the card panel.
I die cut the tiny flower die a few times from the pink textured cardstock in the August card kit, and edged with Picked Raspberry Distress Oxide. I gently folded the petals up for more dimension, and adhered with liquid glue to the branches. I then die cut the three birds from the cream textured card from the card kit and edged their tummies with Tattered Rose Distress Oxide. I adhered them with foam squares. To finish, I added a holographic sticker (from the card kit) with foam squares and dropped Yellow Bird Nuvo Glitter Drops into the flower centres. I had a bird and a few flowers left over, so I adhered them to one of the envelopes from the kit for a co-ordinating look.
You might notice how teeeeeny some of these dies are – I got myself the Main Attraction magnetic holder (linked below in supplies) and I LOVE IT!! SO HELPFUL. Especially as yes, I lost the flower die briefly, and all I had to do was run the holder over my desk and bingo, there it was. It’s also great for holding all the dies while you craft.
Card 2 – Layering frame die cuts
For my second card, I trimmed down the glorious flower patterned paper from the August card kit to A2 size, and adhered to a note card as for card 1. I then die cut each of the frames from the August Small Die of the Month, the larger one from the cream cardstock in the kit, and the smaller one from the pink. I also die cut the little flower twice from the cream cardstock. Often, you can layer the Spellbinders frame dies together and they fit perfectly. This is the case here. I like to use foam squares to layer them for dimension. I overlaid the frames lengthways, lining up the borders for symmetry and adhered them with foam to the centre of the card base. You can also fit them with one horizontally and one lengthways for a different look. I adhered the little flowers at the top and bottom with liquid adhesive.
I die cut the birds from the mirror gold cardstock in the kit and adhered them with foam squares (adding a double layer for the smaller bird). I added some drops of Nuvo Crystal Drops in Gloss Carnation Pink to the flower centres and around the birds, to co-ordinate with the flowers in the patterned paper. The sentiment is a sticker from the card kit popped up on foam tape.
Card 3 – Using dies as stencils
My final card uses the vine dies in the Small Die of the Month collection to create a stencil. I first trimmed the pink textured cardstock from the card kit down to A2 and adhered it with lots of glue runner to an A2 panel of thick white cardstock. This gives more of a solid base to add wet mediums through your stencils. I then took a second A2 panel of thick cardstock and used the two vine dies to die cut this panel (I die cut the big vine twice). I then overlaid the card onto my pink panel, using masking tape to secure it. There is one piece of card that pops out of the large die, be sure to save this and temporarily adhere it in place to the pink cardstock too (I used Krylon removable spray adhesive). I used a palette knife to smooth Nuvo Moonstone Glimmer Paste over my ‘stencil’. I then removed the cardstock and the little piece we added and set aside to dry.
I die cut the three birds from the Small Die of the Month from the yellow textured cardstock in the kit. When the panel was dry, I adhered it to a note card and added the birds into the corner with foam squares. The sentiment sticker was one from my stash (I think it is Pink Fresh Studio) and to finish, and bring in some more of the yellow, I added Nuvo Crystal Drops in Dandelion Yellow. I also rounded one of the top corners to balance the ‘white space’ with the die cuts.
As you can see, these die sets are incredibly versatile – I hope to have time to do more of these focus posts on kits in the future (bad weather allowing!)
I hope the rest of your week is beautiful, think happy!
Jenny x
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