Sweet Birthday Wishes {DRU Inspiration}

Hey everyone, today I'm sharing a fun fold birthday card I created for the Dies R Us Inspiration team. 

open to reveal area for personal message

The following dies were used to create this card:

Tonic Studios: Mixed Edge Rectangle Layering Basics.  Any of these would also work.

Elizabeth Craft Designs: Fitted Fishtails

I also used the AALL & CREATE stencil called Lushly Leafy. Although DRU doesn't have any of their stencils at the moment, they do carry some of their amazing stamps.  

The sentiment stamp is by My Favorite Things (Bitty Birthday Wishes), but any thin sentiment stamp or die cut would also work well.  The sentiment strip was die cut using a My Favorite Thing die that coordinates with the stamp set.

To start off, I created the colorful background using the stencil and Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers. Once this was completed, I began die cutting the fishtails. 

There are a couple different things you can do if your dies are the right width but the length isn't long enough. You can cut the strip of paper a tiny bit wider than the die and thread the end of the strip of paper above the cutting edge at the back end of the die.  Or you can make sure the top cutting plate for your machine is placed before the end of the die.  That way it won't cut the back side and you can trim it to whatever length you'd like.  That's what I did for these fishtails.

I alternated the sizes and added both solid cardstock colors and patterned cardstock.  I stamped my sentiment and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder.

As you can see above, the fishtails open to reveal another solid cardstock fishtail die cut.  This is where you can write a personal message. 

I hope you've enjoyed today's project.  Head back to the Dies R Us Blog tomorrow for more fabulous inspiration from the DRU Inspiration design team.

Don't forget to come join in the fun at the Dies R Us Challenge Blog.  There's a new challenge theme offered on the 1st and 15th of each month and one lucky randomly drawn winner will receive a $10 gift certificate to the Dies R Us Store.  For your convenience, all the important Dies R Us links are provided below.

click below for:

STORE 
 CHALLENGE BLOG
  FACEBOOK
  INSPIRATION BLOG

FRIENDS OF DIES R US PINTEREST PAGE

Thanks for stopping by!

Daisies For You {DRU Inspiration}

Hey everyone, today I'd like to share a card I created for the Dies R Us Inspiration team. 

Last week I shared a card that used the same stencil (AALL & CREATE stencil called Lushly Leafy) as this one, but the results were completely different.  You can see that card here.

For today's project, the following dies from Dies R Us were used:

Sue Wilson Designs: Finishing Touches-Spring Foliage

Sue Wilson Designs: Delicate Fronds

Sue Wilson Designs: Delicate Daisies-Complete Petals

Paper Rose: Stitched Square Frame (this would also work well)

As I mentioned, I used an AALL & CREATE stencil and although DRU doesn't have their stencils, they do carry some of their fun stamps. After securing the stencil onto the cardstock, I added Distress Inks (Ripe Persimmon, Wild Honey, and Rusty Hinge) using a blending brush. 

My piece of cardstock was larger than the stencil and my original plan was to cut the finished piece down somewhat.  But when I saw the white frame and the colors on the outside of that, I really liked it.  So my design plans changed just like that. In the photo below, I'm arranging some dies on the entire piece of cardstock to see how they might look.  I do a "dry run" lots of time.  This extra step usually saves me in the long run because I rarely have a plan in mind before I start putting things together.

Once I was happy with my die choices, I was ready to die cut everything out.  I decided I wanted my daisies to be white but didn't have a textured white piece of cardstock that I liked....so I created my own with an older Cherry Lynn Designs Textured Embossing Plate (Cheesecloth/Linen).  Each side has a different pattern.  Unfortunately, this company was sold to a larger company and I couldn't find this texture plate on the internet. (You could achieve this same results with an embossing folder.)  DRU does have some Cheery Lynn dies in stock though.

I die cut my Delicate Daisies from this newly created textured cardstock and then shaped them for a more realistic look.

I then die cut quite a bit of greenery using various shades of green cardstock. I die cut the Stitched Square from one of the same greens.

After assembling the flowers and adding a bit of Spectrum Noir Sparkle Markers to the centers of the flowers (I used an old punch to create the centers), everything was ready to assemble.

Here's one final look at the project:

I hope you've enjoyed today's project.  Head back to the Dies R Us Blog tomorrow for more fabulous inspiration from the DRU Inspiration design team.

Don't forget to come join in the fun at the Dies R Us Challenge Blog.  There's a new challenge theme offered on the 1st and 15th of each month and one lucky randomly drawn winner will receive a $10 gift certificate to the Dies R Us Store.  For your convenience, all the important Dies R Us links are provided below.

click below for:

STORE 
 CHALLENGE BLOG
  FACEBOOK
  INSPIRATION BLOG

FRIENDS OF DIES R US PINTEREST PAGE

Thanks for stopping by!

Sending Hugs {DRU Inspiration}

Today I'd like to share a card I created for the Dies R Us Inspiration team.  

The following dies from Dies R Us were used to create this:

Sue Wilson Designs: Rose Oval

Frantic Stamper: Accessory Words #3

Tonic Studios: Mixed Edge Rectangle Layering Basics 

(any of these would also work)

I wanted to play around with a stencil to see if I could create an interesting background.  I used the AALL & CREATE stencil called Lushly Leafy. Although DRU doesn't carry any of their stencils at the moment, they do carry some of their amazing stamps.  I ended up creating two completely different backgrounds using this stencil.

The one in the upper right was created on watercolor paper and I used Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers to color in the stencil area.  It took a little bit of time, but it was relaxing to me and I love the results.

The bottom left background was created using white cardstock and Distress Inks.  I'll have a card for you next week using this background.  It's hard to believe that both of these were created using the same stencil.

Back to today's card.  After the watercolor paper had completely dried, I used my layering rectangles to die cut the black larger layer and the next size down to die cut my watercolored piece.

I used the same black cardstock to die cut my rose frame and my sentiment using the Frantic Stamper die set.

I played around with the sentiment a bit before I adhered it, trying to decide if I liked it centered of off to the side.  As you can see, I decided to center it.

Here's one final look at the finished project. Once the background was completed, this was a really quick and easy card to assemble.  I even have some smaller pieces of the watercolor background to use on another card in the future.

I hope you've enjoyed today's project.  Head back to the Dies R Us Blog tomorrow for more fabulous inspiration from the DRU Inspiration design team.

Don't forget to come join in the fun at the Dies R Us Challenge Blog.  There's a new challenge theme offered on the 1st and 15th of each month and one lucky randomly drawn winner will receive a $10 gift certificate to the Dies R Us Store.  For your convenience, all the important Dies R Us links are provided below.

click below for:

STORE 
 CHALLENGE BLOG
  FACEBOOK
  INSPIRATION BLOG

FRIENDS OF DIES R US PINTEREST PAGE

Thanks for stopping by!