simple dreams

Puttin' on the Ritz - Creating Glittered Designer Paper

Thank you for joining me over the last few days as I share one of my newest intrigues! Today I will be sharing the most complex of the three projects I worked on last week Friday. Let me tell you that last Friday afternoon was "WAY fun" as I found my sparkle again :-D

CLUE #6

Inch on in and go back in time, to a magnetic post in January 2009.

ETA: Direct link to Clue #7.

As you can see I selected Delovely as the basis for my color theme and ran it throughout this collection. Using the chart I am creating made it easy to select the perfect colors of glitter. As soon as I have that information complete I will link you to it in hopes that it makes your selection process easier as well.

I am SO diggin' the new Hero Arts release. I cannot believe the beautiful impressions I am able to create with the clear stamp line. I can't be as "techniquey" with these stamps, but for stamping and coloring they are fabulous! Thank you Hero Arts and Jennifer McGuire for getting me hooked! LOL!

Once again you can see the Copic colors from which I selected above. Just pretend that the BG's aren't in the mug and you will have the complete grouping for coloring in these darling drink glasses. I do want to point out that I used a Copic multiliner .03 to extend the lines of the straw down into the drink glass - it was just bugging me that I was making the glass clear and couldn't see the straw - LOL! I should have drawn in the fruit as well, but... I'm such a goof!

So here we go - I want to share with you how to make your own designer glitter paper! NEVER throw away the backing that comes with your tape. Yep, you heard me - hoard it as if it were gold :-D This backing is what you will use to create magic with the microfine glitter!

Take your favorite punch shapes and punch to your hearts content. Punch edges, punch flowers, punch butterflies, punch, punch, punch - yep - I think you get the picture! Then save these. I am developing a storage system using little ziplock baggies (I'll share these at another time.) So save those little baggies we send your thank you notes and ribbon in and put them to good use.

Next label them with what is in the bag - flowers, butterflies, yep - whatever it is that you love. Now punch a hole and put it on a ring.

Below you can see the collection of punch shapes that I used for my designer paper. To begin I drew the basic shape of the label I was planning on using on a piece of scrap paper. I should have selected something that was not so distracting. For this I apologize, but I wasn't thinking about that - only about my finished project - LOL!

Arrange your punched backing shapes until you are satisfied. It is much easier to rearrange the shapes here than on your sticky project :-)

For this project I used shapes punched from the following punches:

• English Ivy Edger Punch
• Flowers and Leaves Large Punch
• Star Confetti Punch
• 2-Piece Flower and Retro Flower Punch

I applied my Be Creative Tape to a piece of Solar White cardstock and using my Label die I cut it out. For some odd reason my die did not cut all the way through this time and so I did need to use my Tim Holtz teflon coated scissors to cut through some of the remaining spots. Every other time I have tried this my die cut all the way through, so I'm not certain what was up with it this time. 

Next I removed my "worded" backing. Yes, I saved that piece for future punched shapes :-D

Now using our very fine-tipped teflon coated tweezers (or any other fine-tipped tweezers - I like the teflon coated because if they happen to stick to the adhesive it will have less of a tendency to damage it) place your shapes in the same position as you did on your planned layout. 

Always position your punched shapes with the wording face up!

To create the center in my flower I needed to first place the "abstract" star shape and then position my flower piece over top as shown on the right hand side of the picture. The little star shape is already under neath of this flower.

Finish positioning each piece.

Using an extra piece of backing paper smooth down over your entire project, making certain that each shape is firmly attached.

Cover with glitter.

Remove excess and using your soft make-up style brush (I use my Perfect Pearls brush) brush off the excess glitter.

Now burnish! Remember burnishing simply means to rub over the entire glitter surface with your finger tips. This will keep your glitter in place and ensure that future glitter colors do not become embedded into the current color family.

 

Next I removed the flower shaped backing and applied my Rose glitter.

Once again lift your piece and allow the excess glitter to fall onto your work paper. Use your soft brush to remove any excess. The top right portion is one that was brushed - the lower left is how it will appear when not brushed.

BURNISH with your finger tips!

As you can see I use my tweezers to get in and remove the little shapes that are firmly attached to my backing. If the shape is delicate you will need to work from several different places on your shape so as not to tear it. These little shapes can be reused until they start pulling apart and tearing. Once removed simply store them back into your little bags for future use. 

As you can see in this picture I have removed all of the shapes for my next color application. I wanted yellow to be in the flower centers, as well as on each individual small shaped flower.

Cover with glitter, remove excess glitter by brushing softly and burnish.

Remove small leaves and repeat with Grasshopper colored glitter.

I completed my project by adding yellow gemstones to the centers of three flowers, some Cool Transparent glitter to my fruit pieces, and applying Glossy Accents to my glasses.

So why do I love this product so much - it allows me to be creative! I am only limited by my own imagination. I have other projects to share with you in which I hand cut my shapes to be used on my glitter paper. The possibilities are so incredible!

Now it's time for us to "just chill" :-D Cheers to a marvelous and hopefully sunny weekend ahead - we NEED sunshine here in the Pacific Northwest!!!

stamps: Hero Arts Let's Chill

paper: Cosmo Cricket Delovely, Memory Box Granny Smith, Neenah Solar White

ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

accessories: Be Creative 4 1/2" Tape or Sheets, Glitter Ritz Microfine Glitter - Ice Blue, Grasshopper, Rose, Dark Gold, and Cool Microfine; Curved Mega Rectangle Nestability, Summer Mixed Gemstones, Yellow Twill, Glossy Accents, see links above for punch shapes, Tweezer Bees

Hoppy Birthday my Sweet Girl!

As evening approached and it was nearing time to leave the office today I was feeling sad. My life is moving at such a hectic pace that I just haven't had the time to create and tomorrow is my baby's 10th birthday! OK, so she's not a baby any longer; in fact we are moving out of the single digit birthday's in our home. In that split second I knew that I just needed to do it --- I needed to take that hour and create my sweet girl a special card.

Trina is an animal lover and when creating cards for her friends, one of her favorite images has been frogs, so... what image could be more appropriate than this darling Flower Frog by Hero Arts!

When conceiving Nestabilities one of my goals was to develop a product that could be used to create shaped cards. It was today, when a couple of customers came to pick up their orders that I realized many individuals have not been readers and customers for a long time. Many of you may have not seen a card created in a shape, so I would like to remind you how easy it is to create a card that is unique in shape, by using the larger sized Nesties.

The fold line in my Endive cardstock is located at the top of this photo. Note how I left a gap between the die and the fold line. I did not want to cut into the fold line. At this point my intent was to use the patterned paper as a "lilypad" and decided it would be easiest to cut this as one unit. I stacked my sandwich and ran it through my Big Shot.

I then selected Copic colors that coordinated with the papers I was using. I did not color carefully because I knew I would be cutting out this image and time was of the essence.

As well,l I wanted to add depth to the color in a quick and easy manner. Prismacolor pencils, together with Copic markers, create such beautiful depth in your images. It is so hard to capture in a photo, but I quickly added color pencil to my image using a crosshatching technique.

As I placed my image on top of the coordinating papers I realized that I needed to add some warm gray to the overall image, so that it would coordinate better.

Using W00 I simply colored over my image and voila - it coordinated beautifully. I'm not certain why the colors in my photos don't ring true, but in real life the blend is perfect.

OK, I'm a child at heart - LOL! When I saw the adorable images from Hero Arts I just couldn't resist bringing in googly eyes. I selected a package that will give you a ton of variety - a little goes a long way and every kid (including us big ones) will love giving this card a shake. I quickly snapped the picture above to help you "see" what this image would look like with two eyes of the same size. Being a little quirky is what I find so endearing about this image and so I settled on using two different size eyes.

As I was finalizing the layout of my design I realized that the balance was off with my lilypad in the bottom corner. Wouldn't you know it - I was out of the paper I had initially selected, but fortune smiled on me as I opened the remainder of my Sugar Rush pad. This paper just jumped right out of the book and I actually like it better than my first choice - LOL!

I knew that I would not be able to cut this image in the same manner as the first and so I simply laid out everything in my die to figure out the best location. I then removed everything, placing the circle in the same location and completed my cut.

One of the things that fascinates me about clear stamps is the ability to bend them into shapes. I wanted to do a play on the words Happy Birthday and so after stamping and embossing my sentiment I sewed a button over the "a" so that I could wish my sweet girl a very "hoppy birthday." 
  

I have slipped this card into her binder, so that when she opens it at school in the morning, birthday wishes and thoughts will greet her. Yep, I left the office smiling from ear to ear. I love my girl - Hoppy birthday sweetheart!!!
  

Bluebird Sketch and Technique Tag #1 Card Details

Sometimes it is all in the details and this card had SO many little details that I didn't address in my post on the CLASSroom. Well, with those missing details came a lot of questions and so I decided I would just put together an additional post for those who would like to know more about these little details. I skipped these because my post was already REALLY long and I didn't realize that they would be missed - so here they are for those who would like to replicate this project or would like to try some of these "other" techniques.

 

To color the bird I opted to use watercolors. I select which technique I am going to use when coloring in my images depending on the final look I want to create. I adore this little bluebird and did a Google image search to see what the "true" coloring of these birds would be. Once I saw the pictures I felt that watercoloring would be the route to take. I then went and selected my patterned paper based on the color scheme of the bird. The Hopscotch Graphic 45 paper is delicious and perfect in color tone!

I am finding these papers to be SO easy to use in my cardmaking because one side always has a scale that is appropriate and the color schemes are summed up in one word - YUMMY!

 

I stamped my Bluebird using Archival Jet Black Ink. Next I selected Distress Ink (Faded Jeans, Broken China, Weathered Wood, Fired Brick, Old Paper, Vintage Photo and not shown, Scattered Straw) to color this image. I used the dropper that is attached to the lid in these bottles to place one little droplet of ink on my non-stick craft sheet. I left the bottles on my surface to help me determine which droplet went with each color. Then using my waterbrush I painted in my little bird. There are a number of tutorials on the CLASSroom that talk about watercolor techniques. You will find that the colors will spread beautifully on your papers in the areas that are wet. If you do not want your color to float past a certain line, then do not wet that area of paper.

 

I have had numerous questions regarding the flower that I used on this creation. I should have known that this would be a rather elusive little item that need more explanation. The new botanical line of papers from Prima Marketing are superb! I have placed them in a number of different sections in the store to try and make it easier to find and figure out what they are for. I have put this line in two spots - Specialty Papers and Die Domain: Accessories.

These papers are phenomenal to cut with the low profile dies. In this case I used my Nested Flower die. I then inked the edges using an Ink Blending foam and Antique Linen distress ink. As you can see I opted to use the sponge only, making it easier to manipulate and just use one corner to add color to the edges only.

 

Hmmm - what else did I miss. I used the sentiment included in this month's special value "Gardener's Hands". Each month Cornish Heritage Farms comes out with a Stamp of the Month which is a 20% savings. Once our inventory runs out on this item we will then need to order these items independently and at a higher cost. So purchasing them in a set is a "good thing" if you like both images!

Last, but by no means least is the image from the exquisite Rummage Bin set created by Julia Stainton - Ornamental Beauty. This is a must have set for me - I LOVE the architectural like images that are included - they remind me so much of my interior design days!

I truly do hope that this helps answer some of those questions I left hanging with my technique post on the CLASSroom. I will do my best to create two posts simultaneously in the future. I am trying to keep those posts on the precise technique I am trying to share and not make them too lengthy, but when I get an opportunity to create my mind just goes wild and I throw everything in to the mix, but the kitchen sink it seems - LOL!

New Nestabilities Have Arrived

This post is just a partial repeat of the post on the Classroom - it is here to notify those that aren't regulars over on the Classroom that the new dies are in and if you see them on our store then they are ready to ship. If you click on a link and find the message that no product is found, that means that we are currently out of stock of that particular item. Please contact us at [email protected] with any questions you may have.

I am happy to tell you that many of the new dies are available now in our store. For the best selection be certain to shop early! Following is a list of the new dies and a direct link to each item:

• Nestability Dies - Circle, Pinked Large and Small (Please note that for a fit similar to what you are familiar with when layering the Scallops and Basic Circles it is just the opposite for the Pinked Circles. I hope to post a picture later today to show you what I mean being a picture is worth a thousand words and I know that you don't want to read through a thousand words and still not get what it is that I'm trying to say - LOL!)
• Nestability Dies - Labels One
• Nestability Dies - Labels Two
• Nestability Dies - Labels, Small (The large are not here and I'm not certain when the expected ship date is for these. Unfortunately the packaging on the small dies was done incorrectly. We are doing our best to "fix" the problem by putting homemade labels on the sets. The packaging is for the Large Labels and is a purple color, but these Small Labels will work the same - it is only the size that is different. Please be aware of this when they arrive so that you don't order the small ones when the large ones are available.)
• Nestability Dies - Rectangles, Curved Mega
• Nested Bird, Butterfly and Flower
• Border Dies Large - Daisy, Rose, Wisteria, and Illumination
• Border Dies Small - Daisy, Rose, Deckle and Scallop
• Other Dies - Cupcakes, Decorative Frames, Sunflower Garden, Sunflower Set One and Sunflower Set Two

We also have brought in additional Magnetic Storage Folders to help you keep your dies organized and together. You can see this post for pictures showing how these folders work.

We will do our best to get your orders out to you in a timely fashion. We have tried our best to list all sizes with each item and are happy to answer any questions you may have. We thank you so much for your support!

Copper Acorns

Thank you for your patience as we await the solution to our Typepad problems. Hopefully they will have a resolution soon, but it has now been two days since I last heard from them and nothing has been resolved yet. Oh how I wish I knew a lot more about computers!!!

So now on to some eye candy. I have received numerous questions about the foil and copper that we carry in our store. What is it for? How does one use it?

Today I am going to share a project that I created using the Pure Copper, Two Acorns stamp, and Labels 1 Nestability. I selected the copper because of the beautiful characteristics you can achieve when it is heated with an open flame. If you were to use the foil instead of the pure copper, the flame would burn the color from the foil and you would be left with a project that was not so pretty - LOL! So it all begins with the type of project you want to create. If you want to take advantage of the beautiful characteristics of copper, then be certain to select the Pure Copper to work with.

I began by cutting and embossing the new Label 1. We are still hoping for a September delivery date for the new Nestability dies, but do not have any word yet as to what the final date will be.

When selecting an image for this type of creation it is best to use an image that does not have a lot of little details. Those with a lot of fine detail need visual "editing" - you will need to select the portions that should be outlined. Therefore, I started with a fairly simple fall image to create this box cover.

When needing precise placement of a stamped image I always use my Stamp-a-ma-jig. To locate the position of the Two Acorns on the copper label I first stamped my image on the plastic mat that comes with the Stamp-a-ma-jig. By placing your plastic mat squarely in to the corner of the stamp-a-ma-jig and then stamping your image, also placing the stamp squarely in to the corner you can locate the exact position of the stamped image on your plastic mat. Locate this mat and your stamp-a-ma-jig in the exact location you would like to stamp your image.

Remove the plastic mat and stamp your image by once again squarely locating your stamp in the corner of the stamp-a-ma-jig and evenly applying pressure to your stamp and transferring the stamped image to your project.

 

Unfortunately the glare on this picture does not give you the best depiction of this image, but it gives you an idea as to what the finished product will look like. I highly recommend Palette ink for stamping on metal. If allowed to fully dry it holds up fairly well.

In this case you can begin working fairly quickly after stamping. Being that I am right handed I work from right to left so as to not smear the ink on my project. Place a spongey pad, in this case I used our Ornare Piercing Pad (it's consistency is perfect for use with foil), beneath your project. Using a fine-tipped stylus outline the image as shown above.

Once complete you can flip your project over to see the image outline. You could now leave the project as shown adding color with glass paint or even Copic markers. (Copic markers will only give a slight variation to the color, whereas glass paint will allow you to give it more of a cloisonné or enameled look.)

It is now time to "puff" out the metal and give your project life. Once again work on the side that you stamped on. Using the diferent sized ball points on these stylus tools, as well as the finer point on the teflon folder add dimension to your project. Use even pressure when adding these details for best results. You may want to take a little piece of scrap metal and practice before working on your project to get a feel for the amount of pressure you will need to use to achieve the best results.

Now comes the fun part! My kitchen tools always seem to come in handy - LOL! Who has time to make creme bruleé anyways? Ü If you aren't so lucky as to have one of these little gadgets you can also use a lighter that works with a gas grill. I think (now I could be wrong here, but...) any type of mechanism that shoots a fuel flame will work with the copper.

Here you see me practicing to achieve the best results. Be certain to use tweezers to hold your project because the metal gets VERY HOT! To achieve the most beautiful rainbow effects I found it best to barely focus in on the copper and then pull back. If you heat your copper for too long it will lose it's lustre and the rainbow effect will be diminished. I did find that if you sand the surface again you can get a second chance at success.

To help reinforce the copper and pop it off the surface of the box ever so slightly I cut and embossed a second label of the same size from Craft-a-board. To make certain I did not leave a white edge I used a Copper Leaf pen along the edge. Then I simply used my ATG gun to run adhesive along the very edge of the label and affixed the copper to the Craft-a-board.

I then ran another layer of adhesive around the bottom edge and attached it to a little box that I had on hand for gift giving.

This side view allows you to see how "puffed up" the foil can become with steady even workmanship. Other little features of this project include:

• foil tape wrapped around the box lid (also heated - be CERTAIN to NOT do what I did. Being tired I set to it with my flame not realizing that the back was paper. Talk about not so intelligent to put it mildly. Perhaps you can come up with an alternate method that would be a lot wiser - LOL!)
• box top was stamped using the Small Houndstooth ScrapBlock and Tea Dyed Distress Ink
• box top edges were Distressed using Tea Dye ink and Blending Tool
• edge of copper label had additional dimension added using a tracing tool used in sewing

Fill this box with a bookmark, wine charms or some other fall goodies and you will be prepared with a very unique hostess or birthday gift box!

Modern Influence

In my previous post I talked about how the black and white with the pop of an accent color was inspired by the Spring magazine from our local mall. Well the cover of this same magazine also grabbed my attention in a big way and so I decided to replicate it in a card as well. When I saw this very modern, artsy cover my mind immediately went to the butterflies. I chose the Checkered Butterfly because I was drawn to the two circles in the lower portion of the wings. The boldness of this image is so different from the typical "Ellen" look - I just had to share this side of my personality with you Ü

Being a multi-tasker and all I decided to nail down a number of the CHF challenges in just one post - LOL! Time is of the essence these days Ü

The first challenge I missed was partial backgrounder stamping - fading or stamping part of a layer. The texture in the dress and artwork in the magazine photo were wonderful to emulate for this particular challenge. I used the Rice Paper backgrounder to create the striations in the Raspberry cardstock and the Scratched Grid backgrounder to create the uneven appearance on the Lagoon cardstock. To create this uneven texture I place my backgrounder face up on my worksurface. I do not ink it evenly to begin with and then when I place my cardstock on the surface I let my fingers do the walking, so to speak. Rather then pressing evenly over the entire surface I only lightly press in an uneven manner on the areas I want to catch the detail. To really make the white pop off the raspberry cardstock I did use white embossing powder and was careful to only leave a small amount on the surface, brushing away any excess from many spots.

The next challenge was to stamp on anything but paper. I have been dying to show you why I purchased and added clear buttons to my store. VERSATILITY - gotta love it. I began by creating a little tab pull for my button as shown below. I love using blue painters tape for this type of use being it always comes off easily.

As you can see I placed my Scratched Grid backgrounder face up and then inked it with Palette ink. Using the tab on the button I was then able to set it straight down on to my backgrounder, ink it up and then pull straight up. I then allowed this to sit and dry. Now how long it needs to dry I am not certain being I never get to complete a project once I start it - LOL! So mine sat for maybe an hour before I got back to airbrush it. I doubt it takes anywhere near this time to dry, but... I'm just not certain. To add color to the buttons I then airbrushed them with my Copic Markers. Gotta LOVE versatility! Being the buttons are clear I used embroidery thread to attach them - neatly stitching them into place.

Last but not least I just needed to add some additional texture to the base white. Piercing is always one of my favorite fallbacks for adding texture in an inconspicuous manner. I love the fact that the Nestability dies are open in the center. I used a larger size Nestability circle as my outline to aid in keeping my piercing "round". I could never eyeball round - LOL!

Hopefully this post will once again leave you with a "cool idea feeling!" Gotta love a few good challenges for bringing out the creativity within each of us and the CHF challenges have been so much fun! So I challenge you to try something from this post - use the sketch, use the partial stamping, use the button idea, use the piercing or use the magazine ad with the mod colors. Just sit back create and enjoy!

New Nestability Packaging

It is important to me that I try and keep you as informed as possible regarding the products you purchase from us and therefore the reason I am sharing this little "news update" regarding the packaging of the Complete Nestability sets. In an effort to minimize human error (hmm - yes even we make mistakes - LOL!) The Complete Nestability sets are now packaged in one single large clamshell.

As you can see this package currently lies flat and is quite large, thus requiring a much larger shipping box if kept flat like this. These clamshells have been designed with plenty of room between each individual pocket to allow us to bend the packaging to put it in a smaller box for shipping. We will do our very best to provide you with the most economical method of shipping, as well as maintain the integrity of the dies.

Our store is currently filled with complete die sets and we finally have our Gotta Have It All's back in stock as well. We will make every effort to get your orders out to you quickly - thank you!

Dress It Up Valentine

Bells and whistles went off in my head when I saw Sharon Harnist's gorgeous "beribboned" (is that even a word?) creation on her blog the other day. It reminded me so much of the Southern Living "Dress It Up" collection that I believe is now retired and how I need to remember to look to home accents for inspiration - there is so much out there just begging to be translated in to card format. I knew I just had to make a card using the new Hearts and Scalloped Hearts with this design - I just loved it too much. So here is my version of a "Dress It Up" Nestie Heart.

Valentine's are mostly pink, but the soft yellow just seemed like the right touch with the new Basic Grey Two Scoops paper.

I have heard that some of you are having trouble with your dies slipping and so I thought I would share once again how it is that I use the dies and magnetic plate in hopes of helping you. I guess I really need to learn how to make those videos - but I just haven't had the time to learn, so hopefully these photos will do the trick.

To begin with I have cut my magnetic placement mat to be the same size as the white spacer plate. This seems to help me keep things perfectly aligned. I then lay the master plate on the table, followed by the white spacer plate and then the magnetic placement mat. I place my dies in to location precisely as I would like them cut - they "snap" to the magnetic placement mat and have held firmly in place. I do not lift the magnetic placement mat without having a solid surface such as the white spacer plate beneath it. If you do lift it alone it will bend and move your dies.

Next make certain that the edges of the magnetic mat are aligned with the edges of the white spacer plate.

Then place your paper atop this stack pattern side, or right side, facing down. Top this sandwich with your second master plate and send it through the Wizard.

One tip that might be helpful is to note the position of your die on the master plate before sending it through. I typically have the thickest portion of the sandwich towards the back and start my sandwich with the end that does not have as many ingredients. Note how most of my ingredients are towards the bottom of the plate. This allows for the machine to get a good grasp on your plates without shifting the product that is within. I believe that some of the shifting that may be occuring is due to the force that is placed on your sandwich. If the thick part of the sandwich is right at the start the machine may be shifting your layers within. I wish I could observe others working first hand so that I might be able to better figure this out and give better tips.

After passing through the machine I can then lift my plate and the dies are lightly embedded in to the master plate or still attached to the magnetic plate. If embedded in the master plate I use my fingernail to lift the die out, and then flip it back over on to the magnetic placement mat as shown below.

Once again note how the thicker part of the sandwich is located towards the bottom end of my master plate - the end that enters the die cut machine first has minimal product located there.

The detail of your heart should be crisp and clean.

To complete I flipped the heart over and made light pencil marks to locate where I would punch my holes and then using my crop-a-dile punched those holes, threaded a beautiful silk ribbon through them, backed it with yet another patterned paper from the Two Scoops collection, added my sentiment, dew drops and piercing.

I hope these pictures might help some of you with your shifting problem. I would love to see how you "Dress Up" your nestie creations Ü Link me up in the comment section below :D

3 - Baby Love

Mark your calendars for this Friday, November 30 starting at 12:01 a.m. - you can visit our home page for more details about our upcoming Anniversary Sale.

We will once again keep the action flowing here on our blog and hope to announce some fun new ideas and special "gifts" to you over the next few days. Don't forget to leave a message on yesterday's post! The Nestabilitiy Scalloped Hearts are way cool and I want each and every one of you to have an opportunity to win them Ü There is more to come though :D

Before I begin I want to answer the question many of you have asked - why are there duplicate standard circles in the Complete Classic Circle and Complete Petite Circle sets? Well the answer to that is - the standard circle works with both sets. Some people prefer the Classic Scallop for the larger scallop - there are 22 bumps around the circumference. Others prefer the Petite Scallop which has 37 bumps and therefore a more delicate look. Being it is a better price to purchase all four dies that coordinate together we did not want to have either selection feel short changed if only purchasing one set. Now if you decide that you need both the Classic Scallops AND the Petite Scallops then please do not duplicate ordering Complete sets for both. Only order one complete set and then the Large and Small Scallops from the other set separately. You will note that in the Gotta Have It All it includes only one of the Standard Circle Large and Small dies. We tried to think of the best way to package these and this is what we were able to come up with. Hopefully this makes sense - again we did this in hopes of making certain that we gave you the best value available when purchasing either set.

Sometimes I amaze myself. As I was thinking about what I would do with the new Baby Bib that Karen designed it dawned on me that a petal card would be really sweet, and then, hey, why not use the Nestability Petite Scalloped Circle to make it?!? Woohoo - I can't believe how a brain works - I don't know where it came from, but I'm thrilled it came.

View - Front side closed. I thought about hanging a tag from the center, but... What do you think?

View - Back side closed. Do you like that twisty feel with the Dew Drop in the center?

View - Inside of announcement.

The wonderful thing about Memory Box cardstock is that it is double-sided. One side is white and the other has the most rich, beautiful color - therefore it was easy to make this candy-cane twisty color scheme (for this card I used Sugar Plum and Cotton Candy).

The first step is to cut and emboss four scalloped circles. In this case I used the largest petite scalloped circle die. In order for the candy-cane swirl to occur I embossed two with the color face down and two with the color face up. You will see why in just a moment.

Next you need to score your circles as shown below.

I used my new desktop size Mini Scor-It for this project. I must say that it is coming in handy to have this little scoring board right on my table - I don't even have to stand-up anymore - LOL! It is more transportable than the large one and still makes the same wonderful score line. The price point is also much easier for crafters to budget for (OK, budget - I guess that's a joke :D). If you already have a large Scor-It board there really is no need for a small one, unless you go out and about a lot or want it right on your work surface as you are making your card projects. I will still use my large board for many purposes, but this one has it's advantages at times.

Using the Magnetic Precision Mat made it so easy to center the scallops and align the circles.

Attach a glue dot to the lower right hand corner and then lay down your next circle.

Note how the circles are aligning, forming a square on the score lines. Add another glue dot as shown. These glue dots keep your work from shifting on you, yet they still allow for some movement to square up your project.

I turned my circles as I was working because I am SO right-handed. This picture shows how I am alternating colors. The embossing is face down - it really adds a funky twist to the completed project.

This next step can be a little tricky. Note the corner with the glue dot - you now need to tuck that corner in UNDER the white circle to complete your pin wheel look. Square everything up and then press down on the glue dots to hold your circles in place.

To complete the project I cut a square nestability out of the Cotton Candy stamping the latest Lockhart Baby Bib image (these will be available come Friday - be certain to stop by our store for our Anniversary Sale!). Adhere this piece firmly in place - this will keep those circles from slipping. The announcement is printed on Vellum Cardstock using  2 Peas Heart's Delight font. My favorite way to adhere vellum to a project is by running it through the Xyron. NO adhesive shows through whatsoever! I love how the bib peaks through from behind the vellum. Again I thought about adding a little color to the bib, but went with simplicity instead.

Last but not least was the addition of the little "flower brads". I made these by using a couple of tiny Making Memories button brads, glue dots, Prima flowers, more glue dots and then Dew Drops. The pink Dew Drops are in the Island Blossom collection. It is so fun to see these catching on and to see what you are all doing with them. Post a comment in the area below and link back to your creations if you have the time. It would be fun to share what you have done with these little finds!

Finally a simple white shimmery cord was then wrapped circle eight style around the brads to close this little announcement. This same technique would also make awesome wedding announcements. I hope that you enjoy this little spontaneous creation and the use of the scallops to create a petal card :D See you tomorrow!