Genius I tell you! Pure genius! When coming up with new product ideas one of THE most exciting things is seeing what others do with these products. The nesting capabilties that I envisioned when I created the Nestabilities didn't see this design coming. Why? I don't know, but I am certainly thrilled with the creative ingenuity that others throw in to the mix, which translates into something extraordinary Ü (At least I think it is - LOL!) Below I will share how Alli has inspired me!
I wanted to create a "no layers" card with a teenage girl in mind. I have found that as my daughter grows up her tastes have changed dramatically. At times I'm not certain what to create for her and her group of friends. So I went to Pottery Barn Teen for some inspiration, being she loves everything in that catalog, and I found the bedding ensemble shown below.
Using Kim Hughes Bloomin' Beautiful gave a very similar feel to the end result. The variety of flowers and leaves in this set gave me a LOT to select from! When I showed Maddi the completed card her response was, "COOL, Mom!"
I have always loved the high-end look of fine stationary lines. The simpler and more elegant the design the more I gravitate towards it. So this extra thick embossed edge just made me giddy when I saw it for the first time a few days ago (yes, I really should blog hop more often.) Alli Miles this is fabulous! Alli shares a wonderful tutorial on her blog showing how she first came up with the layering of the Nestabilties. You really must check it out. Now she has me thinking about all sorts of possibilities! I think I must warn you that this might flake your dies or even bend them if not done correctly, but man to me it is worth the risk (insert big silly grin). Be certain when you layer your dies that they fit perfectly together. If they slip you may damage them! BUT I'm all over this look and can't resist!!! Thank you Alli for such a spectacular addition to the Nestability mix!
So here is the basic idea - use two nestability dies together! Genius I tell you! You can use the squares, circles or ovals. Unfortunately the rectangles will not work because of the "geometry" of breaking a rectangle down in percentages. You will need to select two dies that are within 1/8" from each other to get the look above. Place one die with the blade face up and the other with blade face down. Alli has even shown you how to mix it up by flipping this whole set-up over. This allows you to get an Innie and an Outie. I do believe I have an Innie shown above - LOL! Once again be certain that your dies do not slip out of this position or you may damage them!
As you can see in the picture above I used my BIg Shot so that I could see the final layering through the clear acrylic and make certain that my dies did not slip out of position. To do this in the Big Shot I used the following sandwich:
I reverse and crank backwards as soon as the die has finished passing through so that I will not get odd creases in the remainder of my project. Being I am using a card that is 10" long I cannot fit it completely under the clear acrylic mat. If I were to pass this project all the way through the Big Shot I would end up with a damaged card. This is why I only pass it through the machine until the die is finished embossing. I then reverse it to bring it back out the same side I started it in. Hopefully this makes sense - please let me know if I have confused you completely - LOL!
Next I created my mask by adhering Eclipse tape to the Clear Acrylic Mat and used the next die size, to cut a window that would fit perfectly over the embossed area of my card front (see photo below).
Random isn't always something that is easy to figure out. I always have a method to my madness when creating a random print. It took me a little experimenting to figure out exactly what was going to work the best for this project and so I would like to share it with you to help you muddle through it a little faster.
Being I wanted the sentiment to pop from the flowers I stamped it in black ink and embossed it with clear embossing powder. At this point I wasn't certain whether it would look best with the words being masked and therefore completely "clean" or if it would be OK to stamp over the words, and so I experimented on a piece of scrap paper. I began by stamping and creating my mask. I located it on my scrap paper and then positioned the buttons I wanted to add as flower centers and the dot on the "i" in birthday.
I then stamped my main, large image first removing the buttons one at a time as I stamped and then repositioning them after the ink had dried. As you can see in the photo above I was able to space everything quite easily by doing it in this manner. Always start with your largest image and then work your way to the smallest ones.
AS you can see in the sample above the look with the mask removed was not anything like I imagined and so I knew now that I wanted to just slightly overlap the image on my words. I placed my sample right next to my embossed card front which has the mask firmly attached. By placing my sample in such close proximity it allows me to really see the position of where I want to stamp my images. It also allows me to perfect the placement even more.
As you can see I continued by stamping in a very similar fashion as my sample.
One of my favorite things in my stash of goodies is my embroidery thread collection. Before rubber stamping I did a lot of Cross Stitch and so I have quite the collection of different colored threads. I simply laid my project down next to my thread box and selected one that coordinated with the ink I had used. (I used Colorbox Chalk Ink and unfortunately I am now working from home being I have a sick child and I am not feeling well myself, so I apologize for not being able to share the exact color grouping that I used.) Embroidery thread is relatively inexpensive when it goes on sale and it is one of the items that I think you will be able to use a lot in your creative process. I highly recommend putting a collection together. Perhaps not as large as mine (LOL) but to have thread handy is a "good thing."
One tip I would like to share with you when threading embroidery thread through buttons is to use an embroidery thread needle. This will save you a lot of time being you only need to thread it once Ü.
So here is my challenge to you:
- Create a card using no card stock layers - use only a single sheet of cardstock or notecard for this project.
- Yes, you can use embellishments such as ribbon, buttons, brads, pearls, bling, glitter, etc. - just no additional layers of cardstock.
- Post your creation on your blog or in any online gallery. Then come back here and link us to your creation.
- You have one week to do this being I know that you really want to blog hop today and find all that yummy blog candy that everyone has out there waiting for you Ü. So this challenge ends at midnight on October 10th. This drawing will be random - I could never "judge" the beautiful artwork I know you will submit!
- Your reward for putting your creativity to work and linking is the possibility of earning this wonderful giveaway - Kim Hughes Bloomin' Beautiful, so go get busy ladies!
Thank you for stopping by on such a BUSY day and don't forget to post a comment for each of our Blog Candy entries that are live!
