Happy March, crafters! Today I'm sharing a happy Easter bouquet window card made with Julie's Essentials by Ellen Diagonal Window (brilliant idea!) die and gorgeous Wild Garden and Bold Blossom dies!
Above is what the card looks like all tied up, as it would come out of the envelope. Below is what the recipient sees as they are untying and opening the card, to reveal the message inside (all bold products are linked below in the supply section):
Let me tell you how it came together . . .
1. I started by die cutting Essentials by Ellen Laurel Wreath, Wild Garden, and Bold Blossom Stand Alone dies from Neenah 80 lb Solar White cardstock. I wanted to use the lighter weight cardstock for all the layers, so they would be easier to cut through later:
2. I also die cut the Diagonal Window from the Neenah cardstock and then arranged my bouquet on top of the window, to get an idea of each flower's placement. I tired to get as few layers as possible overlapping the cut lines of the window:
3. Next, I began coloring my die cut florals with Copic Sketch markers. First, the Laurel Wreath (G21, G24, G28, E35):
Then the purple flowers/berries (V12, V15, E31, E35):
Yellow/orange flowers (Y15, Y19, Y38):
Pink flowers (RV13, RV14):
Green leaves (I wanted these to be a different shade of green, so they would be distinguishable from the laurel wreaths (YG23, YG25):
TIP: Notice I am keeping most of my color ranges in the Copic 1's and 2's (G21, V15, RV13, etc.) ... this way, I am assured all of my colors will be the more vibrant Spring-y hues of each color family. Here's how the florals look, all colored and arranged on the window die cut:
4. Next, I started adhering each of the colored die cuts with X-Press It Glue Marker. I love this adhesive when working with small die cuts -- the marker bullet tip makes applying the adhesive to every small bit of die cut very easy. It dries quickly and adheres very well, which is what you want, since you will be cutting these small die cuts again in a moment ... AND bending back the window panels.
5. After all the die cuts were adhered in place, I flipped the window over to the back side and used a craft knife to cut along the window's previous cut lines:
You could also just put the finished panel back into the die and die cut it again ... but honestly, I didn't think of that until I was writing this, LOL! But it didn't take long to use the craft knife and I was assured of not taking the chance of the die shifting while re-cutting the panel.
6. Next, I re-scored over the window's score lines, which run 1/2-inch all around the perimeter of the panel, and positioned the open window panel over my Neenah Solar White top-folding card base so I would know where to place my "happy" (from the Merry & Bright Essentials by Ellen die set) die cut and stamp my custom "Easter" sentiment created with Julie's new Basic Alpha stamp set:
7. The top panel was then adhered to the card base using 1/2-inch X-Press It High Tack Double-Sided Foam Mounting Tape around the perimeter.
8. Tie Gold Metallic String through the window's center holes and this pretty Easter bouquet window card is ready to send!
Thanks so much for joining me today . . . I hope you have a lovely Spring weekend!
