It's another fun week here in the CLASSroom, using some of my very favorite papercrafting tools, dies!
The beautiful dies I used to create these cards are Waffle Flower's Doily Circle and Lacy Layers 5x7 (I have the two largest dies of this set stored on the back side of the right card below)
I used Distress Oxide Inks to create the backgrounds, which I think turned out to resemble a soft faux watercolor look! Here's how I created them:
Let's start with my first blue notecard, which measures 3-1/2" x 5". I decided to keep this one simple, without a greeting, so it could be used for anything. It's the perfect size to present a gift card!
To create the background for the blue card, I pressed these Distress Oxide Inks onto my Non-Stick Craft Sheet: Cracked Pistachio, Broken China, and Faded Jeans, then spritzed them with water:
Next, I took a 4-1/4" x 5-1/2" panel of Neenah Solar White 110 Lb. cardstock and dipped it into the ink. I prefer a heavier weight cardstock when using a water technique such as this. For this particular panel I didn't have as much water on the ink, so the colors didn't move around as much and sank into the cardstock quickly, which resulted in a more separated look to the colors:
If you want to add more color in spots, just dip the paper into the remaining inks again, until you are satisfied with the results. Dry the panel with your heat tool between dippings, to achieve different looks. I love that this technique always creates such different and varying results! After I finished with the first panel, I was able to spritz the remaining ink on my craft sheet two more times, to create two more backgrounds! The more water you add, the lighter the results will be:
I chose the center panel above because I wanted softer muted colors. I die cut it with the second largest Lacy Layers 5x7 die, which is a beautiful scallop edge with pierced holes all along the edges. I adhered the blue panel to a notecard I created with the largest stitched Lacy Layers 5x7 die, which measures a generous 5" x 7", and scored it in half:
I used my favorite new tape runner to adhere the panel to the card base, X-Press It's Tape Runner. I know many of you were equally as distraught as I was when Tombow's Stamp Runner was discontinued ... I have found this tape to have a fantastic hold, even with this warped background I created!
After assembling the background, I die cut the Doily Circle from Neenah Solar White cardstock. Do yourself a huge favor and use a lighter 80 Lb. weight cardstock with this intricate die and you'll achieve a nice cut. I would also suggest using a layer of wax paper between the die and cardstock and using a Metal Adaptor Plate in your die cutting sandwich, until you find out how your die cutting machine's pressure interacts.
My next card uses the die cut negative, to create a mosaic look!
For this card, I started the same way I did with the blue background, using these Distress Oxide Inks (I apologize for not getting a photo of the inking process): Worn Lipstick, Spiced Marmalade, and Fossilized Amber. Then I die cut the inked panel with the Doily die. This was actually the first time I had used the Doily die, used 110 Lb. cardstock and did not use the wax paper or metal adaptor, so all the pieces lifted out of the die together. This was both a good and slightly bad outcome -- a few of the pieces were not cut all the way through, which I decided to make work in my favor.
I placed the die cut right side down onto some Glad Press 'N Seal wrap (found at your local grocery store). This wrap has a tacky surface, yet removes from paper easily! Then I slowly and gently removed the die cut (shown on the right below) from its negative space on the Glad wrap (on the left below), finishing the cuts with a craft knife on a few pieces as needed:
Next, I applied Matte Multi Medium onto the back side of the die negative pieces (still attached to the Glad wrap), then turned the wrap and die cut pieces over and positioned them on my scalloped die cut background (made from the second largest Lacy Layers 5x7 scalloped die).
I let the adhesive dry a few minutes, then gently and carefully removed the wrap:
I love the raised mosaic effect! The Congratulations sentiment is from Julie's 12 Days Companion Greetings. It was gold heat embossed. The scalloped panel was adhered to a Neenah Solar White card base.
Since I wanted to use this as a wedding card, inside I adhered the leftover white doily from my first project and stamped a Mr. & Mrs. sentiment (also from the 12 Days Companion Greetings stamp set) in Delicata Gold ink:
And there you have two totally different looks from the same two die sets -- I love versatility!
I think this Distress Oxide background technique lends itself very well to all types of Spring and Easter cards, don't you? (I apologize -- As of this writing, some of the Distress Oxide inks are currently out of stock, but more are expected soon. So please click the "Notify Me" button on the product page and you'll receive an email as soon as more are received in the store! Meanwhile, you could achieve similar results with your regular Distress Inks or Refills!).
Happy stamping! :)
