I love knowing that Stampin’ Up! produces dies to coordinate with a particular stamp set. The only problem is that I often get tunnel vision and forget to check out the extra dies that are included in the set. By that I mean the ones that don’t coordinate with a stamped image. So I’ve been on a mission to discover (or rediscover) some of these gems. This morning it was the turn of the Gnome Dies. But as well as making the cute gnome, there was an extra special surprise…
EASY GNOME FIGURE
I must admit that I had a pretty good idea what four of the ‘extra’ dies in the Gnome Dies set were for. I think the ‘feet’ shape kind of gave it away. But it was only after cutting out the pieces that I realised how clever these were. But I get ahead of myself…
From the Gnome Dies I started by choosing the feet, the shaggy beard, the die that looks like an apron (?) and one of the two small ovals. Each die only needed to be used once so I ran them through my Mini Cut and Emboss Machine all together in one pass. For the feet I chose a scrap of Basic Black Card, then Real Red for the hat, Basic White for the beard and Petal Pink for the nose.
Once the pieces were cut I decided to tone down the bright white beard using a little Smoky Slate ink applied with a Blending Brush. It was only as the ink started to accentuate the detail embossed in the card by the die that I spotted something very clever. Towards the top of the piece I could see a small embossed oval exactly the same size as my Petal Pink ‘nose’. Then either side of that I realised there were two extra lines that aligned perfectly with the bottom of the hat! None of this wondering where to put the pieces, I just had to follow the plan provided for me.
So using a little Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) I attached the hat onto the beard. Then I fixed the nose in its designated spot. Finally I glued the bottom of the beard onto the feet piece. And that was it, my gnome was done.
BOOKMARK SURPRISE
All I needed now was to create a bookmark base for my gnome to stand on.
I started simply enough by cutting a 2″ x 5-3/4″ strip of Basic White Card. Then I went looking for a suitable wintry background. I knew what I was looking for but it took me a while to find it. Then there it was in the Rings of Love 12″ x 12″ Designer Series Paper Pack. I simply cut a 2″ x 5-3/4″ strip and glued it onto the Basic White Card piece.
Now I needed to punch a hole at the top of the assembled strips but as I started to reach for my punches something in the Gnome Dies caught my eye. It was a very small, rather insignificant looking triangular shaped die. But as I looked closely, the triangle of metal was solid with a small raised circle in one of the points. This die was made to cut a single hole! So now instead of punching the hole in the bookmark base I used this newly discovered die instead.
With that done I cut three 6″ pieces of white twine from the Baker’s Twine Essentials Pack. I threaded these through the die-cut hole and tied them together with a simple knot close to the top of the bookmark.
Finally using liquid glue I attached my gnome to the snowy background and my project was complete.
I can’t tell you now much fun I had making this bookmark. But even more exciting is the discover of another option for adding a small hole to a project. It’s the little things….
If you’re a gnome fan make sure you haven’t missed the projects in these previous blog posts:
PRODUCT LIST
BUNDLE BONUS – I bought the Gnomes Dies in a bundle with the coordinating Kindest Gnomes Stamp Set (not used today). Buying the two products using the ‘bundle’ item number meant I saved 10% off the cost of buying them separately. I’ve included a link to the bundle below in case you want to compare these options.
SALE-A-BRATION – The Rings of Love 12″ x 12″ DSP is only available to customers until August 31st (while stocks last). However, like all products in the Sale-A-Bration Brochure these are not available to buy, but can be earned for free simply by placing a qualifying order. To get this paper simply order $60 of regular Stampin’ Up! products (before shipping and taxes), then select it as your free choice when prompted during the checkout process.
The Rings of Love DSP coordinates with the Ringed With Nature Stamp Set and Tree Rings Hybrid Embossing Folder in the current Mini Catalogue. If you want the stamp set and hybrid folder you can save 10% if you order them as the Ringed With Nature Bundle.
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