It’s time for another IDEAS blog hop where this month our theme is “We are cut out to be friends”. For this theme we were asked to create projects that focused on cutting. Of course there are lots of different ways that cutting is used in papercrafting but mostly I concentrated on fussy cutting. I created two projects for this month’s IDEAS tutorial bundle; a card and a fridge magnet. Then I created a second card for my blog. All three projects feature the cute By My Side Stamp Set.

BY HIS SIDE?
Of the three people included in the By My Side Stamp Set my favourite has to be the one with the dog. But for me that dog seems to be walking behind him rather than by his side. So on this project I decided to remedy that.
But before getting to that I first needed to stamp the combined boy and dog image onto a scrap of Basic White Card using Tuxedo Black ink. Then I stamped them coming in from the left on a 4″ x 5-1/4″ layer of Basic White Card and on the front of a Basic White Medium Envelope.

To colour in the images I chose Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers after putting a scrap of white paper inside the envelope to prevent the ink bleeding through.
I began by adding rosy cheeks to the boy’s face with light Flirty Flamingo. Then I went over the face, arms and legs of each image with Ivory. For the boys’ hair I used light Soft Suede. The t-shirts started with dark Cherry Cobbler along the neckline and over the creases. Then I went over the whole of each one with light Cherry Cobbler. That just left the shorts to do, beginning with dark Starry Sky along the waistband, before going over everything with light Starry Sky.
For the dogs I went back to the Soft Suede Stampin’ Blends. Using the dark marker I first coloured down the side of the dogs’ ears, under the belly, the tops of the legs and their noses. Then I went over the whole of each dog with light Soft Suede.
With that done I used my Paper Snips to cut out the boy and dog from the scrap of Basic White Card.
PROPERLY SIDE BY SIDE
For the card base I decided to use Basic Black Card. Using my Paper Trimmer I cut and scored the card, folded it along the scored line and sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder. Then using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) I fixed the stamped and coloured Basic White layer on the inside.

Now I needed to create a background and for that I cut another 4″ x 5-1/4″ layer of Basic White Card. This time I used a Blending Brush to add a light layer of Granny Apple Green ink across the bottom and about 1-1/4″ up. Then I coloured the rest using a Blending Brush and Starry Sky ink, before mounting it onto the card base with liquid glue.
For the sentiment I chose the middle-sized “Happy birthday” from the Go To Greetings Stamp Set. First I stamped it into a 1″ x 3-1/4″ strip of Basic White Card using Tuxedo Black ink. Then I shaped the ends using the plainer option on the Lovely Label Pick-A-Punch. With that done I added the sentiment to the background layer with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

At last it was time to resolve my issue with the boy and his dog. All it took was a little liquid glue to add the boy to the background. Then with more liquid glue I added the fussy-cut dog, but I made him overlap the boy. Finally my card was complete, and now they really do look like they’re walking side by side don’t you think?
MORE CUTTING IDEAS
So with today’s project finished let me tell you a little more about this month’s IDEAS Tutorial Bundle. The December “We are cut out to be friends” PDF contains 67 pages, featuring 25 projects from 13 different designers. There’s cards plus lots of other projects for every taste and ability using a variety of current products from Stampin’ Up! The collage below provides a little peek of what’s inside. It’s not hard to spot part of one of the two projects I contributed to this creative bundle.

If you’d like a copy of the Tutorial Bundle for your own personal use, or even to use in your classes, there are three different ways to get it:
- Place an order via my online store for $45CAD (before shipping and taxes) using my December Host Code F9YQQ434. Make sure to allow Stampin’ Up! to share your contact details so I can e-mail the tutorial to you. If your order is over $200CAD don’t use the Host Code or you’ll miss out on Stampin’ Rewards. However, so long as I have access to your contact details I’ll still send you the PDF.
- Join Stampin’ Up! and my Crafty Canadians team, and you’ll get this IDEAS tutorial for free.
- Buy the tutorial. Contact me at tutorials@papercraftwithme.com for more information.
Once you’ve received the bundle, please remember not to share or distribute printed or electronic copies of the tutorials. We’ve worked hard to provide these exclusive projects for your personal use. If you know someone who would like to purchase the tutorial bundle, please direct them to me to obtain their own copy. Thank you for your support.
So that’s it from me for today, but please visit Odette Kermode on the next leg of the blog hop by clicking on the ‘NEXT’ button below.
PRODUCT LIST
UPDATE 2023: Sadly the Lovely Labels Pick-A-Punch has retired and is no longer available from Stampin’ Up! Instead you could use the Happy Labels Pick-A-Punch or Banners Pick-A-Punch
Totally missed this set in the catalogue!
It’s so cute, I may be a little addicted to this one.
Your coloring is splendid – well done!
Thank you Janey
You’ve created some sweet cards with this set, Tracy. I hadn’t really noticed it in the catalogue.
Thank you Judy