When I first began cardmaking I really didn’t understand layers. Why would someone use more product than they needed to create a card? It took a while for me to realise that sometimes adding layers makes the card more interesting. That doesn’t mean that simple one-layer cards can’t be beautiful, but it’s nice to have other options. Normally when I think of layers I think in terms of ‘adding’, for example layering DSP onto a slightly larger card mat. Or adding a sentiment onto a background as a separate piece. Today though I ended up layering in reverse and I really like the result.

LAYERING DIES

This project all began when I pulled out this very pretty paper from the Poinsettia Place Designer Series Paper (DSP) pack. Initially I thought I might cut out a couple of the flowers and glue them to a sentiment layer. But then I had a quite different idea. What if the ‘background’ became the top layer with the sentiment behind it?

From the Layering Squares Dies I chose the #8 plain-edged die (counting from the smallest up). I placed the die onto the DSP and moved it around until the top left corner sat across a couple of the flowers. This would be where I wanted my finished die-cut to go. From there cut the DSP to 4″ x 5-1/4″ making sure that the area to be die-cut sat nicely towards the bottom of the piece.

With that done I used Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) to attach the DSP to a 4″ x 5-1/4″ layer of Very Vanilla Card. This would help support the paper when I came to put the card together. With that done I placed the DSP sideways on the cutting platform of my machine and placed the #8 die on top. Now came the tricky part…

I placed the cutting pad on top of the die but only as far as I wanted the die to cut (up to the edge of the top flower petal). Then when I die-cut the DSP I stopped as soon as I felt the end of the cutting plate. Next, keeping the die in place I carefully turned the DSP 90 degrees so I could cut some more of the square. This time I placed the cutting pad up to the edge of the first petal of the smaller flower. Once again I cut only until I felt the end of the cutting plate.

HAND-CUT FLOWERS

By this point I had the bottom and right side of the square cut, as well as part of the top and left side. Now I needed to cut into the square around the two flowers using Paper Snips. It was a little tricky but really didn’t take too long. By the time I was done I had a window with the flowers peeking in from the top left corner.

TIP – If you don’t want to use the layering dies to do this altered die-cut. You could use a pencil to draw the edges of your shape onto the DSP and cut the window area out with Paper Snips.

Before putting away the DSP I decided that the flowers would be my coordinating feature for this project. So I cut a 2-1/4″ x 6″ piece and glued it to the flap of a Very Vanilla Medium Envelope. Then using Paper Snips I trimmed the DSP using the edge of the flap as a guide.

Looking at the paper I had left I found a corner with the flowers in the perfect place. So all I needed to do was cut around the flowers with Paper Snips. Then I glued them to the top left corner of a layer of Very Vanilla Card.

Finally, using my Paper Trimmer I cut and scored some Thick Very Vanilla Card for my card base. Then I folded it along the scored line and sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder. After that I glued the Very Vanilla piece with the decorated corner on the inside.

LAYERING THE SENTIMENT

That just left the sentiment to do and I chose “May magic & wonder bloom this holiday” from the Poinsettia Petals Stamp Set.

My idea was to have the sentiment on the card base and then layering the DSP piece over top. So holding the DSP layer in place I used VersaMark ink to stamp the sentiment inside the ‘window’ onto the card base. Then I removed the DSP layer and sprinkled the sticky ink with Gold Stampin’ Emboss Powder. After tapping off the excess powder I removed some stray specks, then melted the rest using my Heat Tool set on 2 (high).

With the sentiment embossed I simply needed to attach the DSP layer to the card front. For this I chose Foam Adhesive Strips as they would provide good support, especially around the ‘window’. Once that was done my project was complete.

You know it was only after I’d cut out the window that I thought this would make a great shaker card. Sadly, although I do have Window Sheet, I don’t have any sequins or other things to shake. So there’s something else I need to add to my next order. But even without the shaker element I love how this project turned out . What do you think?

PRODUCT LIST

BUNDLE BONUS – I bought the Poinsettia Place Stamp Set in a ‘bundle’ with the co-ordinating Poinsettia Dies (not used today). Using the ‘bundle’ item number when placing my order meant I saved 10% off the cost of buying the two items separately. I’ve included a link to the bundle in case you want to look at this option.