In my blog post yesterday I pointed out that there are acorn and oak leaf dies in the Fond of Autumn Dies, and that these pair beautifully with the Nuts About Squirrels Stamp Set. Today I have another of these coordination surprises to show you. This time while making a birthday card using the Hues of Happiness Designer Series Paper (DSP) I thought the flowers looked familiar. So I went on a little hunt. Eventually I found dies that matched the flowers in an unexpected place, the Hippo Dies set.

HUES OF HAPPINESS

This birthday card project began with the Hues of Happiness DSP. Today I was drawn to the tiny colourful flowers on the Night of Navy Background. I began by cutting a 2-1/4″ x 6″ piece and fixed it to the flap of a Basic White Medium Envelope using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow). Then I trimmed off the excess paper with my Paper Snips, using the edge of the flap as a guide.

Next I cut a 3/4″ x 5-1/4″ strip of the DSP along with a 4″ x 5-1/4″ piece of Basic White Card. Using liquid glue again I attached the DSP down the right-hand edge of the card and set it aside.

Next I needed a card base and for this I chose Night of Navy Card. Using my Paper Trimmer I cut a 5-1/2″ x 8-1/2″ piece of card and scored it at 4-1/4″. Then I folded it along the scored line and sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder. With that done I glued the assembled Basic White layer on the inside.

For the card front I cut one last piece of the Hues of Happiness DSP at 3″ x 4″. After cutting a 3-1/8″ x 4-1/8″ piece of Daffodil Delight Card I glued the DSP layer on top. Then I mounted the layers onto the front of the card base using Stampin’ Dimensionals.

HIPPO SURPRISE

For the sentiment I reached for a favourite stamp set, Celebrating You. I love the variety of sentiments and the combination of neat fonts used in this set. Today I chose “Happy birthday” and stamped it onto a piece of Thick Basic White Card using Night of Navy ink.

To cut out my sentiment I chose one of the label style dies in the Painted Labels set. As well as cutting out the sentiment it also added a simple embossed line around the border. Once cut, I flipped the sentiment over and used Mini Glue Dots to add a zig-zag of white 3/8″ Glittered Organdy Ribbon. Then I attached the sentiment to the floral layer with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

All I needed now was a little embellishment to finish off the project and that’s where the Hippo Dies came in. As well as three dies that cut out Hippo images (from the coordinating Hippest Hippo Stamp Set), there are 16 other dies in the set. I chose the two small 5-petal flowers and used each one twice to cut out some Daffodil Delight Card.

Next I added a tiny Pearl Basic Jewel in the centre of each flower and pressed them down firmly. With that done I used a dot of liquid glue to attach the two larger flowers to the sentiment. Then I cut some little pieces of Stampin’ Dimensionals and added them to the back of the the smaller flowers. Once they were added to the sentiment my project was complete.

I have to say that even without the coordinating stamp set, the Hippo Dies are definitely worth having. You’ll see some of the other versatile shapes included with this set in my previous blog post Hippo fun time.

Now I’m off to look for some more unexpected coordination between random Stampin’ Up! products.

PRODUCT LIST

HIPPO DIES – The Hippo Dies (and coordinating Hippest Hippos Stamp Set – not used today) are 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. The stamp set and dies are available individually, each one requiring a $60 spend (before shipping and taxes). So if you want both, simply place two $60 orders or one $120 order and select them when prompted during checkout. For a closer look at the dies and stamp set, see my original sneak peek blog post The Hippest hippos ever.