When you have time on your hands it’s fun to try new techniques, or revisit old ones. This is even more enjoyable if you happen to have new products to play with too. So that’s how I ended up paper piecing a design for today’s project. The Ornate Borders Dies made me do it!

BRIGHT COLOURS

When I pulled out the Ornate Borders Dies (one of two die sets in the Ornate Garden Suite), I was immediately drawn to the open flowers and leaves die. I started simply, using the die to cut some Basic Black Card. As the name of the set implies, this is actually a border die and only cuts one side of the design. However creating a stand-alone piece was easy using the included edge die to cut the other side. The design is actually longer than I needed for my project, so I trimmed off the third flower and leaves using Paper Snips

Now I had my frame I had to decide on my colour scheme. In the end I chose colours from the retiring 2018-2020 InColors family. Then with that decided I found a 2-1/4″ x 4″ piece of Basic Gray Card for the tag base.

I prepared the tag by punching an oval hole at the top using the Detailed Trio Punch. In fact I wasn’t paying attention and it ended up off-centre. So I simply slid the card along a bit and punched again turning the hole into more of a slot. To complete the tag base I then shaped the corners using the corner rounder option on the same punch.

PAPER PIECING PLEASURE

With the tag base ready I used Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) to fix the Basic Black outline piece in place. Finally I was ready to begin die-cutting and paper piecing my design.

First I went back to my die-cutting machine and cut out the floral design from Lovely Lipstick Card. I carefully removed the die trying to leave as many of the card pieces on the cutting pad as possible. This way I could easily see where each tiny piece fitted into the black outline. One by one I took the pieces for the flower petals and using liquid glue inserted them into the frame.

Next I cut the floral design from Call Me Clover Card before transferring the leaf pieces to the tag. Then I chose Blueberry Bushel for the third round with the die. I used this colour to fill in all the remaining gaps with the exception of the flower centres.

To save card I decided that I’d cut the flower centres from two small scraps of Pineapple Punch Card rather than cutting the whole design as before. Once I added them to the tag, the paper piecing part of the project was complete.

SO GRATEFUL

Now my paper piecing was done I turned to the Ornate Thanks Stamp Set for my sentiment.

I wiped the tag with an Embossing Biddy to remove any oils and static, then stamped ‘so grateful’ using VersaMark ink. Then I sprinkled the sticky ink with White Stampin’ Emboss Powder and tapped off the excess. Once I’d removed a few stray specks, I melted the rest with my Heat Tool set on 2 (high).

All that was left was to thread some Whisper White 5/8″ Polka Dot Tulle Ribbon through the slot and tie it in a simple knot.

You’ve probably gathered that I love paper piecing, even though it is fiddly and can take time to do. But I think it’s great way to pass the time when going out is not an option. What about you?

FINAL CALL

Tomorrow is March 31st and so I have some end of promotion reminders for you…

First, free products from Sale-A-Bration. If you still have things to order and want to get free stuff at the same time you only have today or tomorrow to do that. Remember for every $60 spent before shipping and taxes you can choose one ‘level 1’ item. If your order reaches $120 (before shipping and taxes) ‘level 2’ items are added to your choices. Check out the Sale-A-Bration section of my online store to see an up-to-date list of all the products available to choose from.

Second, the Coordination Product Release ends tomorrow too. This is a small group of products that coordinate with items in the Sale-A-Bration and 2020 January to June Mini Catalogue. You can find them in the Coordination Product Release section of my online store. These are only available for purchase, but will count towards your order total to earn free Sale-A-Bration items.

Finally, don’t miss your chance to join Stampin’ Up! with the most amazing offer. For $135 and no additional shipping charges, you can choose any stamp set for free, then choose another $165 of other products for your Starter Kit. When your parcel arrives you’ll also find a free past Paper Pumpkin kit, a 48 sheet 6″ x 6″ sampler pack of DSP and a mini guillotine trimmer. I honestly can’t see a better joining offer coming up this year, so if you’ve been considering this, act now. For more information and FAQs see my Join Stampin’ Up! page. Just remember that this offer will end tomorrow.

That’s all from me for now. Please stay safe, and let me know what you’ve been creating to pass the time.

PRODUCT LIST