One of my favourite things as a crafter is experimenting with the products I buy. I don’t have an unlimited budget so it’s important for me to get maximum value from every item. When I’m choosing what to spend my money on I’ll see how many different ways I can think of to use them. But even after doing this I’m sometimes surprised. That’s what happened with the Something Fancy Dies. I initially bought them for layering my sentiments which they do nicely, but then I discovered something altogether different.

FANCY PIECES

As I was looking at the various pieces in the Something Fancy Dies I noticed three plate-style dies with fancy tops. This top shape is designed to nestle inside the two tag shape dies. What’s more, one of them cuts a tear-drop shaped hole for the tag twine or ribbon! How did I never notice this?

So I began today’s project with the teardrop piece and the larger of the two tag-shaped dies. After nesting the teardrop die inside the larger one I used a little sellotape to keep them together. Then I placed the two dies onto some Thick Basic White Card before adding the other two small plate dies beside them. Then I ran everything through my Mini Cut & Emboss Machine. As there was still a little of the card left I used it up by running it through three more times with the little floral plate die.

Now I needed to add colour to the white card and for that I chose Blending Brushes. First I went over the main tag piece with a light layer of Mint Macaron ink. Then I separated all the tiny pieces onto some scrap paper so I had and area with just leaves and an area with the flower heads.

There was no way I could hold onto these pieces while I brushed ink over them so I had to try a different technique. After inking up a Blending Brush with Old Olive Ink I put the brush down onto a leaf and sort of wiggled the bristles. The effect wasn’t horrendous so I continued on. Once the leaves were all coloured I used the same technique to colour the flowers with Pumpkin Pie ink.

CONGRATULATIONS

With the colouring part of the process complete I then went looking for a sentiment. In the end I chose a simple “congratulations” from the One Happy Family Stamp Set. Using Old Olive ink I stamped it onto a scrap of Thick Basic White Card. Then going back to the Something Fancy Dies I took the long narrow die and used it to cut out the sentiment.

At last I was reay to put everything togther. First I used Mini Stampin’ Dimensionals to attach the sentiment to the front of the tag. Then using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) I added all the leaves and three of the flowers. Finally I added the last flower with a piece of Stampin’ Dimensional.

All I needed now was some twine or ribbon to allow the tag to be tied onto a gift. So from the Three Twine Combo Pack I cut 6″ of Pumpkin Pie twine. After folding it in half I slipped the loop through the hole at the top of my tag. Then I threaded the cut ends of the twine through the loop and pulled gently to secure it in place. With that my experimental gift tag was complete.

There’s so much I love about this project. First I’m always excited to find little flowers and leaves that I can use to build floral arrangements. Second I discovered a new way to use my Blending Brushes that applies ink that gives a more rustic, textural effect. Then I discovered another option to create gift tags that for me really adds value to these dies.

Finally I’m excited to have another option for cutting out smaller sentiments. This perfectly complements the sentiment strips found in the Pretty Pillow Box Dies.

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