My regular readers will know that I love getting more from my papercrafting supplies. Today I had no plan other than to experiment a little with the new Ornate Layers Dies. In the end I discovered how easy it is to turn a layer into a frame for a pretty card.

CHOOSING MY COLOURS

My first task was to decide on a background and I ended up selecting a piece from the Woven Threads 12″ x 12″ Designer Series Paper (DSP) pack. The DSP then gave me my colour palette; Whisper White, Terracotta Tile and Seaside Spray. I felt the delicate colours on the DSP needed a bold contrast so from there I went with Terracotta Tile for my layers.

With the key decisions made I could then start preparing my card.

First I used my Paper Trimmer to cut and score some Thick Whisper White Card. Then I folded it along the scored line and sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder to create my card base.

Next I cut a piece of the DSP and mounted it onto a layer of Terracotta Tile Card using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow). I wrapped some Seaside Spray 1/4″ Metallic Ribbon around the layer and then secured it on the back using Tear & Tape Adhesive. With that done I fixed the assembled layer to the card base using more liquid glue.

Going back to the DSP I cut a 3/4″ strip and glued that down the right-hand edge of a layer of Whisper White Card. Then I fixed this piece inside the card base.

Then I cut one last piece of the DSP and glued it to the flap of a Whisper White Medium Envelope. Once I’d trimmed the DSP with Paper Snips using the edge of the flap as a guide I was ready to work on my sentiment.

ORNATE LAYERS FRAME

I found the perfect sentiment in the Fanciful Fragrance Stamp Set, “You’ve always been there for me. Now I’m here for you”. Using Terracotta Tile ink I stamped it onto a piece of Whisper White Card and I was ready to begin die-cutting.

First I pulled out an appropriately sized die from the new Ornate Layers Dies and used it to cut out the sentiment. Then I used the same die to cut out some Terracotta Tile Card.

Next I needed to turn the Terracotta piece into a frame by cutting a hole in the middle. For this I turned to the Stitched Rectangles Dies and discovered that the C1 die (the smallest of the set of 7 nesting dies in the set) was the perfect size. So I centred the die on the Terracotta Tile piece and cut it out.

My plan was to glue the ‘frame’ over the sentiment but I decided that trying to line up all the fancy edges on the two pieces was going to be a pain. So instead I used Paper Snips to trim around the sentiment removing most but not all of the ornate edge. Then I used a little liquid glue to fix the ‘frame’ onto the sentiment before adding it to the card with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

I quite liked the effect but it seemed that the card wasn’t quite finished. So I cut a small piece of the ribbon and tied it to the piece already on the card to create a fake bow. That was much better and I was finally happy with my project.

Now of course I’m wondering how other dies in the two sets might pair up. I’ll let you know what I discover.

PRODUCT LIST

BUNDLE BONUS – I bought the Ornate Layers Dies in a bundle with the Ornate Style Stamp Set (not used today). This 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 that option.