Vine Design Birthday Card

Hello, Crafters.

Yesterday I decided to something different for today’s card and that is, instead of thinking which stamp set I’d like to use I decided to see which set of dies I’d like to use! I flipped through my die folders and picked out Flowering Vine. I wasn’t sure which direction I was going in so I decided to get a top layer of Whisper White Cardstock (CS) and die-cut the oval shape. Although I have made this as a birthday card, it would also make a great Easter card.

Once I had die-cut the oval and removed all the pieces, I put it back into the top layer and rested it on a middle layer of Purple Posy CS. Then I rested it on a Whisper White CS card base. I was really pleased with how it looked and decided to dry-emboss the outer part of the top layer using the Tasteful Textile 3D Embossing Folder. I loved the look but I couldn’t stop there! Using the five flower stamps from the matching Vine Design Stamp Set I stamped three sets of each of them – one set in Purple Posy Ink and one set in Highland Heather Ink. My idea was to see if I could adhere any of them onto the die-cut flowers. This didn’t work but I now have twenty seven stamped and die-cut flowers for future projects before this set retires!!

I remember seeing a Jennifer McGuire video recently where she did a die-cut and filled the gaps with different coloured cardstock. Unfortunately, I can’t remember much more about it and one day I’ll go back to see if she had any special tips or tricks that she shared. One thing I do remember was that she sped the video up for the bit where she was putting the little bits back into the cut-outs! It’s a very easy technique but as well as being time-consuming, it also takes a lot of patience!

After I had adhered the top layer and the top-layer die-cut onto the middle layer of Purple Posy CS, I die-cut an oval in Highland Heather CS and came to the trickiest part of making this card. I sat down with the Cut & Emboss Machine cutting plate in front of me with the die still in place on the mat face-down. I carefully lifted the die so any pieces that fell out stayed – more or less – in place. Then, keeping the die upside down I held it very close to a piece of clean white paper and used my paper piercer to push the remaining pieces out of the die. Because the die was very close to the paper, as the bits fell out they didn’t travel too far. If you decide to give this a go, at this stage try not to cough or sneeze!! LOL!

Once all the pieces were out, I used my tweezers to remove the bigger pieces and and also any odd-shaped pieces and put them to one side out of the way. After I had fitted all the pieces into the correct places, I used the sticky end of my Take Your Pick and used it to pick up the pieces. I was working on a scrap of recycled computer paper and squeezed a big blob of Tombow on the side, so I could pick up each piece in turn, dip it in the Tombow and dab it off on the scrap paper if I picked up too much Tombow. At this time, the die-cut piece was still attached to my Take Your Pick so I was able to return it back to where it belonged and release it from the end of my Take Your Pick which was still clinging on to it!

To make sure I didn’t forget which pieces I had done, I started with the partial flowers around the edge, doing one at a time and working my way round clockwise starting from the top. Next I did the three large flowers in the centre and then the three small flowers. Needless to say I wanted all the flowers to have yellow in the centres! Yep! You’ve guessed it. I repeated the process with Daffodil Delight CS and filled all the centres of the flowers. I was three yellow dots short! Not because I lost them but these three flowers didn’t have cut-out holes to put the yellow circles in! I die-cut another Daffodil Delight CS oval took three dots and threw the scraps away.

Inside the card I adhered a middle layer of Purple Posy CS and a top layer of Whisper White CS. To decorate the top layer, I chose three identical Highland Heather stamped and die-cut flowers and adhered them in the bottom right-hand corner. Horror of horrors! I needed three more dots but I wasn’t prepared to rummage in my bin to find them. Neither did I feel inclined to cut another yellow oval! I looked around my studio and my eyes settled on my unit that holds my punches. The dots from the Label Me Fancy Punch were ideal! I used a scrap of Daffodil Delight CS and punched three dots and adhered them in place.

I finished the front of the card by adding HAPPY BIRTHDAY from the soon-to-be retired Itty Bitty Birthdays Stamp Set which I stamped using my Stamparatus and Highland Heather Ink. After I had die-cut it using the no 1 slim die from the Stitched Rectangle Dies I adhered it above the oval using Dimensionals. My final touch was adding a Gorgeous Grape Sheer Ribbon bow at the bottom of the oval. I thoroughly enjoyed making this card but I’m sure it isn’t everyone’s cup of tea!!

That’s it from me today. I look forward to being back with you tomorrow with my Sunday video. In the meantime, enjoy this wonderful Easter weekend. Take care, stay safe and happy crafting.

JanB. xx

Products used for this project: please click on any of the links to be taken to my 24/7 online Stampin’ Up! shop. The Hostess Code for APRIL 2021 is 3MZTFE63 Thank you. xx

Highland Heather A4 Cardstock [147010] £8.25	Purple Posy A4 Cardstock [150887] £8.25	Daffodil Delight A4 Card Stock [121680] £8.25	Basic White A4 Cardstock [159228] £9.00	Vine Design Bundle [156266] £51.25
Itty Bitty Birthdays Cling Stamp Set [148618] £21.00	Stitched Rectangles Dies [151820] £33.00	Tasteful Textile 3 D Embossing Folder [152718] £8.25	Highland Heather Classic Stampin’ Pad [147103] £7.00	Highland Heather Classic Stampin’ Ink Refill [147167] £3.50
3/8″ (1 Cm) Gorgeous Grape Sheer Ribbon [154572] £6.50	Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine [149653] £112.00	Mini Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine [150673] £56.00	Stamparatus [148187] £46.00	Simply Shammy [147042] £7.50
Paper Trimmer [152392] £23.00	Paper Snips [103579] £9.25	Bone Folder [102300] £6.50	Grid Paper [130148] £11.75	Small Grid Paper [149621] £6.00
Silicone Craft Sheet [127853] £5.50	Multipurpose Liquid Glue [110755] £3.75	Stampin’ Dimensionals [104430] £3.75	Mini Stampin’ Dimensionals [144108] £3.75

Cardstock Layer Sizes: A4

Card base 8¼” x 5¾” scored and folded at 4 1/8”

Middle layer: 2 pieces 3 7/8” x 5½”

Top layer: 2 pieces 3¾” x 5 3/8”

Cardstock Layer Sizes: Letter-size

Card base 8½” x 5½” scored and folded at 4¼”

Middle layer: 2 pieces 4” x 5¼”

Top layer: 2 pieces 3 7/8” x 5 1/8”