SYD: A Few Additional Cards

Even though class has been over for a few days, there were several techniques I still wanted to try.

Day 2: Flower Dies
I loved the simplicity of Yana's card. Her color choices were wonderful so I used them on my card as well. I have a central large image surrounded by several smaller die cuts and bling.

Day 6: Border Dies
Using the same die cut stencil that I used on my original Day 6 card, I totally CASEd an Easter card that Laura Bassen posted on Flickr. Thanks for all your wonderful ideas, Laura!

Day 7: Alphabet Dies

Before class started the only alphabet dies that I had were Sizzlets and the thick Sizzix original dies, neither of which would work for Kathy's hidden letter card. The Kaisercraft alphabet dies I ordered arrived late, so I am experimenting with them for the first time. Instead of doing a wonderful stamped background like Kathy did, I used a Graphic 45 print for my card. The letters (FRIEND) are almost totally hidden even though I used 3 layers of thick packaging card beneath the cardstock letters. My husband didn't see the word at all until I pointed it out, so it is likely to be hidden from the recipient of the card as well LOL. Maybe the pattern is too busy but you must admit that it's hidden. Maybe if you look really hard you can spot it!

I've thoroughly enjoyed my 6th OCC and enjoyed viewing and commenting on other participants' cards. The only down side I saw was that it didn't seem like very many other people visited or commented on them. Often I was the only comment posted for many of the cards I viewed. That was unlike my experience in the other classes and it was disappointing.

SYD: Alphabet Dies

This is my first ever shaker card which was inspired by Jennifer McGuire's alphabet shaker card. The shaped design was roughly modeled after several Over the Hill cards found on Pinterest. 

SYD: Border Dies

The examples in class today were awesome! I especially liked Debby's ship card with the inlaid waves. My one and only border die is a Tim Holtz's On The Edge die that may have worked had I liked the edge it made. However I have quite a few EK Edger punches that did the trick. The butterflies are from a Hero Arts/Sizzix die & stamp set, Butterflies 3, and I stamped the butterflies and embossed them in white over navy paper with tiny blue polka dots. I was inspired yesterday to try stamping on patterned paper! Instead of using VersaMark embossing ink, I like to use SU white ink when embossing in white because it seems to take the powder better.

I also loved playing around with the ink shading done by Laura. Defeating the purpose of using a border die in a novel way, I hand cut my die on a sheet of acrylic. The flower is from SU Flower Patch. I haven't decided what occasion I will use this card for, so I haven't added a sentiment yet.

SYD: Coordinating Dies and Stamps

I was looking forward to today's theme because I have quite a few coordinating die and stamp sets. I wasn't disappointed. There were so many great ideas today and since I'm trying not to drive myself crazy by trying to do them all in one day,  I chose Shari Carroll's card as my inspiration. 

I used the Hero Arts/Sizzix Butterflies 3 stamp and die set and cut the scalloped oval using a Spellbinders Nestabilities die. I watered down some Picked Raspberry DI and painted around the edges of the oval so it didn't just blend into the card background. The coordinating papers were from a 6 x 6 stack I've had forever. I might add some additional bling after I've looked at it a while! 

SYD: Mini Dies

I loved all the videos today, but I didn't have a word die to try Kristina's card layout.  I decided to create a Silhouette file for this and had mixed results. After blending my background using Spun Sugar, Picked Raspberry, and Barn Door distress inks, I backed the Neenah cardstock with a double sided adhesive sheet. Because the adhesive backing was so slick it kept shifting on my cutting mat, but I eventually secured it with painters tape and got it cut out :) It would probably have been easier to glue everything in place so maybe I will try that the next time. To create the shapes surrounding the word I used a variety of font dingbats.

The companion card seemed to need spicing up, so I used a clear glitter Wink of Stella brush to add a bit of sparkle.

I'm going to try Jennifer Rasa's card next using actual dies!

SYD: Basic Shape Dies

My 91-year-old mom recently passed away, and I wanted to use a childhood picture of her as the centerpiece for a personalized thank you card. Today's card by Jennifer McGuire was one that I wanted to adapt for my thank you card.

I started out using plain cardstock for the card base, but I liked the look of this vintage cardstock so I ended up using that instead. The cutout is a Spellbinders Nestability, and I mounted the hand colored photo of my mom on the next larger size diecut which I embossed and shaded with Distress Ink.

inside view

SYD: Flower Dies

Fortunately I have a lot of flower dies to choose from. I cut a variety of them from a piece of card stock that I had colored with distress inks and then embossed. Once the shapes were arranged I kept them grouped using Post It tape a la Kristina in her video. Using a large oval Spellbinders Nestabilities die for my shape, I cut and then adhered the piece to a white A2 card using foam. My 'hugs' die finally arrived, was used on black card, and attached to my oval piece. Since the card seemed a tad bland, I added some faux stitching around the card edges.