Spellbinders I Poppies Pocket Card Etched Die + D-Lites Poppy & Lavender

Hello friends!

Happy mail never looked so good!  This past week I received a package from Spellbinders that contained beautiful Etched Dies, Poppies Pocket Card Etched Die S5-322  and Die D-Lites Poppy & Lavender Spray S3-322  These dies are both intricate in their designs, and perfect for springtime card crafting.   Beautiful steel dies really lend themselves to technique driven card crafting.  So let's get started and take a look!

Creating multiple cards to give as gift sets or keep in your card stash is always a value added in my book; when I can achieve that end I'm delighted!   The Spellbinders Poppy Pocket Die allowed me to do just that.   I die-cut two in white card stock and embossed them.  Using a beginner technique, I sponged on color to the raised area of the poppy in Hibiscus Burst and Harvest Gold Dye Inks.   The background patterned paper is from the Penny Black 6x6 paper pad, Beau Jardins, in pink and yellow.  Stamping a sentiment isn't always necessary when creating cards like this.   I used some chipboard ephemera with a short sentiment and strengthened it with Spellbinders Classic Circle die, and trimmed around the circle with a gold leaf pen.  Finally, some flat pearls, little gem stones, and repeated the gold leaf edging on both sides of the card.  Add a matching envelope and you've created a nice stationary set.

The next technique uses a Gel Printing Plate from GelliArts, a brayer, and paints.  Poppies come in all sorts of colors, but most people are more familiar with the red variety.   I spread some red paint on my Gel plate and pushed it around with my brayer until I was satisfied with the coverage.   Lay your card stock on top of the paint and burnish with your hand to lift the paint to the paper.   Then gently lift your paper and you've just created a background print that is different every time!  I let my print dry and then cut it with my Poppies Pocket die.  My background panel is a small floral print that is wet embossed using watermark ink and clear embossing powder on Spring Moss card stock from Papertrey Ink.   A sentiment is stamped in Lipstick Red from Simon Says Stamp on white card stock and cut using Spellbinders Labels Twenty-eight die.  As I did with the first two cards, I sponged on some ink for additional interest.   I also stamped on the matching envelope with an older poppy stamp from my collection and colored with Faber-Castell Polychromos pencils.

My last two cards use the beautiful Die D-Lites Poppy & Lavender Spray Etched Die S3-291   This die is a wonderful addition to your floral die collection and is a combination of both lavender and poppies.  I chose to design the first card using a faux letterpress technique.  One of the best video tutorials I have seen on the technique is from Jennifer McGuire Ink here.   I decided to use Lipstick Red Dye Ink to cover the entire image before I laid it down on watercolor paper and ran it through my die-cutting machine.   You end up with a beautiful faux letter pressed image of the Lavender & Poppy die cut.   I stamped and embossed the background panel using the same older poppy stamp with Watermark Ink and Ultra-fine Antiqued Gold from Simon Says Stamp.   The sentiment is from the Simon Says Stamp set, Choose Joy and embossed with the same Antiqued Gold Ultra-fine powder.  Both the smaller panel and sentiment are raised using dimensional sticky tape.  A few gold sequins finish this classic design.

My last card uses the same beautiful Die D-Lites Lavender and Poppy die     I embossed the spray and now the intricate detail shows through.   I used the same layout as above, but matted the die-cut image on Soft Stone card stock backed by burnished gold and black mat.  The same sentiment is used, but stamped and embossed on black card stock.   I also used Nuvo Crystal Drops in Ebony Black instead of sequins.  The impact of the black and gold is elegant and classic.

Two dies plus techniques that range from beginner to more advanced.  The result?  Five cards any card maker would be happy to give to another.  I'd like to thank Spellbinders Creative Arts for the opportunity to create with their product.   I hope you enjoyed these cards too dear friends.   Now go create something that makes your heart sing!

Sincerely,

Susie ~