For this card I'm working with some Cut and Create dies from Couture Creations. I've used the Floral Frame and Standing Daisies Cut and Create Layering die sets. Both sets are from Couture Creations Vintage Flowers Layering Cut and Create dies collection. The flowers in the Standing Daisy set are the same size as those on the frame, so they can be layered together.
Couture Creations Cut and Create dies can be used to cut and emboss, cut and stamp or, in conjunction with the GoPress & Foil, they can be used to create foiled elements in a design.
For my card I've used my GoPress & Foil to add contrasting colour using a variety of Couture Creations hotfoils. For the frame I've used Sea Breese (turquoise), for the daisies and the sentiment I've used Phantom Purple and for the butterfly and the centres of the daisies I've used a silver iridescent foil.
The Floral Frame Cut and Create die set includes the Frame, Sentiment and Butterfly
The beautiful flowers used on this card are from the Couture Creations Vintage Flowers Collection - Layered Zinnias. I thought they were peonies, but I'm no gardener - the important thing is that they are a beautiful embellishment to use in craft projects. I've used them with foil (and my GoPress & Foil machine) in this project but they can also be used like normal thin dies and just cut out, or inked and cut.
The Layered Zinnia set has 2 dies - one for the main flower and a 2nd one to create the centre - this allows you to create a layered, dimensional look.
The Sentiment on this card is from another of the Vintage Flower die sets - the Floral Frame, which is a set of 3 - a frame, a butterfly and the Best Wishes sentiment. To make raising this on foam pads easier, I've cut the die again from the craft card used as a shim when foiling it and stuck the 2 layers together.
To build up the layers of this card, I first cut my card blank from a cream A5 card blank. I used the waste piece from this to foil the sentiment.
I cut a piece of black card to 14.4cm square and then Cut & Foiled the largest die from the Nesting Circular Flourished Frames Cut, Foil and Emboss die set.
I cut my backing paper to 14cm square, then cut & foiled the centre piece of the topper using a die from the Nesting Floral Frames Cut, Foil and Emboss die set. When using these sets with paper I add a card shim when foiling. This protects the paper from being torn during the foiling process and I used the extra layer of card with the paper to make it stiff enough to raise with foam pads.
I show how to foil the Zinnia flowers in my video (link at the bottom of the page). I've added a small black foam pad under the top of the flower centre to make it stand out.
In my video I show you how to foil the Zinnia flowers and put the card together, and also show you other dies in the Vintage Flowers collection.
I love to create cards that have an illusion of depth and movement.
To create the layered bells on this card I've used the Ringing Bells die, and cut it out 4 times, trimming each die cut down
I used some Card Deco Pearl pigment inks to colour the die cuts. The variations in the intensity of the colour on the bells helps to show the layers.
When sticking the layers together, I've only used glue at the tops of each layer, so that the bottoms of the bells can be lifted and shaped.
My card is 7" x 5" - I've used the same green ink that I used to colour the holly leaves, blended around the edges of the card blank.
I've used the bottom, left corning of sheet 6 in The Gift of Giving 12x12 papers, cut to 6 3/4" x 4 3/4". The strips with the holly pattern are from the other side of the same 12 x 12 sheet.
Cut the backing paper to size and attach and trim the holly strips before sticking the backing paper down on the card blank.
Today I'm working with "The Gift of Giving" collection from Couture Creations. I love the warm tones in the papers and the beautiful festive art work.
For this card and tag set I've used one of the 12 x 12 paper sheets, using a 6x6 portion from the top left corner as the background for my card and a section from the bottom right corner to create the tag. I've matted the paper onto some dark brown card.
To add dimension to the poinsettia on the card, I've used one of the poinsettias from the ephemera pack - I've trimmed away the leaves and then partly cut some of the petals so that they can be lifted.
I've added a die cut stag and corner detail using dies from the collection.
The holly sprig is from the ephemera set.
The die cut sentiment is another die from the collection.
For the tag I've used both the Straight Tag and Distressed Tag die sets from the Steampunk Dreams Collection. The Straight Tags can be used as mats layers for the Distressed Tags.
I've added some foiling around the edge of the tag - I show how to do that in my video.
I've made 2 versions of this card - one using foiled elements and one using die cuts, inks and a sentiment from The Gift of Giving Sentiment pack. I wanted to create the effect of the garland on the printed paper continuing through the layers of the topper. To do this, the centre diamonds are cut from the backing paper and then the space left is covered up by the doily or foiled frame.
Begin by cutting the red mat layer and the piece of patterned paper to the correct sizes for your card. My card is cut down to a square from an A5 card blank - it is 14.8cm square. The red card is cut to 14.4cm square and the patterned paper is 14cm square.
For the foiled frame version of the card, I cut/foiled the frame from the centre of the red mat layer using rose gold foil. All of the foiling is done using my GoPress & Foil.
And then cut/foiled the diamond (using rose gold foil) from the centre of the patterned paper
(after cutting it to the exact size for the card)
For the non-foiled version of the card, I used the same cut/foil/emboss die for the diamond, but instead of foiling I've used ink to highlight the deboss detail around the edge of the die cut. Because the aperture left by cutting this from the paper will be visible behind the doily die cut I've used, you need to cut this from the exact middle of the paper. I decided trying to place the inked die exactly in the middle of the paper would be too fiddly, so I die cut the paper first and then inked the die and pressed the die cut back into it to pick up the ink. Also, I find that if I die cut with an layer of card behind the paper (on the cutting side of the die) it protects the paper from tearing when it is embossed (or foiled).
I used Card Deco Christmas Red Pearlescent Ink
The empty space left by the die cut is covered by the foiled frame - make sure you put the diamond the correct way round so that the pattern from the paper continues in the right direction.
I've added foam pads to lift up the layers of the topper.
To finish the cards, I've added die cut poinsettias, berry sprigs and sentiments.
I've used some Card Deco pearlescent inks to my poinsettia to to emphasise the detail from the die cuts.
For the foiled version of the card I used a cut/foil/emboss die from last year's Couture Creations Christmas Collection (Naughty or Nice), foiled in rose gold
And for the non-foiled version I used a sentiment from The Gift of Giving sentiment pack
Finish the cards by adding the sentiments, flowers and some berry sprigs to each of the cards
In my video I show you how to put the layers together for these cards.
This week I've been using some "ice white" pearl card along with plain navy blue card to create some Christmas cards. All of the cards have been foiled using my GoPress & Foil.
For these first 2 cards I've stamped onto the background with a die base ink - I used Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink
The Frames and Poinsettias are made using dies from Sentimentally Yours that have deboss details - these can be used in the same way as cut/foil dies just using an extra card shim to help press the card into the die.
The Christmas tree is a Couture Creations foil stamp from their 2019 Naughty or Nice collection
The snowflake background is a Gemini Foil Stamp die, and the sentiment is also a Gemini foil stamp and die set.
The corner foiling on this card is a Couture Creations foil stamp from their 2018 Highland Christmas collection. The Cut/Foil sentiment is from the Couture Creations 2019 Naughty or Nice Collection
I made the border for this card using a strip foil stamp from Couture Creations 2019 Naughty or Nice Collection, and the sentiment cut/foil die is from the same collection.
