just dropping you... a post and a card

This is a card that I made with one of the new 12" QuicKutz border embossing folders. It's called circles. I think it's a fun design. I added the scored lines along each edge with my Scor-It. The stamped sentiment and image are by Inkadinkado and stamped with Memento London Fog dye ink. I colored the fish with a couple of Copic markers and added the texture with the colorless blender.

Sizzix XL scalloped card die

I figured that I'd invested in those XL clear plates, I might as well get another die to use with them. :-) Any excuse, eh? LOL!


The finished size of this card is 4 1/4" by 5 7/8". I mention this because you have to use 12" long paper or cardstock when using this die. The standard 8 1/2" by 11" just isn't quite long enough to cover the entire length of the cutting surface. This die also provides the folding score for you, just like the A2 card die that I described a while back.

The stamped images are by My Favorite Things and stamped using Memento dye inks. The dot doodles are mine and were made with a Copic warm grey marker. Yep, I'm getting braver about doodling. The embossing was made using a Sizzix texture plate, Flower Power. And in case you'd been wondering, you can selectively emboss with these, too--similar to creative Cuttling. That's what I did in that card--I used that same triple layered chipboard with the heart cutout that I described yesterday. I did have to change my stack to fit this through my Big Shot. Again, if you try this, you'll have to experiment and see what works best for you and your particular machine. Start thin, and gradually add shims so that you don't break your machine! Just a friendly reminder. :-)

Here's the lowdown: I used my multipurpose platform, but with no tab. I also replaced the black Impression pad with the thinner clear cutting plate since I'd added some thickness to the stack by adding in the chipboard cutout. Just FYI, the stack was as follows, from the bottom up: multipurpose platform with no tab selected, texture plate with desired design facing up, card front facing down on top of that, black silicone embossing pad, chipboard cutout, clear cutting plate. I did not mist my cardstock and still got a nice impression. That is an option though if the embossing seems too shallow to you.

For you Cuttlebug users, sorry, I haven't tested this die in the CB yet. I would guess that you could run this huge die through twice using the CB's clear plates, just like I did with the A2 horizontal card die. I'll update when I get a chance to try that and know for sure.

These huge scallops on this card die are a lot of fun, and it's great to have a variety of ways to make scallops on cards!

Megabilities & scalloped A2 card edges

If you've followed blogs and posts about Spellbinders' Nestabilities dies, chances are that you've seen Nichole Heady's short tutorial on making a card with a scalloped edge. You can read that post if you click here.

What I did this morning was use the same technique, but with a rectangular scalloped Megabilities die, to cut scallops on the long edge of a full-size A2 card. This was kinda nifty because I know that some folks have mentioned that it would be great to have a simple scalloped border punch without the holes that you get with the Threading Waters border punch by Fiskars. If you happen to have this set of dies, you're all set!

I started out with my Big Shot, a 5 1/2" X 8 1/2" piece of cardstock, and the largest die of the smaller set of scalloped rectangle Megabilities dies.


I passed the card stock through the die so that only the leading edge would be cut.


I put the top cutting plate in place and got ready to run it through the machine.


Here's how it turned out.


I used this technique to make the following cards.


This first one was made with the card stock that was pictured in the example above. I embossed the card front with the Cuttlebug Stylized Flowers embossing folder. The images are by Inkadinkado and were stamped using the new Memento dye ink by Tsukineko. I colored the images with Prismacolor colored pencils and blended with the Goo Gone Mess-free pen. I then cut out, embossed, and layered that image using Nestabilities dies.


For this card I used the scalloped Megabilities dies to make my layers. The images are all by Pink Paislee and colored using Copic markers and a Copic blender. I added the sparkle with Diamond Stickles.

As far as the new Memento inks, they were definitely fast drying. I know that they're supposed to be good for detailed stamping, but they were perhaps still a bit juicy at this stage and bled a bit on the cardstock. I'd still opt for Versafine ink for when I want to be sure to pick up really fine details. The Memento ink did work well with the Copic markers and didn't bleed. I stamped using London Fog to make the lines a bit more subtle.

Labor day weekend cards

I started this card for the Blue challenge on Wednesday stamper but posted a different card for that. I finished it today.


The main image is a gorgeous stamp by Olive Wimple that I stamped on matte card stock using majestic blue Versafine ink because I wanted to be able to capture all of the details. I embellished with some Prima blossoms that I brushed with iridescent medium. I'd watered it down a bit, but I think next time I'll water it down even more for a more subtle effect.

This next card is another one that's looking toward fall.


The main image is by Impression Obsession, stamped in permanent black ink and then colored with Prismacolor and Copic markers. I used marker paper, and it does make a big difference in how these inks act. They stay on top of the paper longer so that they can be blended nicely with the blending marker. The other stamp images are by Victorine Originals. The patterned card stock is by K and Company.

Ahhh, it's nice to have some extra time to stamp.