creating frames with dies; MFT Stamps Die-namics Design

This month for the Die-namics Design Challenge we were to showcase the STAX dies. And only the basics; squares, circles, rectangles, and ovals. Sounds boring, right? Wrong! So many great things can be done with the four basic shapes, you would be surprised! Take a look at how I created a frame and a mask for this card!

Creating a frame with two dies is pretty easy, nest two dies together and pass through your machine. I took it one step farther and made a frame using two different sets of dies!

On my Sweet Tooth cardstock piece, I placed the largest die from Die-namics Cross-Stitch Rectangle STAX. (Ok, I cheated a little and used a fancy edge die, but I could not help myself, its so pretty!) I secured the die with a piece of low-tack tape.

On the inside of the rectangle die, I placed the third largest oval from Die-namics Oval STAX Set 1 and secured it with tape as well. As long as your die templates are not touching each other, or overlapping in any way, you can pass them through your manual die cutting machine at the same time!

Once I had my frame, which you can see below, I stamped it with Swiss Dot Background in Lemon Drop ink. I spread the color a bit with a wet paintbrush.

Note: I do not have magnetic plates for my die-cutting machine, which is why I use the low-tack tape. 

Knowing that I wanted the sentiment to show through the frame I created, I decided to create a background behind. Problem was, I needed to block off that spot to save it. Enter my wonderful STAX again! Using the same die from Die-namics Oval STAX Set 1, I die cut a Post-It note to create a mask.

With the mask in place, I stamped Roses All Over Background with watermark ink. Then it was heat after being sprinkled with white embossing power. I used my dye inks as watercolors and colored the background.

Isn't that a great look? Oh, and I cheated one more time, I simply had to add a watercolor butterfly to finish things off. I am obsessed with Die-namics Flutter of Butterflies-Solid.

Head to the MFT Blog to see some crazy brilliant ways to use your basic STAX. I was incredibly inspired by the projects!

thanks for stopping by!

~kimberly

InLinkz.com

MFT Stamps Presents: Summer School

Welcome to Summer School! It is your turn to learn! All week the MFT Stamps designers will be teaching "classes" on design principles! Video tutorials each day will be shared along with new projects highlighting those principles. The best part? The daily challenges for you to play along with and fantastic prizes! 

I am kicking off the week with the basis of most of our principles-Rule of Thirds! Head over to the MFT Stamps Blog and find out more about the rule, how my card follows the rule, and how using this rule will take your already wonderful cards to the next level!

thanks for stopping by!

~kimberly

InLinkz.com

watercolor background with an acrylic block: MFT Ingenious Inking Challenge

This month's Ingenious Inking Challenge is about watercolor and more specifically, creating a watercolor wash for your card. Another super fun challenge! My life is rough, people. ;)

I chose to go a different route than simply applying a watered down ink to my card, I decided to give it some definition by using an acrylic block. Cool part about this technique is, you can create a ton of shapes for your background by simply using different blocks!

I pushed my Coral Crush ink pad and Persimmon ink pad directly onto my clean acrylic block. You can control how much color your background will have, depending on how much ink you apply. I used a large amount of Persimmon, so my background will be bolder.

Then, holding the block slightly away from myself, I spritzed water onto my block. About 4-5 squirts. More water will equal less intense color on your paper. Less water will yeild a stronger color on your paper.

This is what the block and the paper looks like when you set it on your paper. By the way, this is watercolor paper. You definitely need that paper to handle the water!

I did have a wee bit too much water...so I grabbed a paper towel and gently dabbed away the excess. I finished the card off with stripes (Striped Backgrounds), a bold sentiment (True Friends), and a flower (Die-namics Rolled Blooming Rose). 

Visit the MFT Stamps Blog for more information about this challenge, and all the fun challenges we have each month. And be sure and check out yesterday's post, as I once again got to do the MFTv Video for Monday!

thanks for stopping by!

~kimberly

InLinkz.com