I just completed Altenew Academy\’s Class \”With A Twist\” and I created a bunch of cards.  The class was all about trying the unexpected.  I am sharing my favorite card from the series and it was from Class #6 \”Die Cutting With a Twist\”.  Our instructor, Therese Calvird, showed us how to do faux embossing with die cuts.  I had never done this technique before but it does result in a dramatic and showy card.

My Process:

• I stamped two A2 Bristol panels full of leaves and blooms from Altenew\’s Smile More stamp and die bundle.
• I colored them with Zig markers and used a damp brush to blend the colors.
• I die cut everything.
• I wanted to use a big scripty sentiment so I heat embossed Enjoy on an A2 card front made of Bristol cardstock and Your Birthday on a scrap of black cardstock.
• I played around with the layout and when I was happy, I glued the die-cuts down with liquid adhesive.  I was sure to leave all the edge images over the edge and then I took sharp scissors and trimmed  the die-cuts flush to the edge.

Pro Tips:

• Stamp and color a lot of images.  For this card I stamped and colored two complete A2 panels worth of  blooms and leaves.  You don\’t want the card to look skimpy and there is quite a bit of waste after your trim around your card.  
• I made my own card base out of Bristol cardstock so the cardbase and die-cuts would blend well. 
• I stamped one panel with Ranger Archival Jet Black ink and one with Versamark Onyx black and found I got a better result with the Onyx Black. The Archival required multiple stamping and after drying for one day, one bloom still smeared a bit.

I am also playing along with:

Allsorts \”Flowers All Over\”  I \”faux embossed\”  flowers all over my cardbase.

The Flower Challenge \”Summer or Winter\”  The answer for me is summer!  I love summer…the sun, warm weather clothes, bright colors, long days….  These daisies are very summery to me.  

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen