My first instinct right away was to call this week a mega-fail! HOWEVER...I always like to turn bad things in to happy accidents, and that is what I will call this weeks card. This week is also technically not finished, but it is a work in progress. Here is what happened...
I went to the CKC last July in Lancaster PA (which is a big scrap booking convention). While I was there, I fell in love with this very intricate die cut. I spent probably a whole day wondering if I should get it or not, and ultimately decided not too since I wasnt quite sure what to do with it. Fast forward a few months to Christmas time. I received it as a gift from one of my friends that was at the convention, watching me pine over this thing! I was so excited to use it and I had mountains of problems.
Long story short, it just doesn't cut right on the fancy foil paper that I bought for it. The paper is thick, and because of the intricacy of the die, it does not cut all the way into the middle. It is not the fault of the die cut or its manufacturer. It is really my fault for thinking I can fix everything in a frugal kind of way! I heard the woman at the convention telling another customer that you really need to metal shim for your die cut machine for these specific dies. So I thought I would just use a piece of paper as a shim as I had done in the past for other die cuts. Then of course I wound up not getting the die at the time, and my friend had no idea about the shim. So back in present day, I am trying this thing over and over again with a folded piece of paper as a shim, and it just isn't working. The paper still doesn't offer enough solid support, even folded four times! Needless to say, I will be getting the shim this July when I go to the convention again!
So here I am wondering what to do with these card fronts I made, and no die cut to add to them. So I try it with regular card stock instead. It works (mostly) and it is beautiful! So much so, that it puts the card fronts I made to shame! I almost gave up, but then I said to myself...I have this piece that needs a card front PLUS I have these really cool scraps from the negative image. I decided to just make two individual cards and call it a learning experience.
Unfortunately, the actual die cut is still sitting card-less. I REALLY need to think about how to use it on a card in a way that will compliment the design, otherwise its not worth it! I did, however, use my scraps to make a birthday card. I went with a rainbow theme with multiple spirals to represent the chakras of the body ( I am taking a class about that right now...VERY cool stuff). So if you understand chakras, you might like the card. Or if you just like rainbow colors and pretty designs, this fits the bill too! I even got to use that fancy silver foil paper as a border. Enjoy!
My beautiful, super delicate die cut that really needs some inspiration. It can ALMOST stand by itself, but I think I need an inspiring saying to go with it! I need to think about what to do before I can finish...
My "chakra" birthday card! The big blue spiral is made from the negative paper scraps from the inside of the die cut. And my very shiny silver paper is the border on the card.
This was a very random and last minute card, so I am not going to get into instructions and supplies for this one. You can always contact me if you want more info. I will say, that I did get to use one of my FAVORITE Stampin' Up sets called Lacey and Lovely. It's a bunch of elegant but random circle designs. The green and red circle were made with that set. Check it out on the Stampin' Up page!
