This morning I wanted to use these new Stained Glass Cover Plate Die that I got from Catherine Pooler Designs. I've been waiting to use this for just the right cards. It is so pretty! Pictures just don't do it justice!
I cut it out but, I did not recall how to set it up so that the die cutting sandwich with paper backed with adhesive tape in my Sizzix Big Shot, so, I had to fuss about for a long while making these cards. This was the first of many Pain in the Ass (PITA) aspects of these cards. I carefully removed the die with all inset pieces intact.
And then I had to glue each and every one in place on the white card base! Oh, ugfft! Never again; as there were so very many pieces and so many teeny tiny ones! Talk about a PITA!
I used a liquid glue - Tombow Mono Aqua Liquid Glue. This was such a PITA (Pain in the Ass), so painstaking and such tedium. Then, I placed the whole thing up on the card base to stick down the little bits! It did not work as well as I thought it might! But, I did not give up!
The glue wanted to stick everywhere! It was a royal PITA, and it kinda made a mess, but it worked out finally.
One or two pieces flew off somewhere on my desk and though I searched and searched for them, they were gone. I had to then just use another similar piece of red paper and cut out the missing pieces. That was a PITA also. Keeping count? That's five PITA endeavors so far.
I think I got all the tiny pieces glues down properly. The other card was looking a bit anemic.
It really needed something, though I did not want to cover up the beauty of the cover plate's cut image. Hmmmm, what to do?
Next, the green paper that I had previously sprayed with some Lindy's Stamp Gang Spray in Sea foam green glitter mist. I tried to use it behind the entire front, but it was too much. Then, I saw a central circle in the die and using a matching circle die, I placed it behind the main central circle of the cover plate die cut. When I placed it in front of the cover plate image, it just looked off. But, putting it in back of the main circle; really dresses up the card front.
Now, another bit of PITA effort to glue down the cover plate die cut onto the green circle and then the white card front.
Ok, now for another PITA issue of cleaning up all the stray glue from the card front. I used my Tombow Mono Sand Eraser. This thing is great for rubbing off the stray bits of glue or red paper left behind when I moved about the cover plate die on front of card base.
I now went about trying to get the sentiment onto the front. I thought that this "Merry Christmas" written into the swirls of a Christmas tree die would work well. It just did not. It seemed to get lost on the very busy front of the card.
I now went about trying to get the sentiment onto the front. I thought that this "Merry Christmas" written into the swirls of a Christmas tree die would work well. It just did not. It seemed to get lost on the very busy front of the card.
One trick I know of using when things get too busy on the card front for the sentiment is to back it on or use vellum. This way it is not competing for you attention with the back ground. This was the ticket! I did have to cut off the swirl at the end of the sentiment so it would fit across the card front. Also, I turned the card around so it would open horizontally, instead of vertically. That allowed the sentiment to fit better across the front.
Yeah, one down, one to go. Since the vellum trick worked so well, I used it again.
I decided to go ahead and use the remains of the previous die cut to add the Christmas tree to this vellum circle.
That's it for now. See you again soon!
Hugs,
~NIna
