Here's another Spring card featuring the Beautiful Wings Embosslit I featured in my last post, plus the new Scallop Trim Border and Corner punches! This was a card we did at the February Stamp Club—another example of some of the Cool stuff we make!
Chalk Board Technique
The background is created with a chalk board technique. We stamped with the Pretty Petals background stamp in White Craft Ink, then applied Stampin' Pastels over the top. It's a fantastic way to add beautiful colors to a dark background, but it works for any color of card stock. You could actually use other light colors of Craft ink, but the colors won't be as bright as when you use white.
Here's a chalk board tutorial from Splitcoast Stampers to show you how easy it is!
Want to make this card? Here are the complete instructions and supply list for the Pretty Petals Butterflies Card.
Scallop Trim Border & Corner PunchesHave you received your FREE Scallop Trim Border Punch yet? You still have until the end of the month to place a $50 order and select it as your FREE Sale-A-Bration item. Of course, there are several other items you could choose for free, but this is by far my favorite! Use it along with the Scallop Trim Corner Punch and you can create delicate scalloped border frames like the one on my Pretty Petals card.
Now, I'll be honest, it took me a few tries to get the hang of using these two punches together, but once I figured it out, I feel like a pro! The trick is that you have to have a piece of card stock that is sized correctly. There are a couple of ways to handle this: 1) start with a larger piece than you want to end up with and be flexible about what size results, or 2) use specific measurements to achieve the exact number of scallops you want on each side.
There's no need for me to re-invent the wheel here...others have already put together great resources for you!
If you are flexible about the final size (that's #1 above), you will have much success with the Scallop Trim Punches tutorial brought to you exclusively from the Stampin' Up! creative team.
If you're like me and need an accurate measurement (#2 above), this amazing demonstrator, Gretchen Barron, has painstakingly done all the figuring for you. Her Scallop Trim Punches Tutorial with measurements has A LOT of information, but take the time to read through it and try punching her way. You'll want to bookmark it, trust me! I really like her method (which we didn't use at Club), because once you start with the correct size of card stock, you can punch all the corners first and fill in the edges with the border punch. Any overlap punching you have will be on the edges, not the corners, which seems easier to do. If you learned the #1 method from me at my events or project instructions, I recommend trying the #2 way to see which one you like better.
For an easy reference, I'll share the measurements Gretchen recommends starting with for squares...presenting the Scallop Trim Border Cliff Notes:
- 4 3/4" makes a square that has 10 scallops along each side
- 4 1/4" makes a square that has 9 scallops on each side
- 3 13/16" (just a hair bigger than 3 3/4") makes a square that has 8 scallops along each side. This is the size that fits perfectly into the guide that is printed on the Scallop Trim Border Punch and therefore makes this a great size to practice on. Once you get this size down, it will be easier to branch-off and make your squares smaller or larger.
- 3 1/4" makes a square than has 7 scallops along each side.
- 2 7/8" makes a square that has 6 scallops on each side
- 2 3/8" makes a square that has 5 scallops on each side
- And then, the original smallest square that I described above begins with a square that is 1 15/16" and uses only the corner punch.
To make rectangles, she uses combinations of the measurements above.
With a little practice, I know you'll have it mastered! I'd love to see your projects, so email me pictures: toocoolstamping@verizon.net. Hey, I'm serious! Send me a picture and let me know if I can post it.
Stamp with you soon! ~Angie
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