Stitched Inlay Card: Waffle Flower Herringbone Panel

Hello, friends!  I am so happy to be back today with a card I made using Waffle Flower's new Herringbone Panel die.  This is one of those versatile dies that can not only stand on its own (it has its own sentiments... so cool!), but can also be paired with just about any theme for lots of added interest in the background of your project.  I chose to make the die itself the standout today with a card featuring lots of easy stitching.

I love using dies to create stitched cards, and this one made it so easy!  To start, I adhered double-sided adhesive on the pack of a piece of white cardstock and die cut my herringbone panel.  I then adhered the panel on top of another piece of white cardstock.  I chose a pretty rainbow of threads and started stitching!  All I did was poke holes into the little rectangular cut-outs and stitch a simple backstitch, slightly offsetting each row.  This went surprisingly quickly!

I used the Herringbone Sentiments stamp set to stamp my sentiment onto another panel I cut with the die.  I fussy cut the sentiment out, added some stitching around the border, and popped it up with some foam tape.

I added a few clear sequins here and there and this card was finished!  I love the texture and dimension that stitching adds to dies like these!

I hope you enjoyed this project!  Links to the products are below.  I'll be back soon with another project I made using the Creative Bundle from Waffle Flower's November release.  Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Stitched Thank You Cards With Waffle Flower's Rainbow Thank You Die

Happy Tuesday, everyone!  It is a happy day, indeed, because it is Waffle Flower release day!  I am so thrilled and honored to be participating in Waffle Flower's November release, and I just love the fun products!  I have two cards to share with you today that I made using the new Rainbow Thank You die.

I LOVE this die.  Like really REALLY love it.  The first card I made with this card makes me so happy because it brought me straight back to my childhood.  This die has such a cool retro vibe.  When my husband saw it, he said it reminded him of School House Rock (and proceeded to sing "I'm just a bill; Just an ordinary bill; And I'm sitting here on Capitol Hill..."  Anyone else remember that song?  LOL).  I immediately knew I wanted to make some bold rainbow stripes, although I didn't immediately realize why (more on that later).

I drew some lines on my card base and colored them in with markers.  I then did some simple stitching using a brick stitch to fill in the lines.  This stitch is really simple... it is an easy backstitch for the first row.  For the second, you simply make your holes offset from the holes in the previous row (so that your stitches fall in the middle of the previous row's stitches).  So easy!

All that was left to do was die cut my sentiment using the Rainbow Thank You Die.  It was when I put the card together that I realized why I just had to do a bold rainbow.  This card looks exactly like my FAVORITE rainbow suspenders from my childhood.  I swear I must have worn those suspenders every day for a year.  I used to put fun buttons on them, and this thank you die looks exactly like something I would have pinned to those suspenders.  This card brings me back to those suspenders (I wish I still had them!) and makes me smile.

The second card also features some simple stitching.  This die comes with multiple options for borders, making it so easy to achieve different looks.  For this card, I adhered every other small ring to my card base.  I colored my sentiment letters with a rainbow palette of Copic markers and then added some really easy backstitching around the border of the rings.

I love the texture the stitching adds to this super fun sentiment.  Don't you love it when a die is so fun that it can stand on its own?

I hope you enjoyed these projects!  A link to the Rainbow Thank You Die is below.  I will be back with some more projects I made using products included in the new release.  Thanks so much for stopping by and I'll se you soon!

Pinkfresh Monthly Challenge: Stitched Circle Elements Card

Hello!  I am back today with a card I made for the Pinkfresh Studios October monthly challenge.  I love participating in Pinkfresh's challenges... the prompts are always so fun and really do challenge me to change things up!

This month's challenge is to use circle elements in a card or scrapbook design.  I decided to use Pinkfresh's Floral Elements stamp set to create this circular-based card.  I stamped out my images in light ink on Neenah Solar White 110# paper and colored them in with Polychromos colored pencils in pretty shades of pink, peach and yellow.

I then cut out three circles on a white card base embossed in a knit pattern.  I splattered some gold watercolor paint onto the panel for some interest and arranged my florals around the three circles.  I also added some yellow stitching around the perimeter of the circles for a little added texture.

I die cut three circles out of pink and peach cardstock and stamped my sentiment in each using Pinkfresh's Flower Garden stamp set, heat embossing them in white.  I stitched over the "beautiful" with white thread.

I popped up the background panel with some craft foam and layered it over my sentiment circles.  I added some gold sequins for a little added sparkle, and this card was finished!  I love the circle elements on this card... this was a layout I hadn't used before, and I always love mixing it up!

I hope you enjoyed this project!  Links to the products I used are below.  I participate in the Scrapbook.com affiliate program, which means that I receive a small commission at no cost to you when products are purchased through the links I share.  I truly appreciate your support!

I encourage everyone to participate in monthly challenges to stay inspired and challenge yourself to try new techniques.  You can check out Pinkfresh's monthly challenges here.  Thanks so much for stopping by and I'll see you soon!

Enhancing Simple Die Cuts with Coloring: Spellbinders Die Club Kits Florals

Hello, everyone!  I am so happy you stopped by today because this card has my heart.  I had no plans to make this...  it was the result of having die cut too many pieces for some other cards and not having the heart to throw them out.  One cold, rainy night, some plain die cuts and some markers, and this card was born!  

I like die cutting florals out of white cardstock because I find it tedious to pull out lots of different colors (mostly because I don't like cleaning up lots of supplies, but that is a story for a different day). After making some floral cards with some past club kits from Spellbinders, I found myself looking at a pile of small white florals and foliage with no idea of what I wanted to do with them.  I pulled out my Copic markers and started coloring them in pretty shades of red, pink, and aqua, layering the flowers to create interest and dimension.  But the real fun came when I started to accent the flowers with a white paint pen and some fine liners.  I was amazed at how little dots could really add a touch of both realism and whimsy to these little blooms.  I had so much fun that I kept going, coloring and dotting until I had a pretty pile of botanical die cuts.  

Now, what to do with them?  I started lying them on top of different cardstock and was so happy with the way a dark charcoal gray really allowed the die cuts to shine.  I splashed the card base with some white gouache, die cut a little circular frame, and added my "hello friend" sentiment.  Then I started arranging.  Not wanting to waste any of my blooms, I created bunches of flowers until I was happy with their placement.  I secured them together using some Press and Seal and glued them together on the back so I wouldn't have to fiddle too much with glueing the individual pieces down.  

There's not much stitching on this card... just some simple hand-stitched sequins here and there.  I felt that the florals really deserved to steal the show here. 

I love it when a card comes together organically, with no plan or intention.  I rarely make cards this way (I am usually a girl with a plan, which may or may not come to fruition), but when I do, I am usually so pleased with the results.  This card just makes my heart happy.  

Links to the products I used are below.  I participate in the Spellbinders affiliate program, which means that I receive a small commission at no cost to you when products are purchased through the links I share  I truly appreciate your support!  

I hope you enjoyed this project and are inspired to create some colored die cuts of your own.  I would love to see them... be sure to tag me at @leighhouston11 on Instagram if you give this a try!  Thanks so much for stopping by and I'll see you soon!