Plaid Cut File Cards
with Nancy
When I saw that the Plaid Background Cut File came with four sizes of Cut Files, I was immediately drawn to the idea of working on some cards. To be honest, I had no idea where I was going with them, I just wanted to see what I could come up with. For the cards, I selected the 8×4” and 4.25×5” plaid cut files to work with. For scrapbookers there is also a 12×12 version and a 8.5 x 11” version ready to cut.
PLAYING WITH PLAID
There is nothing quite like plaid for being a versatile and classic print. But I do find that plaid seems to lean towards masculine, like camping or even Christmas themes. So I was immediately drawn to creating cards with a more feminine and botanical feel.
I chose some yellow, pink, and white cardstock from my stash and ran the cut file a handful of times until I had a nice little pile of plaid background cuts and a huge pile of “confetti” from the leftovers. I wanted to see how the plaid would do for layering, so I moved the pink and yellow around and discovered that it layered nicely. I ended up making 5 cards with this Cut File!
DECO FOIL
The first two cards I started to work on, I am calling the Deco Foil Duo, use both the positive and negative space of the Cut file. I discovered that my laminator wasn’t working so swell. So if I wanted to use Deco Foil, I needed to use the pressure method for the 2 Way Deco Foil Glue. Essentially, if you allow the glue to get tacky for 60 minutes, you can run the paper and the Deco Foil through your manual die cutting machine and the pressure will set the foil into the glue.
PROCESS
I had cut the 4.25×5” plaid cut file from white cardstock, so I placed it on top of the white cardstock and used a pallet knife to evenly distribute the Deco Foil Glue over the plaid cut file piece making sure to cover both the front and back with the glue evenly as if I were using the paper as a stencil. After waiting the 60 mins, I ran both the plaid background and the “stenciled” cardstock though my Big Shot and had great results.
LITTLE DETAILS
I trimmed them up to make a 4x 5 ¼” card front, and added stamped and stenciled flowers that I made with the Pink Fresh Garden Roses Stamp. Then added some Die and Layering Stencil and a Sentiment from the Pink Fresh Foiled Sentiments.
I had a couple of white pre-cut stitched rectangles that I had cut from the Paper Rose Stitched Rectangles Die. I put one on each side of the front and back of the card to provide a backdrop for the front focus of the card. Finally, I finished off the card with some more chipboard shapes and stickers from the Simple Stories Simple Vintage Cottage Fields Collection.
LEFT OVERS
I could have stopped there, but I still had that pile of “confetti” leftovers. So I challenged myself to see if I could make something of it. I layered a strip of double-sided adhesive along the bottom of a 4 1/4 x 5 ½” piece of white cardstock and started to build a bit of an art deco/pieced together background. I added a few layers of smaller pieces as I went, until I had filled the entire piece with all the bits.
I trimmed this up to 3 ¾ x 5” panel, matted it on a piece of dark pink cardstock (4×5 ¼) and put it on the front of a card base. For the focal point, I cut a Sunflower using the Honeybee Sunflower die and sprayed and dipped the pieces in Distress Oxide Inks (Abandoned Coral and Kitsch Flamingo and Peacock Feather mixed with Kitsch Flamingo to make the purple centre).
I added a couple of ephemera elements (the ticket and the butterfly tag) from the Simple Stories Simple Vintage Cottage Fields Collection and the “Best Day Ever” banner to finish off.
I don’t often think of getting out my Cricut to make cards. So, I was really pleased to try this out and had a lot of fun pushing my boundaries a bit and working to think of Cut Files in a whole new way!
Thanks!
Nancy
