Hello Flourishes Fans!!  I’m Ally and I’m your hostess for Stamps & Scraps!

Die cutting and digital cutting are all the rage right now in the paper crafting world.  If you have already jumped on this marvelous band-wagon, then you will truly understand the addiction!  There is something spectacular about starting with a simple piece of shaped cardstock and bringing it to life… Ahhhh!  It’s become one of my paper passions indeed.  So today I’m going to share a few fun ways of taking those paper shapes and making them come alive.  Grab a cuppa joe and come along for my creative journey…

My journey began with some simple cardstock…

• First I digitally die cut my shapes out of cardstock.  The above shape is the base for my layout’s title block.  I used the Flourishes “Spring Breeze ” cardstock from the Color Made Easy collection ~ Pistachio as my base colour of cardstock.
• Then I stamped the top part of the die cut using the pine branch from the “All That Glitters” stamp set using Memento “Rich Cocoa” ink.  For the bottom part of the die cut I used the NEW “S’More Fun” stamp set.  It contains the cutest camping images… awww!
• Then I added some “Walnut Stain” Distress Ink to all the edges and I also air brushed some Copic BG13 from the Copic Water Collection.
• For the final touch, I added some simple machine stitching using a yellow thread for a pop of colour.

Don’t you love how in only a few short steps your cardstock just becomes magical!?!

To complete my title block, I needed to add my actual title…

• The first step was to cut out my title.  I used the Flourishes “Desert Marigold” cardstock from the Color Made Easy collection, Sunflower.
• Then I stamped some of the cute stars from the “Make a Wish” stamp collection using Memento “Tangelo” ink.  So cool!!
• I then took my Copic air brush and applied Copic Y35 & Y38 from the Sunflower Collection to give it that glow.
• Then I added some foam adhesive to back of my title and adhered it to my title block.  Voila!

So super simple and now I’ve created a fun and dimensional embellishment all using cardstock and stamps!

Next I wanted to added another source of the yellow and orange colours to my layout so I created another unique die cut shaped embelly for my layout…

• First I die cut this beautiful Flourishes Perfectly Pierced Classic Frame from the same “Desert Marigold” cardstock from the Color Made Easy collection, Sunflower as my title.
• Leaving the cardstock inside the die, I then airbrushed the back ground using the same Copic markers as my title.
• Again, I stamped the beautiful star stamp from the “Make a Wish” stamp collection repeatedly all over the back ground of my die cut.  Those pretty little paper pierced patterns are actually built right into the die!  Yum!
• Finally, I added a touch of machine stitching around the edge of my die cut shape.  I cut my die cut to allow me to place it in two different areas of my layout ~ another great way to stretch out those die cuts (no pun intended! LOL).

I knew I needed one final addition to my page so…

• First I die cut my multiple pieces of cardstock that will create my final embellishment.  I used the Flourishes “Spring Breeze ” cardstock from the Color Made Easy collection ~ Pistachio and Flourishes Classic White Cardstock.
• For my green circle, I stamped the compass part of the Antique Map stamp set onto it.  For the rounded corner rectangle, I stamped the cute sentiment and the marshmallow sticks from the S’More Fun stamp set.  I coloured each image using Copics to make them pop!
• I added one final bit of machine stitching and some fussy cut marshmallow sticks and it was ready for my layout!

At last… all of the elements were complete for my layout.  Here is what I created with my die cut embellishments…

Happy Campers

So the next time you are stuck for a perfectly themed embellishment or a clever title, think about using your die cuts or your digital cutting machine and creating your own!

If you would like to learn more about about how I created my stamped back ground, please visit the Scrapbook & Cards Today blog for a step by step tutorial today.

Happy stamping everyone!

Ally.