Runs with Scissors… AND Creative Dies

Hello, Penny Black friends. It’s been an amazing week of inspiration as the Penny Black designers created cards featuring Creative Dies. Of course, I’ve been “dying” to play along. (I couldn’t resist, sorry.) As I usually do after finishing my cards for my Runs with Scissors post, I invited Mr. RWS to comment on my work. “Hmmm”, he says, “It must be butterfly week.”

At first, my feathers were ruffled, but the more I thought about it, why not? The world could certainly use a Butterfly Week. Butterflies are so symbolic of new life, hope and change.

There are three layers of butterflies on this card. The first is cut from white cardstock, the second is cut from designer paper from the Gentle Whisper paper pack and the third layer is vellum. I also cut three layers with the “celebrate” die from the Doodles set to make it more substantial. It amazes me how beautifully the detailed sentiment dies cut. I love knowing that adding a sentiment isn’t going to ruin my card as often happens when stamping with black ink.

I’m passing along a helpful hint for storing your smaller dies. I have added a strip of magnetic tape to the cardstock backing for my Swirling Wings die. It holds the smaller pieces in place and keeps them from falling out of the packaging. I repackage most of my Penny Black stamp sets and dies, hand writing the name and product number where it is quickly visible. Low tech, but it works for me.

I’ve cut the Flutter butterfly from designer paper in the Beau Jardin paper collection. The Geometric shapes give the butterfly the perfect place to rest. I’ve added “smile” from the Doodles sentiment die set.

For this card, I’ve created texture (polka dots) on the background for the “Happy Birthday” sentiment from the Celebration die set using a standard embossing folder. I added a second layer using foam tape after I added some acetate and sequins to make a shaker card. I love the duo of butterflies in the Flicker and Flutter set.

I wanted to use the Interlocking die to create an embossed background, rather than cut out the pattern. I will share a photo here to show you how you can use any die to emboss rather than cut.

If you think of your brown rubber mat, topped with your cardstock, and then topped with the die you are using as the contents of your “sandwich” it helps. Insert this stack between your two clear plates to complete the sandwich, flip Tab 1 of your Big Shot plate out of the way and place your sandwich on Tab 2 and then run it through your machine. You can use other machines, just remember to put your sandwich together as I’ve described and then proceed with what works for your machine.

I’ve turned everything sideways so you can see the layers. Of course you would straighten everything out before running through your machine. Hope this helps!

I’ve used the circle cut from my previous card to use as a mount for the gorgeous lacy butterfly called Flights of Fancy. I’ve cut three butterflies and just joined them at the torso. The pink designer paper is from the Painted Blooms paper pack. Once again, I’ve stacked a couple of layers of the “hello” sentiment from the Doodles die set.

Because I run with scissors, I am deviating from Butterfly Week to share a card made with the bird on a branch from the Happy News creative die. I cut the image from watercolor paper and colored it using Distress Markers. After coloring, I spritzed with some water to blend the colors. There are two more layers of the diecut under the colored layer; again for depth. The copper border on the left was cut using a die from the Stitched Edges die set. And this time, I stamped the sentiment which seemed perfect for the image.

There are so many beautiful creative dies in the Penny Black shop. I am amazed at how intricate some of them are, yet they cut perfectly every time. If for some reason your dies aren’t cutting perfectly through, just add a sheet of cardstock or two in order to adjust to the variances in your die cutting machine. And I know you will really like the effect if you stack several layers of a diecut.

Cooper has the right idea. It may be Butterfly Week, but there is always time to stop and smell the roses.

The months of March and April have left little time for the RWS family to be smelling roses, literally or figuratively. We have been dealing with several health related issues, some involving some serious surgery; some just needing time and medication. Now that family members are on the mend we’ve all been sharing our gratitude for great medical care and skilled surgeons and nurses.

It’s been a time to grow closer and I’m sure we’ve all given a sigh of relief to know our family is still intact. I am thankful for the technology that not only aids in fixing what is broken, but allows us to stay in close contact even though we are scattered geographically.

There was joy in the RWS family, too, as baby Jack, Evelyn Rose’s little brother, was baptized. This proud grandma was not able to make the trip to Wisconsin but was able to share in the occasion via Facetime.

Here is Jack Lincoln and his “big” sister Evelyn with their Mommy and Daddy and also Jack and Grandma visiting via Facetime.

It won’t be hard to clean up the Penny Black studio today; very few inky messes. I’ve put away the dies and paper and my teeny tiny vacuum cleaner picked up those tiny paper pieces quick as a wink. I’ve stowed the scissors (and the Creative Dies) until the next time.

I hope you will take time to stop and smell the roses, no matter what is going on in your corner of the world. Butterfly Week could not take place during a more beautiful time of the year. Roses and butterflies … we’ve been waiting all winter.

Thanks for spending time with me. I love seeing what you create with Penny Black products and plan to resume my daily visits to the Penny Circle Flickr Gallery this week. I look forward to being inspired by your work with Penny Black’s Creative Dies.

Shop for today’s featured Penny Black supplies:

• Stamps: 30-162 Eloquence
• Creative Dies: 51-028 Celebrations, 51-029 Interlocking, 51-110 Flicker and Flutter, 51-111 Happy News, 51-128 Doodles, 51-130 Geometrics, 51-132 Flights of Fancy, 51-136 Stitched Edges, 51-137 Swirling Wings
• Designer Paper: Beau Jardin, Gentle Whisper, Painted Blooms
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