Elizabeth Craft Designs Designers’ Challenge – Frame It & Stitched Inspiration

For this month’s Elizabeth Craft Designs Designer’s Challenge, the design team is using the Frame It dies from the Garden Notes line to create cards featuring the stitched detailing that those dies add to projects. Since the Garden Notes line is known for 3-D flower dies, I naturally had to include some primroses, berry branches and evergreen wreath pieces to create my stitched Christmas window card. I hope you like it!

Please check out the video or step-by-step photos below to see how I created this card.

Elizabeth Craft Designs Is Having a Giveaway!!

For today’s challenge Elizabeth Craft Designs is giving away a $20 Gift Card to three lucky winners!

To enter simply click here to leave a comment on the Elizabeth Craft Designs Challenge post answering the question “Which of the Garden Notes – Frame It/Stitched die sets would you use on a project and how would you use it?” Comments left on my blog are appreciated, but will not enter you into the giveaway. You must comment on the Elizabeth Craft Designs December 2018 Challenge post OR the Elizabeth Craft Designs Designers Challenge Facebook post. Thanks!

They will select 3 lucky winners in a random drawing to be announced on Friday, December 21, 2018 on the Elizabeth Craft Designs blog. Good luck!

Here’s how I made the card:

1. Die cut 3 each of the three-petal die from the Primrose 1 die set using 100 lb. White Soft Finish Cardstock. Die cut 4 of the two-petal dies from the same cardstock. Die cut 3 of the larger leaf die and 2 of the smaller leaf die out of green cardstock. Use a light yellow marker to add yellow shading in the centers of the petal die cuts (I used a Spectrum Noir CT1 marker). Place the petal die cuts, right side up on to a Molding Pad, To shape the petals, use the smaller end of the loopy tool (technical term – lol) from the Susan’s Garden Tool Kit and pull it from the larger end of the petal into the smaller end of the petal about three times per petal so each petal will cup inwards. The three-petal die cut will naturally create a triangular-ish shape with 1 petal up and 2 petals down. The two-petal die cut will naturally push both petals upwards into a Minnie Mouse ears shape. Use the tweezers from the tool kit to grip up the vertical middle of each petal and pinch together. Hold pinched with your fingers and use the tweezers to bend the upper edges of each petal back. Repeat for all the petals on all the die cuts. Press and circle in the center of each petal die cut with the smallest ball stylus tool from the tool kit for additional shaping.

Die cut 3 calyx pieces from light green cardstock. Cut down the center of each fringe piece that extends from the long straight connector edge with the Elizabeth Craft Designs scissors. Add Kids’ Choice Glue to the long straight edge and create the calyx by gripping the handle at the end of the long straight edge with the tweezers in the tool kit and rolling the die cut up around the tweezers. Grip the rolled calyx for a moment to allow the glue to set up and gently spread a few of the fringe pieces apart, then slowly remove the tweezers. Add a dot of Kids Choice Glue to the back of the three-petal die cut and carefully place it on top of the two-petal die cut with the single petal (on the three-petal die cut) facing upwards between the Minnie ears and the two petals facing down. Adjust as needed to achieve the desired shape. Add a dot of glue to the non-fringed end of the calyx and set into the center of each flower. Repeat to create a total of 3 primroses.

Create a primrose bud by taking the last two-petal die cut and shape with the loopy tool as before. Fold the piece together so the petals scoop inwards and one petal overlaps the other about half way to form a bud shape. Add glue to the underside of the top overlapping petal, fold back into the bud shape and set aside to dry. NOTE: The video is very helpful for understanding the shaping process described above and for the leaves.

2. Flip a leaf die cut over onto a Leaf Pad and emboss a center vein line vertically down the middle using the pointy tool (another technical term – lol) from the Susan’s Garden Tool Kit. Flip the leaf right side up and fold back along the line you just embossed on the back of the leaf. Highlight the fold using Distress Oxide in Mowed Lawn by running the folded edge of the die cut over the ink pad. Place the leaf right side up on the Leaf Pad and use the pointy tool to emboss diagonal vein lines up the sides of the leaf on either side of the center vein line. These lines should be about 1/32″ apart. Use the tweezers to grip the leaf vertically up the center and pinch it inwards, folding it slightly closed. While still holding it with the tweezers, flip the leaf over on to a Molding Pad and run the medium ball stylus along the back edges of the leaf and top tip to shape it outwards. Repeat for all leaf die cuts.

3. Die cut 1 Berry Branch die from 85 lb. White Soft Finish Cardstock and color the branch portion of the die cut with a dark brown marker (I used a Spectrumn Noir TN8 marker). Add Ruby Slipper Glitter Drops to each of the berries and set aside to dry. If the white cardstock showing around the berries will bother you, die cut the branch from red cardstock instead. Die cut 1 Evergreen Wreath die using a dark green cardstock. Trim apart into roughly 5 separate branches. Use a dark green marker to flick shaded “needles” on each of the evergreen boughs (I used a Spectrum Noir JG6 marker).

4. Trim a piece of gold cardstock to 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″. Lightly mark a pencil line horizontally across the face of the gold cardstock, 1 1/4″ down from the top. Also lightly marker the center of the line. Eyeball the placement of the second smallest die from the Garden Notes Frame It Squares die set below the horizontal line and centered on the center mark. Die cut out this square. Use the pencil line and middle square to place the same square die on each side of the center square with equal spacing and die cut out of the gold cardstock to create a line of three stitched squares.

5.  Trim two strips of red snowflake paper from the It’s Christmas Time 6″ x 6″ paper pack to 1/8″ x 5 1/2″. Add 3 mm Clear Double Sided Adhesive Tape to the back of each strip and adhere to the gold cardstock along the top and bottom edges of the line of stitched squares from Step 4. Use a clear embossing ink (I used Versamark), white heat embossing powder and a heat tool to stamp and heat emboss the “Merry” and “Christmas” words from the Christmas Collection Clear Stamps in the upper and lower gold sections of the cardstock as shown in the photo.

6. Create an A2-sized card base by trimming a piece of dark purple cardstock to 5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″ and folding in half. Add 3 mm and 6 mm Clear Double Sided Adhesive Tape to the back of the gold cardstock from Step 5 and adhere to the front of the dark purple card base, trimming off any overhang as needed. Trim the berry branch from Step 3 into multiple small pieces and trim the evergreen boughs apart into several small chunks that are scaled to work with the primroses from Step 1. Add some Kids’ Choice Glue to the center back of 1 primrose and adhere it into the lower right corner of the first square opening on the card front. Add glue to the ends of a leaf, berry branch and evergreen bough as shown in the photo and adhere around and under the flower while the glue is still wet so the flower and other elements can be adjusted into a pleasing arrangement. Do the same for the remaining squares, primroses, berry branches and evergreen pieces placing the primrose bud with one flower in the upper right of the center square and the last flower in the middle right of the final square. You will have leftover berry branch and evergreen pieces. Set aside to dry.

7.  Trim a piece of 85 lb. White Soft Finish Carsdtock to about 1 1/2″ x 6″ and cover the front with Clear Double Sided Adhesive Sheet. Place the largest die in the Dotted Scallop Rectangles die set about 3/4″ up from the bottom of the adhesive covered cardstock, adhesive side up and run through a die cutter to create a dotted scalloped border piece. Repeat using the other straight edge of the cardstock (not die cut) for die placement to die cut a second border. Peel back part of the adhesive backing on one of the die cut borders and cover the cardstock with Forest Green Silk Microfine Glitter, Rub the glitter down onto the cardstock while you tap off the excess to bring out the shine. Hold the now-glittered part and remove the remaining adhesive backing and cover the rest of the border piece. Repeat to complete the second border piece.

8.  Add a strip of 3 mm Clear Double Sided Adhesive Tape to the back edge of each glittered border piece just below the dots in the scallops. Carefully place along the top and bottom horizontal edges of the card front and trim off the excess. Don’t press the adhesive tape firmly on to the card front until you have trimmed the excess and ensured the border edges are straight. If not straight, you can carefully pull up the tape and reposition the borders until you are happy. Add three of the smallest Red/Gold Glitter Dots in a horizontal line next to the out sides of the embossed words to complete the card. Enjoy!

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