Friday, January 30, 2015

Functional Friday - Pour On Those Tiny Die Cuts!

Hi all! Time for another Functional Friday installment. In case you missed this post, I'm featuring one die from Top Dog Dies each month, and each Friday I'm sharing a different way to use the die. My hope is that even if you don't own that exact die, the ideas will translate to similar dies you do own.


This technique uses tiny die cuts in the same way that you'd use glitter, micro beads, or embossing powder. You apply adhesive to your base, and then sprinkle on the die cuts. Fun! Let's take a look ...


First I cut the Heart Border Die. Then I freehand cut a larger heart from a sheet of copy paper. This will be my template for coloring and applying adhesive.


A very IMPORTANT first step is to use your template to make a light outline of where your shape is going to be. Fill it in with a shade of marker that matches the color of your dies. This will make life much easier later. Now any spaces that are not completely filled will not stick out like a sore thumb.


 As you can see, the coloring doesn't have to be pretty. You just don't want this area to be stark white. Now place the template over your colored panel and spray adhesive through the opening.

  
  
Now the fun part! Sprinkle the tiny heart dies onto the area you sprayed with adhesive. Shake off any excess. You may have to play around and fill in some bare spots. 


  
At this point you can either try to get one layer of die cuts on your panel so they lay nice and flat, or leave them chunky with some standing up and some laying on top of others. 


  
I like the nice and chunky look. After the spray adhesive dried I didn't have any issues with the tiny dies falling off.


Now that you see the finished product, I'll mention that it's helpful to think carefully about the double-sided paper you pick for this project. Since you are randomly shaking the dies onto the adhesive, both sides of the paper will show. I really liked the colors on the colorful side of this Crate Paper Acorn Ave. paper, but the other side was too gray for me. So before die cutting the hearts, I colored the gray side with a pink marker. Now it's a patterned pink paper!



Here you can see half of the hearts show the pink pattern side. You can also get a better feel for how chunky the heart is. It's a fun one to touch!


This was a really fun technique to play around with. And, it was really quick to put together. In fact, I made 7 of these cards in total! They're the same basic design, but they all have a different way of using the tiny heart dies. I can't wait to show you the other 6 cards next week, PLUS an amazing trick that I just learned from my crafty friends Helen and Brenda on preventing paper from sticking in your die cuts. YOU ARE NOT GOING TO WANT TO MISS THIS!! I'm so darn excited!!

Thanks for looking,
-Kelly

20 comments:

  1. Kelly, this card is amazing! I looooove it!

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  2. What a FUN idea Kelly!! These are both so pretty! Can't wait to see more AND your paper sticking prevention ;)

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  3. I love this idea, Kellly, and the colored paper you picked really looks good all glued on.

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  4. This is really fabulous. I really like this new series. (Did I already tell you that last week?--well, it's still true) Have a great weekend. Love all these bitty hearts.

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  5. This just screams FUN, Kelly!! I love it so much, if I made one, I would mail it to myself!! Thank you for the wonderful instructions!! Hugs, Darnell

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  6. Totally FABULOUS!! WONDERFUL use of small dies! Love your share of how you did it! Happy weekend, Kelly!

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  7. Love your idea! It's so fun to see how you use your dies, I'm really enjoying this Friday feature. Thanks for showing all the steps!

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  8. Very cool. Very, VERY cool. Great, no...Brilliant idea/technique. You so rock. I'll be keeping this in mind and might even give it a try. Thanks for always being an inspiration. Bev

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  9. Love this! Reminds me of sprinkles, which is making me hungry!!!

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  10. This is fantastic... and can't wait to learn more, Kelly!! Bring it on!
    =] Michele

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  11. You are a genius! Love that you changed the gray pattern paper to pink with some coloring and it all is just PERFECTION! Awesome work Kelly!

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  12. You're brilliant. Absolutely adorable card.

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  13. Wow...this is just so fun! I love all those sweet little hearts, so cute.

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  14. I just came over from Pinterest to comment. This is PHENOMENAL! From the double-sided paper base, to the lovely white rectangles and of course the texture in the heart. Love everything about it, Kelly!! Color choices are spot-on!

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  15. I just saw this! Love it! Thanks for sharing the process!

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I absolutely love reading comments. Thanks so much for stopping by and taking the time to leave one! - Kelly