The Diva's that cut ....paper!: How to stack die cuts creating dimension and emboss with stencils

Sunday, February 9, 2020

How to stack die cuts creating dimension and emboss with stencils

Hi Everyone! My name is Renee' from Delaney Jane Cards and I'm super excited to be sharing some projects with the Die Cut Divas. This is my first project of the year too, so the nerves are in full force. So kind words would be really appreciated in the comments to help calm a fellow crafter's nerves.

This month, the featured company is Hero Arts. I'll share a little bit of a secret right here and right now with you all. Hero Arts is the very first branded clear stamp set that I ever purchased (circa 2008). I still have it too! I didn't use it today but I have a long relationship with the quality and the range of Hero Arts products. With this in mind, working with their products for this month's projects has been AMAZING!

The first project I created uses dies and stencils in some really specialized ways, probably something you've seen before but this is my take. But before we get started into the how to's and why's, can we all agree this nasturtium stamp is really stunning. I was absolutely drawn to it. One thing I particularly loved about this stamp is it came in a bundle with a coordinating die. The die even cuts out those little pieces between the flower stems which is something I'm particularly fond of.

I also chose to use the Hero Arts Bold Floral Stencil this month but didn't actually stencil with it, I dry embossed my background using the stencil and my rubber embossing mat in my Big Shot. I made sure to use the embossing folder setting. Check your machine for the "sandwich" it requires to emboss and remember not to force anything through your machine. I also pulled out an older set I had from Hero Arts. I'm a firm believer in stamps and dies do not expire and I love to bring things out from my stamp and die collection. I purchased a Hero Arts My Monthy Hero Kit way back in November of 2016. It had a stamp and die set to create an ornament and it also contained smaller dies to decorate the ornament. The tiny tag and small sentiment For You came from that set. Don't overlook what you have. I am constantly inspired by the things in my craft room, including some of my oldest stamps and dies. For the supporting characters on this card, I used a Simon Says Stamp frames die, a Mama Elephant die from their basic set and an old thanks die from A Muse Studio.

This is how I like to create. I begin with a focal image or technique and I really let my craft room create the supporting elements. I think I get a more complete composition this way.

In the photo above you can see the dry embossing created from the stencil as well as the stacked sentiment and stacked image. I cut two additional floral pieces from black card stock and stacked the colored image onto those two layers. I also cut three layers of the sentiment thanks but instead of stacking these together in their entirety, I trimmed off the t and part of the h as well as the s from the word and only added those as additional layers to the top layer. This way when it was laid across my focal image it would be the same height.

I took the time to die cut the floral die from the dry embossed background, leaving a space to fit my stacked focal image into. I wanted to create a lot of dimension but I didn't want to really use foam mounting tape or fun foam. Layers of card stock stacked up can create some very interesting dimension. The main focal image was inlaid into the golden main panel.