Ink Blending and Inlaid Die Cutting with Altenew's Hibiscus Garden 3D Die Set

 

Hello, hello and welcome!  I’ve had my eye on Altenew’s Hibiscus Garden 3D Die  for sometime and finally bought it.  I thought it would be helpful to take Therese Calvird’s 3D Floral Focus Class while I was playing with my new dies.  Therese has six wonderful lessons and I would like to share my 3D creations in this blog post.  I found this class very relaxing and therapeutic and I enjoyed thinking about  my color combinations and doing loads of die-cutting. 

This first thing I did was put the dies for each flower in individual numbered pouches so that I can just grab a pouch and start die-cutting.  This will make future card making so much more streamlined since I won’t have to sort through all the dies to find the pieces for each layer.  Next, I made a sample of each flower and leaf to use as a guide when assembling my die-cuts and I labeled the back.  Again, this makes the die-cutting and assembly go so much more quickly.

I have orange and pink potted Hibiscus plants around my pool and I used them as the inspiration for this card.  I started by ink blending all the colors I wanted on watercolor paper.  I like that watercolor paper is a bit thicker and has more texture and makes a rich substantial diecut. Next, I diecut the components of my card and the sentiment.

I then created my background.  I masked off a frame on a piece of watercolor paper and then watercolored my background with a diluted watery purple.  I dried the panel and added purple and black paint splatters.  Next I mixed gesso with Iridescent Shimmer Spray and added more splatters.  I put the panel aside to dry while I assembled my flowers.  When the panel was dry, I glued my die-cuts onto the background.  I really love the bold vibrant blooms with the softer greens and background.

For my second card, I used the inlaid diecutting technique with a color blocking twist.  Same die set but a very different vibe.  I die-cut all the pieces from scraps I had saved from Altenew's Jewel Tone Sampler.  The colors are bold and gorgeous!

The square panel is 2 3/4" x 2 3/4".  Therese taught us to use the same color paper underneath the inlay in case there is a gap.  This worked really well for me.  To finish the card, I made a 4 1/4" x 4 1/4" square top folding card.

To finish both cards I added Bold Envelopes and they are now ready to mail.

I am also playing along with: Seize the Birthday "Scraps" Challenge 3D Dies are the perfect time to use scraps because you need lots of small pieces.  I am entering my square card.

I am so happy you stopped by!
Karen