Just Breathe

Ever since Hero Arts added an outer frame die to the Paper Layering die collection I can't stop playing with the new designs, the hero_product_link sku="DI187" text="Palm Tree"] die in particular. There are two main ways I like to use these dies in my cardmaking and I'd like to share both in this blog post, so keep on reading if you'd like to learn more!

The first one is the traditional way - die cut both the inner and outer die to create a stand-alone die cut. This is how I created a large palm tree you see on my card above - I used hero_product_link sku="PS610" text="white cardstock"] and blended lightest brown color from the hero_product_link sku="AF311" text="Brown Ombre ink pad"] and hero_product_link sku="AF209" text="Green Hills"] ink over it to color this piece.

My second palm tree, the one you can see in the background, was created by die cutting only the inner die in a background panel. Before die cutting I created an ink blended sky with the help of hero_product_link sku="AF308" text="Tide Pool to Navy ombre ink pad"]. To keep the colors of both of the palm trees consistent, I used the negative die cut from the first palm tree, placed it over the one die cut in a background panel and blended the same ink to color. I ended up having two almost identical looking trees on my card.

To emphasize the beach scene I was going for I also created a hill using a die from my stash and sand-colored cardstock. I used the same cardstock to heat emboss You Are Amazing from the hero_product_link sku="DC152" text="Thanks Stamp & Cut set"] in hero_product_link sku="PW110" text="White Embossing Powder"]. My main sentiment, Just Breathe, came from a different set - hero_product_link sku="CL924" text="Hello Gorgeous"] and was stamped using the same Tide Pool to Ombre ink pad used to create the sky. I also stamped several sea gulls to fill in the background and if you look closely and can notice a few are stamped upside down, this happened completely by accident, but I think they look okay. Sea gulls came from another set, hero_product_link sku="CL959" text="Park Essentials"].

The coconuts on my card were emphasized with the help of clear droplets, I didn't want to introduce a dark brown color on this project, so I went with creative clear and I have to say - I like the way this turned out.

I have another card idea using this same die up on my blog, be sure to check it out here if you are looking for more creative inspiration.

Have fun die cutting!