Not Your Average Hello

Hey friends.....it's Michelle back with you today sharing a new and Crafty post (see what I did there lol).  This weeks theme is shaped cards and to be honest, this was totally stepping out of my comfort zone, because believe it or not, I have never made anything other than your traditional A2 sized card...not even a square card!  I know, shocking right lol.  But shaped cards are a lot easier than you may think.  Let's get started and I'll show you just how easy they are!

To begin I took an A2 (4.25x5.5") cardbase and lined up one of the Mirrored Arch Label dies from Spellbinders and positioned it on the front of my folded cardbase, but with the left cutting edge of the die just off the left side of the cardbase.  This would ensure that it cuts 3 out of 4 sides of the cardbase, keeping the folded edge intact.  I used a lighter weight cardstock for this, as the first time I ran it thorugh my diecutting machine with a heavier weight cardstock, it wouldn't cut through the 2 layers....the lighter weight cut through the 2 layers no problem.

Next cut out the Artisan Flora Lily Para- Dies and do some ink blending on them to add colour.  I used a combination of Festive Berries Distress Ink and Dandelion from Hero Arts for the flowers and Parsley and Evergreen from Concord & 9th for the leaves.  The flowers were then adhered together and some white ink splatters were added.  

Some light pink ink blending was added the the cardbase and some black splatters, to add a bit of interest to the background.  I played around and arranged the flowers on the cardfront where I wanted them and added a piece of Press N Seal over top to pick them up and keep them perfectly in position, so I could add the adhesive and place them back exactly as I wanted.  This helps you to keep from guessing where you had them.  Another alternative to this if you don't have Press N Seal, is to place them how you want and take a photo with your phone of the arrangement, so you can refer back to it and place them exactly how you want, once the adhesive is added. 

I felt the background was a bit boring and needed something more, so I cut out a border using 2 of the dies from the same set as I used to cut out the cardbase from black cardstock.  This border not only added some interest to it, but also helped to ground the flowers.  Adhesive was then added to the border and the flowers (still on my piece of Press N' Seal) and they were all added to the cardbase.  The sentiment is from the Gilded Greetings EAP and cut out with the co-ordinating die and foam adhesive was then added to help pop it up.  To finish it off, of course I added some sparkle using the Meraki Sparkle Clear gems.  No Crafty Meraki card is complete without some of their gorgeous and sparkly gems!

And there you have it!  My very first ever shaped card...and it wasn't hard at all!  Have you tried making one?  Are you team traditional A2 or a fun shaped card?  I think I'll definitely be trying out different shapes in the future.  

Thank you so much for stopping by today and I hope that I have helped to inspire you in some small way.  I wish you all the most wonderful and crafty day and until next time,  Michelle :)