Expressions in Ink with Artistic Dies

My Artistic Dies arrived in the mail last week (the stamp set is still on backorder, but coming soon) and I had to try this large floral die right away! I adhered it to the top of Expressions in Ink DSP, which is all part of the Suite collection. What do you think?

There’s a reason Stampin’ Up! put this suite on the front cover of their new Annual Catalog. It is gorgeous! It did come with a small amount of frustration, though, and I want to share that with you to help you avoid the trial and error I went through.

Set the Stage

The easy part was the basic card. Shaded Spruce is my 5-1/2″x 4-1/4″ base. I cut the green/gold swirly DSP to 5-1/4″x 3″, and the gold/white stripe to 5-1/4″x 1″. After gluing those to the base, I added a thin 1/4″ strip of Shaded Spruce to the seam of the two.

The Die

This die is intricate, can you tell?!! So I decided to use Thick Basic White Cardstock for some stability. It’s also delicate and I thought some Adhesive Sheet behind it would be a great solution for adhesion. Scratch that, it didn’t cut cleanly and I … well… never mind. BTW, I’m still using my Big Shot, as it has a lot of life yet. Back to that in a minute.  Try #2: Die cut without the adhesive sheet through the Big Shot, regular plates. Nope. Try #3: In comes the big gun Precision Base Plate. Yay! It cut cleanly and the Die Brush quickly got all those little bits to come out.

I asked and was told that the new Stampin’ Up! Cut & Emboss Machine cuts this cleanly and easily without any extra plates. Since I don’t have that machine to test it, I can’t testify to that. But it came from a very reliable source! I’ll link to that machine in the Product List below.

Glue “Trick”

Since my Adhesive Sheet option didn’t work for me, here’s my tip for gluing this delicate flower piece to your card. Turn the die cut flower upside down on a Silicone Craft Sheet. Apply tiny drops of Multipurpose Liquid Glue to the wider areas of the paper. Let it sit without touching it for about 5 minutes, or until the glue begins to look opaque, then gently lift it and place it on your card. When you let it set up a bit before placing it on your card, it avoids the ooze factor. Neat, yeah?

 

I do love how this turned out. The white against the dark green is such a great contrast. The veins of gold in the paper add the elegance. Click HERE to see another card I made using this DSP in a different color.

Make One!

All of the Stampin’ Up! products I used on this card are listed below and linked to my online store for “pick & click” shopping. Or order everything with the easy “Add All To Cart” button! Before you check out, please add my Host Code for June:  KA4VWVMY. When you place any order through me this week, I’ll send you 5 of the Gold Foil die cut “hello” that you see on today’s card!

I hope you have a beautiful summer week!

Product List

Artistic Dies [155371] $35.00	Expressions In Ink 12″ X 12″ (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper [155464] $15.00	Shaded Spruce 8-1/2″ X 11″ Cardstock [146981] $8.75
Gold Foil Sheets [132622] $5.00	Basic White 8 1/2″ X 11″ Thick Cardstock [159229] $8.25	Basic White 8 1/2″ X 11″ Cardstock [159276] $9.75
Multipurpose Liquid Glue [110755] $4.00	Silicone Craft Sheet [127853] $6.00	Paper Trimmer [152392] $25.00
Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine [149653] $120.00