Make Today Count

  Welcome to Monday!  I hope you've had a relaxing weekend! Today I'm sharing a quick masculine card in what seems to be, as of late, my go-to neutral palette. My hubby reminded me it was my father in law's birthday in a few days and could I pretty please make a card. By the way, the mail comes in a half hour. Sure, honey.

Thank goodness for my new Stacked Label Thinlits dies! These stacked labels make easy and quick work or play for just about any project you might have in mind, and the combinations  using the 5 graduated dies are limited only by your imagination.

I actually worked in reverse when planning my card, starting with the focal point and working to the base. I found this young man in one of my oldest Tim Holtz Paper Stashes--Lost and Found, and he happens to look very much like my father in law in his youth. The image is square, so the die doesn't fit perfectly, but it still works! I just used a little Design Tape (this one is from the Journey set) to hold the die in place and sent it through my die cut machine. The Design tape works much better than any other tape--it comes off smoothly without tearing the paper/card.

I cut the lighter toned layer using one of the larger dies in the set from a background I made while enjoying some happy craft time with Autumn earlier this year at my friend's lake house. I think I used Vintage Photo and Gathered Twigs Distress Oxide and then stamped with Autumn's dots image from  Tim's Dots and Florals stamp set in one of the brown oxides. I was instantly in love, and had to go home and purchase my own set.

I only had some flimsy mixed media paper with me at the time, but I was able to add some sturdiness to the die cut by cutting a slightly smaller label from my stash of waste packaging chipboard and adhered it to the back with collage medium. These workhorse dies can easily cut through thin chipboard.

I used Classic Kraft cardstock in black for the last layer and frame, using both the inside and the outside of the cut.   I sanded both pieces, and adhered the frame to a panel of Heavystock colored with Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain Distress Oxides. You can tell from this angled shot that I elevated each label by using some waste cardboard under them.

After it was all layered up the only thing left to do was to add a sentiment. My husband chose 'Make Today Count' from the Quotations Metallic Stickers. Edging the sticker in Black Soot ink gives it a nice finishing touch.

All ready for the mail in plenty of time! I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I did making this card!

Thank you for stopping by today and for all your lovely comments!

Hugs and Blessings!

Sara Emily

Additional products: Stampers Anonymous Dots and Floral Stamp set, Ideaology Lost and Found Paper Stash

(APRIL PRE-ORDER) Sizzix Thinlits Set - Stacked Label by Tim Holtz	(February Pre-order) Tim Holtz Idea-ology 8 x 8 Classic Kraft Stock	(February Pre-order) Tim Holtz Idea-ology Quotations Metallic Stickers	TIm Holtz Distress Mixed Media Heavystock TDA53835	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Collage Medium Vintage TDAK47940 (February Pre-Order)
Ranger Tim Holtz Ground Espresso Distress Ink Pad	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Black Soot	(FEBRUARY PRE-ORDER) Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Pad - Gathered Twigs	(February Pre-order) Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Pad - Walnut Stain	(February Pre-order) Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Pad - Vintage Photo