Blue and White Birthday Wishes

I really like this “Floral Stem Collage” die by Poppystamps, but it was not at all what I was expecting when I ordered it!  I thought it cut a rectangular “framed” flower.  However, this die only cuts a negative image or “window” from wherever it is placed on a panel. On the sample above, I started with a 5 x 3 3/4 inch white panel and placed the die closer to the left side which left more white space for my greeting.  The blue mat panel can be seen through the “window” while also forming the border around the white.

I needed a rectangular die cut for a class I was teaching (we were working on creating mats/layers for card elements) and had purchased this die without realizing how it actually cut.  To fix this, I had to center the die on pre-cut 2 3/4″ x 4 1/4″ panels to create the “free-standing” rectangles.  A few more prep steps, but they worked out fine for the class….

The students were encouraged to add as many layers as desired.  These were some basic matting samples I used for the lesson:

The students were encouraged to change up their layouts and/or to add greetings and additional embellishments if they were feeling adventurous!  (The only “requirement” was that they matted the floral die in some way and created an A2 size card.)

Not cutting the outer border makes this die very flexible!  You just need to pay attention to the size of the panel from which you are cutting and the careful placement of the die on that panel.

Thanks for checking out my card projects!