Hello again, from way up North! It’s not quite the North Pole, but it’s so cold…(How Cold Is it??) I fully expect to see Emperor Penguins in my yard. But it’s nice and cozy at my craft table, and this time I’m going to show you some Do’s & Do Not’s using the awesome Angela Poole Magic Slider Card dies. Now, let me preface this by stating I am not an artist, seriously y’all I can’t draw a stick figure, it just looks like lines, it’s sad but true. So with that, I’m positive that there are a great many people who could use these dies to spectacular effect by using their own art. I’m just not one of them. But the good news is you don’t have to, because Angela and her team have thought of everything. Let’s get started.
I’ve never been as excited to use a set of dies as I was these. I was one of the lucky few back in August during her first show that got the main set of dies.
When they arrived, I was hip deep in my son starting school, and really I didn’t get a chance to play with them until a few weeks ago. I re watched her show on Hochanda (raise your hand if you love the Rewind feature!!) and with a few starts and stops, had my first template/card done in about thirty minutes.
While I was very proud of myself (yes, I did do a happy dance, no there will never be video of that), I wanted to make an actual card, so it was back to the beginning. Let me stress here for others who might be artistically challenged: do yourself a favour and get the accompanying CD/DVD that she sells with her dies. It will save you loads of time and frustration. Which is coming right up!
First off, I wanted to do another trial run so got out the paper I knew I wanted to use and without fussing too much, just scribbled some on each one so I knew which was what. After cutting them I realised I couldn’t see the little arrows that show you where the top should be, so using my pencil, I shaded in the arrow so I would remember which way was up:
I did this on both practice pieces. Then I cut the two other pieces in the set, the “donut” and brad, and the small circle piece that will go on the front to hide the brad flaps and the “star” that shows up when you’ve put it together correctly.
The first thing I did wrong (here’s a Do Not) was I cut the circle piece with double side adhesive on it. Oops! I quickly realised my mistake and cut another one, and put the red line double sided adhesive on the brad flaps.
The second thing I did wrong was I had erased the pencil mark off the second piece, so the words I had written didn’t line up. You can see below how the two phrases were just a little bit off. So, word to the wise: when putting your pictures/sentiments on, make sure your arrows are both pointing up, and maybe wait to erase the pencil marks until after you do this. This is why I practice first!
So I knew I had some pretty dies and stamps and thought I could maybe get away with using those (Spoiler: I couldn’t) and commenced with heat embossing an image from Elizabeth Craft Design, here’s the set I used. It does come with matching dies, but I didn’t use them with this project.
Normally, I have a huge problem with heat embossing, but as I had just gotten some new embossing powder, seen above, this time they actually turned out great!
So, I continued on, colouring them using my new watercolours, Aquablends from Spectrum Noir & my favourite Inktense by Derwent. I still prefer pencils over pens, but that’s just my preference. Once I got done colouring, I then stamped each with a different sentiment and then put them on my Platinum and die cut them. Hmmm, anyone else see what I see?
Now, if I had any artistic ability (I don’t), maybe I could have stamped the circle with the poinsettia stamp and coloured it to match the flowers better. But since I couldn’t pull that off, all I could think was that I wasn’t doing these awesome dies justice. So I broke open my piggy bank, and bought her Christmas CD (which is honestly so worth it!! I literally kicked myself for not getting it sooner), printed off a picture of my two sons, and some pictures off her CD, and then I was able to do this:
What a huge difference! (Not just because of my handsome sons, but they sure help!) What’s great about the CD, is you get exactly the right size without having to fiddle with measurements and reprinting, etc. Also, while there aren’t any sentiments on the CD, I was able to type my own sentiment right on a picture from the CD and it was easy to figure out, not complicated at all. I am so happy I got her CD, and will definitely get more in the future as the price point is very reasonable especially considering everything you get, and using her pictures couldn’t be easier. My family is going to be thrilled with their Christmas cards this year! Not only that, I’m having a blast making them.
Everyone I’ve shown so far is blown away by these cards, just as I was when I first saw them. If you’re on the fence about getting them, let me assure you it is well worth it. Remember how I said that first template took me thirty minutes to do? Well, the last one I did (almost an exact replica of the above card) only took me about 15 minutes, and that’s only because I take forever in choosing paper. If you have these dies and have made your own masterpiece, please do share a picture, or twelve, in the comments section. I love seeing your pictures!!
So, Do get her CD/DVD, it will make your crafting so much easier, and Do Not make the mistakes I did (of which there were several), but above all have fun!! I had a whole lot more fun once I didn’t have to figure out anything on my own. Maybe others will be successful where I was not, and if so, my hat is off to you. But I do hope my mistakes shown here will save you some time and frustration.
I hope you enjoyed my Do’s and Do Not’s tutorial, and as always, I appreciate you spending some time with me, and I look forward to sharing more tips and pictures of my latest project next time. Until then, thank you for your support, and happy crafting!!