Flowery Thanks: CAS-ual Fridays #CFC50

I've gotten a lot of questions about how I made this card, so I did a quick picture tutorial for you all!   I'm also playing along with the CAS-ual Fridays Challenge (CFC50): April Showers Bring May Flowers!  This will be a content-heavy post, so hang on!

I start off by choosing my stamps.  Stamps that are simple, solid, with good spacing between the images work best.  For this card technique to work, you need to create two stamped pieces that are exactly the same.  There are probably many ways to do this, but here's how I do it.  I apply my stamps to acrylic blocks by ink color.  In the pic above (left), the bottom block has my stems (green) and the top block has the blooms (pink).  I use my stamp placement tool (in this case a Stamp-a-majig) to arrange them on the blocks so that each block lines up against the Stamp-a-majig.  The Stamp-a-majig stays in one place and each color can be stamped at a time.  Tip: Stamp onto large pieces of cardstock.  Do not trim your panel to size before stamping.  Trimming after you stamp will always be easier and give you better results. 

Now that you have your two exact copies stamped, it's time to diecut.  I use Post-It label tape to align my letter dies.  This tape has the perfect amount of stickiness and it gives me a nice straight edge to line up my letters.  Try not to crowd the letters.  Test out the alignment on a scrap piece of paper until you find an arrangement/alignment you like.    

Place the taped dies over one of the stamped images.  It doesn't matter if the dies line up with the sides of the paper, you will be trimming the final panel later.  You just want to center the dies over the stamped images.  The die cut letters tend to look better if they are partially white (not totally covered in pattern).  Once you've die cut your letters, lay them out over the clean, uncut stamped image before you start gluing things down.  If you're having trouble placing the letters, use the reverse cut of the letters as a guide.   

Once you have the letters laid out in place, place a ruler along the bottom of the edge of the letters.  I try to use as little pencil marks as possible, so I only make a small mark on the far right and far left to denote the straight line across the card.  You will also want to mark the left edge of the die cut letters (in front of "t" and after "s").  This will  give you some reference points to help you trim the panel.  In my case, my letters aren't centered on the panel because I wanted to stamp the grass at the bottom.  

Once the marking is done, remove the laid out letters and trim the panel *before* you adhere the die cut letters.  Once trimmed, adhere the letters with small pieces of dimensional foam tape.  Tip: When using foam tape to adhere die cuts, use at least 2 separate pieces.  For example, on the letter "h", I have foam tape on each leg of the letter.  This will prevent each piece from teetering.  For better control, use a pair of tweezers.  

You will notice that I stamped the grass after I adhered the letters.  I don't recommend doing this because you run the risk of the acrylic block coming into contact with the adhered letters.  You don't want stray ink to spoil the fun!  I finished this card off with a bit of rounding at the top edges (to counterbalance the straight lines of the block letters).  I know this *seems* like a lot of complicated steps, but truly it's easier than it seems.  If you like this look, I really hope you try it out!

I'm off to link up to this week's CAS-ual Fridays Challenge (CFC50): April Showers Bring May Flowers.  If you want to play along, you've got until Wednesday evening!  If you have any questions at all about the instructions above, feel free to email or leave a comment.  As always, THANK YOU so, so much for stopping by! 

{Aloha, jj}

Paper: Cover Smooth White 100 lb 188091 (International Paper)

Stamps: Daydreamer (PTI)

Ink: Pink Lemonade, Basil (Fresh) 

Tools: Block alphabet dies (PTI), Corner Chomper