Are you tired of the gluey mess when you're trying to attach tiny die cuts? Use Stick It with all of your dies cuts... it makes applying them to your projects perfect and easy every time! This double-sided tape sheet is incredibly thin, (not much thicker than a piece of parchment paper). You will apply a piece of this tape to the back of the cardstock that you are going to die-cut fine words from. Once cut out, you will peel the protective paper off the back of your die-cut and it will be adhesive backed and easy to apply. Yes there are other double-sided tapes on the market, but nothing this thin which allows for delicate cuts.

The cabinet card die from Tim Holtz makes an interesting shape for a smaller card. In the simple white sample below, an oval sits nicely to match the rounded top of the die. In the sample to the left, we have used an Anna Griffin printed paper which allows you to add colour as your heart desires. The finished card ends up being 4 x 5 inches so it will fit in a standard size envelope. Both card samples have some Starform sticker additions which will spruce up any card. You can either cut two full shapes, and adhere at the very top, with a score line underneath. Or you can simply add a back panel which is 4 inches wide by 3.5 inches tall and adhere and score again.

This mix and match wildflowers set of dies from Frantic Stamper  has a lovely selection of flower heads and leaves. If you are looking for a fast card, die cut the whole set from white or off-white cardstock, and simply colour each head with chalks or Distress Inks or watercolour pencils. In the sample below, the flowers and stems have all been coloured with chalks. I love the texture of this brick-wall embossing folder from Sizzix. The actual panel was a soft grey that has been distressed with Fired Brick Distress Ink. The salutation is from Impression Obsession and it is nice sentiment especially if you know if someone is not going to get better or get well.

In the picture I have added a set of the stem dies. Note that we did not used these in the card, the flowers have only been clustered. Would love to hear from you via a comment on the blog. We will randomly select one name from all who have commented to win the tape runner shown in the picture. Please comment before next Tuesday to be considered for the draw.

These lovely scroll dies from Frantic Stamper, are a perfect example of fussy dies that work well with ejection foam. The foam sheets are adhesive backed and about 1/32nd of an inch thick. The first time you use the foam, you will cut a piece to the size of the dies you need. The sticky side of the foam goes into your die  and put the release sheet on the back as you die cut. After you pull away the excess foam bits (that have not become part of the die), the die will no longer allow your cardstock to imbed into the die when it is cut. You cans see the die below on the mint cardstock with the foam already in it. In this case, you'll notice that the whole sheet of die-cuts will come off as one, rather than poking out each scroll individually. There are a number of products along this line, we also have Cherry Lyn's package of 8 sheets.

In the card sample above, we've used Distress Inks in Cracked Pistachio and Abandoned Coral on printed cardstock. The peony was coloured with Tombow markers and a Dove Blender pen. We used a toothpick and Rangers Multi-Medium in a Matt finish to adhere the delicate scrolls. I really like this as an adhesive because it will not show the same way as a glossy finish adhesive.

I love this set from Penny Black (sprigs). There are at least 3 different options for leafy branches. All you need to do is change your shades of green or brown to get a very effective look from the top of a card or the side. We used the delicate hanging vine twice on the card. We inked it lightly first with Pear Tart ink and then Bamboo (Momento Inks). We only inked the longest trail one time so the vining framed the bench. The bench die cut is from Impression Obsession. This is a very nice, simple park bench. The bottom of the card was inked with Peeled Paint very lightly and then Mowed Lawn around the edges (Distress Inks). The grass cluster stamp was stamped in the Bamboo.

The grass edger die at the very bottom of the card is from Frantic Stamper. This is a cute, very tiny grass edging when you just want to add a simple visual lift to the bottom of a card. The flower die is from Joy Crafts. We did use a small ball stylus and we textured the flower-head from the backside. We added dots of colour on the front side and then blended with a waterbrush. I think we're all ready to sit out on a bench in the sunshine and enjoy the warmth of the day. Let's enjoy spring while it lasts.