Hello, friends. I hope you all have been doing well. Summer is officially underway as of today! Summer always seems to be a strange mix of hectic and lazy for me, which is why I haven’t been posting as much lately. I am still getting in my craft room when I can, and I recently pulled out my alcohol inks for the first time in awhile. I decided to just have fun and not worry about the end result because I know that even “bad” panels can end up being perfect for die cutting. So that’s what today’s post is all about. Several of my cards feature the new Cheerful Chirps Collection from Spellbinders, but I have a couple surprise cards, as well.
SPELLBINDERS SALE: There is currently a big sale on select BetterPress and Hot Foil products! Save up to 30% off. This sale lasts through 6/22/2025, at 11:59 PST.
NOTE: all supplies are linked to multiple sources in the thumbnails at the end of this blog post.
This first card features the Pretty Birds die set. To make the die cuts, I first created an alcohol ink panel using the following colors of alcohol inks on Yupo paper: Limeade, Cosmopolitan, Sunshine Yellow, Pool and Mojito. The panel itself was really pretty, but I chose to sacrifice it for the birds, and I’m glad that I did. The color variation is just something I couldn’t have achieved any other way! The tree branch comes from the Flying High die set. I picked some pretty paper from the Crafty Babe Collection Kit for my background. I mounted the birds on the oval panels, which are from the Scallop and Stitched Edge Ovals. I stamped the sentiment directly on the white oval, and then I finished the design with several hearts that I die cut from the alcohol inked panels.
I have more cards below that use alcohol inked die cuts, but I wanted to share this second card that I created with the Cheerful Chirps Collection. This one features the bird from the Flying High die set, along with the branch that I used on the first card. Instead of using colored cardstock for the pieces of the bird, I quickly colored white die cuts with Distress Inks in the following colors: Squeezed Lemonade, Twisted Citron and Salvaged Patina. I love all the color variation that you can get from ink blending, which is just perfect for birds! I embossed a piece of black card stock with the Molded Frame 3D Embossing Folder and then stamped my sentiment in the flat, unembossed area at the bottom. The sentiment is from the new Spread Your Wings Sentiments stamp set. After adding my bird, I added a few white pearls around the design. I love how the bird just pops against this black background!
This next card could not have been easier to make. To make the panel, I added a few drops of Turquoise alcohol ink and some Blending Solution to a piece of Yupo paper. I used my air blower to move the ink around the panel and that was it! Super quick and easy. The die cuts that you see were even easier because they came from scraps in my stash. I never throw scraps of Yupo paper away after an alcohol ink session because I know that I can always use them for die cuts later on. Even if I don’t like my alcohol ink results, I can always find parts of it that will work for die cuts. And that’s how I made the word die and the sailboat. The “summer” comes from the Four Seasons die set, which is currently 50% off! Each of the other seasons is included in the set, along with shadow dies which I didn’t use on this card. The subsentiment is from an older MFT set from my stash.
The sailboat is the bonus item that you receive if you sign up for the June Deluxe Caboodle club. This month’s clubs are all amazing, and I know the caboodle has been very popular.
This last card features the new Hello Sunshine Release from Waffle Flower and the fun Inquisitive Crab Die. Again, I made a really quick background using Sunshine Yellow and Pool alcohol inks. The pieces for the crab are all from leftover alcohol inked panels from my stash. But, I took a panel that I really, really disliked, and I wiped it with isopropyl alcohol, which “cleans” it. It doesn’t completely get the Yupo paper back to white, but it cleans it enough to where you can pretty much start over with new inks. So, I took several shades of red and even some orange and just quickly moved those around the panel with my air blower. It’s just a really easy way to color your die cuts because there are always going to be these really interesting color variations that you just can’t get on your own. This card also features the new Nesting Piercing Squares Die, which I used to create the white frame. The cute sentiment is from the Coastal Greetings Combo stamp/die set.
I hope these cards bring a smile to your face today. As always, I appreciate you visiting my blog.
Wishing you all a crafty day,
Allison
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These are all 10o% adorable / pretty! TFS