A Big Hello

I have seen a few card makers do a technique called "inlaid die cutting" over the past several weeks. I have been wanting to try it myself, and finally did with this card. If you want more information on the technique, you can see Jennifer McGuire's blog post & video.

I decided to use the "Big Hello" die from Simon Says Stamp for my card. I started by preparing my background. I cut a piece of 140-lb. watercolor paper to 4x5.25", and painted vertical stripes with watercolors. I made sure to overlap the stripes, to get a blending/gradient effect. I had to go over them twice to get the colors darker.

After the paint dried, I die cut the "hello" out of the panel. I made sure to keep the inner pieces from the letters, so I could replace them later. I then die cut the word from black cardstock. I cut a piece of copy paper slightly smaller than the watercolor panel, and ran it through my Xyron 510 Creative Station machine to add adhesive to one side. I stuck it onto the back of the watercolor paper, and adhered the black die cut in the negative space in the panel. Then I replaced the small inner pieces, from when I die cut the background, into the letters.

I finished the card by rounding the corners of the watercolor panel with my 1/2" Corner Chomper, mounting it onto a piece of the same black cardstock I'd used for the die cut, and adhering that onto an A2-size card base.

I'm entering this card in Simon Says Stamp's Monday "Paint" challenge.