My new release order from Concord & 9th’s February release arrived. I got to work to make a project using the Empire Inlay Card Front Die and got distracted by the pieces that fell out of it after die cutting. You can see that card here. This is the card I made next using the frames (the main piece) that I cut from that die.

I was originally going to do a straightforward inlay with pieces from a couple of colors into the frame from another color, but noticed that the frame pieces created a pretty cool visual when they were stacked and offset. So that became a card!

Once I had my die cut from Wildberry and Lemongrass cardstock, I determined which direction I wanted to offset them and glued them together with Connect Glue. I trimmed the outer edge just a bit on all sides so it would be slightly smaller than A2, but took care not to cut the frame edge off completely.

I created a top-folding A2 base with Midnight cardstock, and cut a window out of the front of it that has a 4-3/4 x 3-1/2 opening. (I need to get a set of nesting infinity dies for A2 proportions to make this easier than cutting it manually!) I glued the two layer Empire Inlay piece to the inside of the window, making sure to shift it slightly down from the top so it would still fold smoothly.

To provide an area inside to write, I cut two triangles out of the same Midnight cardstock (you could do this with the piece you cut from the window). I made sure they were sized to fit inside the top and bottom sections of the Empire Inlay shape, and glued those inside. You’ll see in the image below that that leaves the sides open and see-through, but not the top and bottom sections. (This also makes the card front more sturdy, in case that is a concern of yours when you make cards like this.)

For the front of the card, I added a trio of flowers made with the new Primrose Garden Die Set. One is from Wildberry and Dragonfruit (with a Midnight center), and the other two are from Lemongrass and Grasshopper (one with a Wildberry center and one with a Midnight center.) I used enamel dots in those same colors to embellish the tips of some of those stamens in the center.

For the “hello”, I used the new All Together Alphabet Lower Case Dies. I cut three of each letter I wanted and glued them together for some dimension. (I love how they duplicated some letters on the die, so letters that we may commonly want two of are doubled up on the die. Which means fewer passes through the machine to get what we want.)

Below you’ll see the image of these two cards combined - making good use of both the positive and negative pieces from the die. Such a great way to get more from our supplies!

I’ll try to remember to take more process pictures for my next card. I think they are helpful for showing process and technique, but sometimes I get in the creating zone and forget to do that as I go.)

Thank you for visiting! I hope you get some time to create something soon.

Links are below if you’re interested in any of the products I used.

Supply list*:

(Listed by company, with links to Simon Says Stamp)

Concord & 9th -

• Empire Inlay Card Front Die

• Primrose Garden Die Set

• All Together Alphabet Lower Case Dies

• cardstock: Wildberry, Lemongrass, Grasshopper, Midnight, White

• enamel dots: Wildberry, Midnight

Gina K Designs -

• Connect glue

*Affiliate links have been used with no cost difference for you.