Hey there and thank you for being here.

I have always been a fan of Pinkfresh Studio’s Essential dies. I find them very, very useful and they always look so elegant. So whenever I get a chance to show them off, I take the opportunity and run. This project is just that.

I made this card for their Monthly Challenge and this month’s theme is Rainbow. It’s been a while since I’ve seen one, and so this card just seems the perfect thing to make in this sweltering heat!

I actually struggled with this card as I had chosen hexagons initially, from their Basic Label Frames die set. I colored them and die cut those out and was ready to glue them down, but I was just not feeling it.

I then decided to go with the oblong shaped ones. I decided to use 3 of them to make a border die as well as a thin lined die. I combined the smallest, and the 3rd and 4th largest ones and taped them with washi tape. This was a tip that I used from Jennifer McGuire’s video, where she does this when she has to make multiples so that you don’t need to line up the dies each time. Very useful tip!

Before die cutting, I wanted the shapes to have very subtle, pastel rainbow ink. I find that using brushes helps in maintaining the least amount of pressure when applying the ink. Colors I used were:

• DO Candied Apple
• DI Spiced Marmalade
• DI Mustard Seed
• Memento Bamboo Leaves
• DI Feathered Peacock
• DO Dusty Concord

After die cutting, I used certain pieces to stamp the flower image from the Keep Going stamp set. Now here is a trick that you can use with the Misti or even a block when you want to stamp multiple pieces together. I took a painters tape with the sticky side up that I folded a part on the top and the bottom so that it adheres to your base. This way the painters tape won’t move. Then I put the pieces on top as required and stamped the image. You can even tape the pieces individually, but sometimes when you apply pressure while stamping, the tape edges show up from behind and can spoil the image. I used the same technique for inking the border pieces.

Using the colors above, I ran the ink pads directly across the paper to add a more dramatic effect of the rainbow colors. Next came the assembly, which really took sometime. Another tip: take a picture once you are happy with the placement before gluing, so that when you do glue pieces down, you can refer to the picture and lay them accordingly. I also added some outlined heart dies using scrapbook.com border die.

Next was the sentiment. As the card was very busy, I decided to use a black and white combo so that it would stand out. I used Love you from Love You the Most die set. I die cut it a couple of times and for the top layer, I used a shiny cardstock from JoAnn Stores. I finished of the card with Studio Katia Royal Purple crystals.

This is a standard slimline card measuring 3.5 by 8.5 inches.

I hope this card and the tips helped to inspire you. Please do head over to my Instagram page to see the making of video.

Challenge Entries:

• https://www.pinkfreshstudio.com/blogs/card-making-challenges/june-2022-challenge – Rainbow
• https://craftinghappinesschallenges.blogspot.com/ – Anything Goes
• https://doubletroublechallenge.blogspot.com/ – Challenge #114 “YouNique Technique” Thing 1- Made my own background with ink pads
• https://do-allkreatives.blogspot.com/ – 66 – Group something has to be shown at least 3 times in your projects – The Oblong Die Shapes
• http://happylittlestampers.blogspot.com/ – HLS June Anything Goes with Dies Challenge
• https://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/#!watch – SOMETHING BEGINNING WITH ‘S’ – Sequins and Stamping

Thank you and see you soon!