Monday, May 6, 2019

Springtime Flowers - WRMK Foil Quill

Another challenge over on the Elcips/Ecal FB page. This challenge was to make a shaker card using flying bugs (butterflies, ladybugs, bees, etc.). Then to add a sentiment using the foil quill (or the print-2-cut technique). These challenges are done to encourage us to learn new techniques and create with them. They are always fun, and I learn something new each time.

Here's my submission:
I designed the layout and cut file myself in the ECAL software (cutting software for the Sizzix Eclips). Since it's a shaker card, there are two panels. I made a flower pot in Photoshop, then opened in ECAL and set the cut tool to "Pen" so that it would draw it instead of cutting it or printing it. I then used the new We Are Memory Keepers Foil Quill tool (medium tip) to draw the pot using Spellbinders Glimmer Hot Foil (Cobalt Blue). Next was the front panel, where the inside of the pot was to be cut out for the shaker portion of the card. Again, I used the foil to outline the pot and outline the panel.

I did a print-2-cut for all of the bugs, and again on the three flower centers where I used the same color of foil with the pen tool, this time using the fine (smallest) quill tool. I was surprised how intricate it wrote the words. The smallest circle was about 1/2", so the word size is less than that. And, the largest circle for the word Sprung was just under an inch. I was pretty impressed with how clearly it wrote!

The only thing I did differently as far as cutter settings while using the quill was to slow the speed a bit so the heat tip could do its job. I've done this each time, so I can't say that it makes a difference as I haven't tried any other way. However, I've seen a few posts where other crafters have said they slowed theirs down so I followed suit.

The flowers were a free svg download from  the blog: The House that Lars Built. It was a post from April 27, 2016 for some Mother's Day Cake Toppers that were just darling. You can still go to her blog and get the free download for pdf or svg cut files. I think they are the cutest flowers.

To adhere the front piece to the back piece I used white fun foam with double-sided tape. The entire upper portion of the card is one large piece of fun foam, so it was easy to assemble the flowers on the flat surface. Then more fun foam strips along the bottom edges and outlining the pot, and then filling in the empty space between them.

The shaker portion was done like a typical shaker card, surrounding the outer card edges and the pot with white fun foam and using a small piece of acetate for the window.

Hope this was informative, and that you enjoyed the making of my Spring has Sprung card. The inside will say "...The grass is ris. I wonder where the flowers is." My mom always recited that little ditty of a poem when I was growing up, so this definitely reminds me of her.

Hope Your Flowers have Ris!