My Weblog

Tutorial: Card on Page 190... Part 2!

This is the card I made today using the tutorial I posted yesterday.  I used a 3 1/2" square of Soft Suede card stock, drew the inner circle at 2 1/2" and cut the outer circle at 3 inches... as stated in my note at the end of the tutorial.  I decided to punch the 1/2" circles by lining the edge of the punch along the drawn circle - centering the line in the opening - instead of centering the intersection in the opening.  When done this way the openings are further in from the edge and closer together.  (Be aware that you can't use the 3/4" punch if you punch the circles this way, but you may be able to use it if you center the intersections in the opening.  I haven't tested it yet so I'm not sure.)

Supplies needed are:

Stamp Set:  Simply Said (pg.51)

Inks:  Jet Black StazOn, Soft Suede (In Color!)

Card Stock:  Whisper White, Melon Mambo (In Color!), Soft Suede (In Color!)

Accessories:  Circle Scissors Plus (pg.191), Razzleberry Lemonade DSP (pg.162), 1/2" Melon Mambo Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon (pg.182), 1/2" Circle Punch, Stampin' Up! Big Shot Exclusive Birds & Blooms Sizzlet 4-Pack Die (pg.197), In Color Stampin' Write Markers (pg.155),  Designer Brads Flower Assortment (pg.179), Stampin' Glitter Dazzling Diamonds (pg.180)

Now that I have made the card, I have some additional information/tips to share....

1.  The Melon Mambo card stock circle used to mat the Soft Suede Circle is actually a ring.  I cut the inner circle at 2 3/4" and the outer circle at 3 1/2".  (Be sure to cut the inside circle first and then the outer one.)  This is partly to conserve card stock, but also so that it doesn't need to be punched with the smaller circle punch and then lined up with the openings on the Soft Suede circle.

2.  You will also need to cut a Whisper White circle that is 3"or 3 1/4" in diameter to stamp your images on.  Assemble the punched and the Whisper White circle before stamping... and use a Stamp-a-ma-jig if needed for ideal placement.

3.  The piece of Razzleberry Lemonade DSP is 5 1/2" x 2".

4.  I found I got a smoother circle if I drew and cut in a counter-clockwise direction instead of clockwise.  For some reason the lock on the drawing handle would loosen when I drew my circle clockwise.

Ironically, once I punched and assembled all the parts for the punched circle accent I realized that I didn't own very many (current) stamp sets that had images small enough to stamp inside the 1/2" circle.  I found only two in my collection.  I used this small flower from the Simply Said set and love the way it turned out.

I hope that my tutorial and this card have inspired you to make some of these punched circle cards yourself.  When you do, you will not only see what a wonderful product the Circle Scissors Plus (pg.191) is, but you will also see that it is quick to make and assemble the card.

I'd love to see what you create.  You can share your cards with me by emailing your pictures or scans to me at maria@stampingwithmia.com.  I look forward to seeing how you put the tutorial to use.  If I receive enough of your creations then I will post them and hold a vote on which one is the favorite... and offer up a prize to the winner.  So I challenge you to get out your Circle Scissors Plus, circle punches, card stock, inks and stamps and let us see what you can do!

Happy Stamping~
Mia

Tutorial: Circle Scissors and Card on pg.190!

How do math and stamping relate?!?  Well my most interesting example follows....

A customer's question (not one of my customers) about how to make the circle card on page 190 started a discussion among demonstrators.  Being fond of geometry and having the Circle Scissors - but not having used it yet(!) - I couldn't stop thinking about the engineering of how to create a circle with the 6 evenly spaced punched circles like the one pictured below.

Here is what I came up with....

Supplies Needed:

4" Square of Card Stock in color of your choice (I used Bermuda Bay!)
Glass Mat (pg. 191)
Circle Scissors Plus (pg. 191)
3/4" Circle Punch (pg.186/187)
Pencil
Protractor
Ruler

Step 1:  Cut a 4 inch square of the desired card stock.  Center on the Glass Mat (pg.191) as shown below in Figure 1.  (See the note at the end of the tutorial.)

Step 2:  Put the drawing handle in the opening on the base of the Circle Scissors and turn the dial so that the handle is positioned at the 2 3/4" ruler mark (along the opening).  Place the Circle Scissors on top of the card stock square using the intersecting lines on the Circle Scissors and the grid on the Glass Mat to center it on the card stock as shown below in Figure 2. Insert a pencil in the drawing handle and lock in place.  Draw the circle.

 

Step 3:  Remove the drawing handle.  Place the cutting handle in the base and adjust the setting to the 3 7/8" ruler mark.  If the paper or Circle Scissors has shifted then re-center them on Glass Mat.  Cut the circle.  Your card stock circle will look like the one in figure 3... minus the protractor.

Step 4:  Use a straight edge to draw a line across the center of the card stock circle.  Make sure to keep the card stock circle centered on the Glass Mat and use the lines on the Glass Mat as your guide for the ruler placement.  (See figure 3, above.)  I used one of my children's well used protractors because it is needed in the next step.

Step 5:  Position the protractor on the pencil line matching the center of the protractor to the center of the card stock as shown below.  Make a pencil mark at the 60 degree markings on both the left and the right side... as well as the center as shown by the pointing fingers in the picture below (Figure 4).

 

Step 6:  Use a straight edge and pencil to draw lines from each of the marks you made in Step 5 through the center of the circle.  Your circle will now look like Figure 5.

Step 7:  Position the circle punch where one of the straight lines intersects with the drawn circle... as shown in the figure 6... and punch the circle  (If you need to mark the bottom of the punch to help you center the lines then use a Sharpie to do so.)

Step 8:  Repeat Step 7 at each of the intersections until you have punched all six circles.  The back will look like the one pictured below and....

Your circle of evenly punched circles is now complete!

You can use the same template for the 1/2" and 1" circle punches by lining the edge of the desired punch with the bottom of the already punched circle (as shown in the picture below), but a larger circle of card stock is needed for the larger circle punches.

Added Note:  This tutorial produces a circle larger than the one that was used on the card on page 109 yet small enough that it fits on the front of a standard size card.  If you want to make a smaller version like the one in the catalog then start with a 3 1/4 inch square of card stock, draw the inner circle at 2 1/2 inches, cut the outer circle at 3 inches.... and use the 1/2 inch Circle Punch.  The rest of the instructions remain the same.

Also... I recommend laminating the template so that you don't have to go to the trouble of making a new template each time and so that it will last longer. 

My math teachers would be so proud and happy to see that 35 years later I am still using what I learned in their classes!  Colleen (one of my downline) will be happy to see that I finally put my Circle Scissors to use!

Come back tomorrow to see my version of the completed card!

Happy Stamping~
Mia