Lock and Key Valentine's Card (using Perfect Layers Rulers)

Hi everyone and Happy Saturday!  Did you all have a great Valentine's Day?  I wanted to share one more card with you.  I made it using the Perfect Layers rulers, and Keys to My Heart Precision dies from Frantic Stamper Line.  I cut them from Burgundy suede paper (luscious!).  Enjoy!

Here are the Perfect Layers rulers that I used.  Mine have lasted probably 10 years or more!.  You can see on the left that the size of the margin or layer is listed.  You can do anything from as thin as 1/8 to as big as one inch (if you get the set of three - I have the set of two right now...but I'm thinking about it!).  The measurement in the upper right is the "edge" that you will use underneath.
All you do is butt or catch the piece you want to mat on the edge and cut.  Easy!

Here is the 7 inch set (which is new - I had to have them, they are working out really well for my cards!)  I placed my xacto knife in the picture so you could tell the size better.

 This is what the rulers actually look like. So , you can see what I mean by butting the edge of the ruler up against the piece you want to mat.  Then you just cut along the edge of the ruler and you automatically get the mat size you want! 

Don't think of this as only for mats.  It's a design tool. 

1. You can use these rulers to create many designs on your cards using the matting system: rays, think about triangles and hexagons. 
2. Remember that you can mat anything as long as the ruler catches the edge of what you are matting. This means you can mat punched edges.
3. Experiment with HALF-mats or Quarter-mats (see my scrapbook page using Perfect Layers to get an idea on this)

I'll try to publish some more projects so that you can try them too. (I'm sorry about being so gabby on this product.  I just really love this product!)

Hope you enjoyed my card!

Lis

Perfect Layers Part 3 of 3: Grandmother - A Scrapbook Page

Hi and welcome to another project using the Perfect Layers rulers!  If you want a set, CLICK ON THE LINK PERFECT LAYERS!  Fran carries them!

I am a bit of a tool junkie BUT the Perfect Layers layering rulers are one tool that I would recommend to everyone.  They are sturdy, easy to use, save time and help me to have beautiful results when I do mats.

I decided to do a scrapbook page today.  I found this cute picture of a child that I wanted to use.  I edged it in gold.  The picture is in black and white so I wanted to have muted colors, if any.

I chose a collection of Authentique paper called Autumn.  I matted it the same width on three sides but matted it much wider on the bottom.  As you can see in the picture below, I used the width of the ruler itself to create my very wide mat.  By doing this I created a perfect place for journaling.

 And here is the result.  Cool, yes?

The Authentique paper I used is really pretty. If you are interested you can find it here: Authentique: Autumn Collection - Autumn Three

 I used a piece of dark brown suede paper and matted the picture on it using my Perfect layers rulers.

Then I took some word stickers and journaled on the extra wide mat at the bottom.

I felt that my finished piece should not have a lot going on as I wanted to really accentuate the picture.  I added a single strip of gold glossy that I embossed with some flowers.  I used a border punch to make the ends fancy.

If you look at the photo, you will see that I created an additional mat using my Perfect Layers rulers, using the same papers.  This mat is only done to three quarters of the photo piece.  I thought it looked quite good.  I added some Bakers Twine with a bow and done!

The 12 x 12 paper that I chose for my base page is from Pebbles.  It has wonderful writing about voyages and Ireland. It makes a great background for a page about families coming to the new world.

If you are interested, it is Pebbles From Me to You Collection and the sheet is called Parcel.  You can find it here:  Pebbles From Me to You Collection: Parcel

Please stop by for more projects and ideas using the Perfect Layers rulers!

Lis

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hi everyone and Happy Valentine's Day to you! 

I made this card for my sister( I used a Frantic Stamper  heart die and cut it using gold glitter card stock.  I really love the lacy pattern it has).

I hope your day was full of chocolates and flowers and of course lots of love!

Lis

Perfect Layers - Part 2 of 3: A Happy Brthday Card

Hi everyone!  Hope that you are all having a great week!  I am very excited to announce that Frantic Stamper is carrying Perfect Layers, a great set of rulers used to create mats with measuring - honest!

If you are interested in looking at them (or picking up a set...:-)  go to PERFECT LAYERS!


I've had a set of these rulers for many years and use them daily on my projects.  It save me a lot of time and my mats look clean and professional.

Today's project is a card that I made for my dad. He's going to be 96 years old in February (not a typo...96). 

I started with a Happy Birthday stamp that I embossed in white detail powder on dark brown cardstock.  I trimmed this up manually.

I wanted a thin gold border around my greeting so I chose some gold ripple holographic cardstock and attached my sentiment with tape.

 I used my perfect layers ruler and created an even and precise mat around my greeting.

I created a second mat around my piece of maroon card.  I stamped "wish" around the border and embossed again in white.

 I added a final layer of brown ripple holographic cardstock, again in a different width.

I mounted the entire thing onto my card (card base is dark brown) with a pattern paper mat. 

The various sizes of mats make the card interesting and fun.

Stop by tomorrow for a scrapbook page!
Lis

Perfect Layers - a Must Have Tool for Crafters! Part 1 of 3

Hi everyone!  Lis here with an awesome bit of news for you! 

Frantic Stamper is carrying  PERFECT LAYERS! (Click on the link to see them!~)

What is Perfect Layers?  It is a set of "rulers" with which you can make pretty much any size mat you want without measuring!  That's right, no measuring.  I've had a set of the Perfect Layers rulers for more than 8 years now.  I love them, they are very sturdy and easy to work with.

To begin with:  you can get a set of either the 12 Perfect Layers rulers or the brand new "mini" Perfect Layers rulers (these are about 6 inches and the company made them for smaller projects.

Each ruler is made of clear plastic and is labeled on each end with the widths of the mats it makes.  You can use your favorite cutting instrument.  I prefer the orange roller blade but an xacto works fine too.  You will also need a self healing cutting mat.


If you look at the end of the ruler, you will see these edges.  These are what make cutting mats so easy.  You use the ruler by putting it against your photo. The edge of the ruler catches the edge of your paper.  Then cut. Perfect mat.  I have several projects below.

Here are the 8 widths that the two ruler set offers.  Actually there is a 9th - when you use the whole ruler width.



Project 1: Heureuse Fete

I started with an old fashioned picture that I liked.  I decided to create a very thin mat around my picture.  I attached my picture to some gold ripple holographic paper.

I chose the thinnest mat which is 1/16 inch.  If you look at the picture below, you can see that my ruler is against the picture with a 1/16 inch space of gold.

 I held the ruler firmly and cut the gold with my roller blade.

The result is a perfect layer of 1/16 inch.

I cut all four sides of the gold around my photo. A perfect mat - no measuring.

Next I wanted to mat the piece onto pink to match the roses in the picture.  I wanted a larger mat and chose 1/2 inch. 

 I used the same technique as above and voila! A perfect mat, no measuring and I was able to complete the mat easily and in very little time.

 I wanted to add a fancy border so I used a large border punch and added this to my picture.

 For my final layer, I wanted to add some mirrorcard gold.  The rulers work the same with this fancy edge as they do with a plain edge. The trick is to "catch" the edge of the last layer with the ruler - and then cut the next layer.

 Here is the piece cut.

 I decided to cut the corners - and used the perfect layer ruler again for this.

I decided to fussy cut a 1/8 inch border around my finished piece instead of leaving the gold there.  Below is my finished piece.  I will be using it on a scrapbook page.

I have two additional projects using the Perfect Layers rulers. Stay tuned!

Lis

Elegant Blue Valentine

Elegant Blue Valentine (February Challenge)

by Lis Whiting

I've been using a lot of suede paper in my work lately.  Today's challenge card uses a royal blue suede paper and gold accents for a dramatic and elegant card.

I started with my base card which was white card stock. I thought this would really show off the blue suede paper.  Since I am working with an A2 card, I cut my suede paper to 4 inches x 4 3/4 inches. Then I used the Dazzling Diamond Border die from Frantic Stamper to die cut the border design at the bottom.  Then I used another die (also Frantic Stamper) to cut the window.  I really love this die!  I don't have to worry about making sure everything is straight because this one die cuts out all four windows with no problem! 

First, I turned over my blue suede paper and used Red Line Tape in 1/8 inch thickness (it fits perfectly between the window panes) to adhere a 3 inch x 3 inch piece of transparency to the back of the suede.

I used Bo Bunny and Carta Bella papers and punched 1 inch pieces (four) that I then glued to the back of the transparency - the pieces show through the front window. (I used the red line tape again). 

I attached the blue suede paper to my card and embellished with gold Dazzles stickers and a fleur de lis punch in gold foil.

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Products used:

• Frantic Stamper Dies
• Dazzling Diamond Border
• Precision Die - Series 1 (1 inch base) Four Up Square
• Martha Stewart Medium Punch Fleur de Lis
• SEI Suede Paper Ocean Blue
• Hot off the Press Dazzles Lacy Borders - Gold
• Bo Bunny Love Letters
  
• Carta Bella Beautiful Moments