Birthday: Cascading Botanical and Butterfly

 I love the cascading style of card.  The base is 8" x 12", scored on the 12" side at 2", 4", 8", and 10".  At 6", lightly score just for measurement purposes; do not fold the 6" score line.

On the 8" sides, lightly mark with a pencil at 5 1/2" on one side and 2 1/2" on the other side.  Make a cut diagonally from those two marks.  The two pieces from that cut will be equal in size.

On both of the pieces, mark the half-way spot on each side.  That is 2 3/4" on the 5 1/2" side and 1 1/4" on the 1 1/2" side.  Take your ruler and connect the two marks on the end, but do not draw a line.  Lightly mark the intersection of the ruler and the 2" score line, the 6" guide, and the 10" score line.

Since these two pieces will fit together, you will cut one on the top and one on the bottom, from the 12" edge to the marks on the 2", 6", and 10" score lines.  Then fit the pieces together.  Fold out the backs and fold the rest of the card together.  Gently pushing down should be enough to get the card flat.

I stamped the base, cut out flowers, foliage, and butterfly with dies and punches.  I used the Botanical Blooms for the center of the flowers.  The sentiment is from Wetlands. 

Scallop Trim Border and Corner Punches

I have the Stampin' Up Scallop Trim border and corner punches. I love them! However, I was having a hard time calculating what size of paper I needed to use to have the two punches line up.

I found a great tutorial page to help me with this. Gretchen Barron's blog not only showed the necessary sizes, but also how to operate the punches.


From Gretchen:

• 4 3/4" makes a square that has 10 scallops along each side
• 4 1/4" makes a square that has 9 scallops on each side
• 3 13/16" makes a square that has 8 scallops along each side. This is the size that fits perfectly into the guide that is printed on the Scallop Trim Border Punch and therefore makes this a great size to practice on. Once you get this size down, it will be easier to branch-off and make your squares smaller or larger.
• 3 1/4" makes a square than has 7 scallops along each side.
• 2 7/8" makes a square that has 6 scallops on each side
• 2 3/8" makes a square that has 5 scallops on each side
• And then, the smallest square that is 1 15/16" and uses only the corner punch.

With a little practice, I found the 4 1/4" and the 3 3/4" squares worked quite well together. My next step will be to practice on rectangles. I just love how these punches work together!