Heart Pivot Card

Hi Everyone,

A couple days ago the mail man brought my order from Elizabeth Craft Designs with the new dies from Karen Burniston.  Her wafer thin dies are so fun to use and easy to store. I will share some tips  I've found useful later in this post, but first, I want to share a card  I made using the Heart Pivot Card Die.   Just in time for Valentine's Day!!

I'm proud to tell you that I'm a guest designer for Karen Burniston's monthly challenge over at Elizabeth Craft Designs brand new blog.  To see all the great cards for this challenge click here.

I wanted the pivot part of the card to be a surprise so I made my card a tri-fold. When the card is opened the pivot hearts are revealed.

For the card front the hearts from the Pivot Die Set were layered and then the keyhole was added.  I cut the key from some thin copper left from another project.  All of the decorator pieces are included in the set.  On the side I added some solid brown and then used a die from the Agatha Edges.  This paper has glitter on the stripes so the biggest heart was cut using Stampin Up's Cherry Cobbler Paper and covered with embossing powder and then heat set.

For this card I used some paper from my stash.  It's from My Mind's Eye and is from their Christmas Collection but I liked it for Valentine's as well.  I began by cutting a piece 5.5" X 12" and scoring it at
4" and 8".  I lined up the die on the 8" fold and cut it out.   The front section was just a little short to cover the rest of the card but when I added the brown trim piece the overall measurements of the card became a standard A2 card. (4.25 X 5.5")  After adding the stamped phrase from one of my favorite sets by Close To My Heart and a few more die cuts,(the tiny heart is from Karen's Accordion Oval Card Set) and some Vintage Photo Ink edging I was done.

Fun and easy, hope you enjoy
S@ndy

My Tips

I'm a messy and unorganized crafter and find it frustrating when I spend more time looking for my tools than using them.  I'm sure you can relate.

Here are a couple things I have found useful when using and storing very small dies.

I had some magnet sheets for ink jet printers - you can find them at any office supply store.
I also had some small plastic transparent envelopes that are meant for CD storage. 

I cut the magnet sheets to fit inside the envelope and simply put my dies on the sheet and then inside the envelope.  I can see them easily without removing them and they don't get stuck in the corner of the envelope or fall out accidentally. They are thin and easy to file.

For the larger sets I use the same system with a different envelope.

Another thing I found helpful when using small dies is to place a magnet sheet next to my machine and as soon as I remove the die I place it on the magnet sheet.  I had a piece of metal (roof flashing)
from another project and decided to use it next to my machine.  I attached the magnet sheet to the metal and it stands up and is easy to use.

Roof flashing can be found at your local home improvement store and is easy to bend. A small piece like this is only about  $1.