JB30: oh HOLE-y night! :)

ok, you have to know i LOVE this ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ prompt, just from the name, right? oh how i wish it was me who came up with it, but alas, the credit goes to my very clever & very generous blogging friend ros crawford, who graciously agreed to be our lovely guest star this week. she didn't just come up with the best title of the whole year, though... nuh-uh... she's got an equally cool CONCEPT to go with it: this week we're making APERTURE (aka "window") CARDS! so they are literally HOLE-y!!! awesome!!! :)

here's mine:

(patterned paper: tim holtz, dcwv; stickers: k&co; rub-on & brads: making memories; florals & leaves: prima; ink: colorbox; dies: nestabilities; adhesives: tombow monorunner, uhu gluestick, 3m foam tape)

for this card i used nesties to both cut the aperture into the cardbase, and also to make a frame for the resulting window, out of contrasting paper. i'm sure neither of these things is a challenge to anybody else... but i think i came up with a couple of ideas to make it easier; specifically in terms of making the dies STAY WHERE YOU WANT THEM for long enough to make the right cuts! here they are:

to easily make the aperture in your card:

position nestie on card

where you want the window, with the cutting surface against the cardstock, and secure using "fuzzy tape" (that you've pulled on and off your t-shirt a few times, so it will still stick, but not rip the paper when you take it off.)

flip the card with attached nestie

so that cardstock is at the top of the "cutting sandwich" under your "b" plate (this is for a cuttlebug; make the sandwich your specific die-cutting machine prefers)

carefully remove the die

and reveal a perfectly placed aperture!!!

to make a frame for the above:

roll a tiny bit of dryline glue

(such as from a tombow mono runner) on to one edge of the back of the same nestie used for your card's window, and also the next size up; position them carefully--evenly spaced inside each other--face up on your c-bug's "c" plate

place paper on top of nested dies

and cut as usual... you will get one large shape (the size of the smaller die) and one frame

affix frame to aperture in card

with the adhesive of your choice... it'll be exactly the right size!!!

nice, huh?! :)

and now i hope you'll take these ideas... or some of your own... and make a HOLE-y card that you'll link up at JINGLE BELLES between now and next wednesday evening! cannot wait to see what you will make! ♥