Shimmer Detailed Laser-Cut Specialty Paper Sunset Cards. If you visited me on Tuesday you will remember that I showed you my suggestion for cutting the Shimmer Detailed Laser-Cut Specialty Paper to get the most out of it. I promised I would come back this week with some ideas for how to use the resulting pieces, so here is my first thought. Well, to be honest, my only thought so far! Oops!!

Some of you may remember that some months ago I did a tutorial on using glycerine to help to get really smooth results when inking a background. I am repeating that today, but if you want to see the original post it is HERE. It is a fantastic and very inexpensive way to get some amazing results. All you need is the smallest amount of glycerine mixed with your ink. I suggest using either a block or a silicone mat as your palette. Add some ink from your ink pad and a tiny drop of glycerine, mix it with a sponge dauber and then blend the ink onto your card for the smoothest blend you could imagine.

The designs I chose to use for today’s cards both work really well in front of a sunset inked background. I chose them because I wanted to show you the same background in both my sample and on video. And, have I mentioned before just how much I love a sunset?! So, y colours are Mango Melody, Calypso Coral, Rich Razzleberry and Night of Navy. These do seem to be my ‘go to’ colours for a sunset these days. Maybe it is time for me to try some other combinations. What do you think? What are your favourite colour combinations for an inked background? Do share in the comments below.

I generally start my inking with the lightest shade first so I can build up the layers. What is great about adding the glycerine is that it allows you to move the ink around more, and seems to help to build up the layers without overloading the cardstock. Oh, did I mention that I used regular Whisper White card cut a little larger than the laser-cut paper. Not even a special card, just good old Whisper White.

Having inked the background it is simple to then just layer the laser-cut paper over the top and, once it is dry, trim the background card down so it is the same size as the laser cut piece. I tried a few colours for my mat layer, but settled on Rich Razzleberry as giving the best contrast.

I wanted just a very small sentiment on the front of the card, so chose ‘Thanks so Much’ from the Wonderful Moments stamp set. It is the perfect size to punch out with the Classic Label Punch. And, because I was making the most of the Shimmer from the paper, I used Very Vanilla card to stamp on and for my card base. I used Rich Razzleberry ink for the sentiment to help bring all the elements together. Adding a few Basic Pearls was the finishing touch for both cards. I am really pleased with the result on both versions. They would be great for all sorts of occasion, just change the sentiment to fit the mood. I will come up with some other ideas for using the laser-cut papers soon and share them with you. What ideas do you have for using the laser-cut papers? Please share.

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Dimensions

Standard A6 Cardbase

First Mat – 5-5/8 x 3-7/8” (14.25 x 9.75cm)

Nail Varnish Colours

Today’s Nail Colours are Reams of Dreams and Gimme a Peck by Nails Inc. PLEASE NOTE, I get no commission from Nails Inc if you choose to shop from them using this link.