8 Creative Ways to Use Small Die Cuts! [A Crafty Episode!]

Hello, I'm glad you're here. This is Jennifer, and I have another video for you today, this time sharing lots of ideas for using smaller die cuts. Now, keep in mind, a lot of these ideas can be used with larger die cuts, really any die cuts at all, but I'm really trying to focus my examples today on those smaller ones that we often don't use or don't know what to do with. So I have many ideas for you, and I have lots of examples to demonstrate them all. I will be using mostly small floral die cuts today, but you definitely could use whatever small die cuts you have. You could use circles, stars, anything at all. I'm gonna give you lots of ways to use them and look at your products creatively. Before we get started with the card making, I am going to show you a closer look at the inks that I've been using a lot lately. I got a lot of questions, but feel free to fast forward to the card making if you prefer. So these are the Altenew Fresh Die Inks. It's a newer ink line from Altenew. I have used them many times in videos. I had them, I think, on my crafty gift guide list back in December. These are great inks. The ink in it is a dye ink, but it's a little thicker, a little more viscous than other dye inks. So I find I really get good coverage when I stamp. I also like the round shape of these ink pads. They're easy to hold, and the cap kind of screws on a bit so you don't have to worry about it falling off, and they do stack nicely. Also, the color on the lid of the ink pad does match nicely to the stamped image, so it's easy to figure out what color you're grabbing. I will link to a video that goes into more detail about these inks up here on the top right and at the end of this video if you want to check it out. But today I wanted to just show you a closer look at some of the new ink colors that have come out. The ones that you see here are all new. There are six colors that are just really nice colors that form a fun rainbow, and they were part of a class that Altenew taught and now are available for purchase. Altenew has also recently come out with two sets of inks that are a color family. So you have the greens at the top and the kind of orangish yellows at the bottom. These are very similar to the crisp dye inks of the same color names and family that they've had for some time. Now it's available in this fresh dye ink. I really like this yellow orange family and I use it quite often. I am missing one of those green colors. I did a little swipe of some ink from their crisp dye ink, which is their older ink pad line. It's a similar color, just so you can see how it kind of fits in that family of light, medium, dark, and extra dark. A couple months ago, Altenew came out with a line with Amy Tan, who's one of my very good friends. I adore her. She's known for her bright, colorful style and she came out with this collection of the fresh dye inks and I really like a lot of these. I'll be using them today. And again, notice that the stamped image really matches in color to the lid of the ink pad, which I think is really beneficial. It really helps with grabbing the ink color you need right when you're crafting. So I stamped all of the fresh dye inks from Altenew, the round ink pads that are available and I thought I'd just show you a quick run through of the different colors. Feel free to hit pause or to rewind if you want a closer look at a particular color. I do have free ink swatch downloads over on my website. I will put a link below. So you can print and cut your own little swatches and create them like this. I have them for a lot of different ink lines available on the market. But I'm hoping that this gives you a little idea of the different colors that are currently available in this fresh dye ink line. And again, I'll be using them in many videos in the future and particularly I'll be using them a lot today. Okay, now let's dive into these ideas for using smaller die cuts. I have a lot of examples to share with you. I thought I'd show you some of the products I'll be using first, so you know what I'm using throughout the video. This is the Altenew Pond Flower die set. It's the one over on the right. You have those pond images and also these little flower and leaf die cuts that you can use separately or layer together. There's also the word hugs and the shadow die for it. I don't use that today, but I do use the flowers and leaves. Keep in mind, there is also a rowboat die set. That's the set over there on the left. I don't use that today. However, it goes really nicely with the pond if you're interested in checking it out. I'm really focusing on those smaller dies only. Now, I went off screen and did a bunch of die cutting with these floral and leaf dies. And you can see all of it there stored in my Altenew storage pouches. I really like those. They're heavyweight pouches with a zip top. And it allows me to store all these die cuts until I have time to create with them. So I cut these from some scraps of cardstock that I found in my scraps drawer. And now I'm ready to do a bunch of card examples for you. And I will have lots of die cuts left over. I encourage you to go through your scraps once in a while and take the smallest ones and die cut them. That way, you know you'll put it to use. All right, let's get started with the ideas for using these small die cuts. My first idea is to use small die cuts to create accents for a background. In this case, I used a pattern from an embossing folder and added those small die cuts as accents. You could also do this with stamps and more. I'll talk about that as we go. So here I have my Spellbinders Platinum 6 die cut machine. And I'm setting it up following the instructions for how to use it with an embossing folder that's a 3D embossing folder. Off screen, I misted my white cardstock panel with a bit of water and I'm putting it into the Altenew 3D Floral Diamond Blocks embossing folder. I'm running it through the die cut machine. You could use whatever die cut machine you have. Just follow the instructions for using a 3D embossing folder. And look at that beautiful detail that you get. Now I changed my mind and I decided to instead use a pink panel. So I did the same process with a 4 1⁄4 by 5 1⁄2 inch pink panel. Now I'm following the pattern on this embossed background and adding a dot of liquid adhesive at the center of the pattern. So at the center of the flowers that the embossing folder created. And onto that, I'm adding some floral die cuts. Now these die cuts that you see here were created with that Pond Flowers Altenew die set that I showed you earlier. I just die cut them from different colors of cardstock and glued them together. That's something that I like to do off screen while I'm watching a TV show or watching a movie. And then I can bring them back to my craft space and add them to a card as you see me doing here. So I just use pink, orange, and yellow cardstock to create these layered flowers. And I'm adding them into the pattern that our embossing folder background has. Now, instead of using an embossing folder background, you could also use like a stamped background. You could use a stenciled background. It's really up to you. I just really liked this embossing folder and I thought I would use it today. So I continued to add those layered floral die cuts onto the pattern of the background. And then it's time to add a sentiment. I'm first starting with the prayers word. This is from the Altenew Versatile Greetings 2 die set. Now there is a die set that has the words and the shadow dies. There's also a hot foil plate set. So if you prefer to hot foil your sentiment and then use a shadow die, you definitely can do that. I will only be using the dies today. This Versatile Greetings 2 die set coordinates nicely with the first Versatile Greetings die set that Altenew came out with a long time ago. I've used it many times in videos. This is a look at what's included. So you can use these two greeting die sets together or separately. And again, there are foil plates available. Now from the new Versatile Greetings 2 set, there were two words I really liked, sending and prayers. I thought I could use them a lot on cards, mixing them with other dies that I have. So I've gone ahead and cut them a bunch from white card stock, and I have them stored in this Altenew storage pouch. I'll use them a lot throughout today's video. I also am using the Altenew Sketch Florals six-byte stamp set. This has beautiful, kind of sketchy, watercolor-y looking images that you can use with or without the outline images. But today I'm only using some of those sentiments that work well on strips. I really like what some of those messages are, so I'll team that up with the Versatile Greetings 2 die set. All right, now here is a look at our completed card. So I have that embossing folder background pattern, and on it I added some of our small floral die cuts, just kind of building that pattern and adding to it. I trimmed that down and added it to a 4 1⁄4 by 5 1⁄2 inch white note card. I also added some gold pearls to the pattern just to really bring that embossing folder background pattern out a bit more. Now for that prayers, it is the Versatile Greetings 2 die set. I did gold card stock for the prayers and white card stock for the shadow. And then I used that Sketch Florals stamp set for that sending you a bouquet of message, which is gold heat embossed on white. I thought this was kind of a playful way to send a prayers greeting, but you can mix and match different greetings however you see fit. Okay, it's time for another idea for using small die cuts on your card, and that is to add texture to the die cuts. Now this works well with really any size die cut you may have, and it's best done with an embossing folder, but you could also use a texture plate, a piercing plate, whatever you have. So here I have the Altenew Intricate Tiles Embossing Folder. This is similar to the one I just used, but a slightly different pattern, and I've used this before in videos. I'm taking little die cuts from the Altenew Pond Flowers die set, and I'm taping them into my embossing folder and lining them up with that pattern. You can see how it kind of fits into that pattern shape that's in the embossing folder. Now you could do this in any embossing folder you have, even like a Swiss Dots embossing folder, a stripe, anything, but by putting your die cuts in there, you can add texture to them. Now in this particular case, I wanted them to line up with the pattern of the folder, otherwise you could just throw them in anywhere you want. I used a bit of tape. So now I have these die cuts that have a fun pattern to them. It really brings them to life, gives them a different look, and adds fun texture. So I continued to add that embossing folder texture to a bunch of small floral die cuts, but I also wanted smaller accents to add to my card, and this brings me to my third idea for smaller die cuts. This is great for really small die cuts, and that is to use those die cuts as accents. Now normally we add accents with like a liquid pearl or a tiny little gem or pearl or sequin, but you can use die cuts for accents also. This is a great way to use those small die cuts you may create, also to use up your small scraps. So I thought I would also introduce another die into this card, and this is the Altenew Zero Waste Floral Background Die, and this is one I've talked about many times in videos. I'm crazy about it because it creates a background and it creates a bunch of flowers with texture on them that you can use individually or layer together. I'll also use this die throughout this video. Keep in mind, Altenew has also come out with the Zero Waste Leaf Background Die if you prefer leaves over the florals and leaves, and I will link to a video showing that die up here on the top right. So I created some die cuts using that Zero Waste Floral Die, and those are the smaller ones that you see here. I created those from yellow and light blue cardstock. Then I have the larger floral die cuts that I created with the Pond Floral Die Set and used the embossing folder on to create texture. So I only used the embossing folder on those larger flowers. I gotta say, I really like putting these smaller die cuts together like this. It really makes a lot of impact in your final card and is a great way to use up those small scraps. I'm using Gina K Connect Liquid Adhesive in a fine tip bottle. I know that will hold nicely. And I'm also using a pickup tool from Simon Says Stamp. On one end, it has this little tip that is kind of sticky that allows you to pick up die cuts and put them where you want, and the other end has a piercing tool. I like to pick up my little die cuts, tiny little die cuts, with that sticky end, place it on to my project, and then I can use the other end, the piercing end, to kind of move them and press them where I want. I really find having a tool like this is very helpful. There are a lot of different ones on the market, but this is the one I have been reaching for most when working with small die cuts. So I have glued together a bunch of die cuts here and I have them ready to go, but I wanted like a main image on here. And I thought a foiled butterfly would be best. I'm using the Altenew Shimmery Butterfly foil plates and layering stencils. Now you can use these separately or together. There are three butterflies included and there are coordinating dies for them. Now I'm using one of the side facing foil plates and the coordinating stencil and the coordinating die together. I wanted to mention there are also hummingbirds of the same style available if you prefer that, but I decided to go with the butterflies today. So I have my Glimmer foil machine from Spellbinders. Any foil machine would work here. I'll take my butterfly foil plate and put it onto the hot gray warmed up surface of my Glimmer machine. I'll put my foil on top of it face down, then smooth white cardstock and the plates that come with the machine. I'll press that timer button and when it stops flashing, I'll take all of those plates out and run it through my platinum die cut machine. Now there are different foil machines out there for different machines. Just check with your manufacturer on what is best for what you have. I changed my mind and decided to use one of the face on butterflies, the full butterfly, and that is foiled there. I'll use the coordinating stencil to color it in. Now you could color this with markers if you prefer or watercolor, but these stencils are a huge time saver for me. I place my foiled butterfly cardstock piece onto an Altenew sticky mat. That'll hold it in place as I place the stencil on top. It'll also hold the stencil in place and I don't have to worry about it shifting. I like this sticky mat and I also like the one from Waffle Flower because it's made from a photopolymer material, which is the same thing our stamps are made from. So it's not super sticky, but it really holds onto smooth surfaces such as stencils and your glass mat if that's what you work on. So it holds it in place. But really any sticky mat would work here or you can just use some tape to hold it in place. I applied a yellow color first and then I put like a peach color over it. It's a peachy keen from Amy Tan. Then I moved the stencil to be the body of the butterfly and I put the toasted mauve fresh dye ink over that. So really quick inking over this, so much faster than coloring it with markers, a big time saver for me. Now I did decide I wanted more orange towards the center of the butterfly, so I came back with a snap dragon color and just applied that towards the center. Now I can use the coordinating dye to cut that out and I can add that onto our card wherever we want. Now that sending is from the Altenew Versatile Greetings two dye set that I showed you. The hugs is from the Versatile Greetings one dye set. So I'm using two different dye sets together to create my own sentiment. And I apologize if you hear some noise in the background, my son is downstairs with a bunch of teenage boys, they're playing foosball, they just finished a Bible study and now I guess it's playtime. So sorry if there's a bit of noise. All right, now back to the card, I need to do the background of the card. I wanted to add some texture to that also. So I'm using the new Altenew Dotted Waves cover plate. So this is the size of an A2 card. It doesn't actually cut anything, it just does a piercing pattern. So I am putting it on the front of a note card, I'll run it through my die cut machine and it creates this little pierce pattern that I love so much. I'm a big fan of dies like this because you can use them on the background of any card. Now when I add my sentiments, I wanna make sure I get them straight. So I'm using a T ruler and you've seen me use a very inexpensive, longer T ruler for a long time in my videos. I use them quite often, but I've always wanted a shorter T ruler and I've tried a few, but I'm really liking this one that I recently bought. I'll link to it below. I like the measurements on it, even has markings for those smaller measurements that sometimes folks have a hard time figuring out and it has measurements along the T part and it also has a nice ledge so it sits up against the side of your card to make sure you're lining things up straight. So I wanted to mention it because I get a lot of questions about T rulers. So this is one I've been using a lot lately off screen and I'm really happy with it. So I have put some liquid adhesive on the back of my two sentiments there and place them where I want them. And now I'm using the T ruler to make sure that I really press them down and leave them to dry in a straight position. Now I can add my flowers around it. Here we have the smaller die cut flowers that have the texture added to it thanks to the embossing folder. And then I will place some of the smaller die cuts around that to use as accents. Now I did add some gold gemstones to this, but if you wanted to skip adding the bulk of a gemstone, you could instead use a tiny die cut. So if you look at those flowers, the center of the flowers have a tiny little textured die cut. You could just use those as small accents that give less bulk than a gemstone or pearl. And another idea for adding texture to small die cuts like I did with these blue flowers, an idea for that is to use a piercing die to add little dots such as the one I used on the background of this card. Okay, let's move on to another example and another way of using your small die cuts and that is to create a pattern. So I used the pond flower die cuts that I've been using many times in this video, but I arranged them on my card in a way to create a focal point pattern with my sentiment at the center. I like to start by just laying my die cuts onto a note card to kind of play around with the pattern I can create. And then I take a photo of it with my camera phone, that way I can refer back to that pattern as we glue things down. Now, again, nothing is glued down just yet. And I have a prayers shadow die cut in the center as a holding place for my sentiment. Now, I could do a few things here to form the pattern. I could use a T ruler and a pencil to draw lines to make sure everything is straight and centered to form that pattern, but I'm gonna cheat. Instead, I'm using this older piercing die from Altenew. It actually has a pattern on it that has like that center point right at the center of the background. So I'm going to use that piercing pattern to help me get everything lined up. Then I don't have to measure anything. So here I have used that piercing die on the front of a four and a quarter by five and a half inch white note card. And I've started by adhering my prayers shadow die cut right at the center. Again, following the pattern of where the center is thanks to that piercing die I used. Then I will start adding flowers around that, one above it and below it. And then I just work my way out from the center. And again, the piercing dies give me ideas of making sure that I'm gluing kind of in the same area on both sides of the sentiment, creating like this mirrored look between the top and the bottom. Now, if you don't have a background die that will pierce a pattern like that to follow, you could use a background stamp that may have a center point kind of pattern like that, or just draw some pencil lines using a ruler. Just draw a few here and there at the center points and maybe an inch from the top and the bottom, and that'll help to make sure you're kind of forming a repeating pattern between the top and the bottom. So here is a look at the completed card. I used all die cuts from the pond flower die set, and I did some layering with different colors, using up some scraps that needed to be used. You can see that pierce pattern in the background. That's the pattern I followed to make sure everything was even. And I added a prayers with black die cut on top of the white shadow die cut. I also added some yellow gemstones to the background just to kind of fill in the areas and build up that pattern. Creating patterns like this is definitely my favorite way to use small die cuts. And I'll link to another video where I've done something similar if you want some more ideas. But I definitely be doing more like this. It's a great way to use up those scraps. All right, let's move on to another idea. And this is to incorporate your smaller die cuts into your stamping. So we're combining a stamped image and a small die cut. This idea is a particularly fun one because you get to use your products creatively. So I have the stamp set from Altenew called Dainty Flowers. My guess is you might have a stamp set with some flowers like this that you could use, and it works great with small die cuts. So I have a white cardstock panel here, and I'm going to start in the corner and stamp one of those stem images. I'm inking up the whole stem with green ink. It's the olive color. And I'm wiping away the ink from the flowers on the image. So really just the stems have the ink. Now I'm not being super careful here. I could do masking, but that seems like too much trouble. So I'm just trying to wipe off as much ink as I can from the floral parts. I'm gonna be covering it up with the die cuts in a moment, but my die cuts are smaller than the flower stamp. So by wiping away some of the ink, it just helps to hide the stamp underneath. If you use a larger flower die cut, you don't have to worry about that. Now I'm just using a green marker to color in the leaves just to make them stand out a bit more. Then I can take some of my flower die cuts, some small ones from that pond flower die set, and glue those on top. Now, this is another idea for you. Instead of just doing the flower die cuts as they are intended to be used, you can layer up extra pieces to give a more layered look from your smaller die cuts. So I could even add another smaller dot to the center to add more to this. I did that on my last card example, but feel free to change up how you layer your small die cuts to get different looks. So after I have glued these die cuts on, I'll go back to my stamping tool and I'll move that same stamp image to a new location. The reason I glued those die cuts on before doing more stamping is that way I know how close I can put my stamp image to the last part we put together. So I'll position this and next to that one, I like to start in one corner, kind of work my way out and over. And here I am wiping that ink away from the floral part, just doing the best I can. Now this is olive ink, L, or I'm sorry, O-L-O-V-E. And that's not a mistake. It's, I think it's the way Tasneem, one of the owners of Altenew, the way her daughter pronounced olive when she was little, I believe that's the story. So it's intentional that it's spelled this way and I think that's super sweet. So I stamped that image, color in the leaves. Now I have some more layered die cuts to add on top. By the way, those layered die cuts, I did a bunch of die cutting off screen and then I assembled them all together at once so they're ready to go. If you want to learn some tips for handling small die cuts and creating a bunch of them at once, many different topics are covered in it. I will link to a video up here on the top right where I go into great detail on how I organize and put them together. So I continued to fill up the whole background. I think it took me about a half hour to do the background, but really that's the focal point of the card and the rest of it is simple. So now let's do that sentiment and you'll notice I use two different die sets together. This is the Altenew Sweet Sentiments die set. There is a hot foil plate set that coordinates with it. You can buy them together or separate. And then I also have that Versatile Greetings two die set that I showed you earlier where I got the word prayers. So from one die set, I got the word prayers and from the Sweet Sentiments, I got the for you and I use them together. I really encourage you to mix and match your different sentiment dies and stamp sets so you can create new sentiments, different greetings and really make the most of your products. And I love these two styles of fonts together. So I did the sentiments with black and white cardstock and glued that right on top. I trimmed my background down and added it to a purple note card that is four and a quarter by five and a half inches. You'll also see in the background in some of the open white spaces, I added little die cuts as accents. That was one of my tips earlier is to use small die cuts as accents. These little dots that I used were actually centers of flowers, but they work great to be on the background too. So remember you can use those small die cuts as accents and there's less bulk than if you used a gem or a pearl. Okay, let's go on to another idea for using small die cuts but you can also do this with larger die cuts. And that is to add score lines for dimension. So I'm gonna take those small flowers and leaves and give them a lot of fun dimension and a different look by simple scoring. I'm using my Altenew scoring board. You could use whatever scoreboard you may have. And you could use a bone folder, but I do recommend using a stylus, which is a tool that has like a little ball at the end. This scoreboard actually comes with one of those tools, but I can't find mine. So I'm using an older scoring tool that I've had for many, many years. And I am just lining it up with one of the grooves in the scoreboard and then running the little scoring tool along that line. And it creates a little line in each of those petals. I'll do the same thing down the center of each of these leaves. This is a really fun way just to add some texture. In fact, I've done a whole video on ways you can use a scoreboard to create really cool looks on your cards. I'll link to that up here at the top and at the end of this video. But here I'm just doing it to these small die cuts. Now you can do this on larger die cuts, but here I think it really makes a big impact and makes these smaller die cuts stand out more. So after I do the score line down the center of the petals and leaves, I'm just folding along those, not really folding fully, just kind of making a little cup from that score line. Then I can glue the different layers together and we'll have lots of fun die cuts with lots of dimension. Now, if you put this through the mail, these might get flattened a little bit, but that's okay because you're going to still have that score line there, which will give the look of dimension. I'm also putting a foam square at the center and then adding the center of the flower on top of that. This will also help to protect those petals from being completely squashed also. So take a closer look at this. I just think this is such a cute little flower. I love the details at the center of it and the dimension we added with the scoring. And here you can see how I can quickly fold the little leaves and the fun that that bit of dimension adds to it. So even with small little die cuts, you can do these tricks. Now for the background of this card, I wanted something black and white to kind of contrast those fun floral colors. So I thought I'd reach for my Spellbinders Better Press. Now I did a complete video on the Better Press. I will link to it up here in the top right. And in fact, I'll link to all these videos that I mentioned in my description below too. But I was excited because Altenew now has plates for the Better Press system. And these are really beautiful because they have a lot of detail to them. You can also use these plates on your foil machine and it foils beautifully. But I'm choosing this one large floral image. I thought it'd be great kind of cascading from the top left corner. So here is my Spellbinders Better Press. This tool is used with a die cut machine to give a letterpress look with great detail. So I have a piece of A2 cardstock. This is the Better Press cardstock that's cotton and very nice, but you could use regular cardstock too. I'm taping it inside of the A2 grid lines on the backside of this clear plate that's at the top of the Better Press system. I will then line this up on another piece of white cardstock that I'm just using as a guide for where I want that to land, the plate to make the impression. I will then flip that over and lay it down in the A2 grid on the Better Press gray grid area. That way I know that when I do the Better Press, that it'll land on my white cardstock where I want it. I will ink up that plate with black Better Press ink, but I found you really can use a lot of different inks. In fact, the round fresh inks from Altenew that I showed you earlier, those work great with Better Press. I've used them many times, but in this case, I wanted black on the white cardstock, so I just used the black Better Press ink. So you're just gonna ink up that plate. It'll stay put on the Better Press system here because it's very magnetic, so it holds it where you want it. After I've inked up the plate, I will take that top clear plate, this top piece here, flip it over, and it snaps in place with magnets. I then just run it through my die cut machine, which presses that cardstock onto the inked plate, and watch this. You get beautiful results every time. It's really easy to use, and again, you can use this plate with a Glimmer Foil Machine. So many ways you can use it, and look at that great detail. I love it. And I think it looks really cool as a backdrop for these colorful die cuts. So I trimmed that panel down and added it to a black note card that is 4 1⁄4 by 5 1⁄2 inches. I added those layered floral die cuts on top, and then I used the Sweet Sentiments die set from Altenew to create that thanks sentiment. And again, for accents, instead of pearls or gems, I used the smallest little flower center dots as little accents scattered on the back. So this one kind of combines a few different ideas for using small die cuts, but I really encourage you to try the idea of scoring your die cuts to add dimension. Okay, let's do another idea for small die cuts, and this is to add ink for the look of dimension. It's just a great way to step up your die cuts, and you can do it on larger die cuts also. For this card, I'll be focusing on that Zero Waste floral die that I love so much. Now, I have cut it from white card stock, and here's the negative space, which I think is a really cool background in and of itself, but I also have all the little die cuts that popped out that I can use on other cards. I'm adding this negative space onto a Lawn Fawn Fog note card that is 4 1⁄4 by 5 1⁄2 inches. I then have lots of these flower die cuts that I created offscreen. I told you I like this die a lot, and I love that it has so much to offer, so I cut it from a bunch of scraps of card stock, and I have glued them together so they have a little added dimension. So these are two floral die cuts glued together. I find that process very therapeutic. I've talked about it in videos before. Well, now I'm putting some of them to good use. So I'm adding ink to the center of these flowers by using an Altenew mini ink blending brush, one that I use quite often. You see me using videos a lot, and I'm just circling that ink at the center of the die cut. I'm putting the die cut onto a sticky mat. This is the sticky mat that comes with the Altenew stamp wheel, but you can buy the mat separately. There are many different sticky mats on the market. I recently showed you the waffle flower one. This one comes in this one size, and it has like a grid on the back that is kind of engraved in it. It is made of a photopolymer material, just like our stamps. So it has just the right amount of stick to keep the flowers from moving around as you add the ink, but they're really easy to remove when you're ready to take them off. So I kind of like this surface for adding ink because it holds it still, but not too still. So I am just adding ink to the center of each flower with that brush, going in a circular motion. I do like to pick up the ink from my ink pad and put the excess in the lid, so I'm not bringing too much ink directly to my die cut, which would give harsh lines. But you'll notice I'm really not taking a lot of care to make sure this ink is really blended well because the ink will dry into the cardstock and blend evenly on its own. I try to use whatever ink color I have that is the same color as my cardstock or slightly darker. And by the way, you can do this with any surface that you want. I try to show a variety of different sticky mats or surfaces that are great for blending, and I mix it up in videos, and this is definitely a great option. All right, so now I can glue each of those die cuts into the opening on my background. It's a time saver because I don't have to figure out how to arrange these on my card. I just inlay them into the openings. And I decided to do some layering with the different die cut pieces also. Now, this did take a little bit more time to do the die cutting and the inking of all of these pieces and assemble them. You could definitely save time by doing a smaller cluster of flowers in the bottom corner, using less flowers, and it would still have great impact. Now, I added a hello die cut from the Versatile Greetings 1 die set, and an I Appreciate You white heat embossed sentiment, and I'll show you that in a moment. On the background for the little dot openings, I left those open so you could see the gray cardstock showing through, but I did add some little clear gemstones for a bit of sparkle. But there you can see how we really stepped up those die cuts by giving the look of faux dimension with some inking. And here is that stamp set where I got the I Appreciate You sentiment. It's from the Altenew Sincere Sentiment set. I really like some of these sentiments, but that one that simply says I appreciate you is great. I don't know that there are many greetings that are better to hear from someone than I appreciate you, so I'll be using it a lot. Okay, on my final card, I'm sharing the idea of stamping on small die cuts. You could definitely do this on large die cuts too. And I'm gonna show you a really cool trick or technique that gives fun results and really just steps up those die cuts you made from scraps. Now, this time I am using a Brutus Monroe and Simon Says Stamp Sticky Mat inside of my MISTI stamping tool. I chose to use this mat this time because it has more stick to it, and it'll hold my card in place as I do this trick. So I have a Simon Says Stamp text background stamp, and I put that into my stamping tool. I'm laying my card onto the stamp. Then I will flip my MISTI closed upside down, and that sticky mat will grab ahold of the card. And now I know that when I stamp on the card, the text will be stamped straight. I'm stamping onto the background using the silver lining fresh ink color. It's like a light gray with a little bit of blue to it. I love it. So I'll stamp that, and you can barely see it, but it is stamped on the background. Now I'm cleaning off that stamp, and I have some of my layered floral die cuts that I created using that Zero Waste background die. So these are glued too thick. So each of these die cuts is too thick. And I'm gluing them onto my card, but not moving my card. It's still stuck to the sticky mat. I'm using liquid adhesive so I can wiggle those die cuts around until I'm happy with the placement. Once I have my flowers glued in place, we're going to stamp that same background stamp, but this time with Altenew Cloud White ink. This is a white pigment ink, and I'm really liking it. I find that the pad seems a little more firm. It's still a sponge or foam pad, but it's a little more firm than others. And I'm finding I get bright white results. Of course, it will have to be re-inked because that's what happens with pigment ink pads, but I'm liking it so far. So what's happening here is that stamping with the white ink only lands on those raised flower die cuts. But because my position of the stamp is in the same place, you have continuous text background, the gray on the white card and the white on the flower die cuts. To add even more to this, I'm gluing additional die cuts on top, doing some layering. These die cuts are also too thick, so we have some dimension, and I'm just gluing them in different areas. And then we will once again stamp with the white pigment ink. This image will only land on those new raised die cuts that we added. So we have text over everything on the card, which I think is a really cool look, and it steps up this simple design. Now, I've done a technique like this in the past. I'll link to it up here in the top right and in my description below, so if you want to see more ideas for it. But having that sticky mat in there to hold my card in place so it doesn't move was really helpful with this technique. All right, so to finish this off, I added a thanks layered die cut from the Altenew Versatile Greetings one die set, and I created a stamp sentiment that says I'm truly grateful from the floral stamp set that I showed you earlier. I finished it off also with some yellow flowers. All of those are created with the zero waste floral die also, but that time I didn't do any stamping on those. I wanted those to stay solid yellow. So this is a great idea that you can also do with stencils. If you don't want to stamp on top of your die cuts, you could also lay a stencil on top and do patterns that way. So I did a bunch of die cutting. I told you I did a lot of die cutting with these pond flowers. I have all of these left, the random colors, because I just used scraps that I had. So I can continue to make more ideas. And next time I'm doing a card, if I need a quick accent, I could reach in here. All right, there you have some ideas for using those smaller die cuts. I hope you'll try these. If you have any questions about what I used, I always provide links to the products in my description below. I'll put some links to the videos I mentioned also. And at the end here, I'll link to a couple other related videos. Thanks for spending this long time with me. I hope you learned a thing or two and I'll see you soon.