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Don't you just love A Child's Year? It's so perfect for the holidays. The sweet vintage images look especially fresh in a simple two color combination and to further enhance the cuts I added a simple, fun to do woven mat behind the Storybook frame. Then I ran through my Cuttlebug for even more texture and interest. I've also added a .cut file so you can easily recreate this card
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The card itself is 5x7 so I cut a piece of card stock a bit larger (5x6) than my frame opening for my woven mat. I made cuts 1/4 inch apart down the longer side stopping at 4 3/4 inches with my Cricut trimmer. It is important to measure your cuts carefully to assure an even weave.
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After you have finished your cuts on the mat, it's time to cut 1/4 inch strips of paper for weaving. It is best to make them a bit longer to make it easier to weave. (Wish I'd thought of that!) Also it helps if your trimmer blades are sharp! (Wish I'd remembered to buy extra blades!)
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Now it's time to weave. Doesn't this remind you of making placemats in school or potholders for your Mom? (Do kids still do that? Okay, that dates me.) It's best to tighten your strips periodically to ensure and even weave and to make sure you won't have any adhesive showing through your mat.
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When you are finished weaving, bind the open edge with tape so the weave stays tight, cover the entire mat with double sided adhesive and adhere to another piece of cardstock. Trim, and run the woven mat through your Cuttlebug using the D'Vine Swirls folder. The extra thickness makes for a nice deep emboss, and further binds the weave together.
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Now make your Cricut cuts. In the cut file I've grouped the cuts by color with one page for the red cuts and one for the White. Before doing any assembly, emboss the top white mat with Swiss Dots. Glue your frame with the
attached images to the mat. Adhere your woven mat to the card making sure it does not extend past your white mat on any side. Now glue your white shadow image to the woven mat using the top mat as a guide for placement.
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The top mat is now added using 1/16th inch foam dimensionals. I made my own using fun foam that I ran through my Xyron. Not only are they red so they virtually disappear, but I am able to cut any size I want.
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Here's a closeup of the embossing. Doesn't that look cool! I especially love the combination of the swirls and the dots. To finish the front all you need to add now are the holly sprigs and adhesive pearls. I find that my Xyron is the best way to adhere cuts to embossed mats.
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Here's the inside with the multiple frames that are included in the cut file. Because the woven mat is a bit heavy, multiple mats on the inside help balance the card. Looking at it now I wish I had embossed the white rectangular mat here as well but hindsight is always 20/20. At least you can learn from my mistake. LOL
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