A Cuttlebug frame

This is late (again), but I fell asleep putting my daughter to sleep. I woke up with a terrible ache in my knee, and now I can't sleep. So while I'm waiting for the pain medicine to kick in, I'm posting what I had intended to post hours ago. :)

Remember the other day I mentioned that I was playing around with a few of my Cuttlebug dies? Well, this is the other cool thing I discovered.

First of all, let me tell you that I was inspired by this card from Becca. (Yes, she inspires me a lot!) Isn't that chipboard frame totally awesome?? Well, unfortunately, I don't have anything like it ... at least I didn't think I did. But after cutting a die cut down the middle, look at my experiment:



Hmmm ... that's a good substitute! But wait - it gets better! Just trim the tiny piece off each end of the swirl. Here's what that looks like, along with the die I used:



Since that was just an experiment and certainly not card-ready (notice the two-tone frame?), here are two cards I made using the idea:



An online friend sent me some Magnolia Tilda images. Isn't she cute?? She's smaller than I had thought, but just as cute. I used the cut-apart die cut just on the top and bottom of these two cards. You could easily use it just on the sides, depending on which direction your card was oriented (horizontal or vertical).

I also used a circle frame medallion as a "frame" for her to sit on. If you click on the card to see it larger, you might notice the tiny seed beads I glued around the edges. It's not for the faint of heart - you need good eyes, precision-tipped tweezers, and good glue. But since it looks a lot like those expensive flat-back pearls I love but don't have, I figured it was worth it ... another "use what I have" alternative. :)



And here's the second card, very much like the first one but with different colors and a different punch on the circle frame. I'll post more about this particular circle frame another day ...

I intentionally left these cards without a sentiment. That way, when I need a card (like "Congratulations" or "Good Job" or "Happy Birthday"), I can just add an appropriate sentiment and send them off. It makes them a bit more versatile. And, as you know, I'm all about versatility! ;)