Daily Pages 03/15/24: Simple Rainbow Die Cuts
What are your favorite ways to create when you're not feeling 100%?
Behind the Page
Today is a headache day. Juggling a daily creative habit and chronic health issues is not always easy. Sometimes it feels like they’re oil and water — just refusing to come together. And while, if this was really an issue of just combining oil and water, I’d just grab an immersion blender, get aggressive, and force them to emulsify.
That doesn’t work nearly as well with human bodies and emotions. That’s why, when I’m having an especially bad headache day, I try to keep things as simple as possible for myself. I ask myself, “what is the one single thing you want to accomplish” for today’s page? Starting there makes everything a thousand times less overwhelming and easier to just get started on.
Today, I decided I finally wanted to play around with this Ali Edwards die set that I’ve had for at least a year now. This die set matches a bunch of different stamps from her Story Stamp collection, so I pulled out a few sets and settled on this grid one for my layout. Whenever I’m not sure of where to start — I go rainbow. So I grabbed a few sheets of cardstock in a vague rainbow of colors and went to work. Check out the video below for the full process.
Technique of the Day
Today, I really wanted to get some practice in with stamping and then die cutting the stamped area. I had great success using a little bit of washi tape to secure the die to the cardstock and the die cut mat.
And while I definitely could have snipped these tags out by hand (I’ve done it plenty of times before), I love that the die cut machine gives it a little bit more of a pop around the edges, and gets that tiny little hole in the exact right spot. There’s nothing much that I had to think about other than matching up the die to the stamped image and running it through the machine.
Additionally, using the die cut machine means I’m not getting my fingers on the newly stamped images as I’m cutting them out, which means less smudging of the ink and a more crisp look overall.
Reflections & Insights
Play around with your toys — even if you don’t know where the end result is going to take you. I actually really love how this page turned out. It’s neat, it’s even, it’s clean, it’s got great colors, and it even has a little quote about how I really need more naps right now.
But when I started, I figured I was just going to stamp and die-cut a bunch of things and stick them down on the page. I wasn’t even really trying to create a cohesive page, I just wanted to focus on the stamp + cut technique. Sometimes when we play without an end goal in mind, we actually create finished ideas that are so much cooler than what our brain is capable of coming up with before the project starts.
Daily Pages is a great place to learn how to trust yourself as a creative person.
How It’s Made
Check out this quick video of how I created today’s page. Full video below for paid subscribers.
Supply List
Die Set — Ali Edwards
Stamp — Ali Edwards Story Stamp
Quote — Ali Edwards Story Kit
Ink — Versafine Black Ink
Die Cut Machine — Sizzix Big Shot
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Tips & Creative Wisdom
Have fun. Take time this weekend to play with one thing that you’ve had your eye on for a while. Take it for a spin and see how it feels to try it out. No need to become a master in one weekend, just enjoy being creative.
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