Summer Bonnetby Jeanne Jachna

Are you having a good day? A good day for me is when I get some time to make! Today I'm sharing a pretty floral card that I hope will inspire you to reimagine your die cuts. Sometimes you get an idea for a project and you have to take a harder look at what you have to get the results your looking for. My idea? I envisioned a straw hat with embellished with pretty flowers. I quickly ran into a problem..... I don't have a bonnet die!

The solution? I used two scalloped circles from a nested set to make the hat. I "embossed" the center of the hat by cutting the smaller circle with the Pinpint Half Ring Plate. I also raised the center with adhesive foam tape to give it the dimension of a hat. Can you see it now?

I arrange die cut pieces on a piece of clear plastic the size of my card base to help me decide on what color, size and shapes to use. My original version had another circle around the crown to look like a ribbon, and no embossing. I usually make several changes before things start to come together.

When my design is complete I need to decide on a background. I loved the Geometric Deco Panel to add more interest to the design, but what colors should I place behind the white die cut panel? The clear plastic allows me to see exactly what the finished card will look like. I tried, kraft, brown, pink cardstock shades before finally deciding on the yellow, but the hat was getting lost (yellow on yellow) so I added another smaller panel of orange.

Now for the easy part.. adding the flowers... I needed to find just the right size. I used the florals and foliage from the Floral Cake Pop Up Easel to embellish the hat. Fairy Jewels and Crystals are added to the flower centers for a little sparkle and shine.

I wanted to repeat the color black from the bow so I cut the Hello Folksy Script from black as well. I like to leave the die cut pieces in place occasionally to add a little interest.

This card would be perfect for our challenge theme this month.. Over the Rainbow because I used all of my favorite colors!

I hope that the next time you get an idea and just can't find the right die, that you don't give up! Remember to mix and match what you have and you'll be surprised with what you come up with!