Available for this month only, we have coordinating Thin Cuts for our Punny Pals stamp set! Remember, for every Punny Pals stamp set purchased Close To My Heart will donate $7 of the proceeds to Operation Smile™, a non-profit organization that provides safe surgeries to repair cleft lips and palates for people around the world. We took it upon ourselves to come up with a fun way to use this stamp set and its coordinating Thin Cuts to create something guaranteed to make someone smile! Below are step-by-step instructions to show you how to recreate this multi-layer card yourself using partially cut die cuts. Let’s dive right in, shall we?

Materials Needed:
D1751 My Acrylix^® Punny Pals Stamp Set
CC1340 Thin Cuts—Punny Pals
Z3318 Thin Cuts—Basic Circles
X7225B Beary Christmas Paper Packet
1385 White Daisy Cardstock
X5954 Pewter Cardstock
Z899 Black Memento™ Ink Pad
Z4050 Picture My Life™—Beary Christmas
Z3323 White Burlap Ribbon
Z4029 Bronze Sequins
3505 Watercolor Pencils
Z2445 ShinHan™ Touch Twin™ Barely Beige Marker
Z2446 ShinHan™ Touch Twin™ Black Marker
Z2452 ShinHan™ Touch Twin™ Golden Yellow Marker
Z2460 ShinHan™ Touch Twin™ Pastel Peach Marker
Z2060 Thin 3-D Foam Tape
Die-cutting machine

Prepare and cut.
To replicate our card exactly, you will need the following pieces:

• 1 standard card base
• 3¾” x 5″ White Daisy cardstock
• 4″ x 5¼” Pewter cardstock
• 3¾” x 5″ New England Ivy “Sprig” paper from Beary Christmas paper packet
• 4″ x 5 ¼ ” Pebble striped paper from Beary Christmas paper packet
• 3¾” x 1″ ombre New England Ivy paper from Beary Christmas Picture My Life™ Cards

Step 1. Planning the partial cut.
Using washi tape, temporarily attach the 2½” circle die onto the White Daisy cardstock piece approximately ¾” from the top. Place the Tiger die on the adhered circle die, slightly left of center, and mark (with a pencil) where the two dies intersect.

Remove the tiger die but keep the circle in place. With a ruler and pencil, draw a light line through both of the dots, running off both sides of the cardstock.

Step 2. Partially cutting the circle.
We use a Cuttlebug™ as our preferred die-cutting machine. Layer a platform and a C-size plate and align the edges. Place the White Daisy cardstock on top of this combination so that the line you have drawn is about 1/8″ below the bottom of the plate. This will put the top half of the cardstock on the plate and leave the lower half of the cardstock hanging off the plate. Adhere the card piece in place with washi tape so it will not move. Anything below the plate will not cut through.

Layer a B-size plate on top and run the paper through your die-cutting machine. You should end up with a partially cut circle, still attached on the bottom left.

WAIT—DON’T REMOVE THE CARD FROM THE PLATE YET!

Step 3. Partially cutting the tiger.

While keeping the cardstock attached to the plate, remove the circle die. Add the tiger die where your circle is still intact, allowing a portion of the head and tail into the inside of the circle, and secure it to the cardstock with some washi tape.

Replace the B-size plate, make sure the platform and plates are aligned, and run it through the die-cutting machine.

Remove the tiger die. You will now have a portion of the tiger cut out of the inside circle. (The remainder of the inner circle may be discarded.) If there is a small area of the inner circle that has not cut through just snip carefully with scissors.

Step 4. Get Stamping!
Stamp the tiger image in place and color it with watercolor pencils.

Step 5. Assemble the rest of the card.
Create the inner circle of the card front by cutting the layers with the 2″ circle die.

Tip: To put the monkey in place, make two cuts of the monkey outline. When layering the shapes together, attach the front shape so that it overlaps the front of your circle window, and attach the back shape overlapping the back of the circle. This will hold the monkey securely in place.

Tip: For added dimension on your animal, make a second animal shape and, after stamping, trim out the face. Color this new layer and attach with thin 3-D foam tape.

 This Thin Cuts technique is all about versatility and dimension! Please share with us any comments or questions through the link below!

Share a Smile and happy trimming!

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