A Fun & Easy Technique – Inlaid Die Cutting

Today’s Papercrafting Playdate technique was completely inspired by my friend, Lynn, who happens to live in Australia! We have been pen pals for several months and her friendship has been a great blessing! She mailed me a card from Australia on Sept. 30th and it arrived at my house on Oct. 21st. Upon ripping open the envelope and gasping with delight when I saw her card design I realized that I needed to try the Inlaid Die Cutting technique immediately!

Take a look at Lynn’s beautiful creation. She inlaid the cone flower die into the stitched circle die so perfectly. It is truly a work of art & heart!

The definition of inlaid is: set into a surface in a decorative design. So when you apply this definition to cardmaking it becomes a technique where you use cardstock, patterned paper and dies to create an inlaid effect. Let me show you how it is done. Watch the replay of my Papercrafting Playdate live video where I showcase this technique. Download the pdf tutorial directions too!

Supplies For Inlaid Die Cutting Technique

• Card base – 5-1/2″ x 8-1/2″
• Cardfront (cardstock or patterned paper) – 4″ x 5-1/4″
• Dies of any kind
• Scraps of cardstock or patterned paper to create the inlaid pieces
• Liquid Glue

Directions

1. Using a die, cut out a shape or design from the card front piece of cardstock.
2. Take out the cut shape leaving the negative “hole” and adhere the card front to the card base.
3. Cut out the same die shape or design again in a different cardstock or patterned paper using scraps that fit the size of the shape/design die.
4. Inlay these shapes or designs into the negative “holes” on the card front.

BASIC INLAID DIE CUTTING TECHNIQUE: For the first card design I used the Picture This Dies to create the stitched circle shapes in the Basic Black card front piece. Those circles were removed and set aside to use on a different card. Then I die cut the same die five more times in different Designer Series Paper from the Pattern Party DSP to create lots of different stitched circle choices to use for inlaying into the negative holes in the card front.

The next card shows the same basic technique except instead I stamped a background on the card front before die cutting out the Stitched Stars dies.

TWISTED INLAID DIE CUTTING TECHNIQUE: The next card shows how you can use patterned paper as the card front. I recommend you attach the patterned paper onto Basic White cardstock first to make it thicker before cutting any die shapes out of it. This card has two inlaid elements. The first is the circle die cut out of the card front and the second is the word “hi!” cut out of the circle. For this version of the Inlaid Die Cutting technique with patterned paper (with a striped pattern) you leave the cut out circle inlaid and give it a “twist” or a turn so the striped pattern is offset. Once it is offset you can use The Playful Alphabet dies to cut out the letters. Then fill the letters with a coordinating cardstock color.

STEPPED-UP INLAID DIE CUTTING TECHNIQUE: It is still very easy to add a few more elements to this technique without being too complicated. For this last card I am using 2 different die sets that are going to be overlapping each other. After cutting the Stitched Rectangle die out of the card front I left it in place and cut out the two Stitched Leaves dies. The leaves are arranged in a way so that they are both inside and outside the rectangle. Then the card front piece with the negative “holes” is embossed with an embossing folder, brushed with ink to make the embossing highlighted, and adhered to the card base. Now the inside of the stitched rectangle can be reinserted along with stitched leaves die cut from different colors.

Product List

Picture This Dies [155559] $34.00	Pattern Party 12″ X 12″ (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Host Designer Series Paper [155426] $18.00	Black & White 1/4″ (6.4 Mm) Gingham Ribbon [156485] $7.00	Stitched Stars Dies [150653] $38.00
Artistically Inked Cling Stamp Set [154542] $24.00	Expressions In Ink 12″ X 12″ (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper [155464] $15.00	Layering Circles Dies [151770] $35.00	Playful Alphabet Dies [152706] $34.00
Flowers & Leaves Punch [155373] $18.00	Stitched Leaves Dies [153567] $35.00	Love Of Leaves Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) [153452] $18.00	Stitched Rectangles Dies [151820] $35.00
Timber 3 D Embossing Folder [156406] $10.00	Matte Black Dots [154284] $7.00	Artistry Blooms Sequins [152477] $7.00	Brushed Metallic Adhesive Backed Dots [156506] $9.00

This technique has no limit to the different ways you can combine dies and paper to create inlaid patterns and designs. I hope you are thinking of your own dies right now and how you can do some Inlaid Die Cutting too! Happy Stamping – Robin