Framed!

Cardstock frame and decorative hearts

CutCardstock's fabulous Savoy 100% cotton cardstock is 236 pounds of fabulous! I used bright white cardstock to die cut these simple shapes -- a scalloped square and three primitive hearts using two Sizzix dies.

Using dies makes covering the shapes super simple; just run the patterned paper through...whizz, bang!  I used a couple pieces of Crate Paper's Farmhouse Collection with an apple orchard feel.  I love the old yardstick pattern.  These are the elements I used to create a simple little frame.

After covering the scalloped square and two of the three hearts, I adhered the hearts to the right side of the square using foam tape, then added a couple buttons tied with baker's twine and a small apple slice stamped and colored with Copic markers.

To create the frame's stand I used the third and largest of the primitive hearts.  I just scored the pointy end of the heart about 1.25" from the end and then used a Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher (stapler) to anchor a 1.5" piece of thin red ribbon between the frame's back and the stand.  The staple does show through onto the front of the frame, but the pattern is busy enough that you hardly notice.  And, once a photo is placed onto the frame, it won't show at all.

Now, this little frame is super cute all by itself, but I thought it would be fun to give it as a gift and remembered I had some luxurious 6" square envelopes from CutCardstock so I cut a 5.75" x 11" piece of white cardstock (regular weight, not heavyweight) and scored it at 5.5".  This didn't create a perfect square when folded, but it was the perfect size to frame my frame!

Finished frame

Next I cut a 5.25" x 5.5" piece of patterned paper and rounded two edges to mirror what I'd done to the actual card base.  I then cut a slit into the patterned paper before adhering it so that I could slip the frame's stand into it and have it hold the frame squarely in the center of the card.  Genius!

Cut a slit into the card front for frame

Stamped & paper pieced interior

I added a couple paper pieced apple images from a set called "The Core of It" from Sweet Stamp Shop to coordinate with the apple slice on the frame itself.  The sentiment "Life is messy, take a bite!" fit the photo I plan to use perfectly.  On the back of my card I used a cute apple image from the set with "Made By:" inside it.  I stamped the apple slice on the corner of the envelope and colored it with pencils.  This stamp set is perfect for paper piecing, coloring and has plenty of images that I can use on cards and page layouts.

Set from Sweet Stamp Shop

Life is messy, take a bite!

After slipping the frame into the card front my simple gift is ready to give.  You can make this easy project even without the help of dies, but be sure to use some wonderful Savoy heavyweight cardstock -- it's the best!