Concord and 9th Guest Post- Window Shoppe!

Hi there! I am so thrilled to be a guest for Concord and 9th for their March release! I have gotten into a bit of a groove working with the same companies each month, and they keep me so busy that I am not able to really “make” time to play with the other companies that I love, which breaks my heart a little. Having the opportunity to guest for one of my favorite companies gave me the excuse that I needed to be able to pull out so many of the goodies that I’ve been hoarding, ahem, I mean hiding, in my “to be used” bins in my craft room!

The new March Release is absolutely spectacular, featuring so many unique and fun products… but today’s focus is about the new Window Shoppe Pop Up Base dies. Let me preface this post (and the subsequent posts, hehe) with this: I am not a “pop up” kinda girl. I leave that to the clever and creative professional-types, like Jennifer McGuire, who are so good with the fun folds and interactive, clever cards. My jam is coloring, mainly. However, and that’s a biiiiig however, the new Window Shoppe Pop Up Base dies are truly user-friendly. I was able to figure these dies out so quickly; I was utterly shocked at how easily I was able to make all of the components work together. I will say that fine-tip reverse tweezers (I love THESE), good liquid glue (I like THIS glue), and a bone folder (I love THIS ONE) are going to be your best friends when assembling these die cuts.

My card for today’s post is inspired by one of the cute boutiques residing in my town’s square. It features a chic black and white color scheme, complete with twinkly lights!

For this first card, I wanted to keep things fairly simple, so I kept the color scheme fairly simple and began by die cutting all of the main components for the Window Shoppe Pop Up Base from white cardstock. I knew that I wanted black accents, so I die cut several elements included in the Window Shoppe Pop Up Base from Black cardstock from C9. I assembled the main portion of the shop quickly, using some heavyweight Acetate from Hero Arts to back my windows and door, which adds some stability to the shop front so that you can add your door and any accessories or decor to the interior of your shop. I also added a matte gold foil door knob and mail slot for a bit of extra textural interest.

For the “extras,” I wanted to keep things relatively simple, both in design and color, adding just a few pops of color. I die cut the cherry red bicycle (included in the Window Shoppe set) from some Poppy cardstock (that shade of red is simply divine), as well as some of the flowers, bushes, and cart from the Flower Shoppe set. I had purchased the Lace Border dies a long time ago, and thought they looked like the perfect crocheted lace curtains!

For the awning, I couldn’t resist giving it some black and white stripes, so I used my gridded mat to lay down some 1/2″ masking tape at intervals on my awning die cut. I then used a blending brush to blend some black ink and carefully removed the masking tape strips. I had to add the twinkly lights; I think that is such a unique little addition to the set, and makes the shoppes so trendy and chic! I cut the wire from black cardstock, then die cut the lights from some iridescent white cardstock from my stash, adding another touch of textural interest. I adhered everything with liquid glue, adding a sentiment strip that was stamped using a greeting from the Fashion Shoppe stamp set, popped up using foam adhesive, and accented with some bright red blooms.

When I tell you how in love with these dies I am, I’m absolutely not lying. They. Are. So. Much. Fun. And bonus, they lie flat in your A2 envelope, so you don’t even need to have a larger envelope! They might cost a touch more, as there is a lot of cardstock involved, but I’ve not weighed them to see if they are beneath the 1 oz mark. I can’t wait to share the other projects that I’ve made with you using this marvelous new series! Be sure to check back throughout the week to see more inspiration using the Window Shoppe Pop Up Base. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!