Tutorial: Eclipse Cards

I received an email from one of my lovely readers, Kate, requesting a tutorial for an eclipse card. These retro cards have enjoyed a resurgence in popularity with lots of wonderful examples being posted on social media. It's a technique that can be done with any type of die, although most people are using large, individual letters to spell out a greeting. Today I'm going to show you the basic technique using a word die. You can have a flick through your own die library to find letters, words or shapes that you'd like to use, or perhaps even a large punch.

1. Start with a card blank and a topper in contrasting colours. Keep in mind that the colour of the card blank is what will show up beneath the die cut word.

2. Decorate your topper as desired, being careful not to use colours and patterns that are too bold. If the pattern is too busy or the colours too strong, you will lose the eclipse effect. (You can substitute patterned paper if you prefer, but again, make sure the pattern isn't too overpowering.)

3. Use a large die to cut a sentiment from the decorated panel. You could also use shape dies, individual letters or even large punches.

4. Remove the word from the panel and set aside, ensuring that the tiny pieces from the loops of the letters are also reserved.

5. Apply adhesive to the back of the decorated panel, centre it over the card blank, and press firmly into place. I prefer to use glue to ensure that I cover all the little curves and notches around the cut-out. Allow the adhesive to dry.

6. Flip the die cut word over so that the back is facing you. Apply glue with a fine tip applicator to all the tiny pieces that are in the loops of the letters. For example, inside the loop of the letter "e".

DO NOT APPLY ADHESIVE TO ANY OTHER PART OF THE WORD.

7. Press the whole word back into the cut out space and apply pressure to the little pieces where you applied adhesive.

8. Once dry, lift the word back out using a pair of tweezers. The small pieces in the loops of the letter should remain in place on the card - see photos below.

9. Apply small pieces of foam tape to the back of the die cut word - this is where you realise why it's necessary to use such big letters!

10. Remove the backing paper from the foam tape and position the word directly over the cut out. Press firmly into place.

11. If you have extra small pieces, such as the little dot over the letter "i", you can either apply some dimensional glue or a tiny piece of foam tape to secure it in place. If it's too fiddly, just glue it directly into the space.

And that's it, you're done!

Stamps: Nancy's Garden

Die: by Uniquely Creative

All photographs and written instructions are copyright Beccy Muir.

All rights reserved.