New Ultra ShapeXpress templates - Part One

When we launched our most recent collection of Ultra ShapeXPress templates, the ideas generated from our designers were astounding.  This team took the templates and created amazing projects in ways that are beyond what you might expect.  We hope you are as inspired by them as we are!

I’m in love with the new Bracket and Journal template, and find myself reaching for it often.  For this card, I’ve put a slight twist on one of the journaling shapes by turning it into a tag.  I used the template along with my Ultra ShapeXPress tool to cut out the rectangle with rounded corners, and then I cut the bottom straight across.  I added half of a circle punched with my PopUp Circle punch, punched a hole in the top of the tag with my 1/8 circle hand punch and then tied a bow through the hole. I added a thin strip of contrasting patterned paper to the bottom of the tag and stamped with with a sentiment from the Thank You clear stamp set before zigzag stitching along the seam of the papers.

I wanted to embellish my new tag, so I used the Woodland Tree USX template to cut 8 leaf shapes from patterned paper. I punched a circle from scrap paper using my M Round N Round Squeeze punch and attached four leaves on the circle as shown.  Next, I added the remaining four leaves, staggering them against the first layer.

 I punched a circle from vintage paper using my PopUp Circle punch, and then used the Woodland Tree USX template to cut a smaller circle from green paper.  I layered the circles and added them to the center of my flower.

Now that the tag was finished, I created a quick card as a background.  I made a 4.25x4.25in card with kraft cardstock, and added some patterned paper and an Apron Lace punched border.  I zigzag stitched between the two papers, and then added my tag to finish the card.

Designer: Patti Milazzo
Whenever I get a new shape template from Fiskars, I like to turn it in different directions to see what I can imagine beyond its original intent.  It’s kind of like when you look up at the clouds to see what animals or objects you can make of them.  So when I turned the Cupcakes shape template upside down, the first thing I imagined were cute little cottages!  With that, I thought of the home sweet home signs you might see at craft shows and my project idea was born. 

I started by covering the background space with blue patterned paper and narrow curved strips of green for the grass. To create the cottages, I cut out the cupcake bodies to use as both the cottages and their roofs.  I varied them from house to house for variety.  I used the candle shape for chimneys for two of the houses.  I cut out two hearts for the center cottage and used the Adhesive Foam Dots to give it dimension.  The doors are made with the oval from the Woodland Tree Shape Template and the windows are created with the Medium Block Party square punch. 

To make the topiary trees, I cut out several of the flower shapes from the Cupcakes and Shapes and Flowers Templates and layered them.  The trunks for the topiaries are also made from the candle shape.  The tiny birds are created using the small circle shape for the body and 2 candle flames for both the beak and the wing.  The clouds were made with one of the icing shapes from the template.  I cut 4 from white vellum and layered them above the cottages.

Finally, I cut letters from the Letters-3 Template for my title and substituted the “O” with the heart from the Cupcakes Shape Template.  And I used the Adhesive Foam Dots on these Hearts as well.  And that’s it! 

So next time you get a new template, start turning it all around and see what new ideas you find.  Have fun!

DESIGNER: Susan Weinroth

When asked to create something “unique” from the various new Fiskars shape templates, I was excited to go beyond my normal comfort zone and channel some extra creativity!  I started by cutting my little love-birdies from the Woodland Tree template.  To create my birds’ wings, I used the Medium That’s Amore squeeze punch, and cut one punched heart in half – half of each heart equaled one wing for each bird.  I attached the wings with a small square of Fiskars foam adhesive.

My birds needed an “environment” to be in-love in on my card, and so I created “grass” out of the ribbing part of the wrapper on the Cupcakes and More Shape Template.  Simply cut a few rounds of the rib wrapper stripes from various shades of green cardstock, flip them over, and adhere to the bottom of your card base.  I machine stitched through to secure.  Gently pull down the top of each “blade” of grass for added dimension.

To create the “sky” on my card, I used the Cupakes and More Shape Template again.  I trimmed the scalloped cupcake topper shape from blue patterned paper and adhered it to my card top using foam adhesive.  Punch a sun from orange patterned paper using the XL Scalloped Seal of Approval squeeze punch, and then add a round yellow cardstock circle center (trimmed from the circle template using the Ultra ShapeXPress tool).  Arrange lovebirds in the center of your card, with a heart in between (cut from the Cupcakes and More template), and add your greeting to the bottom.

Designer: Stacey Kingman

I had so much fun making cards with these new Ultra ShapeXPress templates. My inspiration came from an unexpected place – the men in my family! I showed my husband the templates and he and my boys grabbed them and began drawing boats, people, angels, and a rocket ship. It was fun to watch them and even more fun to turn one of their designs into a card.  Although my guys were my main inspiration for the card designs, they weren’t nearly as helpful with finding the knock-knock jokes...I was completely on my own for that part.

Since the rocket is tall, I made the card 8 ½” X 3 ½”, which fits in a standard business-size envelope. I used the Journal Plates template to make the top part of the rocket, combining the top journaling box on the template with the oval-shaped one. The lower part of the rocket is from the Cupcakes template. The exhaust is layered with red Cupcakes stripes over a gray Cupcake topper shape. I used the Star Pop-up Punch to make the decorative star strip and I saved the stars to use inside with the main birthday message.

For the whale card, I layered four negative parts of the scallops from the Woodland Tree template with Foam Dots underneath to make them look three-dimensional. The whales are made from the bird shape from the same Woodland Tree template, and the funky heart is from the end of a tree branch that I cut out and closed off at the bottom. No two of these hearts can be exactly the same! I made the water coming out of the whales’ spouts from the end of a flourish on the Flourish template. I used the same technique for the water spouts that I did for the hearts – I cut the curved end of the flourish with the Ultra ShapeXpress Tool and closed the open end off with a small freehand cut. For the inside of the card, I used the negative shape from the pink whale and a scrap from the construction of the front waves. I used a punched circle dot instead of a rhinestone for the inside whale’s eye so the card would stay flat when closed. Like the rocket card, I computer-printed the knock-knock joke and adhered it with the Fiskars Tool Taxi adhesive.

The candy card was actually inspired by the scraps from the whale card. Some of my scallops had been cut, the paper flipped over, and more scallops cut in the opposite direction. When I saw how fun the scallops looked when cut right next to each other like that, I pulled out my Pinking Edgers and made fun little ends for candy wrappers. I kept this one sweet and simple (pun intended).

(We had so many great projects we created another article to hold it all.  To see those as well, click here!)

By Fiskars Design Team