Project of the Week ~ Creating A Woven Chevron Background With Dies

Hello stampers. Kathy, The Crafty Nurse back for a fun “how’d you do that” technique using fishtail dies for this months project of the week at The House that Stamps Built! It looks difficult, but is actually super easy. As we are fast approaching 4th of July, I used a patriotic theme.

Lets get started!

For this project the supplies you’ll need are:
Die Cutting Machine, any type
Flag or chevron type die
Design Paper or Colored Card Stock
Cardbase
Washi or Low Tack Tape
Liquid Glue, I used Tombow Mono Liquid
Craft Tweezers
Dye Ink, I used Hero Arts Shadow in Royal Red
Repeat Impressions Stamps of your choice, I used: 3702-G, USA

To begin, choose a die that has a 90 degree angle. I happen to have a set of 4 dies from Sunny Studios called “Fishtail Banners” but you can use the other style I’ve shown here by My Favorite Things called, “stitched edges” or even an actual flag die as long as it’s large enough.

Next, temporarily tape together two of the dies to create your chevron. You can make it any size you like. To make it bigger, simply add more space between each die. The middle channel between the two cutting edges is the size of the chevron you’ll get.

Now it’s time to cut. Align the center point of the die with the middle of a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 inch piece of design paper or card stock. This is a perfect size for this particular die as it extends to both ends but if it’s smaller or bigger, you can just trim to the desired size.

Here is the size of the chevron I’ve cut.

For the next cut, simply place the dies on the edge and repeat. This keeps the size of the chevrons the same.

Okay - now for the assembly. Simply interlock the two alternating colors in an under/over pattern.

Then decide how large of a center opening you want by placing your chevrons on a 4 1/4 x 5 1/5 inch piece of card stock.

It’s now time for some glue. It’s much, much easier if you use liquid glue so you can adjust your pieces. I grasp the two chevron’s together and using a fine tipped bottle, add my glue.

I then begin placing the chevrons using craft tweezers. You can alternate under and over patterning, but honestly, it really doesn’t matter. Just make sure you get realatively regular placement.

Continue laying down the chevrons until you have the outcome you like. You can add a few, or fill up the whole page, it’s totally up to you.

Here’s my final card.

Thank you much for joining me here today at The House That Stamps Built blog. Let me know if you have any questions and I hope you’ll stop by my blog and subscribe at The Crafty Nurse.