As promised...a ShortCuts review!! (and a little Twilight goodie)

First, the background. I commented on this card in the SCS gallery about a month ago and stated "and bravo for the acetate card!! I haven't been brave enough to do one yet!"...which was the complete, unadulterated truth.

(*Confession time: though I love the look on clear elements and am constantly amazed by the things ever-so-clever crafters are able to do with them...they scare(d) me.*)

That card, though, was the right one to comment on...the card's creator, Alicia, sells the acetate card bases online at ShortCuts, sister website to SheetLoadof Cards. She saw my comment, and was wonderful and gracious enough to offer to send me a sample pack...

I'll definitely be ordering more!

Alicia, you have a clear-card-convert on your hands! True, they do require a bit of cleverness on how you attach elements, and cover up your adhesive, but I think that challenge is unbelievably fun, now that I've done it. If you haven't tried a clear card yet, take the plunge. You *really* won't regret it! This card is probably my most favorite that I have *ever* made. Really.

It has serious "Wow" factor with the acetate, and I love the dimension of looking through all those layers...check it out:
For this card, I started by choosing the 'Frosted Card Blank', and was immediately impressed. The acetate is very thick and sturdy, pre-scored for folding, and has a wonderful finish. I stamped the front of my card with Unity's Distressed Dots background using Stazon Cotton White. I stamped and cut out the Butterfly from the September KOTM, sponged it with Not Quite Navy, Wild Wasabi, and some Rose Red, and adhered it to a circle of So Saffron CS with foam mounting tape. I also adhered a scalloped circle frame of Wild Wasabi CS using the foam tape. (I made the frame by cutting the center circle first with my Coluzzle, then punching the scalloped circle around it).

Inside, I backed the circle with an Apricot Appeal oval and a punched Whisper White scalloped oval, stamped with the sentiment and the same butterfly image. On fantastic perk of working on the acetate...I originally put this on upside-down. :oops!: I easily pulled it off, turned it over, and re-attached with no worries of tearing the card or the oval!
I cut the same size oval from Whisper White for writing my message, and attached it inside the card. FYI: One thing I will remember next time (if I can get myself to plan that much) will be to attach the panel for the inside *first*, so that it's easy to line up the front panels.

Since the sample pack Alicia sent to me had both the clear and the frosted product, I decided next to make something with the clear sheet. (Twilight fans...hope you enjoy!) *wink*
I made a favor box using the clear sheet in the sample pack. (Note: I'm not sure, but I think you can order the 'clear card blanks' and have a pre-scored panel. The one in the sample pack was not scored, which was perfect for this project.)

I began by cutting the acetate sheet with my paper trimmer (worked perfectly!) per the tutorial instructions on SCS, and then scored it with my Scor-Pal. The scoring also went *perfectly*, and produced clean, crisp scores without any effort. I was worried at first that the product would be too thick to stay in the Scor-Pal's grooves, or that it would slip, but both were proved unfounded! Worked like a charm...
I decided to stamp the front and back triangles with the Royal Day background from Unity, again using Stazon Cotton White. Another joy of working with the acetate...it's clear, so I turned the stamp and the box upside-down, and was able to line up the image perfectly through the box! *smiles*
This time I didn't worry about being able to see the Glue Dots on the other side of the package, since it'd be inside and the receiver will be distracted by the chocolate. *wink* The apple image is from Unity's Mix-Up of Cuteness kit, and is also available as a single until 11/21 at 12 noon Central time. I stamped it in black, colored in the image with Real Red ink, and then put a HEAVY layer of red Stickles over all the red. It dried slightly raised, very sparkly, and covered the 'core' (which was what I wanted). Here's another picture of the finished favor box, with a close-up of the apple:
I love the sparkle of being able to see the kisses through the box!

Verdict: A+++, 5 stars, highly recommended!! Go to the website and order some for yourself! *wink*

Thanks for stopping by today!
~Michelle

Supplies used (Butterfly Card):
Paper: Frosted acetate card blank (ShortCuts); Apricot Appeal, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White CS (SU!)
Ink: Close to Cocoa, Apricot Appeal, Wild Wasabi, Not Quite Navy, Rose Red (SU!)
Stamps: Distressed Dots, September KOTM (Unity Stamp Co.)
Other: Foam tape (3M); Glue Dots; punches (Marvy Uchida); Coluzzle cutting system; ribbon; makeup sponges

Supplies used (Twilight favor box):
Paper: Clear acetate panel (ShortCuts); Real Red, Very Vanilla CS (SU!)
Ink: Stazon Jet Black (Tsukineko); Real Red (SU!)
Stamps: Mix Up of Cuteness apple (Unity Stamp Co.)
Other: Punches (Marvy Uchida); Coluzzle cutting system; Paper piercer (Tim Holtz for Tonic Studios); ribbon