Nested scalloped die cuts and stencils
I love die cuts, personal cutters, and die cutting machines, but it's nice to know that there are some things you can easily do for yourself, without needing to spend money on dies or having to drag out the machine.
In the step-by-step pictures that follow, I'll show you how to make a set of nested scallop shapes and stencils. I think you'll be surprised how simple it is, and how few materials you'll need to do the job!
The background above was made from a hand painted page of text using two sizes of the ring stencils, stippled over with white acrylic paint.
The layered flowers above and below were both made from nested shapes using today's technique.
The picture below shows all the materials you'll need to make the shapes and stencils. Are you ready for this? Just a pencil, scissors, and two pieces of heavy card stock (I used 140# Wasau). The bone folder is optional, but very helpful.
#1: First, cut one 8-1/2" X 11" piece of card stock to make two 5-1/2" X 8-1/2" halves. You'll only need one of these halves, so put the other one aside.
#2: Now valley fold the piece you're using in half along the 8-1/2" side.
#3: Turn the folded paper so that the fold is on top and the opening is on the bottom. It will measure 5-1/2" X 4-1/4". Valley fold it again, left to right.
#4: Now open out the second fold so that you have a folded piece that's 5-1/2" X 4-1/4" with the folded edge at the top, the open edge at the bottom, and a fold line running vertically down the middle. Fold up each of the bottom corners so they meet at the middle like the picture below.
If you open it back out again, it should look like the picture below.
#5: If you opened it out to look at it, fold it the corners back to the center again. Now fold both sides toward the center one more time, paper airplane style. It is bulky because the cardstock is heavy, but you can do it, and the bone folder will help you smooth the fold nicely.
Open it out a second time, and your paper should look like the picture below.
#6: Now fold the opened out paper in half, along the vertical fold in the middle so that the folded side is on your right, and the open side is on the left where my hand is in the picture below.
#7: Take your pencil and draw half-circle scallops from bottom edge to the first fold, the first fold to the second fold, the second fold to the third fold, and the third fold to about midway along the right folded edge, just like in the picture below. No need to measure anything, just eyeball it.
#8: Now do the same thing a little way down, eyeballing the distance between the top scalloped line and the one you're drawing now to keep it somewhat uniform. No need to be exactly precise.
#9: One more time. Make one more set of scallops from fold to fold as in the picture below.
#10: And once again. This will be your last set of scallops, and your paper should look like the picture below.
#11: The last thing you will draw is a semi-circle at the bottom right of your paper, from the bottom edge to the right fold, as shown in the photo below.
#12: Now it's time to cut along the line of the top scallop, right to left, from the folded edge to the open edge, as in the photo below.
If you open out both the paper and your shape, they should look like the photo below.
#13: Set the cut-out template aside, and re-fold the scalloped circle so that your pencil marks show as in the photo below.
#14: Now take your scissors and cut carefully along the next scallop line.
You should now have the template you already cut out, one scalloped ring, and one scalloped circle shape, as in the picture below.
#15: Re-fold the scalloped circle shape so that the pencil lines are again visible.
#16: Cut along the next scallop line as you did in steps 12 and 14 above.
You should now have the template you first cut out, two scalloped rings, and one scalloped circle, as in the picture below.
#17: Re-fold the scalloped circle. By now it's had a workout, but don't worry. It will hold up.
#18: This time you'll cut along the last remaining scallop line (shown below), and you'll cut out the semi-circle at the bottom as well (not pictured) .
At this point you should have the template you cut first, all four rings, and one small circle(ish) shape cut out, as in the picture below.
#19: Now it's time to get your second piece of 8-1/2" X 11" card stock, all four rings that you cut, and your pencil. Begin by tracing around the top of the large ring onto the piece of card stock.
#20: Finish tracing all of the top edges of the four rings onto the card stock.
#21: Your card stock should look something like this (below). Now cut out the shapes.
When finished, you should have four scalloped circle shapes and a dot, plus four scalloped circle rings and a scalloped circle template, as pictured below.
Put back inside the template, the rings nest together like the picture below.
Nested on top of each other, the scalloped circle shapes and the tiny circle shape look like the photo below.
If they're not as flat as you'd like them to be due to all of the opening and folding, you can iron them on a low setting. Just be careful not to burn them. I ironed mine between 2 pieces of silicone craft sheet made especially for ironing paper crafts.
Now the shapes and rings are ready to use in your art! Mix and match them, use them as templates to make more, and use them as stencils. Just be sure to have fun!
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