Gina K Designs Wreath Builder in Rectangle Orientation

Hello everyone!  I am here sharing a post using the Gina K Designs Wreath Builder Templates with a variety of Gina K Designs Stamps in a slightly different way than the traditional 4 x 4 square orientation.  Not long ago, I got the new Stamp TV Kit, "Fruits of the Season" and at the same time, I was able to get the Autumn and Holiday Wreath Builder Stamp Sets.  I've been having so much fun playing and I posted 7 different cards in the Gina K Designs and Stamp TV Facebook Group.  I got a ton of questions about how I did this rectangular card, so I have a full photo tutorial about how I did it.  Fair Warning: This is going to be a photo heavy post.  This particular technique I learned from Gina's Stamp TV YouTube Video that she had done when the Autumn Wreath Builder came out so using that as my guide, I made a few modifications to be able to use a few larger images to build my wreath so that my front panel is a full rectangle rather than the square format of the templates.  You will use the templates for the top and bottom corners but use the MISTI in the normal way to do the center parts.  You still use the Wreath Build Templates to do it, so no worries!  I took photos all along the way to show you how I do it.

The first thing I did was to pull the holly leaves from last year's Merry & Bright Stamp Set.  The kit is no longer available, but the stamps and dies are.  I'll have them linked below for your convenience.  Because this particular stamp is the size I want, I carefully cut between the leaves and the berries so I would be able to stamp in a different color, just be careful not to damage either piece of the Photopolymer.  

Start by cutting your cardstock to 4 x 5.25 inches so that it will still work with the 4-inch template.  If you haven't gotten the templates you can find them here.  They are pure genius, and you can use them with any stamps you have!  I only discovered Gina K about one year ago, but I am slowly accumulating several of her sets.  Also, with one exception, all the inks I am using today are Gina K Inks and the colors will be listed as I go along and included in the supply list below.  

To start, put your cardstock in the top vertical square orientation.  I like to use the heavy base weight card stock for this.  The end will hang out of the MISTI, but that's no big deal,   If you want to make sure the wreath goes all the way around, it's important to start in the square orientation rather than the diamond orientation. Because the Holly stamp is quite a bit larger than most of the wreath builder images, I do it first and then make the other things fit in with it.  

Place your stamp in the top left corner and stamp it.  I used Fresh Asparagus Ink and I like to double stamp it since it's in the Misti.  Before moving your cardstock, take a little finger dauber and put some darker green at the base of the leaves and soften it going about 2/3rds of the way up the Holly leaves.  I used another Pine colored Ink because I don't have the Gina K Designs Christmas Pine Ink yet.  I also feel like the Dark Sage Ink would work really well, but I don't have that one yet either.  I buy Ink Cubes almost exclusively because I can afford them faster and with large pads, I just seem to drop them on my cardstock about every time.  Since I have MS, my balance and coordination aren't the best.  Once I get all the ink cubes I want, then I buy re-inkers a few at a time.  Gina K Inks are very saturated and stamp incredibly well.  

Before you move on, CLEAN your stamp!  Because I'm using two colors of ink, I don't want any leftover of the 2nd color to get on the lighter ink pad.  So, stamp twice (if that's your preference), sponge on a bit of the darker green then clean your stamp before moving onto the second corner.  Rotate your paper 90 degrees to the left and stamp again repeating adding the darker color at the base of the leaves and moving up.  Once you have those two finished, rotate your paper 180 degrees to get the other two corners.    

Once you do that, you should have a holly in each of the four corners of the cardstock like this image on the right.  

For our next step, leaving the template in place (I use Temporary Adhesive on the corners of mine to keep it in place).  Put your cardstock into the corner like this.  Not in the corner of the template, but in the corner of the MISTI.  Now I should probably mention that I use my MISTI like a left-handed person even though I am not a lefty.  This is because Yana Smakula is the first person I saw using a MISTI and she is a lefty so that's how I use mine.  It was about a year before someone asked if I was a lefty and I realized I was using my MISTI like I was one.  Ü *Wink*

I might also mention here, that I use little silicone rubber feet on the door of my Misti so that when I set the door down, there is still a way for me to pick it up without having masking tape all over it for little handles.  I have a lot of glass surfaces in my house, so I always have different thicknesses of these little feet around.  You can find them on Amazon or sometimes at hardware stores but Amazon is cheaper and easier.  You put them on the outside of the door so that when it's open it has a little space for you to get your fingers under there and grab ahold of the door.  The ones I use are about ¼ inch thick.  I included a picture of one of them close up.  They're clear silicone and they have been a life-saver (or sanity saver as the case may be).

Anyhow, moving on to the next step, place your cardstock all the way to the corner of the Misti (not the template this time) and line up the Holly leaves at the approximate center point of the horizontal orientation.  It doesn't have to be perfect, but in order to leave a good-sized opening for the sentiment, the larger leaf should be placed as close to the edge as possible.  Stamp that the same way in two or three total layers (remember the darker green at the base of the leaves).  Rotate your cardstock panel 180 degrees and stamp again.  You should have something that looks like this.

Next, you want to add the berries.  Since I already have one with Gina K Designs Cherry Red berries, I am going to do something fun and use Plum Punch for my berries today.  The corners are easy to repeat, but you'll have to adjust for the berries on those horizontal holly leaves so stamp the corners first, remembering to start in the vertical square orientation. 

I like to use the three berries from the Holiday Wreath Builder as they are slightly bigger than the ones from the Holly leaves in Merry & Bright Stamp Set.  Once you do the corners, clean your stamp really well and reposition it for the top horizontal berries.  If you don't clean your stamp first, you might get some transfer onto your cardstock before you have it aligned properly (says the voice of experience).  Then stamp again, rotate your cardstock 180 degrees and stamp one more time.  Now your card should look something like this.

Choose your next stamp to fill in and do the exact same rotations as we did for the Holly Leaves; the four corners and then realigning in the MISTI in the horizontal orientation, then rotate 180 degrees for the flip side of that.  I used the small pine branch from the Holiday Wreath Builder.  This gets a little bit trickier so take your time and look before you ink up your stamp to make sure it is aligning how you want it to.  The get all the pine branches I wanted, and to be able to use the little poinsettia flower how I wanted, I like the top and bottom Vertical Center areas blank.

I used the larger poinsettia flower for the top and bottom and then I used the smaller flower for the center sides as you can see in this photo.  I stamped the blooms first in Passionate Pink and then using a finger dauber, sponged a bit of the Plum Punch on each one for a blend of color.  I kind of messed up the one on the right side but since I was planning to die cut the panel I decided to wait and see if it showed once the panel was cut.  Thankfully it did not show or I would have felt the need to start over.

Now we are ready to stamp our sentiment.  I used a greeting from the Gina K Designs Holly Jolly stamp set which is tall and thin so it fits perfectly with the wreath builder stamped in this way.  I heat set the panel just to make sure the inks were all nice and dry and then I used my powder tool to prep the surface of my cardstock.  Then I stamped using Versamark and Gina K Designs Fine Detail Gold Embossing Powder.  After heat setting that, I die cut the wreath panel to fit with two mats -- one cut from Gina K Designs Gold Metallic Cardstock and one from Plum Punch Cardstock.

Before adhering to a top folding vertical card base, I added Magenta Stickles to the berries and to the flower centers and set it on my window sill to let it dry overnight.

Depending on the weather outdoors and my flash, the color of the flowers is brighter.  The card above is the view that I feel is the most accurate representation of the actual colors.

A lot of what I did here was just a process of trial and error to find what worked and what didn't so get some scratch paper and practice a few times until you figure out what works for you.

Affiliate Links Used Whenever Possible

Cuttlebug Die Cutting Machine Shop at: SSS	GKD Fine Detail Gold Embossing Powder Shop at: GKD	GKD Fresh Asparagus Ink Shop at: SSS | GKD	GKD Gold Metallic Cardstock Shop at: GKD
GKD Heavy Base Weight White Cardstock Shop at: GKD	GKD Holiday Wreath Builder Shop at: GKD	GKD Holly Jolly Stamp Set Shop at: GKD	GKD Merry & Bright Stamp Set Shop at: GKD
GKD Passionate Pink Ink Shop at: SSS | GKD	GKD Plum Punch Cardstock Shop at: GKD	GKD Plum Punch Ink Shop at: SSS | GKD	GKD Wreath Builder Templates Shop at: GKD
Kokuyo Long Dot Runner Adhesive Shop at: SSS