Sunday, June 23, 2013

Two Full Card Hexagons = An Optical Illusion

Hi There!

I've been working on a really fun card this weekend and I'm excited to share it with you! I've also included a tutorial for ya. :)

I received a Simon Says Stamp order last week and in with the goodies was their Full Card Hexagons Die. I've wanted this die since I first saw it and finally decided I just needed to order it. 

So, I had cut out a couple of them and was playing around and came up with something really cool and fun! Here's my card.


 I used two Full Card Hexagons Dies. Cool huh? Here's how I did it:


 First, die cut two Full Card Hexagons.



Adhere them together (slightly off center to create cubes) by adding glue all along the edges.



You end up with overlapping ends, so just cut these off with a scissors.



Make sure you save one of these end pieces. . . . .



. . . .because you'll need it to cover up the one edge that does not look finished.


Just cut the saved end across so there is a tiny strip left and. . . . .



. . . . .adhere the strip along that unfinished edge.



Now take the whole panel and adhere it to a piece of white cardstock, which has been cut to the same size.



Here's what it looks like - all ready to be colored!



Then color in the cubes using colored pencils. NOTE: Markers or watercolor pencils are not a good idea because they are easily transferred to the raised edges of each hexagon. Don't ask me how I know this - DUH! :)

I hope you enjoyed the tutorial! And if you own this die, give this fun idea a try - it was time consuming, but I love the result! 

Here's another look at the finished card. The sentiment is from the Simon Says Stamp, Square Sayings stamp set. I very carefully cut it apart to fit my design. I also added three little orange, sparkly hearts near the bottom.


Keep looking at the card and blink a few times. Do the cubes change for you after a couple of blinks? Sometimes I see them as right-side-up and sometimes I see them as upside down. It's a fun optical illusion!

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you all have a wonderful week! :)

78 comments:

Ardyth said...

AWESOME! Love the geometry and fresh colours!

Betty said...

love how this turned out - the other day i was stacking a bunch of chevron die cuts i had made and discovered that those used the same way make a neat design - only i didn't do anything about it like you did!

LauraJane:) said...

WOWOWOWO!! I love this:)
Thanks for sharing how you did this Barb!

Sue McRae said...

This is such a brilliant idea Barb! Thanks for sharing.

Jackie said...

Brilliant! I love this card and I will have to give this a try soon.

Lynn said...

Barb! What an amazing idea...I'm always blown away by creative minds...and you knocked it out of the park today. This is so cool!

Tracey McNeely said...

Barb this is stinkin' amazing! Wow this gets my vote for the most creative twist of the year! Completely blown away by this. I stared at your card for a long time before moving down the post to see what you did and I could not figure it out. Beautiful, funky and perfect, I have to try this out.

Brenda said...

Oh Barb! How totally awesome! I think I might have this same die from PTI! Have to give it a try, thanks for sharing the step by step! Amazing end result!!!

walchowDesign said...

Genious idea, Barb! Love how the card turned out and it looks amazing!

Kristie Goulet said...

I LOVE this! Thanks for sharing the tutorial!

Wendy G. said...

Brilliant idea and my hexagon die is on it's way to my house as I am writing this! Yay!

Nancy said...

I think YOU are brilliant, Barb! I LOVE this card. Such a creative work, and thank you for the tutorial!

rcwidow (Linda) said...

Very creative and fun!

judkajudi said...

You are smarter than my smart phone!! I have a die similar to this ... I must try it ... Great card!!

Sabrina said...

Just absolutely AMAZING!! I have also been wanting to get this die since I first saw it and now I am really going to have to get!!

CinnamonSally said...

Fabulous card Barb, love how you adapted the dies!!

Pat said...

What a GREAT card and a GREAT idea, too!!!

Karin Ã…kesdotter said...

So cool! Thanks for sharing! Now I want that die too (-;
Hugs!!!

Carol McCready said...

Sensational. Great card.

maria f. said...

What a great discovery! Love the geometrics and your bright colors.

Lisa said...

Barb, this is one of the coolest things I have seen in a long time! LOVE how you did this! I was watching your awesome tutorial thinking to myself...why didn't I think of that?? Kudos to you!
Love your card- you could do it up a thousand ways and your sentiment suits it perfectly :)XXX

Clare said...

Wow! What an AMAZING idea, Barb! I love it! And how you used the orange - awesome (I'm so bad with orange ;))) Adorable finishing sentiment!

Martha said...

WOW...WOW...WOW...this is one very CLEVER & FABULOUS idea, Barb! Thanks for the step-by-step tutorial! I love the BEAUTIFUL card you created!
Thanks!

Cat Craig said...

Stunningly brilliant. Awesome...how many more adjectives can I use? Thanks so much for sharing. Love the happy bright feeling this card gives.

Scrumplescrunch said...

Hello Barb
Well I have had another reminder of my quilting days; The Baby Block Pattern!
Absolutely brilliant,it looks fabulous.
Your colour palette is bright and happy, and most definitely bring some sunshine into the recipients day. A most contemporary card with a unique design, you have opened many eyes with the use of these dies Barb.
Great tutorial as well, I am so impressed.
Smiles:)
Sue

Isha Gupta said...

OMG!!! This is just STUNNING Barb!!! Love it and thanks for the tutorial too.

Joy said...

WOW WOW WOW!! Fabulous Barb, hugs

Linda W. (ScrappinBari) said...

What a fabulous idea, Barb - just love how you used that die! I enjoyed staring at the card and watching the cubes change - lol!!

Unknown said...

WOWZA WOWZA BARB!!! Amazeballs!

joy said...

Ditto to all of the above, Barb!! I, like Sue, immediately thought of the baby blocks pattern for quilting when I saw this. So very clever and your sentiment on the card is perfect for YOU. Love this!!

Kara Lynne said...

I loved every bit of this post from the card to the tutorial process and back again! Not only is this clever, but the colors and the way you cleanly finished it with your sentiment is perfect.

Pam W Merwin said...

AMAZING, Barb! Love how this turned out and great colors - thanks for the tutorial :)

Cornelia (fun stamping) said...

Supercool, I wish I had a hexagon die cut plate.......

Dawn T said...

wow Barb. What a stunning card and thanks for sharing how you did it. It's awesome.

pcm said...

love it! what a discovery!

Nat said...

really awesome Barb, love your tutorial and these dies! thanks for sharing this technique!!! :)

Nat said...

Sorry, also I wanted to mention your card is very modern and cool, love your design! :) !!!!

Judy1223 said...

Oh my HEAVENS, Barb! How AMAZING is THIS!?! Very, very cool...must try this!

Helen F. said...

Barb, this design is awesome! Thanks for the tutorial on this fun card full of hexies :)

Pippa67 said...

Wow Barb, I just love what you made. Such a great idea.

cheiron said...

This is amazing Barb!!!! What a fabulous idea.

Deb Walker Deb Stamps Life, LLC said...

WICKED fun Barb! Great tutorial too!

alexandra s.m. said...

absolutely Brilliant!!
TFS~

Cindy C. said...

Wow how clever is that!!! Great photo tutorial Barb!!

Rachel said...

this. is. SO. cool!!!! awesome idea, i cant wait to try it! thanks for sharing with us :)
-Rachel w k
rwkrafts.com

Greta said...

My jaw dropped when I saw this card, Barb--incredible! Love how you did the sentiment, too--perfection!

nedergaard ( Lissy ) said...

It is such a beautiful card you made ... nice design with all the little cubes and you have colorized it in beautiful colors.

I take time off from flick'r and my blog for the next 6 weeks, becauce we have bought a new house and have to move :-))
My scrap room will be packed up and not be ready again in about 6 weeks, in our new house :-)

Therefore, I wish you a great summer and good summer holiday till we meet again,
Hugs, Lissy

Anonymous said...

This is THE MOST AWESOME idea! Thanks so much for sharing your steps to make this cool card. :-)

Kathy (krolski) said...

Very cool card Barb!! Awesome idea!!

MarcyK924 said...

BRILLIANT, my friend! I wonder if there are any other dies you can do that with! My eyes are going wonky - woo hoo! LOVE the tut!

Deepti said...

oh my goodness... I missed this creation :( simply because I was not a follower but now I am.... this is such a great card, Love the geometry, colors and idea. I am big fan :)

stamplover2011 said...

Wonderful card, Barb! You are so clever!

Unknown said...

OMG! Gorgeous. This reminds me of a quilt we received as a gift when we were married. Love this and the color combinations are endless. Love.

Robin K. said...

Well worth the effort my friend! This is sooooooo cool!!!

Theresa said...

Absolutely BRILLIANT, Barb!!!! Thanks for the awesome tutorial!!

Michelle said...

What a cool idea, Barb! I would never have thought of this, it's so clever! Thanks for the tutorial! :-)

Maureen Morton said...

Tricky, tricky, tricky, Barb! Wow - amazing that you figured this all out and produced such a wonderful and unique card! It is like an Escher print, only lots more colorful. How kind to share your genius, too. Hugs!

Virginia L. said...

SO sorry that I am quite late to comment on your BIG discovery, Barb!As you know I was kind of "busy" (wink)!! What a beautiful and original card! I think SSS should PAY you to do a commercial for them!So glad that you share how you did it! That's why it's important to just "PLAY"!! You rock, my friend!!!!!

stampingandstitching said...

Wow Barb, gorgeous card and how incredibly creative - I was wondering how on earth you made the tumbling blocks patterns out of a hexagon die! Thanks for the great tutorial!

Cindy Groh said...

That's cool. Sorry to read about your bee sting. Are you sure your not allergic to them? Best wishes for a fabulous day.
Ps that design reminds me of an 80's video game. It would be great idea for a boy card maybe. Just thinking out loud.

Vikki H said...

I've been browsing your blog after today's HA summer blog hop. what a wonderful card - I bought a triangle coverplate die but may need the hexagon after seeing your inspiration.

Cristina said...

This is GENIUS. Pure genius.

Jennifer said...

This is fabulous. Thanks so much for the tutorial.

Caren B said...

Awesome! Love this.

Janet a.k.a. swanlady21 said...

O so clever - congrats on being spotted!

conil said...

You must be some kind of genius. What an amazing card. Thanks for the tutorial, gonna try it. Fabulous.

Unknown said...

What a great idea & thanks for the tip about markers and watercolor pencils. I'm sure I would have tried that otherwise. ;)

Jacqui Blondel said...

Fabulous idea. It looks amazing

Helen F. said...

SOOOO cool, Barb! Love this optical illusion :)

Katie said...

Any acclaim that you get for this is well deserved. WOW and AMAZING have been used many times, but until another word is invented, they will have to suffice.
Thank you for sharing your amazing talents with us.

Pam from Maine said...

How great is this! Very creative. Thank you so much for sharing.

judkajudi said...

Congrats on being spotted by Simon Says today!! This was genius!!

Mary Ann said...

AWESOME!!!Love your card!Very pretty!!!Congrats!!!

bbunch said...

Your creativity is amazing--how did you see a totally different design by using 2 identical dies? What a beautiful card!

deesdesigns said...

I think this is the most creative thing I've EVER seen using dies - I have got to try this! Thanks so much for sharing this fabulous idea!!!

Anonymous said...

Rightly so, because it is so AWESOME. Thanks for showing us how you did it.

Maureen said...

Wow! Awesome card and thanks for the tutorial! You are a creative genius!!

I Card Everyone said...

Browsing around blog-land and found myself here, Barb on your wonderful blog. WOW am I glad I did... this is totally amazing. Again, I wish we were neighbors =] Michele