8/2 Textured Notes dies - 3 ways

Alison Culliver
Feb 8
10 min read

Learn how to get more out of your dies with these 3 fun card designs.

Hello & welcome! I'm Alison, and I live in the beautiful city of Melbourne, Australia.

In the past, I blogged on Blogger at craftedbyalison@blogspot.com but this year I have switched to my own website to blog, write a newsletter & sell me creations in my online store. If this is your first time reading my work, welcome!

Let me share a bit about myself.

I enjoy making cards and gifts for my friends and family, and this blog is dedicated to helping you create something special for your loved ones too.

I post twice a week—on Sundays, where I typically feature a stamp set, dies, embossing folders, projects, and occasionally special Designer Series Paper (DSP), and on Wednesday evenings, where I offer techniques, colour related topics & techniques, fun folds or tools and tips.

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or suggestions. You can email me at craftedbyalison@gmail.com.

This week I created with the very versatile die set, Textured Notes. It's a set of 8 rectangle dies ranging from small to a large 13.2cm x 8cm as well as a long sentiment die. They each have detailed etchings along the edges & make it easy to spotlight images or sentiments & create beautiful cards. I have chosen to use one small die as the main focus on 3 different designs with a slightly larger one as a matte for a male card. I hope you enjoy learning about this versatile die set. If you think you need this in your craft room then you should head over to my shop & grab them as they are on the Last Chance list.

Now, here are 3 cards I created with the same die but used in 3 different ways.

Three very different cards but all have the same die as their starting point.

Now I'll go through them one at a time.

Card number 1 has a Calypso Coral base with a Very Vanilla matte embossed with the Eyelets embossing folder. I fussy cut around the flowers from a strip of Brushed With Beauty DSP & adhered it directly onto the matte.

The sentiment is from Notes & Totes & heat embossed in Copper before diecutting.

A swirl of Gold Striped Mesh ribbon was added behind the sentiment before it was added with dimensionals.

The final touch are a few Pearls of Beauty.

A nice, simple card that looks fancy without all of the hard work. I added a tiny strip of DSP to the inside & a larger strip to the back of a Very Vanilla envelope to tie it all together.

Onto card number 2.

For this card I chose Very Vanilla for the base & stamped the Lasting Linen background stamp in Basic Beige directly onto it.

I chose to use 4 different DSP papers for the shapes with a plain Very Vanilla for the sentiment.

The DSPs are Brushed with Beauty, Beautiful Bokeh & Timeless Plaid. The top & bottom are raised on dimensionals with the centre two adhered directly to the base.

Next, I stamped some flowers & leaves from the Lovely Arrangements stamp set in Calypso Coral & Old Olive, colouring in the flowers with SU100, SU1000 & Calypso Coral blends & diecut them before adding them to the reverse of the sentiment. The sentiments are also from Lovely Arrangements & are stamped in Mossy Meadow. The smaller sentiment is diecut with a tiny banner die from the Lovely Arrangements dies.

As the front is quite busy with the papers & images I chose not to add any embellishements but did stamp the inside & the envelope to match.

Now for card number 3 - a male version.

For my final card I decided to cover the front of the card with diecut pieces.

On a Crumb Cake base I added a matching base, embossed with the Beautiful Pattern folder. I diecut a variety of patterned DSPs from Timeless Plaid & Brushed with Beauty and arranged them so that they were staggered across 3 layers, similar to a brick pattern. One of the cut off sections was added to the pattern & a sentiment, from the 2026 Virtual Card Retreat exclusive stamp set, was stamped in (retired) Soft Suede on Crumb Cake raised on dimensionals & backed with a larger diecut in Mossy Meadow. ##If you would like to purchase the VCR stamp set it is available when you purchase the Virtual Card Retreat from my online store.

The final touches were some Faux Bronze Pentagons & DSP strips inside the card & on the envelope.

That's it for my creations today. I hope you enjoyed learning how to use the same dies to achieve 3 different card designs.

Now for some news from Stampin' Up®.

Stampin' Up® have many ways of shopping with a physical catalogue, online shopping & in person events. When items are about to be retired or are running low they are put on the 'Last Chance' list which means that there is limited stock & when it runs out, it's gone.

Stampin' Up® 's Annual Catalogue is sectioned it to have beginners, which is a step by step collection of materials in kits, then there is quick & easy where you select base materials & packs of pre-printed or diecut materials plus some stamp sets then there is create your way where you choose all the materials, stamps etc yourself & Create Your Way! In the quick & easy section Stampin' Up® have also provided some inspiration with a colour wheel & information of various ways to use colour combinations. I explored this in a bit more detail in some of my previous blogs on Blogspot. The other cool feature is that they provide card sketch & scrapbook layout ideas for you. This is great for any times that you need a little inspiration.

If you'd like to browse the catalogue online then click here. If you'd like a copy to hold in your hands, leaf through & put little notes all over it of what's on your wish list then shoot me an email at craftedbyalison@gmail.com or message me on my facebook page at craftedbyalison.

The mini catalogue is now available online & in printed form. There are loads of gorgeous new products in there. There's scrapbooking ideas & products, Valentines & Easter themed products and some lovely outdoor themed suites. If you'd like me to send you a copy then send me an email at craftedbyalison@gmail.com.

Stampin' Up® also have loads of additional products available only online. These are called Online exclusives & have no end date, when the stock is sold out, that's the end of it.

Stampin' Up® have a great range of Kits including crafting, card making & gift giving. There are brand new kits added to the collection every month. Click here to check them all out in my online shop. As Stampin' Up® have so many beautiful kits available I usually feature a different kit in each

Sunday blog so that you can see the range.

This week the feature kit is called Happy Happenings & is designed to celebrate happy occasions in your life. This kit creates 9 cards & is an all inclusive kit with all of the products you need to create, including stampin' spots, stamps, a stamp block & pre cut images.

Here's how Stampin' Up® describe it...

Have cards ready for life’s happiest events. With the Happy Happenings Kit, you can quickly craft cards to welcome a new baby, celebrate a wedding, or say thank you. These oval cards feature layered designs and pearlized details. Create them as shown or customise each one for the occasion.

If you feel that you need to add this to your list then click here to purchase one from my online store.

If you shop with me then there are some changes last year to the rewards program that you should know about. In the past we were able to create a host code & group together individual orders & pass on the 'hostess' benefits to customers with qualifying orders. This has now been replaced with a 'Rewards' program that gives all customers who place an order with a qualifying amount a credit of 10% of their order to use on future orders. This will be displayed during the checkout process or your order. Stampin' Up® feel that this is a fairer way of rewarding all customers.

There are some new ways to craft on offer at the moment which I will go through one at a time.

Ready?

1.Stampin' Up® held it's first ever Online Craft Class with the Traditions of Christmas craftalong & followed that up with a Brushed with Beauty Suite on November 21st and the next one is called Lovely Blossoms & is available right now! It co-ordinates with the Lovely Blossoms suite & you can order the class & suite by clicking on the links. It will be held on the 20th February. I have purchased both of the previous classes & they are a great way for you to learn from the professionals & a load of fun. The new one is on it's way to me in my latest order.

Once you purchase any of the Craft Classes you will receive an email with a link to an exclusive Facebook group when the event is hosted. Can't wait to craft along again & see what designs the team come up with!

2. Stampin' Up® held their first ever Virtual Card Making Retreat over two days recently. It was designed for experienced or advanced crafters in mind but also had a heap of tips & ideas for those wanting to explore more detailed card designing. You can still be a part of this event! To participate you just need to purchase the Retreat kit ($288AU) & this provides you with all of the materials you need & access to an exclusive FaceBook group where the videos from the event are stored. It sounds like a bit of expense but from past experience, what you take away from these type of events is well worth it. You can also download & print the pre event cutting instructions as well as having a cutting video & recordings of all of the cards that were made.

Here's some more info on how to join this retreat.

To craft along with the Stampin' Up® presenters and make 15 beautiful, all-occasion cards, you’ll want to purchase the 2026 Virtual Card Making Retreat kit. Everyone who purchases a kit will receive a link to the exclusive Facebook group where the live event will stream. We only have a limited number of kits, so make sure to order yours ASAP!

3. Starting last December, Stampin' Up® will be featuring a special 'Product of the Month' item that is only available with eligible purchases. There will be a new item every month with no clues as to what the item will be. It could be stamps, dies, papers - a complete surprise every month. You will be able to receive each month's product for just $9 when you spend $125 in one order. I have been able to order the first offering for December which is some lovely blue toned DSP & also have the January Product of the Month which is a very versatile stamp set. I will share some creations with you in future posts. The February product is now available & is a stunning DSP pack filled with Beautiful watercolours and whimsical patterns that will make beautiful projects.

You guessed it - it's also in my order & on it's way soon!

If you've thought of joining Stampin' Up® but never gotten around to it then the February joining offer may just be the one that makes up your mind.
From Feb 3rd to March 2nd you can receive the brand new Stampin' Positioner, a stamping platform tool just released by Stampin' Up®, for free!! It was available to demonstrators early but it didn't make it into my trolley. Now I have to wait with everyone else for the official release date. If you want one now, click here to join or see below for info.
In March I will be heading up to Sydney for Stampin' Up®'s annual On Stage event which is when they release their new Annual Catalogue to demonstrators. This will be my first time attending On Stage & I'm pretty excited to join hundreds of other demonstrators from all around Australia for 3 days of fun, friendship & new products. I won't be able to share any of the catalogue apart from the front cover until it is officially released to the public but I will be able to share any creations I make with products I receive at the event or in the pre-order period. More info when it's available.

Lastly, there have been lots of great items added to the clearance rack which is now called Last Chance items so make sure you check them out using this link to my online store as there are some great discounts.

P.S. if you received any Bonus Days vouchers during the January promotion, from February 3rd to 28th you can redeem them for products. Click here to visit my store & browse.

If you would like to purchase any of my creations that I feature in my blogs they can be found in my shop with today's cards available tomorrow along with lots of different designs including feminine, masculine, special occasions, everyday events, something for the juniors or you can order something unique.

I hope you've enjoyed today's post.

My next post will be on Wednesday & will feature tips on how to use the Stampin' Cut & Emboss machine. This is a great tool that I use all the time & well worth the investment.

In next Sunday's post I will be creating a double page scrapbook spread.

I hope you can join me for both of them & come back for more.

Til next take, take care & keep creating.

XX Alison

Here are some links to the products that I used today & some craft room essentials.

Shop with me

Stamps, Dies, Embossing folders & punches