In true re-cycle fashion, tie dying is back on trend! And it seems a bit more classy than the first time around, don’t you agree?

Naturally, Stampin’ Up! saw this coming and created the Spiral Dye stamp: It creates GROOVY backgrounds for cards (at 4-1/2″ x 5-3/4″, it covers a standard A2 size card front).

The COOL thing about this stamp is that when you spin the stamped image 180 degrees, you can stamp it a second time with another color and get the Tie-Dye effect! The Stamparatus tool makes it SUPER easy:

Looking at the spiral, it reminded my how often my “well-laid plans” get changed and I have to make adjustments. It happens to you, too, right? Learning to pivot and change directions is a skill that takes practice, but will help us learn to deal more smoothly with life’s unexpected challenges. Which is where I got the inspiration for this card:

Using Magenta Madness and Granny Apple Green as my colors, I stamped the Spiral Dye on a 4″ x 4″ piece of Basic White card stock, then used my trimmer to cut it into 6 random pieces before adding it to my card front. Demonstrators call it the “Scrappy Strip” technique.

To get a perfect edge around the word PIVOT (cut from the very versatile Playful Alphabet Dies), use an old fashioned compass drawing tool on the smallest width and lightly trace around the letters glued to white card stock with a sharp pencil. After fussy cutting, erase any leftover pencil marks.

The Lighthearted Lines had the perfect sentiments to go with it (PLOT TWIST!) and on the inside of the card I used another quote from the set:

Another Lighthearted Line sentiment that would have worked says, “When nothing goes right, go left”

Next I wanted to try embossing with the Spiral Dye and it worked out spectacularly:

It’s even more shiny in person!

I made you a tutorial for this one which you can download by clicking the button…and BTW, if you don’t have Silver Foil Sheets from last year’s catalog, there will be some in the August-December mini catalog coming 8/3!