Hello Folks! Scott here with a NEW release in Spellbinders’ Classic Mouse Collection! We have the Classic Mouse Graduation Die Set and the Classic Mouse Graduation Sentiments Press + Foil Plate + Die set. Just in time for all those spring Graduations!
So far, in addition to the original Steamboat Willie Duo Die Set, the Classic Mouse Collection has released Christmas add-ons, and a Love collection (Valentine), and now we get to see our Classic Mouse Graduate! What sets this collection apart from the other add-ons is this die set is all inclusive – it does NOT require having the Steamboat Willie Duo die set like the Christmas and Love accessories dies required. There is one body and head and then you can select whether to make the mouse a boy or a girl graduate.
The mouse dies are complimented with this Press + Foil Plate + Die set. The Graduation Tassel is the perfect image to give to a Press + Foil Plate – the detail in that tassel is incredibly fine! And I do love the fact that apparently, many people are making their Foil Plates and their BetterPress Plates interchangeable. That saves us consumers money and was just the incentive I needed to jump on the BetterPress bandwagon!
My only conundrum with this new release was wrapped up in my own school colors – Black and Gold for High School and Black and Yellow at College. I also did a search for graduation pictures and the vast majority of graduation gowns are Black! There are a few Blues, Greens and Reds, but most everybody’s gown is Black. So how does a black robe look on a Black mouse body…? Hmmmm…! I decided to embrace the “Classic Mouse” theme and made my first graduate Mouse in shades of Grey!
There is an assembly guide available at Spellbinders for some helpful guidelines in putting your graduates together.
I do prefer to skip the “mouth” die and die-cut the tongue with the head die to paper-piece it into place. Also, remember that all of the dies are designed to leave a thin black outline around everything. Also, the front of the robe die also cuts that piece in half right where the zipper would go… I did find it much easier to line the gown up to the body (and the debossed guideline) by taping the two halves together. AND… make sure you get the tails between the robe layers!
I do have a nephew that is graduating from High School next year… and he goes to my old Alma Mater! So Black and Gold it is! The lining on my actual graduation gown was black, but I felt that making the lining Gold would be a great way to add some color and dimension to this robe, while still staying true to the school colors! That would work for adding any school colors to these graduates! There are also two new hands with this die set that has the left hand reaching out to accept a diploma. With a little finesse, you can get the fingers to “wrap” around the diploma! I love the tennis shoes too, but I do think you should start the assembly with the shoes lest they get in the way of the robe.
I used card stocks from my paper scraps to die-cut all the mouse parts and glued the mouse together. I used my Glimmer Hot Foil System from Spellbinders, Gold Foil and Hero Arts Pitch Black card Stock to foil the sentiment and the graduation tassel. I die-cut them both with their matching dies. I die-cut the year from Pitch Black and Goldenrod card stocks and glued them together. I die-cut two more blanks for the sentiment and the background of the numbers and stacked them up for more dimension.
I cut a piece of plain Ivory card stock to 4″ x 5.25″ and partially die-cut (just the right side) the tassel on the right side of the card stock. Then I glued the die cut tassel to the matching cut edge on the ivory card stock. I cut a piece of plain Black card stock to 4 & 1/8″ X 5 & 3/8″ and glued that behind the Ivory before gluing both to an A2 White card base. (I did have to trim off a bit of the tassel on the bottom right). I wanted a little grounding for our mouse so I used the plate die (from the MMH September 2018 kit) and and did a top/bottom partial die-cut to give me the medium Grey ellipse under the graduate. I glued the sentiment and year in place and added our graduate with foam tape. I do glue the tip of his tail down to keep it from getting caught on anything.
I die-cut the graduation cap charm from some Tim Holtz Champagne Metallic card stock and I die-cut the ring on top of the charm a second time and used that partial ring to attach the charm to the tassel. Gold and Black flat sequins adds some festive sparkle and highlights the sentiment. I did add a gold-foiled and die cut “You Did It!” to the inside of this card. Now, I’m way ahead of the game, and I am all set for the nephew’s graduation NEXT year!
If you have any pearlescent card stocks in your stash I think they are perfectly suited to a cap and gown for graduation!
Since I have a colored robe here, I figured we could do a regular Black and White mouse. Again, I used card stock scraps for all the die-cutting. I did use Gina K. Wild Dandelion card stock for the background. I used my BetterPress System and BetterPress Black ink to emboss the sentiments on the background. Unfortunately, I got the “Congrats grad!” sentiment just a little bit crooked, so I re-did that sentiment, and the “bravo!” and the “so proud of you” sentiments on the same card stock used for the stole and tassel, and die-cut them all out with their matching dies. At least the “Class of” sentiment came out straight!
I stenciled the sunburst (lightly) behind our mouse with the Sun Stencil from the MMH February 2024 Premium Kit and Fossilized Amber Distress oxide ink. That gives a little highlight to our graduate! I die-cut the background panel to 5″ x 3.75″ with a Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangle die and added a (5.25″ x 4″) black mat and glued those to an A2 White card base. I glued the die cut sentiments flat (over their pressed sentiments) and glued the year in place.
I added the mouse in place using foam tape, and I added the die cut “so proud of you” sentiment on the inside of the card. I die-cut a Black banner using the Lawn Fawn Everyday Sentiment Banners die set, trimmed it to length, and glued the sentiment on top. Love using pearlescent card stock on the cap and gown! No Bling Needed!
The Classic Mouse Graduation Sentiments Press + Foil + Die Set is terrifically useful for graduation cards all by itself! No graduating mice needed!
The tassel die is so detailed and works great with the BetterPress plates. I used a Porcelain BetterPress Cotton Card Panel to press (stamp) the tassel four times using Ranger Archival Inks in Deep Purple, Manganese Blue, Monarch Orange, and Vermillion. Any pigment ink you have will work with the BetterPress plates… you don’t have to use the BetterPress inks. I trimmed the pressed (stamped) panel to 3.75″ x 5″ with a HA Rectangle Infinity Die, added a thin Black mat and glued those to a White card base.
The sentiments are Glimmer foiled with Gold on Pitch Black card stock and die-cut with their matching dies. The year is die-cut from Pitch Black and Gold Metallic card stocks and glued together. The sentiments and date are glued flat to the card front and I added an assortment of clear star glitter pieces for some graduation sparkle! I actually intended this to be a 2026 graduation card, but I guess I was too focused on getting the date glued down straight and square, and forgot to pay attention to whether the numbers were right side up or upside down! Hopefully, one of my nieces or nephews will be graduating in 2029!?! HA!
As you know, I am not the greatest fan of die-cutting, but this Classic Mouse Series has me totally captivated… and the simple fact that this is a stand alone set makes it a terrific addition to this line! No extras needed!!
This is a great trio of graduation cards…! The cap and gown for the mice are flat out adorable, the tassel Press + Foil die is amazing all by itself, and I love the numbers with their shadow dies – those should prove quite useful over the years! If you’d like to grab these all inclusive sets for yourself, please use the links below! I do make a small commission from whatever you buy through my links at Spellbinders, and that helps keep the wheels churning and the inspiration coming! It is (as always) supremely appreciated!
Classic Mouse Graduation Die Set: https://www.dpbolvw.net/click-101337132-15861759?url=https%3A%2F%2Fspellbinderspaperarts.com%2Fcollections%2Fclassic-mouse-graduation%2Fproducts%2Fclassic-mouse-graduation-etched-dies
Classic Mouse Graduation Sentiments Press + Foil + Die Set: https://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-101337132-15861759?url=https%3A%2F%2Fspellbinderspaperarts.com%2Fcollections%2Fclassic-mouse-graduation%2Fproducts%2Fclassic-mouse-graduation-sentiments-press-foil-plate-die-set
Classic Mouse Graduation I Want It All Bundle: https://www.tkqlhce.com/click-101337132-15861759?url=https%3A%2F%2Fspellbinderspaperarts.com%2Fproducts%2Fclassic-mouse-graduation-i-want-it-all-bundle%3F_pos%3D7%26_sid%3D4a11b9d4f%26_ss%3Dr
Thank you so much for sharing some time with me today… I hope you enjoyed another mid-month diversion as I keep exploring the Simple Stories Classic Mouse collection! If you enjoyed this post, please click the Like Star at the bottom of the page, and if you wish to be notified when a new post comes out, just click the Follow Me at the top of the page. And don’t hesitate to send me a note if you have any comments or questions. Please take a moment to Like Me, List Me, Pin Me, Post Me, basically, just share this post with all your crafty friends – especially any Disney Fans! And remember… Don’t run with scissors! As always, I send You and Yours Love and Light, and Happy Crafting!!
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CardCut-ups 