Rainbow crafting

Rainbows, though popular since the beginning of time, can be a very hard detail to find for your paper crafting. If you are looking for a stamp (it took me years to find one decent one), you can now find them in a variety of brands, if you are looking for an embellishment it can be a little harder. When Sizzix first introduced the nesting dies, circle was number one on my list, because, as soon as I saw those nesting dies, I saw a rainbow. Of course, I had been on a rainbow track mind at the time, but all my rainbow issues were solved!
Recently, I have been over joyed by the amount of fantastical items available for the crafter. With that has come a new availability of the mystical, elusive element of the rainbow. (As a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, I can direct you to one particular stamp/cutting set in the 2018 Occassions Catalog; page 33, there is a stamp set (145821), a die (145659), or the money saving combo (145983) Sunshine &Rainbows.) Lawn Fawn carries a die, Mamma Elephant has a stamp/die set, you could even draw one yourself.  Of course, as a demonstrator, SU! is my personal favorite. But here, we are just going to make our own!

 Let's start with your coordinating papers, choose the colors you want, pastels, brights, etc. Make sure your largest piece is no bigger than your project space, be it card, scrapbook page, or something equally fabulous. Here, I used some Adhesive Matstacks from Die Cuts With a View. I love these, however, for maximum adhesion you always want to burnish the paper with the back of your thumbnail or a bone folder.
Next, tape the dies you chose on twos sides, to avoid sliding. Do this with each color, using the last 'rings' smaller size as the next 'rings' bigger                                       

size. Here's the kicker though; you don't need any of that. If you don't have a Sizzix you can use circular objects, ascending in size, and some scissors. Get various cups and lids or for a big project, get various plates. You just have to draw the circle lightly and stay on track. Use the item that was the smaller circle for red as the larger circle for orange, and so on. here is my completed set of rings:

This rainbow is full circle!

Decide where to cut. You can have for mini rainbows, three fairly decent rainbows, or two full rainbows.

For my projects I decided on one regular rainbow and two mini rainbows.  I folded each ring in half and creased and cut. By covering the ends with a cloud you don't have to see any mistakes made during the cutting. I cut the other half into fourths the same way. One of those fourths I added tape along the edge to cut it into a more tapered shape, removed the tape, and had a more appropriate look for the circular card. Had I decided to cut in thirds I probably would have used a rotary blade, so as not to ruin the line up.  I also used the leftover circles to make a fun baby card! My final results are ready to view.

I couldn't resist sneaking in at least one SU! set! Here are some lovely cards using the Magical Day stamp set (145854 wood or 145857 clear). I also used the coordinating die set Magical Mates (145660); really, one could just fussy cut around the images. On the inside of the ring stacker card it says "welcome little one; we're going to have so much fun!". I hope you enjoyed, may you be inspired to play!