It's almost impossible to even read the title of this blog without effecting a cod Hollywood Cornish accent in a 'Long John Silver' Style with it's accompanying facial contortions and for that I apologise.
Everywhere you look on the high street these days whether it be fashion, home décor, gift wrap Kids clothes the nautical theme is everywhere. I wanted to pay homage to that using my trusty Framelits circle dies and a couple of products from Tim Holtz' May releases.
For the record the dies/folders used are:
- Sizzlits Decorative Strip Die - Boardwalk by Tim Holtz (659427)
- Texture Fades Embossing Folders - Drapery & Woodgrain Set by Tim Holtz (659450)
- Sizzix Framelits Die Set 8PK - Circles#2 (658604)
I started by embossing two rectangles of Kraft card using the woodgrain folder, next I cut them into strips (or planks if you prefer?) of varying length and width. I coloured the planks using pale green acrylic, I used a dry brush technique allowing the base colour to show through.
Once dry, I used a brayer to apply magnolia emulsion and yes folks, that is a match pot paint sample from a DIY shop in the background, handy stuff and very cost effective too.
Finally, to add a little weathered effect I watered down some brown acrylic and gently splattered the paint onto the planks.
If you have never used acrylic paints then a great place to start is with Tim Holtz' Disterss Paint daubers, they are a fabulous range of colours and really easy to use.
Next, I needed a Lifebuoy so I turned to my old faithful Framelits Circles and placed them face up onto my cutting mat placed over my magnetic platform which is a brilliant piece of kit if you need to get perfect registration with your wafer thin dies. I cut through two layers of kraft card at the same time ensuring I got two identical rings.
I used my brayer to thinly apply the magnolia emulsion allowing the base colour to show through slightly. I then used the same technique to apply red acrylic closely followed by orange.
The great thing about these techniques is that they are completely random and always look great even if you have little experience you will get great results every time.
Once dry, I cut the red/orange ring in quarters attaching two of them to the white ring. Next I wrapped a length of hemp string four times around the ring where the red and white quarters meet and repeated at each junction . Finally, I attached another length of string to the rear with my glue gun.
I attached the planks to an ivory base card (17 x 13cm) using double sided tape and 3D foam pads as shown below.
Firstly, I have to say how much I LOVE this alphabet die, it's hitting the shops as we speak so get them while they're hot! I die cut the letters from kraft card and coloured them with the brayer using the magnolia acrylic in a really thin layer. I darkened the edges using the Walnut Stain Distress Ink pad applied with a foam blending tool and attached them to the base card using tiny pieces of 3D foam pad.
Here is the finished card, you can almost smell the sea!
I love using the wood texture folders in this way, and it's just one of many ways of getting the best from your embossing folders, a theme which I'm sure I will be returning to time and again!
