No Rust for the wicked!

If I am wicked then my worst crime is the use of terrible puns in the title of my blogs as I'm sure you will all agree?

A little while back I gave a beautiful die cut 1950's car the 'rusty' treatment and I said at the time that I will use it at some point in the future. I have scrapped the car idea but I want to use the rust technique which was featured in Tim Holtz' Creative Chemistry 102 online classes...Hey! if your gonna steal, steal from the best I say!!! 

Seriously though, follow the link and sign up, it's jam packed with inspirational ideas showing how to get the best out of all your favourite inks, stains and acrylics and there's plenty of Sizzix inspiration to feast your eyes on too.

The dies I'm using this week are:

• Sizzix Movers & Shapers L Die - Tag & Bookplates by Tim Holtz (656938)
• Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 9PK - Rondeaux by Prima Marketing Inc (659706)
• Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 8PK - Pandora by Prima Marketing Inc (659705)
• Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 4PK - Winged Beauties by Prima Marketing Inc (659707)
• Sizzix Originals Die - Flourish Beautiful by Lori Whitlock (659714)

As last week, it's another mash-up of designs from different collections which work particularly well together. This week I am again using dies from Prima and Lori Whitlock with one of my old favourites namely the big ol' tag die from Tim Holtz.

I started by die-cutting four cogs two heart locks (for layering), a key (which didn't make the final project) and a delicious butterfly from ivory card. Next I lightly applied some embossing ink before sprinkling with Vintage Photo Distress Embossing Powder which is great for adding a gritty texture and works in a different way to conventional embossing powders in that it gives random coverage, ideal for distress applications.

I fixed the powder with a heat tool and inked the die-cuts with a combination of Distress inks to achieve the rusty iron look. Next I die-cut the beautiful flourish from ivory card and gave it the same rusty treatment.

I applied a rectangle of patterned paper (My Mind's Eye Nostalgia Collection) to a piece of mount board before die-cutting the tag before selectively inking around the perimeter. Next I stamped onto the top right-hand edge using various Distress inks and my trusty Dear Lizzy Lucky Charm rotary phrase stamp before stamping onto ivory card, trimming to size and distressing the edges. Finally, I attached the phrase to the tag using tiny staples.

Now all I need to do is attach the cogs and flourish to the tag, I have used screw head brads in the centre of some of the cogs. I attached the layered padlock using a couple of tiny jump rings and then I lightly inked the butterfly before curling back the wings and dousing with Clear Rock Candy Distress Glitter followed by a little strategically placed crushed glass glitter around the edges, I had to add a bit of bling with all that rust, and I love the contrast it gives.

And that, as they say....is that! except for a bit of Crinkle Ribbon dyed to match the rust colours for a finishing touch. I love the flourish so next week I'm going to put it to good use on my wife's birthday card.