Vintage Freestyle

I love vintage styles in all their forms from full on Steampunk to gentle shabby chic. I also love freestyle collage styles which is why I am having so much fun today because I get to work with the most amazing set of dies from that clever, clever lady Brenda Walton which allows me to indulge both of my favourite styles at the same time.

This set really is the best value for money and yes.... I know that I say that every week but we just keep turning out these great sets, what can I do?

the die set in question is called Floral Wreath You can see the set below and it comprises of 23 separate dies.... 23!!!

I also used one of my recent favourites the Mixed Media set of Thinlits from Tim Holtz. The thing that I love about freestyle collage is that sometimes you have no idea where you are going and that is exactly what I am going to do today! As you can see below I have prepared three separate blank cards in various sizes and.....well, that's it....that's my plan!

Lets see how it works out!

 Before I begin I would like to apologise for the fact that I have absolutely no idea where the patterned card stock comes from! I have it in my stash but without a cover.

I started by cutting a strip of pale blue paper before die-cutting a lattice pattern down one side. Next, I stamped some text onto the base card and attached the lattice together with a distressed rectangle of green patterned card. I continued to add die cut elements until I found my preferred balance of tones and shapes and that's the trick with this style!

Finally, I used my super-useful little rotary phrase stamp to stamp the phrase 'you are loved' five times onto cream card before trimming each to size with scissors and gently distressing the edges using Old Paper Distress Ink.

All that was left to do was attach the phrases using a combination of PVA glue and adhesive foam pads to add a little dimension. Once attached I rounded off the composition by adding a smattering of adhesive pearls and gems.

I think we have time for one more?

 I cut a strip of ivory patterned paper and distressed to top edge with the blade of my scissors before adding some die-cut detail to the bottom edge. I lightly stamped a vintage clock face onto my base card before attaching the strip and adding a row of faux stitching using a pattern wheel and fine marker.

I added a length of knotted twine and a green die-cut scalloped circle. I die-cut the butterfly from two shades of patterned card and gently curled the wings of the top butterfly before matting them together. Next, I tied a couple of lengths of twine into a bow and ran a pearl headed hat pin through the knot, the butterfly was then mounted onto the base card together with a die-cut banner.

I was sorely tempted to add a few more die-cut elements but with this style knowing where to stop is almost as important as knowing where to start. I did add the phrase made with my rotary stamp and a few staples... and that's it!

OK... definitely the last one!

I used the Hexagon mixed media die to trim a torn piece of blue card which I attached to the base card along with some of the separate hexagons and the scalloped circle. The bird was die-cut in two parts and mounted with adhesive foam pads and the 'Happy Place' phrase was stamped and over-stamped in the bottom right hand corner. Next I added a few extra die-cut elements and a selection of adhesive pearls and gems.

And that's as they say is that! Hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have although I don't see how that is possible because I had a blast!!!

Instant Favourites!

Sometimes you see a set of dies or embossing folders and you fall head over heals in love with them, often because the aesthetics of the design really appeal to you and sometimes because you just know that you will get constant use from them all year round. These sets fall into both of those categories, particularly the Thinlits borders set.

The two sets I am talking about are The Framelits set Labels,Regal and the Thinlits set Borders both of which are designed by that clever, clever lady Stephanie Barnard and released this month. There are seven dies in each set representing great value for money too.

I started by designing and printing a sheet of phrases using my PC before die cutting them with my labels dies.

One of the great things about Framelits is that you can crop text or pictures with great accuracy and to help you in that quest the boffins at Sizzix have developed a magnetic platform which holds the wafer thin dies in place so that there is no chance of any movement as the die passes through the machine resulting in loss of registration, we've all been there and it is very frustrating!

Next, I die cut one of the borders and took a couple of rectangles of patterned card to add to the base card. I also used a faux stitch effect on some of the cards by running my pattern makers wheel over the card and joining the resulting line of holes with a fine tip marker. Black markers can be a bit overpowering so I used a pale blue Distress Marker (Weathered Wood to be more accurate)

Here is the first card that I made in a fresh, modern collage style. I also added random adhesive gems and pearls as well as a threaded button.

All the coloured cardstock comes from assorted 6 x 6 pads made by the lovely people at Doodlebug Design.

I couldn't stop at one card so here are a few more starting with this nautical one where I used the negative of the scallop border to create the waves together with a wavy border from silver card. I used a Circle Framelits die as a template to help me attach the gems accurately.

Next up the wicked diamond border.....

And here's the scallop border again....

And last, but by no means least.......

The great thing about this little collection is that it took me only two hours from start to finish. These dies lend themselves to so many styles because they are simply classic shapes. I hope you fall for them too!

ATC Box and Cards

I have been working way too hard lately but sadly it has not been creative work- things like taxes, orders, planning and writing. Time to take a break and do something fun!

So tonight I sat down with some matboard, embossing folders, dies, scrap paper, buttons, trim and paint, turned on the TV and started playing. I used pages from a dictionary and cut out qualities that I admire and strive for. And they all start with A because those were the pages that I had already torn out!

First, I die cut an ATC Card Box from turquoise matboard and some ATC cards from chipboard, then embossed the cards and box with a selection of Textured Impressions folders. The ATC cards were painted with the Gelli Plate in my favorite colors. I like the effect- not all of the ink comes through on each card so there is lots of variation and interest. And the embossing really stands out.

I like having a collection of little cards to tuck in a note to a friend or just pin up on my inspiration board as my thought for the day.

I started adding Prima papers scraps I had on hand, strips of paper and ribbon and some little die cut flower and label accents.

On the front of the box I added Trinity's Flower which I had made earlier by cutting from coffee filters and inking softly. Then I assembled the box with iCraft tape by ThermoWeb. Added to that was more text with the definition of "ablaze".

This was not a hard project at all to do and it was so relaxing... I will probably add more finishing touches as I go.

So glad I sat down and just had a fun craft session without deadlines or boring paperwork on my mind. For me crafting is therapy. How about you?