Monday, 26 May 2014

Jumbo and Tattered Florals for Home Decor projects



One of the most popular Sizzix dies has to be Tattered Florals. They are fantastic as there are four flowers in different sizes and shapes and being a Bigz die means that versatility is warrantied. Loads of us crafters cheered when Tim Holtz released the Jumbo Tattered Florals.
I adore flowers, layering them, using them in different sizes and making them 3D.  That is why I was really looking forward to the opportunity to use the original Tattered Florals and the Jumbo ones. 

There are plenty of tutorials out there on how to assemble the Tattered Florals, but here is a quick reminder.


I die cut four large flowers. Then I made some cuts (clockwise): On one made just a cut, on the second I cut a petal off, on the third one I cut two petals off and finally on the fourth flower I cut three petals or cut in half.
Then I glued each end petals to each other and shaped the ends of the flowers using the Susan's Garden Tool Kit.


To assemble the layers I started with the centre (but you may want to start with the larger layer) rolling up the single petal and then added the other layers of petals. Trim the bottom ends of the flowers to be able to layer the petals closely together. To glue the layers, I used a cold melt glue gun. Quick and strong hold.


I repeat the same process with the largest flower from the original Tattered Florals. And the final results on the right hand side. Top is the Jumbo one and bottom the original Florals, quite a big difference is size.


I did the same with the rest of the flowers in both the Tattered Florals and the Jumbo ones.


All in all, six fine 3D flowers. I attached them to this nice wooden coat hanger, added the leaves using the Jumbo Florals I finished the decorating by adding a die cut Frameworks Courtyard.

back from quilt market!





Last week I was in Pittsburgh at International Quilt Market. For those that don't know, it's a bi-annual industry show for quilting. It's where you see all the new fabrics and gadgets ahead of release.

So, what kinds of fabrics will you be buying later this year?

The biggest trend was metallic ink - it was all over the place. So, for those of you that aren't a big fan that might be a disappointment. Personally, I love a bit of sparkle so I'm looking forward to getting my hands on all of these collections as they come out, so keep your eyes open for them!....

Arizona by April Rhodes for Art Gallery Fabrics (should be in shops any day now, and over in the UK in the next month or so)



Cotton + Steel (a new division of RJR fabrics) (will start arriving to shops in July)




Brambleberry Ridge by Violet Craft for Michael Miller Fabrics (will start arriving to shops in July)


I was hoping to share some progress on the clamshell project, but my sewing machine decided to blow up this weekend. I'm seriously hoping it isn't going to cost me an arm and a leg to get fixed, but I have a horrible feeling that when your sewing machine goes bang and smoke comes out the top of it, it's not a good sign.





Sunday, 25 May 2014

Bente's Sunday mixed media page


Hi there!
Today I have a page that I had a lot of fun creating. I pulled out some of my mists, gesso, stencils, gelatos etc and had a play. This is what I came up with. The hard part is knowing when to stop! :-)


I used a number of fabulous Sizzix products to make this page. 
Of course I started with my beloved Big Shot and starter kit. And to make those beautiful Tattered florals I had great help from the Susan's Garden tool kit. I really enjoy using it so much!


 Don't you agree the combination of hand made and store bought flowers looks good?! :-)


The butterfly is part of the starter set together with the Big Shot.


In the photo below you can see how I used the negative pieces from the 'Trellies' to help build up some textuere for the background. I then covered them in gesso to make them a little more subtle.


Apart from these products I used papers from the Songbird collection by Prima Marketing and some of their beautiful flowers as well.
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Hejsan!
Idag bjuder jag på en sida där jag använt några av mina många mistflaskor, gesso, gelatos stenciler etc. Och jag njöt i stora drag när jag fick kladda med alla dessa ,...problemet är bara att veta när man ska stoppa!
Jag använde flera av mina sköna Sizzix produkter på denna mixed media sida. Jag började såklart med att plocka fram min Big Shot med starter kit. Och för att göra de snygga Tattered florals som jag gillar skarpt hade jag stor hjälp av Susan's Garden tool kit. Jag är verkligen stormförtjust i dom!
 Jag tycker verkligen att kombinationen av handgjorda och köpta blommor gör sig bra!
Håller ni inte med? :-)

I det nedersta fotot kan nio se hur jag använde bitarna som blev över efter att ha skurit ut mitt 'Trellies' mönster. Efter att lager med gesso sjunker de precis lagom in i bakgrunden och ger mig efterlängtad tekstur.


Förutom produkterna ovan från Sizzix har jag använt mönsterpapper ur 'Songbird' kollektionen av Prima Marketing.
 

Bright Spring Tags



Hello all!

On this wonderful warm (even hot)) spring day I would like to share with you me new tags.


I used an embossing folder  to make the soft background.





These are the materials I used:


Regards,
Olga


Saturday, 24 May 2014

Vane quilt






Finally I  got this little quilt finished after a week full of things  to do with family , home and work. I  love so much   how it turned out!
The  Drunkard´s path  dies have a lot of possibilities and this one is another one.
I told you how I started the idea in my last post , when I cut the nice fabrics " April Showers " collection.









Supplies


657900



657168

New stock code: 659849 

657169


New stock code: 659850

Charm Pack April Showers
April Showers ( 55082-17 )  1-1/4 yd.
April Showers ( 55086-13 )  1/2 yd

Kona Cotton Solid - Snow  1/2 yd.







I started doing a selection by colours in groups of four and I  sew block like this. I have had some squares off  because it didn´t match. So I only could to get  eight blocks in total.

I called " vane quilt " because of it remembered a vane turning on itself , didn´t you ?












For the quilting I did a zig zag with my Bernina machine  ( number 28 )  using  the walking foot . This is the first time I quilt in this way and I like the texture .  I tried  1" between each ziz zag line. 










Two borders  were added around the blocks , the outer  with the same print that the backing.  Love those  happy and colorful flowers 







Although  it is a little quilt , it can be used as a table runner , isn´t it ?
It would be great you can use these dies and see how easy is to  get this block.



Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!!
Love
Mercedes


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Después de una complicada semana con la familia, la casa y el trabajo, conseguí tener este pequeño quilt acabado y acolchado. ¡Me encanta cómo ha quedado!
Los troqueles de este bloque , Drunkard´s Path tienen muchas posibilidades y ésta es una de ellas.
Te conté cómo empecé mi idea en el ultimo artículo , cuando corté las telas de la colección “ April Showers “.


Empecé haciendo una selección por colores en grupos de cuatro del charm pack y cosí los bloques como el que ves en la foto .  Me han quedado algunos cuadrados de tela sin usar porque se quedaban impares o no casaban con el resto de los colores.

Lo he llamando “ quilt veleta “ porque me recordaba  a una veleta girando sobre sí misma , ¿ no te parece ?

Para el acolchado hice un zig zag con mi máquina Bernina usando el motivo número 28 y  la patilla de doble arrastre. Es la primera vez que he hecho este tipo de acolchado y estoy bastante satisfecha. Hay una separación de una pulgada entre cada línea del zig zag.

 Añadí dos bordes alrededor , el exterior de la misma tela que la trasera. Me gustan mucho esas flores tan alegres.

Aunque es un pequeño quilt , también puedo usarlo como camino de mesa, ¿ verdad ?
Sería estupendo que puedieras probar estos troqueles y ver lo fácil que es  hacerlos.

Los materiales los tienes más arriba indicados , donde dice " Supplies "


Que tengas un maravilloso fin de semana
Cariños
Mercedes 



Art Journal and More


Life has been crazy for me lately and I apologize for missing a few posts. My daughter got married at the end of April and the day before the wedding I broke my ankle!


Thankfully it is almost good as new. That is lucky because on June 3, I leave on the #PaperTrail, a month long teaching trip throughout the country in Scotty, my vintage camper.


I invite you to follow the trip with me on my blog. I will be teaching classes in scrapbook stores, attending events like the Country Living Show and a big stamp show, meeting up with crafty celebrities and seeing the country. I can't wait! Just check my blog for updates or follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to see where we are and what is happening.

My project today is an Art Journal made using the Mini-Album from the Cherished collection.


Although the packaging for this collection is decorated in the baby theme, the dies are very versatile. The Mini Album has been one of my favorites to work with lately. There is a metal opening built into the die that you can use with Movers and Shapers dies to cut windows in the cover of the album. This is a ScoreBoards die that is designed to cut and score thick material like matboard or chipboard- or any material up to 1/16" thick that you can cut with scissors. It always surprises people to know that you can run matboard through the Big Shot with embossing folders.



For this project, I cut two windows in the Album cover and then embossed the die cut squares with the Animal Print folder. I used the Gelli plate and my new ColorBox Blends inks from Clearsnap to ink the cover and pages of the mini-album Art Journal.



I also used Stencils from StencilGirl and embossing paste from Wendy Vecchi to get some dimension on the pages. I also free handed text on the pages and added some photos of our family. There is a special technique I use to bind the pages really quickly. I like this method because in addition to being fast and easy, the pages of the book lay flat when you are writing in them.

And now, here are some of the projects the Eileen Hull Inspiration Team has created in the past month. They blow me away!

The Inspiration Team Coordinator, Amy Bowerman, of Plucking Daisies has this thing about gnomes! Read about it on her blog...


 I love this soft and shabby Caddy by Melissa Phillips. I also love what she says about hope. See the post on her blog here...


 Beth Watson has made a chandelier of hydrangeas. Wow- very cool. Check out her post here.


These are just a few of the amazing projects featured on my blog by this super-talented team of designers. Check every Tuesday to see what the Inspiration Team is up to and on Thursdays you will see posts from Team ATB (Artist Trading Blocks). They have been stepping up the game so high I can't imagine how they will keep outdoing themselves, but they do! For more out of the box projects and lots of inspiration visit The Artists on the Block.

Thanks for coming by and I hope to see you on the #PaperTrail!

Friday, 23 May 2014

Layered home decor



Hello Sizzix fans! Today again my turn to provide you with some inspiration using Sizzix products. This time I made home decor, in the form of a small canvas. 


The main decorations of my project are: openwork birdcage and layered bird. I cut them using a Sizzix Bigz Die - Caged Bird from 3mm thick chipboard. I love the Bigz dies, especially for the fact that they give the possibility of cutting in various thick materials. 


The cut out chipboard shape can be freely decorated. I painted my chipboard elements white acrylic paint, and then I heat embossed them using light aqua embossing powder (birdcage) and clear holographic  powder (bird). To highlight the delicate nature of my main ornaments, added some fussy cutting flowers and honeycomb motifs which I cut out from kraft paper, using Sizzix Frameworks Die - Honeycomb.



Sizzix supplies used:


My today's project is very simple to recreate and I hope that you take advantage of my idea to create a similar, small home decor or gift.

Thank you for visit us today! 
Have a wonderful weekend! 
~~ Karola ~~ 

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Witajcie! Dziś znów moja kolej, aby dostarczyć Wam nieco inspiracji z wykorzystaniem produktów Sizzix. Tym razem stworzyłam dekorację do domu, w postaci małego podobrazia. 


Głównymi ozdobami mojego projektu są: ażurowa klatka dla ptaków oraz warstwowy ptaszek. Wycięłam je za pomocą wykrojnika Sizzix Bigz Die - Caged Bird z 3 mm tektury introligatorskiej. Uwielbiam wykrojniki Bigz, szczególnie za to, że dają możliwość wycinania w grubych materiałach. 

Kształt wycięty z tektury możemy dowolnie ozdobić. Ja pomalowałam moje tekturowe motywy białą farbą akrylową, a następnie zembossowałam na gorąco, korzystając z jasno turkusowego pudru (klatka) oraz przezroczystego holograficznego (ptaszek). Aby podkreślić filigranowy charakter moich głównych ozdób, dodałam kilka kwiatków wyciętych precyzyjnie z papieru do scrapbookingu oraz motyw plastrów miodu, wycięty z papieru typu kraft za pomocą wykrojnika Sizzix Frameworks Die - Honeycomb.

Wykorzystane produkty Sizzix:

Projekt jest bardzo prosty do odtworzenia i mam nadzieję, że skorzystacie z mojego pomysłu, aby stworzyć podobną, małą dekorację do domu. 

Dziękuję za dzisiejsze odwiedziny na naszym blogu i życzę Wam 
wspaniałego, kreatywnego weekendu! 
~~ Karola ~~

Scrapbooking Page: "Perfect Day" by Anna


Hello! It's Anna here to share some ideas using Sizzix products.
How are you today? Here I am with a new layout to inspire you to create with your favorite cutting machine!
Do you remember the my new Album? Today I create a layout for my travel album, made with simple dies that you can use in very different ways.
 
cafe creativo - sizzix big shot - scrapbooking Travel Rome (1)
 
Choose the paper you want as a background: I used a simple white cardstock! Add some mists here and there. Add some embellishments here and there. Cut out a nice foliage die cut with Bigz Die - Garden Greens and the hexagons Overall Pattern with Thinlits Die. You can also play with colours by giving a lot of contrast to the layout.
 
cafe creativo - sizzix big shot - scrapbooking Travel Rome (2)
 
I hope you enjoyed seeing how I used the dies and could take some inspiration from my page!
Thanks so much for visiting me today.
 
Items used:
Sizzix Big Shot Machine (657900)
Sizzix Bigz Die - Garden Greens (659436)
Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 3PK - Overall Patterns (659758)
1 photo (cm 10x15)
cardstock: white
patterned papers: We R Memory Keepers, Echo Park
tag: Prima
alphabets
color mist
sewing machine & thread
 
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Flag_of_Italy
Per le amiche italiane! :)
Ciao, sono Anna e sono qui per condividere alcune idee utilizzando i prodotti Sizzix.
Come state?
Eccomi con un nuovo layout per stimolarvi a creare con la vostra macchina da taglio preferita!
Ho iniziato a fare le pagine del mio album del weekend “familiare” a Roma, vi ricordate la copertina?
Vorrei fare pagine abbastanza semplici, perchè le foto scelte sono parecchie.
Ecco quindi la mia pagina in formato A4 abbellita con semplici fustelle, molto versatili.
Volete provarci anche voi? Scegliere la carta che si desidera come sfondo: io ho usato un semplice cartoncino bianco! Aggiungete un po' di colore a spruzzo qua e là. Aggiungere una striscia di carta gialla in alto, alcune tag e cuciture qua e là. Con la vostra Big Shot tagliare un bel rametto con Bigz Die - Garden Greens e lo sfondo ad esagoni con Thinlits Die Overall Pattern. Non rimane che aggiungere il titolo. Potete anche giocare con i colori, dando più contrasto al layout.

Spero vi sia piaciuto vedere come ho usato le fustelle e magari avervi dato qualche ispirazione per le vostre pagine!
Grazie della visita!
 
Materiali:
Sizzix Big Shot Machine (657900)
Sizzix Bigz Die - Garden Greens (659436)
Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 3PK - Overall Patterns (659758)
1 foto (cm 10x15)
cartoncino bianco
carta fantasia: We R Memory Keepers, Echo Park
tag: Prima
alfabeti
colori a spray
macchina per cucire e filo


Thursday, 22 May 2014

Getting Shirty!


Father's Day is just around the corner here in the UK, so I wanted to share a few simple, and I hope, effective ideas using some of my favourite Sizzix dies. People have been making cards with men's shirts as the main motif for years, I wanted to add a bit of die cutting pizazz and hopefully, a touch of ingenuity.

The card I made today uses just black and white card and the dies I am using are both Tim Holtz decorative strips namely the Mini Paper Rosettes and Bow-Tied , click on the names to follow the link.

I started by cutting a rectangle of white card measuring 15 x 10 cm before making two score marks to create the shirt's collar, the template below will give you the measurements.



Once I had made the cuts to create the collars I folded both ends in towards each other until they touched at the top before securing them with my glue gun. Next, I cut two complete rosette strips from the same white card.

I concertina folded each strip and attached a strip of double sided tape down the centre of the shirt before applying each folded strip to create a ruffle effect.

I cut a strip of white card about 15mm wide and used my pattern makers wheel to run down each side which will give the impression of stitching. Next, I attached the strip down the centre of the shirt over the ruffles secured with a glue gun. Finally, I die-cut the medium bow, one of 3 on the die. The small die-cut rectangle you see in the picture wraps around the assembled bow to form the knot.

Once the bow tie is assembled its time to attach it to the collar before adding a row of adhesive white pearls down the centre of the shirt. Finally, I attached the finished shirt to a black base card measuring 11 x 14.5cm. I'm in a fairly unique position as a paper crafter when I say that I would be happy to wake up to this card on the morning of June 15th.

Next week, a couple more variations on this theme, Take it easy till then!!