"You & Me = Selfie" by Gent van Gent

Hello Sizzix Friends!

Today I am sharing another layout which is part of our

Summer Vacation (2014) album. Love that selfie of hubby and I -

it has a special place in our family album :-)

For this layout I combined New & Old dies and of course I used one my 

favourite paper punches by Sizzix - Butterfly, Large!

The colour combination is not the usual Summer colour combo -

it has to do with the country we were on vacation - Egypt :-)

660515 Sizzix Big Shot Plus Starter Kit

NEW 660481 Sizzix Thinlits Die Do What you Love

NEW 660500 Sizzix Thinlits Die Set Intricate Tribal Florals

NEW 660502 Sizzix Thinlits Die Set Tribal Borders

NEW 660159 Sizzix Paper Punch Butterfly, Large

656520 Sizzix Bigz Die Flourish, Floral w/Leaves

656554 Sizzix Bigz Die Corners, Flourish #2

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The flourish I added to decorate the photo were created by

mixing the pretty Sizzix florals and fussy cut paper flowers.

I, once again, used the Do What you Love die and, 

once again, I used it in a separate parts on my project.

I combined one of the Tribal Borders with

the scallop border from the Starter Kit.

OTHER PRODUCTS I USED:

Websters Pages - pattern papers

Prima Marketing - pattern papers, sugar dots

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Thank you for visiting us today!

Have a creative Sunday!

Gerry

Bright colourful card

Last time I shared how to make gorgeous bright and delicate flowers from the Tribal Collection by Craft Asylum for Sizzix for a layout. today I share how to use them in a card.

I used the same dies:

660492 Sizzix Bigz Die - Tribal Florals

660494 Sizzix Bigz Die - Native Florals

660500 Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 5PK - Intricate Tribal Florals

660499 Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 4PK - Intricate Native Florals

I used the exact same process to make this flowers as I did for the layout: die cut with the Bigz die the solid flowers using watercolour card, then spray the colour and then layer the intricate ones die cut using the Thinlits sets.

This time, though I added a sentiment from the Everyday Tab Messages stamped in black as well as patterned paper on the right edge.

I love the brightness of the flowers and the delicate intricate white detail. I am sure this will brighten some one's day very soon!

Loads of flowers layout

Today I fancied getting my hands dirty creating flowers with some distress inks sprays. 

Here is how.

I used:

660492 Sizzix Bigz Die - Tribal Florals

660494 Sizzix Bigz Die - Native Florals

660500 Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 5PK - Intricate Tribal Florals

660499 Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 4PK - Intricate Native Florals

plus a Big Shot or a Big Shot Plus!

The beauty of these flowers is that the framelits match the Bigz dies of the same name, the framelits offering the intricate detail and the Bigz the solid flower shape.

I die cut four or five flowers of each size using the Bigz dies and watercolour paper. I die cut them all in one go, one of the beauties of the Bigz dies! Then I spray distress ink over them to create different intesities.
Then I die cut one by one several flowers using white card.

You can see that different effects can be created and then when putting the intricate layer over, it changes the look quite a lot.

I glue them all, selected my photo and layered them all over a thick acetate sheet. Then I proceed to glue them down and finally I added a card behind so that i can write the story behind the photo.

And here it is! A bright layout full of luscious flowers!

I added some enamel dots in the centres to create a finished look.

I hope you like it!

A chocolate box using basics and tribal dies

I know the word Basics sounds a bit off, but when it comes to crating I think Basics are the most important thing you can have in your crafting area. And die cutting is no exception, I think one of the best investments you can do for your crafting aside from a Big Shot (Plus!) is to get a few basics dies like boxes and tags that will stand the test of time. One of my favourites, the Milk Carton (659196):

To add some decoration I used the latest dies from Craft Asylum Tribal Collection. 

Because my intention is to add something inside that may stain a bit, like chocolates, I wanted to make sure there was a plastified inside. Sticky back plastic to the rescue! I attached it to the back side of the paper.

Note that I am using the Big Shot Plus, so the die is smaller than the aperture. If I was using the Big Shot, the die would still fit nicely but would occupy the whole aperture. I used first my crease pad to die cut the box. However it didn't cut that well due to the plastic.

Now, this is an important photo on the right. Most wont think it is, but basically this is to showcase the difference when to use the Crease Pad (It comes in 4 sizes aprox:, 6x8, 6x13, 8x15 Plus, and 13 x 13 Pro) or the regular cutting pad. 

The Crease pad is perfect for making sure that the score blade does not cut, while the cutting blade still cuts. This is specially important in a dry place, including places with high heating or strong air con.

As you can see, because there is plastic on the back, I needed to cut it through using the cutting plate and not the crease pad. If I was die cutting just paper or card, I would need to cut it through with the crease pad, why? because although I live in damp England, my studio is kept warm and dry all year round!

I folded the score lines and to glue it together I used red line tape. Wet glue would not have work because of the plastic.

I glue both ends. Remember to use a strong tape for this.
Then I was ready to decorate it using the Tribal Borders die, die cutting it twice and joining them by overlapping them.

I glue the top first and then the bottom. Then I die cut one of the flowers from the Intricate Native Florals.

I die cut it a second time using coral paper and then layered them inside a blck 2 1/4" circle.
I attached it to the box using a foam pad.

The finished box.

You can see here than the pieces fit nicely in the inside of the flower, except one that I messed up a bit gluing it down.

And then there is the back, a little more simple.

I hope you like it!

Paula 

Tribal inspiration

I have been looking forward to using the dies from the new Tribal range since I first used them in December to prepare for our upcoming trade shows. Tribal textiles and designs are all over the high street as we speak and this range is perfect for both paper crafters and textile artists with the inclusion of so many gorgeous Sizzix Bigz dies.

The dies are all designed by my good friend Debi Potter who has a wonderful eye for the next trend in die cutting.

I'm using just one set of dies from the Tribal range namely the Elephant Duo Thinlits set which comprises two super cute elephants and a couple of heart dies.

I had the great pleasure to be demonstrating at Sprinkle Twinkle in Kings Lynn last weekend, we had a wonderful time and it's so nice to see a retailer which goes that extra mile for it's customers. 

It's a great shop full of inspirational ideas and products. While I was there I fell in love with a couple of stamp sets from a US company named Precious Remembrance Shop. Apparently, Sprinkle Twinkle are their only UK stockist at the moment but I'm sure they are going to be huge. The set I used is called Positive Thoughts Stamp Set which is just one of many great collections.

Don't you just love it when you stumble across a great new product and want to share it with the world?

Anyway... Back to the cards! I die-cut the large elephant from a warm grey card and applied a little Distress Ink around the edges (Pumice Stone). Next, I die-cut a strip of rust coloured card across the heart detail on the die. I Attached a couple of strips of sticky tape to the rear of the main elephant and  lightly inked the top of each heart before attaching them into their corresponding aperture holes

I continued with this process until I had decorated the whole elephant. Next, I cut a 12 x 12 cm square of ivory card before rounding of the corners with a punch. I applied some Old Paper Distress Ink around the edges and added some stamped detail. Next, I stamped my sentiment onto ivory card before colouring the heart using markers before trimming it to size, inking the edges and attaching to the rectangle using a stapler.

I attached the rectangle to a deep blue base card with staples and added a couple of Die-cut hearts from the same set.

I was only going to make one card but then I looked at the other cute little elephant and it seemed a crime not to make another! I die-cut the elephant in two shades of brown and inked the edges as before. Next, I cut an 8 x 14 cm rectangle of ivory card before rounding off the corners. I inked and stamped as before and applied my sentiment using adhesive foam pads.

I die-cut three large and two small hearts and I placed the large hearts and the elephant onto the rectangle, roughly in the position where I want them to sit before using a marker to make a dot at the top of the elephants body and at the bottom of each heart. Using a ruler I joined up the dots with the marker and added some bows to give the illusion of balloon strings.

And here is the finished card, I love the combination of the contemporary shapes and super cool stamps, hope you do too?

A tribal layout

I love bright colours but I am often intimidated by them. But since summer is not that far away, I decided to go a bit brighter.

I love the new Tribal collection of Craft Asylum for Sizzix, specially the Hearts die, and they cry for strong colours.

I first cut the white card to size. Then I die cut all the hearts in three shades of pink and once of dark of yellow. I then die cut the leaves from a different die from the same collection, layer them all out and glue them.

Then I placed the photo, which features my cousin and myself on Christmas day 2014. It doesn't matter that the layout does not reflect the holiday itself but rather the friendship and love between us.

I placed the crystals on the photo and then the clip.

The letters are die cut from using my favourite alphabet die at the minute, Tim Holtz Block Talk Lowercase.

I just love how the intricate hearts match perfectly the solid ones, allowing you to layer them up perfectly or slightly of set.

Finally I added the strips of colour on the left of the layout.

bright and summery, even if the photo is from Christmas. I love that about scrapbooking, there are no rules, and as long as you like it, its all good!

Succulents Corner (Happy 5 de Mayo!)

Hi everybody!

I must confess that I didn't know May 5 is celebrated in some countries, like the US, the Mexican pride day. But when I knew a few days ago, I thought: how can I celebrate?.... It had to be with some cactus decorating home: I love them!

Using the wonderful Craft Asylum Tribal Hearts Bigz (is a heart... what can I say!) , the Big Shot Plus starter kit box (with the lid cut off), some balsa wood, acrylic paint and a few glasses I built a small corner of succulents decorating home and celebrate 5 de Mayo

It is really easy to do and looks nice right?

Sizzix products used in this project:
660515 Sizzix Big Shot Plus Starter Kit (White and Gray)
660495 Sizzix Bigz Die - Tribal Hearts
656333 Sizzix Bigz Die - Circles

Be Happy!!

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Hola a todo el mundo!

Debo confesar que no sabía que el 5 de mayo se celebra en algunos países, como los EE.UU., el día del orgullo mexicano. Pero cuando lo supe hace unos días, pensé: ¿cómo lo puedo celebrar? .... Tenía que ser con una pequeña decoración de cactus en casa: me encantan!

Utilizando el maravilloso troquel de Craft Asylum Tribal Hearts (es un corazón... que puedo decir!), la caja del kit de inicio de la Big Shot Plus (con la tapa cortada), un poco de madera de balsa, pintura acrílica y unas copas he construido un pequeño rincón de suculents decorando la casa para celebrar el 5 de Mayo

Es realmente fácil de hacer y se ve bonito ¿no?

Productos Sizzix utilizados en este proyecto:
660515 Sizzix Big Shot Plus Starter Kit (White and Gray)
660495 Sizzix Bigz Die - Tribal Hearts
656333 Sizzix Bigz Die - Circles

Sed muy felices!