Stamp n' Stencil

They say that we only use 10% of our brains, or 5% in my case as many would argue! Sometimes I feel the same about die-cutting. There is so much potential which remains untapped so I thought It would be nice to share a couple of techniques which I haven't used for ages.

I am using  the Bigz Heart Trio die. This is one of eight fabulous Bigz dies that have been designed for Sizzix by Echo Park which are perfect for a huge range of applications, I know that Angela, our textile guru is very excited about them!

I love the shapes of these hearts and they are so big and bold offering a blank canvas ready to be explored. I am using a selection of Distress inks as shown below and at this point I only have a sketchy idea of how they will turn out.

I attached some self adhesive foam to a square of mount board and Die-cut my shape... Aren't Bigz dies great!!!

I applied the ink pads directly onto the foam side of the die-cut shape before gently spritzing with clean water using a mister. Next, I pressed the shape face down onto a square of white card as one would do with a stamp.

 For my next technique I die-cut the same heart from paper and used the negative as a stencil. I placed the stencil onto white card and applied the same inks using foam applicators.

 I removed the stencil and lightly spritzed with clean water before drying with a heat tool. Next, I replaced the stencil and used a text stamp to add a little detail.

Finally, I die-cut a 3-D flower and some leafy foliage from white card before forming the flower and curling the leaves to add a little dimension. Click on the highlighted text to see the dies used.

Here are the finished cards. As you can see I have distressed the edges of the white card and attached each to a kraft base card secured with some suitably wonky stitching very kindly provided by our Angela although I feel I should point out that the 'wonky' stitching was by my request!

I applied PVA to the foliage and dipped it in gold glitter and I used a postmark sentiment stamp from the good people at Lily of the Valley (great set, very versatile!)

One card is for a wedding and the other for a special birthday girl. Hope they like 'em?

"What's in a name....

....That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet" 

One of Shakespeare's most quotable lines from Romeo and Juliet. Lets hope this blog post ends better than the aforementioned play?

In case you haven't guessed we are working with roses this week, paper roses that is. I first used this Thinlits die set back in December and I am sure that it is going to be a huge success because it's such stunning value for money.

The set comprises of 15 separate dies, six leaves and nine spiral flowers three of which are the roses I have used today. The set is called Thinlits set 15pk w/Quilling tool - Tiny Tattered Florals and is the brainchild of Tim Holtz. I didn't have access to the quilling tool at the time of writing this blog which is a shame because it makes things a whole lot easier; if you want to see the set together with the tool, follow the link above. Although spiral flower dies are nothing new the style and scale is perfect for smaller more intricate detail so beloved of mixed media and collage fans.

There are three sizes of rose in total and I die-cut a couple of each from medium weight white card. To turn the flat spiral flower into a beautiful miniature rose couldn't be simpler. First grip the end with your tweezers (Quilling tool is preferable) and start to twist in a clockwise direction until you arrive at the centre. At this point, you can allow the rose to relax making it as tight or as loose as you prefer. I like to use a hot glue gun to secure the flower as it is both quick and permanent. Once secure you can then use your tweezers to curl back some of the individual petals to create a more realistic bloom.

Crease each leaf down the centre and pinch in the centre as shown below to add realistic detail and dimension before attaching a couple to the base of each assembled rose. For the next stage, I wanted the card to be less absorbent so I painted each assembled rose with white gesso which dried in no time at all. To add a little vintage colour, I pressed my Broken China Distress Ink pad onto my craft sheet and gently spritzed with clean water to thin the pigment down before brushing it onto each flower allowing the colour to pool in places. this gives the flowers a shabby chic appearance.

To create the background, I started by applying Broken China and Shabby Shutters Distress Ink to the white base card using a sponge applicator.

Next, I applied clean water using a mister allowing the water to run down the front of the card as shown below.

Next I used a combination of stamps from the Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous range, the grey splats which you see are actually created using a rubber stamp!

Finally, I used a Dear Lizzy roller stamp to add the multiple phrases.......

 ...... Before attaching the roses to the face of the card with a glue gun, 

I'm sure that if Romeo had given his fair Juliet a card like this one, the story would have had a very different outcome? If only the bard had access to a Sizzix Big Shot! I guess we'll never know?

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?

Must haves!

When does want become need? when does 'I would like' become 'I must have.....NOW!' and no, I'm not talking about wine, chocolate or shoes but a couple of new Sizzix Bigz dies which cut the most divine 3D flowers ever.

I've used card for this piece but they are Bigz dies so they would be just as effective in textiles and a host of other other materials too.

The dies concerned are Bigz Flowers 3-D #3 and flowers 3-D #4. click on the links for a closer look.

I started with a blank wooden frame which was just crying out to be altered in some way, shape or form. I applied a little gesso (white acrylic paint will work too) to a craft sheet and rolled it out into a thin layer with a brayer before applying it to the frame.

I chose a text stamp from Tim Holtz' Stampers Anonymous range and used a mid brown Distress Ink to add the text in a random pattern onto the frame.

I used both dies to die-cut white paper to give you a better indication of what they are all about. Next, I went through my paper stash and pulled out some My Minds Eye papers from the fabulous Lost & Found ranges and die-cut the three different flowers.

I used Old Paper and Vintage Photo Distress Ink pads to add a little contrast to the edges of the petals and then I applied a little glue to the tab to create the 3-D effect, I also curled the petals back to create a more naturalistic effect.

I die-cut the long centre strip and used a pair of scissors to snip down the centre of the sticky-outy bits (technical jargon alert!!!). I inked the tips and rolled the strip using a pair of tweezers before bending the individual bits back to create the flowers centre. I repeated with the other two flowers and attached the centres accordingly.

I die-cut a selection of 3-D spiral flowers and inked the edges of the lighter ones before gently sanding the tips of the darker ones.

There are various theories as how best to create the 3-D flowers but I like to use a pair of tweezers and roll the shape keeping the tweezers facing the centre. Once the petals are rolled all the way simply add a blob of hot glue and allow the flower to slightly unravel as much or as little as required before the glue sets.

Use the tweezers to bend the tips of the petals over to create a natural looking bloom.

I added some natural twine to the top of the frame before arranging the flowers as shown. 

I'm sure that I will be returning to these dies again and again in the future.

Going Green.

I know that if most of you look out of your rain-swept window this morning you will say that I am crazy but Spring is on it's way!

How do I know? well, the crocus and snowdrops are bringing a little cheer to our woodland walks and on the roadside verges of every Welsh village the green shoots of daffodils are standing to attention ready to burst into bloom at any moment.

I know we could still suffer one of those crazy snowstorms but you have to be positive at this time of year. I want to share with you all a new butterfly die and I know it's a little early for vibrant colours so I've gone with some of my favourite shades of green.

I have chosen to use the new Sizzix Bigz Butterfly Duo die from Tim Holtz which is magnificent by itself, but when paired with it's very own Texture Fades embossing folder well, I'll let you be the judge!

I die-cut the two butterflies below from watercolour paper to show you the beautiful shapes but I'm only going to use the top one. I then applied Shabby Shutters Distress ink to the centre of the butterfly and Peacock feathers to the wings. I spritzed the inked shape with clean water, this helps the colours blend and also adds a lovely mottled effect. Next, I embossed my die-cut butterfly using it's corresponding folder before gently applying Forest Moss Distress Ink over the embossed detail. 

I love these three colours together, absolutely stunning!

For the rubber stamping you can use your Distress Ink pads if you prefer but I chose to use the Distress Markers of the same colours but I added the colour Squeezed Lemonade to freshen things up a little. I went for  a Stampers Anonymous set (Nature's Moments CMS 001) which has always been a big favourite of mine. I started by stamping the text into the centre of the rectangle of white card (85 x 130 mm) using the Shabby Shutters ink pad to form a really subtle background pattern. Next, I coloured my plant stamp (Hogweed anyone?) using the Distress Markers before gently spritzing with clean water. The water just wants to sit on the surface and not run down the stamp. It's good to practice this technique a couple of times before committing to your project. When you are happy, apply to the stamp to the card.

The rest is easy, distress the edge of the paper with the blade of your scissors and attach the stamped rectangle to an A6 base card made from wood effect paper. Gently curl the wings of the butterfly to add a little dimension and mount onto the finished card. 

It's a really simple colour palette and the Shabby Shutters green seems to radiate from the centre of the butterfly. I love the mottled effect left by the stamped image too.

See you all next week!

"This Moment" by Gerry van Gent

Hello Sizzix peeps!

Hope you are all enjoying a relaxed Sunday!

Today I want to share with you a canvas I created

using awesome Sizzix dies. Scrapping on canvas is an 

absolute pleasure for me for the last years.
So here is one I created especially for you :-)

657900 Sizzix Big Shot Machine

658837 Sizzix Framelits Die Set w/Stamps Love, Hugs & Hearts

659133 Sizzix Thinlits Die Moroccan Card Front

657495 Sizzix On the Edge Die Butterflight

656640 Sizzix Bigz Die Tattered Florals

658506 Sizzix Sizzlits Die Vintage Doily

*     *     *

For the die Moroccan Card Front I used black cardstock in order to have

contrast to my pastel coloured background. Once it was die cut I separated 

it in a few pieces and added as decoration to the photo.

When I die cut the butterflies I carefully fussy cut three of them 

so I can use them separately on my project!

To make my project even more personal I hand made some of the flowers

by using the super awesome die Tattered Florals.

I chose brown fabric canvas which I combined with some white lace and ...

of course a brad to fasten the pieces altogether.

I also die cut two small flowers extra to use them on the canvas.

The two hearts were stamped and die cut with Love, Hugs & Hearts Die set.

*     *     *

I hope you enjoyed my canvas today!

Have a creative day!

Gerry 

A bit of Spring in Autumn with Lilith

Autumn has settled in and the crisp air and warm colours have taken over the the country side. I love autumn but I still hunger for a tiny bit of spring. The Sizzix Framelits Die Set 8PK with Stamps Beautiful You, was just the product I needed for this easy card project that brings a bit of spring along with it.

I stamped one of the flower images onto some watercolour paper, using versamark. I then sprinkled some white embossing powder onto it which I then heat embossed with my heat gun. I then took out some Distress Inks, stabilo pens and coloured the flowers and leaves. 

The cards themselves were easy to put together. A 4" x 6" base with a 3.5"x5.5" piece of patterned paper. A kraft tag, a small white twine, some embellishments and a sentiment finish off the card. I love how easy the stamps are to use and that I can use any colour for any type of project. 

Supplies:

Sizzix Framelits Die Set 8PK with Stamps Beautiful You

Distress Inks, Stabilo 68 pens, 

Paper: Carta Bella,

Embellishments: Studio Calico Color Theory Buttons, Enamel dots, 

Ink: Versafin Black Onyx.

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