What I made this Weekend #9

I purchase the Spellbinders Nestabilities Big Scalloped Large Circle Die Template from Hobby Lobby last week.  I have been curious if these would work on my Big Shot.  I got some mixed reviews if it would work or nor.  I decided to try it out since I have been dying to make something with scallops.  So my first attempt did not work the fabric did not cut only in a few spots.  The second time I tried it with the board/plate that comes with the Big Shot then one of my clear plates, then the die facing up, my fabric, then a piece of felt, then the clear plate, last a piece of cardstock on top of that.  It worked and cut through my fabric.  I had to cut only one at a time which was not to but love my sizzix dies where I can cut 4-6 layers of fabric in one shot.

Here is what the die looks like.  I used the 3rd smallest (I think).

This is what I ended up making.  My daughter has a music recital tomorrow evening and wanted something with music on it:

Sizzix Big Shot and Die Questions

I have been receiving a lot of emails with questions re: My Big Shot and the Dies I use to make my bows.

Here is a picture of the big shot I have.  I purchased it at Joann’s on sale for $59.99 normal price is $99.99.  They are on sale a lot  and there are always free shipping codes out there just type in Joann’s coupons in your search.  They do not carry this at the Joann’s store you have to purchase if online.  Click Here for the link to the Big Shot at Joann’s. 

 

Here are a few things you will need if you purchase this Big Shot.  Sizzix® BIGkick & Big Shot Standard Cutting Pads.  These you will use for most dies.  They are $9.99 and go on sale for $5.99.  Just watch for the sales.

 

 

Here is the Sizzix® Bigz XL Cutting Pads  They are $19.99 and go on sale for $11.99.  I use this one for my larger flower dies.  Click here for sample of the bows.  You will not need these pads unless you are planning on getting some larger dies it is good to have on hand though especially when they go on sale. 

 

I purchase a lot of Sizzix dies from Joann’s but remember they need to be the 5/8” thick.  I purchased some of the thinner ones and they would not cut fabric.  Some of the dies on the Joann’s website will not say the thickness on them so I copy the name and paste it in the yahoo search and it will bring me to the Sizzix website where it will tell me the thickness under the description.  After purchasing a die and it not working I am really careful to make sure they are 5/8” thick.  If you purchase something from Joann’s online please remember you can not return it to their store you will have to send it back. 
Here are some of the flower dies from Joann’s I have and know they work. I thought they had more online but I guess not.  I know I have purchased some from the store (remember to take those 40% off coupons). 

Some of my dies have come from Michaels.  One die you will have to get is the circle one (see below) it comes with 4 different size circles.  I use this for my felt backs on my bows and have made a few bows with the circle die they are really cute here are a few of them.  I have seen these at Joann’s and Michaels. 

Here are the dies I have from Michaels:

The Large Flower Folds Bigz Xl Die #115970 was from Stampin Up.  Here is the die. It was $42.95

I will have make a tutorial soon on how to make these flowers below with the flower die. 

As far as where to get this large flower die from you will have to do a search for a demonstrator to purchase it from.  I was not to happy with the person that I purchased my die from so I will not give you her info. 
For those of you who have a Big Shot and use other dies I know there are more dies you can use with the Big Shot please contact me and give me the information or maybe you can write up a tutorial on how they are used with the Big Shot and I will post it here our link it to your site.

What I made this Weekend #1

I am going to try to post a new bow every week.  I made this bow for my daughters Justice dress.  I could not believe how well it matched her dress it looks like it was made for it. 

A Few New Bows I Made This Weekend

I had a coupon for Joann’s but used them at Michaels.   I ended up purchasing 3 new Sizzix dies for 50% off.  Here is a sample of two of them.  The third one did not turn out the way I thought it would,  I think I need to use solid colors of fabric.  All of these were made with the Big Shots and Sizzix dies.  This is one of the only way I make my flowers now.  I have another idea on using the heart die and will come back and show it if I get some time to make it this week.  The first flower below is with felt and was the easiest and fastest flower I have ever made.  The two hearts were made with the heart die, I only used the two smallest hearts there was one larger but I thought it might be to large for a hair bow.

My Valentines Bows

The first 14 days of February I will be featuring tutorials with “Valentines” in mind.  They maybe red, pink or white.  If you know if any nice tutorials please send me the link.

This weekend I made a few Valentines bows with my big shot.  Here they are.  Last week I started adding to my Fabric Bows and More Etsy site.  I am offering FREE shipping of my bows with any Hand Stamped Necklace order of $60 or more.

Etsy Bow Site: http://www.etsy.com/shop/fabricbowsandmore                                   

Etsy Hand Stamped Jewelry Site: http://www.etsy.com/shop/beadcreationsintl  or Regular Website: http://www.beadcreationsinternational.com

Chic Fleece Flower Pins by Stamp With Tami

I can not wait to make this flower with my Big Shot and I have the circle die that this tutorial shows.  I do not have the leaf die but that is okay. 

My 1st Flower Tutorial

I figured since I had 50 followers now I had better get on the tutorial band wagon lol.  I had planned on doing this a lot earlier but we were so busy the last 2 months with Christmas orders from our hand stamped jewelry business I had to keep that as my first priority.  Here is my first tutorial I have ever made so I hope you like it. 

This flower bow was made with my Big Shots.  I purchased mine from Joann’s for $59.99 a few months back on sale.  Here is the bow I will show you how I made it.

The first picture is of my Big Shots.  the second picture is of the die cut I used it is from Sizzix Flower Layers #5.  I cut out some paper in the shape and laid it over the die so you can see it better.  The two plates on the side of the die cut is what I use to sandwich the die between them when I put it through the Big Shots. 

I found the fabric I wanted to use for this and cut 4 of each size.  The fabric I used for this was kind of a suede not sure what it is is called (it was in the clearance section at Hobby Lobby) but it is thicker than most fabrics I think this helps it with the fuller look.  Since the die cut is not that large anyways I usually cut 4 of them to fit the whole thing.  Some of my other dies I cut them to fit what I am going to cut out.  I lay all 4 pieces of fabric on top of the die and put one of the plates on the bottom and then the other one on top and put it in my Big Shots and put it through.

This is what it looks like when it come out.  The fabric is already cut.  How cool is that?  I love this machine.  It makes making fabric bows so much easier. 

You should have 4 larger petals and 4 smaller petals cut out.  Take one of the larger petals and put a dot of glue (I use my glue gun) in the middle of the flower (on the back side) and fold over the flower so the petals match it to the other side. 

Once it is folded over put a dot of glue in the center towards the bottom and fold it over again in half (the glue will hold it in place).

Once you are through with all 8 petals folding them over in half then half again you should have 8 petals looking like this.  The round circle is a 2” circle of black felt.  I use this as a base for my flower.  I also have a circle die cut it is very handy, I use it a lot for my circles.  You first start out with the 4 larger petals and position them around the felt.  I usually put a larger dot in the center and play around with the petals to get them where I want them.  Sometimes they have to lay on top of other petals since there is not enough room for all of them to spread out it ends up looking fine lay them on a single row (not the folded over part). 

When you have the first layer done you can put a large dot of glue in the center and place the 4 smaller petals (I know there is only showing 3 of them in the picture but there were 4 used). 

After all the petals are glued into place get a clip and cover it with ribbon then glue the top of it all the way down and  place it on the back of the bow. 

I usually use scrapbooking brads as my centers for my flowers unless I make my own button with the same fabric.  Most of the time I bend the stems off the brads or cut them off and put a dab of glue where I want the brad and push down on it. 

Here is the final product. 

Fabric Flower I made at the last minute today.

I got my daughter ready today and realized she did not have a bow that matched her outfit so of course I got out my stuff and hurried to make her something that would match her outfit.  The green matched the outfit perfect.  My daughter is so funny now she will tell me she needs a new bow for everything she wears around the house NOT.  This bow was made with my big shots but could not find the die I use to make it with online or I would show you what one I used.  I purchased it at Joann’s.  If you are using a big shot machine to make these bows make sure you get the thinker dies I think they are 5/8” I got some that were 1/8” and they did not work they cut paper but would not cut through the fabric. 

A few more I made

Don’t worry I will not tease you for long.  I promise I will get some tutorials posted on how I make these.  All of them were made with the Big Shots.  If you already have one the die cuts are not to bad to purchase.  I bought my Big Shots when it was on sale at Joann’s for $59.99 and found a free shipping coupon online. 

A few of the bows I made this weekend.

For almost all of the bows here I used the Big Shot machine (picture below).  I had to purchase some die cuts to use in them but have mixed and matched some to come up with some of these samples.  I will try to come up with a tutorial on each one of these in the next few weeks or maybe it might have to be after Christmas it all depends on how crazy our Hand Stamped Jewelry business gets.  November and December are usually very busy. 

The 2 bows in the top left corner were not made with the Big Shots machine.  The pink one is made by twisting the fabric and the black and white one on the top row was made with a Yo Yo maker.