On your bike!!!

Another week and another great die collection from Brenda Walton. This week I want to share a beautiful set of dies with you, it's a Thinlits set comprising of 14 different dies known as 'Whimsy and Delight' which should be a great seller on the strength of the name alone. Ms Walton doesn't have to rely on such gimmicks however as you will see in a moment.

Speaking of gimmicks, I have decided to strip away all the fancy techniques and products which I tend to overuse to mask my incompetence! I am just using some simple coloured card and a handful of stamps. All the dies featured on all the cards are in the set of 14.

 First up just a black silhouette, a gold bow, a strip of peachy pink card and an appropriate rubber stamp on a white base card

Same again but I had cut an asymmetric rectangle of the pink card for the gift and added the die-cut heart tag and bow.

 More of the same but this time I have added the die-cut basket, flower and leaves.

After adding the pink strip I placed the die-cut bicycle and balloons roughly where I wanted to stick them before using a pencil to mark their position with a dot and joining up the dots with a fine black marker to give the impression of string.

I was going to leave it at that but it seemed a shame not to show off some of the other decorative dies in the set so I made a series of mini cards to that end. First up.... the butterfly

Followed by the cherries......

the ice cream cone......

the swallow......

And last but not least the heart.

Great set, great designer (Brenda not me!) and great value for money!

A little bird......

Another week another great collection from Brenda Walton. 

This week we are looking at a Thinlits set called Birdcage which comprises the eponymous cage and a couple of gorgeous bird dies.

I come from an Illustration/cartoon background and my real strength is in my draughtsmanship. I spent the first 18 years of my life sat cross-legged on the floor with a pencil and a pile of paper, I can still sit like this for hours but nowadays it takes me a while to get back up after!

As the result of my background, great draughtsmanship really stands out for me and Brenda's dies never disappoint on this score. They are always sleek, elegant and well balanced which makes me very happy.

I have die-cut half of the cage from light grey card and the birds from white card (aren't they great?)

Next, I rolled out some white chalky finish paint with a brayer and applied to the die-cut cage, I deliberately left it patchy so not too much paint! Once it was dry I used some text stamps to add a little detail.

I applied some aqua coloured acrylic to both birds with my brayer followed by a little grey. Next, I applied a little green paint using a foam applicator before adding stamped detail using grey ink.

I chose a phrase which I typed into my PC before printing out. I then trimmed the phrase into three separate lines before applying a little Distress Ink. Next, I stamped the large body of text onto my white base card using the grey ink again.

 Here is the finished card all assembled and that should be that..... but I got a little carried away!

I had to make another quick card so I cut a stencil using the splatter die from the Thinlits Scribbles & Splat Set by Tim Holtz. I placed the stencil onto a white base card and used Mustard Seed and Wild Honey Distress Ink applied with a foam applicator. While the stencil was still in place I flicked some water onto the image before dabbing with a clean tissue.

 I applied the 'Thank you' stamp (Darkroom Door) with black ink and added some extra stamped detail before die cutting the bird from black card.

 It's simple but I like it and that wraps up this week...... Oh! shall we do one more?

I cut a rectangle of wood effect patterned card and used a craft knife to give the appearance of miss-matched planks before applying dark Distress Ink to the edges.

I die-cut the bird from grey patterned card and die-cut a circle aperture into the card using one of my beloved circle Framelits. I then cut a rectangle of the grey patterned card and rounded off the corner with a punch before applying Distress Ink around the edges and stamping the legend 'Home Sweet Home' using dark grey ink.

Bit of Distress Ink around the edges of the bird to add a little contrast and layer it all up using adhesive foam pads.... Simple! 

Love this set in case you hadn't guessed!

Autumn copper home decor

Hi everybody!

I was determined flowers also can have an autumnal look... a nice copper cardstock and the great Brenda Walton Camellia Bigz die were the solution for me.

I decide to use them to create a seasonal home plaque

Here you have the step by step to create this gorgeous flowers

Tell me if they aren't beautiful!

This are the Sizzix products used in this project:
660020 Sizzix Big Shot PLUS (White & Gray)
659242 Sizzix Bigz Die - Camellia
657837 Sizzix Bigz XL Alphabet Die - Word Play

Be happy!!

------------

Hola a todo el mundo!

Estaba empeñado en que las flores también pueden tener un aspecto otoñal... una buena cartulina color cobre y el genial troquel Bigz de Brenda Walton Camellia, fueron la solución para mí.

Decidí utilizarlos para crear una bonita placa estacional para casa.

Arriba tienes el paso a paso para crear estas preciosas flores

Dime si no quedan bonitas!

Estos son los productos Sizzix utilizados en este proyecto:
660020 Sizzix Big Shot PLUS (White & Gray)
659242 Sizzix Bigz Die - Camellia
657837 Sizzix Bigz XL Alphabet Die - Word Play

Sed muy felices!!

More than meets the eye!

Many thanks to Brenda Walton for cheering up an otherwise grey and rain swept day in my little corner of Wales. She only went and designed another fabulous set of dies for us all to play with!

The title of this weeks blog refers to the set in question which is a Thinlits die set named Lanterns and is made up of 23 separate dies.

The reason I titled the post 'more than meets the eye' is because the first time I saw it as a set of line drawings I was somewhat less than enthusiastic. That all changed when I received a sample and realised what a wonderfully versatile set this is with bags of creative potential.

I set out to make a card using only the lanterns but I thought 'No! that doesn't tell the whole story' so I couldn't resist making another couple of cards to show off some of the other dies too.

For this card I have assembled a selection of shades of grey Bazzill card together with some ivory and metallic silver card. I chose a floral stamp from one of Tim Holtz' Stampers Anonymous sets and stamped two rectangles of card using grey ink before die-cutting my two lanterns.... two of six I might add!

Next, I used a Hougie Board to add embossed stripes to the lanterns. you can also use a ribbler if you have one (wish I could find mine!)

I die-cut two tassels and two of the lantern centres before attaching them to the rear of the lantern using adhesive foam pads.

Next, I cut the three separate elements needed to create the flower from silver and two shades of grey before using a stylus to give them a little dimension.

I cut a rectangle of light grey card and embossed it using the trellis folder (one of my faves!). I used the same floral stamp to add detail to the face of my base card and attached the embossed card along with a strip of mid grey card and a rectangle of ivory card. I stamped the word 'enjoy' onto card and cropped it using one of my beloved circle dies before attaching a strip of darker grey card to the rear using an adhesive foam pad. Finally,I die-cut the tiny butterfly from silver card.

Here is the finished card assembled using a combination of PVA glue, double-sided tape and adhesive foam pads. As you can see I also attached loops of natural twine to the top of the lanterns and added a smattering of adhesive gems and pearls.

There is so much more that you can do with the lanterns alone as I will probably prove in the coming weeks (I've just sent for some Chinese calligraphy stamps!)

As well as all those cool lanterns there is a three tier cake and stand in the set, not to mention the lovely heart. I used quite a contemporary colour palette for this card 

 Last but not least there is a gorgeous little cupcake frosting and case die. A suitable stamp and a hand full of diamante gems later........

It IS okay to be different! I have to remind myself every morning when I wake up!

Up, Up and away!

The title comes from a 1967 song from a band called Fifth Dimension which was part of the soundtrack of my early childhood. The second half of that line is, of course.....'in my beautiful balloon' which is where we start today's post.

Why 'Beautiful' balloon? Well, it has been designed by none other than Brenda Walton and it is one of several beautiful Thinlits dies sets in her new collection. This set also comes with a set of gorgeous text stamps which compliment the dies perfectly.I will probably showcase some of the others in the coming weeks but for now we are looking at Framelits Die Set 9PK w/Stamps - Hot Air Balloon which will be in shops from the beginning of October.

I'm also using my old favourite Mixed Media die set which always comes in very handy for mixed media and shabby chic style projects.



I am using a lovely paper pad from Studio Light which is perfect for the style that I want together with the die/stamp set. Apart from a few Distress Ink pads and some white card, that's pretty much it!

I cut a rectangle of blue patterned card and applied a few shades of brown Distress Ink around the edges before distressing and scrunching the edges concentrating on the corners. I used a fine sanding pad over the creases to add further contrast. Next I added the stamped sentiment in dark brown ink.

 I used a couple of my Mixed Media die set to add detail, I don't know what happened to the exposure on the second photo but they are the same, honest!

Time to cut the separate parts of the balloon which I then inked before putting together.

For my cloud (one of two in the set) I wanted to give the impression of sunset so I applied some Distress Inks to the base of the die-cut shape.

I took the bunting die and cut half a dozen triangles before inking the edges and gently curling up the tips. I attached them to the assembled balloon following a gentle curve.


Using double sided tape, I applied some short lengths of cotton to join the main body of the balloon to the basket.

I attached the cloud and the balloon to the background using adhesive foam pads before mounting onto a white base card.

If you like this card, and I hope you do then I must give 90% of the credit to Brenda Walton for creating such a beautiful and well thought through set of dies.

"You&me" Layout

Hi Sizzix friends!

Today I preparated for you a layout where I used many Sizzix dies 

and embossing folder by Brenda Walton.

 I used:

Sizzix Big Shot Starter Kit 660515

Sizzix Textured Impressions Embossing Folders 2PK - Rose Vines & Trellis Set 658356

Sizzix Bigz Die Floral w/Leaves 656520

Scissors

Glue

Glitter

Cardstocks

Die cut some flowers using thinlits included in Starter Kit.

Die cut leaves with Bigz Floral.

 Embossing leaves with folder Brenda Walton and than

cut out the leaves.

Assemble all and decorate with glitter!!

Thanks for your visits!!!

-PER LETTORI ITALIANI-

Rieccoci con un nuovo appuntamento Sizzix!!

Oggi vi propongo un layout in cui ho utilizzato alcune fustelle Sizzix

e uno stampo per rilievi di Brenda Walton.

 Ho usato:

Sizzix Big Shot Starter Kit 660515

Sizzix Textured Impressions Embossing Folders 2PK - Rose Vines & Trellis Set 658356

Sizzix Bigz Die Floral w/Leaves 656520

Forbici

Colla

Glitter

Cartoncini

Alla prossima!!!!