Talking Bigz

When we mention the Sizzix brand what springs to mind, The Big Shot machine closely followed by Bigz dies perhaps? 

Sizzix kicked off the die-cutting revolution some 15 years ago and as many of you remember, all the dies were steel rule (deep steel blade). We have come a long way since then but the Bigz dies are still as popular as ever.

I have used this blog to highlight the versatility of Bigz days many times down the years, not just the vast range of materials that they cope with but the amount of different applications they can be used for.

Today I want to share with you a few pieces made with one such Bigz die and old favourite of mine namely Flower Layers & Leaves (657690). This die contains seven separate elements and as well as being incredibly gorgeous it's also very, very versatile.

Cardmaking is as good a place to start as any, not only can cut card up to and including mount board but you can cut multiples in one pass through the Big Shot, up to 100 layers of tissue paper!!!

Die-cutting was developed for the scrapbooking market originally and it's still a must have tool for any serious scrapbooker.

Fashion applications are many and varied. The Big Shot has a growing fanbase all over Europe amongst the textile fraternity. Some people use it for textiles exclusively!

I cut dozens of small flowers from gold lame  (I knew it would come in handy one day!!) and folded each one into quarters before attaching them to this plain white t-shirt in the shape of a heart.

Here I have die-cut the flowers from craft foam backed onto mount board to make our very own disposable stamps.

Alternatively, you could use the negative shapes as stencils as shown below.

The quality of cut that you get using felt is fabulous, here's a little layered embellishment added to a beanie hat which just happens to be the right size for my daughter!

The flowers on this hair band were cut from voile, up to 10 layers at a time. the flowers were folded and stapled before the edge was run over the flame of a candle (this takes a little practise!)

this brooch is die-cut from very thick felt and the edges are finished with blanket stitch which I find very therapeutic!

Shrink plastic is an amazing material for creating jewellery, charms, bespoke buttons etc. I die-cut all the elements before punching a hole in the top of each. After inking and stamping I shrank them to size using a heat tool.

For the 3-D flowers Simply die-cut the large flower in several shades of red/pink felt and cut from the edge to the centre in a spiral before rolling them into shape with my tweezers.

This is a work in progress and I have another half dozen ideas to go but I thought I would share the story so far. Why not take out your Big Shot and stretch your creative muscles too?

Flower Power

This weekend my wife and I went for a picnic with some friends and our children. We climbed a steep woodland path which brought us out at a place called Bluebell Wood where the trees start to thin out and either side of the winding path is carpeted thick with..... bluebells!

I love being in the woods this time of year because the colour of young leaves and bluebells combined with slanting sunlight is nothing short of stunning so I thought that it was time for some rich floral colour.

I have only used one die, Flower layers & Leaf #2 from the good people at Doodlebug Design which is one of my favourite releases in recent months. If memory serves I used a little while back for some textiles projects (very versatile!)

You are going to love the papers that I am using today and you are probably wondering where you can buy them and more importantly, how much they will cost? well, they are FREE!!! all you have to do is follow this link and you can print them off to your hearts content!

This weekend I will be visiting Sprinkle Twinkle in Kings Lynn demonstrating all the latest Sizzix goodies so if you are in the area why not pop in and say hello! You wont be disappointed because it's a regular Aladdin's cave of all the latest and greatest crafting gizmos.

I started by creating a 12 x 17 cm cream base card before cutting an 11 x 16 cm rectangle of floral card and rounding off the corners with a punch after which I attached it to the face of the base card. I could happily send this card as it is I love this paper so much!

Next, I cut an 8 x 10 cm rectangle of cream card, rounded off the corners and wound a length of natural twine around the top before securing with a double bow.

I chose the phrase 'Bloomin' marvellous' from the embellishment sheet because it reminded me of my Aunty Blod! Using a craft knife I trimmed one end into a banner.

I attached the banner to the cream rectangle using a staple and die cut the parts of the flower from some of the assorted FREE Papers. Sorry to put it in capitals, but you don't get much for free these days!

And here is our card assembled. I also added the little die cut star burst to the centre of the flower and finished it with an adhesive gem.

Here's another one just for fun using the same die and papers and of course my old friends the circle and scallop circle Framelits.

May Day Felt Flower Wreath

1st May in the UK is 'May Day'. In the past, it has often involved celebrations of maypole dancing and appreciating the Spring flowers and greenery. I've been so inspired by all the Spring blooms lately so decided to make a felt flower wreath to hang on the door of our home.

I used the Sizzix Big Shot Plus Starter Kit which is getting so much use for lots of my projects now!

I cut felt petals using the Bigz Petal Power Flower Die in pink and white. 

Then I used a hot glue gun to secure all the petals together. I love glue guns, they are so useful for all types of crafting! It was much quicker than sewing all the petals together.

I covered a polystyrene wreath with light coloured burlap and secured with a glue gun.

I added a string for hanging the wreath and attached the flowers to the wreath, again with the hot glue. This is so simple to make I am thinking it would be good for the holidays as well.

I hope you like my wreath project and it has inspired you to get crafting. We celebrate May Day with an extra day off work, so I'll be using the time to work on some more craft projects.

Have a great weekend!

Mom Card

Hello readers!
Happy thursday!
Today I want to share with you a simple card that you can use for the Mother's Day!

I used:
Sizzix Big Shot Plus Starter Kit 660515
Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 4PK - Speech Bubbles
Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 8PK - Toppers, Borders & Corners

Textured Impressions Embossing Folders 2PK - Rose Vines & TrellisSet by Brenda 658356

Bigz L Die everiday Essential included in Sizzix Big Shot Starter 660515Kit 

Thinlits Plus Die Set included in Sizzix Big Shot Starter Kit 660515

Scissors

Pink Glitter 

Glue

White cardstock cm 13x18

Take the white and the other colored cardstocks. Paste colored cardstocks on white card. Die cut the border using Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 8PK - Toppers, Borders & Corners. Then embossing it using Textured Impressions Embossing Folders 2PK - Rose Vines & TrellisSet by Brenda 658356. Paste on card.

Die cut the flower with different paper using Bigz L Die everiday Essential included in Sizzix Big Shot Starter. Die cut another flower using Thinlits Plus Die Set included in Sizzix Big Shot Starter Kit 660515. 

Die cut bubbles using Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 4PK - Speech Bubbles and two hearts using Bigz L Die everiday Essential included in Sizzix Big Shot Starter Kit 660515.
Now assemble all!
Your card is ready!!
Do you like it??
See you the next thurday!!!

-PER LE LETTRICI ITALIANE-

Ciao a tutte!!

Oggi voglio condividere con voi una semplicissima card creata in vista della Festa della Mamma.

Ho usato:

Sizzix Big Shot Plus Starter Kit 660515
Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 4PK - Speech Bubbles
Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 8PK - Toppers, Borders & Corners

Textured Impressions Embossing Folders 2PK - Rose Vines & TrellisSet by Brenda 658356

Bigz L Die everiday Essential incluso in Sizzix Big Shot Starter 660515Kit 

Thinlits Plus Die Set incluso in Sizzix Big Shot Starter Kit 660515

Forbici

Colla

Glitter fucsia

Cartoncino bianco cm 13x18

Cartoncini vari

Prendere il cartoncino bianco e incollarci sopra gli altri cartoncini colorati che avrete scelto. Fustellare il topper e quindi embossarlo. Incollarlo al centro della card. Fustellare il fiore con differenti cartoncini. Fustellare la vignetta e i fumetti. Fustellare i cuoricini. Assemblare il tutto cercando di dare alla card un aspetto armonico. Abbellire con i glitter!

La vostra card è pronta!!

Vi aspetto il prossimo giovedì!!

Ciao a tutti!!

Giovanna

Bags of fun!

Today is a complete change of direction from last week, I wanted to do something 'off the page' as they say. 

I love using recycled materials wherever possible and I can often be found haunting the local charity shops for things to die-cut or decorate. 

I have been working with fabrics recently, and I'm forever picking the brains of Angela, our in-house textile guru asking increasingly ridiculous questions about various fabrics and their properties thinking that one day I can put all this knowledge to some good use (don't hold your breath!)

I am using another of those stunning Sizzix Bigz flower dies. I love the contemporary feel of the shapes and the leaf is just gorgeous as you will see. The die in question is called Flower Layers & Leaf #2 by the clever people at Doodlebug Design.

I raided the local charity shops and left with a grey clutch bag, two pairs of jeans and some lace fabric (I get the funniest looks!!). I cut away the seams in the legs of the jeans and layered two strips of denim back to back, I put a sheet of Bondaweb in between the strips and applied a hot iron. Having that double thickness will give my flowers more spring or body, and another advantage of using the heat fusible web stops the fabric from fraying when die-cut. 

I die-cut four large denim flowers and four lace flowers before laying a lace flower over each denim flower.

I folded the flowers in half and half again before securing with a a few stitches where the flowers come to a point. I recommend a good strong thread for fabric of this thickness. I repeated the process with the other three sets of flowers and placed them point to point. At this stage you can stitch them onto a circle of fabric to keep them together ready to mount onto your project. 

I die-cut one of the smaller flowers from a single layer of darker denim backed with bondaweb to stop any fraying. Next, i used a needle and thread to add a few stitches down the centre of each individual petal to give the flower some added dimension before dipping into my bling box which is a treasure trove of recovered costume jewellery including bracelets, necklaces and earrings etc. I came up with a rather lovely diamante gem which, if memory serves, came from a hair band! I added the gem to the centre of the flower before mounting this into the centre of our assembled denim/lace flower. I die-cut the leaf from the same dark denim before attaching both to the rear of the flower.

I attached the flower by stitching through the bag, any unsightly stitching can be covered with a button if preferred. Not bad for recycled materials? You can use this flower as a broach or to decorate a hat too if preferred.

Here is a card made using the same die to show the oval centre and retro star shape which are part of the design. I love the versatility of these shapes and this is another in a long list of dies that I could not be without.

Spring flowers

What a lovely morning - bright sunshine and lots of primroses in bloom - I think Spring is definitely here - even though it's still a bit cold outside.

Last week I met a whole lot of you at the Sewing for Pleasure show at the NEC in Birmingham, where we made coasters using the lovely flower die - http://www.sizzix.co.uk/product/659961/sizzix-bigz-die-flower-5

 

 these made an easy and relaxing workshop project - we cut the flower using the flower die and the coaster circles using -http://www.sizzix.co.uk/product/660117/sizzix-bigz-l-die-circle-5
and we used the lovely new Big Shot Plus machine -http://www.sizzix.co.uk/product/660020/sizzix-big-shot-plus-machine-only-white-gray
We stitched the flower centre to the flower first, and then stitched the flower to one of the circles.
To complete the coaster we stitched the 2 circles together.
Now some of you will have noticed that this is the same flower die that I used last week to make cushion covers because I want to show that you can use one die for lots of different things.
During one of the workshops one lady suggested that the coaster could become a needle case - so here's one I made earlier -

I used a thicker felt for the front and back of the needle case, and a thin felt for the centre



leaves, and the front flower. Instead of stitching all round the circles I just stitched a straight line on one side.
Later the same day another lady suggested that a child's bag could be made by leaving an opening at the top, and attaching a ribbon -

Again I used a thicker felt for the circles to give some strength to the bag - this would make a cute little Easter gift - filled with little chocolate eggs, or some beads to make some jewellery.
So now I'm back home, and haven't got any shows booked for the next few weeks so I can concentrate on those little baby quilts!!

My beautiful Spring Bag

Hi everyone! Today is the first day of Spring! Yippieee at last! Nothing better that starting with some flowers around us, so here it is  my Spring Bag with a lovely flower I showed you some weeks ago in this post  and how I used one of the Net Waltmore die to appliqué the flower  and freezer paper.

Polly Doodle die  is going one of my favourite dies because I can mix  the different pieces as I like and  get multiple options  in my sewing.

You will  see  soon how I use it again!

Well, come back to my bag made in linen that I designed by myself.

After I appliquéd  the flower with hidden stitches I embroidered with some stitches in 8 cotton thread matching the colors of the beautiful Liberty fabric. First with straight lines around and later with some french knot in the middle.

Then  I  only quilted the big panels  by hand , top and back.

I did some bias with Liberty fabric to tie right and left side.

Sew  all the sides together and adding four bias  as you can see in the pic. After that I sew bottom  linen piece.

I did the same with the lining fabric and added a pocket inside with some lace and a metal closure.

Before sew  the linning I  added the handles and some print folded fabric all around.

And here it is with some details. I´m more than happy  to enjoy this unique bag.

I hope you like  this project. Have a wonderful weekend and I see you in fifteen days.

Love

Mercedes

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¡Hola a todos! ¡Hoy es el primer día de la primavera por fin! Nada mejor que empezarlo  con flores alrededor de nosotros, así que aquí está mi bolso de  primavera con una preciosa flor aplicada y que te mostré cómo hacerlo en este artículo anterior.  Utilicé uno de los troqueles de Nel Waltmore para aplicarla con freezer paper.

Polly Doodle die está siendo uno de mis troqueles favoritos porque puedo mezclar las piezas que trae y hacer distintas composiciones , así que muy pronto verás otras posibilidades  con él.

Pero volvamos al bolso en cuestión que he hecho en lino y diseñado por mí.

Después de aplicar la flor con puntadas escondidas bordé con hilo de algodón del nº8 alrededor con puntadas rectas y en el centro con nudos franceses.

Luego acolché sólo los paneles principales y dejé los laterales sin  hacerlo. Con la tela Liberty preparé  biés para hacer unas cintas para cerrar los laterales.

Cosí los cuatro lados de lino incluyendo las cintas para el cierre y por último cosí la base del  bolso.

Para el forro seguí los mismos pasos pero antes añadí unos bolsillos interiores rematados con puntilla y un cierre metálico.

Antes de coser todo el forro dentro del bolso coloqué las asas y  en la parte superior tela plegada que previamente había preparado.

En las fotos puedes ver los detalles. Estoy más que contenta con este bolso único y espero que te haya gustado.

Feliz fin de semana y nos vemos en quince días.

Flower trilogy

It certainly feels like spring is here - I have a scattering of snowdrops in my front garden, some delightful miniature daffodils in the back garden and the mornings and evenings are getting lighter.

So as I've been busy preparing for the Sewing for Pleasure show at the NEC, this weekend, a project with flowers seemed to be the obvious choice, and I have to admit that this project keeps growing!

It started with coasters, which we will be making in workshops at the show, and then I thought it would be nice to show another project using the same die - and that has now turned into 3 cushions embellished with the same flower but each slightly different...... and then I thought about napkin rings, table runners, bag embellishments .....so I've stopped. There are 3 cushions, and the idea now that you could make lots of different things just using one die - the only limit is your imagination or time!

We have lots of different flower dies but for these projects I have chosen this slightly irregular flower

http://www.sizzix.co.uk/product/659961/sizzix-bigz-die-flower-5

 

and I used it with the lovely new Big Shot Plus ( not because I needed to but because I just love this new size machine!!) http://www.sizzix.co.uk/product/660020/sizzix-big-shot-plus-machine-only-white-gray

 

 

This is the first cushion - with the flowers scattered randomly - some with leaves but most without.

 

I chose to stitch around the flower petals and centres on this, and the leaves I just stitched down the centre -

 

On my second cushion I decided to arrange the flowers more formally into a wreath -

 



 and I just stitched the flower centres in place so that there is a slight 3D effect -

which made me think that it would be nice to create more of a 3D effect so that led to this cushion -

Each flower uses 5 cut flowers. Fold 4 of the flowers into quarters and stitch to keep in place -

and then stitch the 4 flowers together onto a base flower -

and then add a centre -

or -

Make as many as you like (I made 3) and then stitch them onto a cushion cover -

So this trilogy of flower cushions make me smile, and think about eating out on the patio - which made me think about a table runner with flowers scattered along it. The 3D flowers would make a nice embellishment for napkin rings, and you could add a name tag to each one for easy setting planning.

If you cut the flowers out of voile you could scatter them on tables for parties or weddings.

They could also be used to decorate a plain bag for a special occasion.

Think I'm getting carried away here - so perhaps I should stop here and get some more work done on those overdue baby quilts.

Whatever your weekend holds I hope you'll find some time to sew, or perhaps come and see me at the NEC in the Sewing for Pleasure show.

Angela