Love is in the Air

My daughter is getting married in two weeks! We are in the middle of a kitchen remodel and hope that it will be finished before the family arrives for the big day...

Here are a few projects for all of the spring brides.

You will need:
Sizzix ScoreBoards Cupcake Stand and Pennants by Eileen Hull
Flower Layers #9 by Eileen Hull
Flower with Heart Petals by Eileen Hull
Borders and Hydrangeas by Eileen Hull
Birds and Butterflies by Eileen Hull
Leaves by Eileen Hull
Serif Essentials Alphabet 
Little Sizzles Matboard Pack, cream
Prima papers, twine, aqua tulle, adhesives, silver glitter paper

1. Cover a 12" x 12" piece of foamboard with scrapbook paper.
2. Coat two sheets of matboard with spray adhesive and place 4 sheets of 6" x 6" papers on the matboard. Die cut four scalloped square bases of the Cupcake Stand with the paper side facing UP. Bend the sides up and position in a square on the bottom right side of the page.
3. Die cut L-O-V-E from silver glitter paper and adhere inside each square.
4. Add die cut 3D fluffed flowers, birds, flourishes, and borders to page.
5. Wrap a length of tulle about one third of the way down the page and tie a bow.
6. String some twine across the top of the page and add pennants die cut from the Cupcake Stand die from paper.
7. You could also add photos to the page for a personalized wedding layout.

I am very excited to share some other truly beautiful wedding projects by my talented friends
Jenny Marples of Pushing the Right Buttons and Anne Redfern of Redanne blog from the UK. They have been creating Artist Trading Block wedding favor boxes from my Block/Cube/Bank die like there is no tomorrow! Every one of their projects is impeccable and beautiful! Which one is your favorite? I love them all! Please visit Anne and Jenny on their blogs to see how they created these beautiful favor boxes...

I can just picture them working together in one of their studios, bouncing ideas off each other- isn't it fun to work with a creative buddy on a project together? Do you have a crafty friend that you can show your work to? Sometimes I think that is half the fun- to make something and then share it with someone who gets what you do...

I hope you are inspired by these projects- I sure am! For lots more ways to use this die, make sure to visit The Artists on the Block. We are always looking for artists to feature so don't be shy- post your projects on our Facebook wall so we can ooh and ahhh over them!

OR you can join our Art With Heart challenge over on my blog. The theme for this month is April Showers. Do you have a project you would like to share? There's a nice Sizzix prize that will go to someone who enters the challenge!

Thanks for reading and hope you all are having a happy spring!

Caged Bird Artist Trading Card



 Hi, it's Rachel here today to share a fabulous way Sizzix Dies and Embossing Folders can be used with Darkroom Door stamps. Every month on the Darkroom Door blog we host an Artist Trading Card swap. Each month has a different theme and recently the theme was 'Sizzix & Darkroom Door'! This means that all artists needed to use a Darkroom Door stamp with a Sizzix die or embossing folder. It was such a fun swap and the ATC's that were created were amazing!

Today I want to share one of the ATC's that was created by Godelieve Tijskens who lives in Belgium.

Godelieve started by making the heat emboss resist background, using Darkroom Door's Flourish Background stamp, WOW embossing powder and Dylusions Ink Spray.

Two different birds from the Darkroom Door Carved Birds Vol 2 set were stamped with Archival Ink #Vermillion, 5 times each, then cut out.  Words from the Darkroom Door Wildflowers Vol 1 stamp set were stamped with Archival Ink #Jet Black.

Godelieve used the Sizzix Bigz Caged Bird Die. She cut the cages and assembled the ATCs.  After everything was glued in place, Godelieve embossed an acetate cover for each ATC, using the Sizzix Notebook embossing folder. The Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher was used to secure the embossed acetate to the ATC's.

The corners were then rounded with a corner rounder punch. 

Darkroom Door has 2 sets with stamps to use on the back of your ATCs.  Godelieve used the Artist stamp set to fill out all her details.

Once they were all completed, Godelieve put the ATCs in a 9 pocket sleeve, ready to send in to the Darkroom Door headquarters to be swapped out with other artists! 

Supplies used:
Sizzix Bigz Die: Caged Bird 656634

Sizzix Texture Fades Embossing Folder: Notebook 656647

Darkroom Door stamps: Flourish Background, Carved Birds Vol 2  stamp set, Wildflowers Vol 1 stamp set, Artist stamp set
Dylusions Ink Spray: Calypso Teal, Pure Sunshine
Archival Inkpads:  Vermillion & Jet Black
Versamark inkpad
WOW embossing powder
Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher
Acetate
WeRMemoryKeepers Corner Chomper
ATC - 9 Pocket Sleeve

Stay tuned for my next blog post on 8th March where I'll share all of the ATC's that were sent in for this swap :)  If you'd like more information on how you can take part in these swaps, you can read all Darkroom Door Swap details HERE. It's a great way to 'meet' other artists and share your creativity!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Rachel

Artist Trading Blocks

I hope you all are ready for the holidays!

Just a quick post here to let you know of an exciting new trend here in the US- Artist Trading Block or ATB's! Similar to Artist Trading Cards, but better, because now you can craft in 3D! Instead of two sides there are six to decorate. The largest one is 3 1/4" so the size is manageable- if you make a mistake, no problem- go on to the next side and put the mistake at the bottom of the block- no worries!  Everyone can be an artist on the ATB's.



The blocks are made with ScoreBoards dies- this means they are specially designed to cut and score thick materials like matboard and chipboard . With matboard, your block will be rigid and not tear or wrinkle like paper would when you apply layers of embellishments. There are five different sizes of blocks ranging from 3.25" down to 1.5". Imagine the possibilities!  The dies will be released in February and are part of my Cherished collection, an adorable selection of dies for the wee ones. As you can see, these blocks just aren't for babies! Craft in 3D and customize the blocks to fit the occasion or person that the blocks celebrate.

Here is a Tribute to Tie-Dye- a tower that I made from the blocks using all different techniques and supplies. I will share full instructions next week on the Artist Trading Block blog so please stop by.

Gather supplies and die cut the blocks using Sizzix ScoreBoards 658983 Block/Bank/Cube and 656491 Cream Matboard.

Paint the blocks with regular acrylic paint using a stencil brush, then blended the colors together, adding layer on top of layer. Start with light layers- you can always get darker. 

 I used white Wendy Vecchi Embossing Paste and StencilGirl stencils for the next step. Place the stencil on the block and position medallion where desired. Use post-it notes or paper to mask off surrounding areas. Take a small amount of the embossing paste and spread it over the stencil so it covers the area of the stencil, then lift up carefully. Try not to smudge the paste until it has dried.

I will share instructions for the other blocks next week on our The Artists on the Block blog. Check out some of the amazing projects our community has been sharing! We will have fabulous samples set up in the Sizzix booth at CHA so if you will be there please come by and say hi! Would you like to be featured as an Artist on the Block? Please like us on Facebook and follow on Twitter to see the latest new inspiration.

Happy Holidays and thanks so much for your support of my dies. See you in 2014!

Eileen