a bunch of autumn leaves

Hello there,

I know spring is close....
but is this a reason not to use a whole lot of autumn leaves on my layout....?

No! There will be enough time to use flowers and spring things the upcoming weeks.

And i sooo much wanted to create a layout with a lot of
leaves (Tattered Leaves #656927) again...

Tattered Leaves (#656927) together with Bookplates (Tags & Bookplates #656938)
made a perfect frame for the hiking pictures of last years vacation...
At least a short title made with the funny Wordplay-Alphabet (Bigz XL Die - Word Play by Tim Holtz #657837)...

finished.... i love how it turned out...

Materials:
Sizzix Big Shot Plus (#660020)
Sizzix Bigz Die - Tattered Leaves (#656927)
Sizzix Bigz XL Die - Word Play by Tim Holtz (#657837)
Sizzix Movers & Shapers L Die - Tags & Bookplates (#656938)

Have a fun weekend.
Greetings, Stephanie

*************************

Hallo Ihr,

ja ich weiß, der Frühling ist schon ganz nah...
Aber ist das ein Grund nicht jede Menge Herbstlaub auf einem Layout zu haben?

Nein! Es ist demnächst schon noch genug Zeit für Blümchen und all die Frühlingssachen.

Und ich wollte so gern wiederein Layout mit jeder Menge Laub
machen (Tattered Leaves #656927)...

Tattered Leaves (#656927) zusammen mit Bookplates (Tags & Bookplates #656938) ergibt
einen tollen Rahmen für die Wander-Fotos aus dem letzten Jahr.
Zum Schluss noch ein kurzer Titel mit dem lustigen Wordplay-Alphabet (Bigz XL Die - Word Play by Tim Holtz #657837)...

Fertig - und ich mag so gern wie es geworden ist...

Materials:
Sizzix Big Shot Plus (#660020)
Sizzix Bigz Die - Tattered Leaves (#656927)
Sizzix Bigz XL Die - Word Play by Tim Holtz (#657837)
Sizzix Movers & Shapers L Die - Tags & Bookplates (#656938)

Habt ein schönes Wochenende
Liebste Grüße, Stephanie

About mini horses and summer stories....

Hi there,

last year on a lazy sunny friday evening i met "Friedel".
Friedel is a cute mini horse - and together we went for a walk over sunburnt fields...

No fear! I did not rode him...

For a long time i thought about how to scrap about our little summer adventure....
Something colorful and funny.... but i couldn't decide which paper to choose.

And than i had an idea. Why not use all the papers?

Therefor the Tag & Bookplate Die (#656938) is perfect...
so i was able to use all kind of patterns and papers...

And the bookplates are so cute for a little journaling...

What do you think?

Materials:
Sizzix Big Shot Plus Starter Kit (#660515)
Sizzix Movers & Shapers L Die - Tags & Bookplates (#656938)


Have a nice weekend...
Stephanie

*******

Hallo ihr,

letztes Jahr an einem faulen sonnigen Freitag Abend habe ich "Friedel" kennengelernt.
Friedel ist ein Mini-Pony - und zusammen sind wir über die sonnenverbrannten Felder spaziert...

Keine Sorge - ich bin nicht auf ihm geritten...

Lange habe ich darüber nachgedacht wie ich unser gemeinsames Abenteuer verscrappe.
Schön bunt und lustig... aber ich konnte mich nicht für ein Papier entscheiden.

Und dann hatte ich eine Idee... Warum nicht alle Papiere verwenden?

Hierfür ist das Tag & Bookplate Die (#656938) perfekt.
So konnte ich alle Farben und Muster benutzen...

Und die kleinen Bookplates aus dem Set sind so süß für kleinen Text....

Was denkt ihr?

Materials:
Sizzix Big Shot Plus Starter Kit (#660515)
Sizzix Movers & Shapers L Die - Tags & Bookplates (#656938)


Habt ein schönes Wochenende...
Stephanie

"Be Happy" layout by Gerry van Gent

Hello Sizzix friends!
Happy Sunday to all of you!

Today I have another layout to share with you... this time
mixing some new and old dies which were so much fun to play with.
This photo (of my daughter and I) makes me smile and feel so happy -
a great memory of last Summer so I decided to scrap it and of course
Happiness Phrases dies were the perfect touch to it.

657900 Sizzix Big Shot Machine

NEW 660804 Sizzix Thinlits Die Set Happiness Phrases

NEW 660236 Sizzix Bigz Die w/Texture Fades Butterfly Duo

NEW 660220 Sizzix Thinlits Die Set Mixed Media

NEW 660222 Sizzix Thinlits Die Set Scribbles & Splat

656938 Sizzix Movers & Shapers L Die Tag & Bookplates

657491 Sizzix Texture Fades Embossing Folders Springtime Background

*       *       *

To make the butterflies I used my favourite brown fabric canvas. 

 On top I adhered another layer of the pretty Butterflies but this time I

used another material - sort of hard fabric which looks like grid.

They used it as anti-slip underlay for carpets/rugs (Ikea)

To make my butterfly pop and catch attention I added

a small flower and I added cute white antennae.... 

...and some more close-ups for you.....

Before I used the Mixed Media thinlits die I

cut a strip of the bottom part of the background pattern paper (approx. 6cm).

Then I die cut the paper strip from begin to end - using 4 times the Mixed Media die. 

OTHER PRODUCTS I USED:

Maja Design Pattern Papers

Prima Marketing Flowers

Ingvild Bolme Distressing Tool

*        *        *

Thank you for your visit!

Have a creative Sunday!

Gerry

Shabby Chic with Romy

Hi!

Welcome on the Sizzix blog on this Tuesday!

Today I would like to show you a shabby chic or vintage-themed tag that I made with some of my favourite Sizzix Alternations dies and a beautiful sentiment die from Sizzix.

The Tag & Bookplates die from Tim Holtz is certainly my absolute favourite die from Sizzix thus far. I have probably used it over 150 times already, but still cannot get enough of it. The basis of this tag was also made with this beautiful die.

I used the harlequin die from the Tim Holtz Mixed Media set to create the brown background on top of the pink tag.

I further embellished my cards with some hearts that were made with the Heartfelt die. I used two large hearts and a couple of tiny hearts and added pink pearls to make them look more elegant. Last but not least, I added the sentiment "Sunshine" on the bottom of my tag. This sentiment was made with the beautiful 'Happiness Phrase Set'.

Thank you so much for stopping by today!

Have a wonderful day!

 

In Dutch:

Hoi!

Welkom op het Sizzix blog op deze dinsdag!

Vandaag wil ik jullie graag een tag in shabby chic of vintage stijl laten zien, die ik heb gemaakt met een aantal van mijn favoriete Sizzix Alternations stansen en een mooie tekststans van Sizzix.

 

De Tag & Bookplates die van Tim Holtz is absoluut mijn favoriete stans van Sizzix tot nu toe. Ik denk dat ik hem al minstens 150 heb gebruikt, maar toch kan ik er nog geen genoeg van krijgen. De basis voor deze tag was dus ook gemaakt met deze mooie stans.

 

Ik heb de ruitjesstans van de Tim Holtz Mixed Media set gebruikt om de bruine achtergrond te maken bovenop het roze achtergrondlaagje.

 

Ik heb mijn tag verder versierd met hartjes die zijn uitgestanst met de Heartfelt die. Ik heb twee grote harten gebruikt en een aantal kleinere hartjes. Daar heb ik roze pareltjes aan toegevoegd om ze eleganter te maken. Uiteindelijk heb ik ook nog het word "Sunshine" verwerkt onderaan op mijn tag. Dit woord is uitgestanst met de mooie "Happiness Phrase Set".

 

Hartstikke bedankt voor je bezoekje vandaag!

Nog een fijne dag!

Memories from Wrexham by Gerry

Hello Sizzix friends!

Today's project is about me :-)
I don't know about you but I often take selfies so I can share them online.
This photo is one of my favourite selfies and a special one because it was
taken in Wrexham when I visited for the first time Sizzix Europe headquarters.
And of course for my favourite photo I had to use my favourite Sizzix products!

As a base for my A4 layout I used the cardboard back of our old family agenda - 

yes, I never throw cardboard! You can use it in various ways. 

657900 Sizzix Big Shot Machine

659573 Sizzix Sizzlits Decorative Strip Die Spring Greenery

658711 Sizzix Sizzlits Decorative Strip Die Ironwork Gate

656938 Sizzix Movers & Shapers L Die Tag & Bookplate 

659127 Sizzix Thinlits Die Set Frame Layers & Flower #2

*    *    *

Love how the Spring Greenery branches match 

the fussy cut branches from the pattern paper.

I used the small die-cut circles from the Tag & Bookplate to decorate

all over the layout - I simply die cut them in different colours and 

adhered them on my project.

I cut two small ends of the Ironwork Gate and coloured them in black.

Then I glued them on top of the other ends - 

in this way I wanted to have more contrast and also

to match the rest of the "blacks" on the layout.

I die cut the doily by using two different pattern papers.

One of the pattern papers I used for the doily itself and 

the circle where I stamped the quote.

From the black pattern paper I used only the circle for the layout.

I cut into two and used half underneath the other as a shadow.

Other Products I used:

Webster's Pages Pattern Paper

Stamps - Donna Downey, Pink Paisley, Prima Marketing

A fussy cut bird - Prima Marketing pattern paper

*    *    *

I hope you enjoyed my project today!

Have a creative Sunday!

Gerry

No Rust for the wicked!

If I am wicked then my worst crime is the use of terrible puns in the title of my blogs as I'm sure you will all agree?

A little while back I gave a beautiful die cut 1950's car the 'rusty' treatment and I said at the time that I will use it at some point in the future. I have scrapped the car idea but I want to use the rust technique which was featured in Tim Holtz' Creative Chemistry 102 online classes...Hey! if your gonna steal, steal from the best I say!!! 

Seriously though, follow the link and sign up, it's jam packed with inspirational ideas showing how to get the best out of all your favourite inks, stains and acrylics and there's plenty of Sizzix inspiration to feast your eyes on too.

The dies I'm using this week are:

• Sizzix Movers & Shapers L Die - Tag & Bookplates by Tim Holtz (656938)
• Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 9PK - Rondeaux by Prima Marketing Inc (659706)
• Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 8PK - Pandora by Prima Marketing Inc (659705)
• Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 4PK - Winged Beauties by Prima Marketing Inc (659707)
• Sizzix Originals Die - Flourish Beautiful by Lori Whitlock (659714)

As last week, it's another mash-up of designs from different collections which work particularly well together. This week I am again using dies from Prima and Lori Whitlock with one of my old favourites namely the big ol' tag die from Tim Holtz.

I started by die-cutting four cogs two heart locks (for layering), a key (which didn't make the final project) and a delicious butterfly from ivory card. Next I lightly applied some embossing ink before sprinkling with Vintage Photo Distress Embossing Powder which is great for adding a gritty texture and works in a different way to conventional embossing powders in that it gives random coverage, ideal for distress applications.

I fixed the powder with a heat tool and inked the die-cuts with a combination of Distress inks to achieve the rusty iron look. Next I die-cut the beautiful flourish from ivory card and gave it the same rusty treatment.

I applied a rectangle of patterned paper (My Mind's Eye Nostalgia Collection) to a piece of mount board before die-cutting the tag before selectively inking around the perimeter. Next I stamped onto the top right-hand edge using various Distress inks and my trusty Dear Lizzy Lucky Charm rotary phrase stamp before stamping onto ivory card, trimming to size and distressing the edges. Finally, I attached the phrase to the tag using tiny staples.

Now all I need to do is attach the cogs and flourish to the tag, I have used screw head brads in the centre of some of the cogs. I attached the layered padlock using a couple of tiny jump rings and then I lightly inked the butterfly before curling back the wings and dousing with Clear Rock Candy Distress Glitter followed by a little strategically placed crushed glass glitter around the edges, I had to add a bit of bling with all that rust, and I love the contrast it gives.

And that, as they say....is that! except for a bit of Crinkle Ribbon dyed to match the rust colours for a finishing touch. I love the flourish so next week I'm going to put it to good use on my wife's birthday card. 

Tag Team 2

In my last blog I said how much I had enjoyed working within the tag format again, I also said that I might create another one in a different style, well, that's exactly what I did as soon as I finished blogging.... Couldn't help myself!

I wanted to go for a rusty look, but not the full on industrial rusty which is a bit too extreme for some folks. There are so many ways of using inks, paints, stains and powders to create surface effects and textures including many types of corroded and tarnished metal finishes as well as weathered stone and wood, some of which we will look at in the coming months.

I love these techniques because they transform die cuts and embossed surfaces into something previously unimagined and make you look at them in a different light opening up new creative possibilities at the same time. I am always amazed and inspired by the ingenuity of the papercrafting projects that I've seen at shows, trade fares, online and in blogs it really is food for the creative soul.

For today's blog I used the Movers & Shapers Tag and Bookplates die, the Tattered Garland and Spring Greenery Decorative strip dies and the Trellis Frameworks die as well as the embossing folder from the new Big Shot starter kit. All the dies are designed by none other than Mr Tim Holtz.

I started by die cutting all the elements that I needed from smooth ivory card, I cut more flowers than I thought I might need just in case! Next I stamped the Mustard Seed distress ink pad onto my craft sheet before spritzing with water and passing the die cuts through the wet ink and drying with my heat tool. Next, I attached part of the trellis die cut to the tag and stamped over the surface with a clear embossing ink pad and sprinkled on a pinch of Fired Brick and Vintage Photo distress embossing powder before fixing with my heat tool. this adds a lovely texture to the tag.

Rusty metal isn't just about oranges, reds and browns so I added some blue and green distress ink before going in with the orange followed by the Vintage Photo ink. To help blend and mottle the colours I lightly spritzed with water and dried with my heat tool.

The next step is to emboss the lower half of the tag and gently rubbing with the Vintage Photo ink pad to bring out the detail. I gave the bookplate, leaves and flowers the same treatment and layered some of the flowers together curling and twisting the petals where necessary to create extra dimension. In the centre of the bookplate I added a printed strip of card bearing the legend 'Treasure' attached with a stapler. Now all that is left to do is to mount the various bits and pieces onto my tag.

And here is the final tag, the ribbon and the string were stained using some of the same colours I hope you like it, I've really had fun with these tags, Maybe I will return to them at some point but next week we will look at a great die which is part of the quilting/appliqué range which all you papercrafters may not have seen, Why should the textile fraternity have all the fun?

Tag team

I made some tags for the excellent Dutch magazine HobbyHandig  this week and I had forgotten what a fun format it is to work in. The large Movers & Shapers Tag & Bookplates by Tim Holtz is about 8 x16cm and the restricted size seems to stretch your creativity which is no bad thing if you ask me, and let's face it, Tim doesn't seem to struggle does he?

I thought I would play around with a few inks and acrylics on the bookplates which come with this most excellent die. I had so much fun that I may turn this into a mini-series so look out for 'Return of the Tag'.

This die is a Bigz L which means it cuts super thick materials like the mount board I have used today. It's a great investment and something you will return to time and again.

I started by die cutting the bookplate from a scrap of old mount board and painting it with gesso which for those of you who don't know is a super thick paint used to prime art canvases, it's also great for creating a variety of textured effects. 

Once I had applied a nice thick layer I dabbed it with my brush to add random texture, I'm going for the flaky plaster look. Once the gesso is dry, (you can use a heat tool to speed this up) I painted a thin layer of  pale blue acrylic onto the surface before removing most of it with some cotton wool. This will give you a lovely subtle distressed look.

Next, I die cut two sizes of flower and a couple of leaves using the Tattered Garland Decorative Strip Die by Tim Holtz to create a couple of 3D roses. I didn't post the step by step instructions for this as I covered this a few months back (New Blooms part 1, January 8th) using the Tattered Florals flowers, obviously this is done on a much smaller scale.

 I then added a layer of the gesso don't worry if it is a bit gloopy, it all adds to the effect. once the gesso was dry I applied the pale blue paint using a dry brush effect. I used the same techniques to distress an angel made from resin which is part of a set from those clever people at Prima Marketing

It's time to cut my tags, I cut one with a subtle damask pattern and one from wood grain paper both from My Mind's Eye collections. I trimmed away part of the base of the damask tag and applied distress inks to the edges of both in a very subtle fashion. Next, I used a paper distressing tool to rough up the edges of the damask tag a little and scrunched up the bottom. I'm going for a tattered, peeling wallpaper look! Finally, I attached the two tags together.

And here is the finished Tag, the bookplate has a piece of inked card behind it with a couple of word stickers from the Chitchat idea-ology pad by Tim Holtz added. I mounted the bookplate with a length of pale blue organza ribbon before attaching the matching cherub and roses. Finally, I threaded some stained lace and organza ribbon through the hole at the top of the tag.

I hope you can tell from the photo but the resemblance to plaster is quite uncanny, Maybe we'll go for rusty metal next week?

Love

Hi everyone
I hope you all had a great week, today i will show you a tag using the beautiful  Tim Holtz  Die  Tattered Florals, Spring Greenery

 

Items used:
Sizzix Bigz  Die  Tattered Florals 656640
Sizzix  Sizzlits decorative Strip Die Spring Greenery
Sizzix Movers & Shapers L tag & Bookplates 656938
Supply list:
Paper: Old music paper, cardstock
Ink: Hero Arts Shadow ink Cup o Joe Mid-Tone
Stamp: Tim Holtz Collection
Gaze, ribbon, brads and embossing creme white

How to make.
Die cut using cardstock and music paper  Tag & Bookplates distress and ink the edged , glue the music paper to the cardstock
Die cut the  tattered florals put on embossing creme on all edged
Die cut using the spring greenery , stamp "Love" on the tag and decorate using the die cuts, put some gaze back the flower

Thanks for stopping by, se you next Tuesday

Wish you a great week

Pia

Hej alle

jeg håber I alle har haft en dejlig uge, i dag vil jeg vise en tag hvor jeg har brugt flere af Tim Holtz fantastiske dies.

Sizzix dies jeg har brugt:
Sizzix Bigz  Die  Tattered Florals 656640
Sizzix  Sizzlits decorative Strip Die Spring Greenery
Sizzix Movers & Shapers L tag & Bookplates 656938
Supply list:
Papir: gammels nodepapir og karton
Sværte: Hero Arts Shadow ink Cup o Joe Mid-Tone
Stempler: Tim Holtz Collection
Gaze, bånd, bradsog embossing creme hvid
Fremgangsmåde:
Jeg starter med at udstanse tagen i karton og nodepapir ved at bruge tag og Bookplates die, dristresser og ink kanterne inden jeg limer nodepapiret på karton tagen. udstans de øvrige die, sæt blomsten sammen med en brads og brug embossing creme på blade og kanterne af blomsten og rundt på tagen, Under blomsten har jeg sat et stykke gaze, stempel på tagen og lim de øvrige dele fast til tagen

Tak fordi du kiggede forbi, vi ses næste tirsdag

Ønsker dig en dejlig uge

Pia