Flowers, Flowers & More Flowers!



What a beautiful day it is today.  At last the sun is getting warm and we can enjoy the outdoors once again!

Today I wanted to share some projects with you featuring the Susan Tierney Cockburn dies.  With the help of the Sizzix Garden Tool Kit  this amazing dies create the most realist effects for flowers and greenery.

The first project is a gift box decorated with the Hydrangea Die.  Each petal is cut, inked and shaped and then adhered to a polystyrene ball cut in half to give the shape.

This is the Crocus Die and again is inked and shaped to create the realistic effect.  These would be a beautiful way to decorate a table at a wedding or special occasion. 

Finally I used the Lilac Die to decorate this card.  With the use of the burlap it creates a lovely soft and natural effect.

I have had such fun creating these projects, each flower gives such different results.

Thank you for reading.

Enjoy your weekend hopefully in the sun!

Until Next Time...

Katie 

All is calm!

We are preparing for our busiest time of the year, namely our two big trade shows Creative World/Frankfurt in January and Stitches/Birmingham in February so everyone at Sizzix central is super-busy which lends the title of this blog a slightly ironic twist!

November sees the release of the new range of flower dies from the uber talented Susan Tierney-Cockburn, I am also working on next years releases as we speak. It's a real challenge to pit your wits against mother nature (the ultimate designer) and try to make the flowers look just like the real thing.

This week I have used the new Poinsettia die from Susan's range which is a Thinlits set. To get the best out of Susan's collections you should check out the Tool Kit which is never too far from my grasp, it is a brilliant addition to any paper crafters arsenal. If you want to find out more about the Basic Techniques or the poinsettia Die Specific Instructions then click on the blue links.

I wanted to keep away from the classic red/green poinsettia, as much as I love it, so I decided to go with white petals and mint leaves. I die cut a selection of each, in total you would need at least 8 leaves and 16 petals. next I used the leaf tool to add a crease line down the centre of each leaf before moulding with the large ball stylus to shape the leaves and add natural looking creases. Finally, I pinched the base of each leaf between thumb and forefinger.

I took the mint green die cut calyx shape and added creases  before pinching and stirred the centre with the ball stylus. Next, I added the leaves one at a time overlapping them at random.

I shaped the white petals the as with the leaves. I applied a little PVA glue in a fine line along the edge of each leaf and dipped them in some Ice Diamond by Pinflair, you could also use micro beads or glitter, it's all down to personal preference at the end of the day! I created a base from a white calyx as before and attached the petals to create the larger of the two flowers using a mix of the larger petal sizes.

Next, attach the assembled flower into the assembled leaves and create the smaller/inner flower using an assortment of smaller petals before attaching a large adhesive pearl into the centre. 

Once completed it can be attached to a card, gift box, tag, candle, Christmas tree, hair slide etc. You can even create several to make a spectacular garland. However you choose to use the Poinsettia die set I know you'll have fun.

In Rememberance

First of all I want to extend my thanks to all the staff and Customers of Rayher in the beautiful city of Ljubljana. I had a great three days and wish I could have spent more time exploring the beautiful countryside. I was lucky enough on my first day to have lunch on the edge of Lake Bled which is absolutely stunning, check out the link! We ran four separate workshops each day and on the first evening we had late night shopping at which I demonstrated all things Sizzix, they even served Sizzix cocktails (non-alcoholic I might add!)

 This Sunday I will take my place at the local cenotaph alongside many friends who have served in the forces down the years. The Poppy is such an evocative symbol and lends itself perfectly to innumerable craft applications, it works as well for appliqué as it does for paper crafting and there are many shades and varieties to choose from too.

I thought I would create a couple of simple cards this week using poppies, one using the fabulous Thinlits Poppy set by Susan Tieney-Cockburn and the other using some imitation silk from an old cushion cover.

As well as the Thinlits set I also used my Trusty Susan's Garden Tool Kit and decorative papers from the My Mind's Eye Collectable Range.

I started By Die cutting two sets of petals from red card, the leaves and central stamen from green card and 3 more stamen and the calyx from black card ( to find out more about the tools and techniques click on the links above to find tool kit tips and die specific instructions as well as some general tips)

Next, I inked the centre of each petal as well as the edges to add a little definition, if you prefer you can use pastels. I shaped each petal with the ball end stylus and 'stirred' the centre of the calyx on which the petals sit before attaching them one at a time with PVA glue.

I coloured all the leaves with a blue ink pad finishing the tips with black. Next, I stirred and shaped the green calyx on the foam mat and snipped down the centre of each spoke of the black stamen with a pair of scissors before cupping and stirring on the foam mat.

After separating the spokes with my finger tips I attached all three black stamen to the flowers centre followed by the green stamen and attached the leaves to the rear of the petals.

I hand cut the black pennant and created the text using my PC before printing onto the face of a standard sized card.

The second card was created using a Bigz Circle die of which there are many. I think it's an essential piece of my die stash, maybe the essential piece.

 I die cut 3 green and 3 red circles from a man made silk/satin fabric, in the end I didn't use the medium sized circles but they will come in handy soon I have no doubt! I folded the smaller red circle in half and grasping it in my tweezers I ran the crease over the flame of a candle to make it permanent.I then repeated the last step working around the flower before sealing the edges of the circle over the candle flame.

I sealed the edge of the larger circle in the same way before placing them together.I placed one of the green circles back against the die, but slightly offset to create a leaf shape. Once I had the four leaves I again folded then up the centre and creased them over the candle flame as before. Finally, I attached the circles together using a jewelled brad and mounted the leaves onto the rear.

This is the finished card, I created the text on my PC and added a length of folded ribbon with the ends trimmed as shown.

In the Frame!

I know that I have been harping on about the Susan's Garden collection of 3D flower dies from Sizzix but I make no apologies whatsoever because they are Amazing to work with and the results are always first class. This week I thought I would post some simple instructions using the dogwood flower set. I have used it in a slightly different way to which it was intended which is fine because if it looks great it is great, end of story!

I wanted to decorate a picture frame for my Mum keeping to a very simple colour palette and here is how I began........

I started by gathering together my Tool Kit and die set next I cut the flowers and stamen from white card and the leaves from green card. I used a Memento dye ink pad to add a little colour to the edges of the petals, chalks also work well for applying colour.

I used my stylus tools and molding mat to soften the card and form into a more naturalistic petal shape (see Instructions by following this link). Next attach both sets of petals using PVA and use a stylus to form the stamen.

Add PVA glue to the tips of the stamen and dip into Lemon Flower Soft (or pale green if preferred) and once dry, mount into the centre of the flower.

Add a little depth to the colour of the leaves using Dark brown and blue Distress inks to give a more naturalistic appearance. Next, use the leaf tool to add a vain down the centre of the leaf and use the stylus tools to form the edges. Pinch each leaf at the end which attaches to the flower and attach to the back of the flower using PVA glue.

Repeat this process a dozen times (actually, you would do them all together in a mini production line!) and attach to your frame.

In the Garden!

Looks like Spring has been waiting patiently to reveal it's true colours, this year more than ever there has been an explosion of colour as all the trees come into blossom at once and everywhere generally looks more lush and green.

 I will be out collecting wild garlic this weekend which grows by the ton where I live, it has a short lived season but is fantastic to cook with especially the leaves which resemble lily of the valley (don't mix them up or tummy ache will be the least of your worries!) the flowers are a fantastic addition to a salad and really tasty too.

The last couple of weeks I have introduced the new range of dies from Susan Tierney-Cockburn which come under the collective name of Susan's Garden which you can see by clicking the link. If you are a paper crafter and you love flowers and I have yet to meet a paper crafter who doesn't, then you will be over the moon with this new collection.

There is a tool kit in the range which is a fab addition to any one's arsenal of tools and is a must for adding dimension and texture to any paper craft project. Once you get used to the jargon and techniques you will be up to speed in no time, there are lots of handy hints and tips on the website and clear instructions on how to create realistic paper blooms in no time.

Here are a few examples which we took along to our recent trade show which all so feature the Sizzix Bigz XL dies to create the birdhouse and wheel barrow Just in case you haven't guessed by now, I LOVE this collection and I'm sure it will grow and grow (No pun intended!)

On the go!

On Sunday evening I returned from Sweden where I was giving workshops in all things Sizzix. I had a great time and everyone was so warm and friendly. It was especially nice to meet Eva and Marinette who work at Inzpira Magazine which is rapidly becoming one of our favourite titles here at Sizzix Central. They are so passionate about what they do, and how they do it, it's quite infectious! 

The projects in the mag are really inspirational and it has such a clean, fresh layout you can't help but love it. I was given a sneak preview of their English language version for ipad which is really innovative. Follow the link above and you won't be disappointed trust me! Here is a picture of me and the gals at the warehouse.

The company for whom I was working are called Hobbyworld and they have a great set up with some wicked designers working for them on their blog check it out to see some truly stunning work, I have it bookmarked already!

This post is entitled On the go! and there is a good reason for that because this weekend I am off to Porto to visit my good friend Patricia whom i haven't seen for two years. Patricia is the driving force behind Tubo de Ensaio  a wonderful company which treats it's customers like family, if only all businesses where like that!

I am attending the annual event as one of five teachers of real quality so no pressure!!!! Hopefully we will be creating the boxes below along with the rose and lily which were made using our new range of dies which has just been launched. They are designed by a very clever lady named Susan Tierney-Cockburn who has been at the forefront of paper flower designs in the USA for many years now.

The range is called Susan's Garden and I had the privilege of making all the project samples for our recent  trade show. I will talk more about the range next week, Adeus!