Simplicity...

.... is Beauty! That's what is says on the rubber stamp and who am I to argue?

Although we love to marvel at incredibly intricate works craftsmanship, nothing quite compares to a simple artistic statement.

At times I love to listen to a fabulous symphony orchestra yet nothing quite compares to a simple 12 bar rock and roll tune bashed out by young musicians on cheap instruments.

I adore the complex flavours of a great curry with it's careful blend of herbs and spices creating a fireworks display on your taste buds but you can't beat fresh bread and olives?

I have made many large ornate projects for trade shows and magazines, most of them have been very well received but it's the still simple things that excite me.

Today I'm going back to the Thinlits Die Set 15PK w/Quiling Tool- Tiny Tattered Florals by Tim Holtz which we used last week, this time I'm using just ivory and green card and letting the dies do the talking.

I set out by die-cutting about 30 separate leaves before curling them on a foam mat using a large ball end stylus. This softens the card and adds those lovely little creases around the edges. Next, I creased each one down the centre. 
I die-cut each of the three spiral rose dies three times each from ivory card. To see how the flowers come together you will have to skip back to last weeks blog.

I cut an 11 x 13 cm rectangle of the same ivory card that I used to cut the flowers and stamped my sentiment across the base in grey ink using the New Day Stamp Set from the Precious Remembrance Shop before marking a circle in pencil using a circle Framelits die, you can use a compass if you don't have one!

I attached the leaves individually following the circle while trying not to be too precise. Next, I distressed the edges of the card with the blade of my scissors and added a faux stitched effect around the perimeter using a pattern makers wheel.

Once the flowers where all assembled, I attached them one at a time using my glue gun.

All that was left was to attach the rectangle to a  12 x 14 cm base card. It's tough to resist the temptation to add a few adhesive pearls or a little Distress Glitter but I managed somehow!

"What's in a name....

....That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet" 

One of Shakespeare's most quotable lines from Romeo and Juliet. Lets hope this blog post ends better than the aforementioned play?

In case you haven't guessed we are working with roses this week, paper roses that is. I first used this Thinlits die set back in December and I am sure that it is going to be a huge success because it's such stunning value for money.

The set comprises of 15 separate dies, six leaves and nine spiral flowers three of which are the roses I have used today. The set is called Thinlits set 15pk w/Quilling tool - Tiny Tattered Florals and is the brainchild of Tim Holtz. I didn't have access to the quilling tool at the time of writing this blog which is a shame because it makes things a whole lot easier; if you want to see the set together with the tool, follow the link above. Although spiral flower dies are nothing new the style and scale is perfect for smaller more intricate detail so beloved of mixed media and collage fans.

There are three sizes of rose in total and I die-cut a couple of each from medium weight white card. To turn the flat spiral flower into a beautiful miniature rose couldn't be simpler. First grip the end with your tweezers (Quilling tool is preferable) and start to twist in a clockwise direction until you arrive at the centre. At this point, you can allow the rose to relax making it as tight or as loose as you prefer. I like to use a hot glue gun to secure the flower as it is both quick and permanent. Once secure you can then use your tweezers to curl back some of the individual petals to create a more realistic bloom.

Crease each leaf down the centre and pinch in the centre as shown below to add realistic detail and dimension before attaching a couple to the base of each assembled rose. For the next stage, I wanted the card to be less absorbent so I painted each assembled rose with white gesso which dried in no time at all. To add a little vintage colour, I pressed my Broken China Distress Ink pad onto my craft sheet and gently spritzed with clean water to thin the pigment down before brushing it onto each flower allowing the colour to pool in places. this gives the flowers a shabby chic appearance.

To create the background, I started by applying Broken China and Shabby Shutters Distress Ink to the white base card using a sponge applicator.

Next, I applied clean water using a mister allowing the water to run down the front of the card as shown below.

Next I used a combination of stamps from the Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous range, the grey splats which you see are actually created using a rubber stamp!

Finally, I used a Dear Lizzy roller stamp to add the multiple phrases.......

 ...... Before attaching the roses to the face of the card with a glue gun, 

I'm sure that if Romeo had given his fair Juliet a card like this one, the story would have had a very different outcome? If only the bard had access to a Sizzix Big Shot! I guess we'll never know?