Do you want to build a snowman?

If you have a child or grandchild of a certain age you will immediately recognise the title of this blog as the title of a song from the movie Frozen which to which I know all the words which have seeped in through osmosis over time.

I realised that it has been some time since I made any cards with my beloved Framelits circle dies which are always popular whenever I take them to a demonstration or workshop because it shows what can be achieved using the simplest shape and a sprinkling of imaginative fairy dust!

Most of these cards feature complete circles but below is a diagram which shows how to unlock the creative potential of circle dies by simply placing the die back onto a die-cut circle to create two separate shapes namely a crescent and leaf. By clever positioning the die you can create thin or fat leaves and crescents depending on what you need for any particular project.

Let's get on to the fun stuff! I have combined two sets of Framelits circles to give me a little more choice, the only other die used in this project is a is a snowflake from the fabulous Thinlits Paper Snowflakes Set by Tim Holtz. I started by die-cutting two white circles and a brown snowflake.

 Next, I stamped a sentiment onto a strip of cream card before tearing along both edges. I am using a stamp set from my stash and I haven't got a clue where it comes from, believe me, I've trawled the Internet to try and find it but the good news is that there are many similar options available!

After adding the stamped strip to the top of my kraft base card I attached the larger circle in the bottom right hand corner before trimming away the over hang with a craft knife. Next I added the smaller circle using adhesive foam pads before adding a triangle of orange card cut with a pair of scissors. Can you see where this is going?

 I used my scissors to cut a couple of asymmetric strips of red spotty card (Double Dot by BoBunny) before snipping into the ends to represent the tassells on a scarf. 

Remember our die-cut snowflake? I cut away two pieces to represent the snowman's arms before gently curling both halves of the scarf to add a little dimension.

 Here is the finished card complete with a few black adhesive pearl gems strategically placed to create the eyes,mouth and buttons. Really simple but great fun!

I have been using the Framelits Holiday Knit die set quite a bit lately and today I am using it to create a stencil. I then die-cut a blue circle before cropping it using a larger Framelits circle die. I cut a couple of asymmetric rectangles of the same blue card for 'sleeves' before applying white gesso through my home made stencil using a sponge applicator.

I die-cut a white circle for the head before adding the nose and eyes as before and I used my scissors to cut a tiny tag, accuracy isn't important for this! I punched a hole in the tag, threaded it with twine and attached a red die-cut heart.

This is the final card. The background was decorated with white gesso applied through the Tim Holtz Speckles stencil and  I added the stamped sentiment near the top before assembling my snowman using the 'Snowflake' hands.

For the next card I started by die-cutting two circles to make the head and body of the snowman. To create the mouth I used the technique outlined at the start of the post. The result is this small brown crescent.

 I attached the snowman to the bottom of my base card (there is a blue strip added in the final card OOPS!) and cut a strip of blue spotty card to make the scarf. I used my tweezers to add folds to the scarf before applying under the snowman's chin.

For the sentiment I used this alphabet stamp set (Hobbycraft if I remember!) stamping onto Kraft card.

You can see where I added the blue strip before mounting the snowman. I trimmed the words to size before attaching to the base card using adhesive foam pads.

The finishing touch is the white die-cut snowflake taken from one of my all-time favourite Decorative Strip dies namely Winter Elements by my good buddy, and fellow Christmas baby Paula Pascual.

Last but not least I die-cut three different white circles and a pair of snowflake arms before assembling my snowman. I then cut a length of thin twine and curled both ends by wrapping them around my tweezers.

I added the twine to the snowman with a glue gun before die-cutting a selection of tiny stars using a Christmas Stocking die from Debi Potter's Festive Paper Arts Range. To create the mouth I made a die-cut crescent and cut away a small rectangle which when added to the die-cut snowman looks like a lone tooth!

Here is the finished card with the stars added to the twine forming a festive garland. The background is simply two stamps creating a pattern by stamping repeatedly with pale colours.

I had so much fun making these cards and if you like them I may make a few more for next weeks blog. Sadly I ran out of time before running out of ideas, I wish every day could be like that!

On your bike!!!

Another week and another great die collection from Brenda Walton. This week I want to share a beautiful set of dies with you, it's a Thinlits set comprising of 14 different dies known as 'Whimsy and Delight' which should be a great seller on the strength of the name alone. Ms Walton doesn't have to rely on such gimmicks however as you will see in a moment.

Speaking of gimmicks, I have decided to strip away all the fancy techniques and products which I tend to overuse to mask my incompetence! I am just using some simple coloured card and a handful of stamps. All the dies featured on all the cards are in the set of 14.

 First up just a black silhouette, a gold bow, a strip of peachy pink card and an appropriate rubber stamp on a white base card

Same again but I had cut an asymmetric rectangle of the pink card for the gift and added the die-cut heart tag and bow.

 More of the same but this time I have added the die-cut basket, flower and leaves.

After adding the pink strip I placed the die-cut bicycle and balloons roughly where I wanted to stick them before using a pencil to mark their position with a dot and joining up the dots with a fine black marker to give the impression of string.

I was going to leave it at that but it seemed a shame not to show off some of the other decorative dies in the set so I made a series of mini cards to that end. First up.... the butterfly

Followed by the cherries......

the ice cream cone......

the swallow......

And last but not least the heart.

Great set, great designer (Brenda not me!) and great value for money!

Believe!

Every Christmas around the 21st of December my daughter receives a letter from Santa to say that she has been a good girl and that he will try to get as many presents from her(extensive) list that he can. I have stored all these letters in my bedside drawer till now so I thought it was about time I found a permanent home for them.

I found one of those book/boxes in a local shop and I bought a couple with a view to customisation at some point in the future.

I started by applying a generous layer of modelling paste using a palette knife, it doesn't have to be super flat, in fact a few inconsistencies are preferable.

Once the paste was dry to the touch I set about making imprints using rubber stamps. Always wait until the paste is partially dry before moving on to this step or you could have an ugly mess on your hands.

I took three of the Thinlits Holiday Knit dies by Tim Holtz and used them to create a stencil through which I could apply more modelling paste.

Once the paste was dry I applied white gesso to the book/box cover before painting using assorted shades of blue/green Distress Paint.

I sped up the drying time using a heat tool before applying a generous spray of Distress Stain which I immediately worked on to remove most of the stain with a damp paper towel.

After the dark contrast it's time to add some highlights using white chalky paint applied with a dry brush technique, always start slowly and build it up. Next, I dipped a toothbrush into some of the paint and applied a random spritzed effect concentrating on the edges and corners. Once dry I applied some pewter coloured gilding wax over the raised detail.

For the word 'Believe' I am going to use the Bigz Handwritten Believe die by Tim Holtz. I started by scrunching a piece of thin white paper before cutting a rectangle of mount board large enough to cover the die. I attached this to the paper using spray adhesive before trimming to size and applying pressure from a brayer so that it sits nice and flat.

I die-cut the word with the paper side against the die and sealed it with more white gesso before following all the steps above so that the word matches the box. You can see where the gilding wax has picked out the creases in the paper.

Time for a few final flourishes now. I applied a little chalk paint to the bells and snowflake charm and gently stained a length of crinkle ribbon.
As you can see from the finished box, I thread the ribbon through the bells and tied it into a bow and added the snowflake charm above the letter 'i'. I hope that this is something that Poppy can pass on to her children at some point in the future.

 Here are a few close-ups showing some of the detail. Next week we're taking to the road with a fabulous set of dies which include a magnificent push bike.... see you then!

A little bird......

Another week another great collection from Brenda Walton. 

This week we are looking at a Thinlits set called Birdcage which comprises the eponymous cage and a couple of gorgeous bird dies.

I come from an Illustration/cartoon background and my real strength is in my draughtsmanship. I spent the first 18 years of my life sat cross-legged on the floor with a pencil and a pile of paper, I can still sit like this for hours but nowadays it takes me a while to get back up after!

As the result of my background, great draughtsmanship really stands out for me and Brenda's dies never disappoint on this score. They are always sleek, elegant and well balanced which makes me very happy.

I have die-cut half of the cage from light grey card and the birds from white card (aren't they great?)

Next, I rolled out some white chalky finish paint with a brayer and applied to the die-cut cage, I deliberately left it patchy so not too much paint! Once it was dry I used some text stamps to add a little detail.

I applied some aqua coloured acrylic to both birds with my brayer followed by a little grey. Next, I applied a little green paint using a foam applicator before adding stamped detail using grey ink.

I chose a phrase which I typed into my PC before printing out. I then trimmed the phrase into three separate lines before applying a little Distress Ink. Next, I stamped the large body of text onto my white base card using the grey ink again.

 Here is the finished card all assembled and that should be that..... but I got a little carried away!

I had to make another quick card so I cut a stencil using the splatter die from the Thinlits Scribbles & Splat Set by Tim Holtz. I placed the stencil onto a white base card and used Mustard Seed and Wild Honey Distress Ink applied with a foam applicator. While the stencil was still in place I flicked some water onto the image before dabbing with a clean tissue.

 I applied the 'Thank you' stamp (Darkroom Door) with black ink and added some extra stamped detail before die cutting the bird from black card.

 It's simple but I like it and that wraps up this week...... Oh! shall we do one more?

I cut a rectangle of wood effect patterned card and used a craft knife to give the appearance of miss-matched planks before applying dark Distress Ink to the edges.

I die-cut the bird from grey patterned card and die-cut a circle aperture into the card using one of my beloved circle Framelits. I then cut a rectangle of the grey patterned card and rounded off the corner with a punch before applying Distress Ink around the edges and stamping the legend 'Home Sweet Home' using dark grey ink.

Bit of Distress Ink around the edges of the bird to add a little contrast and layer it all up using adhesive foam pads.... Simple! 

Love this set in case you hadn't guessed!

More than meets the eye!

Many thanks to Brenda Walton for cheering up an otherwise grey and rain swept day in my little corner of Wales. She only went and designed another fabulous set of dies for us all to play with!

The title of this weeks blog refers to the set in question which is a Thinlits die set named Lanterns and is made up of 23 separate dies.

The reason I titled the post 'more than meets the eye' is because the first time I saw it as a set of line drawings I was somewhat less than enthusiastic. That all changed when I received a sample and realised what a wonderfully versatile set this is with bags of creative potential.

I set out to make a card using only the lanterns but I thought 'No! that doesn't tell the whole story' so I couldn't resist making another couple of cards to show off some of the other dies too.

For this card I have assembled a selection of shades of grey Bazzill card together with some ivory and metallic silver card. I chose a floral stamp from one of Tim Holtz' Stampers Anonymous sets and stamped two rectangles of card using grey ink before die-cutting my two lanterns.... two of six I might add!

Next, I used a Hougie Board to add embossed stripes to the lanterns. you can also use a ribbler if you have one (wish I could find mine!)

I die-cut two tassels and two of the lantern centres before attaching them to the rear of the lantern using adhesive foam pads.

Next, I cut the three separate elements needed to create the flower from silver and two shades of grey before using a stylus to give them a little dimension.

I cut a rectangle of light grey card and embossed it using the trellis folder (one of my faves!). I used the same floral stamp to add detail to the face of my base card and attached the embossed card along with a strip of mid grey card and a rectangle of ivory card. I stamped the word 'enjoy' onto card and cropped it using one of my beloved circle dies before attaching a strip of darker grey card to the rear using an adhesive foam pad. Finally,I die-cut the tiny butterfly from silver card.

Here is the finished card assembled using a combination of PVA glue, double-sided tape and adhesive foam pads. As you can see I also attached loops of natural twine to the top of the lanterns and added a smattering of adhesive gems and pearls.

There is so much more that you can do with the lanterns alone as I will probably prove in the coming weeks (I've just sent for some Chinese calligraphy stamps!)

As well as all those cool lanterns there is a three tier cake and stand in the set, not to mention the lovely heart. I used quite a contemporary colour palette for this card 

 Last but not least there is a gorgeous little cupcake frosting and case die. A suitable stamp and a hand full of diamante gems later........

It IS okay to be different! I have to remind myself every morning when I wake up!