Die Magic part 2!

Thanks you everyone for visiting and leaving kind comments. And for being so understanding regarding my aaaaaaaaaaargh! blog nightmare!

So, without further ado, here is part 2!

4) If the shoe fits …..
Slipper from Sizzix gallery....

OK, so it’s another way to use a flower, but I’ll confess this photo really caught my eye. You could adapt this and create a flower from fabric and use it to jazz up a ‘real’ pair of shoes from your wardrobe. It might work particularly well with ballet pump-style footwear … you could create colourways to match the outfit of the day.

5) Don’t be like me, get your dies onto your scrapbook pages!

Scrapbook page

The Sizzix site has lots of project ideas – as indeed, do many of the other die manufacturers. I like the way this LO has employed a number of dies – from the scallop-style frame and the bold snowflake, to the background the for title, to the stars.


6) Keep it simple ...

I love the simplicity of this  Pinterest card. It uses two dies – a ‘labels’ die (I think this might be a Nestability) and a butterfly die. There are lots of lovely butterfly dies out there and they’re really versatile. Try Googling for ideas if there’s a die in your collection that you think might have more potential than you’ve yet discovered – you might be surprised (and inspired) by what you find.


7) Deck the halls

Ok, so it’s not Christmas, but check out THIS  lovely idea for a Christmas wreath. All you need is some empty drinks cans (please cut and prepare with care) and a leaf die (or several). You could also use Tim Holz alcohol inks or similar to colour the leaves.

8) What’s the background?

No links for this one. Just some suggestions for what you use to cut your die shapes from. Cardstock, both plain and patterned, are obvious first choices. But what about using a page from an old map or atlas … sheet music … a recipe book … maths text book … foreign language book … calendar … holiday brochure … newspaper or magazine advert … telephone directory … children’s book. Depending on what you use, the result can look quite different!

9) Am I green with envy?

Yes, of course I am because I love all Linda Brown's creations!  If you take a look at her blog, you can see some of the lovely things she creates with, among other things, a range of dies. I love the way she draws on colour and texture and shape in her work.

10) And finally …..

Yes! Here’s one I made earlier. I call this my acetate sandwich card. To make this, I ran two pieces of cardstock/paper, one a plain and one patterned, through my die cutter at the same time (with a Nestabilities Labels One die). You can find the details of how I made it a little further down my blog. Just scroll down past Tallis and the ‘censored’ item to find out more!

I hope you feel inspired to make more of your dies and that your creative juices are flowing. I know that mine are, after putting this lot together!

Thanks for staying with me so long - if you would like to be in with a chance of winning a crafty goodie bag, please leave a comment below with your UKS name too (if that's where you're 'from' and I'll make a random selection at the weekend.

Bye!

UK Scrappers - blog hop!

Welcome to the UKS Spring BlogHop! 

You may have come to me from the lovely MiniOwner at  http://miniowner.blogspot.com/  

Thanks very much for stopping by!

If you lose your way, or have dropped in on me directly and want to follow the hop, you can see the full list with all the links here
  http://www.ukscrappers.co.uk/boards/...d.php?t=339546)

First, an apology.

Due to computer gremlins, I've not been able to post up my completed blog for the hop. What you see below is just the start!

But I didn't want to miss out, so here's the deal. Now that you're here, have a read and leave a comment below. And make a note in your diary is you're so inclined, to pay another visit later in the week, when I plan to post the full blog.

If you come back again and leave (another!) comment, I'll enter you in a draw for a random goody bag.

So ... here's chapter 1 of ...

IT'S A KIND OF (DIE) MAGIC

When I first started crafting, I don’t think die cutting for the amateur had even been invented (yes, I probably am that old!).

These days, there are lots of bits of kit out there to choose from – and lots of prices, too.

But whether you’re a Spellbinders devotee, a CraftRobo wizard, a Cuttlebugger (I hope that’s not rude!) or a lover of the good old big red original Sizzix machine, the great thing is that that there are zillions of dies out there.

And for every die, there’s a myriad of uses. And yes, I think they’re just magic!

Depending on the die type, they can cut and/or emboss paper, card, material metal, chipboard, vinyl, satin, felt and a whole host of other materials.

For example, I’ve cut snowflakes out of flattened Diet Coke cans and used them as Christmas decorations. I’ve cut and embossed shapes from tomato puree tubes (have you seen the fabulous colours these tubes are inside?!).  I’ve cut flowers from felt and stuck them on shop-branded paper-bags-with-handles (to hide the logos and other retailer gubbins).

I’ve made tin can roses from the lovely Tim Holz Tattered Florals die, and from the same die, produced felt floral brooches. I’ve cut treble clefs and musical notes to help decorate my husband’s (now defunct) music shop, from metals, mirror card and old sheet music.

Of course, I’ve used all sorts of dies in my card making, most recently, a bird on a branch die from Marianne’s Designs.

Strangely, although I originally purchased my die cutting kit for scrapbooking, I’ve hardly used it in this way – most of my creations seem to be in the card making category. But I have used dies to create lettering, frames and perfect shapes (my hand cutting looks more like a 5-year-old’s efforts than a ‘mature’ adult’s!) for my layouts.

I want to encourage us all to unlock the creativity that’s lurking in your dies and think anew about how we can use them in our layouts, cards and other craft projects. I’ve found some great ideas out there in cyberspace which I’d like to share with you. I hope they inspire you – if they do, I’d love to see the results!

So. Here are 10 things you could do with different dies, a bit of space on your craft desk, and a bit of time to play!

1) A flower die: cut your shape from card and set aside the blossom. Use what’s left as a stencil! You could sponge ink or chalk, rub over with pan pastels or spray with Glimmer Mist. This is a great way of making a background for a card or scrapbook layout.
See here for an example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=wJ3fPPIi-SY&feature=endscreen

Of course, this could work with all kinds of shapes, including abstract ones.

2) Get in touch with your inner blossom … and get sewing: 

http://www.sewcando.com/2010/07/how-to-make-die-cut-fabric-flowers.html
I think these would look great on a layout or a card. Follow the link for the 'how to' instructions

.

3) Frame something!
On a layout …. thanks MiniOwner!

Or on a card ….

What's the betting the flower accent is also die cut!? This fab card was created by the clever Dawn McVey, and you can check out more of her work here:

dawnmcvey.typepad.com

DON'T FORGET TO RETURN TO MOLE'S MUSINGS IN A COUPLE OF DAYS TIME TO READ THE REST AND ENTER THE DRAW FOR THE CRAFTY GOODY BAG!

So now, all you need to do now is leave me a comment
before you hop on over to Nabview's blog:

 http://notesonpaper.blogspot.com/ 

Not much craft but lots of snow!

OK. So I will confess to having done little in the way of crafting this year. It's not that I have no inclination: more that I've not had much time, what with all the other stuff that's been going on.

For example .... being involved in a funeral service for a close family friend ... working from home courtesy of the poor weather which seems to result in putting in even longer hours than would be the case if I were in the office ... dog walking ... rehearsing with the choir .... reading ... watching telly ... doing the housework ...

In other words, the usual stuff of life!

So rather than share any crafty pix (I did make a couple of 'with sympathy' style cards but didn't take any photos ...) I shall instead show you a couple of images of Tallis enjoying the snow.

Here you go!