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/