Hi everyone, it’s Annette Green today with Susan’s Garden Design Team. Even though Florida is rather hot and humid this time of year, it’s Fall in my craft room. While strolling through my local craft store the other day, I came across realistic-looking scented candles with battery-operated wicks. This is what inspired me for my project today.
Live, Laugh, Love
August 12, 2016Hi and welcome. It’s Sandy Diller here today sharing a fun home décor wall panel. I love mixed media and this was the perfect opportunity to get my hands a little messy and use my dies in a different way. I used lots of Shimmer Sheetz, fun foam, dies and gesso to create this panel. Hope you enjoy and will give it a try.
A Way With Words – Autumn
July 16, 2016Hello Everyone!!! I hope this post finds you well!! It’s Wanda here today. We are in the midst of summer with some pretty hot days and then a couple cool ones thrown in over the holiday weekend earlier this month. Cool enough that it made you think of Autumn. It’s not often here in southern Iowa that you’d need a jacket on a July day!!! So I took that cool weather motivation and created an Autumn piece that will look beautiful sitting on the counter in my kitchen when Autumn really gets here.
Hi there! It’s Marsha here today with a fun Easter craft that you can easily do with kids!
Easter brunch is a tradition in my family and we tend to have the same festive foods on the table each year. I usually buy a bunch of spring-coloured paper napkins to put on the table, but this year I thought it would be fun to decorate cotton napkins with fabric paint.
Hi there! It’s Marsha here today, back again with another colourful project!
I don’t believe in new year’s resolutions, but I do choose a word for each year. Just to start the new year with intention. It’s a new chapter after all!
I have thought long and hard about how I want this chapter to feel and I came up with: bright, active, upbeat, happy, buzzing… vibrant. So that’s the word I chose!
I always like to create something that I can look at to remind me of my word throughout the year. I usually create a canvas or a scrapbook page, but as I still had one more of those shadow box frames left from my last project, I decided to create something vibrant and shiny to put into it.
The idea for it came from these scraps that I had left after die-cutting rainbows with the new Rainbow Sky die set:
I also happen to be studying the life and works of Sonia Delaunay for an online class and the shadow box frame is heavily inspired by her Electric Prisms. I love her art and it fits my word so well!
But before I started die-cutting Shimmer Sheetz, I experimented with coloured paper first. It’s a good thing I did, because I found out that a combination of layering and inlaying the pieces worked best for me.
Here are the steps to create the layered, checkered circles:
1. Choose the paper/colours you want to use and then the sizes of Fitted Circles you want to layer. I looked at artist Sonia Delaunay’s work for colour inspiration.
2. Cut squares of Clear Double Sided Adhesive to the size of the Fitted Circles you have decided to layer.
3. Cut the paper in squares to adhere onto each quarter of the Clear Double Sided Adhesive squares. The paper squares in the photo are huge: you really don’t need that much excess paper!
4. Position your Fitted Circles dies on top of the paper. The point where all four colours of paper meet, needs to be in the exact middle of the Fitted Circle.
5. Die-cut the circles.
6. Adhere the checkered circles one on top of the other.
7. Optional: add leftover Rainbow Sky pieces!
I used the same steps to create the Shimmer Sheetz shadow box frame. I found that I did not need to use the Metal Adaptor Plate this time, but most times I do use a Metal Adaptor Plate for the best results when die-cutting Shimmer Sheetz.
Here’s a look at the result of my experiments:
Happy, vibrant crafting!
Marsha
Supplies:
Elizabeth Craft Designs:
1075 Alphabet 2 Lower Case
1117 Fitted Circles (coming soon)
1151 Rainbow Sky (coming soon)
Shimmer Sheetz
Clear Double Sided Adhesive Tape or Sheet
Other:
Extra deep frame (mine came from a local discount store and is 6.3″)
Coloured cardstock
Craft foam (black)
Label writer (Dymo)
Fly with Me to the Rainbow – Shadow Box Frame
December 22, 2015Hi there! It’s Marsha today with my first project featuring the exciting new Els van de Burgt Studio and Joset Design die sets!
Last week my mom and I went to the theatre to see a Dutch celebrity perform some of his songs. One of his greatest hits is ‘Vlieg met me mee’, a parody of a Eurovision Song Contest song.
The main lyric translates as: ‘Fly with me to the rainbow’. It’s a silly, humorous, sing-along (love) song that brings back happy memories for me and it’s the main inspiration for this shadow box frame!
Here are the steps to create something similar:
1. Cut a sheet of Soft Finish Cardstock to the size of your extra deep edge frame (my frame was 6.3″) to use as the mat. Use the largest Fitted Circle to create a window in the middle of it.
2. Die-cut the Hot Air Balloon and the Rainbow Sky parts out of coloured cardstock.
3. Use one or two of the chains and/or ropes from the Chains 1 and Ropes 1 die-sets to create the landscape. I cut two scraps of green cardstock to approximately 3″ x 6″ and used the chain/rope dies to cut each scrap down the middle.
4. Ink the die-cut edges of the four pieces with Distress Ink.
5. Cut a sheet of light blue paper to the size of your frame. Adhere the green scraps in an overlapping way to create the landscape.
Notice that in the photo my light blue paper and the green paper don’t exactly match up. This is not a problem, as this ‘shortage’ will be covered by the circle mat later on!
6. Assemble all die-cuts and use Clear Double Sided Adhesive and foam tape to adhere them to the scene.
7. Add the mat and the scene to the extra deep edge frame.
Mine came with a spacer to separate the mat from the image, but you can achieve something similar by adding craft foam or foam tape to the back of the white mat.
8. Enjoy!
Happy Holidays!
Marsha
Supplies:
Elizabeth Craft Designs:
1115 Fitted Frames 5 – Lace Circles (coming soon)
1117 Fitted Circles (coming soon)
1125 Ropes 1 (coming soon)
1126 Chains 1 (coming soon)
1150 Hot Air Balloons (coming soon)
1151 Rainbow Sky (coming soon)
PSF102 Soft Finish Cardstock 100Lb
Clear Double Sided Adhesive Tape
Other:
Extra deep frame (mine came from a local discount store and is 6.3″)
Cardstock (red, orange, yellow, green, light blue, blue, dark blue, purple, brown)
Distress Ink (Fossilized Amber, Shabby Shutters, Tumbled Glass)
Foam Tape
Hello everyone,
It’s me, Petroschi Bianca.
For today I have prepared a wreath to decorate your door and welcome your guests with the warmth of the winter holidays. Because the poinsettias are made of paper, please hang it indoors or on a door that is well protected from rain and snow.
To create this wreath you need a base of twigs, True Red Silk Microfine Glitter, Gold Metallic Shimmer Sheetz, a Metal Adaptor Plate, the other supplies on the list, and these 3 steel cutting dies from Susan’s Garden Club:
Garden Notes – Poinsettia
Garden Notes – Whitepine Boughs & Pinecone
Garden Notes – Holiday Holly & Berries
1. First die cut the poinsettias. Draw the veins on the red silhouette shapes with a Gold Gelly Roll Metallic pen. Use a Green liner pen or Green Metallic or Glitter pen to draw the veins on the green silhouette shapes. For added realism and dimension, shape them using the Susan’s Garden Tool set. Note: The die automatically embosses the vein lines, the pens are used to give them extra pop and contrast.
2. Next, die cut holly leaves and tint the edges using a Fingertip Sponge Dauber and Pine Needles (green) Distress Ink.
3. Using the Metal Adaptor Plate (required for die cutting Shimmer Sheetz) cut some Gold Shimmer Sheetz Whitepine Boughs. Review Els van de Burgt’s YouTube video if you are new to this technique.
4. Cover the Styrofoam stars with Clear Double Sided adhesive Tape, sprinkle with True Red Silk Microfine Glitter and polish the glitter with a fingertip to bring out the sparkle.
5. Tie a ribbon and bells at the top of the wreath. Use a hot glue gun to adhere the poinsettias, glittered stars, holly leaves, and ‘berries’ made from red beads. Refer to the project photo to see where to place everything.
Here are links to Susan Tierney-Cockburn’s video tutorials:
I wish you all Happy Holidays!
Supplies:
Elizabeth Craft Designs –
Garden Notes – Poinsettia (1090)
Garden Notes – Whitepine Boughs & Pinecone (1091)
Garden Notes – Holiday Holly & Berries (1088)
Gold Metallic – 3 Pack (SS 0212)
True Red – Silk Microfine Glitter
Susan’s Garden Club CountryScapes Tools Buy It All
Clear Double Sided Adhesive Tape (wide enough to cover Styrofoam stars)
Other –
Wreath made of twigs (purchased or make one!)
1/8″ or 1/4″ (narrow) red ribbon
7/8″ or 1″ (wider) holiday-patterned ribbon
Gold jingle bells
Red beads
Styrofoam stars
Fingertip Sponge Dauber
Pine Needles Distress Ink
Sakura Gelly Roll Metallic pen in Gold
Liner pen in Green
Hot glue gun and glue stick
Christmas Tree Frame with Fairy Lights and Shimmer Sheetz Ornaments
November 10, 2015Hi, It’s Marsha, back again with some easy peasy Shimmer Sheetz Christmas decor!
Do you ever go to a store determined to find something cute and then come back empty-handed because every time you saw something there, you heard this voice in your head saying: ‘I can make that!’ Or: ‘I would totally buy that, if only it would come in another colour’… ?!
Well, it happened to me this week: I went to the garden centre to look at what’s new in Christmas decor and I found this wooden Christmas tree frame with fairy lights that I liked. Except the colours were not to my taste and then I thought: I wonder if I can customize it… Or… maybe I can just make something similar using my dies and Shimmer Sheetz!
Here’s how I created it:
1. Get a piece of 3/8 inch square dowel and cut it into three parts to create a triangle shape. Glue the dowel pieces together with wood glue or a strong craft adhesive.
I’m not a wood worker and nor is my husband, but I just told him what I had in mind and he made something up. I don’t think he even measured it! The bottom dowel ended up 6.7 inches and the upright dowels are about 9.45 inches long.
2. Paint the tree frame to match your holiday decor!
3. Add a wooden building block or something similar to give the tree a trunk.
4. Choose three or four colours of Shimmer Sheetz and use Ornament Set 4 to die-cut 5 or 6 ornament shapes.
Remember that you need a Metal Adaptor Plate to be able to die-cut through Shimmer Sheetz with intricate dies like the ornament shapes!
5. Add Transparent Double Sided Adhesive Tape to the back of a scrap of Shimmer Sheetz before you die-cut the little ornament hanger. Remove the protective sheet and stick it on the ornament.
6. Wrap a small string of fairy lights around the Christmas tree frame.
I found these micro-LED lights at the garden centre. I didn’t use anything to fix them to the frame, I was able to just bend the wire around the frame and it stayed put on its own.
7. Use jump rings to hang the Shimmer Sheetz ornaments on the wire.
I like to use two pliers to bend the jump rings open (like you see in the photo above) and I close the ring (on the wire, with the Shimmer Sheetz ornament attached) by bending it in the exact opposite direction before closing it.
8. Find your Christmas tree frame a place in your home and turn on the lights!
Have a wonderful day!
Marsha
SUPPLIES:
Elizabeth Craft Designs:
1065 Ornament Set 4
508 Transparent Double Sided Adhesive Tape – 64 mm
Shimmer Sheetz
803 Cuttlebug and Big Shot Metal Adaptor Plate
Other:
3/8 inch Square dowel
Wooden building block
Micro LED fairy lights
Wood glue
Paint
Jump rings
Hi everyone,
It’s Frances Byrne here. Earlier on in the week on my blog I posted a Halloween Treat Holder Doorhanger for a challenge I do. With Christmas edging closer, I thought it would be fun to create a Christmas version of this which included instructions. This can be used to give a Christmas treat of some kind or even a small gift. It can be hung on a door handle or if you prefer hung on a Christmas Tree.
Here is how I created the card:
- Cut a piece of red cardstock so it measures 4 1/4 inches x 12 inches and another piece that is 4 1/4 inches x 3 1/2 inches.
- Take the larger piece of red card and using the tag edge from the Tags & More 9 – Sparkle die set place this as close as you can to one edge of the card and run through die cutting machine.
- Place the card so the straight edge of the card is in the corner of your scoring tool and score piece at 3 1/2 inches and 4 1/4 inches.
- Next score the smaller piece of red card at 1/2 inch; 1 1/4 inches; 5 1/2 inches and 6 1/4 inches.
- You should now have two pieces of red card that look like the photo above. Apply adhesive to the back of the smallest piece and attach it to the front of the back panel so that the bottom of the piece is lined up with the score lines. Note: by placing the solid panel to the hanger piece as instructed above we will be able to hid any joins with our designer paper.
2. Take a piece of designer paper that measures 4 1/4 inches by 7 3/4 inches (note: I used paper from a 6 x 6 paper pad so mine is shorter as long as the paper goes past the opening it will work). Using the tag edge from the Tags & More 9 – Sparkle die set place this as close as you can to one edge of the card and run through die cutting machine.
- Remove the tag edge die from the paper and position the decorative edge die so it is level with the curved shape of the tag and run through your die cutting machine.
- Adhere the designer paper to the back panel of your hanger piece.
3. Create the hole in the back panel of the door hanger so it can be hung on a door or tree by die cutting a solid shaper (circle, heart, ornament). As this one is Christmas themed I die cut the solid ornament from the Ornaments 2 die set.
- Optional: Cut a slit from the left edge of the hanger to the side of the ornament so the slit is at an angle. Cut another slit slightly down from the first so you have a tiny gap. Note: Whether you do this step will depend on where you intend to hang the completed hanger, if you are going to hang on a large knob type door hanger you will need to do this otherwise you can omit this step if preferred.
4. Apply adhesive to the tabs of the side pieces and attach them to the front panel to create the box to hold your treats.
5. Apply a piece of Transparent Double Sided Adhesive Tape to the front of a piece of white card which is measures 4 1/4 inches x 3 inches. Place the wavy edge (snow) from the Outdoor Edges die set onto this card so it is approx 1 1/4 inches up from the edge of the card. Place the Merry Christmas die on the excess piece above the wavy edge and die cut.
- Remove the protective backing from the die cut pieces. Cover the adhesive with Warm Diamond Silk Microfine Glitter, polish glitter with your finger and brush excess off.
- Attach pieces to box using photo above as placement guide.
6. Apply a piece ofTransparent Double Sided Adhesive Tape to the front of a piece of green card approx 6 inches x 5 inches. Using the 5 Part Pine die set die cut the following:
- 2 each of the three middle sized tree pieces
- 1 of the largest tree pieces
7. Carefully remove the protective backing from the top portion of each of the tree pieces so that the bottom part is still protected and cover adhesive with Spring Peridot Silk Microfine Glitter, polish glitter with your finger and brush excess off.
- Remove the remaining piece of protective backing and cover with Forest Green Silk Microfine Glitter, polish glitter with your finger and brush excess off.
- Note: If preferred you could have snowy branches by substituting Warm Diamond Silk Microfine Glitter in place of the Forest Green color. If you wish to do this, apply the Warm Diamond to the trees first and then the green so avoid contamination of your clear glitter.
8. Decorate the trees by attaching Red/Gold Glitter Dots Peel Off Stickers to them.
Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you enjoyed my tutorial.
Supplies:
Elizabeth Craft Designs: 1077 Tags & More 9 – Sparkle 755 5 Part Pine 762 Ornaments 2 914 Outdoor Edges 944 Merry Christmas 635 Spring Peridot Silk Microfine Glitter 633 Forest Green Silk Microfine Glitter 640Warm Diamond Silk Microfine Glitter 7018 Red/Gold Glitter Dots Peel Off Stickers 508 Transparent Double Sided Tape 64mm Other: Cardstock: White; Red; Green Designer Paper: Graphic 45 Twas the Night Before Christmas 6 x 6 Patterns & Solids Paper Pad Foam Tape