Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Top Dog Dies: Spring Release


Hi all! SO excited to show you five different projects from the Top Dog Dies Spring die release! If you're hopping along, you've probably come from Jeanne Jachna's blog. If not, you're welcome to start at the beginning on the Tog Dog Dies blog.


The Rabbits Die Set can easily fit into an Easter-themed card, or they can be used for a more versatile "love you" card like this one. I was trying to build a scene of a mama bunny looking down on her child. The punny "bunny" part of the sentiment is from the new Typewritter Uppercase dies. To give this card a more homespun feel, I used beige tones, ventured into the world of Copic shading, and sewed around the panel a couple times.



I thought it might be cute to bend the bunny's ear out since I don't have any other dimension on the card.



Next we have a row of Peeps, right out of their candy packaging! This uses the third and final bunny in the Rabbits Die Set, without his feet. I had to cut them off to get them looking like the treats. The sentiment uses Typewritter Lowercase dies and Typewritter Uppercase dies. Don't you love how specific you can customize the sentiment with alphabet dies? I certainly don't have a "Hey Peeps" stamp laying around, so building my own words is the way to go. The period is borrowed from a lowercase "i".


A generous dusting of glitter gets these peeps looking just like the real thing. I had a dilemma on making the face. You see, I rushed into glittering before drawing the faces on. I couldn't use a marker on top of the glitter, so I ended up turning them over and putting a lot of pressure on the marker until it bled through to the front. Bingo, that did it!


Whenever I think of chickens, I think of lots of them. Since the Feathered Friends Die Set comes with a small and large chicken, I thought it would be fun to make a teacher-with-students card. Lined paper is an easy choice to start with for the background. I shaded the bottom section to ground the chickens.


The teacher chicken is bright orange, for the focal point. She's also standing straight up. I've got her wing bent slightly outward for some dimension (it's only adhered at the tip). The student chickens have their legs spread apart to convey motion, or a more casual stance. The stamped sentiment is from winnie & walter's The Big, the Bold and You, and the die cut letters are Typewritter Uppercase dies.


I'm getting a head start on my youngest son's First Communion invitations, and they couldn't be easier to make. The gorgeously detailed filigree cross does all the work for you.


For extra impact, I used three layers of the cross outline and the cross detail dies.


So easy to make the cross shine as the only embellishment on the card when you start adding layers.


Finally, I wanted to see if I could turn this amazing cross into a piece of jewelry since it was about the right size. My mother-in-law beaded the necklace for me many years ago, and I just love it. The silver beads on the side tie in nicely with the filigree cross. To attach the cross, I added a jump ring to the hole that was already in the cross, and clamped it back around the necklace.


Here's an idea of what it looks like. Really love how this turned out!


The cross itself is made of 7 black layers, and a top layer made from Add a Little Dazzle metal sheets. Believe it or not, it's pretty sturdy. You wouldn't want to go swimming with this necklace on, of course, but I'd feel very comfortable wearing it out and about. 

Giveaway
Top Dog Dies is giving away an entire set of the new spring dies! That's $122.00 worth of products! To enter stop by the Top Dog Dies blog before March 6th and enter.

Your next stop is the wonderful Kimberly Wiener's blog!
She's always got something fun going on over there : )
 
Here's the entire hop:

 Thanks so much for stopping by!
-Kelly

92 comments:

  1. I'm ready for spring now with all your pretty projects! Great new releases from Top Dog Dies!

    ReplyDelete
  2. These are fantastic! I love the shading/coloring you added to the animals dies, just gives them so much more life and dimension. That cross die is gorgeous and then you go and make it a necklace???!!!! Awesome!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. The feathered friends are adorable, especially the shading.

    ReplyDelete
  4. So many wonderful projects and ideas here Kelly! You really showed off the versatility of the sets - love the cross pendant, and those peeps!

    ReplyDelete
  5. So much talent is shown in these projects! You are amazing! Love the peeps and the white-on-white cross!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh gosh Kelly...where to begin!! The white on white cross is my favorite, striking and elegant!!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Adorable projects - I love the critters and the cross is lovely.
    isoscia at aol dot com

    ReplyDelete
  8. I loved scrolling through all your wonderful creations with those great new dies and then I saw that necklace! Wow! I never knew we could do that!

    ReplyDelete
  9. WOW!!! I love how you added coloring to your rabbits and that Peeps card is totally fabulous. The Cross necklace is beyond amazing! WOW!!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Peeps are the BEST! Fun cards and great dies!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thank you for sharing your creativity.

    ReplyDelete
  12. oh my goodness all your card are awesome, I lvoe how your coloring! and the idea for the neckless is amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Great cards - the dies are so cool.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Love your projects! The cross is lovely!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Great releases! I'm so ready for spring and your little "chocolate" bunnies made me think of Easter basket goodies!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Beautiful cards! The red bunny card is my favorite, I love the stitching used and how the bunnies were colored to look like chocolate ~ yummy!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Your projects are lovely! Fabulous job on those Peeps! They look like the real thing! LOL!! And that teacher card is the cutest!!!

    ReplyDelete
  18. really cute cards, I am going to have to try that stitching.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Wow....wow....wow!!! LOVE everything you did with this amazing release. My favorites are the birds and the cross.
    <3 J

    jwoolbright at gmail dot com
    HerPeacefulGarden.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  20. I Love them all but, my favorite is the Happy Birthday with the threads. I have seen others similar to that and want to start using that technique. I really do love your interpretations using all of the dies. It is amazing how different people can come up with different ideas using the same dies. Thank You, Thank you, Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Wow! Amazing projects showcasing the spring release! I especially love the necklace with the cross...just stunning!!!

    ReplyDelete
  22. The cross necklace is amazing and shows how versatile stamps can be!

    ReplyDelete
  23. All of your cards are so inspiring!

    ReplyDelete
  24. So many fabulous projects. I am in love with all those dies - especially the chickens! They are SO cute!

    ReplyDelete
  25. WOW! Just stunned by what you did with the cross. Have to make the peeps for my daughter!

    ReplyDelete
  26. The cross necklace is beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Wowsers Kelly! What a amazing creations you have made! Love the simplicity of the Easter card - it's beautiful! Thanks for sharing all your creations!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Love, Love, Love your projects!! I am now a follower!!

    ReplyDelete
  29. What a great way to celebrate Easter. Make some cards and wear what you made them with. A win win!

    ReplyDelete
  30. I would never have thought to use the cross for jewelry. Great idea!

    ReplyDelete
  31. What a wonderful creations. Every card is so unique and lovely. Those birds are so cute.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Wow! Your cards are fantastic and that necklace, I have to say it rocks!!! Thanks for sharing. Love ya' Patricia B

    ReplyDelete
  33. Tooo Cute!!! Really like they hey peeps card!

    ReplyDelete
  34. Everyone of these cards are adorable but the peeps are great

    ReplyDelete
  35. I am pretty new to card making and did not know what to do with all of the lovely scraps of paper left over from projects. These cards are the perfect solution
    Thank you,
    Jeannette

    ReplyDelete
  36. OMGosh these are wonderful. LoVe them all. Thanks for sharing.
    Crafty hugs,
    Dawn
    DesignsByDragonfly {blogspot}

    ReplyDelete
  37. Wonderful dies for the spring, I especially love the sheep! Beautiful cards!

    ReplyDelete
  38. I love the peeps card along with the minimal card with the cross it is just perfect. Thanks for the ideas

    ReplyDelete
  39. The cross necklace is simply beautiful! And the Easter card is my favorite.

    ReplyDelete
  40. I like the simplicity combined with rich colors. I never would have thought to put the marker on the back to get the faces on the peeps. Charming!

    ReplyDelete
  41. I just love the little peeps. I have a grown son who was in the US Marines in Afghanistan he and the guys all wanted me to ship these to them at Easter. Guess they never grow up. I am going to have to buy this die so I can make his Easter card extra special. Love your work.

    ReplyDelete
  42. Hi Kelly! Where to start? I loved your amazing projects, from the copic colored die cuts to jewelry making and everything in between! The first thing I asked myself when I looked at the email in my in box from Top Dog Dies, was I wonder how these die cuts would look with some copic shading? LOL Love those chickens!! And that cross is stunning. Thanks, Paulette S.
    craftqueen417 at yahoo dot com
    http://paulettesprettypapercrafts dot wordpress dot com (I'm sorry Google won't let me use my WP identity!! and claims I have to go to a desk top to edit the inaccurate info they insist on keeping, in a world of mobile, isn't very functional I'm afraid.)

    ReplyDelete
  43. They are all great, but love, love the simplistic perfection of the cross.

    ReplyDelete
  44. I just love the necklace with the cross. These dies are so great!

    ReplyDelete
  45. Cute peeps!!! Great variety of work!

    ReplyDelete
  46. Wow what a selection of dies and projects. You've out done yourself! I truly loved the little "peeps" card. So cool and so much fun! Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  47. All the cards look so fresh! The shading and coloring really makes those dies pop :)

    ReplyDelete
  48. Great job on all your projects Love the pendent cross Wow how clever.

    ReplyDelete
  49. Love the cards especially the cross and the Hey Peeps. Great job....

    ReplyDelete
  50. Love the one with the chicken and chicks the best all are nice cards

    ReplyDelete
  51. Such great projects, love your necklace! And your bunny card and peeps card and your chickies.... all such goodness. Thank you so much for sharing

    ReplyDelete
  52. Wonderful cards and gorgeous necklace. I like the shading on the first bunny card.

    ReplyDelete
  53. I love all of your projects, but the peeps you made are fantastic! They look so real. Great work on all of the projects.

    ReplyDelete
  54. So very lovely! That cross card is my fav, so simply elegant!

    ReplyDelete
  55. So cute! I love all of your cards! The new releases are awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  56. You are so VERY VERY VERY talented Kelly!!!! LOVE the cross necklace!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  57. Love the projects really great dies for the spring Thank you for sharing
    Hugs

    ReplyDelete
  58. Love how you colored the chickens. And that cross s gorgeous. I would not have thought to put it on a necklace, but that is awesome.
    tonilea

    ReplyDelete
  59. Kelly especially love the peeps card and how you proved a friend of mines saying, "there are no mistakes in cardmaking," when you solved the situation of the eyes by coming in from behind. Thumbs up!

    ReplyDelete
  60. Awesome creations! Love the Spring dies.... cute bunnies, chicks and those peeps are just adorable!

    ReplyDelete
  61. I love what you did with these dies! So creative. I especially like the bunnies and peeps.

    ReplyDelete
  62. Kelly, your projects are all so cool!! LOVE the Peeps card, just genius. The cross necklace is beautiful, what a great idea! I also love the first communion invites....that cross is perfect for it. So fun seeing all your work!

    ReplyDelete
  63. Love the red you used for the card. Never thought of using the dies for jewelry, cool!

    ReplyDelete
  64. Love the bunny peeps! The cross invitation and pendant are beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  65. WOW!! Love the peeps & the cross. Gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
  66. Your cards are adorable and the cross is very pretty!

    ReplyDelete
  67. Those peeps are cute, but I especially love the chickens.

    ReplyDelete
  68. Great job on the cards. I love what you did with the cross.

    ReplyDelete
  69. Love you cards and necklace! You did a fantastic job on them!

    ReplyDelete
  70. Very nice cards. Love the stained glass effect. What happy Spring cards.

    ReplyDelete
  71. So cute! (I never heard of Peeps before so I had to Google it...)
    I love your feathered friends teacher card, and the first communion invitation is so very elegant.

    ReplyDelete
  72. Your creativity blows my mind!

    ReplyDelete
  73. Very pretty. Especially cross impressed me.

    ReplyDelete
  74. Love all your projects with the Top Dog Dies.

    ReplyDelete
  75. Love all the ideas!

    ReplyDelete
  76. Fabulous cards and your cross pendant is absolutely amazing! xxD

    ReplyDelete
  77. The new dies are adorable!! Love all the cute things you made!

    ReplyDelete

I absolutely love reading comments. Thanks so much for stopping by and taking the time to leave one! - Kelly