A Week to Die For: DIY Embellies

Welcome back for another spotlight on winnie & walter cutaways!

These cards all feature the Big Bang Confetti cutaways. I really love that this cluster of dies produces 4 different sizes of circles, stars and diamonds in one pass. Creating your own embellishments has never been easier! I originally had a different idea for these cutaways, but after I saw Shay's fun and funky card this week I had to abort and go a different direction.

A couple turns of the crank later and I had a large selection of shapes to work with. Now it's time to mix and match.



I really had a blast putting these together. You really can't go wrong. After I was done with the confetti I added a few birthday mix sequins for good measure.



The fun thing about making these embellies, aside from picking out the colorful papers, is randomly adhering them on top of each other. Usually I'm a liner-upper and center everything. Wow, it's so much quicker to throw caution to the wind and just plop them down!

  
To add to the party atmosphere, I layered a few other patterns under the main panel and secured them all with a strip of washi tape.
 

With the leftovers, I made a little baby card. The embellies are quieter on this card, with tone-on-tone layers, and simple stars. I was originally having trouble with where to put the sentiment on this and the last card, until I decided to use one of the embellies to house the sentiment. Problem solved.

My final card uses more left overs. I used the small diamonds to fill the white space in the center of the circles. This card uses the colors from the current Fusion Challenge, and all three cards use the sketch from the challenge.

  
Thanks for looking, and I'll see you tomorrow for the final episode in this week to die for!
-Kelly

A Week to Die For: Gold Stitching

Welcome back for another spotlight on winnie & walter cutaways!



Julie and Shay are masters in efficiency; they spend countless hours trying to jam as much goodness into each section of metal they offer up in their cutaways sets. The Essentials: Katharine cutaway is certainly no exception. How can you not get excited about all the "essentials" in this set?!

For this card, I limited myself to just the row of circles. It seems innocent enough, but holy cow, the possibilities are endless! Seriously, my sketchbook has about a dozen stitching ideas for that one alone. All those perfectly lined up holes ... [happy sigh].
 

Just a die cut at the top and bottom of the panel and you are all set to create whatever patterns you can dream up. This design was simply to have all the thread going from one end and meeting in the middle of the other end. The shine that you get from all those gold strands is really something. 

The sentiment uses the In a Word: Happy cutaway. I was inspired by this card from Danielle Flanders where she brilliantly threaded a second sentiment through the first. LOVE that idea and couldn't wait to try it with the big words from winnie & walter's "In a Word" series.

Love the combination of navy, pink and gold ... it's very Springy to me, without being watered down pastels.

Thanks again for looking! See you tomorrow for more cutaways!

-Kelly

A Week to Die For: a Present-Card from The Big, the Bold and Party

(Please go here for the Top Dog Dies blog hop)






Welcome to a week showcasing the wonderful cutaways from winnie & walter's last birthday celebration release! This project is actually a card, made to look like a present. The double-sided floral "wrapping paper" is from Chickaniddy Designs. I ran a layered band of patterned pink paper around the "box" to look like ribbon. The "bow" on top is the "birthday" cutaway from The Big, the Bold and Party (which is currently sold out, but please check back later, it's such a great set!)

I cut a few slots in the top of the box and slid the birthday cutaway through them. Love how this stands up over the ribbon just like a bow on your package would. Finally, the tag is from a new series, Essentials: Katharine. which will be featured another day. It's secured onto the card with a couple rounds of silver embroidery thread.

Here's the card, folded flat, ready to be stuck in an envelope.

Please join us tomorrow when we feature another amazing winnie & walter set of cutaways!

Thanks for stopping!
-Kelly

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:

Jeanne Jachna
Kelly Griglione <--you are here : )
Kimberly Wiener
Kymona Tracey
Marcia Dehn-Nix
Natalie Dever
Nicki Scheck
Piali Biswas
Vickie Zimmer

 Thanks so much for stopping by!
-Kelly

Functional Friday: BEST TIP EVER for DELICATE DIE CUTS!

Eeek! I'm SO EXCITED to share this amazing die cutting tip with you, I can hardly stand it!! First I'll share my card for another Functional Friday installment. In case you missed this post, I'm featuring one die from Top Dog Dies each month, and each Friday I'm sharing a different way to use the die. My hope is that even if you don't own that exact die, the ideas will translate to similar dies you do own.

This technique uses the tiny dies cuts as embellishments. Think of them like sequins or enamel dots. They make great filler, and in this case bridge the gap between the upper and lower sentiment. Let's take a look ...

I cut the Heart Border Die from some matte gold cardstock.

I dislike using tweezers for fear of bending or marking the paper, so I instead use the Silhouette Pick Me Up tool (note: the best tip ever is still to come, it's not this!) The Pick Me Up tool is wonderful for this type of job. The end has a sticky, gum-like substance that picks up the dies for you. While the tiny die is on the tool, I apply the adhesive and press it onto the card base.

The white Heart Border Die is used as a base for stitching. It goes so quickly since the stitches are as large as can be. 

   

I think it would also be fun to spell out someone's name, make a design, or even just place random stitches across the strip. So many possibilities. In this example, the die is the same color as the background to make the stitched letters more readable, but if you're stitching designs you could also use a different colored die for greater contrast.

OK, now for the BEST TIP EVER for DELICATE DIE CUTS.

If you've heard the one about dryer sheets, you can move on. But if not, you've gotta see what I learned from my crafty friends Helen & Brenda (thanks guys!!)

To start out with, it's crucial to use a Metal Adapter Plate with any intricate die, otherwise you run the risk of the cuts not being made. Here you can see the sandwich is the same as usual, except for the metal adapter plate being under the paper.

 

I'm guessing you've run into this scene before. The die comes out of the machine with all the paper still stuck inside the die. Ugh. When I remove the paper from the die (usually pull it out with a piece of tape) it's all in one piece and I need to run my fingers up and down the strip 7-8 times before all the tiny hearts fall out. Not the worst thing in the world, but it still takes a minute or so, and that can add up if you're making more than one card.

Here's where the dryer sheets come in. You want to layer 4 of them right on top of each other. These have already been used so you see the cuts on them. Yours, of course, will look like new dryer sheets. 

Now run the die (with the paper still in it) through the die cutter again, placing the stack of dryer sheets under the die and on top of the metal adapter plate. In other words, the dryer sheets will go where your paper normally goes.

Then prepare to be amazed. 

Seriously.

When you lift the die from the dryer sheets ...



 Did you just lose your mind?!?


 
I know I did the first time! It is so satisfying to look at all those pieces trapped on the dryer sheet that don't need to be coaxed out of the die.

I don't know how it does that, or who the mastermind is that figured this out, but it's a life-changer for anyone who uses delicate die cuts!



If you're only using the strip part of the die, it's also nice that all the pieces are trapped on the dryer sheets, and not invading all the nooks and crannies of your work space. Clean-up is a breeze!

Anyway, thanks so much for looking! I hope you get a chance to try this out soon if you haven't already. You may be monkey clapping in your craft space all weekend : )

-Kelly

Functional Friday Addendum: Trick out Your Vases

Hi guys! A quick post today, with a tutorial on the Tog Dog Dies blog with more information.

I used the Heart Border Die die from an earlier Functional Friday project (the one with the die cut hearts poured on the card in a heart shape) so I felt good about using up leftovers.

Check out this teeny-tiny envie with the teeny-tiny mustache letter. 

 
A jump ring easily attaches it to the ribbon.

Here it is!

Thanks for looking!

Kelly