A Cut Above - day 5

I don't know about you, but when I grab my die cutting machine, I typically think of cutting paper.  In the A Cut Above class, the day 5 assignment was to cut materials other than paper.  I chose to cut sticky back canvas.  I thought there could be a problem with fraying, but the cut was actually really good.  I started by stamping flourishes from Paper Wings Productions Flourish Fun 2 set using the Snow Cap paint dabber onto the canvas. 

Two Notes: 1. I had placed the sticky back canvas directly to my non-stick craft sheet for this application.  Then I used a Peeled Paint distress stain to color the canvas and it resisted the paint.  2. When using an acrylic paint with your stamps, you need to wipe them clean immediately to protect your stamps.  If the paint dries, it is near to impossible to remove it.

After drying with a heat tool, I peeled the canvas off the craft sheet and stuck it on a manila tag to give it some stability (for fluffing the wings later) and then cut it with a butterfly die from Stampin' Up! This effect was nice, but after talking to Shay, I followed her advice and added some yellow gold lumiere paint to the center of the butterfly, brushing the paint out toward the wings, and then lightly brushed the gold paint around edges of butterfly too.  The antennae are created from two more stamps in the Flourish Fun 2 and the "tail" is a flourish from Flourish Fun 1.  I used some black gemstones from the body to finish it off.

I painted the background with a partial cloud stencil and a mixture of 2 shades of blue and white paint sponged to create a sky.  The sentiment (from the Butterfly Panel set)  is actually the second half of a stamp that is embossed in white. I cut the banner and topper myself.  The gold is even nicer in person.

I love doing these assignments because I keep trying to play with more of my supplies that I wouldn't typically use on cards.  I'm definitely starting to step out of the box. Maybe you can join me out here - it's a great place to create!

Julie



A Cut Above - day 4

It's Day 4 for A Cut Above and the lesson was about partial die cutting.  I really loved the samples they provided, but had some trouble coming up with what I wanted to create using the dies I had. I came up with an idea to use my circle dies on the end of rectangles to give them a different look.  This is a similar effect to maybe a rectangle with a rounded corner, but a little different. I decided on the size of the circles, measured their diameters, and used that measurement to cut the widths of the patterned papers.

I used two different stamp sets from Paper Wings - the telephone and hello sentiment are from Vintage Technology - another set designed by Lissie Girl, and the zig zag border stamp from the Day Framer set designed by Post Script Press aka Shay!  I love the way it looks here behind the phone, almost symbolizing the phone ringing. :)

I stamped it directly on the patterned paper, and stamped it again on another paper so I didn't have to cut out the cord. I colored the phone using distress markers and outlined it with a copic marker for a shadow. I used the white distress marker for the highlights and the numbers on the dial.  In hindsight I think I would have also added some glossy accents to this phone.  Think I still will before sending it.  I used a pen to write the numbers again because they were just a little too faded from the opaque marker.  This marker goes on fairly light, but gets more white as it dries.  Nice effect.

I think I'll try this die cut technique again - it was easy, and I like this new look.

Happy creating!

Julie



A Cut Above - day 3

Hi everyone!

I'm really glad I decided to take this A Cut Above class.  I haven't used my cuttle bug that much over time, and these assignments are really getting me to try some new things. The Day 3 lesson was about creating shaped cards.  I had several large dies that I thought about using, but opted for my large scalloped square die from Stampin' Up!.  Can you believe this was only the 2nd time I had used it?  I really need to use my tools more.

I used a Spellbinders square die to cut the hole in the center, making a frame for my scene.  This card uses the Frida por Vida stamp set from Paper Wings Productions, designed by Handmade by Lissie Girl. The curtains are paper pieced from a Basic Grey red distressed paper (the frame is from BG "Out of Print").  I needed a background to stamp Frida, but white or ivory seemed to stark, so I looked in my stash and found this book paper that I had painted with some gesso.  I stamped her using Archival ink and colored her in using my new Distress Markers.  Isn't she cute??





I took the Tim Holtz Online Card Class too, but didn't have the distress markers when we were practicing marker techniques.  I couldn't wait to get them.  I really love how they look on top of gesso.  They have a beautiful translucent quality, and the blend very nicely.  I will definitely use them on gesso again, and I can't wait to try them on watercolor paper too.

Inspired yet?  As my husband says - go make something pretty!

Keep checking back for more A Cut Above / Paper Wings samples!

Julie



A Cut Above - day 2

Hello again!

Just sharing another card made for the Online Card Classes - A Cut Above series.  Day 2 assignment was to create a window using dies.  I used the nestabilities dies to cut a circle window and a scalloped frame.  The patterned papers are from Basic Grey and the stamps are from Paper Wings - Lissie Girl designs - Hey Cupcake and Banner stamp sets. Strawberry cupcake with chocolate icing - YUM!!!!



I love how the cupcake wrapper came out too with the diagonal stripes.  This card makes me happy :)
Too bad that cupcake is only paper...

Happy Stamping!
Julie

A Cut Above - day 1

It's been too long - I've been a little busy, and the end of the school year always seems to drain me.  But, I've found some energy these last few days, and I've been participating in the Online Card Class - A Cut Above.  It's all about die cutting.  The first week is using traditional die cutting systems.  I'm using a Cuttle Bug and various dies. 


Day 1 assignment - I decided to comine two assignments into one. In the class our assignment was to "step up your die cutting" and on  the Aviary blog we wanted to create a sample for Fiesta! - if you aren't from San Antonio, here is a little info about it. {Bonus: I'm a Houston girl, so I still can't believe we get this day off every year - yea :) }

Fiesta^® San Antonio started in 1891 as a one-parade event. It evolved into one of this nation’s premier festivals, with an economic impact of more than $284 million for the Alamo City. The funds raised by official Fiesta events provide services to San Antonio citizens throughout the year. So you could say that Fiesta never ends! Fiesta really is one of America’s truly great festivals. It began as a way to honor the memory of the heroes of the Alamo and the Battle of San Jacinto. That commemoration still takes place. But over the past century and more, Fiesta has grown into a celebration of San Antonio’s rich and diverse cultures. 2012 marks Fiesta’s 121st anniversary. [http://www.fiesta-sa.org/about-2/ ]

I looked through my Paper Wings stamps and found several things that worked out perfectly. First, I used the Happy Day set to create flags/banners and it turns out that these stamps fit with my Papertrey Ink Banner Builder Dies that Shay bought for me. I also used the streamers from that set which worked out well for the theme. Then I used the Deep in the Heart of Texas set for the Alamo, Sombrero and the Fiesta sentiment.



The background is 3 kinds of spray ink to give the look of sky and land.  I used my new distress markers and some distress inks and archival ink for the images.  Of course I had to add some STICKLES - yellow, fruit punch and mermaid - the fiesta sentiment looks awesome with mermaid on it.  Since Davis is a native to San Antonio, I asked him what it needed.  He said it needed confetti too, so I cut up some various papers really small and I think it makes it look so fun!

Hope you enjoyed looking and hope it inspires you to create something too!

Julie