Crafting ideas from Sizzix UK

Hi everyone!It looks like everybody is enjoying good weather in autumn, great! Here in Madrid it´s sunny and hot again, yippie! So, it was fantastic to go to Creativa Fair in the capital too with good weather. I imagine you read the post Elena Roche did last Monday ,as usually she does, telling her great weekend spent in Creativa Madrid.

This time my post won´t be about a new project but about the fair.
If you have had the opportunity to visit a craft fair some time you will know how exciting it is.

The best thing for me is meeting my old and loved friends, even if it is a lot of time you haven´t see them.

But another great thing is finding new " goodies " for next projects and of course know new friends.

So , I took the opportunity to meet some of Sizzix´s people doing workshop or demos.

One of the most great things was to meet Elena Roche at last.

It was a surprise to find Paula Pascual Sizzix Designer too.

You can imagine how I felt, really really happy.

Both are fantastic!

Manos Maravillosas stand was doing demos and giving away a Sizzix prize!

Here with Raquel Reyes in Manos Maravillosas stand. We talked some minutes about Sizzix and how fun it is playing with dies and scrap stuff...

At last I visited Innspiro stand with all their craft workshop during those Creativa days.

I didn´t know this company. They are Sizzix distributors. I had the opportunity to talked with some of the managers.... very interesting chat.

They had cute wooden letters decorated with nice elements , some cut with the Big Shot machine.

It was a wonderful weekend full of surprise!

Hope you enjoy this one and have a creative week with Sizzix.

Love

Mercedes

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¡Hola a todos! Parece que todo el mundo está disfrutando de buen tiempo en este otoño !¡estupendo! Aquí en Madrid hace calor y disfrutamos de unos soleados días. Así que fue fantástico trasladarse a la capital para ir a la feria Creativa el pasado fin de semana. Imagino que habrás leído el artículo de Elena Roche el pasado lunes, como ella suele publicar , contando el estupendo fin de semana en Creativa.

Esta vez no hablaré de un proyecto nuevo sino de la feria.

Si has tenido la oportunidad alguna vez de ir a una feria de manualidades sabrás lo excitante que es.

Para mí , lo mejor es volver a encontrarme con queridas amigas que hace tiempo que no veo. Por supuesto ver nuevas “ cositas “ para los próximos proyectos y desde luego , conocer nuevos amigos.

Así que fui a ver los stands en los que se encontraban algunas personas del equipo de Sizzix haciendo talleres o demostraciones con troqueles y la Big Shot.

Una de las mejores cosas de este encuentro fue conocer a Elena Roche por fin. También fue una sorpresas encontrar a la diseñadora de Sizzix Paula Pascual. Podéis imaginar cómo me sentí , realmente muy contenta. ¡ Las dos son fantásticas!

En el stand de Manos Maravillosas estaban haciendo un sorteo de la Big Shot . Allí conocí a Raquel Reyes que enseñaba cómo manejar la máquina. Ella cuenta también desde su blog cómo hace proyectos estupendos con ella.

Hablamos algunos minutos sobre Sizzix y lo divertido que es usar los troqueles y los materiales de scrap.

Por último me acerqué al stand de Innspiro con todos sus talleres en marcha durante los días de Creativa. No conocía esta compañía catalana. Son distribuidores de Sizzix. También tuve la oportunidad de hablar con uno de sus responsables…… una charla muy interesante.

En las fotos podéis ver las letras de madera con su nombre y decoradas con algunos materiales cortados con la máquina Big Shot.

Fue un maravilloso fin de semana lleno de sorpresas.

Espero que tú también disfrutes éste y tengas una semana creativa con Sizzix.

Cariños

Mercedes

Hello all!

Today I would like to share an unusual project with you. These are tag bookmarks. Now paper books are not much used though I think they can give much more pleasure during reading than electronic ones.
I also used printed quotes about books for decoration:

This might be a nice present for paper book fans))

The products I used:

Sizzix Big Shot Starter Kit (Powder Blue & Teal)

Sizzix Bigz Die - Love Gears

Sizzix Frameworks Die - Honeycomb

Sizzix Framelits Die Set 8PK - Tag Collection

Sizzix Framelits Die Set 5PK w/Stamps - Simply Lovely

Have a nice day and enjoy reading!))

Olga

Hi again!
Today I've had a play with one of my new Bigz dies and a couple of thinlits as well. Today's main event is the Notepad Cover by Brenda Walton. Originally it's meant to use to spruce up your ordinary post-it notes, but I decided I wanted to use it to make a small album.

Here are some pictures I took along the way:

Cut out as many pages as you like for the inside of your mini album. A good size would to fit inside this cover would be ca 7 cm square.

I made small holes in all the pages for the binding and after pulling the thread through I added some glue to the knot to make sure it will hold.

I used the new Scalloped circles for my inside pages. I cut some of my photos with them and also made journalling spots.

I added some Liquid pearl to the outside cover after inking the edges.

After finishing my little 'book' for the inside I used some double tape to add it to the back of the cover.

Here are a few more shots of the finished album:

Thanks for looking! I hope you enjoyed this post and I'll see you back here next Sunday! :-)

I used:
Sizzix Big Shot Machine Only (Powder Blue & Teal)
Sizzix Bigz L Die - Notepad Cover
Sizzix Framelits Die Set 7PK - Circles, Scallop

Papers etc are by Lemoncraft.

Continuing the advent theme and using the Lollipop Shadow Numbers die again (I love this die, it saves so much time and gives perfect results), last week I made a quick and easy advent crown. Instead of the traditional wreath with 4 candles this version is simply numbered sleeves fitted onto old jam jars with tea-lights inside.

The jars I used were little 8oz ones that measured 8 1/2in in circumference, for larger jars either the sleeve itself can be increased in size or a longer piece of elastic used for the loop (I tried one on a jar with a 9in circumference and they fit ok but the elastic was pulled fairly tight, a 3 1/2in long piece for the loop would probably be better and the easiest alteration to make).

I cut the numbers 1 to 4 from in the same way as for the advent calendar by cutting a piece of iron-on adhesive to size, pressing it to the reverse of the fabric and then placing it backing paper side up on the die to cut with my Big Shot.

From a couple of festive fabrics (I used Gnome for the Holidays and Many Mini Gnomes by Michael Miller) I cut 4 sleeve fronts measuring 8in x 2 3/4in and then 4 sleeve backs to the same measurements from a co-ordinating red and white chevron fabric.

I folded the sleeve fronts over to find the centre and then peeled off the backing paper from the numbers and pressed them in place (the numbers can be sewn in place at this stage if preferred to quilting them at the end). With an approximately 3in long piece of elastic I made a loop and basted it to the right hand side of a sleeve front.

Then right sides together, the sleeve front was placed on top of a sleeve back and then both were placed on top of a piece of thin batting that was slightly larger than them overall. Once pinned they were sewn together around the outside (1/4in seam allowance) leaving a 2in opening on one side at the bottom. The excess batting was trimmed away and the seam allowance at the corners snipped off.

Then the sleeve was turned the right way out and pressed flat with a warm iron before the opening was hand-sewn closed.

I hand-stitched around the inside edge of the numbers and around the border of the sleeve to quilt them. I opted to quilt them by hand because I'm currently having problems with my sewing machine but I'm glad I did as it was a nice relaxing-on-the-sofa evening job.

The last job was to add a button to the left hand side, fit it around an empty jam jar and pop a tea-light inside.

Being a safety-conscious sort (a worrier) I feel the need to stress that lit candles should never be left unattended and this advent crown should be stood on a heat-proof surface. The sleeves should do no more than warm up slightly on the side of the jar and should not prove a fire risk - I've done quite a bit of testing.

These are now ready to go into the centre of our dining table during Advent to be lit each Sunday (predicting a few heated discussions between my sons over who gets to blow them out afterwards, that was always what happened in our house when I was a child).

It's half term for us this week and I'm away with the boys but some sewing is coming with me for the 'quieter' moments.

October is being a busy month for me but a great one too. In June my cousin Angela (who is one of my closest friends as well as being my cousin) and I decided we wanted to participate in this year' Ofrenda de las Flores in our native Zaragoza (Spain). It is a lovely fairly modern (sixty years or so) celebration and it consist of dressing up in our local traditional attire and take flowers to a Virgin Mary statue. We already done it together once before fifteen years ago and we felt it would be nice to do it again. So we did! We had a blast that day and the previous and after days, and because of it I felt I really needed to keep the memories with a layout.

I wanted a layout with pictures of us two. As she lives in Spain and I in London we dont have that many moments of us together, so this is more about us than the sights. I printed my favorite in a larger and then the rest in more or less half the size. I cut all the photos to size ready for later.

I like to have a border all round and a white base. It is something that I do all the time, and I always cut the bit of the patterned middle to save for a future project. Frugal? Me? Of course!

I placed all the photos on the page and started to pull different dies to see how would they look. Since I was there to bring flowers, I thought it had to have loads of them so I die cut them using my Intricate Flowers 2 dies and the Happy card from the Phrase cards set.

Finally, I added embellishments for the centers and some printed stickers from the same collection as the papers which is Spice Market from Basic Grey.

And a couple of close ups:

I treasure this moments and I think it is important to capture and preserve them. That is the point of scrapbooking, isn't it?

Autumn has settled in and the crisp air and warm colours have taken over the the country side. I love autumn but I still hunger for a tiny bit of spring. TheSizzix Framelits Die Set 8PK with Stamps Beautiful You, was just the product I needed for this easy card project that brings a bit of spring along with it.

I stamped one of the flower images onto some watercolour paper, using versamark. I then sprinkled some white embossing powder onto it which I then heat embossed with my heat gun. I then took out some Distress Inks, stabilo pens and coloured the flowers and leaves.

The cards themselves were easy to put together. A 4" x 6" base with a 3.5"x5.5" piece of patterned paper. A kraft tag, a small white twine, some embellishments and a sentiment finish off the card. I love how easy the stamps are to use and that I can use any colour for any type of project.

Supplies:

Sizzix Framelits Die Set 8PK with Stamps Beautiful You

Distress Inks, Stabilo 68 pens,

Paper: Carta Bella,

Embellishments: Studio Calico Color Theory Buttons, Enamel dots,

Ink: Versafin Black Onyx.

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Hi everyone

Today i will show you a layout , Halloween in Tivoli Copenhagen i was there together with my grandchild and husbond, very nice visit

Items I have used:

Sizzix Bigz Die- Hanging Lantern 660030

Sizzix Bigz Alphabet 4 Dies 659963

Sizzix Bigz Die & embossing folder 660039

Movers & shapers -Mini Owl & Crescent moon- 658725

Supply list:

Paper: BoBunny-Burnt Orange vintage-, Tim Holtz Collection -Menagerie 8x8-

Ink: distress ink- Peeled Paint-, Vintage Photo-

Spider and Spider webs, ribbon

Thanks for stopping by, wish you a great and creativ week

Pia

Hej alle

I dag vil jeg vise et layout fra vores tur i Tivoli til Halloween en dejlig tur sammen med mit barnebarn og min mand, trods regnen som silede ned.

Sizzix dies jeg har brugt:

Sizzix Bigz Die- Hanging Lantern 660030

Sizzix Bigz Alphabet 4 Dies 659963

Sizzix Bigz Die & embossing folder 660039

Movers & shapers -Mini Owl & Crescent moon- 658725

Andre materialer:

Papir: BoBunny-Burnt Orange vintage-, Tim Holtz Collection -Menagerie 8x8-

Ink: distress ink- Peeled Paint-, Vintage Photo-

edderkop og edderkoppespind og bånd

Tak fordi du kiggede forbi, ønsker dig en dejlig uge

Pia

Hello to everyone:) Today I show you this flower card I have done using few Sizzix dies.

Sizzix products:
Sizzix Big Shot Machine 657900
Sizzix Textured Impressions Embossing Folders 2PK - Hexagons & Chevrons Set 659744
Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 9PK - Rondeaux 659706
Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 3PK - Overall Patterns 659758
Sizzix Bigz Die - Floressa 659708
Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 7PK - Borders 659200
Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 14PK - Flowers Intricate 659975

Other products:
Cardboard, Pion Design and Prima marketing papers, Distress Paint; Peeled Paint
gesso, Memory Box stencil, Bo Bunny stamp; Stitches, Kaiser Craft Stamps; Tiny Dot, black ink

Cut the cardboad to size 10 cm × 14 cm and apply gesso, allow to dry. Paint with Distress Paint and allow to dry. After that make the ornament using your stencil and gesso, when dried stamp the dots and edges.
Cut the wire, flowers and borders using Sizzix dies and place all together like picture above.

Happy crafting, Minna

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Moi, tein tällaisen mixed media kukkakortin tällä kertaa:)

Sizzix tarvikkeet:
Sizzix Big Shot Machine 657900
Sizzix Textured Impressions Embossing Folders 2PK - Hexagons & Chevrons Set 659744
Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 9PK - Rondeaux 659706
Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 3PK - Overall Patterns 659758
Sizzix Bigz Die - Floressa 659708
Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 7PK - Borders 659200
Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 14PK - Flowers Intricate 659975

Muut tarvikkeet:

kartonkia, Pion Design ja Prima Marketing paperit, Distress Paint; Peeled Paint, gesso, Memory Boxin sabluuns, Bo Bunny leima "Stitches" ja Kaiser Craft leima "Tiny Dot", muste.

Leikkaa kartonki kokoon 10 cm × 14 cm ja levitä gessoa siihen, anna kuivua. Maalaa pohjaan Peeled Paintilä ja anna kuivua. Tee kuviot sabluunalla ja gessolla. Kun tämä on kuivunut leimaa pisteet ja ompeleet korttiin.Lopuksi leikkaa verkko, kukat ja reunat Sizzixin stansseilla ja asettele kuten kuvassa.

Mukavaa keskiviikkoa, Minna

Wednesday again and time to post yet another Christmas card. This week I went with a cool colour scheme and three stylish ornaments from Triplits Die Set 9PK - Ornaments.

I used two of the ornaments to diecut directly into the white cardstock that will go on top of everything. The diecut that is complete, I used as the third ornament for the card.

I bought some cheap glitter wrapping paper after Christmas last year with the specific intention to use it when making cards. It works so well and it is much cheaper than buying regular glitter paper. Here I've simply added the wrapping paper behind the negative spaces formed by the ornament as well as on top of the third ornament.

The Triplits Die Set 9PK - Ornaments comes with a small die with which you can make the metallic hanger for the ornaments which I of course did. I also used thread to make the ornaments look like they hang from the top of the card. As decoration for the ornaments I used three different small diecuts from Triplits Die Set 9PK - Ornaments and Triplits Die Set 14PK - Christmas Trees.

Supply list:

Sizzix Big Shot Starter Kit (Powder Blue & Teal)
Sizzix Accessory - Magnetic Platform for Wafer-Thin Dies

Triplits Die Set 9PK - Ornaments
Triplits Die Set 14PK - Christmas Trees
Cardstock (Papertrey Ink)
Silver cardstock
Thread
Wrapping paper
Foam adhesive

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Så er det onsdag igen, og jeg har i denne uge lavet endnu et julekort i kølige farver og med fancy julekugler fra Triplits Die Set 9PK - Ornaments.

Jeg brugte to af kuglerne til at udstanse direkte i det hvide karton, der skal blive til kortets øverste lag. Den ene af de to udstansede kugler blev så til den tredje, der sidder monteret på 3d-puder på kortet.

Sidste år efter jul købte jeg noget billigt glimmer-indpakningspapir med det formål, at jeg ville bruge det, når jeg laver kort. Det virker rigtig godt, og så var det en del billigere, end rigtigt glimmerpapir er. Her har jeg klistret noget af indpakningspapiret bag de negative udstansninger samt ovenpå den sidste af julekuglerne.

Triplits Die Set 14PK - Christmas Trees kommer med en lille die, som kan lave de små metaldimser, der sidder på toppen af julekugler, hvilket jeg naturligvis gjorde. Med lidt snor fik jeg det til at se ud som om kuglerne hænger fra toppen af kortet. Jeg dekorerede kuglerne med små udstansninger fra Triplits Die Set 9PK - Ornaments og Triplits Die Set 14PK - Christmas Trees.

Yes that's right, I am once again using my blog to broadcast my ongoing obsession with the humble circle, In truth, I've had a pretty good response from you all in the past so I hope you will indulge me just a little more?

I'm also bringing my old friend the Decorative Strip Paper Rosettes Die along for the ride together with the Bigz XL Alphabet Die, Block Talk Capital which is never far from my grasp.

I have used two sets of Framelits circles dies imaginatively titled Circles and Circles#2. I combined the two sets as between them they offer me every size I will ever need. Just click on the highlighted links above to see the dies in question.

Materials wise I just dragged out scraps of decorative paper from my ever growing stash so I'm afraid that I can't provide anyone with descriptions or codes, it will be fine as long as you have a few festive papers dotted about the place.

The first thing I did was to die-cut the larger paper rosette from the blue patterned paper before sanding the edge to expose the white core of the card beneath after which I assembled my rosette by concertina folding it along the perforations.

Next, I die-cut a circle and folded it in half before placing the die back onto the folded circle in such a way that it forms a moustache shape when cut in my Big Shot. I then sanded the edges of the paper moustache before gently curling the tips.

Next, I die-cut a circle of cream card and a slightly larger circle of blue patterned card together with a tiny cream circle to form the nose. I then applied ink to create rosy cheeks and add some colour to the nose, I'm sure that we would all have a bit of colour in our cheeks if we got through a couple of billion glasses of sherry on Christmas eve?
I mounted the circle together with the rosette to form the face,hood trim, nose, beard and moustache.
Next I die-cut a circle from patterned red card and used the same die to cut the circle in half, I then used the half in the shape of a crescent moon as the hood before adding a small blue die-cut bobble on the end.

With Santa sorted, it's time to create my sentiment. I die-cut the letter 'M' from green tartan card and I used the negative rather than the die-cut letter itself. I trimmed it to shape using scissors and repeated the process using a variety of shades of paper to create the word 'MERRY'. Finally, I die-cut the word 'Christmas' from gold card using one of the 17 different dies from the Thinlits Holiday Words: Script set which is new from Tim Holtz.

And here its is , the finished card. The stamps I used come from a festive set by the clever people at Darkroom Door entitled 'Christmas Reindeer'

I do hope you like it?

If you are anywhere near Birmingham between 9-12th of November why not pop-along the the Hobbycrafts show at the NEC where I will be teaching Christmas themed mini workshops all day, everyday!!! I look forward to seeing you!

Have you enjoyed the last week?

I've had great fun, playing with the grandchildren, shopping for a holiday later in the year and choosing some fabrics for new projects.

But I've also had moments of wanting to scream or just cry - why? because of my Downton quilt!!

I had stitched lots of half hexagons into triangles but when I came to lay them out in strips somehow they didn't match!!! Even my husband couldn't see how to make it work - so after a while of unpicking I proceeded to lay them out again - but the cautionary note to this tale is pin the half-hexagons into triangles -

and then pin the triangles into rows -

and as long as you're careful as you stitch them it should become quite straight forward!

This is how far I've got -

and this is a closer look at how the 'whirligig' looks -

I now have a clear idea of how to complete this quilt - but it means that I need to order some background fabric - maybe from the new 'downstairs' range in Downton fabrics!

As usual I think it's time for a cup of tea, and then it's time to start planning for next week.

Enjoy the weekend.

Angela

I am back from my week’s off and I’ve just spent two days in Basque Country so I have tons of pictures for scrapbooking…and a good surprise in my mailbox: new Sizzix dies to test!

Supply list:

Paper: American Crafts, October Afternoon, 4heures37, Crate Paper

Labels, wood embies, button: Ephéméria

Stickers: Carta Bella

Gold leaves: Martha Stewart

Glitter adhesive: Pause Créative

Masking Tape

Enamel Dots: Studio Calico

Stamps: Craft Origine, Cat's life Press

Ink: Distress Vintage Photo

Spray ink: Mister Huey's Studio Calico

Others: tag, 3D foam adhesive

Dies:

658300 : Sizzix Big Shot Starter Kit

660060 : Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 17PK-Labels

659573 : Sizzix Sizzlits Decorative Strip Die-Spring Greenery

659957 : Sizzix Originals Die-Phrase-Love #3

Here I wanted to stick with my picture’s colours so I gathered elements to create a kit with the following colours: orange, red, yellow and pink with a hint of sea green here and there.

This is an easy lay-out built upon a 4heures37 pattern paper. My picture is glued on a mat and fixed. Now time for decoration with my new Sizzix dies.

I plan to use the foliage, hearts and labels dies!

The different elements are glued around my picture. Some are glued with 3D adhesive for more volume.

Add splashes with an orange spray ink and some colourful dots.

A nice seasonal page, isn’t it?

Have a lovely day,

Karine

Bonjour !

Après une semaine de vacances et deux jours dans le Pays Basque me voici de retour avec de nouvelles photos à scrapper....et dans ma boite aux lettres plein de nouveaux dies Sizzix à tester !

Matériel :

Papiers : American Crafts, October Afternoon, 4heures37, Crate Paper

Etiquettes, décoration bois, bouton : Ephéméria

Stickers : Carta Bella

Feuilles dorées : Martha Stewart

Adhésifs paillettes : Pause Créative

Masking Tape

Enabel Dots : Studio Calico

Tampons : Craft Origine, Cat's life Press

Encre : Distress Vintage Photo

Encre en spray : Mister Huey's Studio Calico

Divers : tag, mousse 3D

Dies utilisés :

658300 : Sizzix Big Shot Starter Kit

660060 : Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 17PK-Labels

659573: Sizzix Sizzlits Decorative Strip Die-Spring Greenery

659957 : Sizzix Originals Die-Phrase-Love #3

J'avais envie ici de coller aux couleurs de ma photo je me suis donc confectionné un petit kit dans les orange, rouge, jaune et rose parsemé de quelques touches de vert d'eau.

Une mise en page simple sur un papier imprimé jaune 4heures37. Ma photo mattée et collée il ne me reste plus qu'à compléter ma page avec des décorations réalisées grâce à mes nouveaux dies Sizzix.

Au programme : découpe de formes feuillages, coeurs et étiquettes !

Les différents éléments sont collés autour de ma photo, certains sont montés en 3D pour plus de volume.

Complétez avec des éclaboussures réalisées à l'encre en spray orange et des pastilles colorées.

Une jolie page de saison, n'est ce pas ?

Très bonne journée à vous !

Karine

Hello again, are you enjoying the cosy autumn evenings now we have turned the clocks back?

I'm enjoying the autumn colours in the trees, and the fallen leaves - which I still enjoy kicking my way through ( even when I haven't got my grandchildren with me!!)

Talking about colours - I received a wonderful box of 'Art Gallery' fabrics last week -

sent to me by http://www.hantex.co.uk/ for a whole heap of projects - now this is a little unfair, as you won't get a glimpse of any of the projects until later in the year or even early next year - but these fabrics are so bright and beautiful to work with I just wanted to share the photo.

Before I show you the latest progress on 'Downton' I just show you a couple of photos from the workshop I taught yesterday at The Sewing Room in Cinderford, Gloucestershire, the shop - for Anita - you can see her in the second photo below

We had fun making quick and easy Christmas decorations, using hearts http://www.sizzix.co.uk/product/656334/sizzix-bigz-die-hearts , and stars http://www.sizzix.co.uk/product/656339/sizzix-bigz-die-stars
Christmas decorations will feature in my blogs next month - when I hope to have finished Downton.
So here is the next instalment -

I finished laying out the triangles and then joined them into strips - here you see all the strips joined together - to make a large central hexagon.
Now I really want this to be a quilt that I can snuggle up under while watching Downton Abbey - so I'm going to add a neutral fabric - maybe calico to make this into a rectangle, and then maybe add a border to create the size I want - so that will be the final instalment - and then I'll give you the fabric requirements as well.
Meanwhile enjoy the cosy evenings and keep sewing.
Angela

Happy Friday and thanks so much for visiting me today!

A lot of my free time lately has been devoted to cardmaking, but I continue to enjoy it! Papercraft ideas seem to be endless! Today I wanted to share with you a fun adorable greeting card I made for a friend. She asked me to make a birthday card for a boy. I created a card, but also a frame, as gift!

I love Sizzix Bigz Die - Owl #4, so fun to use and so versatile. Today I dressed the owl as a pirate!
Here's what I came up with:

cafe creativo - big shot sizzix - card owl pirate (1)

This night is Halloween and my owl has found her Pirate Halloween Costume! :D

cafe creativo - big shot sizzix - card owl pirate (12)

To make the pirate bandana I used a circle that I embossed, I added a small heart (die from Starter kit).
In my card I added the twine rope and some flags.

Items used:

Sizzix Big Shot Starter Kit (Powder Blue & Teal) (658300)
Sizzix Bigz Die - Owl #4 (659911)
Sizzix Bigz Die - Thought Bubbles (659741)
Sizzix Framelits Die Set 8PK - Circles (657551)
Sizzix Textured Impressions Embossing Folders 2PK - Houndstooth & Dots Set (659745)

square frame
cardstock (white, black, red, green, kraft)
patterned papers
cardboard
alphabet stickers
button
strass
rustic twine
bakers twine
black marker

Hope you like it.
Thanks for stopping by!
Anna

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Buon Venerdì a tutti!

Ultimamente un bel po' del mio tempo libero è stato dedicato alle card. Ma non mi lamento di certo, perchè le idee da sviluppare e le tecniche da provare sembrano essere infinite!

Oggi volevo condividere con voi un divertente biglietto di auguri che ho fatto per un amica. Lei mi ha chiesto di fare un biglietto d'auguri per un bambino. Ho creato così una card, che è anche una cornice, un duplice regalo, che spero verà apprezzato!

Mi piace la nuova fustella Sizzix Bigz Die - Owl #4è divertente da usare e così versatile. Per questo progetto ho pensato fosse simpatico vestire il mio gufetto da pirata!

Questa, per altro, è la notte di Halloween e il mio gufo ha trovato così il suo costume! :D

Ho fustellato quindi il gufo sia con cartoncino nero, sia con carta a righe. Per fare la bandana da pirata ho usato un cerchio che ho embossato a pois e completato con un cuoricino (fustelle dello Starter kit).

Per creare l'ambiente adatto ho aggiunto lo spago con appese alcune bandierine, quella col teschio l'ho presa sul web e stampata a misura per l'occasione. Il fumetto con l'augurio è un'altra bella fustella.

Sia gufo che fumetto sono stati tagliati anche in sagoma di cartone per dare più volume. Le fustelle Bigz lo permettono!

Se avete ulteriori domande, non esitate a chiedere :)

Questi i materiali usati:

Sizzix Big Shot Starter Kit (Powder Blue & Teal) (658300)
Sizzix Bigz Die - Owl #4 (659911)
Sizzix Bigz Die - Thought Bubbles (659741)
Sizzix Framelits Die Set 8PK - Circles (657551)
Sizzix Textured Impressions Embossing Folders 2PK - Houndstooth & Dots Set (659745)

cornice quadrata
cartoncini (bianco, nero, rosso, verde, kraft)
carte scrap
cartone
alfabeto adesivo
bottone rosso
strass
spago
spago bicolore
pennarello nero

Grazie della visita! Alla prossima!
Anna

Hi everyone, Trudi here from Quilting Prolifically. Now the clocks have gone back, it really does feel like autumn, with dark evenings and blustery days. The trees are hanging on to the last of their leaves in defiance of the seasons. This has inspired me, along with all the bloggers and IG quilters doing a Modern Maples quilt.

I got to thinking, as you do, I bet I can do most of the hard work with my Sizzix Big Shot. So after a delve into my stash, I managed to pull a nice selection of autumnal feeling fabrics, and a white on cream to go nicely with them for the background. This is a great project if you want to bust your scraps too!

Next up was to check for dies, for this project I used the following:

657609 4 1/2" Unfinished Square Bigz die
657613 4 1/2" finished Half Square Triangle Bigz die

For each block you need the following:

background fabrics 1 Square, 6 HSTs
Leaf Fabrics 3 Squares, 4 HSTs, 1 strip 1 1/2" x 7"

I cut 1 1/2" strips, but these could easily be cut with the Bigs XL 1 1/2" strip die (658327 ) and multiples cut from the width of fabric strips, or even scraps.

Once all the cutting was done, it didn't take long to sew all my stem blocks. To ensure I had the half square triangles lined up centrally, I folded each in half along the long edge (be careful not to stretch as this is a bias edge), then finger pressed a small crease to indicate the center of the piece. I repeated this with the stem pieces. By matching the folds, the pieces can be joined and centered easily.

These stems are over sized, so rather than trimming each one with my rotary cutter and square ruler, I used the square die, centering the stem with the corners of the square on the die. This saved loads of time, and also saved my wrists too!

The half square triangles are sewn together one background and one leaf fabric, with a 1/4" seam are perfectly sized with the other elements of the block. I chain pieced mine, and the job was soon done and I was ready to assemble my blocks. I pressed my seams to the darker fabric of the leaf fabrics so they wouldn't show through the lighter background fabric.

Piece the blocks as below into rows first

and then join the rows together to complete the block

If you are making multiple blocks I would work with one color at a time, unless you are going for the scrappy look. These blocks are 12 1/2" unfinished.

When all your blocks are pieced, a good press and you are ready to plan your layout. There are so many options, I have had fun playing around with mine, adding in some blanks as if they are blowing around on the wind. I still have some playing to do with the final layout.

I am looking forward to quilting this one, with an organic swirl that will add more movement I hope. I'll let you know how I get on! Hopefully very soon, as I would like this to be a tick off my Christmas present list!

This is such a versatile pattern, whilst I have chosen a pallet that speaks autumn colours to me, it lends itself to so much variety. What colours would you use? Why not give the block a go and show us your results. I'm considering giving them a try with 2 1/2" squares and half Square triangles for 6 1/2" unfinished blocks, what do you think?

If you follow my blog you'll know I go crazy for mini quilts! So I knew my first project for Sizzix had to be a mini ;-) They are so much fun to make, and you get instant gratification ... aaaand if you're anything like me, you get huge pleasure from having a collection of them slowly taking over the walls in your house!

Finished Size: 15.5"
Block Size: 8"

Sizzix Dies Required;
Square 2" Finished
Half-Square Triangle 2.5" Finished Square
Half-Square Triangles 4.5" Finished Square

Cutting:
For each of the four 'Hovering Birds' blocks cut the following;

Background Fabric
(2) 4.5" HSTs
(6) 2.5" HSTs
(4) 2.5" Squares

Main Fabric
(10) 2.5" HSTs

Arrange pieces as follows:

Sew HST units together.

Sew the remaining units in rows.

Sew the rows together, and press seams open. Sew the two corner HST's to complete the block.

Repeat steps to complete the remaining 3 blocks. Sew the blocks together in rows, pressing seams out. Join the bottom row to finish quilt top.

Cut a piece of batting and backing fabric 17" square, sandwich together and quilt as desired. I chose diagonal lines with 1/2" spacing. Cut (2) 2" strips from width of fabric, join together to form one long continuous strip and sew binding to quilt top. Fold over the opposite side and hand sew to the backing fabric.

Voila! Now gaze at your beautiful new mini quilt. (apologies for the not so pretty pictures, the light was very dark and gloomy!). See you next month Sizzix friends!

Hi everyone! Today I show you a new autumn project and I love it !!
I like season wreaths and I could´t loose the opportunity to use Sizzix dies and try something new.
..... And here it is ...... a really autumn wreath full of leaves and some more decorations.

I combined differents leaves dies to get the final effect I wanted.

Supplies

657900

Sizzix Big Shot Machine Only (Powder Blue & Teal)
Bigz L Die- Circles 2",3"& 4"

660039

Sizzix Bigz Die w/Texture Fades - Layered Leaf

656927

Sizzix Bigz Die - Tattered Leaves

Scraps of felt and fabric

Buttons

Quick yo- yo maker by Clover

small wooden spools

Styrofoam 12"wreath

Laces

85" x 3"fabric to cover the wreath

double fusible web

heat gun

As you can see, I cut out the leaves and little circles for doing the yo- yo. You can see my tuto for them in this post

The big leaves are doble side. I ironed fusible web on the wrong side, press again and cut out with Big Shot machine.

Sew some lines on the small leaves with Mettler thread.

You can make some idea about all the material used looking to the pic.

I covered all the wreath with the fabric using a heat gun .

Then I only added the leaves and later the rest of decorations.

Everything is sticked with the glue gun.

It didn´t take a lot of time finishing. You can spend some time doing the cutting and using your sewing machine and another just putting all together.

Here it is with one of my last projects, the autumn table topper .

Hope you like it and be an inspiration for you.

Happy week and see you next Saturday

Love

Mercedes

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Hola a todos, hoy os traigo un nuevo proyecto de otoño y me encanta.

Me gustan las coronas para cada estación y no quería dejar pasar la oportunidad de hacer una con los troqueles de Sizzix. ….. Y aquí está….. una corona llena de hojas y más cositas.

Para montarla usé una combinación de diferentes clases de hojas.

Materiales

657900

Sizzix Big Shot Machine Only (Powder Blue & Teal)
Bigz L Die- Circles 2",3"& 4"

660039

Sizzix Bigz Die w/Texture Fades - Layered Leaf

656927

Sizzix Bigz Die - Tattered Leaves

Restos de telas y fieltro

Botones

Quick yo yo de Clover

Carretes pequeños de madera

Corona de corcho blanco de 30 cm

Puntillas

Tela para cubir la corona ( 8cm x 215cm)

Entretela de doble cara

pistola de silicona

Como ves en las fotos , corté las hojas y los círculos pequeños para los yo- yos. Puedes ver el tutorial para hacerlo en este artículo.

Las hojas grandes son de doble cara . Antes planché entretela de doble cara por el revés y luego corté.

Cosí algunas líneas con la máquina de coser sobre las hojas con un hilo matizado de Mettler.

Cubrí toda la corona con la tela pegándola con la pistola de silicona y terminé de añadir todas las hojas y resto de decoraciones, también con la pistola.

No me llevó mucho tiempo, quizá un rato una mañana para cortar y coser los nervios de las hojas y otro para el montaje.

Espero que te haya gustado y te sirva de inspiración. Ahí podéis verlo junto al tapete que os enseñé en otro artículo anterior.

Feliz semana

Cariños

Mercedes

Don't you just love this Santa image!!
I think it's the epitome of Christmas symbols. It's a new Tim Holtz Bigz die and so fun to work with.

Lets start with the background,... I used a bought cardbase thet was 15 cm square. I cut out a 14 cm square piece of subtly patterned cardstock. To add some more interest to my simple background I wanted to emboss this piece. It was actually to large for my embossing folder, but being a bit careful I placed the bit thet had not been embossed in the folder and embossed again. It turned out quite pretty.

After cutting out he pieces for the Santa I used two different shades of chalk inkers to add some depth to them.

I backed my embossed piece with some red cardstock to pull it all together and added a small snowflake as an extra accent. I inked the snowflake carefully embellished it with a half pearl and some liguid pearl medium.

I hope you like this Santa as much as I do. It's a Bigz die and to me that is always an added bonus!!
Take care!!

I used these dies:
Sizzix Bigz Die - St. Nick
Sizzix Textured Impressions Embossing Folders 2PK - Yuletide Boulevard Set
Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 5PK - Paper Snowflakes

I was away in North Wales last week with my two boys and my parents for the half term break. I wanted to take some sewing with me and whilst I've had a little try of English paper piecing before (the needle book in the second photo, I did say a little try) I've never had a proper go and this seemed like the ideal opportunity.

The day before we set off I found a little plastic box and assembled a travel-hexy-sewing-kit. Using my Hexagons, 1in Sides #2 die I cut approximately 80 hexies on my Big Shot, using up lots of leftover scraps of some favourite prints in the process. Then with the Hexagons, 3/4in Sides die I cut the papers to use with them.

Now I know I'm a EPP newbie but surely there can't be an easier, faster way of preparing hexies than this?

A needle book, small pair of scissors and 2 reels of thread went into the box along with the papers and hexagons and it was ready to go. Next time though I'll definitely add basting glue to the kit and use a dab to hold the paper to the fabric as it was awkward holding the paper in place whilst folding the sides over.

It was lovely to sit and baste a few hexagons in the evenings when the boys were winding down or asleep in bed.

I managed to get all of the hexagons basted over the course of the week (it's pretty addictive once you get going) and started to join them into 'flowers'. There is a plan for these once they're all joined together.

The more I've got into quilting the more enjoyable hand-sewing has become, I spent years trying to avoid it and used a machine wherever possible. Maybe hand-sewing will even start to overtake machine sewing one day - although probably not too soon as my new sewing machine is due tomorrow, yay!

Hello all!

Here is my new layout for you. It's very nasty outside but sincere hugs can make any project very warm)) I used one of my favourite set of colours: brown, tortoise and green. I think it perfectly match for boyish projects.