Saturday Step by Step - Using die cuts with a twist...

Hello everyone and thanks for stopping by today. I'm hosting today's Saturday Step by Step here at Frilly and Funkie, and it's all about using a die (or dies) in new or different way. I have lots to share with you, so grab a mug and something soothing (or stimulating if you haven't had your morning coffee yet!) and spend a few minutes while I show you what I've been playing with... This isn't a new idea, but it's one I've wanted to use for a few years and never gotten around to! I love bows…of all sorts and while most of mine are either shabby and scrunchy or soft and flow-y, I had seen a bow that was rather prim and proper and made with a punch, a few years ago, before the 'bow-tie' dies were released. I've created some versions using dies in my collection...
 
Lets start with the first one I made. These are two fairly generous ovals, quite full in the middle….
 
To create this double bow, I die cut two of the larger (scalloped) ovals from sheet music. There are two of the smaller, plain ovals cut from dictionary pages...
 
In order to create 'rounded' bows, I coaxed the middle of the ovals around a thick brush handle, in order to prevent fold lines...
 
A small dab of quick drying paper glue at one end...
 
Bring the ends together and press for a few seconds until a bond forms. You will want to repeat this for all four ovals...
 
A bit of the same glue to hold each pair together and then you will need a 1/2" x 1-1/4" piece of paper, coated with two strips of double sided adhesive. When the wet glue is dry, join the two halves of the bow on top of the small, tape coated paper, to form the bow...
 
I scored a two inch length of paper, 1/4" wide and wrapped it around the middle to hide the overlap. After glueing it in place on the back, the excess length of the strip was cut off...
 
A strip of dictionary paper was folded, ends trimmed and adhered to the bow to form tails. It then became the anchoring feature in this card...
 
The background was embossed with a Tim Holtz embossing folder. Another strip of dictionary paper forms the central ribbon tag and a die cut scalloped square and plain square support a stamped sentiment. For the next variation, I used some plain, narrow oval dies and some gorgeous Pion papers...
 


I've kept these card designs simple. The gorgeous seed packet is included in the Vintage Garden, Pion collection and it's irresistible. This one worked so beautifully with the background paper. The butterfly was also cut from one of the accent sheets included in this collection...
 
Using a typewriter font, I printed out a birthday wish and colored it to work with the packet color. It is adhered without fanfare on the bottom of the packet. The dimensional bow adds a luxurious touch to a card with a 'country' feel... The next bow used three stamped images of a butterfly from the Flower Market stamp set from Artistic Outpost. I used a sheet of scrap paper as you can see...
 
I positioned the die over the right and then the left wing of the butterfly. The body was cut out of the third image and set aside...
 
The sides of the bow are assembled as before, each wing forming half the bow...


The body was glued on, to hide the join and two simple strips make up the tails of the bow...
 
This is another very quick card, made with an assemblage of tags and cards, layered onto some Vintage Garden, Pion paper along with some tags and images included in this collection...
 
The simple stamped sentiment comes from the Flower Market stamp set. Some half pearls and a single heart, cut from Venise lace, were colored with alcohol markers. The tags and interesting images are all part of the Pion paper collection (except for the round green tag, heart and pearls)...
 
This 'winged' bow adds a delightfully quirky element and makes me smile ;)

I hope this encourages you to take out some dies and spend some time playing with them. All sorts of wonderful discoveries can happen!

Sending you ((hugs)) and blessings,

Rebecca

Tim Holtz Sizzix Texture Fades - Collage & Notebook Set	Pion Design Paper - Vintage Garden 12x12" Scrapbooking Paper	Venise Lace Trim1.375 Inches Wide	Artistic Outpost Flower Market Unmounted Rubber Stamps	Ranger Archival Ink - Coffee
Ranger Adirondack Alcohol Ink Applicator, Stamp Handle and Felt	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Frayed Burlap	Ranger Inkssentials Wonder Tape - 1/4"	Melissa Frances Cream Pearl Embellishments