Fabulous Find: WPlus9 Stamp and Die Set

Wplus9 makes a wonderful product. We featured their stamp and die set as another make and take at the recent annual Scrap Shotz NSD crop.

What I found easiest was to die cut the shapes I wanted on the card. Then I used the corresponding stamp to stamp the die cut shape. After letting the pieces dry, I assembled them on my card front. The card on the left was stamped with the Tim Holtz distress inks - Cracked Pistachio, Mermaid Lagoon and Abandoned Coral. On the right the die cut pieces were stamped using Ranger Dye Inks.

For the sentiment, I die cut several Wplus9 Happy Trio die cuts. Then I followed one of Jennifer McGuire's wonderful tips and adhered 6 die cuts together to create a dimensional chipboard like accent. The hammered metal look on the "happy" die cut was created using Ranger Metallic Paint Dabbers. 

On the stamp set, there are two styles of flowers in 3 different sizes. Layered together, they would make a beautiful 3D flower. But I wanted to use the stamps. With 3 different colours, I randomly stamped my paper. Then I cut a frame and adhered it to my card front. The sentiment stamp is by Kaisercraft. A few pearls by Prima and voila the card is finished!

Thanks for stopping by! 

Fabulous Find: Tim Holtz Crazy Bird

In the words of Beyonce, I have been "Crazy in Love" with Tim Holtz' Crazy Bird stamps!

These guys are so adoreable - look at their faces! There is a bird for every card and the fun I've had making sentiments to match? Well, let me just say I have had a perpetual smile on my face.

A few things about these stamps that I have experienced...and I am by no means a Power-Stamper! For me, I love the material that these stamps have been made with because they yield a crisp clear image. The stamps sit solid on my block, ink beautifully with either archival ink, distress ink or even paint! There are so many options on how to colourize the birds.

In the card below, I chose a more "painterly" approach and coloured the bird with Claudine Helmuth acrylic paint. The bird was fussy cut using my fabulous Elizabeth Craft Fine Point Scissors. (A quick word about the scissors...ummm they are very very sharp!)

The background was created by applying Wendy Vecchi Translucent Embossing Paste through the Tim Holtz Woodgrain Layering Stencil.  Using distress inks and a waterbrush, I created a watercolour swatch of sweet colours that once dry was die cut using the Wplus9 Happy Trio die (that can be ordered directly from Sandy) to create the sentiment.

When all these elements are put together, it creates a fun card to give a special someone in your life! 

Have you been enjoying your set of Crazy Birds???

Fabulous Find: My Favorite Things Die-namics Steel Fancy Flourish and Heartfelt Creations

So often a flourish is the perfect accent for your papercrafting project. It looks beautiful with flowers as shown below in the card created by Rosie N. (keep reading for more on those unique customized flowers);

or it can be adorned with gems and pearls...or it can serve as the perfect backdrop for a focal point image as in the layout created by Rosie N. below.

Now a special word on those fabulous flowers!!!! Aren't they absolutely gorgeous??? Yeah, I think they are gorgeous too and Rosie showed me how to make them using the Heartfelt Creations Deluxe Flower Shaping Kit. Let me be completely honest with you...when I first saw those flowers, I was convinced I would not be able to make them. But in 3-4 easy easy peasy steps, I watched Rosie create them...and yes, I can make them. For all the Heartfelt Creations accessories, click here.

Fabulous Find: Spellbinders Butterfly Expandables

At the annual Scrap Shotz NSD crop, one of our make n takes showcased the Spellbinders Shapeabilities Butterfly Magic Expandable Die shown below. What makes this die so unique is that you can lengthen and extend your initial die cut. Each side of the die matches to itself perfectly. To learn how to use the die, here is a YouTube link that gives you more information.

From my sample below, I used the die cut individually. I also cut an extra die cut but isolated the butterfly. The butterfly was coloured with the Abandoned Coral distress inks. I heat set the distress ink and applied a layer of Ranger's Glossy Accents to the top.

To create the background, Mermaid Lagoon and Cracked Pistachio distress inks were applied. Are you as in love with Tim's monthly released colours of distress inks that I am???