Diagonal Flower Border

Here's a slightly different take on a edge style die - I used the Jeanine's Art: Humming Bees - Flower Edge die to cut into the card rather than cutting an edge.

I started by marking on my card, where I wanted the die to cut, and then placed the die there, before running it through the machine.

 

A piece of decorative paper is stuck behind - preferably double sided so it looks nice inside the card too - and a triangular mat and layer on the front. The decoupage, which is from the Buzzing Bees 3D Push Out, along with the bow, cover the other cuts that you don't want to see.

Thanks for popping by, and I hope I have given you a little inspiration. Feel free to follow me here on my blog, or on FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest. For all the videos, pop over to the Hixxy Studio YouTube channel to subscribe. And FB lives are streamed on both the YouTube channel and the Hixxy Crafts FB page. The main items I use can be found on the Hixxy Crafts website - have a look under the Hixxy Studio tab.

Happy crafting!!

Cxxx

Floating in space

Morning - this is the card I made for my great-nephew's recent birthday. The image is from Hunkydory's The Little Book of All Ages, teamed up with some gorgeous blue mirror card. The dotty card is from my stash, and I have die cut some of the blue mirror with Crafter's Companion Inverted Stitched Zig-Zag Rectangle.

The number is Trimcraft's Number dies, and the letters are Crafter's Companion Alphabet dies. 

Thanks for popping by.

Happy crafting,

Cxxx

In Full Plume

 I used this gorgeous image from Hunkydory's In Full Plume collection for my friend's birthday card.  This one is from the Beautiful Blue Tits sheet, teamed up with silver mirror card.

Thanks for popping by.

Happy crafting,

Cxxx

New Baby!!

Our neighbours became grandparents for the first time recently. I made them this card using a page from Hunkydory's The Little Book of All Ages, teamed with some paper and card from my stash. 

Thanks for popping by.

Happy crafting,

Cxxx

Posh shoes!!

Today I have my eldest stepson's birthday card. I love the colours of this collection from Hunkydory - and the posh shoes!!

This is Hunkydory Cheers to You - and it's one of the toppers from the Birthday beers sheet.

Thanks for popping by.

Happy crafting,

Cxxxx

Bronze Blossoms

Very short post today. This card was for my Mother-in-law's 80th birthday.

I used Hunkydory's Bronze Blossoms, with co-ordinating mirror card. 

Thanks for popping by.

Happy crafting,

Cxxx

The Final Furlong

A few quick blogs over the next few days, catching up on sharing some personal family and friend cards - so no step-by-steps or videos.

The first is this one for my brother-in-law. 

This uses Hunkydory's Sports Designer Decoupage - The Final Furlong. Love the colours of this topper/card set, and just added to it with a bit of gold mirror card embossed with Crafter's Companion Textures - 8x8 Distress folder, and some Core'dinations card. Letters are cut with my Diamond Press Block Alpha.

Thanks for popping by.

Happy crafting!!

Cxxxx

Underwater Scene

This is the third of the three watery themed cards I did on a FB live a while back. The videos are available on the Hixxy Studio You Tube Channel. They are cut from the whole live show, so the beginnings and endings are not seamless - but you should get the idea.

For this one, I used white stamping card and inked lightly with Tumbled Glass Distress Oxide. I wanted a pale and patchy effect, as I then sprayed Mermaid Lagoon Distress Oxide Spray over the top and blotted it with rice paper. The whole things was edged with Mermaid Lagoon Distress Ink - or Oxide.

I used Distress Inks to "paint" the little pieces with: Scattered Straw for the sandy background; Wilted Violet for the fish; Abandoned Coral, Mowed Lawn, Twisted Citron and Lucky Clover the the corals and seaweeds; Hickory Smoke for the sharks; Mermaid Lagoon for the bubbles Worn Lipstick, Antique Linen and Ripe Persimmon for the shells and starfish. 

It is then just a case of assembling the scene as you wish. It's a gorgeous little set to play with - and you could cut multiples of all of the dies if you wish.

Thanks for popping by, and I hope I have given you a little inspiration. Feel free to follow me here on my blog, or on FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest. For all the videos, pop over to the Hixxy Studio YouTube channel to subscribe. And FB lives are streamed on both the YouTube channel and the Hixxy Crafts FB page. The main items I use can be found on the Hixxy Crafts website - have a look under the Hixxy Studio tab.

Happy crafting,

Cxxx

Porthole Card

This is the second of the three watery themed cards I did on a FB live a while back. The videos are available on the Hixxy Studio You Tube Channel. They are cut from the whole live show, so the beginnings and endings are not seamless - but you should get the idea.

This card combines two fabulous Amy Design dies. One is the Fishing Net from the Maritime collection. The other is Sea Life from the Underwater World collection. I used brown for the base card, with gold mirror card and a wood effect paper from Crafter's Companion. The idea was to be looking out from the inside of a boat into the water outside.

The fishing net is cut in Kraft card to give it a natural feel, and I made the porthole from gold mirror card, using nesting circle dies. I cut a larger circle to put the underwater scene on, and a smaller frame to go over it. 

The underwater scene is created on a circle of stamping card. I started with Salty Ocean to cover the whole of the circle - not worrying about any patches. I then sprayed it with water and blotted it. I used the dies from the Sea Life set to cut the coloured fish, sharks and shells to arrange. There is a larger die that cuts out a large piece like the sea floor. I did this in green and just cut off the seaweed and algae pieces. I arranged them onto the inked piece, stuck this onto the solid mirror circle, and then placed the frame over the top. The little flat backed pearls create the effect of the porthole. I finished it off with some twine to blend in with the netting.

Thanks for popping by, and I hope I have given you a little inspiration. Feel free to follow me here on my blog, or on FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest. For all the videos, pop over to the Hixxy Studio YouTube channel to subscribe. And FB lives are streamed on both the YouTube channel and the Hixxy Crafts FB page. The main items I use can be found on the Hixxy Crafts website - have a look under the Hixxy Studio tab.

Happy crafting,

Cxxx

Beneath the Ocean

On a live a few weeks ago, we had an underwater theme. I made the canvas that is on an earlier blog, and three cards. This is the first of the cards. The videos are available on the Hixxy Studio You Tube Channel. They are cut from the whole live show, so the beginnings and endings are not seamless - but you should get the idea.

I have used a 3D Push Out from Amy Design: Underwater World collection, along with the Fishing Net die from the Maritime collection. If you have not seen the Push Outs before, they are decoupage sheets and each one has 3 different designs on it. Have a look at the video to see how they work - click on the photo for the link.  

The background is created on white stamping card with Iced Spruce, Faded Jeans and Wilted Violet Distress Oxide Sprays. Once dry - you can blot it with rice paper if you want - edge it with Faded Jeans Distress Oxide.

The net was cut in Creative Expressions Steel Pearl Card, and the letters with Trimcraft's Banner Alphabet dies. The added embellishments are little seed beads from my stash, stuck on with 3D glue gel.

Thanks for popping by, and I hope I have given you a little inspiration. Feel free to follow me here on my blog, or on FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest. For all the videos, pop over to the Hixxy Studio YouTube channel to subscribe. And FB lives are streamed on both the YouTube channel and the Hixxy Crafts FB page. The main items I use can be found on the Hixxy Crafts website - have a look under the Hixxy Studio tab.

Happy crafting,

Cxxx

Flower tag

Today's share is a gorgeous green and white tag, using Jeanine's Art: Welcome Spring Flower and Leaf Borders. I used this die set on the lantern that I blogged a while ago. It's a really simple tag - so quick and easy to make and looks great! Click on the picture if you would like to see the video of this project.

I have a set of greyboard tag templates that I use when making tags. I find them useful for when I want to cut something really thick that a die won't go through. But they are a great tool if you don't own a set of tag dies.

I used the tag template on the left below for the base, and actually created a new template that is roughly 1/8" bigger all round. The next size down was too small - so I wanted something just that bit bigger for the white part.

The larger tag was covered in patterned paper, and inked on the edge with Mowed Lawn Distress Oxide.

The new template was used to cut the white tag out of hammered card. I then cut the leaf border out of this and stuck it on the main tag, but replaced the "waste" so it looked more defined. You can see this on the video.  I cut the white leaves in half ready to go with the flowers.

I cut the flower die twice with co-ordinating green card and arranged them with the two pieces of the white leaves. 

I used a couple of reinforcers from Elizabeth Craft Designs Reinforcement Pack 2, to strengthen the hole, before adding the ribbon.

Thanks for popping by, and I hope I have given you a little inspiration. Feel free to follow me here on my blog, or on FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest. For all the videos, pop over to the Hixxy Studio YouTube channel to subscribe. And FB lives are streamed on both the YouTube channel and the Hixxy Crafts FB page. The main items I use can be found on the Hixxy Crafts website - have a look under the Hixxy Studio tab.

Happy crafting!!

Cxxxx

Flower Box Card

After the dome card, I had another idea for the Amy Design: Enjoy Spring - Flower Border die. A box card. Click on the picture below for the link to the video demo.

You need an A4 sheet of card for box - and the offcuts will be the perfect size for the struts inside.

I laid it landscape onto my Big Score, and scored at 7cm, 14cm, 21cm, 28cm. I then turned it portrait so the small flap/tab is at the top. I then scored at 10cm and 17cm BUT only through the flap/tab and 3 of the side pieces. The bottom one will form the back of the box so you don't want to score into that.

 

Cut out the pieces that are not needed.

 

Cut down the score lines to separate the flaps. Fold and burnish all the score lines.

 

Use the waste to create the two struts by marking 1" from the score lines and cutting. Then then cutting this piece in half. You know that they will fit perfectly.

For decoration, cut the die out three times. Cut each one in half. For the three on the flaps, you can just mount onto the decorative paper that you are using there.

For the struts and the back, draw around the actual die on patterned paper to create a mat for the flowers. Have a look at the video if you are unsure (17:00 onwards). 

I decorate the box - including the back (but not the bow), before sticking together. I add the struts once the box is stuck. The first one I put in, is the back one, and I push it to the back. Because I cut the flaps at 1", I know that the strut will sit 1" from the back. I add the second one, which sits 1" in front of that.

Thanks for popping by, and I hope I have given you a little inspiration. Feel free to follow me here on my blog, or on FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest. For all the videos, pop over to the Hixxy Studio YouTube channel to subscribe. And FB lives are streamed on both the YouTube channel and the Hixxy Crafts FB page. The main items I use can be found on the Hixxy Crafts website - have a look under the Hixxy Studio tab.

Happy crafting,

Cxxx

Dome Window Card

As soon as I saw this die - Amy Design: Enjoy Spring Flower Border - I thought of a window box! And, of course, you need a window to put your window box on. 

I don't have any step-by-step photos of this one, but click on the picture for the video, and I will talk about the measurements and describe the steps here.

The base card is 5"x7". For the dome front, you need a piece that is 5" x 7 1/2", which you need to score 1" from each end.

Cut an aperture in this piece between the two scored lines, and slightly towards the top (I used a 4" x 5" rectangle die). You need a piece of paper for the window frame that is the slightly larger than the aperture - I drew around the outside of the die I used. 

Using a ruler, I marked 1/4" in from each side, then I marked the middle of each side and drew lines to create a cross. I then drew more lines 1/8" each side of this cross (it creates a 1/4" wide piece down the middle and across). Cut out the "windows" with a craft knife.

Attach a piece of acetate behind this, and glue around the aperture of the card.

To create the flowers for the box, cut the die out leaving a longer piece at the bottom. On a piece of patterned paper draw around the edge of the die and cut it out. This will give you a piece to fit behind (and frame) the flowers.

Once these are glued together, stick it to the front of the card, and add another piece of paper to create the window box.

You can decorate the flat parts to the side of the window, before gluing them to the base card to create the dome shape. It's best to wait until everything on the front of the card is dry before you do this.

Thanks for popping by, and I hope I have given you a little inspiration. Feel free to follow me here on my blog, or on FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest. For all the videos, pop over to the Hixxy Studio YouTube channel to subscribe. And FB lives are streamed on both the YouTube channel and the Hixxy Crafts FB page. The main items I use can be found on the Hixxy Crafts website - have a look under the Hixxy Studio tab.

Happy crafting,

Cxxx

Humming Bees and Flowers

I have a little project using some fab dies from the Jeanine's Art: Humming Bees collection. The main die is the Flower Edge. But I realised that the larger bee from the Flower Corner die fitted exactly over the the one on the edge die. And if you flipped the edge die over, the smaller one fitted too.

That led to me cutting the edge twice out of Kraft card. The one on the left is the "correct" way round. The one on the left is flipped over. Have a look at the video (click on the photo) to see exactly how that works.

The base is Kraft card, and I have used white card and a light coloured, patterned paper for the mats and layers. The bees are cut in both Kraft and patterned paper, and the flower (Elizabeth Craft Designs: Susan's Garden - Coneflower) in all three. The smaller bee does not fit onto the bee when the edge die is round the right way (ie the one on the left hand side) - which is why I have put the flower there. The rest fit perfectly.

Thanks for popping by, and I hope I have given you a little inspiration. Feel free to follow me here on my blog, or on FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest. For all the videos, pop over to the Hixxy Studio YouTube channel to subscribe. And FB lives are streamed on both the YouTube channel and the Hixxy Crafts FB page. The main items I use can be found on the Hixxy Crafts website - have a look under the Hixxy Studio tab.

Happy crafting,

Cxxx

Pizza time!!

I've had a play with Elizabeth Craft Designs Pizza Box die set. The more I get to play with ECD dies, the more I am impressed with just how many extras you get, over and above the "worker" die. So, along with the main die that cuts and scores the pizza box, you get a flower pattern die (which I have cut out from pink to use on the purple box in the photos), a large scalloped square die, a stitched square that nests inside. Then four nesting circles - scalloped, plain and stitched. All of the nesting dies are used on the green box. Click on the photo below to see the demo for the green box and card.

 

The main die cuts and scores all of the necessary tabs - all you need to do is crease and burnish them all prior to sticking.

 

I found that sticking it in the order shown in the pictures worked best for me.

 

 

And this is the resulting box. The piece with the finger notch is the lid. The little bit that sticks out is the bottom.

This is cut with the floral mat die that comes with the set. I have added some punched circles into the centres.

I added this to the top of the box with the large scalloped square from the set. The butterflies are from another set of dies.

If you want a matching card to go inside, the dimensions you need is 4 1/8" square (so a piece 8 1/4" x 4 1/8"  scored in half). And you can decorate it to match the box!

Thanks for popping by, and I hope I have given you a little inspiration. Feel free to follow me here on my blog, or on FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest. For all the videos, pop over to the Hixxy Studio YouTube channel to subscribe. And FB lives are streamed on both the YouTube channel and the Hixxy Crafts FB page. The main items I use can be found on the Hixxy Crafts website - have a look under the Hixxy Studio tab.

Happy crafting!!

Cxxxx

Iris Shutter: Journal Page

Hello! Today I am sharing a journal page using the fabulous Elizabeth Craft Designs: Planner Essentials - Iris Shutter die. It is designed to fit on a page of the ECD SideKick planner, which is 7 1/4" x 5 1/4". Their other planner is 9" x 6 1/4" (I think it's also called A5 Slim). There are a whole host of dies for these planners, helping not just to create fun pages, but also to actually cut out the pages with different edges. 

I have neither planner - so have created one that will fit the larger pages - with a back and front from greyboard (which I will decorate at some point), and "bound" with book binding rings. My base page was cut using the die that came with the Retro Number Trio set. I cut it with two sheets of single sided paper (put them back to back through the cutter) and stuck them together. Click on either photo below to see the video demo.

  

The idea of an iris shutter is a bit like a camera shutter. It has a "lever" that you can move to open and close the shutter, revealing a hidden message or image. I have gone with a beach/nautical theme for my journal page. 

Making the mechanism

The shutter mechanism dies are labelled A, B and C. There are also some banana shaped pieces, and some arrow extenders. You need one of A, two of B, one of C, and 6 bananas (you need to cut the die twice). You need to have a strong card (I would say minimum 240gsm) for part B and the bananas. These are also the parts that will be visible at the end, so choose your coloured cardstock, or ink them before assembling.

I will attempt to do step by step with photos - but do check out the video to see how it comes together. 

Start by hooking the ends of the bananas through the slits in piece A. Keep the little "sun"s on the bananas facing up. Hold in place with paper clips.

  

Stick the two B pieces together back to back. If you are using the overlay that comes with the die set, then you will need to extend the "lever" using the extra arrows. Use two from the set. You can infill the little chevrons with bits cut from other iris shutter projects.

 

Place glue dots (I used 0.5mm) directly on top of the "sun"s on each of the bananas, before placing part B on top. You do not want glue anywhere else - so glue dots are perfect. They also have a quicker grab than wet glue! Make sure that you stick part B in the large space between the spokes of A. This is where the arrow will go up and down, and it needs to be just fractionally past the bottom spoke, as in the first photo. Put more glue dots onto the spokes, place part C on top of B and then fold over the spokes. Do not squash the mechanism down - just fold over and stick - you want to be able to move the lever easily. Check the mechanism opens and closes. You can tuck in the little bits at the back - but don't secure them as they need to move.

  

  

It is important to make sure that your image is the right size - use one of the circles left from cutting out the mechanism to check. It is also a good idea to work out where this needs to go, and place it on your project before securing the mechanism down, as it is very tricky to put in afterwards.

There are two other parts to this die set. One you will need, the other you may not. There is another, unlabelled, circle. This is the cover - this you need. And the other is the overlay -  sometimes, if you are making a card, then this is not needed.

To attach the mechanism to the overlay, firstly you need to close the iris. Attach glue dots in between the spokes and line up the aperture in the overlay, over the closed iris. You also need to check that the lever is positioned in the little cut out.

 

Attach 3D foam to the back of the overlay. It needs to be deep enough to allow the mechanism to work. Open the iris, and position over your image. Check the mechanism still opens and closes.

   

For my journal page

I added mats and layers underneath the overlay, and made my cover into a life ring to go with the beach theme. I used elements from Amy Design: Underwater World - Sea Life for the shells and bubble.

Another fab set of dies from the ECD Planner Essential Range, is the Reinforcements 2 set. I used the fold back ticket and fish to reinforce the page holes, and also used the fish as the image in my iris shutter.  

The sentiment was created on the computer and cut using the cover die. I used the "waste" circles from cutting out the cover pieces, to add some layers. 

And I didn't forget the other side of the page. The camera reinforcers were used for the photo mats as well as on the page holes. I just need to decide which pics to put in there.

Hopefully, that all makes sense. I have a couple of other projects made with this Iris Shutter - so watch this space.

Thanks for popping by, and I hope I have given you a little inspiration. Feel free to follow me here on my blog, or on FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest. For all the videos, pop over to the Hixxy Studio YouTube channel to subscribe. And FB lives are streamed on both the YouTube channel and the Hixxy Crafts FB page. The main items I use can be found on the Hixxy Crafts website - have a look under the Hixxy Studio tab.

Happy crafting!!

Cxxxx