Pansies

 

 It has been snowing at our house for several days now.  I keep hoping that Spring is just around the corner, but I think we will have winter weather for a while.

Today I have designed a card using Susan's Garden Pansy dies.  Susan Tierney-Cockburn has a video to show you steps for creating the pansy with her dies at this LINK.  Behind the pansies I added Impression Obsession Leafy Branch.  Pieces of the branch were cut off and glued under the flowers.

The yellow background was embossed with the Embossalicious (EF6-ELFME) folder.  A sweet friend sent me the beautiful Marianne die (LR0300).  Just above the pansies I die cut two of the Cheery Lynn "Horizon Coved Rectangle Boutique Stacker Frames".  The sentiment is from Heartfelt Creations.  

The two butterflies were die cut using the Memory Box, Precious Butterflies die. There are two butterflies in this set and each one is attached to a bow. I cut off the bows and sponged the butterflies with yellow and tan ink.  White pearls, colored with a yellow Copic marker,  were added to complete the card.

The following products can be purchased from Ellen Hutson, LLC:

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Susan's Garden, Pansy/Violet dies

Susan's Garden Pan Pastels 

Susan's Garden, Tool Kit

Susan's Garden, Plastic Flower Pots

Ultimate Glue

Impression Obsession, Leafy Branch

Memory Box, Precious Butterflies die

Hero Arts Pearls, white

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My Work Area

I am so pleased with a purchase that I have to share it with you.  I discovered a company that has a large variety of storage units for craft items, and wanted to show you the first of my collection.  The company I am talking about is "Stamp-n-Storage". 

I love to have everything right at my fingertips when I am working on my projects.  This is a picture of where I sit to create.   I have a collection of all the Distress Inks, markers and refills.  I had them stored in separate areas prior to getting this storage unit. It is so convenient to have pad, marker and refill right next to each other.  I labeled each pad with the name on the end. I also like to see the true color as it will show on card stock, so I also die cut some small butterflies and colored one with the marker and attached it next to the name on the label.  The caps on the pens sometimes don't show the exact color as it will be on my card stock.  One other thing I did was alphabetize the colors (within each color group) so it would be easy to replace them when I have a lot of colors out.     I love that the storage is a flat unit so I can see my inks at a glance. I really love this organization!

My Distress Inks are on the right side in this picture.  On the left of my Distress Inks, I have two of the Stamp-n-Storage Marker Nooks.  One nook has Copic Markers and the other one has a variety of other markers I use a lot. I always need to have my glues very close, so store them on one of the shelves.  

I also have a collection of Spectrum Noir markers on the left side.  In this storage unit I have additional Copic Markers.  I will be purchasing one more Marker Nook to add next to my Copic Markers to have them all together.

My wish list is very large for more storage units from this company.   If you are in need of ways to store your craft products, I recommend you browse Stamp-n-Storage to see the wide variety of products they carry.

Here are some of the items you will find there:

• embellishment storage
• ink pad, marker, refill storage
• marker storage
• paper punch storage
• paper (card stock) storage
• embossing folder and steel die storage

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a great weekend.

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Susan's Garden Calla Lily and Clivia Flowers

Today I used two different sets of dies from Susan's Garden to create this mirrored frame.  The white flowers were created with Susan's Calla Lily dies and the purple flowers were created with the Susan's Garden Clivia dies. 

  

This is a picture of the Calla Lilies I created and a picture of the package of Susan's Garden Lily Dies.  As Susan's has done with all your flower dies, she has a Cally Lily Video at this Link.  I followed Susan's instructions to create these beautiful flowers.  One of the things I want to point out, is that the pointed end of the the large die in this set is not the base end, as in most of her die sets.  I will confess -- I colored the wrong end of the petal, with the Pan Pastels, the first time I started working with this flower.  You will immediately know you colored the wrong end as soon as you start to assemble it, because you need that point up at the very top.  After shaping and gluing the calyx sides together,  I glued a piece of Wired Sisal Rope (from Hobby Lobby)down in the calyx, and let it dry, before inserting the shaped flower, so my flowers would be on a stem.    The stamens were shaped as Susan showed us and I did use a large drop of the Viva Yellow Paper Pen on the tip.  Once that was dry, I rolled the stamen in clear glue and then rolled it in the Susan's Garden Yellow Pollen.   I die cut my leaves using white card stock and colored them with the Copic YG67 marker.  After scoring down the center of the leaf (on the back) I turned it over and colored down the vein line with the Yellow Green Pan Pastels.  To get the white marks on the leaves, I used my Inkssentials Opaque White Pen. It is amazing how realistic these flowers look! I created five Calla Lilies and tied them together down on the stems with a piece of green wire.  Dimensional Glue Dots were used to attach the arrangement to the frame.

 I wanted a contrasting colored flower to go with the Cally Lily arrangement, so I used the Susan's Garden Clivia dies to create purple flowers.  I did not create the flowers the same as you do when you create the Clivia.  On the left side in the picture above, you can see the coral Clivia flower I created following Susan's instructions on her Clivia Video.  I used half a green 1 1/2" Styrofoam ball for the base for the Clivia, then created the Clivia just like Susan's did on the video.

Below is a tutorial on how I used the Clivia dies to create a different type flower to go with my arrangement.

I used two different shades of purple card stock to create to two different shades of purple flowers.   I love using Susan's Garden Pan Pastels to color flowers because it is really great how the Pan Pastels color over colored card stock.  You can see in the photo above how well the yellow Pan Pastel shows up on both the lavender and darker purple petals.

 When I created the Clivia, I used the loop tool just as Susan showed us in the video to shape the petals.  However, I wanted a flower with a very "ruffled" edging on it so I placed the smaller loop tool from the Susan's Garden Flower Tool Kit, just above the edge of the petal and pulled down to the center.

 On the left side in the picture above, you can see how the petal looks when you place the loop tool below the edge of the petal; it shapes (cups) the petal.  On the petals on the right, you can see how much the edges of the petal have ruffled when I placed the tool just above the edge and drew it down.  I LOVE using the special tools Susan has in her Flower Tool Kit!

Once the petals were all shaped, I layered (and glued) two of the larger shaped petals together and did the same for the smaller set of petals.  Then the two layers were glued together to create my "unknown" flower. Stamens were added to the center.

To decorate the frame, I used the Memory Box, Grand Happy Birthday die to create a border along the bottom.  A piece of lace was added with two-sided take along the bottom.  Along the top I added two different laces.  The flowers were arranged around the mirror on the frame then a purple silk bow was added to complete it.

I know you will have fun creating these beautiful Cally Lillie's using Susan's Garden Cally Lily dies.  They are very easy.

You can purchase the following products from Ellen Hutson, LLC:

Susan's Garden, Cally Lily Dies
Susan's Garden, Clivia Dies
Susan's Garden, Flower Tool Kit
Susan's Garden, Pan Pastels
PanPastel Sofft Knives and Covers
Susan's Garden, Yellow Pollen
Susan's Garden, Paper Pens
Memory Box, Grand Happy Birthday die
Ultimate Glue
Copic Marker, YG67 
Inkssentials Opaque White Pen
Pop Up Glue Dots

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Susan's Garden Rose Buds

I want to wish all of you a Happy Valentine's Day.  I laugh as I write this post because this is a frame with a mirror in the center.  I did not realize how hard it was going to be to photograph it without getting myself in the mirror!!!!

To celebrate Valentine's Day, I thought it would be appropriate to create something pretty displaying roses.  I thought it would be fun to create a different type rose using Susan's Garden, Rose Flower dies. You can create so many different sizes and variety of roses with Susan's dies.   I usually create beautiful, fully open roses, and today thought I would show you how I created these rose buds.

 This is a picture of the Susan's Garden Rose Dies.  I think you all know that each of Susan's flower dies come in their own plastic seed package, which stores the picture of the flower, the directions, and the dies.  The tool I used to create the flowers today are the self-closing tweezers, that come in the Susan's Garden Flower Tool Kit.  Using the self-closing tweezers in flower making is so much better than using the other type. I have created my rose buds a little different than Susan did on her video.  You will learn a lot by watching her step-by-step Rose directions at this LINK.

Tutorial on how I created my Susan's Garden Rose buds.

To create these roses, I die cut them using vanilla card stock then sponged on both the light pink and a little yellow Susan's Garden Pan Pastels at the base.  The flower petals were then shaped by using the small loop from the Susan's Garden Flower Tool Kit.  Start by having the loop just above the edge of the petal and draw it down to the base of the petal.  When you start slightly off the edge of the petal, it seems to create a pretty little "ruffle" edge.  Do this over the entire petal until it is kind of cupped (shaped) like a rose petal.

 When Susan created Rose buds on her video, she first shaped the "fan" calyx and placed the petals inside, to create her buds.  I decided to experiment and created them a different way.  I built the bud on the Self-Closing Tweezers, then wrapped the "Fan" calyx around the completed bud.  There is no right or wrong, so watch Susan's video then you can decide which way you would like to create your buds.  I did add the three leaf die cut leaves to my rosebuds.

Once you have your petals all shaped, add some Ultimate Glue to the lower half of the petal (as shown above).

 Next, close the self-closing tweezers on one side of the petal,and roll the petal around the tweezers, giving it a shape like the center of a rose.  You want it kind of tight right in the center; then just loosly roll the rest of the petal around.  Hold it for a few seconds to let the glue stick. I try to give the petals a little shaping as I am adding petals, but most of the shaping was done after the bud was completed.   Add glue to the next petal, the same way, and add it to the petal on the tweezers.  You can actually turn the petals slightly sideways to get different looks.  You want to alternate where you start each petal so you are getting a well shaped flower.  You can add as many petals as you want.  I added 6 or 7 petals for each flower.  As soon as you have all your petals attached, pull the tweezers out and wipe off all the glue (I use a baby wipe).  Next you want to use the tweezers to  shape each petal --  roll the edges of the petals out like Susan's shows in the video.   I sometimes even give the petals a little twist for additional shaping.

 I used green wire for the stems; six wires were cut and attached by placing a strip of dimensional tape over them to hold them in place.  The rose buds were attached with dimensional glue dots.  I purchased this mirror frame from Ikea.  It is 10 inches square.  The corners are the JustRite "Filigree Corners" designed by Becca Feeken.  On the lower right corner I added a Marianne Design label. Under the roses I added Impression Obsession Leafy Branch, Cheery Lynn Ferns, and a Marianne Design embellishment.  A bow was added at the base of the flowers.

I hope I have given you some additional information that will help you create more beautiful roses. 

You can purchase the following products from Ellen Hutson, LLC:

Susan's Garden, Rose Dies

Susan's Garden, Tool Kit

Susan's Garden, Pan Pastels

Ultimate Glue

Impression Obsession, Leafy Branch

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Susan's Garden Hardy Geranium

 Today I have a box to show you that I decorated using Susan's Garden "Hardy Geranium" dies.  I think most of you know that I love to find pictures of flowers and try to create those flowers using dies.  It was so fun to create the dimensional flower branch on this box.  I wish my photos could show how pretty it really is!

 I found this pretty box at Michael's.  I'm not sure what kind of flower is in the design;  they kind of look like a white cherry blossoms. The flowers are larger than my cherry blossom dies, so I went through my Susan's Garden dies and decided Susan's Hardy Geranium  dies would work well to duplicate these flowers. The petals were approximately the same size and shape as the flowers on the box.   They turned out matching perfectly.

Here is a picture of the Susan's Garden Hardy Geranium.

 Here are all the flowers I created.   I die cut the petals and calyx using white card stock and sponged on Sahara Sand ink, at the base around the outside edges of each petal, to duplicate the shading on the printed flowers that are on the box. They were shaped with the Susan Garden Flower Tools. 

 

 Here are all the  items I used to decorate this box.  I created a lot of the white Hardy Geraniums. A piece of brown wrapped wire was used to place some of the flowers on.  I purchased this wire in the floral department at Hobby Lobby.   I used the butterfly from the Susan's Garden Hibiscus Flower dies for the two butterflies.  You get a bonus in this die set with one butterfly die.  I ran the two die cut butterflies through an embossing folder to add texture then sponged them to highlight the texture.  I used two Marianne Design corners, some K&Company bird stickers and a bow made out of tulle to complete box. 

 In order to duplicate the flowers on the box, I used some stamens I purchased from Michaels.  I punched a hole in the center of the calyx,  then shaped (cupped) it.  The stamens were folded in half, glue added to the folded end, then pushed through the punched hole in the center of the calyx.  I let these dry before gluing the 5 petals to the points on the calyx.  To help hold their shape, I placed each flower in the Susan's Garden plastic flower pots.  I really like using these pots, to dry my flowers, because they help hold the shape of the flower while it is drying They will not stick to the pot (glue won't stick to them).

 

I hope you will use your flower dies to create a variety of flowers. When you use Susan's Garden dies, they always look so realistic!

Here are links at Ellen Hutson, LLC to products I used:

Susan's Garden, Hardy Geranium dies
Susan's Garden Plastic Flower Pots
Susan's Garden, Flower  Tool Kit
Susan's Garden, Hibiscus dies
Ultimate Glue

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Susan's Garden Anthurium

Today I created a Stair-step card for you.  One of Susan Tierney-Cockburn's favorite flowers is the Anthurium, which is an Hawaiian flower.  There are only two pieces necessary to create this pretty flower, plus the leaves.  Susan has a video showing you how to assemble the Susan's Garden Anthurium at this LINK.

I die cut this flower using red card stock; it was shaped with the tools in the Susan's Garden Flower Tool Kit.  The stamen was very easy to form.  Once the stamen was rolled, it was covered with Ultimate Glue and rolled in the yellow Susan's Garden Pollen.  To create the shiny look that an Anthurium has, Viva Glass Effects was used.  Susan will show you all these steps in her video.

I love the background on this card  because a very good friend, from the Netherlands, sent me the beautiful Marianne Design doily die (CR1261). This doily created a beautiful background on this Stair Step Card for the Anthurium.   

 Here is a front view of the card.  For final touches, I added some ladybugs created with Viva Decor Red and Black Pearl Pens, and a polka dot bow.

The following products can be purchased from Ellen Hutson, LLC:

Susan's Garden, Anthurium Flower dies

Susan's Garden, Flower Tool Kit

Ultimate Glue

Susan's Garden, Pollen

Susan's Garden, Pan Pastels

Viva Decor Glass Effect Gel

Viva Decor Pearl Pen, Red

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Susan's Garden Violets

 

Today I have a box that I decorated using Susan's Garden Pansy/Violet dies. This is a close-up of the top. Susan Tierney-Cockburn has a video showing the steps on how to assemble these flowers here.  Also, last year I posted a little tutorial on my blog at this link, if you would like to see the steps I took to create a Susan's Garden Violet.  The violets I created for this box were die cut using white card stock.  All the petals were sponged with lavender ink, then at the base, blue ink was sponged on.  I tried to match the colors in the plaid on the box. Fine purple lines were drawn from the base of each petal for extra dimension, then yellow Flower Soft was glued in the center once the petals were dry.  The flowers were arranged on the top of the box, then the leaves were tucked under the flowers.

Both the pansy and the violets are very quick and easy flowers to assemble.  I used the pansy leaves on this project.  There are smaller violet leaves in this die set.  I love butterflies and dragonflies around my flowers, so I layered the Memory Box "Kaleidoscope" and "Moonlight" butterflies, and the Memory Box "Pippi" and "Isabella" butterflies and the Memory Box "Willow Dragonfly" around the violets.  The corners are Marianne Design dies.  To complete the box, I added blue pearls and a little purple bow.

You can turn "trash" into a cherished gift!  It is so easy to recycle boxes, containers, etc and decorate them with flowers created with your Susan's Garden Flower dies. 

Below are the links to products I used from Ellen Hutson, LLC.

Susan's Garden, Violet/Pansy Flower Dies

Susan's Garden, Flower Tool Kit

Ultimate Glue

Memory Box, Kaleidoscope Butterfly die

Memory Box, Moonlight Butterfly die

Memory Box, Pippi Butterfly die

Memory Box, Isabella Butterfly die

Memory Box, Willow Dragonfly

Yellow Flower Soft

Hero Arts, Blue Pearls

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Susan's Garden Mini Petals

When we think about Valentine's Day, we almost always think about roses.  My very favorite rose dies are from Susan's Garden.  Susan has a set of dies to create larger roses but also a set called "Mini Petals" which you can use to create beautiful small roses.  I have used the Susan's Garden "Mini Petals" dies for this card.  You can watch Susan Tierney-Cockburn's Rose Video showing how to create roses at this link.

I love working with die cuts and have used many on this card.  To start off, I used the Sizzix "Tri-Shutter Card" die for the card shape.  One quick roll through the die cutting machine and the card is die cut and scored.   This die does not fit the average die cutting machine because it measures 12" x 12 3/4".  You will need a Big Shot Pro die cutting machine. 

 On the front panel, I used the Memory Box "Heart Delights" die to cut out the hearts.  This die leaves heart shaped "holes" in the card stock.  I glued a piece of pink card stock behind that panel then covered it again with white to make the back look good.  This die cut creates such a pretty border.  Along the very edge of that left side panel, I added a piece a trim.

To create the pretty roses I made three mini roses, and a bunch of little buds, using the Susan's Garden "Mini Petals" die. You always create such realistic flowers when you use Susan's dies!   They were die cut using white card stock and I sponged on Susan's Garden Pink Pan Pastel, only on the top portion of each petal (leaving the base of the petal white).  To create the buds, I added one small petal to each leg of the calyx then pushed the petals up to form a bud.  Very easy to do!  All the green leaves are from the Susan's Garden Rose and Mini Petals dies.

Behind the roses I added Poppy Stamps "Berry Sprig".  On the right side panel, I first embossed a piece of white card stock using the Cuttlebug, Anna Griffin Matelasse, embossing folder.  I had some small hearts that I glued on this embossed piece.  Three small "Mini Petal" rose buds were added along with some of the Poppy Stamps "Berry Sprig".

 In this picture you can see the shape of the "Tri-Shutter" card.

 On the inside folds, I added some pieces of design paper.  In the center panel, top and bottom, a Poppy Stamps Ivy Tendrils, was added.  In the very center of the card I added the Savvy Stamps, Love Nest, die cut.  It was glued to a piece of pink card stock and I used scissors to cut it slightly larger than the die cut to add a border around the heart.  On the left side of the Love Heart, I added the smaller Memory Box "Precious Heart" hanging from a bow, die cut.  To finish the card, I die cut the Memory Box "Butterfly Vine Border, three times and cut off all the little butterflies.  They were glued around on all sections of the card. 

I am entering this card into the The Craft Hoarders Anonymous Challenge.

"Challenge #1: What's Your Style?
Share a project that showcases your signature style. Dig into your hoard and pull out items that make you shout with crafty joy! Whip up something that has your creative name all over it. Do you, because no one is you-er than you!"

My style is definitely creating dimensional flowers.  I also love to create layers using lots of die cuts. 


You can purchase all the following products from Ellen Hutson, LLC:

Susan's Garden, Mini Petal Dies
Susan's Garden, Rose Dies
Memory Box, Hearts Delights" die
Susan's Garden, Pan Pastels
Ultimate Glue
Susan's Garden Flower Tool Kit
White Card Stock
Poppy Stamps, Berry Sprig
Poppy Stamps, Ivy Tendrils
Savvy, Love Heart die
Memory Box, Precious Hearts die
Memory Box, Butterfly Vine Border die

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