flowers from the heart...

Hello my fabulous friends! 

We all know that quality dies can be... 

an investment.  

The last thing you want to do is spend a bunch of hard earned money on a die that you will only use once. So today I thought I would show you a couple of sets that would SEEM to be very straight forward in their use, and look at them in a new way... By doing this, you can find new and creative ways to stretch your dies and get a lot more use out of them...

Paper: LDRS Creative Splendid Azure; Mirror cardstock 

Ink: Distress Chipped Sapphire, Brushed Corduroy, Copic E87

Stamps: LDRS Creative Winnie Boutique

Dies: LDRS Creative Sending Wishes Mailbox, Lamp Post and Railings, Snowy Day

Other: Stamen, acetate, sequins, micro beads 

First, let's take a look at the Lamp Post and Railings die...

This fun die circled in the picture is designed to be layered on top of the lamp post to give more dimension... But it could also be a birdhouse... or a  lantern... Or, you can use them like I did to create a patterned background!

This Sending Wishes Mailbox has a hidden flower in it... Can you see? That heart.... It makes the PERFECT petals  and leaves for demential flowers!! Want to see how? 

Check it out!

Step 1: Die cut your petals... For this flower I'm using 5 hearts, and I'm using some LDRS Creative cardstock... It's nice and heavy, so it holds it's shape well when we start shaping it.

Step 2: Use a small embossing stylus to score a center line from the middle of the heart to the point on the front side. You will need to place your hearts on something with some give to it... I use either a mouse pad or a piece of craft foam.

Step 3: Use a larger embossing stylus (or a flower shaping tool if you have one), and rub in small circular motions around the top edge and top half of the heart on the BACK side. This will make the heart form a bit of a cup 

Step 4: Flip your heart back over to the top side, and pinch the bottom edge together along your  scored line, making sure the top of the heart curls back... This is where you  have to manipulate it to really get the shape you are looking for in the petal. 

Step 5: Add some extra dimension by lightly inking the top edge with a darker color ink.

I like my flowers with details.. To create the speckles you see near the centers of some flowers, you need a Distress Marker Spritzer (or a similar tool). If you take out the sleeve, the Copics will fit. You want to use the brush end. 

*note: Typically when using the Spritzer or Copic Airbrush, you want to use the chisel end for better color distribution.. I'm choosing to use the brush end in a Marker Spritzer BECAUSE the ink will splatter more.

Step 6: Spritz some speckles onto the heart, focusing mostly on the bottom tip.

Step 7: Choose some stamen... I get mine at my local arts/crafts store in  the cake decorating section.

Step 8: Using glue (hot glue if you are impatient like me), tack the stamen together, and start gluing the petals around the stamen.

Step 9: Trim the end of the stamens to what ever size you want and attach to your project.

So take a look at the dies you have... How else could you use them? 

Get creative and have fun!

See you soon!

~Kassi

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