Aussie Scrap Source

punches and dies: dimensional shapes

 

 

 

 

Sue loves border punches however this was her first time testing out one of the Dimensional flower designs.  Sue chose the doily petal punch, which creates a lovely delicate flower.  To make the flower design, you need to firstly punch two 12 inch strips of paper.  Sue used two different patterns of paper for the strips, which resulted in a very pretty flower.  A crystal brad in the centre was the accompaniment.  Sue has used the MME Lost & Found Ruby collection to scrap her page and the doily petal flower works beautifully with the doily designs in the Ruby collection.

 

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Anything that can add dimension Leeann is totally into. Leeann started out by playing with the EK success dimensional flower punch. At first she made the flower up and soon realized this punch gives you that option of more than one way. Leeann wrapped a punch strip around a used Sellotape roll creating a funky frame which helps to highlight an area on the photo. There are plenty of great ways in using this punch and all it takes is just a bit of playing around… the possibilities are endless!

 

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Suz has injected dimension into this pretty card on a multitude of levels.  The base panel was embossed with a Sizzix embossing folder, and she then cut out the inside shape and filled it with one of her favourite memory box dies – the floral square which is then adhered with foam tape to the base card.  The sentiment is also embossed and inked to enhance the relief.  The leaves come from the extraordinary versatile Tim Holtz strip die and then she quilled the flowers using the Memory Box Pinwheel Posie to sit inside the leaves finishing them off with a spritz of Glimmer Mist and a pinch of glitter.

 

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punches and dies: nesting shapes

 

 

 

 

 

Nesting dies are a great way to maximize your patterned papers. You can create embellishments and frames like what Iris did here. To add dimension to the paper frame, Iris used the same nesting die on a sheet of thin foam. She adhered the die-cut foam and paper together and used it to frame the photo of her two sweet girls.

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Danielle used EK Success's 1 1/4" Scallop Square Nesting Punch to create a feature banner on her 'Chook Love' layout. Cutting each scallop square out of double-sided patterned paper meant that the punched squares, when folded diagonally but unevenly, showed two different patterns at the same time. Each banner flag appears to have a scalloped border as a result of this folding method showing both patterned sides of the paper.

 

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Sizzix Framelits are a nesting style set of dies that allow you to easily create beautiful dimensional frames or layers that fit snugly within each other.  They can be used in many different ways and suit scrapbooking, cardmaking and OTP projects.   This week Leanne has had fun playing with the Sizzix Framelits Fancy #4 Label dies and has created three cards using the dies in a different way on each card.

For this card Leanne used the label die to create some unique pieces for the front of the card. By trimming the labels into sections you can create an edging for the label.  You can also transform the label into bracket pieces to create a cute rectangular styles label shape.

 

 

Leanne used the Framelits dies to create cards that are uniquely shaped.  The different sizes allow you to layer up the front of your card as each layer sits neatly in line with the last.  Leanne also teamed them up with and oval die to make a feature label for embellishing.

 

 

Here Leanne used the label die to create a beautiful layered embellishment featuring a mounted frame. Embellishments and a sentiment were placed both inside the layered frame and on the mounted frame border. 

 

 

 

Elizabeth V shares with us her craft garland project, using a circle nesting punch to create this cute decoration!

 

Finally we thank Barb Engler for allowing us to share this lovely card she has created using a snowflake punch and some gorgeous arty details.

punches and dies: pop up card dies

 

 

WOW was the only word Jane had to say about the die and how easy it was to create these pop up cards! This is now her favourite go to product to create that quick effective card!! Jane has used the Crate Paper DIY collection to adorn the inside and front covers.  The first step Jane did was to cut a die-cut from cream card, then another from the Crafty paper. She cut the pop out section from the paper die-cut and lined the inside of the cream piece with it using plenty of double-sided tape. The piece was then encased in folded crimson card and decorated further with more Crafty paper on the front, sooo easy and sooo much fun!!

 

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This die could be used for any occasion, just decorate to suit your theme and you’re done, Jane can’t give enough praise on this die. The label panel that pops up is just perfect for your sentiment and the die cuts perfectly each time. Don’t forget you will need the extending pads for these dies.

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Sizzix Movers & Shapers Flip Its dies are really fun to create with as they add a surprise element of motion into your card. Leanne chose to work with Sizzix Bigz Movers & Shapers - Circle Flip-its Card Die by Stephanie Barnard to make three creative and interactive cards.  With this first card Leanne cut a base card from cardstock and used some patterned paper strips and a circle to embellish the card base.  By adding some faux stitching and lettering afterward the card was complete!  Very quick and simple but the use of the flip its die makes this card a little more special than a traditional folded base card.

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For this second card Leanne added some additional layers of patterned paper to the card base using the Flip-Its die to make sure all the layers work together.  Trimming and edge distressing the outer edges allowed the vanilla card base to act as a border for the front of the card.

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For this card Leanne flipped the Flip-It’s base on its side and mounted it on a rectangular card base.  She then re cut the Flip Its base in sections out of patterned paper to cover the card base. Careful placement of a die cut border and ribbon trim brought the layers of the card front together.

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Louise created this set of three cards using the Pop’n Cuts Label die from Sizzix. The die lends itself to any number of styles but she chose to stick to her usual slightly vintage, detailed style and utilised the Pink Paislee London Market range to create 3 very different cards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The die, designed by Karen Burniston, is easy to use and makes it a breeze to mass produce designs. You can see more of Karen’s die’s and examples on her blog at as well as her YouTube channel.

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This party card by Gretchen Schmidt just screams FUN and shows how effect the Sizzix dies can be - party invitations can be made in no time! Gretchen has a lot more examples on her blog  including instructions for creating them.

 

this second lovely example from Gretchen uses the same label die but has a completely different look when combined with some Sizzix on the Edge dies too.

You can see a full tutorial on Gretchen's blog here.

 

 

This stunning card from Helen Cryer utilises both the Label die and the Love one beautifully. The addition of rosettes and banners add a simple but beautiful touch and are cleverly concealed when the card is closed. You can see more of Helen's work here.

punches and dies: all over the page

 

All Over The Page punches are designed in two parts so that you can literally punch your design anywhere on a 12x12 page.   They come in all sorts of designs from simple shapes so that you can create windows in layouts and cards, to intricate weave patterns

     

 

 

 

 

Louise wanted to create a light, textured layout and chose to go a mixed media route. Using plain cardstock as a base and adding impasto, glimmer mist and glaze to create a soft, textured background, she then created a window with the Martha Stewart All over the Page punch to give it a base. The wings were punched from a transparency, coloured with the glaze and layered with a hot glue gun to give it height. The end result is a soft, shimmery page that is both simple and detailed at the same time.

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Danielle adored using the Martha Stewart Punch All Over the Page in the Crochet Flower design to enhance her layout background. Scattered punches across the paper act as sweet windows to a second paper placed behind, chosen to add a colour contrast as well. Along with some paint and mists, the punches patterns created a sweet, arty backdrop for the rest of the layout.

 

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WOW WOW WOW… totally awesome is what Leeann has to say about these all over the page punches. We all know that creating negatives is a super trend at the moment. Using the positive and negative is super cool! Having a punch and being able to place it anywhere you like on the page is a winner in Leeann’s eyes. The possibilities are endless.  Just check out how she used that butterfly punch and how she made each one pop by adding pattern papers by Dear Lizzy 5th and Frolic – just gorgeous!

And an extra idea is to make a garland with the positive butterflies by machine stitching them all together and wrapping them around a girly present for someone who’s sweet to you! Like she said “the possibilities are endless”!

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Finally check out these beautiful cards.  Becca Feeken has created these gorgeous projects using Martha Stewart Punches.

punches and dies: 12x12” / all around the page

 

 

 

Kim has used the We R Memory Keepers Lucky 8 border punch to create the round scallop edged shape behind the photo.  Kim was very impressed with the quality of the punch and how perfectly it created the fancy edge, with every punched piece aligning exactly.  She is looking forwarding to using the punch in many different ways, due to the flexibility of being able to choose whether to just use a plain scallop edge, or in combination with the extra punched dot border.

 

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Stacey was excited to play with one of the We Are Memory Keepers Lucky 8 punches.  She choose the Fancy Scroll and was so surprised how easy it was to use.  It is a versatile punch and can be used in many different ways.  This border punch teamed with the Prima products certainly made a gorgeous, unique page.

 

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Sue loves the Martha Stewart Punch Around the Page sets.  She has utilised the lovely Cherished Framed Dots design to create a stunning border on her paper, which very effectively forms a frame for the design.  To enhance the frame, Sue stitched around the page twice in pink coloured thread, just inside the punched border edge. Sue has scrapped photos of her daughter Lily blowing glitter into the air, using a mix of products but mainly the gorgeous Crate Paper Maggie Holmes collection.

 

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dies and punches: embossing dies

 

For this particular product challenge Louise N thought she would show you something just a little bit different. For this layout Louise has used one of the texture fades embossing plates [Cross Stitch] to emboss a pattern into texture paste on the layout background. This was then highlighted with the use of 2 different shades of mist.

 

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Kim has used the Sizzix texture fades bubbles and honeycomb set to great effect in this layout.  She has used the honeycomb pattern along the long cream strip to add texture to what would otherwise be a plain paper.  Kim has then lightly inked over the raised design so that it is more noticeable.  Kim has then used the other texture plate design (bubbles) on the punched stars which she used, along with the decorative brads from My Minds Eye, to create the eye catching strip between the two photos.  Kim has shown the flexibility of the texture plates and how adding texture to a layout adds interest to what might otherwise be quiet plain elements.

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Jane just loves using embossing on her cards because it gives them great texture and looks cool. One of Jane’s favourite methods with using them is to apply a water-based ink pad to one side of the folder and run it through with white card, in this sample she has used worn lipstick and the Chevron Textured Impression plate, it’s a great way to add colour and gives a slightly distress look. The same was done again using Distress Ink crushed olive and a section was trimmed following the lines of the design and added on top.

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Jane cut strips from the white embossed Chevron design and used them as arrows on her card, she then used a circular mask and covered an area on the white embossed Flourish piece. Glimmer Mist key lime pie was sprayed over it, a few extra drops were then added after the mask was removed.

 

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dies and punches: edges and corners

 

 

 

Iris just loved how the new Martha Stewart Circle Edger works! It creates circle patterns on sizes of 6 inches to 12 inches! To keep the focus on the doilies created by the puncher, Iris built her page on a white paper and texturized it with mediums and stencils. She then added mists, distress inks, and pastel colors to create a soft, almost glowing effect on this page she made for her goddaughter Anika.

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Stacey admits that she doesn't own many punches but this Lace Heart punch has her wanting more.  It is extremely versatile but fits perfectly with the love theme.  She punched the bottom of her page and added the excess hearts and confetti dots into a plastic sleeve.  She stitched around the outside to create a shaker.  This was then a base for her layout and she created her layers from this point on.  She also created the fun medallions with the punch.

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Louise loves using border punches to add detail and interest to her edges and often highlights them with a light stroke of distressing inks. The little windows of colour that poke through from behind make the layers appear lighter and a mix of the right punches can make even a basic layout a bit special.

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dies & punches: decorative shapes

 

Punches and dies have long been one of the most economical embellishments out there – reusable and versatile – and you can change their look in as many different ways as you have scrapbook layouts. 

From EK Success and Martha Stewart punches, to Sizzix, Memory Box and Poppy Stamps dies, we have a host of them we’d like to introduce to you in our new blog series.  We hope to inspire you to find new uses for the punches and dies you already have, as well as perhaps stock up on a few new ones!

 

 

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Louise N just loves the delicacy and elegance of the Memory Box cutting dies, they suit her style perfectly. Whether you use them a lot or a little, they will still make a 'creative statement' on your project.

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Here Suz has created an ombre effect with one of her favourite Decorative Strip Dies – Autumn Gatherings by Tim Holtz.  She has combined it with a contrasting lilac colour palette and the Martha Stewart 3-in-1 Hydrangea punch to create this pretty double page layout.

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The key to beauty is simplicity and repetition in this gorgeous art journal cover by Jilly van Iperen.  She has decorated the cover of this journal by painting it with a rough layer of gesso and then further distressing it with sandpaper.  She has then replicated the simple butterfly shape in different patterned papers to create this soft and beautiful look.

 

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