Down Sunflower Lane: May 2016

Saturday, 21 May 2016

Three Roses - Couture Creations

#couturecreations #ulitmatecrafts

Another day, and another chance to share the beauty of Magnolia Lane with you.
Thanks for stopping by today - it's nice to see you!

My favourite die in Magnolia Lane collection without a doubt is Rose Cutting. I love the intricacy of these dies and how versatile they are. In March I made another project with this die that's on the Couture Creations blog -> Here, and I've been wanting to use it again.

And here is the card. I love how the white die cuts just jump off the card.

White is so classic. And goes with pretty much everything.

So let's get crafting.

I've cut several roses and leaves out in white cardstock. By using the Quick Release Die Paper the cuts come out with just a tap - despite how detailed the dies are. A really good idea is to cut extras especially in colours you use regularly. I have a bowl of die cuts on my desk. It saves getting my die cut machine out for just one cut and having them in sight means I'm more likely to use them.

I've cut a piece of Magnolia Lane patterned paper that will become the background of my card. Measure your card and cut the paper slightly smaller. I've chosen a pink paper, but any colour will work. I've used three of the Rose die, and to make my cuts go further have snipped all the leaves apart. That way i can tuck them into smaller places, and only use what I want. I've attached both the roses and leaves with mini glue spots. I really like to use the glue spots as they adhere the cuts in place straight away, but are small enough not to be seen. I've put the spots in the middle of the roses and on the end of leaves. And because only the middle is stuck down, they have a 3D floating appearance.

I've embellished with 3mm pearls (Snow White) in the middle of each rose and scattered some sequins for a bit of sparkle. I've used my Turbo Precision Glue Pen to adhere the sequins. I've also trimmed the overhanging rose in line with the background paper.

I've attached the patterned paper to my white card with double sided tape. Towards the bottom of the card I've added a butterfly from the Ephemera pack mounted on a piece 3D Foam Strip.

And the card is complete. Perfect for a birthday, thinking of you or even a wedding card.

Be sure to check the Couture Creations Blog to be inspired

by the amazing ladies on the Design Team.

You can also follow Couture Creations on

Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter.

Products Used
ULT157495 Magnolia Lane 12x12 Patterned Paper, Sweet Music

ULT157523 Magnolia Lane Decorative Dies, Rose Cutting
ULT157515 Diecut Ephemera
CO721963 3D Foam Adhesive, 3D Foam Strips
CO721984 Doubled Sided Tape, 12mm
CO724037 2 Way Glue, Turbo Precision Glue pen

CO721957 15"x15" Self Healing Mat

CO721955, Pointed Non-stick Scissors 14cm

Have a crafty day!

Sunday, 8 May 2016

Couture Creations 2016/17 Design Team Audition

I've feel so fortunate to have been part of the 2015/2016 Design Team for

Couture Creations. Several beautiful new collections have been released, including Magnolia Lane from our very own design team member Sue SMYTH! It's been such a fantastic experience. And I'd love to continue working with this Australian Company if given a chance.

Below are my 5 Audition projects.

CARD 1

I've embossed a black piece of card stock letterpress style with white ink,

and then added gemstones in 3 colours.

CARD 2

I've made my own patterned paper with stamps and then embossed with music embossing folder. I've die cut 3 banners in vellum and embellished with white lace, die cut leaves, a magnolia flower and metal trinket.

CARD 3

I've die cut several roses and mounted one with the background on foam tape.

I've added gemstones to each flower and either side of the sentiment.

LAYOUT 1

I've added a border die cuts as well as the quick release paper from the cuts along each edge of the patterned paper. I've used a large decorative die to the top right, and 2mm gemstones around the photo. I've clustered black die cut leaves with Couture Creations flowers coloured with black Glitzin' Glamour on the bottom right of the page.

LAYOUT 2

I've layered strips of border die cuts behind my matted photo and placed gemstones along the pattern. I've tucked trailing flourish die cuts behind my flowers, that have been gold Glitzin' Glamoured (yep that's a word now!)

With Couture Creations & Ultimate Crafts continuing to expand their presence overseas in the coming year, it would truly be an honour to remain an ArtDeco Ambassador and be able to go on sharing & promoting my love for their products.

Good luck to all auditionees!

I can only imagine how hard it will be to choose the final Design Team.

Thank you for stopping by!

Have a great day....and go do something crafty!

Tracey

Photo Credit - Gareth McGuigan

Thursday, 5 May 2016

Couture Creations | Ultimate Crafts International Design Team Call 2016/2107

#couturecreationsaus #ultimatecrafts

#designteamcall

Do you love creating with Couture Creations & Ultimate Crafts products especially our Dies and Embossing Folders?

Do you love creating fun and innovative projects?

Do you have an active blog?

Are you active on Social Media?

Do you take fabulous photographs of your projects and write great steps by step instructions?

If you said YES to all of the above we would love you to apply to join our 2016/17 International Design Team …we are looking for a new Design Team to represent our brand with inspiring projects that make Couture Creations & Ultimate Crafts products the star of the show.

Head over to the Couture Creations blog here for all the details. But be quick - there's only a few days left to apply! Submissions are due by midnight Sunday 08 May.

Good luck!

Wednesday, 4 May 2016

Hello My Friend - Couture Creations

#couturecreationsaus #ultimatecrafts

Thanks for joining us at Couture Creations HQ.

Tracey R here with you and I'm very excited to be bringing you a DIY embellishment

& card tutorial. Today I'm going to show you how to get more out of your clear stamps

and add some dimension to any project.

These layered butterflies are super easy to construct, and cost next to nothing to make!

What's not to love about that!

And they also make a gorgeous embellishment on a card or scrapbook layout,

Let's get crafting!

So, what supplies will you need?

Patterned paper - 1 larger piece to fit your card front and some scraps for the butterflies, double sided tape, 3D Foam Spots, 2mm gemstones, Non-stick scissors,

tweezers, stamps and some ink.

Have you seen the 4x6 inch Magnolia Lane stamp sets? There are 3 different designs, each with coordinating designs that match the collection so well. I've used the 2 sets below, with the butterfly and script postcard (which is my single favourite stamp from this collection.

I've stamped the butterfly in brown ink on a scrap of kraft coloured cardstock. I've cut each image separately and stamped the script postcard stamp on the back of each butterfly. Using the butterfly as my template, I've cut around the image. I'm actually going to use the BACK with the script on it. Pretty tricky using the butterfly as your cut line hey!

Using a partly used piece of 6x6 paper, I've stamped 4 butterflies on the FRONT of the script paper. I'm going to cut these with the stamped image on the front. I've cut a strip off the paper and turned it over and stamped on the BACK of the paper. I'm going to use these stamps as my cut lines again and then turn them over so I have a plain butterfly shape (so the stamped image will be on the back like the kraft ones).

So after I've fussy cut all my butterflies I have 3 piles. Left to right - stamped image butterflies, pattered paper butterflies and kraft script butterflies.

To construct the butterfly layers, I've placed a small piece of double sided tape in the middle of each layer. I've placed the patterned paper butterfly on the bottom, followed by the kraft script butterfly, finishing with the stamped image butterfly.

In the middle of each butterfly I've added a 2mm crystal gemstone.

Shape/curl each layer to give it the butterfly some dimension.

On the back of each butterfly I've placed a 3D foam spot.

I've cut down a piece of 12x12 paper to fit my card and inked and distressed the edges before attaching with doubled sided tape. I've then added a sentiment before adding the butterflies.