Springtime Die Cuts at Frilly and Funkie

Hi everyone and welcome. Over at the Frilly and Funkie challenge blog it's time to get your crafting geared away from Winter and into Spring! Nicole is hosting this awesome Springtime Die Cut Challenge and says "I'm sure there's some foliage, flowers or butterflies somewhere in your stash! Just think SPRING!" We want to see your vintage and shabby chic projects so you can be in with a chance to win a Guest Designer spot for a future challenge or a $25 shopping spree at The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

Here's my DT make for this one (click on the images for a closer look)...

Recently I got my paws on some Lindy's Stamp Gang goodies; having never tried these before (but seen them put to great use on my DT team mates blogs) I was intrigued to see how they'd perform. Needless to say they are now firm favourites! To create the background for this canvas I took a leaf out of Tim Holtz' book and stencilled the Flourish design all over before sprinkling it with a mix of Café au Lait, C'est la vie Cerise, and Merci Beaucoup Mint shimmery embossing powders. I then misted a blend of those same colours over the whole background using the Flat Fabio versions and allowed them to pool/set. As they dried the colours intensified. To finish this part I splattered Tattered Rose, Frayed Burlap, Cracked Pistachio and Evergreen Bough Distress Paints around (and added them to the sides of the canvas) allowing them to air dry.

I love the look of the pre-made flowers you see on mixed media canvases but wanted to make my own for this one to fit with the die cuts theme, so out came the Tattered Florals dies (along with several others) and a happy hour was spent cutting mounds of Spring themed card elements. As ever I followed Jennie Atkinson's tutorials for flower making, giving the pink 'cherry blossoms' a spritz with the Chateau Rose Flat Fabio and a Café au Lait centre. The 'daisies' got Bonjour Butter centres with gumdrop centres. Like how I matched up the colour of these with the buttery centres? It took the tiniest amount of Dandelion Archival Reinker mixed with Surgical Spirits (Rubbing Alcohol) to effect this transformation! And as for the stamens in each of the cherry blossoms, step forward and take a well earned bow Shelly Hickox for this superb tutorial using Liquid Pearls.

Flowers made, it was time to finish the canvas. There are; flourishes covered in Café au Lait embossing powder; die cut leaves and ivy coloured with Cracked Pistachio and Pine Needles Distress Stains; my very own 'catkin buds' made from texture paste dabbed with Scattered Straw Distress Paint and added to branches covered in Gathered Twigs Distress Paint; the butterfly contains a mix of Antique Linen and Victorian Velvet Distress Glitters; the central panels are two die cut ATC's layered over each other, with the lower one covered in Chateau Rose embossing powder and the upper one stamped/gilded using IndigoBlu's Heart Flourish and cut on one side with the saying coming from Tim Holtz' Life Quotes stamp set.

It is such a thrill to work with new products and find they coordinate beautifully with those you already have, and I'm so pleased how they came together to give a fresh, vintage feel to this canvas. There will definitely be more Lindy's Stamp Gang sets landing in to my craft room before long!

Hope you've enjoyed seeing today's project from me. As ever, my uber-talented Funkie teamies have also come up with some incredible Springtime Die Cut masterpieces of their own so do hop on over to Frilly and Funkie and see what they've been up to. Then it will be your turn!

I'm entering this into the following challenges;

Our Creative Corner - Color Your World

Vintage Stamping Challenges - Handmade Flowers

The Artistic Stamper Creative Team Blog - Flora & Fauna

Stamps and Stencils - Anything Goes

Thank you as ever for joining me today. Here's hoping that whatever the remains of the week holds in store for you it's all good.

Take care of yourselves, Jenny xxx