Sizzix Fresh Vintage Blog Hop: 3D Flower, Wrapped

Wow- is it already time for another hop? Every Tuesday and Thursday, until Nov. 3, one of my new Sizzix dies will be featured here starring the fabulous Fresh Vintage designers! Today they are working with the 3D Flower, Wrapped die. This is a such a fun one! This die looks great no matter what you cut it from: paper, fabric, fleece, felt, packing paper, sheet music, recycled bags or tissue paper.

HEY, this just in! Today is Designer Days at Sizzix! Just for today, 10/13/11, all Eileen Hull dies are 25% off! The promo code is: SZEH25.  This offer excludes Outlet items and cannot be combined with any other discounts. Come on by for a look at the new line coming out in November, It’s a Wrap (click to the end of the scrolling to see).

To view the hop, you can click on the Fresh Vintage blinkie on the sidebar. This will take you around to all of the designers on the hop OR you can click on the linky party below for a look at all the projects. To see projects that have already been posted, visit the page above titled “Sizzix Blog Hops”. For a chance to win this die, answer the question about today’s hop on the Oh My Crafts blog today. There are lots of ways you can use this die and you are about to see some very cool ideas. Are you ready?

For my project, I decided to combine the Vase die and flowers into a canvas project that I had the idea for last week… Heard this reading in church and as the kids say, it got stuck in my head…

1. Lay down a coat of Mod Podge over the canvas and add book pages on top (mine came from an old etiquette book which is hilarious). Coat pages with Mod Podge and let dry. Add a layer of gingham tissue paper over the bottom 3″ of the canvas and Mod Podge it down.
2. Cut strips of foamboard to simulate a windowsill. Adhere them to the canvas with Tacky Tape.
3. Cover 6″ x 13″ piece of matboard spray adhesive and cover with Grant Studio paper. Die cut Vase with Big Shot. Trim 2 segments from vase and bend into circular shape, flattening 4 back segments against canvas. Set on shelf and attach to canvas with glue gun.
4. Insert one quarter of a 2 1/2″ STYROFOAM ball into the vase. Add flowers.
5. Lay out text in your publishing software and print on transparency. (I always have trouble getting this work but this time I rubbed the sheet before printing with a bag of stuff I have to rub off scratches on matboard. Think it’s similar to the Perfect Printing Pouch which I have somewhere but could not find- it worked. After I printed it, I sprayed with Krylon Workable Fixitif.)
6. Trim text to fit inside of window. Spray a light coat of spray adhesive on the back of the transparency and stick on.

Flower:

1. Die cut Wrapped Flowers from a stack of coffee filter (about 20). Randomly dab them with four colors of paint  that has been slightly diluted with water. Allow petals to dry.
2. Cut stems from branches. Wrap tape around top 1″ of stem and start winding the petals around the stem. Depending on how full you want your flower, add layers of petals starting with the smaller ones and graduating to large. Or if you want a small flower, just use the small petals. Cut flower bases from green felt and add to bottom of flower. Add green leaves adhered to sticks.
3. Coil wire around a pencil and insert in to arrangement.
4. Add a coat of Radiant Rain Egyptian Gold mist from Luminarte for a rich shimmery effect.
5. Stick stems into STYROFOAM ball and cover with yarn or paper shred.
6. Wrap wire around a pencil or dowel and insert wire coils into arrangement. Stretch out as desired.

Other Supplies:
8 x 10 canvas, old book pages, sticks from your yard, foamboard scraps, glue gun, coffee filters, transparency sheet, colored wire from Beadalon