Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Dies R Us ~ Under The Sea

There's nothing better than spending the day at the ocean on a warm summers day.  Hopefully today's cards will give you just a glimpse of what's under the sea.  ;0)
These Elizabeth Craft Designs Large Shells are so fun to work with!!

I'll start by showing you ways to extend your dies by using them for purposes other than what they were intended for.  
In the photo below you'll see dies that are intended to be used as greens for flowers but by cutting them out of muted tones of blue, sage and kraft, they become underwater plants and coral. 
The twigs on the left are Elizabeth Craft Leaf & Berry Branches, the little sprigs are cut using a Martha Stewart Pine Branch punch and the kraft colored dies are cut using a Spellbinders fern die.  I thought it sort of looked like coral.
Next I cut the shells out of soft pastel colors, like pale pink, salmon and kraft and then rubbed some Tim Holtz distress inks on them.  I also added some clear Wink of Stella to give them some shine. 
This set of shells also includes this adorable little crab!!  These are all two piece dies for each shape.  You can either layer them or used them individually, depending on the look you're going for.
For this card base, I cut a wavy cover plate and snipped one of the wave stripes out of the top so I could have space for a sentiment.  The sentiment is heat embossed in white embossing powder. 

Next I started tucking in the leaves and shells in different arrangements.

On this next card, I water colored the background on a piece of water color card stock.  When it was dry, I splattered some ink onto the background.  I think this card is my favorite.

I finished them all off by adding some pretty sea green and blue sequins.
This last card was turned into a shaker card.
Here's a list of products I used that can be found at Dies R Us:

InLinkz.com

Today's Tip:  Look for ways to use your dies in ways other than what they are intended for.  Use your imagination and get creative!
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    I'll be entering one of these cards into the following challenges:

    I hope you enjoyed today's cards.
    Thanks so much for stopping by!  Blessings~ Birgit



    11 comments:

    Janice said...

    Wow, you have made a great selection of cards Birgit, all of them making me feel I wish I was on holiday beside the sea!
    Each one is a great underwater scene, very cleverly made. I love the shells and crab dies!

    Unknown said...

    These are AWESOME! Love the Shaker card and the way you used all of the pretty dies, very clever!

    Marcia Hill said...

    WOW!!!!! I LOVE everyone of these cards Birgit and think I definitely NEED these dies! I can't even pick a favorite...they are all so fabulous! Great job my friend!! :0)

    Tracey McNeely said...

    Birgit these cards and your designs are so amazing! Your planning and execution are perfect!

    Patti said...

    OMGoodness! Birgit! what an outstanding line up!! Dies R Us are so blessed to have you designing for them! You've got me wanting to shop! : )

    Thank you for sharing : )

    Patti

    Linda said...

    Wow, Birgit so many wonderful cards and tips.

    Nicole Parmentier said...

    Wow these cards are amazing. That little crab is so adorable. Love how you used these dies!!

    jenn shurkus said...

    whoa! i love all this nautical and these cards are fabulous!! thank you for playing along with us at simon says stamp wednesday challenge!

    Unknown said...

    So creative! awesome cards! thank you for sharing with us at Word Art Wednesday!
    Blessings,
    Misty D.
    DT member

    Jo Ann said...

    These cards are all wonderful! Thank you for joining our Challenge last week and hope you join us again in our new Challenge beginning today at Word Art Wednesday. Leaving you with an encouragement from God's Word in Hebrews 3:6 which says, "But Christ is faithful as the Son over God's house. And we are His house, if we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope of which we boast." Have a blessed week...

    JO ANN
    http://jatterburycreations.blogspot.com

    Sue said...

    What a great group of cards. They all are so pretty! Super job!