Nature's Beauty Tutorial

Hello everyone!

Today, I'm thrilled to be sharing my first post as a member of the Tim Holtz Media Team and for this post, I used many of Tim's dies to create a home decor piece, to showcase the stunning Layered Dragonfly die.

I love finding ways of taking dies to a whole different level and I also love creating pieces from scratch ~ so, with this in mind, I thought it would be wonderful to create a project that used dies in various ways to create texture and dimension!

To begin with I cut out my basic shapes from chipboard, using the Vintage Cabinet Card Die (3 pieces) and the Mini Cabinet Card Die (4 pieces) to create the aperture frames.

Stick all the die cut frames together to create one solid aperture and coat with a layer of Gesso. Paint the frame with Antique Linen and Frayed Burlap Distress Paints to give the appearance and texture of wood.

Die cut a piece of Manila card using the Cabinet Card Die and then, apply Distress Stain to your craft sheet, mist the card and the stains with a little water and swipe the card through the stains to pick up the colour. Heat dry the inked card and then, so not to waste any ink, pick up the remaining droplets of ink from the sheet.

Once the card is dry, attach a layer of Tissue Wrap over the top with Multi Medium.

Attach the covered card to a piece of the die cut chipboard and layer the aperture frame over the top to give you the centrepiece for your project.

Paint a layer of Gesso over the top of the Tissue Wrap and then add random flicks of Black Soot and Tumbled Glass paint. Apply a layer of Texture Paste through the Dot Fade Layering Stencil and set aside to dry.

Die cut two pieces of Garden Greens Foliage from Grungepaper and attach the foliage to the two remaining Cabinet Card die cuts using Multi Medium. These pieces will become the side panels to your project. 

Cover the whole die cut with a coat of Gesso. Once completely dry, paint the side panel pieces with the same colours of paint as you used previously on the frame.

Create a base for the project by using three pieces of chipboard, 5" x 1.5" and layer the pieces together to form a thick board. Apply a coat of Gesso to the board before painting it. Attach all the pieces, as shown in the photo below, to form a three panelled display piece. You will notice that I did have a Framework die cut in the photo above and I used this across the back of the piece to give it strength and decoration. At this point, I would give the whole piece a layer of Multi Medium as a sealant and to make it harder wearing.

Now to create that beautiful embossed dragonfly! For this, I used the Layered Dragonfly die and die cut a piece of Grungeboard and a piece of Grungepaper (not shown). I embossed both pieces using the Texture Fade.

Add colour to the body and wings using Distress Paints.

Then, gently heat dry and add a medium layer of Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint over the top. Leave to dry completely.

Apply Distress Stain over the top of the crackles....

...and allow the stain to settle into all the cracks that have appeared. 

Once the stains are dry, clip the wings of the second Dragonfly, which was die cut from Grungepaper and attach them to the main body of the Grungeboard Dragonfly to give double wings. 

Add the dragonfly to the central panel of your display project, layering it over the top of some cheesecloth stained with Frayed Burlap Distress Ink. I then added an Idea-Ology Light Bulb to the centre of the body.

Die cut a piece of chipboard using the Pediment die and paint in the same colours as your project. Once dry, attach the Pediment to the top of the central framed section. I then used Distress Paints to give a verdigris effect to one of the gorgeous metal embellishments from the Adornments Nature set and attached it with Multi Medium.

As the final touch I used cotton spools, painted with Frayed Burlap Distress Paint and attached two of them to the centre of my project. I then placed a Collections Label Clip onto the shelf.

I really love how you can create so much texture using dies in different ways and hope you've enjoyed this tutorial, just as much as I have loved creating it!

Thank you so much for stopping by today!

Have a wonderful day and I'll see you again very soon!

Emma xx

Supply List:

Sizzix Alterations Dies: Layered Dragonfly, Cabinet Card Die, Mini Cabinet Card Die, Pediments, Garden Greens.

Paint: Distress Paints: Antique Linen, Frayed Burlap, Picket Fence, Moved Lawn, Antique Bronze, Tumbled Glass, Peacock Feathers, Black Soot; Rock Candy Crackle Paint; Gesso

Embellishments: Idea-Ology Label Clip, Ring Fasteners, Light Bulbs, Adornments Nature.

Ink and Stains: Walnut Stain Distress Ink; Tumbled Glass, Shabby Shutters, Scattered Straw, Picket Fence and Pumice Stone Distress Ink

Medium: Ranger Multi Medium; Ranger Texture Paste

Layering Stencil: Dot Fade

Surfaces: Grungeboard, Grungepaper, Melange Tissue Wrap

Added supplies from my own stash: Chipboard, Cotton Spools, Cheesecloth