These lovely large dies are from Sizzix/Tim Holtz. I was fortunate enough to see them and play with some prototypes in March. So glad they have finally arrived! Each package comes with the Sizzix die and the matching embossing folder to create great detail on the surface of your diecut. The bugs each range aprox. 4 x5 inches. As these are the thick cutting dies from Sizzix, you will be able to cut chipboard, some fabrics and plastics with these wonderful dies. Each piece of this kit works well as a stand alone whether you used just the die, or just the embossing folder. In the canvas shown to the left, we used Viva Décor paints and Inca Gold and Glitter Pens.

As everything you look at these days is involving mixed media of one description or another, these dies are a perfect size to embellish your wall-art.

I know we all have far too many embossing folders, but the pack below from Sizzix shows some lovely framing options. I love what Bev did with this card using a raised oval inside the oval frame to highlight the Hero Arts dandelion stamp. The pink printed cardstock used to frame the card, the oval and die-cut flowers is from Papercuts which sells for 50 cents a sheet (8.5 x 11). This printed cardstock is exceptional because the print is on both sides. The tiny gold butterfly stickers are a really nice finishing touch for any flower card. The sentiment is from Magenta and I love the size of it. I have actually cut my cling stamp into two pieces for times when I want to arrange it differently.

The second folder that is shown in brown cardstock also has an elegant oval opening to frame a larger salutation or a stamped oval insert.

The new pivot dies from Elizabeth Crafts are much easier to create with than you might think. The main die is the house and fence, and as you can see in the picture, all of the other elements are separate dies. The way these dies have been manufactured, you will need to cut apart the fine connecting wires with a wire snip. In the card below, Bev has used some trees, grass, and a walkway stamp from Stampscapes. The sky has been created with Broken China Distress Ink. You will find marvelous videos if you search the designers name Karen Burniston, under YouTube. Also you'll want to check out her amazing blog for numerous design suggestions involving this series of dies.

Can't you just picture this house all done in white with some snowy trees for a lovely Christmas card? It's never too early to start your Christmas cards!!!

In the happy birthday card shown below, we have used the Marianne branch die and die-cut it from a layer of watercolour paper. The die-cut was then removed from the watercolour paper and coloured with Peeled Paint distress ink. The watercolour card was distressed with Salty Ocean and Broken China and sprayed with a heavy mist of water. When assembling, the card we put the diecut back into the watercolour layer and added a second branch on top (that's also been coloured with Peeled Paint distress ink). The small gold flowers with white centers came from the CheeryLynn designs (B364-Baby's Breath Flower kit). The kit has the two different size flowers as well as a wonderful branch approximately 2 1/4 inches long. The final card was sprayed with Sheer Shimmer spritz for some added pizzazz.

You might want to consider using some of your dies as inlays for a unique look. The multiple layers also adds a new use for a single die with great results.

In the diorama card below, we have used Nellies' scalloped oval dies and plain ovals dies to cut the two openings. Both layers started out at 8.5 inches long by 4 in. wide. For the top and bottom panels, score each panel in from the narrow end at one inch on each end. The secondary layer needs to be cut to one half inch for the side panels. The top panel will be too long to fit into an embossing folder so we tucked both of the scored panels underneath and ran it through a folder. This leaves you with a positive image on the top of the card and a negative image on the side panels. The stamps are from Stampscapes and we used marker for colouring. If you cut the cattails out of white cardstock, and colour with markers, it is easier to achieve the two colours than die-cutting from two cardstock colours. Check out Youtube and Google for more information on diorama cards.