Friday, April 26, 2013

Bitty Blossoms Step by Step Tutorial


Good morning everyone.  Today I have a tutorial using the Spellbinders Bitty Blossom dies.  When I first got these dies I was very intimidated by them.  I thought they were going to be hard to use.  




I decided to ask my good friend Eva Dobilas for some advice on how to make these actually look like a real flower.  The advice that Eva gave me really helped me get over my fear and now these dies are some of my favorites to use.  For the projects that I've done so far, I prefer the mid-sized flower.

I store my Spellbinders dies in cd cases


Here is the die along with the diecut piece


Step 1:  I place the diecut on a stamping mat (a mouse pad would work the same) and using a stylus I begin to push down the edges of each petal of the flower.


 As you go around the diecut the paper will begin to spiral around

 You can see the paper curling up as I reach the final petal

Step 2:  I use a quilling tool to roll the flower.  The quilling tool tip has a slit in it which is where you slide the first flower petal.  You could just use your fingers if you don't have a quilling tool.  I just find it easier with the quilling tool because the slit holds the paper firmer as you begin to roll the paper.


 Continue rolling the flower till you get to the center

 Rolling, Rolling, Rolling

This is what the flower will look like once it is completely rolled.  If you like a tight flower it can stay like this.

If you would like a fuller, looser flower - set the flower down and let it uncoil on its own.

Step 3:  Another tip that Eva gave me was to use a hot glue gun.  It dries instantly so you won't have to hold the flower until the glue dries.  It also prevents the flower from uncoiling too much.

Step 4:  Using the quilling tool you will now begin to curl the flower petals


Curl as many of the petals as you like.  The quilling tool is great for this because of the slit in the tip.  Place the flower petal into the slit and roll the petal however you prefer.

This is the finished flower.  I usually add some glitter or ink to the edges of the completed flower to give it more of a finished look.

Here are a few projects that I have recently made using the Spellbinders Bitty Blossoms

This post can be seen here:

This post can be seen here:


I hope these step by step instructions are helpful to you.  A special thanks to Eva Dobilas for all of her great tips for using Spellbinders Bitty Blossoms.  Don't be intimidated by the Spellbinders Bitty Blossoms die.  This die set makes some life-like flowers which will make all of your projects beautiful!!

Thanks for stopping in for a visit.  Have a great day!!

Friday, April 5, 2013

JustRite Papercraft April Release Day 5

Good morning everyone.  Welcome to the final day of the JustRite Papercraft April release.  Hasn't this release been AWESOME!!  The stamps just keep getting better and better with each new release.  It's so much fun playing with them!

Today there are 2 background stamps being showcased - Secret Garden Background and Damask Wallpaper Background.  I chose to use Damask Wallpaper Background on my project today.



I have been seeing these projects all over webland so I decided to give it a shot.  I love the outcome!!  To begin I cut hearts using my Cricut Expression and Cricut George cartridge.  To make the hearts "stand" a separate heart needs to be folded and used as a stand on the backs of the front heart.  Each of the smaller hearts are attached to a larger heart used as the base.   Once the hearts were cut I stamped the Damask Wallpaper Background using Memento Rose Bud onto the white hearts.


Now came the fun part - decorating!!  I am in love with the Spellbinders Bitty Blossoms die!!  I was a bit nervous to give it a try because I thought that it would be hard to make them look like real flowers - boy, was I wrong!!  Thanks to some tips from my good friend Eva Dobilas these Bitty Blossoms are super easy to create.  Once I created the flowers I added some glitter to the tops to give them some sparkle.


Next I needed to find an appropriate sentiment to add to my project.  As I was thumbing through the JustRite catalog I came across this sentiment from For All You Do Vintage Labels Three and thought that it was perfect!!  I stamped it with Memento Rose Bud and Bamboo Leaves then diecut using JustRite Vintage Labels Two.

To finish off my project I diecut 3 butterflies using Spellbinders Wonderful Wings (my other new favorite die!), added some black wire for antennas and some Kaiser Rhinestones for the butterfly trail.

Be sure to check out the other JustRite designers also showing some beautiful projects today using Damask Wallpaper Background and Secret Garden Background.


Thanks for stopping in for a visit today.  Have a great weekend!!

Project Recipe:



Ink:  Memento Dandelion, Rose Red, Bamboo Leaves

Accessories:  Cricut Expression with George cartridge (hearts), Martha Stewart Branch punch, Kaiser Rhinestones

Thursday, April 4, 2013

JustRite Papercraft April Release Day 4

Good morning everyone.  Welcome to Day 4 of the JustRite April Release.  Today's set is called "Vintage Banners" and coordinates with the JustRite Vintage Label and Banners dies.  I love the look of a banner!!  .Today I decided to make some 4 x 4 Thank You cards to keep on hand or possibly even give as a gift.


All of the notecards are done basically the same - just the embellishments are different.  All of the sentiments are included in the stamp set "Vintage Banners" with the "Thank You" diecut with JustRite Vintage Label and Banners die.

For the first card the sentiments are stamped using VersaMagic Hint of Pesto.  The flower was created using Spellbinders Bitty Blossoms - my new favorite Spellbinders die!!


My second notecard has the sentiments stamped using Memento Paris Dusk.  The butterflies are punched using a Martha Stewart punch.


For my 3rd card, the sentiments are stamped using Memento Danube Blue and Memento Bamboo Leaves.  The flower is diecut using Spellbinders Carnation Creations.

Here is a list of the other JustRite Design team members also using Vintage Banners today.  Be sure to check them out.

JustRite Papercraft
Debbie Olson
Darsie Bruno
Michele Kovack
Eva Dobilas
Sheri Holt
Kathy Jones
Marisa Job
Heidi Blankenship
Angela Barkhouse
Barb Schram


Thanks for stopping in for a visit today.  Be sure to stop by tomorrow for the final day of the JustRite April release.

Project recipe:

Stamps:  JustRite Papercraft - Vintage Banners


Ink:  Memento Paris Dusk, Danube Blue, Bamboo Leaves, VersaMagic Hint Of Pesto

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

JustRite Papercraft April Release Day 3

Good morning everyone.  Welcome to day 3 of the JustRite April release.  The set today is called "Mr and Mrs Vintage Labels Four" and coordinates with the JustRite Vintage Labels 4 dies.  This set is perfect for those upcoming weddings or anniversary cards.


To start my card base, I stamped JustRite Ticking Stripe Background with Memento London Fog and layered it to my black card base.  The top half of the card is stamped with JustRite Floral Flourishes Background using VersaMagic Aspen Mist.

The focal point of my card uses the frame and sentiment from JustRite Mr. and Mrs. Vintage Labels Four, stamped with Memento London Fog and Memento Tuxedo Black, diecut with JustRite Vintage Labels Four and edges inked with Memento Tuxedo Black.  The banner sentiment is from JustRite Botanical Medallions and Banners then diecut with JustRite Vintage Label and Banner dies.

Here are the other designers also showing some amazing projects today using Mr and Mrs Vintage Labels Four.  Be sure to check them out for more inspiration.


There are still 2 more days of April releases so be sure to check back tomorrow.  Have a great day!!

Project recipe:



Ink:  Memento London Fog, Tuxedo Black, VersaMagic Aspen Mist

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

JustRite Papercraft April Release Day 2

Good morning everyone.  Welcome to Day 2 of the JustRite Papercraft April Release.  Today's stamp set is called True Friends Vintage Labels Four and coordinates with JustRite Vintage Labels Four die.


My card base was created by diecutting several layers using Spellbinders 5 x 7 Elegant Labels Four.  The top layer and sentiment are included in True Friends Vintage Labels Four and colored with Copic Markers.  The edges are inked with Memento Dandelion.

My flowers were created using Spellbinders Bitty Blossoms and the butterfly was made using Spellbinders Wonderful Wings - these are my 2 new "go to" dies.  I love these dies!!!

Be sure to check out the other JustRite designers also using True Friends Vintage Labels Four on their projects today.


Thanks for stopping in for a visit today.  Be sure to come back tomorrow for more JustRite April release sets.

Project recipe:

Stamps:  JustRite Papercraft - True Friends Vintage Labels Four


Ink:  Copic Markers (R85, R81, R83, G24, G12, Y11, Y19, YR15)

Monday, April 1, 2013

JustRite Papercraft April Release Day 1

Good morning everyone.  Welcome to Day 1 of the JustRite April release.  Today's set is called "Floral Thank You" and comes as a cling set.  We all need Thank You cards at some point which makes this set a must-have.

To create my floral image, I colored directly onto the Floral Thank You image using Memento markers (Grape Jelly, Sweet Plum and Bamboo Leaves).  It almost makes the image look like a watercolor.  The sentiment is stamped using Memento Tuexdo Black.   I used a dauber and inked around all of the edges using Memento Dandelion and Cantaloupe.  Most of the layers were diecut using Spellbinders A2 Matting Basics A and B.

Here is a look at the entire "Floral Thank You" cling set

Be sure to check out the other JustRite designers also showing some great projects today using Floral Thank You.


Thanks for stopping in for a visit today.  Be sure to come back tomorrow for more April release peaks.

Project recipe:

Stamps:  JustRite Papercraft - Floral Thank You

Dies:  Spellbinders A2 Matting Basics A and B

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Dandelion, Cantaloupe, Memento Markers (Grape Jelly, Sweet Plum, Bamboo Leaves)