Build Your Own

If you are like me, you have your favorite products that you find yourself going back to over and over again. This is true for me with so many things, including stamps, stencils and dies. My goal is always to make them look a but different so that my artwork don't all resemble each other. This creative challenge is one of my favorite parts of making art. Today I am sharing an example using die cuts.

I start by choosing or creating a background. For Starburst I painted black gesso on an 8.25 inch square of watercolor paper which I splattered with paint from multiple colors of paint pens. I was going for the look of a night sky. I then chose three dies, all from my newly released collection, to represent planets and stars. First up, Strands.

The dies in Strands on their own are thin and well spaced. But it is easy to build your own die cuts and layer them to create a completely different look and feel. I ran them through my Platinum Die Cutting and Embossing Machine three times using three different hand painted papers. Then all the cuts were glued and layered to the surface.

Next up was my new Starstruck die set, which being circular and containing an inner star seemed perfect for this piece.

For this element, I chose the main die from the stand ran it through the Platinum twice, each time with a different piece of hand painted paper. In this case, I chose two different pieces that had similar coloring so that the layers would blend together to look like a single die cut.

I saved Sunburst, one of my favorites from the new collection, for last. As you add layers to this die cut, it keeps getting better and better.

Three's a charm and I cut the largest die from this set three times using three different brightly colored, hand painted papers. They were then adhered on top of each other in slightly rotated layers onto the surface of this piece.

For all the die cut elements, I also added additional circles and loops from my new die collection for more interest. The die cuts were outlined, and hand made marks added using a white gel pen. Hammered Metal Embossing Powder from Emerald Creek (which will soon be carried in my online shop) was added using my Turnarounds Set 1 rubber stamp for more texture. 

As a final touch, the title was added with rub on letters and covered with soft metallic scribbles.