Definately Living the Dream ............

My first post as a member of the Country View Crafts Challenge DESIGN TEAM!!  

I was absolutely thrilled to be asked to join the wonderful team with Chris, Brenda, Trace and Gabrielle after my guest appearance last month.  My life is just so exciting at the moment!!  

And this month's challenge is DIEs - let's see what you can do with them?  

But before I explain how I made my hanging, here is the link to the Country View Crafts Challenge Site and I hope you visit to see the other wonderful Design Team pieces - amazing inspiration!  You can't not want to get your dies out!!

And keep checking through the month as there are posts every few days with new ideas for this wonderful challenge.  And I'll be back later in the month with another one too!

So to my hanging:  my favourite of all dies is the Tim Holtz Sewing Room Die - as you know I just can't get enough of it!  And the beauty of dies is you can cut so many layers at one time which is perfect for this 3D layered look.  I had seen it on Pinterest and have really enjoyed doing this myself.  

First of all I made a background for my hanging from some mount board (offcuts from my local framer) and used the Tim Holtz Wrinkle Free Technique using Seedless Preserves and Victorian Velvet Distress Inks.  I then embossed some text using white detail embossing powder.

 These are the dies I used(all very much favourites!)

I cut two dress forms from white mountboard and then cut one in half. 

After giving them a bit of a brush with Vintage Photo Distress Ink I stuck one of the halves at right angles onto the dress form.

Not a great photo, but you get the gist!  

Then I cut multiple layers of the dress part (you need four per section).  I folded them in half and again brushed them with a bit of Vintage Photo and then glued the folded edge and stuck them into the two sections.

It is a very effective technique and one you could use with many different dies.

Decorating was just fun!  Bits of lace, ribbon, small flowers and the net leaves were cut with the Tattered Leaves die and then zapped with a heat gun. They shrivel beautifully but burn very easily!  Be warned! 

I hope this gives you some ideas.  You can easily make a full 3D version by sticking the other half at the back and filling all four sections.  Here is one I made last year after seeing an example on Pinterest.

I do hope you will have a go at this challenge - I am sure everyone uses their dies in so many different ways.

Thanks for looking x