bright and beautiful creations: Joie de Vivre by Cathi O'Neill

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Joie de Vivre by Cathi O'Neill

Hi, Cathi here! I am so excited to share my second May project for Couture Creations today! I used many doily dies, nesting dies, a decorative die and a gorgeous embossing folder to create this layout!

My main die cut is the beautiful Fantasia Irish Dreams Doily Die, appropriate one for me, living here

in Ireland! I used the Graphic 45 French Country collection for this layout and cut a doily from their blue toile paper. I also used the Fantasia Ivy Set Doily Dies, a set of two gorgeous smaller doilies and inked all of their edges with my Couture Creations sponge dauber. I cut the Irish Dreams doily in half to use as matting under my photos of my eldest Aine (it is Irish name, pronounced on-ya) up on the hills overlooking the local lake Lough Derg.

I layered, stitched and distressed a sheet of Graphic 45 paper placing it on some Core'dinations card stock as a base. For my next layer I used the Couture Creations Fresh and Fun Large Powder Puff embossing folder. I embossed one side of the paper and turned it around and matched it up to finish embossing the long sheet of paper. I used my Couture Creations Sanding Block to bring up the blue core color and then distressed the paper with my Tim Holtz Walnut Stain distress ink. I attached it to the layout with Couture Creations double sided tape.

I layered several fussy cut pieces from the French Country collection and also placed my smaller doilies in these layers. I also used molding paste and a stencil on the background paper and inked over top using my sponge dauber again with some yellow ink. I then popped my photos up using Couture Creations Foam tape to add some extra dimension.

I made two more types of flowers for this layout using the Couture Creations Daisy Nesting Dies.

My first is a layered sunflower to tie in with the Graphic 45 papers. I cut out two of the middle sized flower die. I cut several slits into each daisy petal with my Couture Creations non-stick scissors.

I then shaped the smaller petals with my Precision LED Tweezers giving them a twist to add some dimension to the flower.

I glued the two layers together and then die cut the smallest of the Daisy Nesting Dies

and embossed it with the same folder to make the flower center.

My second flower I used the second smallest Daisy Nesting Dies and did a rolled flower, cutting a spiral into the die cut and then rolling the outside of the flower towards the center, gluing the outer flower down to the base at the center of the die cut.