New Toys

Don't you just love when new products finally arrive at your local crafts stores. If you are like me, you sit at your computer and drool over all the sneak peeks they tease you with. My mind whirls with ideas. When they finally arrive at the stores, I am like a kid in a candy store. I can hardly make a decision as to what to buy first. On a recent visit to my local Joann Fabric Store, I was delighted to find a display of the new Sizzix die cuts. I stood there for several minutes just looking at their cuteness. There were snowflakes, gingerbread men, Christmas trees, presents, wreaths, holly leaves, cups of hot chocolate, and tags. They came in all sizes--little Sizzlitts, original sized dies, and the new Bigz dies. Can you see why I was so excited and why it took me so long to make a decision. Well I finally narrowed it down to two. I choose.........I quickly took them home. I couldn't wait to play with my new toys. I opened the Christmas tree die first gathered all my Christmas paper together and began to create. I distressed the background card stock just a bit with some sandpaper and added some stitching to give the card a homespun look.

The possibilities with the bird and vine die are endless. Oh of course he can be "the partridge in a pear tree" for your Christmas cards but he can be so much more. I thought it would be fun to cut the vine from a piece of vintage sheet music and the sweet little bird from a simple piece of pattern paper. For the background of the card I used my Cuttlebug embossing folder in the textile pattern. Finally to secure the sentiment to the card, I added a bit of stitching.

I had such a good time creating with my new die cuts. I hope you get a chance to see them in person. They are wonderful. Oh and did I mention there is a whole series of Halloween dies too but that's a post for another time...............