Hello crafty friends! I was so excited to get two of my new Tim Holtz Sizzix Chapter 3 dies, I wanted to use them both at the same time! I ordered Feathery and Specimen. I love birds, and have been searching for the older Sizzix Bigz feather die that has been retired for a while, so I was very happy that Tim released these new thinlit feather dies. I can see them being used for all kinds of different occasions and holidays, as well as Home Dec projects. I also had to get the Specimen dies, because they seemed like a staple that I would be using time and again, especially when I think about mixed media projects. So there I was… feathers… and files…. what to do? I could make a bunch of feathers, and put them in a file folder, like someone was collecting them to… do what? Then it hit me – evidence! Evidence of something, done by… a Snarky Cat! I have those stamps! Then it all came together.
The words that come with the Specimen set are things like “files”, “series”, “archive”, etc. I figured if I had enough patience, I could cut the teeny tiny letters out and make my own word, “evidence”. It worked, and it fit perfectly on the file folder in the specimen set.
I started by using my Distress Spray stains to color watercolor paper. I used two colors for each different color of feathers, drying in between each color. The colors were Aged Mahogany, Barn Door, Black Soot, Villainous Potion, Salvaged Patina, Antique Linen, Vintage Photo, and Gathered Twigs. After I die cut the feathers, I outlined each one with Vintage Photo and a sponge applicator. I tend to be a little lazy at times, but here’s where you shouldn’t skip a cleaning step. Even if your watercolor paper looks dry, I find some of the color stays on the die after cutting, so I always take time to rinse and dry my dies. Otherwise it might rub off the next time I use it, speaking from experience!
After getting my feathers cut, I cut my file folder. I have some neat paper I got a long time ago. It’s manilla colored, heavier, and has some wrinkles in it. I got it in a cardmaker’s paper pack, so I have no idea what brand it is. You can certainly use whatever you have. I grunged up the edges of this with Vintage Photo as well, and added my “Evidence” word.
Next I stamped my Snarky Cat onto Neenah Classic Crest Solar White cardstock with VersaFine ink in Onyx Black, using my Misti Stamp platform. The speciman die set comes with a die that will cut it out perfectly to fit into the slide cutout. I wanted it to look like a mug shot, so I used a darker yellow paper to layer behind my cutout numbers.
The Specimen set has the right size dies to make the black label, and a smaller die to fit behind it (in yellow). You have to be careful to save the circle in the middle of the letter “o”, and the number “0”, when you die cut “No. 3074”. The negative inside of the “4” was just too tiny to try to save, so I used a fine tip marker to draw in a small triangle so that it would look like a number. Hard to explain, but you’ll understand when you try it. You could of course leave those little pieces out, but I thought they were needed. I cut the slide again from black paper, just to get the little negative circles to pop in the corners of my slide. I’ve seen people use small brads, but I didn’t have any. I used Scrapbook.com’s Pops of Color in black first, but I smeared one before it was completely dry, so I had to start all over again! If you get a chance, watch Tim’s Youtube for this set. Lots of great ideas! The paper for the slide was from Tim’s kraftstock newer paper packs.
When I was ready to put the card together, I made a 5×7 base from Neenah Dessert Storm cardstock, and picked a piece of paper from the Backdrops paper pack that I thought would pull it together. I thought the file folder needed something else, like a sentiment. I felt there was too nuch white space. I chose one from the Noteworthy stamp set and used VersaFine ink. Poor Snarky Cat. Don’t lose hope! Maybe there isn’t enough evidence for a conviction! Ha ha. I positioned everything the way I wanted it before I glued the folder to the card front, added the feathers (with liquid glue), and then added a tiny clip embellishment. The Snarky Cat slide was popped up with dimensional foam and attached to the card.
I hope this inspires you to play with the Specimen and Feathery sets! It was lots of fun creating this!
Products used, available at Scrappyshak.com
Tim Holtz Sizzix Specimen thinlit dies
Tim Holtz Sizzix Feathery thinlit dies
Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Snarky Cats stamps
Tim Holtz Distress Spray Stains
Misti Stamp platform
Vicki Fedor 