Sunday, April 8, 2018

Ideas for Using the Tim Holtz Sizzix Alterations Planks Die


It's no secret that one of my favorite new die releases from Tim Holtz Sizzix Alterations is the Planks die.  I can't wait to see what everyone does with this die. It's just so much fun!

 I made a short video discussing the die and various media you can cut with it.  Then below the video are some still shots of some of the things I discussed.  I hope you find this to be informative and helpful as you work with this delightful steel rule die.

 
 Use texture fades and cardstock to make a raised woodgrain. Add interest by sanding the raised portions, then inking it to make it look like the paint has worn away from the raised woodgrain.
This is a faux woodgrain technique using paint and ink on Mixed Media Heavystock. This is a technique I learned from one of Tim's demos a few years ago.
First swipe Distress Paint across the surface in one direction to make a faux wood grain pattern.  The once the paint is dry you either blend in Distress Ink or cover it with Distress Stain. Wipe away the ink/stain with a slightly damp cloth to remove the ink/stain on the Distress Paint.
You can also use any of the various Woodgrain stamps available. Here are two sets I used with three different woodgrains from Tim Holtz and Stampers Anonymous. I used Wallpaper and Wood CMS126 and Birch and Pine CMS280.

For a fun technique that was inspired by a few pieces I found on Pinterest here -
To get the worn floral wall paper on wood plank look, I colored some Distress Woodgrain Cardstock with a medium Distress Oxide color.  I believe this one was Vintage Photo.
Then I collaged some of the yellow roses from the Floral Collage Paper using Distress Collage Medium. 
Once it was dry, I used a sanding block to distress it by sanding the whole piece in a circular motion, wearing away the collage paper and revealing the wood grain in places. I love the way the sanding lightened and distressed the color on the collage paper.
I cut the piece into strips a little wider than 1/2" and cut them all on the one long thin plank.  Be sure to keep them in order when you cut them and then when you die cut them or it is tough to piece them back together.
Here is another close-up to show the distressed look with the sanding.
This is the end result in a simple card.
As I showed in the video, here are some samples I had previously done just with plain half inch strips of Woodgrain cardstock, but I reworked them with the Planks die cut pieces and they just add so much more character! 
The photo on the left is the old version, and the reworked card with the planks is on the right.
See how much more character is added when using the Planks die instead?
The original card, the one on top, I used 1/2" strips of woodgrain to piece together to make a table.  On the reworked card below it, I used the thin plank die and cut several into pieces and then put them together to form a table with delightful gaps and chunks missing.
This distressed Plank die table is so much more interesting than the plain strips I used before.
Below are some of the cards I made for Creativation 2018 using the planks die with a link to each blog post where I explain how I made them. 

I hope that you love the new planks die as much as I do and I can't wait to see all the creative things you all make with it!

13 comments:

Tona said...

These are fantastic! Thanks for the inspiration.

Wendy B. said...

you are the plank QUEEN!!! these are all so inspirational, especially the collage paper planks, LOVE it!!!! TFS

Rox Boyce said...

Thank you for such a succinct and informative tutorial, you have certainly provided lots of future inspiration.

Peculiaris said...

Oh WOW! Thanks for the walk-through, I love wood grain and this just gave me so many more ideas how to get the look, and I can't believe it but you actually made me love this die even more! Mine is on the way - can't wait for it to arrive!!
If you don't mind me asking, you use a lot of bolt\nail heads on your designs, are these just tiny ones or glue-on heads? I've been looking for something like this for ages and still can't find anything that looks this good...
Thanks so much! xx

Tamera said...

Thank you Rox!

Tamera said...

Awww! Thanks so much Wendy!

Tamera said...

Thank you Tona

Tamera said...


Thank you Peculiaris. The two main brad types that I use are both from Tim Holtz Ideaology brand. They are the Tim Holtz Ideaology Mini Fasteners and the Tim Holtz Ideaology Hex Fasteners

Juli Riedel said...

Fantastic job Tami!!! So many different ways to get the wood grain effect and now with the planks die, the uses are endless!!! Love your work my lovely!

ann barnes said...

I always love seeing your creativity and the different ways that you use Tim’s products . Seeing all the different styles of cards/projects that can be achieved with this die is what really interests me! I love it that you re-worked pieces showing just how much detail this die gives. Fabulous! Thanks Tami!

Susan Stringfellow said...

oh you are just killing me! I had to add three things to my shopping list. You make that grey driftwood paper look so easy but I just know mine will be awful. We may have to skype.LOL! It was great hearing you. You have to do more videos.

Peculiaris said...

Thanks so much! I can't believe I missed these.. I love Ideaology and have a small (but growing stash), I guess I always thought the fasteners were bigger, just to show how important examples are :)
Thanks a million! xx

Anonymous said...

Tim said to visit your blog about how you’ve used the new strips!! Glad I did - wonderful ideas! Thanks for sharing!