Productive!!

Well, I have been a busy bee today, not only did I finish off the last of the Pilkington Christmas series and post it, but I also managed some creation as well, 


Well not creation really yet, just playtime, and I quite like this little set!

This is from My Craft Studio Advanced Encylopedia, CD 4. A Lovely little Paper-crafted tea service, complete with Tea bag and sugar cubes. I adjusted the colour as I wanted a more purple design, as opposed to the Delph blue on the template, and I have used a versa mark ink pad, and clear embossing powder to create a glaze on the pottery and spoon. The sugar cubes were glittered with Crafters Companion Spray and Sparkle silver, for more realism. Apologies for the picture quality, but as I have said before I really need a proper camera and tripod, as taking pictures isnt my forte.
This is going to be a gift for some one..........hint: Crafternoon!


I thought I'd also post a couple of my old commissions, which I found on my phone lol

This was a commission from  a lady at church to celebrate the 40 th priesthood anniversary of one of the old parish priests, now a Monsignor, back in June.
I used a design from Uk Scrappers, one of the free designs for the Craft Robo/ Silhouette for the filigree crosses, and embossed the top Cross with a Crafts Too embossing folder. Unfortunatley I dont have the full picture of the finished project....but I used 350gsm Pearlised Black card for the cover, 350gsm Pearlised Gold card for the liner. I embossed, then used embossing powder for the spine of the "Book" and the inside was parchment with praying hands embossed onto it.

The next one....... was very hard to do!!!!


All I had was the Name Katie, and the fact that she was 21, and the niece of our lovely parish priest!!! What to do? Couldn't do anything funny, might not be appreciated, had to be suitable........oh dear yes it caused me some problems!!!


In the end Me to You came to the rescue! Luckily I had just received the Docrafts Digital designer package, so I was able to use one of the Tatty Teddy designs, as you can see. I created the whole layers, and plaque on Docrafts Digital designer, added some Fluffy Stuff for the froth on the Champagne, and foiled the greeting on the plaque. Father Billy did have a good gwarf when he realised what the picture said!! hehehehe, who said Catholic priests don't have a sense of humour?

Quiet old day part 2

Well I said I was going to post the rest of the set.....................

This one again has the Cosmic Shimmer Sunrise Yellow in the door way...........


And the next 3 were the separate stamps I used for my first ever post...............But still part of the same set.

 Cosmic Shimmer Scarlet Blush

 Cosmic Shimmer Meadow Lush

And finally Cosmic Shimmer Lilac Blue. but bit annoyed as this one went wonky!!! ggrr tried to rescue, but I am just going to destroy it, so it will have to do as it is!

each also has a matching insert, with a "Blot then Plot" image, to match the card, again in Vintage Photo Distress ink.
So there you go the full set.

Quiet old day

Well today I have done 3 things, cook Roast Pork, watch the F1 Grand prix, and ................Craft!


So I have been a busy little beaver, as my new La Pashe Big One CD arrived yesterday, yippee, so yes all right I got a bit carried away!! but I only made 2 cards with that set so I was good!!

Obviously, I used the Christmas Carols set, some old paper I had lasered and foiled, and distressed, some Matt Gold Linen effect Card, a bit of Glitter on the Starting letter, and hey presto,

then I decided to do it again, this time on Red so I could decide which one I liked the best

Not much difference really, jury is still out, but I did get the old Craft Robo/Silhouette to do the cutting for me, hehehe much easier!!

Then I had a bit of a play with some Vintage Photo distress inks, and stamped out all 6 of the Pilkington Christmas sets, Christmas Carol singers, and Winter wonderland.

I have done them as a set, so heres the second one........

You cant really see but the gems are actually Orange , not Green, my scanner isn't too good. I used some Neenah white card, and Vintage photo and a water brush, Bronze Pearlescent card, for the Matt used good old Pinflair/ silicon glue with the Pearlescent as it can slip on tape, and again for the flourish thingie with what seems to be my favourite set of spellbinders at the moment, good old Ironwork accents! The Flourish is actually 2 of the same die, woven together at the ends to form a longer flourish. Some Bronze organza ribbon, MCS ultra fine glitter and Cosmic Shimmer, cosmic Blush Mica pen. This one is all but identical to the previous one exactly the same as the one before, but this time I used the Sunrise Yellow for the door way. Both are mounted on Silk Art card, and the edges were distressed with the same colour, Vintage Photo, I am entering this one in the Simon says Stamp Challenge Here, for the House Challenge, My first ever Challenge entry!

I'll post the other 4 tomorrow, as my bed is calling and the just need the flourishes Pinflairing on lol

Tired with all that running around!!

Well a day off!! no running up and down the M62!! well not until tomorrow any way!! I spent some of this morning visiting peoples WoYWW, but haven't finished yet...

so had a bit of a play, finished the Crafty Characters card I was making yesterday...

Cant wait to see her reaction, but I'll have to duck the Rock cakes she'll throw, hence the buns in the piccy lol


My Craft Studio Artists Collection, Crafty Characters Disk, for the image, various added images from the internet of crafting machines that I know she has, such as the Grand Calibur, Silhouette SD, and Black Cat cougar, Spellbinders Iron Works Accents border die and Anemone and Daisy Flower Topper dies, some Papermania blue paper, lost the front sheet so don't know which collection but its a floral, some card and ribbon from the stash!! The edges were punched with the X-cut 4cm Border Scallop punch, and MCS Snow embellishment was used around the edge of the cloud. Added a couple of bits of thin ribbon, and glazed some of the decoupage for extra umpf.


Next up was a Topper I found in my Scraps stash, don't know what I intended to do with it originally, but its from My Craft Studio Walk in Winter Wonderland CD2 .I used MCS Frost embellishment glitter, with a quickie Glue pen, to "Ice" the Frosting on the Bauble, cut a Holly Border Matt on the Silhouette, on some graduated green card, and used Ink It Up Kelley Green Pigment ink to colour the edges a bit more. The I routed one of My Hunky Dory Square Frame Cards out, and again distressed it using the Kelley Green, added a bit of Ribbon from my stash and hey presto, a Pretty little card.

Right I have to head off to bed, for another run up and down the M62 tomorrow!!! Why did DD have to decide to move so far away, yet still want Mum, so much? Well she'll be out of luck next week, I'm of Down the M62 to show a friend how to use the Silhouette, then off to the NEC, YIPPEE!!

Whats On Your Workdesk Wednesday

Well, this has to be quick as I didnt think I was going to be able to craft let alone post!

I belong to the My Craft Studio Platinum Members club, and when they released the Crafty Characters disk, a few weeks ago we all said that we would make cards for each other from them. everyone else seems to have forgotten, so I am going to remind them all heheh!
This is a card I started last night and will finish tonight I hope!! 
so Images from the My Craft Studio Crafty Characters disk, flowers made from the spellbinders Shape-abilities Daisy Flower Topper, and Anemone Flowers Topper dies, border made using Iron Work Accents, on some Papermania, blue patterned paper, I have lost the cover, so I cant tell you which one it is, some Papermania Flower gems, in blue, and that's about it, will have a peek at everyone's desk later, as I really have to dash back off up and down the M62 again, 3 days this week, of upping and downing!!


And if you have no idea what on earth I am doing, posting a half completed card design, then why not pop over to Julias Blog Here, and see what its all about, its great fun, a source of inspiration, and a wonderful chance to rummage in others craft rooms

busy busy busy!!!

well thought I'd post the finished article for those following the Woww!

Clean, simple, and effective.
Black card, sprayed with silver Crafters Companion  glitter spray, the Sizzix framelits dies ( for those struggling to find these I got mine from crafting.co.uk), Stamps away Pilkington Carol Singers, a papermania Noel greeting, with Adirondack Pitch Black and a black and white polka dot bow with 3 ball headed sewing pins. And of course the obligatory glitter, I have a huge "Glitter Station" of My Craft Studios, Crystal glitter, which I use all the time!! 
 In the meantime, I have been busy, the craft room is tidied, the card stock re-arranged, and the huge pile of scraps..........., well it doesn't even fill a small tray. Hows that!!
I must admit, I was quite hard with myself, and threw some of it away, but I did do as Sue H suggested, lol, and put most of it back where it came from so 

Please note, this was actually taken with me lying back on my poor old Garden table, that is currently my work area, lol the edge of the grey baskets are right next to the edge of the table, I am really surprised I didnt break it, as its Glass!!!


On top are my coloured papers, my La Pashe collection, soon to be extinct as I have the New mega disk on order, my boxes of Barbara Grey Classroom stamps, a Giant Christmas Rossette, and my patterned card. Next shelf down are my Pearlescent card and paper, and my Mirri Board, my Design Runner, my large Hollands Pie dish, that holds my melted embossing powder for glazing, and my Big and Juicy pads.
Next shelf is the A4 and 12x12 card stock, with my Clarity card, and finally my A3 cardstock, some oversized paper for making bags with, and my patterned papers, 6x6, 8x8, and 12x12. On the bottom shelf is a couple of reams of insert paper, my light box, and my spare glues and sprays.
Hanging from the sides are the 2 loves of my life, my Tonic Guillotines. Oh and my Parchment grids. The butchers block I use for the glazing, embossing, anything to do with heat, and under it is my beloved Foil-it Machine, you can just see the back corner sticking out!
I love the foiling machine.....it is so easy to use and creates some outstanding effects which can be totally unique.

This one was created in Docrafts Digital designer. The trees and the deer/stag were silhouette images which I printed on my laser printer, then foiled in green and matt gold foil from Patsy-May. The tree shadows and hills (used with a Blitzer, a handheld air brush machine sort of thingy, but mine is a bulb that you squeeze and it propels small amounts of ink out of the pen to a masked area.) were using the Pastel Blue Promarker. The sun was the Lemon Promarker, again Blitzed.
The Flowers Holly leaves and pine cone are My Craft Studio Christmas Paper Flower Expert, with a bit of Glitter, all matted on to some Matt silver Mirri board.
Foiling is very cheap to do at home, once you have got past the initial expense of the Foil-it machine and foils. I use my inkjet printer to print the main background or picture first, then run it through my laser printer with a greeting or flourish (I have a new one, but you can pick up a cheap mono laser from ebay for silly money, a friend of mine got one for £4.99!!! And I thought I was cheap!!!). Any colour TONER from a laser printer will act as a glue when you heat it, not just black, so beware if you try to foil a lasered image! But the results and applications are amazing. I foil all my inserts, quite a few greetings, and it adds a really professional finish to the card.
Right I'm off up the M62 repeatedly for the next couple of days, so I shall probably miss the WOWW this week, but I'll try to visit everyone when I get back,


Have fun!!


xx

WOYWW124

Ok better late than never as I got most of last weeks done last night!! And boy that took some doing!!!
I have spent most of the day up and down the M62 so not much has been done, unfortunatly, and I really must have one of my mega tidy sessions tomorrow!!! I promise it will be tomorrow!!!

Right this week.....and better late than never!
much the same as yesterday.......... but here's Mr Happycut, complete with plates, Sizzix Labels dies, One of the stamped images from Pilkington Carol singers, (going monochromatic on this I think, and if I'm not too happy about it, I always stamp off a spare, just incase, it gets messed up, so I might colour that one - maybe some Tim Holtz Broken China), my scraps pile which is very slowly shrinking, a card I am not too sure about , that actually came from a Dingbat, and was drawn on the Silhouette, the remnants of Youngests playtime (grr), a Dovecrafts decoupage Pepper and Friends Xmas set, and of course the obligatory cup of coffee, my usual storage, my small Tonic guillotine, and if things on my table get any higher I am going to have to stand on a chair to take a picture!!!


and if you have NO idea what is going on pop over Here to see what is going on, as this lady provides you the opportunity to have a poke around in someone else's craft space, shame its only visual, hehe

Whats On Your Workdesk Wednesday

Ok a quick Post, as I have to go and pick the Youngest up in 30 minutes.........yeah right this will take me an hour!!


So Whats on my work desk.................My stash of scraps, you know those bits of paper and card that will always come in handy.........yep thats right that huge pile that normally sits in a couple of boxes, that one!
I decided that I really needed to get to grips with it, and instead of just adding to it, actually USE them!!! Still figuring out what to use them on, but I did also find some of last years Christmas cards that we recieved, you know the, sorry going to swear here, Shop Bought Cards, I appologise, harsh words for innocent ears!
so heres what I made with 3 of the toppers I rescued from them.

A wall decoration! I really am not the worlds best photographer!! I need a tripod, a light thingie all of it!!




So On my work desk is the next project, same again this time with Gold images, my mica powders and paints, my oh so creative and decorative storage solutions (video cases, Yogurt Pots and Butter tubs), and most important of all, The Coffee cup!!
It may not look organised, but it is. Organised Chaos!!
Wish I was Linda, who has it all nice and tidy!! If you have no idea what I'm going on about, then pop over to Julies page, for a list of craft rooms you can nosey in.
Sheer heaven!

Todays makes

Ok Today I was MEANT to be Tidying!
Hubby was in bed, (hes a Baker, on nights,) so noisy isnt really allowed until night time, when Youngest is in bed. Luckily Youngest is more than used to the strange noises that emanate from my craft room at night time, with the printer grumbling away, Robbie Robo squealing and sqeaking, the foilier humming, the heat gun, blasting, punches punching.........its all lullabye music to him.
So Back to tidying, as you can see I do get distracted sometimes.......I found a variety of bits and pieces, all of which were crying very loudly that they wanted, no needed to be used.
A piece of Rangers Adirondack Brown Colour coredinations, a card ribbon, some foiled card, and a Reindeer Topper..........
so Out came the Papermania Snowflake embossing folder, because it was on the top of the pile in the folder tub, embossed the adirondack core card, and sanded it back lightly.......I didnt use the proper sanding blocks, because I'm cheap, and I have misplaced it in here somewhere, but I did find an epilator pad, for doing my legs, yes It WAS a NEW ONE!!!!

some Brown Glitter on some strong red double sided tape, top and bottom. The Card ribbon across one edge off centre. Then backed onto some gold foiled snowflake card stock, which I gutted of course, being cheap, and mounted the reindeer topper with foam pads for a bit of dimension, wasnt quite happy with it, so I routed out a Decoroller, in gold, and just created a thin gold border on the edge of the adirondack core card. I do like the pens from Decoroller, they are those Paint pens, with the ball bearing inside, which you have to shake to get the paint to mix. But the nib is like a ball point, so is finer than most paint pens. If you do use a paint pen and you need a straight line, turn the ruler over, so the flat side is up and the bevelled side is down, then the paint wont catch on the edge of the ruler, and run under it.

Scraps come in Handy!!

Okay, I am a hoarder I think!!

As mentioned in my other posts, I WAS tidying up. And I found 2 toppers, again from Hunky Dory, and thank goodness for the magazine so I can name them, these two were from the Contemporary Card Toppers, Dashing Reindeer.
I also found a card I had started to make, well I had embossed some Gold Mirri card on my Hougie Board a while ago, in a starburst effect, and mounted it on some plain Black 300gsm Card, but thats as far as I had got with it.
So.....gold, black, brown? Ok I'll give it a go........
so I needed to bring in some more Brown to make this work, but I didnt want to detract from the Gold Mirri too much, but it did need some thing to tone it down........Why I thought of Brown Glitter I have NO IDEA!!

So 3 strips of strong red double sided tape, 2 at one end, and one along the bottom, brown glitter, which I picked up from Doncaster, and some cream satin Ribbon, Promarkered with the Umber Pen, card finally finished, only been about 4 months in the making!!!

Playtime!!

Well today was obviously a play day!
I started well enough, tidying the craft room, which is always a mistake, as you invariably uncover things you had forgotten all about!
Which is exactly what happened today!!!
So I found a HunkyDory Topper, that I had decoupaged and put "away" safely......... but could I find anymore bits? NOPE!
So, A Pretty Sleigh Ride Topper, all on its own.........what to do with it?
I had been having a bit of a play earlier, before I started tidying up I think, and I had embossed it, again with the Papermania Snowflake Folder, and I had made a mess on the embossed side, silver paint had missed its mark, so I turned it over for the debossed effect. Hmmn thinks me, ok.... So what colours, as this is quite plain.....Pink! Dont ask why, just seems a "pink" topper to me.
We are lucky enough to have a small Market here in Oldham, and having a large Asian population, alot of the market is devoted to Asian customers, and I would recommend the Asian clothing shops and stalls for RIBBON!! They Love it and use it extensively, and if you buy from them its quite cheap as well. I had bought a few bits some months ago, including some velvet ribbon, in a variety of colours, and yes I had Pink!

Pink A3 Card stock, which I picked up at the Summer Crafting event in Doncaster cut to size, and all I have to do now is create a sentiment daughter/wife.

A bit of Fun

Well I know I'm Cheap, but today I really took the award for cheapness!!

But you never know until you try so I found some of those cards I used to buy  for the kids at Christmas, you know the pound shop ones, as you just know they get shoved in the bottom of the bag, and finally get thought about at the end of term, so I never spent alot on the kids cards to other kids, well apart from their best friends, they got decent cards!!

So I found them, and being a crafter who never throws anything away..............

I embossed a piece of white card stock, with a Papermania Snowflake embossing folder, and added some clear crystal gems to the middle of the snowflakes

Then I took 5 of the same card, the dog looking at the snowman, and used my Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 23 to create inipage, and outipage. and it just seemed natural to place them both inside the card, so that they sit in each other, until its opened.

The obligatory glitter, and then as I sat there looking at the card, the verse came to me! Which is unusual for me!!
It may not be excellent, but the quality wasnt there to start with, but I quite like it, a card full of surprises. Firstly you see the embossed card, quite classy, then the unusual insides, matched by the verse, should give some one a giggle!! If you click on the picture, it will get bigger so you can read the verse, hehehe!

New information on the Happy Cut

Well no photos today, but.........


I was speaking to someone yesterday who had had issues with getting the Happy Cut to work on some double embossing Folders, so I would like to clear somethings up.


Every piece of Information on the Happy Cut always states "Do NOT force the plates through the Happy Cut." And they are quite right!!!
The Happy Cut mechanism is so very light you should be able to use it quite literally with one finger, as you roll the plates through. If, as with the CuttleBug, the handle doesnt move as you push the plates in, then its too thick, either that or it will shoot through the otherside as it is too thin.
But the instructions given for the various sandwiches dont always work either. The plates are lettered as are those with the Joy Trouvaille, and the Grand Calibur, however they are also coloured, white, blue, grey, black and if you bought it from Samuel Taylors,  http://www.clickoncrafts.co.uk/ you also get a semi see through plate. I use the colours to determine which plates to use, as it makes more sense to me.
The plates vary in thickness by the slightest margins, which are all important, so heres my list:
the Grey plate is the thickest, then white, blue, black and see through is the slimmest plate. The see through plate is the add on from Samuel Taylors. You also get a full A4 sized Black Shim rubber mat for using to emboss dies you have cut, and masks but dont try to use it with the embossing folder!!
The see through plate is included in the set as it enables you to put double embossing folders through the Happy Cut, by that I mean that the floder "folds" over a piece of paper or card to create a negative impression (indentation) on one side and a raised impression on the other.
Now I had issues with getting the Happy Cut to take embossing folders using the instructions given by both the company and Samuel Taylors, so here's what I do.


Firstly NEVER force the Happy to take the plates, secondly, if it isnt taking folders, discard the White  A Plate, the Base plate, and use instead the Black plate,  the B Embossing plate. If thats too thin then swap it for the next size plate up, the blue, until it bites and goes through. Dont be afraid of swapping the plates about!
Its your machine, and provided that you arent doing any damage to it by forcing the plates through, I can see no harm in swapping the plates until you get a combination that works for you. Dont be afraid to experiment until you find the right combination for you. Although There MAY be an issue with using the Creative Expression Folders with the Happy Cut, or maybe its just a faulty folder, I dont know, I will have to invest and find out.
Dont forget that with the full extending leaves on either side the sandwich doesnt have to be precariously balanced while you get it in the slot, nor do you have to grab it as it flies out the other end, the handle folds away nicely in the top, (and as mine lives on the floor next to my chair, no more bashed and bruised ankles and shins for me), and I always use the flat top to balance my plates on, as its a nice stable surface, while I run the sandwich through the machine. That way, I am not scrabbling around trying to find the embossing plate and shim, when I have cut something.
I love my Happy Cut, I have experienced no issues with it, other than sometimes the instructions dont work for sandwiches, but I got around that, and I would recommend it to anyone as an excellent die cutting/embossing Machine, or an upgrade from a Bug to an A4 machine. It takes all the dies and folders my Bug took, and other than one slight issue with this particular folder, I am aware of no other issues.
And I cant say that about any other die cutting machine so far.

Two for One

Crafters are supposedly very good at recycling.............

So here's two cards I made for the price of one, or rather with the scraps!!!


I was really fortunate to pick up quite a bit of Silk card this year at Summer Crafting, so I do tend to use it quite a bit, sorry. But it really does Squeak if you use distress inks on it!!!


Firstly I was playing with the Spellbinders Shapeabilities Ironwork Motifs dies one night, and using Happy Cut made an aperture in some silk art card. Then was stuck with a star / snowflake aperture that I hadnt got a clue what to do with, I did say that I was playing didnt I?
Well a few days of looking at it thinking "Ok, yep, really pretty, now what ARE you going to do with it?" Inspiration struck!!
A bit of Tim Holtz Broken China Distress ink, on a blending tool, took care of the edges. and I routed out the Ironworks Motif die, and carefully popped it back in to distress over it, again with the Broken china. A Piece of my secret stash of Hunky Dory Snowfall Acetate, not too much, just enough to cover the aperture from the inside, I may buy it every time I visit Inspirations in Preston (Every week), but you dont need to tell anyone else that!!! So now what do I do on the inside.................
So I routed out the peice I had cut out with the Happy Cut a few days earlier, and used it as a stencil on the inside of the aperture. The reason I did it this way was the die itself doesnt have a lot of detail to stencil, as such, and I wanted quite a strong image, so I used the Broken China again, and stenciled it using the blending tool. I found a very small rubber stamp, from the Crafters Companions Adorables winter rubber stamps from last year, and stamped in the middle of the star. Then to Finish the outside of the card, I used a variety of Peel off snowflakes, from my stash, and imported some christmas roses from My Craft studio Click Print go Christmas Flowers, into My craft studio, and adjusted the colour to a pale blue, and assembled them, a quick papermania Noel stencil and Hey Presto card done!!!


So to the second card. I had this lovely snowflake/star, what to do with it? In the end, I made a 5 x 5 silk card blank, distressed it again with good old Broken China, used a Papermania Snowfall embossing folder, with the Happy Cut, added some Papermania gems, and hey presto, a pretty little card made from the scraps as it were!!!

Hidden Book waterfall card

Well I was inspired by good old Deano on Create and Craft some weeks ago. He was on with Kim Sutton of B-C-E Templates, and suggested a waterfall Hidden Book card. Here's my version:

The Template for the Hidden Book Card is available on the B-C-E site   http://b-craft-e.co.uk/prod_desc_BCE000586.html?sno=298


Make up the template as you normally would, but as you prepare to tape up, place some narrow Shaker tape down on the main box frame, under the edges of the window, making sure that the sliding door, sits ontop of the tape nicely as close to the front of the frame as you can get. You need it to be as flush as possible with the front box window, but noy stuck to it. DO NOT remove the smooth backing paper from the tape, or you will stick the door to the frame. If you find that there is a bit too much of a gap, then add another layer of shaker tape.. Before you finally stick it all together, at the opposite end to the sliding door, level with the folded side of the card box. make a slit just above the crease which is to be taped down, to allow you to insert your water fall handle. Assemble the waterfall, remembering to make each successive picture narrower, or they will end up sticking out of the front of the card door. Due to the fact that you have pushed the door flush with the front of the box, there is enough room to put the waterfall behind without it catching.

One of my favourites The Octagonal Twisted Easel.

This is another of my mechanical designs. And I am very proud of this one. An Octagonal Twisted Easle.

This one is a lot less complicted than it looks.
Its based on a 12 x 12 card base, and I intend it to be more of a table decoration than a card, however it does mean that you can see decoration all the way round, from wherever you are standing, and depending how high you make the Toppers, you can place a church candle in the middle, or a small bowl of sweets.


You do need 3 sheets of 12 x 12, one card base, and 2 easel sheets. If you fancy giving it a go, cut 3 octogons, 11cm measurement is the length of the longest line on the outside, ie each of my sides is 11cm long. Then using 1 as a base, cut the other 2 into 4 pieces each, removing the middle octogon shape, so you have 8 pieces to create the Twisted easels. Due to the angles it doesnt require any stoppers, as the one in front holds the one behind up. Each of the pictures I used is 11cm square. Mine is quite tall using square toppers, I did do a practice one which had rectangles, 11cm x 6.2 cm.


Please comment and let me know what you think.........

Thought I'd add a few older projects

While I'm posting I thought I would add a few of my older projects.


the first is a mechanics sample I made a few months ago for a quad twisted easel card.

Please bear in mind this is one of my workings samples, to make sure everything works as I want it to, and is not one of my finished projects as such, but I thought the idea might appeal to people out there.
Basically its an 8"x 8" card base, with 4 added parts measuring 4"x 8". Fold each part into squares measuring 4"x 4".Place one side down along the edge, and stick one of the squares down on the base. The next strip, slides under the flap of the first, and again the 4"x 4" is stuck down, continue all the way around. Then fold each loose flap along the long edge, into a triangle. Due to the way it folds it will support itself, along the top of the toppers, I used matted and layered 4"x 4" squares, and doesnt require stoppers. Mine are all different colours, to make sure that my mechanics are ok, but I hope you can see the idea.

Todays Project

well, Today was a day of excitement!!


I finally got to play with my new CDs, My Craft Studio Advanced Encyclopedia. http://www.createandcraft.tv/SearchGridView.aspx?fh_location=//createandcraft/en_GB/$s=advanced%20encyclopedia


What a lovely selection of cards and projects met my eyes, and I was hard tasked to choose a starting point. In the end I plumped for the Love Boxes.

I do like these, and am going to play some more with the set. This sparked off some Ideas in my little brain, as they always do, so currently I have spent the best part of tonight figuring out how to make the boxes for "Christmas". Now just got to get them into the pc, and into a format I can play with, as the mechanics are all done and dusted. I am also thinking about doing a welded word box in my Graphtec Craft Robo Silhouette SD, I did say thinking didnt I?


I must admit I have found it a lot easier just lately, as I have bought a proper daylight bulb for my little craft room, and I can definatley see the difference when I walk about the rest of the house at night, much less eyestrain for one thing, so I would recommend upgrading if you can, even hubby, whose eyesight is starting to go long sighted has noticed the difference, he can see games and text easier in this light, so I think I will have to switch the whole house to Daylight bulbs, to keep him OUT my craft room!!!!

Plate card

Well, the latest creation, a plate card.

Really easy to do. My Craft Studio Setting the Scenes CD, the picture was decoupaged using the seperate images in the Setting the Scenes folder, all printed on my Naff injet Printer on Supersmooth Paper. Glitzed up with My Craft Studio Ultra fine Crystal Glitter.


The picture comes with the frame, however the fame itself comes as seperate layers, so I layered it up using foam Pads, and on the final layer, I also used acetate, for the glass, and a Versa Mark ink pad with My Craft Studio Clear embossing powder. I did that twice, and ended up with an enameled effect on the final layer of the frame. I backed it onto card, added a stand, and hey presto, a pretty Christmas Keepsake. All in all 10 minutes work, which isnt bad!!

Disabled Crafters

Ok today I thought it would be interesting to show you what I use to hold me all in place while I craft.
Its not just able bodies who craft its also those who have discovered craft as a result of an illness or accident, or those who have come to it via a different route.
Myself, I am Hypermobile, Ehlers-Danlos type 3. Its a genetic condition that I have had all my life, but is quite rare, and rarely diagnosed early enough to prevent alot of the issues that arise. I discovered that I was hypermobile when I was 38, and the advice given was "you're going to pull and strain muscles more than most, so be aware and take care of yourself." But that wasnt the whole story. I only looked into Hypermobility when my daughter was diagnosed when she fell pregnant. That was a shock!!! No one had ever said it was genetic, and that I could pass it to my kids!!!!
So research later, having discovered that both my Mum and my Dad were hypermobile, and the fact that I was slowly falling to pieces, I became the group leader for the Northwest area.
Then I discovered some wonderful people, who could help me do what I wanted to do. Namely an Occupational Therapist, and Physiotherapist who knew what they were doing, as well as the most wonderful Doctor.

So here is a photo of the various bits that hold me together. Belt to hold the ribs in place, ring splints, tubi-grip, moulded support for the thumb, hand splints, and gloves to encourage my fingers to point in the right direction. I dont use all of them all of the time, and some things are a disaster area when you're working with ink as you can imagine. The list does grow, as more of me needs help, but all in all I really have to Thank the wonderful HMS teams around the country for enabling hypermobiles over the years, which means that this sort of thing is available to help me do what I enjoy.
If you yourself are disabled and struggling there are people out there who can help, so dont give up! It may take a while to find the right people and products, but it is possible to craft quite happily even though you may be falling to bits.
I'm a great believer in thinking OUTSIDE the box. There's ALWAYS a way to do what you want!!

Happy Cut A4 Die Cutting Machine

Ok Happy Cut by Artemio

Happy Cut Open



Happy Cut
By Artemio

 I really had a good hunt around for an A4 Die cutting machine. I considered the Grand Calibur, and the Joy Trouvaille, but discovered issues with both, and was getting quite fed up when I stumbled upon Happy Cut!


Strange no one else seems to have stumbled upon it. But maybe you have and thats why you are here?


I bought mine From Samuel Taylors in Leeds,  http://www.clickoncrafts.co.uk/ over the internet, taking a chance I know. However I have NOT been disappointed. It is made by a Belgian company I believe ( Artemio) and in appearance, apart from the colour,  is exactly the same as the Joy Trouvaille. Confused? Yes I was too and still am!
However, I am notoriously hard on equipment, ask my poor old Bug, and yet this machine hasnt Broken.
I have cut 350gsm cardstock with Spellbinders, Mirri Card, Tin Foil........yes I have put it through its paces!!
When you buy this from Samuel Taylors make sure you also get the SP Plate which is inculded in the deal. It enables you to use embossing Folders with out any problems, and is included in the package price, so there is no additional outlay for plates and Mats, as all are included in the cost, and I have used 350gsm in the folders with no problem.


So why isnt it wide spread? No idea, but I wouldnt hesitate to recommend it to anyone. Cheap,
no additional outlay for plates, and does the job perfectly, doesnt weigh much more than the old Bug, and isnt that horrible Fake skin colour.
I love it, its flat top means you can put the plates on top while making your sandwich, the extending sides, on both sides, mean you dont have to support or catch the plates while it goes through, and it folds away brilliantly. All in all one of my desert island choices. I wouldnt be with out it!!!