Butterfly Princess

 

Good morning. Did you get any of the semi circle dies yet? Here's another card to show what you can do with them.

This is the Butterfly Princess semi circle Indulgence die set again, in dark navy to show off the beautiful silhouette effect. I've made an easel card this tie and used the Sensational Sprig die set at the sides and on the easel part. The border along the bottom was made with the Delicate Lattice border punch.

My new A4 die cutting machine - Xcut Xpress

 The new kid on the block!

I'm now the proud owner of the new Xcut Xpress die cutting machine and thought I'd do a little review to let you know how it's going..

Some of you will know that I had to learn fast on this one :) - Yes, I arrived in Dublin at the RDS last month to demo gorgeous Tonic Studios dies for Crafty Devils  and found this on my demo table!
I count it as a massive plus for the machine that I was able to start right away and demo the dies and  also embossing folders and feel confident. It's really simple to use.
The top photo shows the machine neatly closed for storage when you're not using it.

When you open in up, you can flip the plates to create a platform for the cutting plates.

This makes it possible to use dies/ embossing folders etc on cards up to A4 size.

Here you can see the rollers inside.

And the A4 cutting plates in place - ready to roll!

This is the dial which you change to suit the die/ material/ embossing folder you are using.

There is a full table of settings inside the box but I only ever use a few settings and you'll soon get used to the ones you use. ( I use 4.25 for cutting Tonic thin dies, 5.25 for embossing in the die, 6.5 for small embossing folders and 7 for A4 embossing folders)

This totally eliminates the need for having to use plate combinations - you only need the two plastic ones in the box each time. There is also a metal plate supplied for using when cutting fabric.

The machine does not come with a separate embossing /silicone mat, so you'll either need to buy one or use one from an existing smaller machine.

It has been in constant use since I got it and I'm very pleased with the results each time. 

On the card below you can see how I've used it to cut and emboss  - all on Papermill card :)

And another!

Lots of the stock of the new semi circle Verso dies has already gone so you'll have to be quick if you want them now.
This time I've used the Butterfly Princess (using the same die twice) and created a stencil which I've inked through. I love this effect! You can try this with all the sets and get a lovely pattern each time.

I made the big flowers from the Carnation, Sweet William, Peony Punch and Stamp set, using a big circle for the back to get a bigger flower. The corners were punched with the Loopy Lace border punch, the leaf is the Verdant Vines die and the stamp is from the Watch the Birdy stamp set.

The beautiful teal and mocha brown card are from Papermill.

Cardmaking and Papercraft mag December issue

Good morning :)  This month's Cardmaking and Papercraft magazine is out! The December issue is full of gorgeous Christmas craft projects for you to try and mine for this month are on page 63 and about upcycling.

They have a bit of a Nordic look, being brown paper and gingham this time and I've been using some beautiful Tonic Studios dies in more unusual ways eg to stamp.

There are so many "must try" projects in this issue that I may be gone for some time! 

Butterfly Lattice Semi Circle Verso dies

Well, It looks like the new semi circle Verso dies are another winning combination from Tonic Studios!

You'll probably see this card on the shows at some time later today/soon  - I've used the Butterfly Lattice set and the Butterfly border punch looks great with it!
The embossing folder I used on this card is an A4 by Xcut called Butterfly Pattern...available from Crafty Devils

From me to you

From me to You. Another of the new Tonic Studios semi circle Verso dies.. I've cut them out in teal card from Papermill, backed it with mocha brown and added some Aqua Stickles.

The paper is Watch the Birdy ( Tonic) with some dies from the Love Arch Square Verso set and a matching punched border. I've added some Frond Finesse Swirls.

Look what's coming! New Tonic Semi Circle dies..

A little preview at the beautiful semi circle dies from Tonic Studios. These ( and much more!!) will be featured on Create and Craft as Pick of the Week starting tomorrow. I'll be adding more of my samples made for the shows over the next few days.

Christ, the Saviour, is born

Papermill has this beautiful Purple Cord embossed 117gsm  paper on offer at £5.00 for a pack of 20 A4 sheets....and it's great for adding a little bit of texture to your cards.

You can see the offer HERE.

I've kept plenty of the paper showing by using it with the Tonic Studios Decorative Holly Rings die set.

The sentiment in the centre of the card was printed from the computer and is a favourite of mine as it is, after all, what Christmas is all about :)

I've added some little punched Classic Snowflakes and gems.

Here's another card using the same paper..this time with the Tonic Studios Indulgence Tres Belle Tag Square die with the Antique Key tag die

King's Hall last week

Thanks a million to all the lovely folk who came to the King's  Hall last week and came to watch the demos etc. I love doing this one as I get to meet so many of my friends from all over the country in one show. It did surprise me, however, how many of you I met at several of the recent shows - Dublin, NEC and then Belfast. You must really love the buzz of travelling and crafting!

Thanks a  million to the lovely ladies who kept us fed and watered during the Belfast show - you are stars!!

I just managed to grab a couple of photos of Mel and Mark just as they were packing up the stands to go home again so at least you can see the progress of the "tache"!!

Looking forward to the next one already :)

Thanks so much!

Napkin rings from the Cracker die

You know by now how I love to use my dies to the max and the Cracker die wasn't going to get away with just one function either! Here I am showing how I made some lovely napkin rings just by using the centre part of the cracker die :)

1. Put a piece of card behind the centre strip of the cracker die and cut on your machine.

(sorry this is a bit blurred ) 

2. You won't need the outside parts.

3. Cut these off cleanly with your guillotine.

4. Cut a strip of patterned paper the same size as the embossed panel and punch a border for each side.

5. Attach the borders and patterned panel with DST.

6. Decorate  - I have used Poinsettias made with the Lily, Clematis. Poinsettia Punch and Stamp set.

Papermill offers !

This week's great offers from Papermill are...

1.....The beautiful light silver pearlised card shown above  - 70-75 A4 sheets for only £7.50!!

I have used the Tonic Studios Decorative Wreath Verso die set, Christmas sentiment set 1 and the Delicate lattice border punch on the card.

2.....White felt embossed card - A4 Mega box 550-600 sheets for £29.00 (amazing value!)

3.....White felt embossed card - 70 - 75 A3 sheets for only £8.00

You can see the offers page HERE

The white felt embossed is my personal all time favourite - it's what I use to make most of my cards etc.

I've used the Tonic Studios Elegant Vine Indulgence Square die with the Candle tag, some ivy leaves from the Window basket die set and Classic Holly punched leaves to make this tent card.

King's Hall, Belfast craft show

Good morning. I am just getting ready to head to the King's Hall in Belfast for the craft show
I will be there today,  tomorrow and Saturday with Mark and Mel from Crafty Devils so if you are there don't forget to come over and say hello :)

How to make a tent card

I've been asked so many times for instructions for this card I thought I had better get on with it. If you've been to any of my demos you'll know how quick and easy this is ...and how addictive it is too! You'll only need to scroll back through this blog to see some of the recent ones but there are others about to pop up in other places too. 

You can use any dies for the front but it works really well with the Tonic Studios Verso dies and Indulgence dies.For this card I've used the Love Arch set.

1.  Start with a 15cm square card.

Place the large patterned die in the centre of the card front and make sure the top cutting plate only comes as far as the fold in the card - otherwise you'll create an unwanted crease down the card.

2. When you have die cut the first one place the 2nd smaller patterned die in the centre and cut.

3. Take a strip of card measuring 15cm x 6 cm.

4. Score it at 1cm, 3cm and 5cm.

5. Fold as shown.

6. Add a strip of DST along both outside edges.

7. Attach one edge to the inside back of the card first.

8. Then you can add patterned paper.

9. Now attach the front edge.

10. This leaves an ideal space for inserting a battery tealight.

11. All is left now is to decorate the card front.

NEC 2013

Mel

with Anne

with Jackie, Andrew and Alison

Alison, Jill and Andrew

Ok, so I expected to have some time here and there to take some photos but the show was just so busy it was impossible. Thursday and Friday were really busy but Saturday took it to a whole new level! There were times when it looked like we'd have to synchronise breathing so we all got a chance!

I love being busy like that so I really enjoyed it and the best part was that so many lovely people from all over the place came along and introduced themselves. Can't wait to do it all again - in Belfast this week!!

We had a beautiful flight home - so calm after the show so I took a few photos from the plane window.

 Bye bye Birmingham

  Coming up Belfast Lough towards the airport with Carrick castle to the left on the shore.

Coming down to the runway