Mixed-up Saturday

 

Good Morning Ladies, 

From a VERY cold Wiltshire,  Omg I cannot remember being this cold, I spent every moment that I wasn't doing anything under my duvet, this house is a nightmare to heat effectively,  we want to light the fire as that makes a huge difference but the last two times that we had it on Sophie (who's bedroom is above the lounge) complained about the smell of smoke in her bedroom,  it appears to be coming from inside her wardrobe which is on the chimney wall, so we haven't used it since in case it caused carbon monoxide fumes or something,  we mentioned it to landlord but he just said it was probably the wood we were burning,  which was nonsense as the logs were kiln dried logs for open fires, I suggested to Paul that we get the chimney sweep to check it out for us but he said it wasn't worth it because even if there was a fault Mr S wouldn't pay to have it fixed, he would just say , Don’t the fire!  I would love a log burner 😍

Now I'm not sure if I have shared the quote above before, it made me laugh to myself as I have said this to the girls before, it reminds me of the other quote that says something about your husband finding out the true cost of your craft stash after you'd gone, rather than the 'bargain price' you told him!! 😉 🤣!!  Having said that I so lucky in that Paul has never questioned how much any craft items cost, he may occasionally roll his eyes though!  🙄😉!  I always discuss any large craft buys though. 

Diecutting Essentials 

Issue 97

It's such a nice change to have a magazine without Christmas cards!    This Issue of Diecutting Essentials features all things 'Spring Flowers'!  The free gift is a pretty Floral Wreath and some nice stamps that work with the wreath or could be used independently.  The Die is Memory Box die so will be really good quality .

The first article shares some really pretty cards that are all made using the free gift.  Some lovely card designs, I like the circular one a lot,  I would use different colours though.

Now these cards are made with lovely Spring Colours, they are apparently 'Eclipse ' cards, however they aren't what I would call 'Eclipse cards' I think that they use different methods to create the raised (eclipse) pieces, some have stamped pieces that are coloured to match the base card exactly.  Either way they look fun, if it makes it easier for people to acheive then I'm all for it. 

I absolutely love both of the featured cards,  so much so that I going straight to find the Tim Holtz embossing folder!  They would make great cards for men, you could even create personalised versions. What do you think?? 

These cards have all been made with 'Die cut Inlay Backgrounds'  using dies to create embossing which gives a lovely detailed background. I do like Merry Christmas die used on those last two cards. 

This is the die set in case you like it as much as I do! Hopefully it will be in the Sale in new year! 

I don't really make cards for New Year celebrations but I do like some of these fun ideas for New Year Gift wrapping.

Noe Ladies,  I am 100 % going to have a play with this technique,  it's not stained glass like the Sue Wilson die's created, this particular technique seems to focus more on the metallic borders around the srained glass...

I have tried to zoom in on this card to show the 'faux metallic ' lines, the thick metallic look is created by embossing the die cuts with silver embossing powder and heat setting, you can repeat until you get your desired thickness.  

We will all have a die that we can have a go with!! 

Finally these cards are all made using a combination of the Free Dies,  Stamps and Downloaded papers.  There are some really pretty designs here, the free papers are really pretty, I am sure we all have equally beautiful papers in our stash too.  

A good edition of the magazine to finish the year, I have enjoyed having this pop through the letterbox every month, especially if you are needing a little inspiration, beyond the free dies there are some great technique tutorials too, I really like the ones that encourage you to more use out of your dies .

I hope that you all have a super Saturday, 

Love and hugs to all of you,

Sandra

xxxxxx