WOYWW 89

Oooh what a poor negelcted Blog I have (hungs head in shame) tut tut!

I really did intend to keep up with this blogging malarky but life just got in the way.  I promised myself I would start up again right after the christmas holidays but that didn't happen.

Making Your Own Rhinestone Templates

I've been playing around with lots of different things - distress inks, new punches, sizzix dies and probably the most exciting one is the MTC (Make The Cut) software which works in conjuction with the Cricut machine.  What does it do I hear you ask, that makes it so exciting......well, what doesn't it do is easier to answer - too many functions to list here but what I've been playing with today is a function which allows you to make your own rhinestone templates. It's just soooo simple it's child's play.

You just upload any swirl/flourish picture that you have saved on your computer onto the onscreen cutting mat and press a couple of buttons (literally) and you have your very own template to whatever size you wish that will fit on your mat. You can also choose to use this function to outline or fill any shape, letter etc.
It's easy peasy and such a great money saver. You then cut this out with your cricut and you have your template. Once you have your template you can use it for gems, pearls small buttons etc. It even tells you onscreen how many gems you will need for the template depending on what size of hole you have chosen.
The picture is of one of the templates I made today. I've had to show my desk in real close up so that you can (hopefully) make out the holes in the template). Not very easy to photograph acetate but hopefully you can just make it out in the top left hand corner of the picture.

Anyway hopefully it won't be so long again before I post.

Thanks for stopping by :)

Gypsy 6 Free Cartridges

I came across this offer and just thought I'd post it in case it was of interest to anyone who has purchased a Gypsy by Cricut but hasn't yet got round to registering it yet.

You have until the 31st October to register and you will receive 6 FREE cartridges* downloaded to your Gypsy - apparently valued at $419.

(*Digital version only, actual packaging, overlays, cartidges, handbooks and other printed material not included)

You'll find all the terms and conditions HERE

Hope it's of use to someone!

WOYWW #72

After receiving such a warm welcome for my first entry on WOYWW last week and so many lovely people taking the time to leave comments on my new Blog that I was encouraged to join in again this week.

I did have a major clear up of my desk yesterday as I just couldn't find anything and I feel that if my desk is cluttered then  my mind gets a bit cluttered too and I can't think straight so it looks pretty tidy right now but let me tell you, it's NOT always so.

Today I was having a play with my new MS christmas theme punches.  I hadn't ever tried the punch round the page techniquebefore so thought I'd give it a go with the snow flake punches. First of all you have to get the size just right or it won't work out and that's a bit of a pian. My first attempt wasn't so good as the paper got caught in the punch and got a bit snarled up but on the 2nd attempt it all came better.

My favourite, though, HAS to be that Deep Border Snowflake Punch ooooh WOW it's just sooooo pretty, don't you think.  There's just so many possibilities for this design that my tiny mind is overloaded with ideas.

Thanks for looking.

Stamps for Spellbinders

If, lilke me, you like to use your spellbinder label dies but feel like you don't quite always get that right look for inside the shape then HERE'S  there's something that might be of interest to you.

New Stamps that fit perfectly inside some of the the label die shape. They're from a company called Layers of Color who are new to me so I would be interested to hear from anyone who has tried the stamp.
They look really useful and you wouldn't need to just use them with the dies, you could just use them on their own.

There's quite a few designs to choose from and my favourite has to be this WILD GRASS FRAME which fits Labels 16 or you could easily use on it's own.even as the main image for a quick card.

Faux Brads

Don't crafters just have the best idea around!!

I was having a browse around blogs and different sites earlier and spotted a great idea for a gorgeous gift card card that had a little handbag on the front. The design had large brads attaching the handles and I don't have any of those in my stash so knowing that one of my fellow crafters would come up with an alternative idea to save me having to buy some to add to my ever growing brad collection, I came across THIS    fabulous idea from Julie Warner. Her tutorial takes you step by step through her idea and now you can have brads to match every card, without the expense of having to buy them. 
If you had a small enough hole punch I suppose you could also make a smaller version to use as card candy too.  There's a video on the link too that takes you through her creation.

Thanks Julie - great idea!!

Now if I could only remember where I first spotted the gift card idea , I'll be all set for a to try it all out! D'oh!!!

WOYWW 71

Have noticed WOYWW on a few blogs so decided to investigate (being the nosey thing that I am) and if you don't know already it's What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday.
For more details, or if you want to join in have a look HERE

I know it's a bit late in the day as it's almost midnight but's it's still Wednesday, so anyway here's what I have on my desk tonight......

I've been making a Ruby Wedding Anniversary card and used the DP from the Papermania Paper Stack 'Home for Christmas'. The fleur de lis design seemed quite appropriate and  I don't really think it looks christmassy - it's backed with claret red cardstock.  The corners of the sentiment were shaped using my WRMK corner chomp (deco)   and I just love those new MME Lush Brads so used one from the RED set for the middle of the ribbon knot.

Thanks for looking

CAS Inspiration by a Word Crinkle

This is a card I made for one of  SCS's challenges this week.

The challenge called for a CAS (Clean & Simple) card Inspiration by a word CRINKLE.

I made this card for a friend's birthday and  used Prima Calypso Flower, Prima Gems and ribbons from my stash.