30 July 2010

Oh, how I loved this place...

Prince Edward Island, Canada.

And this is French River.

You know how you want to go somewhere and when you get there it's not all that great?

PEI wasn't like that.

I loved it.

I'd go back.

It was like another world, I guess. So different from my own.

I love the memories of our time spent there.

Thanks, PEI, you were good to us.

29 July 2010

Another close up shot...

...for you.

This card is from my Vintage Inspired class. Wanna come?

I'm teaching it at Photo Continental on August 21 (details in sidebar).

Call (07) 3849 4422 to book. Would love to see you there!

Also, did you know you can shop online at PC?

Here's their Scrapbooking Clearance section - some punches are on special. And here's the regular Shopping section. Lots to have a look at there.

Of course the shop itself is worth a visit too. I mentioned that we need shopping trolleys in-store because the shop's so big and I wasn't surprised to find the manager has been trying to get some. It's the shipping price to our great island that they're trying to get down. I told ya, mortgage payments, mortgage payments.

Bye for now, talk soon,

:o)

27 July 2010

Punch Art Fun 1 - Look in the Book - page 25

It's been a while!

A couple of images to show you today.

Firstly, got page 25 open?

Secondly, this is Luke, my nephew, who is now 15.

Fifteen!

He was the size of my sister's bouquet at my wedding. She was my Matron of Honour (isn't that a ghastly word? Matron...). He was five weeks old (her first child) and she was my M of H. I know! Totally amazing...

Anyway, Lukey, what a cutie patootie you were...

It's half a regular-sized card, that one. You know, can't think of a card to make? Grab a photo and use that as your feature. Add a little embellishment of some sort and job done. Nice.

Here's another idea that'd translate onto a scrap page nicely.

Back in the day when I wrote the book, I didn't have a button punch.

Back in the day when I wrote the book, I didn't have a punch that punched two evenly spaced holes either.

Back in the day when I wrote the book, I punched those holes myself and tried to get them evenly spaced. I'm not telling you how many I chucked in the bin! Evenly spaced is easy when you draw your dots onto the card. The hard part is seeing the dots in the tiny, tiny circle punch you're using to try to punch those tiny, tiny circles!

Anyway, no matter, there are button punches available now (Marvy and Martha). At the very least there are ones that punch two holes together rather than just the one (The Punch Bunch). I've seen the PB one at PC - ha ha, it's like code. I mean, I've seen the Punch Bunch one that punches two holes over at Photo Continental. The idea is to punch it on your card first, choose your circle punch (the size you want for your button) and punch around the two holes to get 'em in the middle.

Or just buy a button punch from overseas and pay a mortgage payment in shipping.

Or stop being cynical and start hoping that a Marvy button punch turns up over here somewhere.

Or stop talking to yourself and just move onto the next card.

Yes, do that, Debra.

Next card.

Now, don't get mad, but this is made using a Carl bear and he's not available in Australia much anymore.

Golly, what's the go with all this stuff not being available??

Sorry!

It just gets on my goat sometimes that I try to show you stuff and poof, not available, never was available, was available but it's gone now, was available but it's sold out, was available but it's not anymore...

What is available (yay!) is the complete line of Sullivans punches that have, luckily for us, a bear.

This bear actually.

I gotta tell ya though, I'm still getting used to this fella after looking at the Carl bear for yonks. I started punch art with this shaped bear, moved to Carl and used that for years and now I've moved back. It's all good!

Now, Mr Sullivan, if I haven't said it before (or if I have and you didn't hear me), I hereby publicly thank you for bringing this new line of punches in.

Thank you!

(Applause)

(More applause)

(Even more applause)

(Encore!)

Just on that, sir, while the applause is still ringing in your ears, would it be possible to bring a few more punches in? Like, 30?

Whenever you're ready just call me, I've got a list!

26 July 2010

Thirty!

Remember this photo?

And how I asked my sister how many cats she's had?

Here's her answer:

"30! Flip! 30 cats I have had including the legendary king of them all, Chippy. This number includes all kittens though and there were lots of giveaways in that. 12 bed sleepers (my definition for a true pet is if they actually have slept on my bed!) And you know what, I would really like another one to add to Minka and Lucy at the moment!!! hehe"

Chippy was our family cat - he died at 17 or 18. Minka is Sue's cat above and Lucy is Sarah's cat. Sarah's Sue's daughter, which makes her my niece.

They love their cats...golly, thirty!

Hey, Sarah, got a good photo of Lucy? Send it to me and I'll put it on the blogo, so the ladies can see your kitty. And so Minka doesn't get all the glory...can't have that, you know.

This is my sister.

She's in yellow.

This is me.

I'm in blue.

We looked like this a lot. Dressed to the hilt and matching...okay, not quite matching, but matching enough.

Dresses courtesy of mother...we laugh about them now, but they were very fashionable then. Actually, was anything fashionable in the 70s? ha ha. There's a lot of love in those clothes...
What I want to know is, what is in that handbag, Suzanne?
:o)

23 July 2010

Sizzix

So, Sizzix dies are really just big punches (to me) which is why I've been collecting a few to add to the old punch collection.

A few nice ones have been coming out lately. I particularly like the Tim Holtz Alterations ones - Baroque and Styled labels for example.

All this week Tim has been releasing sneaks of his new lines on his blog. It's been interesting to see what he's been doing. I'm not into the whole grunge thing, but do a Jennifer McGuire and use them with bright colours. Actually, Tim and Jennifer did a joint class and they taught exactly the same things, but with their own style - his grunge, her bright. Pretty cool concept.

Check out Tim's blog here to see the new stuff - there's Distress Stickles, stamps etc etc. A lot of stuff.

The July 22 post shows his new Texture Fades. My favourites are the Postcard/Sheet Music Set one and the December Calendar/Holiday Words set. Nice.

I also like the new mini-Baroque and mini-Ornamental die shapes that go in the current ones to make a nesting layer (on July 21 post). I hoped they do that. Hope they do one for the curly label on the Styled label die. I like that one a lot.

Sizzix stuff, gotta love it!

22 July 2010

Trends and stuff

Hey there,

Do you like being in the know?

If you do, have a look at Nancy Nally's site called Scrapbook Update and she'll keep you up-to-date with all things scrap related!

I linked you over to her earlier this week to check out the sneaks from CHA July. See anything you like there?

One set of articles that she does around CHA time is about trends and what's going on in the industry. She usually does a preview of what's happening and then a wrap up of observations from the show. She talks about trends, favourite products etc. They're cool.

Recently, on July 16, she did a CHA Summer 2010 Trends Preview. You can read the entire article here.

Here's a quick overview of what she's expecting to see at the show in these categories...

~ Colour - a move from pastel to bright.

~ Theme - home arts ie. cooking and vintage sewing.

~ Products - electronic die-cutting, manual die-cutting, stamps, buttons, flowers, journalling products. Rub ons are on the down low apparently.

~ Design/Style - Vintage, faces, wood, birds, cute, peacocks, banners, glamour/Paris.

~ Project - cardmaking, kits, ATC's (artist trading cards).

Being someone who likes bright colours, cooking/vintage/sewing themes, manual die-cutting, banners and cardmaking, well, I think I'm covered!

What about you?

21 July 2010

Oh, yeah...

I know, I'm sorry.

I keep going on about October Afternoon, but I can't help it!

Just checked their blog and they've released this sneak of their new line "Modern Homemaker".

Vintage feel - check.

Specifically 50s Vintage feel - check, check.

House stuff - check.

Bright colours - check.

Polka dots - check, check.

What's not to love?

Check out their blog here for more sneaks and peeks this week!

(And I'll try to stop talking about them. Yeah, right)

:o)

20 July 2010

New from Fiskars

Hey there,

Since we've been talking about new things, I found these new punches from Fiskars. They're not out yet, I don't think, but will be soon.

Here's one of their new Everywhere Punch Window System punches. As the name says, you can punch it anywhere on your page. Interesting!

They have a couple more punches in the range - check them out here. There's also info on how they work and all that on there too.

And what about some new borders?

They have six coming out including this cupcake one. Good thing about this is that you could use the punch out bits as actual cupcakes. If they're not too small, that is!

See the rest of the border punches here. The first six are the newest ones. I'm glad they're doing a few more borders.

Oh, and a cloud! I'm loving it and that it comes in at least two sizes. Love the shape of it too.

Clouds make great clouds, but they're also good cupcake tops and clown hair. Loving it, loving it!

Click here to see the rest of the Squeeze punch range. The newest ones are at the bottom.

And did you know that Fiskars has a Craft TV channel? Each episode is about 10 to 15 mins and they feature all sorts of different crafts, not just paper craft. I sometimes turn the computer monitor a bit, so I can watch things like this while I'm at my desk. Fun.

Enjoy the online browsing!

:o)

19 July 2010

New punches and October Afternoon

Hi there,

How are you today?

Hey, I was over at Photo Continental last week and saw these McGill lever punches over there. Thought you might like to know!

This star one would be nice for Christmas projects.

Also, October Afternoon has come out with a new line called Seaside. Of course it's totally out of season for us, but I don't care.

Love their stuff.

Think it rocks.

Ha ha, rocks...seaside.





A slightly different look for them, I think. Still a vintage theme going on, but this one has both adult and child stuff mixed together.

Also, if you're interested in what other new stuff is coming out, click here to go to Scrapbook Update, and click on the orange button at the top.

I just scroll down to the companies I like and click on those. There's so much out there that I limit myself to a few companies I know, and punches, of course.

Have a great day!

15 July 2010

This week's close-up shots

Not that I posted close-up shots last week, but still, these are this week's close-ups.

I found them on the computer and decided again, that I'm a fan of the close-up.

I'm a detail person, so close-ups suit me, I guess.

Exhibit A.

Baker's twine, my fav.

Exhibit B.

Buttons. Another fav (when you've got good buttons to choose from).

Exhibit C.

Bunting. Ah, love.

It also seems I'm a bit of a fan of the letter B too.

I love seeing where glue has seeped out too. Exhibit B - cherry stems, I spy a bit of glue there. It's life, it's craft!

:o)

14 July 2010

Things I'd do with this punch - Part 3

Hey there,

Where were we?

Let's do Spaceship (top middle).

How'd I'd use the Spaceship shape:

a. Well, I'd use it as a spaceship because that's what it looks like! A spaceship? A UFO? I think so.

b. I'd use it as a one-eyed monster for boy cards. Put a big eye in that one space and pretend he's Mike from Monsters Inc.

c. Sounds very Sci-Fi so far!

d. I'd cut the top bulb off and use the oval as a frog's head.

e. I'd use it as a tag because that's what it is, afterall. A little eyelet or button up the top and good-o.

f. I think the cutting-off of the bulby bit and just using the oval has a lot of potential. Footballs, heads, ears, bodies, flower petals, big feet for a bear - things like that.

And now for the Fancy Label (bottom left):

1. Well, hello fancy label. I'd pull you out and use you when making Vintagey type card. You know, fancy shmancy.

2. I'd also put you on another piece of paper and cut around you to make another layer. Even more fancy shmancy.

3. I'd punch a few of you, cut you all in half and line all your halves up in a border along the bottom of a card.

4. Now I've just said that, I'd do that with your other label friend too.

5. I'd cut you into quarters and use each of your quarters as a corner. At least I'd try because I know that'd work well on the right card.

6. And now I've just said that, I'd try it with your other label friend too. Copy cat, I am.

7. I'm going to keep you close by because I know you've got other idea potential in there. Currently, I'm toying with the idea that cutting you in half and then cutting the rounded parts off those halves (plus a little extra from the middle) would leave me with some interesting vases.

And lastly, the Bon Bon (I'm the tall one):

Deb's gone to make herself a cup of tea and she's left me to finish this post.

Here goes:

1. I'm a bon bon, through and through. I think I'd look good on a Christmas card with thread on each end, for sure.

2. I'm kinda uncomfortable talking about myself and how good I am. I'm a punch though, and I don't really have feelings, so I'll get over it.

3. I'm also a good lolly. Put me next to some presents and I'll make your card shine.

4. Let's not forget, I'm on a tag punch, so I'm a tag too. I'm pretty unusual, but you're a savvy crafter, you'll figure me out.

5. I'm a good hand and sleeve. Hand and sleeve, that sounds weird. Hand and arm, maybe? Punch me out, cut off one end (nicely!) and there I am, hand and sleeve. Punch me in two colours and do a cut and paste - cool.

6. That being said, I could also be a good arm. Punch me out in desired colour, cut off one end and trim all the way along on both sides to make an arm, rather than a sleeve. I'm hoping I'm making sense here. I'm sure you can understand my reluctance to cut myself up for demonstration purposes...

7. Hey, how about this one? I could be a good hinge/buckle thingy. You know, punch me out and wrap me around the card, or a mini book, as a closure option. What do you think?

8. I know I have other uses too, I just can't think of anymore right now. Maybe I'll go make myself a cup of tea, seems to be the done thing around here when the ideas aren't flowing...

Okay there, peeps, this is the Multi Tags punch signing off for today!

Come back soon, won't cha?

13 July 2010

Things I'd do with this punch - Part 2

One. I'd go look at it on my desk.

Two. I'd get it in my head that I'm going to actually make something.

Three. I'd get a cup of tea because I think better that way.

Four. I'd sit down at my desk.

Five. I'd look at my list of things to make.

Six. I'd pick one.

Seven. I'd make it.

Eight. I'd marvel at what a difference a day can make.

Here's how I'd use the Label (top left):

a. As a label. It's just the right size to write "For you" or similar on a card. Would look cute poking out from some flowers.

b. As a tab. I'd fold it in half lengthways and glue it along the edge of a card for an accent, or a tab.

c. As a tab with it folded in half widthways too.

d. As a tag topper. I'd fold it in half and use it to top a tag. You know how tags have a reinforced hole? This replaces that. Still has a hole in it, with an eyelet preferably. Fancy.

e. Sorry I don't have pics of these, I'm making them up as I type. Pics would be good for me too!

f. I'd punch it in my colour of choice and adhere it to a larger piece of my second colour of choice and cut around it leaving a 2mm border to make another layer.

g. I'd use it as a label on a little envelope. Not an address label, too small, but a name label.

h. As a sign. I'd cut a long, skinny rectangle for the post and glue the label to the top. Cute for sentiments a chick could hold - Happy Mother's Day etc.

Wow, a lot of uses. I'm sure there's many more.

I'll be back tomorrow to tell you what I'd do with the other three things on the punch. A lot of bang for buck going on there!

:o)

12 July 2010

Things I'd do with this punch...

One. Well, firstly I'd buy it because I couldn't do anything with it if it wasn't in my possession. I'd hand over my money quite happily knowing I'd made a good purchase and I'd stroll confidently out of the shop ready to conquer the world! Not really, but it sounds good. Retail therapy, people, retail therapy.

Two. I'd take it home and take it out of the bag. We'd pretty much all do that.

Three. I'd take it out of the packaging and give it a test punch. Gotta do that to see what the shapes really looks like, you know?

Four. I'd leave it on my desk for a bit because as if I'd have the time to do anything with it straight away. Dinner to make, people, dinner to make.

Five. I'd come back to my desk the next day at an opportune time and make something with it because of it's fabbo potential.

Six. Things I'd make:

a. A list of things to make because I like lists!

b. A second list of things to make because the mistake I made on the first list annoyed me. I don't like messy lists!

c. My lunch because I'm such a procrastinator...

d. A cup of tea because one of those after lunch always floats my boat.

e. An effort to actually make something.

f. A ghastly attempt at something that turned out to be nothing.

Seven. At this point I'd leave the non-productiveness of my desk and go Google "What to do when your creativity is gone".

Eight. I'd spend time on the computer reading about non-creativity and ebb and flow and procrastinators and then I'd go make myself another cup of tea.

Nine. I'd go find the dog and throw a ball or 55 to him.

Ten. I'd go make dinner (again) and hope tomorrow turns into a more productive day.

:o)

PS. Eleven. While trying to go to sleep that night, I'd think of ways to use the fabbo punch. My brain would flood with ideas and I'd wonder why I wasn't born an owl.

09 July 2010

XL dies in the Cuttlebug

Do you have a Cuttlebug?

I've had mine for two years and I love it.

I've always thought the Sizzix XL dies didn't fit through the thing and never thought to check. Megan (one of the ladies who comes to my classes at PC) mentioned to me that the dies go through, it's the plates that don't.

What? I thought. Really? I've gotta check that!

(The XL dies are the really long ones that do treat boxes, card bases and other things. Some of the designs are continuous down the die and some have various, individual shapes on them)

Here's me checking the die situation...

Here's the Cuttlebug, here's the Sizzix XL die.

Will it go through?

Um, yeah...

Why have I not checked this before?

And Megan was right - the plates don't fit. That's a Sizzix extender plate and it's definitely too wide.

I've been telling people right and wrong information this whole time!

Can I use those dies in my Cuttlebug? No, they're too wide.

Now I know they're not too wide, the plates are.

This is what should've happened: Can I use those dies in my Cuttlebug? Not with ease! The plates are too wide, but you could use your regular plates and cut the die in stages. If you want. If it doesn't annoy you.

Would you do that?

Cut it in stages?

Things have changed a bit in the last month because Provo has come out with 13" x 6" plates, so now you really can cut XL dies in your Cuttlebug!

Pretty nifty if you ask me.

A couple of things to note:

~ The Cuttlebug plates are 4 cm shorter than the extender plates from Sizzix, so some of the XL designs may not cut out fully. Something to check on before you buy.

~ I have heard that some people have shaved the edge off the Sizzix extender plate to make it fit. Whatever works!

Anyway, hopefully that helps someone out there and a big thanks to Megan for the tip in the first place (Hey, Megan! Hey, Jackie!).

Have a great weekend, friends!

:o)

07 July 2010

Speaking of the dog again...

...I kinda have to forgive him about chewing up the photos when he comes and sits outside the window and looks at me like this.

He likes to be near and follows me around the house and sits outside the door or window of the room I'm in (he stays outside during the day).

This time I was at the living room window taking photos and he came and lay down right there. I tapped the glass and said hi and he put his head up on the ledge to say hi back.

And then he made himself comfortable and had a sleep.

So gorgeous.

You know I heard once that God gave us dogs, cats and horses because He knew we'd need them. He gave those animals the ability to love and be companions like no other animals can. And he did it for a reason, because He knew we'd need their company and that they'd give us the love we needed. Well, cats put that into question (ha ha) because they're different to dogs in the companionship department, but they're all the same in the love department.

We grew up with cats and had as many as six at one point when one of them had kittens. Chippy was our family cat and lived to be 18. Sue (my sister) was responsible for all the other cats and continues with her cat love to this day.

How many cats have you had, Sue? 10? Leave a comment! And that includes Sarah's cats too (Sarah is my niece and she loves cats as much as her mother).

Here's Minka, Sue's cat.

This is something Cody can't do!

Don't you love it? All sprawled out there and snoozing away.

Actually, Minka did that to me while I was at my sister's once. We were scrapping and I was sorting photos. She was still a kitten at the time and walked down the table, plopped right on my photos and went to sleep. She was so gorgeous I left her there and tried to sort photos around her.

Are cats acid free?

:o) ha ha

Okay, forget what I said about cats not being the same as dogs in the companionship department! They're good companions, they're just a different type. Yep, I think we'd all agree on that, which is precisely why God gave us horses, cats and dogs. All of them and for different types of companionship.

That's so God. Really, He rocks.

And that's why they're furry too - you know, so we'd pat them. They reckon patting a dog, cat or horse relieves stress. God was the instigator of that. He knew that when he made them in the first place. Yep, I'll put some nice fur on these animals, so my people will pat them and they'll feel better. And the dog will love it too. Win, win, I say.

Told ya, rocks.

Ah, cute.

We like our goldy, yellowy, creamy tones around here and you can see he fits right in! So funny.

Look, I've gotta say it. God gave us this dog. Cody is a gift from Him. Purely. And I know it for sure. This is why...

My favourite dog has always been the Golden Retriever because of the gold and the cute. Not the hair though, too much hair!

Andrew's favourite dog? The Australian Kelpie. Smart, alert, active and a man's dog.

I've never wanted a dog, too much work.

Andrew's had dogs and has always wanted one.

Issue - one wants a dog, one doesn't.

Secondary issue - even if we got a dog, what type would suit us both?

It all went in the too-hard-basket and that was it.

A while ago though, I knew Andrew needed a dog and told him to get one if he wanted one and that I wasn't standing in his way.

He started looking online on the Trading Post and in the animal shelters and last September, he sent me an email with a Trading Post ad in it. Golden Retriever x Kelpie pups for sale..."I like the gold one" he said.

And get this - $180. There's no way Andrew would pay $800 for a dog. Me neither, actually! Plus, we didn't have the money for that anyway.

After some thinking (because really, did I want a dog? Oh man) we rang the guy and bought the dog. Then we had to wait because he was only about four weeks.

Here he is. Look how little!

In the time we waited for him, I looked at this photo and got used to him being my dog. I was actually starting to get excited. Of course the day we picked him up, the adventure started.

What's amazing to me is that I'm still not a dog person. I love Cody, love him so much, but I'm not a dog person. That's God though, He gives us what He knows we need usually in ways that we don't think of and in the one dog.

For Andrew - part Kelpie, active, intelligent, trainable, personality, a smaller dog because he didn't want a big one, not too much hair, $180 price tag that he could swallow.

For me - part Golden Retriever so cute (God knew I needed cute because otherwise it'd be all over!), goldy colour, loyal, some hair to brush but not too much (honestly, he's got just the right amount of hair), soft fur for lots of pats, personality, not too big so I can get him in the car.

Amazing.

We've had Cody for 7 months now (he's 9 months) and it's still amazing to me that I have this dog and that is so perfect for us. God knew what we wanted and needed when we didn't know ourselves.

Amazing. You're amazing, Lord.

I wonder if I could punch art Cody using this punch?

I don't have the punch, so maybe I could go make something like this...

Whatever I make, it'll be cute.

(I know, that's the one thousandth time I've used that word on this blog)

Have a great day!

:o)

Oh PS. Andrew came up with the name Cody. I liked it and went to the computer to look up what it meant. It meant 'cushion'. That's when I knew it was a done deal!

06 July 2010

Speaking of the dog...

...here's a tip for free.

Don't do this, okay?

Don't sit on the bed and talk to your husband when he's just come home from work and ignore some interesting playing, ripping, "something's going on, but it's nothing" sounds coming from down the hall, okay?

Just don't do that...

Look at me, I'm gorgeous and I would not hurt a fly (yes, I would).

I am a puppy and it's my job to roam the house to find things to get into and this time I found some fun bits of paper to chew and rip and descimate...

They were tasty too...

Note from me: Exhibit A as you see before you is a bunch of photos, yes, photos. Golly, my mouth dropped when I found them out there! This also explains why we removed our nice mat and replaced it with an off-cut of our carpet...

You can't see me...

I'm invisible...

I didn't do anything!

Okay, you found me.

I'm guilty.

Do you still love me?

05 July 2010

Cody

(inspired by a recent Cathy Z post - June 14)

What I see:

~ Lipstick! You jumped up and kissed a friend. She didn't mind, but I was shocked. Not good!

~ A huge distraction. There are lots of scratches to give and balls to throw throughout the day.

~ Hair that's the same colour as mine.

~ A look in your eyes that says, "What are you doing? I don't get it, but I'll humour you."

~ A friend. A furry friend.

~ An assured source of a chuckle and a laugh each day.

~ A real personality. You crack me up.

~ A lot of emotion in those eyes.

~ Someone who wants to be near all the time.

~ A dirty patio. Did you do that, Cody? No...of course not.

~ A glimpse of the collar you had then, but don't have now because you lost it. Good one.

~ Sticky up hair. I brush it, but I'm not afraid to cut it. X marks the spot when you have something I want Andrew to check out (ie. I cut a piece of hair off so I can find the spot again). And I tried to get the sap out, but nup, had to cut it out. You survived.

~ A smiling mouth. You look like you're hiding something. I dunno, you make me laugh.

~ A gorgeous face. If you weren't cute, it'd be all over, you know that?

:o)

02 July 2010

Cute


If you could design a punch, what would it be?

I'm kinda into the basic shapes myself, but this guy is kinda cute, don't you think?

He makes me smile!

(And I'd make him with wiggly legs going everywhere)

01 July 2010

New punches

Hey!

I'm starting to find images of new punches coming out. Wanna see?

New Martha - scroll down for Christmas ones. That Vintage Doily one is going to fly off the shelves!

New EK - border ones and paper ribbon ones.

New Corners from Fiskars

Have I showed these already? McGill is changing their punches from button to lever. They're adding new ones too.

Levers, gotta love levers.

What are your favourites?


Ooohhh....

:o)