New McGill punches

Hey there,

Since it's turning out to be "new punch week" on the blog, thought I'd share these too.

They're from McGill - what do you think? This one's Peony.

They're levers, so that's good. Hi, Lily.

They're versatile, so that's good. Hello, Hydrangea.

Ooooh, look at all those little flowers. Lots of potential even if you're not into the 3D flowers.

Hello, Rose.

Hey, you look like a pear!

Again, versatile.

Click here to go to the McGill site to check out these punches further. Extra pics too.

Bye for now - have a great weekend!

Punches on my wish list

It's always fun to have a wish list.

I add things.

I take things off.

At the moment, this is how it stands.

Still want that button punch from Marvy.

It punches three buttons, what's not to love?

And now they have a button in a new size too. Onto the list it goes.

Love that snowflake too - such a nice shape.

Not that we have snow around these parts, but still, I like it.

I like it a lot.

A new size of Fancy Square from McGill in a lever.

Oooh, love the levers.

Love the Fancy Squares.

This shape also comes in 1 1/4" and 1 1/2" sizes.

Another offering from McGill - Vintage label, also in a lever. They're changing their button punches to levers. A good decision, in my opinion.

What I like about this punch is that it comes with two shapes that can be used individually or together.

Individual is good.

Together is a punch party.

Nice one.

I love this cloud from Fiskars - I'll have both sizes, thanks.

I like using patterned papers and finishing off with some cream clouds for outdoor/camping/beach photos. We have a lot of those.  

I think I'm going to love this border.

Will be good for holiday (vacation) stuff, of course.

I'll use it for man cards too. Always on the look out for bits and pieces to use on them.

Gotta have options! 

These two are from Martha (and EK Success) and are so on trend (very her) and so Christmassy. Will have a lots of uses though, can't wait for these. The border is a deep edger, so it'll be huge!

Well, that's my wish list.

What's yours?

:o)

Birthdays and cupcakes...

Since we were talking about birthdays and cupcakes the other day, I thought I'd share these today.

Here is the cupcake I ate for my birthday this year.

Here is the cupcake my mum ate for my birthday this year.

Andrew and Dad ate cupcakes for my birthday this year too, but they don't take photos of their food. It's only us girls that do that.

My cupcake was yum.

We got them here (at Poppy Cakes). Nice.  

Thought I'd share this card too.

The background is Sugar Daddy, Bazzill Bling. Hello? Please don't stop making this stuff!

The layer is photocopied from one of my grandmother's recipe books (onto card).  

The bunting is Bazzill Bling again.

Hello again? Bazzill Bling, I need you!

This time I used both sides of the bling - the blingy part, and the brighter back part. So rich and yummy.

And the bunting is circles cut in half. Cut a goodie and use that one to cut all your others so they're all exactly the same size.

Love that graphic of the lady with the cake.

And here's the lead actor (the rest are supporting actors).

The lead actor is Cupcake in Scalloped Square using these two punches. Ice cream is McGill (now comes in a lever) and the second is from Sullivans (have always come in a lever).

(We like levers. We like them a lot)



The actual cupcake bit on the cupcake is Core-dinations card. The front is chocolate and the back is pink. Embossed it with Swiss Dots folder (Cuttlebug) and sanded to reveal the pink. Fun stuff.

The Scalloped Square itself is the back of Bling again - it's Feather Boa. Love that pink. It's so great for these cupcake cards.  

Red button to finish.

Red buttons rock, we know that.

And so do cupcake cards.

:o)



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!

I found these on my camera...

Hey there,

My, it be warm today...what's up with that? It's April, and April means cool, well, at least it should.

Remember this punch? The legendary McGill one?


Remember this Easter bunting?

I used the idea again to make a card for my little nephew. Found it on the camera and thought you might like to see.

He turned two, thus the two cupcakes and two balloons. And that's him the middle, of course. He's way cuter in real life.

Kept it pretty simple for him because let's face it, he's a boy and he's two and he could really skip the card, but I'm a card maker, so he gets a card. And I get a kiss! I love the kiss.

Don't you love little kids? I do. Always have.

Pull! Pull! His parents were calling when it was time to open the present. And pull he did to see the things inside. So fun watching him blow his candles out too. We always light them multiple times at family dos.

And this was on the camera too. I realise it's after Easter, but we crafters can never be too prepared, can we?

I did suggest using refillable eggs at Easter time and I did just that this year. Found these at Spotlight - 6 for $2 (bought two sets). I got 20% off too, so they were cheep! Ha ha.

Made one for everyone and filled them with choc eggs. Josiah is our newest nephew - he's just under three months old, so no chocs for him this year. He had to have an egg in the basket, so I put a note in there for him instead. I realise he can't read, but that's not the point.

Didn't make myself an egg, that was a bit silly. I nicked a few chocs while I was filling the eggs, so I didn't miss out. Jack (he's 8) hid the eggs and each family member had to find theirs. I hid his for him - twice, actually. Was fun.

(The bowl is just a plastic one and the strawy stuff was packaging in a parcel I got recently. Knew I'd use it sometime)

Well, you enjoy your weekend now, won't you?

Have a good one!

:o)

Valentine's Day cards

Hello again everyone,

Today I have a couple of Valentine's Day cards to show you.

It's not as big a holiday over here as it is overseas, but we celebrate it nonetheless, just in a very understated Australian way. Like, laid back. Like, maybe too laid back, lol.

Here's a fun one. It's a favourite because it's got a cupcake on it. Just love 'em.

Supplies:

• Cupcake punch - McGill
• Scallop Square punch - Marvy (green)
• Square punch - Marvy (purple)
• Background - Cuttlebug Love Language Combo set (includes word dies and the hearts folder)
• Stickles on the square

Love that hearts background - it's really sweet. I particularly like the grid backgrounds with a little design on them like this one.

Here's the cupcake punch - remember it? You get a star and a candle to use too.

A couple of tips:

- Because there's 5 things that need to be punched out in the design, it needs a good punch so it can work best. Be confident and give it a good one!

- Line your punch up in from the edge of the paper as far as it'll go and give it that good, solid punch with two hands. That is, punch quickly and it'll go through great. Too slow and it may not work.

- If you have your paper too close to the edge of the design, it can jam in your punch. This goes for other designs too, and other brands. Done that before? (It usually happens with the big designs)

Here's the envelope I made to go with the card. It's red Bazzill (Pomegranate - my favourite red), which is the same as the background red on the card.

I'm really into putting faux stamps on my envelopes nowadays...

How many years have I had that stamp punch? Oh, about 7, I suppose.

How many times have I used it on a card in those 7 years? Oh, about 7 (if I'm lucky), I suppose.

How many times have I used it recently? Stacks!

Will you be using it more in the future? Yep!

It's a keeper :o)

And the square inside is CP2: Square from Carl. Above the stamp punch is white and so's the square inside it. You can see the difference on the bottom card below. The stamp is red and the square inside is white.

Love that cupcake punch.

I posted this card a little while ago. Just wanted to remind you of it to show how versatile the punch is...and that you can make cupcakes using blue, yellow and orange if you want.

Here's the card again. Cute. Gosh, I love cute.

I don't believe I've ever used two different shades of red on a card before. Two blues - yep. Two greens - yep. Two yellows - definitely. Two reds - nup, until now.

Can't remember the name of the red - it's either Ruby Slipper or Red Devil.

Don't you love the Cuttlebug? Embossing is just so fun to add to a card.

This heart folder is obviously a perfect choice for Valentine's Day, so I had to break it out. And the words come from the Love Language Combo set from above.

Simple card that one, simple.

I am very much into scallop squares with something inside at the moment. Am going to make a few today for my sister-in-law who needs some thank you cards. I'll be using a Cuttlebug background and a scallop square - nice. And fun.

And lastly, the envelope to match.

I make all my envelopes on the Crafters Companion - it's the quickest way to make them, I've found. And quicker too because I've made templates for my most used envelope sizes, so I don't have to look them up in the book each time. Honestly, I can make an envelope in two minutes - it's so fab.

Okay, see you tomorrow!

:o)

The yellow gingham

Hello and welcome to Friday on Punch Art Fun!

Remember the yellow gingham paper I said I liked?

Here it is again. Wanted to keep a corner of it on the card, so I started with that as my base. I also rounded that bottom right hand corner too.

Then, the cupcake. Cute! It's a stamp set from Basic Grey's Nook and Pantry collection. So fun making your own cupcakes. There's sprinkles and different toppings. Kristina has a video where she used it too.

This time the card accepted some blue. Funny that. I tried blue to keep in with the summery theme. I know, you don't usually have blue cupcake bases...or do you? I guess you can.

One thing I've realised with all the cupcakes around the place - I make 'em, but I don't eat 'em. Not that I wouldn't eat one, I just don't cook them myself, so no cupcakes for me.


Now, what about a cupcake punch?

Oh, yes, please!

This one's a McGill punch and I asked the folks over there if I could share their images with you. They kindly said yes, so here you go.

I like how the packaging includes a couple of other ideas for the punches. Gets a few of the old creative juices flowing, you know?

You could also use the cupcake bit for ice cream and even hair. The cupcake holder bit is a good basket as they suggested, as well as a flower pot (with the pinking ridge cut off) or Christmas tree base.

Here's the card (and envelope) that I made using the punch.

Once again, the card accepted blue. Nice, thanks for that.

It's the same card design - one using the stamps, one using the punch. Which do you prefer?

I used some Smooch Spritz in Gold Glow on the yellow of the cupcake. It made it really shine - can you see it? Click here to see more colours. Photo Continental stocks it too. Check out some tips on how to use it here.

And for your viewing pleasure, here's some other punches in the range. I linked you over to these last week, or the week before. Fun stuff.

Well, that's it for today.

Have a great weekend!

:o)