An elegant place setting with Tonic Studios Crystal Carousel Box Die

I have used Tonic Studios Crystal – Carousel Box Die – 1020E gift box die to make an elegant place setting for a winter table or winter wedding. I lined my die-cut with white organza . I actually filled mine with lavender so that would make a nice wedding favor, but you could fill yours with after dinner mints, or sugared almonds.

You can also use the little die cut stars as table confetti to add further decoration to your place setting. I've used some on the little ribbon too.

Very classy don't you think? Hope this gives you some ideas.

Have a lovely day.

Bee Happy

I've just finished a little batch of Bee Notebooks for my local art gallery where we sell our handmade beeswax candles. You might just spot a fair usage of Tonic Studios gorgeous diecuts in there. Also the Bee stamp is from the Lily set of stamps I used in my last blogpost.

Bee prepared, there are one or two pictures...and one or two puns!

Two bee or not two bee....that is the question

You've heard of a 2B pencil? Well this is a 2 Bee notebook to go with it !

OK, I'll button it now! 

Have a nice day ! 

Relaxation - colouring in with Tonic Studios

Colouring in is all the rage just now, and it is perfect for relaxing and de-stressing. I've been enjoying having a play with Tonic Studios new Nuvo range of colouring pens.

What better to colour in than Tonic Studios stamps. The lady is from one of their latest sets of stamps, and the lilies are from the Pick of the Bunch range of stamps Tonic brought out some time ago drawn by Ruth Hamilton. The sentiment is one I wrote a while back and is useful for a dear friend or daughter. I had my two lovely daughters in mind when I wrote it.

Tonic Products used...

Layering Die – Elegant Oval – 527e
Nuvo Pen Collection – Marina Blues – 314N
Nuvo Pen Collection – Fragrant Oranges – 311N
Nuvo Pen Collection – Sunshine Yellow – 312N
Nuvo Pen Collection – Depth & Shadows – 320N
Exquisite Stamps – Ladies Day – 1132E
Crystal Drops Gloss – Dandelion Yellow – 673N
Tiny flowers from Simplicity Pattern Punch – Floral Border – 949E
Pick of the Bunch Lilies clear stamps... (If you do a hunt on the internet I am sure you can still find these somewhere. I spotted some for sale on Ebay)

Do you love to colour?

Hope you have a wonderful day.

Inside our new home

Today we got to see inside our new home for the first time. I won't bore you with all the photos we took as they all look pretty similar, but this little room is my craft room. It's very exciting to see it all take shape. It was much lighter and airier than I had imagined, some room sizes seemed smaller, but others seemed bigger. It is always so hard to imagine how things will fit in when you just see the bare bones of a place...but overall, we really loved it.

This is one side of the lounge. There will be a wood burning stove in here eventually.

And this is the dining area of the kitchen with French doors out to the garden. A very pleasant room.

. This is the other end of the kitchen. The sink will be going by the window and there will be a peninsula unit across the room. I can't wait to cook there !

This window area is in my little daughters bedroom. It is going to have a window seat in here and she can enjoy the view while relaxing on a pile of cushions. It will be gorgeous.

And here is the utility room which will house a run of units and the washing machine. I like the door.
Well, that rounds up my little glimpse into our new home.
I'll be dreaming of it tonight I think.

Have a lovely evening

Beautiful Bunting

 When I saw Tonic Studios new Diamond Squeeze Box die, I knew I was going to have to make some bunting with it. The intricate triangles are so very pretty I wanted to showcase them

I backed the diecuts with some translucent paper. It is like a coloured glassine paper that I had from a pack of craft paper from Lidls. You could possibly use tissue paper too, but it will be more delicate to work with. The bunting looks gorgeous hung in the window to catch the light. Alas, there was not a great deal of sunlight when I took the pictures, but you get the idea.

 

To construct my bunting, I made little paper tabs to fold over the diecuts and the string. These were approx 1cm by 2cm scored halfway and glued each side.
Bunting always adds a pretty touch to a home don't you think?

You could also use the triangular dies without the intricate centres to make a felt bunting. Sew directly onto a piece of narrow ribbon along the top of the triangle. The pretty edged die would look fab in coloured felt.

Hope this gives you some inspiration.

Have a nice day.

We have a roof

Well, the house is slowly progressing We now have a completed roof. Here is a shot from the back of the house. I think the back of the house is prettier than the front, but that's OK, I quite like the fact that it looks like quite a humble abode from the front. The gable end with the two layers of French doors, is the lounge and our bedroom which will have a Juliette balcony.

I am hoping that they get the flooring in soon so that we can arrange a site visit and see what is happening inside.

Have a lovely day

Tonic Studios Bottle wrap die - How illuminating !

I have made a decorative light by using Tonic Studios Bottle wrap die along with a clever usb rechargeable cork light gadget I got from Amazon.co.uk

I washed out an empty wine bottle and used this for my light. To avoid the brightness at the top of the bottle where the bulb is, I made a little decorative collar for the bottle so that the light is more evenly diffused.

This is what it looks like in the daylight...

...and here is how it glows at night. The intricate details of the diecut are gorgeous!
Can you imagine a whole row of these...they would look beautiful! Of course if you use a clear glass or different coloured glass bottle the glow will be different. I need to try find some blue glass bottles...I love blue glass.

Don't forget to check out the rest of my blog for more ideas with Tonic Dies.

I hope you like this idea. Have a lovely day.