Thinking of you...

There are quite a few people I know currently going through some serious health trials. This "thinking of you" sentiment from Tonic Studios is getting used quite a lot. I love the letterpress look of this die and I always like to ink it first before running it through my die cutting machine. I always use a double layer of card to cut into...sometimes just a bit of scrap card behind...I find this makes the impression deeper and crisper on the top layer.

I have used the matinee purse rococo die to make a container for the floral arrangement as it made me think of porcelain flower bricks I have seen like the picture below - plus I am a bit of a blue and white china addict.

The papers are of course from Tonic Studios new Romantic Cottage paper collection. The flowers are from one of the Entwining Trellis sets.

Time to go clear up the mess I just made in my craftroom!!!

Have a lovely afternoon

A Spot of glass etching using diecuts

 

I used one of Tonic Studios latest dies to make the frame for this little glass etching project. You can see from my picture here how I set up the vinyl for etching.

As you can see, it doesn't matter the colour of your scraps of vinyl that you use as they are only to act as a stencil for the Etching cream.

It turned out rather pretty don't you think? Anything you can do to pretty up the whole dishwashing experience is fine with me.

If you'd like to see a few of my other glass etching projects I have done using Tonic dies, you can see them here, here and here. There's a few hints and tips too.

Tonic Dies used.

• Pretoria DuoCaps Initial A-N Die Set – 608e
• Pretoria DuoCaps Initial O-Z Die Set – 609e
• Indulgence Die & Stamp Set – Today Is All About You – 1038e

Have a lovely day....roll on summer!!!

Beautiful Butterflies

Who doesn't love butterflies. These are the new butterfly stamps that come with the set of three dies of which I have only used one on this occasion. The dies and stamps are interchangeable which means you have so many options. They are so pretty!

I have a feeling that these will sell out quickly when they are launched on Create and Craft TV this weekend.
May your garden be full of butterflies and blossoms.

Brown paper packages tied up with string...

These latest dies from Tonic are a few of my favourite things. Hearts and butterflies...dies and stamps. Gorgeous! I had to try the stamps out right away, and made this pretty wrapping paper and coordinating gift tag. I love how one of the heart dies has little holes all around, perfect for stitching.

Doesn't it look adorabubble.
I can't show you what's in the package just now. But I'll show you when it's been gifted.

Have a lovely day, and don't forget to check out the rest of my blog.

Tonic Studios Camelia Layering Die

This is a lovely set of layering dies to play with. So many things I could make with these. Here I've just made a simple little card for a friend - and a little gift tag to coordinate. These dies are part of the latest launch on Create and Craft TV.

Have a lovely day.

A Touch of Tartan

This is the last of the MDF units which I decorated for one of the most recent shows on Create and Craft TV. This is Tonic Studios Lyon unit, and I decided to go a bit patriotic on this one. OK, so there is more than a touch of tartan here. I had quite a job finding tartan papers, but I think it was worth it in the end. This little unit would be perfect for a gentleman's accessories. (Or for Bay City Roller fan memorabilia!)

The drawers were just begging to be lined in clashing tartans.

Time for my next project now....I'm going to be playing with paper clay.

Don't forget to check out the rest of my blog.

Have a lovely day
Bye for now.

Italianate cabinet...with mahogany effect.

 This is another of the units I recently decorated for Tonic Studios. This is their Verona unit. I chose to create a mahogany wood effect  for this unit using their Nuvo Acrylic Paints and Matt medium.
The base coat is Walnut brown. I applied two coats of this. Then I mixed up a glaze for the top coat . I used 5 teaspoons of  Burnt Umber, 5 teaspoons of matt medium and a half teaspoon of Black. I then brushed it with a large flat brush to create my woodgrained effect.

 I think it turned out quite effective. The die cuts on the top were cut from thin card painted in the same way and then the whole lot was varnished together with a gloss varnish.

 I laid out card cut to the size of the drawer fronts onto the design I had printed for the front of the drawers so that I could lay the design over the whole frontage.

 I think the crackle glaze looks amazing on this.

 And to think it started out as an MDF blank. It's amazing what you can do with paint, paper, glue and varnish isn't it!

Don't forget to check out the rest of my blog. 

Have a great day.

Miss You

I can't wait until my older daughter comes home from college. I miss her...and not just because she bakes often ;-) The card above is made using some of the latest Tonic Studios dies.

I did a spot of baking myself yesterday - for my younger daughter's school fair. Nothing too challenging...cranberry rock buns. But they did make the place smell amazing!

We've been doing some more picking and choosing for the new house. I am excited that we have decided to go with air source heat pump for our heating - along with the multi fuel stove. No more oil! Yey!

Well...I must try and clear myself a workspace in the craftroom. I have a table and two desks in there and not one of them has any workspace left on it! Oops!

Have a lovely weekend.

Doda
x

We've moved !

First things first...the first card I have made in my new craft room. It features some of Tonic Studios new dies just launched on Create and Craft TV. For more details on that, pop on over to Blog Tonic.

So, it's all done and dusted...we are now settling in to our rental property and we are loving it. It is so very different to be in a little village where we can pop out for a pint of milk, than where we were before which was quite rural. My little girl has just started at her new school and so far it is going well.

I have a whole lot of craft projects to get on with...my craft room is still a bit of a mess, but once I get some projects done, then I hope to organise it a bit better. At least I can see the floor now ;-)

It's so good to finally have done away with the house selling stress !
Phew!

Have a lovely day, wherever you are.

Doda
x

A quick hello

Goodmorning. Just popping by with a card I made yesterday. It's good to be able to do a little gentle crafting to relax just now. Things with the house sale aren't looking too hot at the moment...now I am thinking about how I have to unpack all the boxes again! Well...I'll let you know what happens...it can't go on like this for much longer.

Hope you have a lovely day

Doda
xxx

Just flitting by....

This card uses the new Fanciful Flutter keepsake die from Tonic Studios. Perfect for any occasion. Here I have used some shiny pink cardstock to show off the lovely detail on this diecut. To see more of Tonic's lovely products pop over to Blog Tonic.

We're still waiting on news about our homesale...waiting is hard. We can't start packing our stuff until we get a firm offer, so we carry on as before until such times as we do.

I'm busy working on a canvas at the moment...something different for a wee change. Time to go get painty!

Have a lovely day

Doda
xxx

Semi circle dies from Tonic Studios.

These Indulgence semi dies from Tonic are lovely! I took a regular 6 by 6 inch card blank and scored each side in half to create this card with a centre pop out area that will still fold flat for posting. The centre pop out was a separate 6x6 piece, scored and diecut. There is an inner pop up as well, so it is quite a dimentional card.
If you'd like to see what the card looks like when it is folded for posting, pop over to Blog Tonic for a little more detail.

Bye for now

Doda
xxx

Yours affectionately ! More Tonic Studios new goodies

Here are some more of my crafts made with some of the new Tonic Studios Affections 2 dies. Jared and Genna are the first names that came into my mind when I made this paddle fan. They are purely fictional. 

I used the dies to cut some flock vinyl and added it to linen to make a ring bearers pillow.

...and here I decorated a savings bank so that Jared and Genna could save up some spending money for their honeymoon.

must be time to start cooking the tea now...better dash!

Have a lovely evening

Doda
xxx

Time for tea - Tonic Studios gorgeous new tea party dies.

The Smith household has been very busy lately, but I wanted to pop by and let you see some of the things I made recently with Tonic Studios latest die sets.
As you can see there's a bit of a tea party theme going on here!

I had lots of fun decoupaging and making a whole pile of goodies.

I am sure that these will be dies that I will use again and again. 

Perfect for any occasion that calls for tea! And as a bit of a tea drinker myself, that pretty much means any occasion!

For more details on each project and for many more ideas, pop over to Blog Tonic.

Have a lovely day !

Doda
xxx

Busy, busy, busy

(I'll give you the template for this box soon...)

It's been a very, very busy time here for the last couple of weeks. We've had more viewers to see our house than at any other time so far. More viewers coming on Saturday....we just need one buyer though! Almost had one, but it didn't work out for them.

It's tricky trying to fit in tidying everything up for viewers and making a mess in my craftroom...and boy...do I make a mess when I get going in there!

These are some of my latest makes with Tonic's newly released dies. As you can see...they're great for those special birthdays and gift giving.

I especially enjoyed making this hand bound album. Every time I make books I realise I have forgotten just how much pleasure it gives me. I'll need to make another one of these some time.

I even made a tissue box slip cover, but thankfully we are all 99% better now in the Smith household, so not needing the tissues any more.

Hope the British weather improves ...especially for all those poor people who have been flooded. So sorry for you.

Take care

Doda
x

Happy Thanksgiving

Hi, hope you are having a lovely day today.
I'm just dropping by to show you some of the cards I have made recently with Tonic Studios latest dies. These dies are gorgeous! So intricate.

I had a lot of fun making these cards with them.

I'm loving the whole papercut vibe. A little bit Rob Ryan - whose stuff I LOVE!

And now I am trying out some more new dies and creating some new projects with them. But I can't show you just yet...Top Secret!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends.

xxx

Autumn Light

I love the morning light this time of year. The sky is ominous and purple grey and the sun kisses the tops of the golden and copper trees. This morning there was also a rainbow. Beautiful!  I snapped this shot with my mobile phone through my little girl's bedroom window while I was helping her get ready for school this morning.

Not had too much time for crafting this week, but a few cards have been made...

As always...made with the aid of Tonic Studios gorgeous craft tools. For more details on cards and for more papercrafting inspiration do check out Blog Tonic

Hope you are staying warm wherever you are.
XX