A touch of Steampunk

As soon as I saw this new Tonic Studios border punch it said Steampunk to me.
(Well, not aloud you understand or else I'd be a bit concerned.)

I found this fun graphic over at The Graphics Fairy and thought it would be perfect for a Bon Voyage card.

Check out the sneaky peek of their new punch range in this post. I'm sure you'll want to add these lovelies to your collection.

P.S. Don't forget to enter my draw to win some fabulous Scrapbooking software to play with.


P.P.S. Don't forget to enter Tonic Studios draw to win an A4 Glass cutting mat. 

All occasions cards

I always like to keep a stack of cards ready in my stash and it is useful if you keep some that will be handy for any occasion. 

The way to quickly turn this into a birthday, anniversary, or a thank you card is to keep a ready supply of assorted printed inserts. 

I print up my inserts onto A4 paper and trim them to size and fold them ready for sticking into my cards. 

This all white card makes use of sticky pads to raise the layers and give a smart 3D effect. I love this pretty little butterfly punch from Tonic Studios. 

I also used my corner rounder for this card. I love the professional finish it gives to a card. 

P.S. Don't forget to enter my digital giveaway . Even if you're not a scrapbooking fan, I think you'll enjoy playing with this software to make all kinds of things.

Have a wonderful creative day!

time for a digital giveaway...

I've been a very bad blogger. [Slaps herself on hand].  At the end of last year, I was contacted by My Memories, who make very clever digital scrapbooking software. They very kindly offered me a copy of their MyMemories Suite to giveaway on my blog. Due to all sorts of reasons [excuses] for not finding the time to do the giveaway, this is me only now offering you the chance to win this fabulous software for free. Yes, absolutely free!

Because it was my anniversary last month, I dug out some old photos and played with the software a little. There are so many bits and pieces you can add to your page, it is really fun to use.

I love it when software is fairly intuitive to use and this one is also very versatile.

You don't have to be a scrapbooker to make use of it as you can custom size your projects for cards or any other layouts you have in mind. You can also use it to create videos which adds a whole other dimension to your creations.

There is no limit to what you can create with the software. I knocked out a quick blog header for my little girl. I am going to put her artwork on her own blog so I can see how it changes and develops as she grows.

My Memories also offer Friday Freebies for you to download so you can be always adding extra templates and designs to your software. You can stay updated  on their offers by liking their Facebook Page.

So, now onto the good news for you...My Memories are offering one free copy of this wonderful software to one of my followers.

How to enter...

Please visit www.mymemories.com  and look at their vast range of digital papers and layouts and leave me a comment on this post telling me which one you would choose.

...and there is more good news...if you don't happen to be the winner, never mind, you can still get your paws on a copy of this software with this special code STMMMS80960 which will get you $10 off the price plus another $10 off anything else in the www.mymemories.com store.


Blog- http://blog.mymemories.com/
Facebook- http://www.facebook.com/MyMemoriesFans
Twitter- http://twitter.com/#!/mymemoriessuite

This giveaway is now closed.
Thanks :-)

back to routine

It's been a fun and busy couple of weeks. The weather has fluctuated between delightfully warm and extremely cold.

One day we had a power cut all day- and that of course would be the day we had the snow. After an initial play in the snow, we all sat huddled by the log fire listening to crackly music on the wind up gramophone.

Veggieburgers were cooked in a frying pan over the fire and we later toasted some pancakes using my granny's old brass toasting fork. By the end of the day we were a little stir crazy I can tell you!

However, it is back to routine now. School is back today and I am enjoying the peace despite missing everyone, so I have just been at my desk making a card for a friend. Sometimes a simple design works best. I've used my Tonic Studios mini butterfly punch, and also their corner rounder for this card.

everyone's a coconut

It's that time of year again. Time to make coconut pyramids. I thought I'd update my recipe instructions and show you my first batch of 2012.

keep on pressing and mixing until combined

press down firmly before covering and leaving for an hour

it's all a squash and a squeeze at this stage

dandelion bouquet courtesy of 5 year old daughter

perhaps these ones could have done with one minute less in the oven!

the smell of warm coconut is wonderful!

and they taste pretty good too!

It's a Creative World Blog Hop

Hello! Today I am joining in on a Spring Blog Hop with It's a Creative World where I am a member of the design team.

Today I am sharing a little cube gift box template with you.

First you need to click on the template to enlarge it and then right click and save to your computer. Print the template out onto the reverse of a piece of card that will go through your printer. I have sized it to print on A4 paper, but you can probably tweak it to fit letter size if you are in the US. Next score on the dotted lines and cut out the solid lines.

Glue the tabs where marked and you have yourselves a cute little cube gift box. Dress it up with punched flowers or ribbon to make it special. I like raffia, I think it works well for spring.

If you have a circle punch you can take a bite out the front of your box for easy opening.

You can then fill it with mints or chocolates and with the aid of a lollipop stick and a circle of card, you could use it as a name card holder for a spring tea party. Your guests can then take this home with them as a little keepsake.

The flowers I used to decorate my boxes are punched using my Petal Pairs punches from Tonic Studios. They are now offering a free download on their facebook page of a fun little magazine that can be used with their punches. I made the daisy flower from a tutorial by Kirsty Wiseman, and the pretty mixed flowers were from a "print and punch" sheet in the same magazine. (All you need to do to get access to the magazine is to like their page on facebook.)

Next on the Hop is Gabrielle, so head on over and pay her a visit to see what inspiration she is offering today.


The other participants are...

http://bubbaboobits.blogspot.co.uk/
http://paperthoughtz.blogspot.co.uk/ 
http://highlandhousekeeper.blogspot.co.uk/
http://snappycrafts.blogspot.co.uk/-
http://ifazainon.blogspot.co.uk/
http://www.fruitofmyscraps.blogspot.co.uk/
http://dollysdreamings.typepad.com/
http://6ichthusfish.typepad.com/
http://craftaholicleanie.blogspot.co.uk/
http://www.socksandscrapbooks.blogspot.co.uk/ 
http://tj-runningwithscissors.blogspot.co.uk/
http://rainbowpoppy.blogspot.co.uk/
http://itsacreativeworld.typepad.com/its_a_creative_world/

Just a quick hello...

I am rather busy just now with spring cleaning and various other projects that I am working on so it is just a quick post today. I hope you are all enjoying lovely spring weather. We had a few beautiful days of sunshine however it is a little cooler again and so I have put my winter woolies back on.

I hope this sunny image of some daffodils that are blooming in my garden brightens your day.