White on white birthday card

Hello. Hope you are having a good day. Another card today.  I am quite partial to making white on white cards with a gentle touch of ink just to highlight the edges. I think they can be really effective and it shows what can be done with only one shade of cardstock and Tonic Studios Dies.

Here I have used dies from September Harvest, Pinecone Season and Sunray Scene from Tonic's Faith collection. I couldn't resist adding a few little jewel drops to finish off the card.
Have a creative day !

An Anniversary Card

 Hello.  I've been having a bit of a card making sesh before I clear my desk and get back to my watercolour painting for a bit. I've made a cheery anniversary card for my mum and dad for next month. (It's OK, they don't read the blog.) This happy floral paper from Tonic Studios was just begging to be dotted all over with Nuvo drops don't you think? The pretty leaves are from their Fallen Leaves collection.

The vintage image is a free one from The Graphics Fairy. I love combining vintage images with Tonic Studios die cuts.

Hope you are having a wonderful day wherever you are.

Tonic Studios Faith Collection

These lovely Faith dies from Tonic Studios are perfect for cards and more. I have made this little card/bookmark combo to send to a friend who is going through a particularly hard time right now in hospital. I know it is her faith that is keeping her going and that she will appreciate the thought.

I inked the diecut layer for a soft, pretty effect. The beautiful little dove is cut from Tonic's Mirror card.

The bookmark is cut from three layers of card for strength, Two from the outer die and one of the decorative filigree design all stuck together with Tonic's Funky  glue (of course.)

The bookmark fits perfectly inside the card making it ideal for popping in the post.

I hope this gives you some ideas, or maybe gives you a nudge to drop a card to someone to let them know they are in your thoughts.

A Birthday Banner

Hello everyone. And a very Happy 2017 to you all. I hope this is a wonderful year for you.
We've had a good holiday with family visiting which has been wonderful, then I came down with a nasty cough virus which has not been so good. I finally got some sleep last night so am now posting about this cute little birthday banner I rustled up for my daughters friend .

I used lovely Tonic Studios papers...my daughter helped to pick out which patterns she thought her friend would like. Then using just the outer dies from their fabulous number dies, I cut out the numbers from Tonic's mirror card. To adhere the numbers I used removable sticky dots in case she wants to use this as a pretty banner in her bedroom long after the birthday celebrations are over.

 Of course you could use make any number you need and you can use your own choice of papers. It's a great way to make some pretty party decor. Hope this gives you some inspiration.

(Oh and if you want to see more of what I am up to,  you can follow me on Instagram . )

Have a lovely day.

Paint and gilding

For some time now I have been procrastinating about starting my art again. Well...I finally got around to it. I've been wanting to try this combination of watercolour painting with Tonic Studios gilding flakes for some time now too. I think the copper background looks quite effective with this Small Copper butterfly.

This is a pair of little frames that came from Ikea  with a pre cut mount. The first butterfly I painted was the blue one with the silver gilding flakes, then I decided that I would do away with the mount and go slightly bigger with the copper one. I have now turfed the blue one out of it's frame and am in the process of making another larger one with a copper background so I have a pair of little coordinating butterfly pictures.

This is another little artwork recently done. This time with coloured pencils. But I decided to add copper accents when it was finished.

It's hard to capture in a photo, but it shines nicely in the light. Such fun using the gilding flakes. I'll be doing more of this!

If any of you out there are a bit arty, I hope this inspires you to try something different.

Make your presents felt.

I was keen to test how the Tonic Tangerine Die Cutting machine handles felt. I was impressed. It cuts through it like butter. The felt I like to use is a wool mix felt, not too thick. I used the Kings Cross Case die to get the general shape for this bag. I trimmed off the flaps that are there for gluing and used blanket stitch instead to make this mini tote bag which is just the right size for a gift card.

The top flap of the bag I tucked in and used running stitch to hold down. The creases that are indented by the die make it easy to fold at the right places. I had fun embellishing the front of the bag with this little oak leaf design from the autumn leaves die sets.

I have a feeling this will become a handbag for my daughter's rag dolls.
Why not try cutting some felt with your dies. The Tonic Studios verso dies are perfect for this as you can use the outline dies to cut your felt.  I hope this gives you some ideas.

Have a lovely day

Chair Addict

Hello, my name's Doda and I'm addicted to buying second hand chairs. Is there perhaps a group for those so afflicted? I find it hard to pass up a bargain. Doesn't matter if it looks pretty shabby, as long as it has good bones, I can't help myself.

I've picked up some pretty good bargains over the years. I usually don't spend more than £10 a chair. Most have been cheaper. My poor patient husband sighs when I tell him I've found another chair needing a home. Trouble is, many of them are still awaiting a makeover. Anyhoo, here are a few of my more recent finds....

I bought 3 of these chairs last week for £10 in total. Actually only 2 of them are solid, the third has problems with it's joints- (I know the feeling!), so I bought them for £5 each and the seller threw in the third one for free. I am sure I can do something with it. The two good ones will go in the kitchen as I have an ecclectic mismatched chair collection going on in there that these will work well with (I think I will cover them first though ;-)  )

Then I just got two of these absolutely lovely chairs for the bedroom, they were only £10 each and I am sure I can do something pretty with them...eventually.

 I have seen a fabric I really fancy that would work nicely on these.  I love anything with butterflies and beetles and bugs for some reason.

While we were parked under the most gigantic monkey puzzle tree at this amazing old house picking up the two bedroom chairs,  the lady who was selling them offered us another 4 mixed dining type chairs for free which she said were going to the dump if we didn't take them as she was moving the next day and didn't have room for them all.  Well, OK then ! They're not amazing but they are nice enough. Each one different.  So, that's another few to add to my list of projects. I also already have a couple of classy wooden armchairs in the garage awaiting my attention. So many chairs, so little time...I think there will come a point when I renovate and sell some of them. But we are still finding the right furniture for our new house. Juggling things around to see what works best for us. It's a process.

Right...I have a chair to upholster, got to go.