The Day After and Happy Easter

Hello friends

WOW WOW WOW...I had the most amazing day yesterday!

I received many supportive comments and emails for those who live far away.

Lots of people came to visit the studio/shop - I am so blessed to know so many 

kind wonderful people.

At 11am I put up the 'open' sign.

 I had intended to take many photos but I got carried away chatting that I kept forgetting!

I did capture my lovely friend Kate with her mum - making flowers from Spiral Blossoms. 

 It also felt like my birthday...gifts of flowers and plants...

Alex arrived with flowers, this beautiful card and....

 treats for Bella!  

THANK YOU...THANK YOU!

Sorry to those who I kept waiting at the till because I was...yet again chatting! 

I promise to get my sons trained up so they can help out 

(notice I did not mention that I would stop chatting!)

You all made it such a special day.

Now, I must wish you all a very Happy Easter Sunday.

I think this painting sums up the weather....perhaps we should all melt down our eggs and 

have hot chocolate!

Take care friends - you are all very special to me.

'Do' Day!

Hello friends

Some photos of how the studio/shop ready is ready for the opening 'do' today.

My lovely Mum helped me tidy up, clean and set everything out.

Top priority is a glass of something bubbly and chocolates!

I've gone for 'pink drinks' - (that would be wine not milkshake!)
keeping with the Spellbinders pink theme. 

The tables are set as there is going to be the opportunity of making felt flower brooches.

Some of the new products on display.

The window is a little more Spring-like but even the daffodils are refusing to flower!

The new Artisan X-plorer™  in the window.

A very mixed response to yesterday's post regarding the new Artisan X-plorer.

I appreciate it may not suit everyone - very dependent upon your crafting needs.
I'm always happy to share with you details of new products so you can make decisions -
a sort of virtual 'try before you buy'.

Janice made a very valid point - remember the dies that match the blanks and bezels
are beautiful dies on their own, proportions are ideal for card making
and there is those butterflies - who cannot love butterflies! :)

Other news:
Today I would like to introduce you to John Lockwood - his blog is here.
John has created some truly beautiful cards using Spellbinders and he has also written
some particularly nice words about me...head swelling moment!
And...John lives in Spain - he gets that rare thing called sunshine!! I am SO jealous.
Thank you John for getting in touch.

Okay...so far I've only eaten three Cadbury Buttons eggs (in 2 days!) ...that's good for me!
Special Easter greetings dear friends.

Friday Die Day (sort of!)

Hello friends

Slight deviation from the typical Friday Die Day today because as promised I'm going 

to talk about the new Spellbinders™ Artisan X-plorer™ Machine.

It is a multi-purpose, high pressure machine that cuts, embosses and presses.
Upon opening the box you will firstly see the plates and instruction booklet.

It features the same idea of colour coded plates that you use in your Grand Calibur®
- these plates are just slimmer measuring 8½ x 12¼".

The handle is already in place and you will also see a lever at the front to secure it firmly down.

The machine's approximate dimensions:

W x H x Depth: 10¾ x 7¾ x 4½”

Handle is 4½” (top to bottom) and 2” in width.
It weighs about 5 pounds so very portable.

The machine has a stability base to keep it in place during use.

The side panels are clear so you can see the cogs working..appeals to the men in our lives!

Basically, this nifty machine is a compact roller press that is perfect for cutting, embossing and pressing using a variety of materials, including paper, metals, fabrics, plastics and more.

Because it is smaller than your Grand Calibur it has more pressure.

Here I've lined up dies on the base plate, you have plenty of room to multi-cut.

The matching bezels are lined up alongside.

I've used the largest die template to cut a piece of cotton fabric.

You run it through the machine with your usual cutting sandwich.

I've chosen to place the fabric inside a matching bezel.

So we know we can use it with many of our usual die templates, you can also use this 

machine with your embossing folders that measure up to 4¼” wide. 

What else can we do?
How about Texture Plates?? These are made of metal and measure just over 3" square.
Using some of the new metal sheets, this one is copper you can achieve some superb results.

You would use your regular embossing sandwich.

The result.

This will be fantastic for projects such as jewellery, home décor, embellishments, cards, layouts, 

fabric arts and mixed media!

You can also use these texture plates on the metal blanks that are available.
Here is a You Tube video that Kim from Spellbinders has put together.

I've just selected a few of the new Media Mixage items from my studio/shop
to show you...products in packaging always look so more exciting!  

And these beauties deserve a picture of their own...!

I do hope that has clarified quite a few questions.  As always please email if you 
would like to know anything Spellbinders.

Other news:

I think I've mentioned before that I'm having a new website built (yes, a zillion times!)

There is quite a lot of preparation and it is certainly keeping me busy tip tapping the keyboard.

 I'm hoping you will forgive me if I skip a blog post now and again.

But please continue to stop by and check each day (don't abandon me!)
I will post as much as I can - there will be some special posts coming up including photos of the launch 'do'
and I've discovered some new giveaways.

As always...please feel free to email with any comments, questions - I will always reply.

Finally...oh such a long blog post!
Wishing you a wonderful Easter - do whatever makes you happy and if that means
crafting and eating chocolate you certainly have my approval!
Take care friends.

Hat Box

Hello friends

Such wonderful comments yesterday - thank you so much for your support.

Today's project is a little hat box card.  I made this some time ago and now I 

cannot recall whether I have shared it with you (old age memory...!)

For the card base, hat brim and flower I used Lacey Circles,

Foliage for the leaves and a hand cut banner for the stamped sentiment.  

A side view.  

The little stand is made of brass and I sell these in the shop.

So, any warmer where you are??
Here it is bitterly cold again - I'm sure we have slipped into the frozen world of Narnia,
I keep expecting the White Witch to appear!
Take care friends - I will be back tomorrow.

You Are Invited....

Hello friends

Today an invitation....

I'm finally having a studio/shop launch 'do' this Saturday.

Yes, the invitation is sitting on my garden bench in the melting snow!

 So if anyone is out and about in Gravesend on Saturday please come along,

I will have a glass of something bubbly waiting!

For those who live far away I promise to post lots of photos and I will raise a glass to you all.

Also thrilled that Cardmaking and Papercraft Magazine have done a little feature about
the studio/shop too - it can seen here.

Following yesterday's post there has been overwhelming request for me to feature the
Artisan X-plorer™ Machine in more detail.

I will most definitely do this very soon, a full step by step from removing it from the box
to seeing it in action.
Right now I'm already excited that it reminds me of a lovely looking handbag!

With crafty love dear friends.

Fancy a cuppa??

Hello friends

Today is another bonus paper card from this month's edition of Cardmaking and Papercraft Magazine.

These papers are particularly busy so it helped placing a panel of white cardstock 

as a base for the Tea Service die cuts.

Layering Classic Petal Edgeabilities® provides interest at the base of the card and

Framed Tags One is used for the stamped sentiment.

So look what the postman brought yesterday....

goodies for the studio/shop and there is more on the way!

The Artisan X-plorer™ Machine, bezels, dies, inspiration books and metals.

I will keep you posted of all new items.

The snow has gone but the weather is bitterly cold here and no sunshine.

I went shopping for Easter eggs yesterday and somehow a few extra Cadbury Buttons 

eggs fell into my basket..never quite sure how that happens! 

Take care friends.

Matting Basics Today....

 Hello friends

Prompted by a very good question from Sandra at the weekend, today's post is about Matting Basics.

Matting Basics dies are from the Spellbinders™ Nestabilities® Card Creator range.

They are currently available in A2 and 5" x 7 sizes, rectangles and curved rectangles.

They are designed to be used alone or to coordinate with the more fancy designs in each size range.

So...how useful are they? 

In my opinion...very!   You can layer cardstock, patterned paper, images, photos 

each time ensuring you have the perfect proportions with embossed edging.  

Here I've used A-2 Matting Basics A to cut/emboss red striped paper and matted onto 

A2 Fancy Postage Stamp.  

Because I know they are sets from the Card Creator range I am guaranteed the proportions are perfect.

Spellbinders have come up with a useful way to remember too.....

C - Create, A - Assemble, R - Refine, D- Done!

 

Also how about combining Matting Basics dies to create an aperture as featured on this card?

A useful option.

I hope that explains the wonders of Matting Basics.

Have a lovely week - is Easter really just around the corner...!

Take care friends.

Simple on a Sunday!

Hello friends

If you subscribe to Cardmaking and Papercraft Magazine you will have seen the free papers this month.

Also remember you can download the papers so you can print them off onto your 

own paper/card.  This is one of the papers featuring coffee, tea and cake.

Because it was a busy paper I kept the card very simple using Asian Accents to create

a lace border at the bottom and a single strip of white card with a row of gems.

The sentiment is stamped onto Framed Tags One and larger gemstones added.

A sprinkling of punched butterflies to finish.

Reminds me of sunny days and picnics...we can wish!

Wishing you all a lovely Sunday - keep warm and safe everyone.

Brhhh it's Spring!

Hello friends

Okay who is playing with the weather dial!?  

I cannot believe snow right before Easter. 

In my own effort to bring some Spring feeling I'm featuring my final

Home card created for this month's Cardmaking and Papercraft magazine.

Classic Scallop Edgeabilities over a strip of lace.  A strip of ribbon and then Grommet Tag

stamped with the 'Home' sentiment.

Oh...yes the little flowers from Homespun too.

Yesterday Janice asked about demos with flowers dies, including 

Carnation Creations.

I featured these on a Friday Die Day here - there's also a You Tube video.

So easy to do that even the cat joins in....!

Have a lovely weekend dear friends and if we 

all wish hard enough perhaps Spring will arrive!

Friday Die Day

Hello friends

This Friday Die Day is Radiant Rectangles.  I received a request to feature these 

so I made a note of it (and I remembered to read it too!) 

Always feel free to email your requests for FDD.

You receive 7 die templates with this set and what a wonderful, intricate, beautiful set it is.

These are Majestic Element dies and you have so many options - use the border/label

dies alone or place the very pretty inset into the middle and more.

This how they look cut/embossed.

So what do we have here??  It's not a tag!

It is a little memo peg wallet.  I've used the largest die cut, scored to make the wallet.

And this is something different - I've used washi tape to cover some mini pegs.

Pretty flowery washi tape...I am stocking this in the shop.

Cutting and folding a further die cut to house the pegs.

Here is the inside of the wallet, I chose to place the darker pink die cut inside just for decoration

and stick down the peg holder.

A side view so you can see how the pegs are placed inside.

And the decorated front using the final die cuts and some ribbon.

The pegs inside can be used for keeping together notes, receipts, bills (yuk!) - a different gift idea.

Yesterday's card featured a stamp 'Home is the Heart of Life'
I think it comes from Creative Expressions but I will check once I'm back in the studio.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend, take care friends.