Die Organisation & Craft Room Progress

I'm so chuffed with my latest crafting endeavour that I can hardly contain myself, I guess that I really do need to get out more 😂😂😂 For such a long time I've suffered from the misplaced die problem, you know the one, the I need "THAT" exact nesting die that just happens to be missing from the set in the box (and which box did I put it in anyway?) and no matter how hard you look, your favourite sentiment die or shape has disappeared? So, so many times this has happened to me, but not any longer, this week I finally got organised and its made a huge difference to my crafting endeavours already.

I have a system in my room, well its a work in progress but as each stage of organisation occurs, crafting in my small space gets easier. My stamp and die combos are stored in plastic storage boxes which are labelled with the names if the companies in the box, and until now storage of my nesting dies was a little pot luck and I found that most used dies often went missing as they got covered over with other stuff. Or they would wind up sandwiched between cardstock and packages in a box that they aren't supposed to be in. Hunting for the die I need turned in to an epic adventure and often I'd give up and put the project to one side, or end up using another die that wasn't the right shape/size.

My brainwave isn't original, I've seen lots of similar ideas on Pinterest, but for once I did more than just think an idea would be useful and actually but it in to effect, because it would be practical, but also because it made me think of an additional use for the new Sizzix Tim Holtz Impresslits dies 😉 So I ordered a roll of 3M Self Adhesive Flexible Magnetic Sheet for just over £11. The sheet I got has a pulling force of 40g/cm2 is 300mm wide and 1 metre in length and is 0.85mm thick.

I cut the sheet in half to make 2 x 50cm pieces, and cleaned the door with some cleaning alcohol before adhering the sheet pieces to the door. It went on really easily, if you don't press too hard initially you can quickly peel the sheet off again to reposition it if it all goes wring, once you're happy with the position use a cloth (I used an old tshirt) and smooth it down pressing hard to help adhere the sheet to the wood of the door.

As I said above, it occured to me that the new 3D Impresslits I got recently would make a nice frame for the die holder, it looked a little raw prior to this and I wanted it to look a little more decorative. I cut enough strips of gold metallic card to make enough pieces to go around the whole of the magnetic sheet area and cut 4 of the smaller dies from the 3D Impresslit 'Burst' dies following Tim's instructions (mist with water and pass through the machine 3 times) and the pack instruction sandwich guide for my Big Shot.

Once I had all my pieces ready I then added a gave them a little distress treatment to tone down the colour a little, it was too shiny gold before. I added a small amount of 'Patina' Alcohol Ink and pounced on some 'Gunmetal' Mixative Alcohol Ink to all of the pieces.

When the ink was dried I added a little Cosmic Shimmer 'Chocolate Bronze' Gilding Polish and buffed it off the strips and the bursts and left them to dry. The final step was to squeeze some 'Ruby Slippers' Nuvo Glitter Drops to the centre of the bursts and allow it to dry and set throughly. The magnetic sheet takes a good quality glue really well, I used some Cosmic Shimmer Acrylic Glue to fix the distressed strips in place along the edge of the mat, starting centre bottom and working my way around, once all the strips were in place, I adhered the bursts to the four corners.

When it was all finished and I'd waited for the glue to dry I began adding my nesting dies to the newly created storage area, whilst I was doing that and rummaging in boxes I found a pack of Xcut A5 Adhesive Backed Magnetic Shims that I'd bought from The Range a couple of years ago. The original plan was to use them in some folders for die storage, but the logistics of how many I'd need etc put me off. When the A5 shims surfaced initially I was going to attach them to the door, but I realised that when I want to add more layers of the 3M stuff in the future, the the smaller shims would be in the way.


I couldn't decided where to put them initially, but then I got a secondary brainwave! At the side of the door I have a bookshelf that I keep a lot of my crafting stuff on, its almost 8 inches wide and the A5 sheets would be perfect, its a dead space as the door opens on to it, but its perfect for storing dies. I have some space to add a few more shims in the future and I have some free space on the large sheet for adding more dies. The pull for the shims isn't as strong as the 3M sheet, but its sufficient to hold the dies you can see in the photo.

Prior to adding the sheet to the door I had a couple of hooks on the door that I hung an assortment of clutter and an apron from, the clutter forced the door to not open properly and it would often swing back trapping my arm, since moving the clutter that doesn't happen and that means no more doors closing on me and bruising my arm 😁

The additional bonus which hadn't occured to me prior to doing this but has turned out to be so useful is the fact that I can take the stamp I want to cut or mat and see what size and shape it would look good on, before I even stamp the image. The whole project was rather quick to put together, the longest part was the die cutting and distressing the pieces to make the frame. Having the right size die to hand is briliant and as soon as I've finished using a die, I put it back on the sheet so its there ready to use again, which means no more lost dies 🙌

There's been some more changes to my craft space and its tidier with more room to craft, before now my alcohol markers, Zig pens and an assortment of other items were in front of my Distress ink/oxide racks making getting the lower colours of Distress ink out a royal pain.

It was cluttered and cramped, so this week I set too re-organising things, I packed away some books I don't access very much and changed where I stored some items and generally made things easier to access. There's still some work to do, but already its less cluttered and everything is so much easier to use. If I want to colour with my markers they can be brought down on to the desk to be used and put back when finished.

I sorted through all the boxes of card stock and papers I'd printed off to make cards (I had 6 scattered around the room!!!) I try to save every scrap, so when I cut something out I stick the left over card stock/paper on a pile, piles build and end up in a box, they were all higgledy piggledy so they needed sorting. The irony is I save the offcuts but I don't use them because I can't remember which box the relevant bits are in!!! Now I have a coloured cardstock box, a printed papers box and I've put all the white card (watercolour, Neenah etc) in a poly bag, same for all the mirror card and black cardstock and put the bags in a magazine rack!

I still need to add colour swatch labels to my Oxide inks and I have some none nesting dies that need to go into the folders I got a while ago so I can find them when needed, but already my room is so much tidier and a more efficient space to craft, most of what I need is around me to easily access, and if I thin out some of the stuff I'm not using then there will be even more space.

This week I've also been stocking up on Distress Re-Inkers Black Soot in regular distress and oxide for making galaxy backgrounds. I've picked up some more alcohol inks, blending solution and acrylic paint for splattering on galaxy backgrounds and I'm gearing up for making Halloween and Christmas cards and gifts as well. This afternoon I've been playing with little monsters and action wobblers, just some card blanks to make and I can layer it all up. I have to admit though that I am now looking for more ways to add impresslits to the room decor, yes I'm still patting myself on the back lol!

Aerial Fairy Bookmark

Hello to you out there in blog land, its been a couple of weeks since my last blog post, I've had my 14 year old niece Zoe staying with me for a week and I introduced her to the art of card making and Distress Inks, she took to them really well and went away armed with some distress inks, a heat gun, embossing powders and ink and lots more besides and I look forward to seeing what she creates in the future.

The week went by so quickly and I didn't get to show her everything I wanted to, there were trips to some National trust places, Sherwood Forest and we went to see Mamma Mia 2, which we all really enjoyed, it was all I could do to stop myself from singing out loud everytime the cast did the musical bits lol! Now Zoe has gone back home it seems so much quieter here, not that she was noisy, but having an extra person in the house changes the dynamic and when they aren't there you notice it.

One thing that was odd was the inability to be able to wander into my craft room late at night when I couldn't sleep and play with ink and paper, now that I have my craft space back I've started creating again. Yesterday we went to a local craft centre and I picked up a lovely stamp from Lavinia Stamps called Aerial. It occured to me that despite having about 20 Lavinia Stamps stamps I very rarely, if ever use them. More of the Tim Holtz fear I think, I see people create stunning projects and feel I can't do the stamps justice, so I put the stamps in a box and look at them every once in a while. It's actually been over 2 years now since I did anything with the stamps and because of how pretty the stamps are its a crying shame.

Not using the stamps seems a stupid when I think about it, given how much the stamps cost me initially, the fact that if it goes wrong the bin will accomodate the mishaps and whilst I'm playing I'm learning in the process. So last night I decided to have a play with the new Aerial stamp and my trusty distress inks and make myself a bookmark. 😁

I cut a strip of watercolour card and shaped the top with one of the dies from the Sizzix Tim Holtz Baroque set, then I began to layer the Distress Inks. I used one of my favourite colour combos, Wilted Violet and Picked Raspberry with bits of Milled Lavender, Victorian Velvet and some Black Soot to edge and ground the image.

Before I used the Black Soot I spritzed some water on the cardstock and blotted it after a minute to lift the ink. Pleased with the result I wanted to add a Moon to the image, I do have a couple of Moon stamps, one from Altenew and the other from Just Rite but the first was too big and the second too small. I sat thinking and my eyes hit upon the solution.

On top of my Distress Ink storage units sit a variety of items from Gamsol, glue, erasers and embossing powders. It occured to me that the small sized jars of WOW embossing powder were the right size for the moon I wanted to create. So I spritzed the lid with water, placed the bookmark on top and pressed down firmly making sure the cardstock didn't move around. After a minute I carefully lifted the bookmark off the lid and used a paper towel to blotch away the ink leaving a light moon shaped patch.

I think really I should have left it as is, but I attempted to edge the moon with a gel pen and I didn't get a perfect circle as my hand wasn't steady enough. Something else I need to work on, I decided to add some Pumice Stone Distress marker to the moon and again spritzed with water and lifted off and then gave the moon a lick of Spectrum Noir Clear Sparkle Pen. It helped disguise the messed up bit a little but its still not perfect, but does it have to be, its only for keeping my place in a book, and I've used chocolate wrappers, bits of ribbon, and torn pieces of paper before now lol!

I stamped Aerial, the leaf branches and mushrooms with Onyx Black Versafine Ink and added some Wilted Violet and Black Soot Distress Inks to the bottom to 'ground' the fairy. I added some specks of Stickles to Aerial's hair (Black Diamond) and dots to make stars (Crystal) and highlight the end of her wand. The final step was to use a hole punch at the top centre and thread some purple organza ribbon through.

I'm really happy with the way this turned out, imperfections aside, when I started the project, I was going to make a Winter themed card in blue and lilac icy shades with snowflakes/drops in the background, but somehow as I worked it turned in to this. I'm now wondering about making some bookmarks to give as gifts to friends. I actually started making some homemade xmas gifts this week. I made some Peppermint Foot Fizzes, just need to make some little boxes to put them in. I'm going to make some bath bombs as well and some notelet cards, this year I want almost all of what I give to friends and family to be homemade, I may even have a go at soap making, I've been wanting to try for a long time.

Creative Stamping Autumn Treasures

If you're a regular reader of my blog, you'll know that I'm a sucker for autumn and its colours and for Halloween, so when a magazine offered a free stamp set called Autumn Treasures you can understand why I got a little excited at the potential.

The magazine in question is Creative Stamping, the issue is 60 and the stamps are just fabulous to have a closer look click on the image below, like all stamps sets that come with Creative Stamping they are superb quality and stamp really well, I've had stamp sets from some magazines that just didn't stamp well at all, I never have that problem with stamps from Creative Stamping, it helps having a Stamping Platform 

The magazine in question is Creative Stamping, the issue is 60 and the stamps are just fabulous to have a closer look click on the image below, like all stamps sets that come with Creative Stamping they are superb quality and stamp really well, I've had stamp sets from some magazines that just didn't stamp well at all, I never have that problem with stamps from Creative Stamping, it helps having a Stamping Platform 

I've so far only used around half of the set and my head is full of ideas for using those stamps again, and for using the rest of the stamps in the set. To give you an idea of size of the stamps the 3 leaf and quote card is 8" x 8" and the other 3 cards are all 6" x 6" cards. For the 6" cards, I used a 5" and 6" Wreath Template to build up the designs.

As soon as I saw the set the idea to create this card popped in to my head, the leave stamps are perfect for using my Hero Arts Ombre 'Autumn' ink pad, lovely rich autumn colours that lend themselves so well to stamping leaves and items for autumn.

This card was so simple I die cut the 4 panels and used my Stamping platform to line everything up. The backing paper was a free download, but I can't recall from where. A couple of mats and layers and a bit of rich chocolate brown organza ribbon finished this card off nicely. I've used some different ombre pads to create some different cards for different seasons.

My next card used a selection of Memento Dewdrop Ink Pads: - Elderberry, Rhubarb Stalk, Potters Clay, Cantaloupe, Morroco and Expresso Truffle and I added some touches of Distress Marker to the blackberries, leaves and acorns. I used the 6" Wreath Template to create this autumn inspired goodness.

The sentiment also from the Autumn Treasures set I stamped on to white card and then used a Sizzix Bigz die called 'Millinery Leaves' by Brenda Walton and used some Memento Potters Clay ink to add some colour to the leaf. I stamped the sentiment in Vintage Sepia Versafine ink.

This card again was really simple to put together, again I used the 6" Wreath template and the stamps in the set designed by Hot Off The Press to make a quick almost 1 layer card. This time I stamped the design direct to the card base in Versafine ink.

I die cut 2 different sized circles and stamped the black cat from the set and the sentiment with Onyx Black Versafine ink. I used a Fluorescent Green Zig Real Colour Brush Pen to fill in the sentiment and the same pen for the eyes with a dab of Nuvo drops to finish off the cats eyes.
Some 3D foam pads and the cards was complete.

My final card from tonight's play was actually the first one I made, in hindsight I used the wrong shade for the acorns, next time I'll use a lighter ink, I was actually going to discard it but decided in the end to use it. This one was stamped with the 5" template and I used Elderberry, Rhubarb Stalk, Expresso Truffle, Cottage Ivy and Pear Tart to form the wreath.

I love this sentiment quote by Emily Bronte from the set, and I again stamped in Onyx Black Versafine. I kept this one simple again, matting the trimmed panel on to some purple foiled card, then a piece of elderberry card and finally adhered it all to a lilac Dovecraft 6 x 6" card blank.

I had so much fun creating these cards tonight even though the temperatures in my little craft room topped 29.5C again, phew! This hot weather plays havoc with some mediums, they dry out before you have time to use them, but stamping with inks is something you can do because ink drying quickly is a bonus, unless you're going to try heat embossing on it. Just another couple of days of the heat and then temperatures are set to cool down again and I'll be happier, when I get too hot I get cranky, which is no fun for my poor hubby. I hope you are all coping with the heat and managing to keep your cool, time now to attempt some sleep I think, the temperature seems to be dropping whooo hooo!

The Crazy Cat Lady Makes A Purrmaid

I finally finished this card last night and I'm really pleased with the way it turned out. I created the topper back in January and its been sitting in my 'Maybe Someday' box ever since because I couldn't decide what to do with it. Yesterday inspiration hit me and I decided to turn it in to a circular easel card.

I got the 'Purrmaid' die, at least that's what I call it, off Ebay, I've done lots of searches and cannot find it as a branded die, I have seen graphics of a similar style but never any dies. The crazy cat lady in me fell in love with it when she saw it and couldn't resist. The die itself is rather large at 12.5cm wide by 10cm high so it makes for a rather substantial piece for a card. The die removes all the pieces in the tail scales and fins, so I cut it twice and inlaid pieces of Tonic Craft Perfect 'Midnight Topaz' Glitter Card in the spaces.

I cut the whole piece from a piece of black card stock and then used a set of Arteza Metallic Markers to colour the greenery, tail and details on the cats face. I mounted the inlaid and coloured image on to a circle of water colour card, which I'd first inked with Mermaid Lagoon and Salty Ocean Distress Oxide Inks and spritzed with water to give the tiny bubbles effect.

Originally as you can see on the photo of the topper itself, I mounted that panel on a frame of gold metallic card but when I came to put the card together last night I decided the card worked better without the gold, so I removed the piece from the back.

I cut the base for the card from a sheet of 'Pacific' A4 Centura Pearl card and used another sheet to cut a circle the same size as the base to add the topper to and a smaller circle for the stopper. After cutting all the pieces I embossed them with an A4 Sizzix embossing folder by Debi Potter called "Happy Texture", it looked a little like the greenery on the card so I thought it would be a nice finish.

The sentiment is from a Tonic die and stamp set called "Cat's Whiskers", I used Tonic Clear Embossing Ink and Cosmic Shimmer Glitter Embossing Powder in "Brilliant Sparkle Blue Zircon" to echo the glitter on the purrmaid tail for the sentiment. I love the way this card turned out in the end, and its reasons like this that I have my Maybe Someday box, I can play when I don't have time to do much else and save it for another time and if I need a bit of inspiration for finishing a project, I have a look in the box and 90% of the time come away with just the right thing to finish the project.

It's been a crazy couple of weeks here, the hot weather made it difficult to do very much in the craft room, so I've been getting lots done since it cooled off a couple of days ago, but apparently the temperatures are going to climb again very soon. Tomorrow we're off to collect our new car tomorrow, the bathroom is almost finished, just the carpet and the finishing touches to do now and we're getting ready for my 14 year old niece to come and stay for a week very soon. I'm looking forward to her visit very much, she's asked me to show her how to use Distress Inks and we're going to be making a Tim Holtz Village Mansion together and we have lots of places to visit  with her ear marked.