Diamond Press tool

I LOVE die cutting. I love the flexibility of creating shapes, words, borders in any paper or card stock to match a project. I love customising my layouts, cards, mini albums & off the page projects. And I love my big shot. BUT I wouldn't take my big shot to a crop or retreat as: a) it's too heavy b) it takes up too much room So after seeing Adele Toomey (aka Inkie Quill) 'Up close & personal' product review video I decided to invest in a Diamond Press machine myself. It's so small & light it will be perfect for die cutting when I'm out & about. Here is what the packaging & machine itself look like:

Now, I can only fit dies smaller than the 2 folder sizes: Small - 1.89" x 3.15" (4.8cm x 8cm) Large - 1.89" x 6.3" (4.8cm x 16cm) But this still gives me a lot of options! I've tried numerous brand dies & they all work. But of course I had to buy some stamps, dies & teeny embossing folders to go with it!

This machine is SO much fun! I highly recommend it as a cheap option for any one starting out, for carmakers or for those who like to make their own embellishments. It's a great option for creating on the go & well worth the investment!

12 hr scrap day

I attended an awesome 12 hr scrap day yesterday, in aid of charity. It was in Newcastle & I thought it was the perfect opportunity to meet another local creative - Inkie Quill aka Adele Toomey. I was also blessed to catch up with so many other local crafty peeps I know & Love. The SFS store was there & we all shopped up a storm. All in the name of charity!

I was loving being with 'my people' & was totally distracted being surrounded by Amy Prior, Adele Toomey & Tracy Henley, watching them create! I only managed ONE layout! I'm happy with it :)

WRMK next level embossing folders

W.O.W I just tried out the new We are Memory Keepers next level embossing folders. I have always had a love of embossing, but these babies really do take it to the next level! The dimension and texture is truly amazing and so different to what we have seen before. Here are a few pieces I have simply water coloured and then run through the big shot using the folders. I think I am in love!

Bird crazy birthday card

Well, it's my lovely Hubby's birthday coming up & I needed to make a card. I also wanted to use some new supplies I got recently being the Tim Holtz Bird Crazy stamps & Zig Clean Colour real brush markers, so it was a match made in heaven to come up with this card for him. I love how the eyes & beak & wings can be cut out separately (using the dies, which Yu can buy separately) with no white outline. How cool is that?! Also, I used the dies that I bought that go with the 'crazy things' stamp set to cut out the balloon, hat & present. Saved me from having to mask out the hat. Gotta be happy with that right? I splatters some rally watered down zig markers for the background, which is on a lawn fawn stitched rectangles die. I stamped the 'happy birthday' Se time to from the 'crazy talk' stamp set. This stamp set is a great one I probably word have purchased even without the bird sets, I love the fun sayings & fonts on it for so many different occasions. I used a little wink of Stella on the hat, balloon and ribbon on the gift. Then for some shine added glossy accents on the ballon. It was all mounted on some lawn fawn patterned paper to frame it up. On the inside I will stamp 'you're how old?' - how funny is that! Hope you like my little card, and most importantly, I hope Hubby does too!

Minc foil storage

Hi there people! I have a problem.. No it's not hoarding! Lol (well, it kinda is.. It we'll get to that!) I recently got a Heidi Swapp Minc machine, which I LOVE! But (this is the hoarding bit) I can't stop buying all the gorgeous foils out there! And I need a better way to store them. I don't want to lose any off cuts, or damage all that gorgeousness! So I will do some thinking & let you know what I come up with.

If you have any ideas, please be sure to let me know. Happy foiling!

Spotlight sale

Spotlight had a 30% off sale recently, so of course I had to see what goodies I 'needed', lol. I got some paper pads I've been wanting, some Heidi Swapp Minc Foil, some enamel dots, stamps, ephemera.. Here it is. Can't wait to get creating!

I've been shopping!

I have wanted some of the gorgeous Altenew stamps, and did a Google search & found www.craftsuppliesaustralia.com.au. I got three stamp sets, and some DCWV 6x6 paper pads I've been wanting for a while, but are hard to find. Check out the yumminess!

Been making cards

Just a quick share of this watercolour background card I made using a gold butterfly die cut I received in a swap. I must say I'm pretty happy with how it turned out!

Lawn Fawn 'Juice box' ink in action

My good friend Renae said she couldn't wait to see what I did with my new 'Juice Box' ink from Lawn Fawn, so I just had to unwrap the little beauty & make something with it. This is using a stamp from Stampin Up! From the 'Seasonally Scattered' stamp set. It's just beautiful and a perfect way to showcase the ink. I used my MISTI tool to stamp the image, as I wanted to put clear embossing powder over the top, so I was able to re-stamp the sentiment in versa mark ink perfectly (LOVE my MISTI!). If you haven't hard of the MISTI you can check it out at www.mysweetpetunia.com but be warned, you will want one! I used the stitched rectangles from lawn fawn to cut around the stamped & heat embossed sentiment. Which I layered on another stitched rectangle die cut. I made a matching layer by simply rubbing the Juice Box ink pad directly onto the card stock around the edges. I used a cuttlebug 'Musical Flourish' embossing folder on the Stampin Up! Whisper white card base for some added interest on this pretty simple card. I then popped up each layer on foam tape & added a few clear sequins to finish off. This card was super quick & fun to make.

Lawn Fawn Haul

Hi everyone! I have a bit of a lawn fawn obsession, and have been buying some more yummy goodies from the most recent release. The lovely Aperial from 'Create by Me Studio' on FB is where I buy all my lawn fawn goodies. Aperial is on a well earned break, so her helper Mel is looking after things. If there is anything you want, Mel is really knowledgeable & helpful and so easy to deal with. Anyhow, I got the 5 new ink colours to complete the set of Lawn Fawn inks I have. The colours fit in really well between the dirty colours of my Distress Inks and the clean bright palette of the Stampin Up! Inks I have.

I also got some super cute mini stamp sets & matching dies. You colour my word, so jelly & treT yourself. Loving these sets!

We LOVE to BBQ, so I count pass up the 'Let's BBQ' stamp set & matching dies. I am thinking this will be good for mini albums, layouts and cards too. I also thought I could do some invites to a BBQ with this set, how fun!

And last, but not least are the word & border dies. I 'died' (pardon the pun! Lol) when I saw the puffy cloud borders and the ocean wave border dies. These will be a staple in creating backgrounds, embossing and scenes. They will layer up really nicely and I can see myself using these a lot. I also grabbed the 'Scripty Congrats' die, love that sentiment. And I couldn't pass up the 'Thinking about you' border. I just love how they stretch across the entire front of a card.

So I hope you enjoyed seeing what I bought, I can't wait to start playing with them! I'll be sure to come back & share some of my creations. Happy scrapping!