Bags of ideas

So blogger friends I got it wrong with the dates for the launch of the new corner dies from Crafters Companion (sorry). I have been reliably informed that they are launching today and there is a Die`sire one day special beginning tonight so that could be it (fingers crossed).

 

This is a gift bag I made using the corner dies to decorate the flap and this could also be a way to decorate the flap of an envelope. I really do hope they are today's new one day special because I really want to buy the other versions of these. 

 

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I`m having a quiet week this week without too much design team work planned and I am giving the housework most of my attention. I was woken up this morning by the sound of the rain and then Rosie and Roger decided to jump all over me in bed because they think that if I open the door for them to go outside as opposed to Stuart the weather will be different (if only). It was so mild on Sunday that I actually thought spring was around the corner and I ordered some Raspberry canes, I really cant wait to be able to get out in the garden and start planting things. Its a super blue moon tonight so I hope the clouds disappear long enough for us to get a chance to see it. When we first moved from the city into the country I was amazed by the dark skies and would take a quilt outside with me on a clear night and lay on the bench just looking up at the sky. If we do get to see the super moon tonight I think I will be watching it from inside the house and with the fire on, I`m getting soft.

Peek a boo

Today's card is the easiest of all the corner die samples that I made. I knew that I wanted to make an aperture card but couldn't think of a way to make the aperture using the corner dies, then my lovely mentor Jo at Crafters Companion said just make it a hole. Talk about light bulb moment, I had been really over thinking the thing.

 

Another totally different look and shape using the same dies, I mean they just keep on giving.

The backing paper was printed from MJM Lilies and Light CD (by the way I am now working on her next CD and it is fabulous), words are from Crafters Companion Celebration Words dies and the large flowers and Butterfly are also Crafters Companion.

 

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I`t was such a miserable windy day yesterday that I didn`t really want to go out but as it was my day for volunteering in the cat shop I had to. Now Stuart has an incinerator (you know the type that looks like an old zinc dustbin) and the wind had blown it over, so I picked it up but couldn't find the lid. I got in my car and began to reverse only to run over something, yes it was the incinerator lid. Well now it is squashed and the chimney is pointing off to the side but Stu thinks he can bash it back into shape. A tree had been blown down just outside our village partly blocking the road so I was glad that the cat shop was in the other direction.

Pretty in pink

Well you don't need me to explain that this is another card made using the new corner dies from Crafters Companion (to be launched on Hochanda on 30th January). I have used two different die sets for this card and also incorporated a Leoni stamp and sentiment which came with one of the Crafters Inspiration magazines.

 

Once again I have achieved different sizes and a completely different layout to the two previous cards which shows how adaptive these dies are.

 

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Today I was woken up by the sound of the wind blowing and it has brought some mild temperatures with it. I bought some seeds yesterday on my shopping trip and I can`t wait to sew them. I am going to try and freeze more produce from the garden this year as there is something rewarding about eating home grown fruit and veg. I did try making jam for Stuart last year using the Blackberries from the field behind our house but it got contaminated and grew a thick mould on the top. However when I took one of my neighbours a Christmas card she told me that she makes jams to sell at the local market and then she gave me a jar to take home for Stuart. It was very good Damson jam so I think I will be paying her a visit quite soon to get some more.

Just so versatile

Today I am showing you another card made using the new corner dies from Crafters Companion and as you can see I have used these dies to make a very different kind of frame to the card I showed yesterday. I just love the way these dies are so versatile and in this card they make a perfect frame for a 6" by 6" card which is my favourite format.

 

 

Again I wont go into a product list but the background paper is from the Crafters Companion shabby chic 12" x 12" paper pad and the sentiment is from the Crafters Companion Butterfly lullaby range.

 

 

This is how the die component pieces look, I hope this gives you a better idea of the massive range of ways in which they can be used.

 

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The weather here in Lincolnshire is grey and wet today so I am off on a shopping trip with my lovely sister and we will be having a nice cake and a cuppa while we`re at it. The cold frosty weather was so pretty but I do worry for the little birds in the garden and have been throwing chopped up apples on the lawn to help them find food. I had a mega clean up in my craft room yesterday because I couldn't see the floor under all the die cut bits, I have been doing a lot of die cutting lately.

 

 

What a fabulous idea

Hello blogger friends, today and in fact all this week I am sharing with you cards made with some new dies from Crafters Companion which I think will be on sale at Hochanda on 30th January. The idea is that you get regular corner dies which come with an inner and outer separate cut edge so you can add this or leave it off. Then you also get 3 edge pieces in different sizes and these come with an inner and outer cut edge. So the complete die set is basically a frame that you can break down into component parts and be as creative as you wish with

This card shows some of the individual frame components from one of the sets which I have cut out separately and then stuck onto a card to form a frame. You will see from the other samples I will share with you this week that this is just one of many ways these dies can be used.

I wont go into a product list as I don't know what this die set is called and this card is quite a basic one to make. I will say that as soon as I got the dies unwrapped I lost two of them on the carpet and soon realised that they needed to be kept on a magnetic shim, don't worry as you can see from the picture I did find them again. I don't know if they will come on a magnetic shim when sold but I do recommend you use one for storage.

I love the idea of these dies but I have to say they are fiddly to use and you absolutely need to tape them in place when die cutting. The tape I used was Scotch Magic Tape and I find this is great for die cutting as it peels away easily after being run through the die cutting machine. I used a Gemini die cutting machine for these dies and I`m not sure how they would work with less powerful die cutters but I would recommend that you use a Gemini (big or small) for these dies.

I think there are six sets in total and I was allowed two sets to make samples with but after seeing the samples made by the design team using the other sets I know I will be buying the rest when they are launched.