Cutting felt video

Here is my little YouTube quickie showing the felt cutting.  Not much more than you would have seen in the post, but it’s a holiday and I am feeling a bit lazy.

Still playing around with things, I cut some QuicKutz letters using the same method.  I only have quite tiny letters and mostly they worked pretty well.  Had I any of the bigger letter dies I think they would have been even better.  Funny, more than once I thought I would sell off those old QKs as I almost never use them but in the last few months I have found I DID use then for a couple of things and they were perfect in those cases.  A reminder that I shouldn’t be too quick to get rid of something I think I may not use!  Nothing worse than doing that then finding you want to … reacquire the same item again!

I could get used to this sort of week – a 4 day holiday, followed by two work days, then another 4 day holiday!  Of course it isn’t much of a holiday for us, both working for ourselves and not a company that pays us for holidays off true and proper, but still it does mean a slightly slower pace. Always a bonus.  Shame it got colder again, and windy, but it’ll be way too hot to suit me way to soon.

Die cut felt

If you saw my post yesterday you will have seen that I’ve been experimenting with die cutting felt, and my problems (solved now!) with cutting fabric and felt using thin dies and the Grand Calibur.  I have been playing and playing and am really happy with some of the things I’ve cut.

But going back to an old post, when I was struggling with organizing my patterned paper and cardstock in any meaningful way (plain cardstock so not a problem!) an I settled on making up “kits of stuff in my stash that I thought went together. I dragged out the first one today and made a layout (yippee!)

I am also forcing myself to go back to old photos and get them scrapped, as the kids are annoyingly camera shy lately. So this is DD quite a few years back. Here is the finished layout:

Not sure I am 100% happy with the journaling block, may still change it, but the die cut felt looks fab:

That is from a Cat’s Pajamas CutUps die – I was easily able to extend the cutting to get a longer strip.

and a few little bits of the faux Baker’s twine – honestly I am STUNNED by the response to this, both on YouTube and here.  Literally, I wanted some twine, I saw the ball of crochet cotton still out from the last dollmaking session, and the idea for how to make it sprang fully formed into my head.  Under 2 mins for the video and then it was out there.  And people liked it.  I am amazed.

Speaking of dollmaking, the journaling on this is a bit of a joke.  DD has a current obsession with anime, as you may recall – mostly Studio Ghibli but I found one called The Girl Who Leapt Through Time that we both really enjoyed (and looking forward to the release next week of the live-action version, praying for her sake it’s dubbed, as she struggles to keep up with the subtitles) so she has been branching out.  She selected on called 5 Centimeters Per Second and it mentioned on the box something about the title being drawn from cherry blossoms falling to earth at 5 cm per second so I adapted that (which she loved!)

I’ll have a little video for the felt cutting, but you won’t need it if you look back – I explain it well enough in the post, but I’ll embed the video once it’s done and uploaded – and as sure as eggs is eggs You Tube will select the worst possible frame for the thumbnail so I’ll havce to wait till my edit takes effect before I make it public!

WOYWW 99

Wow – WOYWW is nearly 100 weeks old.  Amazing. This Wednesday, what is on my workdesk is something I did yesterday, that needs to be taken from a technique/solution to a problem on to an actual project.  That may not happen today, but you never know.

I had a hankering to cut some felt and some fabric.  I only have a Grand Calibur, which I like fine for cutting the Grand Nestabilities, but it’s frankly useless for any sort of thick die.  In retrospect I probably should have stuck with the Cricut/ Craft Robo and gotten something like a Big Shot, then I would have had the best of both worlds as I could cut the Nestie shapes, or near enough, in any size up to A3 with the Robo Pro and up to US letter with the Cricut, then had something that would cut felt, fabric, chipboard, fun foam, etc.   I was seduced by the Grand Nesties and anything that takes me away from the computer for a while.  Hunkering down on the floor to manually crank a die thru the GC had the novelty factor for a bit, but I am realizing the limitations. The helpful user on UKS did suggest that felt and fabric would cut in the GC if you add a sheet of typing paper.  No idea why this makes a difference but it does – just a thin sheet somehow makes the die cut cleanly thru both the felt and the paper.

Anyway, I did manage to cut felt with a Marianne Creatables die (the one I love) but the end result was so fragile it tore easily and often came out rather misshapen.

While contemplating the “science” of why the paper would encourage the cutting edge to cut the felt better I had a brainstorm – I ran the felt thru my Xyron, brayered it on well, peeled off the film but the backing paper was still in place.  That acted like the sheet of typing paper and gave me great clean cuts, even on quite intricate shapes! AND the shapes were already sticky on the back. Woo Hoo!

Sorry, what a crap photo.

I think this would be lovely on a card front!

There are a few bits in the photo that aren’t popped out, but they do just pop out with no effort.

So that is what I will be working on today – trying to come up with some way to use the test pieces.

Have a great WOYWW, all.  I’ll be around to see you …but it may not be today!

No crafting yesterday!

We were busy with a house full of people, all here for a big BBQ and air rifle shooting competition.  And DD is still off school (inset day) so not sure if I will get to it today either.  Plus there is still a bit of clean up needed from the  festivities <sigh>

The BBQs are all in a row – the new design of our favourite big Friar Tuck BBQ, awaiting christening, our old workhorse, that has seen 100s of meals prepared over the last couple of years, the old and the new Mini-Q (perfect for taking to Womad and Cropredy) and the Weber we brought over with us, specifically for beer-butt chicken as it’s the only one with a lid. The vegetarian mini-grill is on the ground – this was perfect so we could use the same grill for meat and non-meat cooking, with no cross contamination (one vegetarian in a sea of meat eaters is always a challenge!)  Genius.

Somehow I suspect that altering the BBQs with rubber stamps is NOT something DH will approve.  So a quick tidy today (I’ve let my room get into a bit of a state again, dragging out things for a variety of projects, none actually started yet, just piled up ready to work on) and some quality time with DD as she is back to school tomorrow and Thursday, then off again Friday and Monday, Which makes for a totally fragmented week for me. Combined with some very dodgy internet over the last few days, it’s been an …interesting few days!

Not being able to creatively play makes me a bit tetchy, and I need to sort out projects for Julia’s crop on Saturday, not to mention something for the pot luck!

Sunday-someplace-else (two-tone bow/knot)

Been a while since I’ve been organized enough to do a SSE but I saw this in my subscriptions on YouTube and had a forehead-slap moment. It looks so cute, is so simple, and very flat – also economical.  And even someone as rubbish at tying a nice bow as I am can manage it.  Have a look!

Have fun – and Happy Easter!

Kennedy Book PDF

Sorry this has taken me ages to sort out.  I had it almost ready, wasn’t happy with a couple of the photos for the spine, then I got ill and spent most of last week in bed, sleeping, to recover.  FINALLY, I’ve added the PDF for you.  You will see it in the sidebar right —>

or click here.

This WordPress theme seems to handle attachments in an odd way, different to the old theme.  When you click on the link a new page opens.  If you click on the title of the PDF it will then download.  I can’t seem to find a way to add it so clicking the link automatically downloads the PDF, but it is there and you can get it.

I’ll refresh your memory as to what I am talking about:

I should point out that the PDF deals with the basic construction and not this specific version!

Have fun and LMK if you make one.

SDC 28 – old book pages

Yesterday I spent with DD seeing a movie, going out to lunch, and just spending some girlie time together.  I will spend today catching up on WOYWW.  But last week I made a card for the SDC challenge, to use old book pages.  I made another one yesterday before the movie, using the same idea.  Not sure which one I like best, but I think I will go with the first.

I used an old French/English dictionary for the paper, weaving it to create the background.  Somewhere I have an old stamp that is basically a piece of raw rubber.  The idea is you stamp the image onto the bare rubber then use THAT to stamp the image, now reversed, on whatever.  It works best with ink that stays wet for a bit – Staz-on would, I suspect, dry too  quickly.  So, a dilemma.  something you want to colour needs an ink that dries and dries well,  with no reaction to Copics, for example.  While I am guessing it would be fine for something you emboss, for something you don’t I’m not sure how well it would work!  Experimentation is needed. {edited to add: so you wonder why I am blathering on about the reverse stamp LOL!  I had thought I would prefer the moon to be LOOKING at Moon Girl but the stamp isn’t that way oriented, hence the thought to reverse it!}

The second card is the same woven background, same dictionary pages, but using the blank pages from the back of the book and stamping over the weaving.  I like it, but not sure I like it as much.  The head was coloured with Distress ink and a paintbrush.  Not sure I like THAT as much as the Copics either.  But I’ll share it anyway …

Off to WOYWW now….

WOYWW 98

Success!  What is on my workdesk for WOYWW is what is on my desktop – computer desktop, that is.  As I mentioned yesterday, I am working on something for DH (well, only FOR HIM in the sense that he needs me to do it, not like it’s a gift) and it requires some honing of my digital skills.  People who know me know that I like computers, am fairly comfortable with them, and can usually figure out how to do what I want with the tools that I have, even if that way is not the best way.

So, I had a play with creating a digital kit.  I’m fairly happy with it, although it is an amateur effort, I’m sure, next to the amazing work I see by the real pros.  I have 3 pieces of plain cardstock, all with a watercolour paper sort of texture, 2 patterned papers, 3 border strips with text, and an alphabet. Phew.  I used a few other bits (some digital stitching lines, a little ribbon bow, and a journaling spot) from my digital stash and a brush as a stamp.  OK, so it won’t set the world on fire, but it’s fine for the purpose.

Looking at it, esp. in the smaller size and lesser quality, I think in my messing about I got a bit heavy handed with the drop shadows.  In reality, things that are stitched down wouldn’t really have much of a shadow, they would be quite flat on the page.  The photo shadow and the stripe-y paper are annoying me in particular. Fortunately I saved both a flattened image and one that had all the layers (about 30) so I am hoping I can have a further play today and adjust it so I am happier.  So here is where I am starting, and that is what is on my desktop today.

Just to add – I had a look back at my big version and noticed that the drop shadow is FINE on that – its only the smaller one tha is so OTT.  Need to figure that out for sure!

So I tried saving it again and this time the shadows are more as they are in the original  – I didn’t “flatten” the image this time so maybe that is the trick.

Infuriating!

Not entirely sure why (maybe it is too old and run down, a bit like me?) but my Photoshop keeps crashing.  Somehow, I’m sure this is my fault – running old Photoshop on old Mac OS, clinging to Apple Works like a former beauty Queen clinging to the illusion she’s still “got it” LOL!

I saw this, in a newsletter from Curbly and I just fell in love with the colours. 

I really wanted something stripe-y to go along with it so I had a bash at making a bit of digital paper.

It looks pretty good, although I’m not 100% sure on the colour distribution and line spacing.  I had a whole sheet of nice circles to print and cut to go along with it, and some nice strips with quotes on them and of course, I hadn’t saved it between steps so I shouldn’t be at all surprised that it crashed when I did try.  I thought I might share it, but just a piece of paper seems a bit pointless.  So I’ll have another bash in a bit and see what happens.

I am honing my digital skills for something specific, but in no way ready to give up my paper and glue!

altered iPad 2 cover

Since DH is an app developer there really was never any questions that he would get an iPad 2 when it came out.  He managed, somehow, to order two covers.  Being the lovely and supportive DH that he is, he gave one to me to customize for him – he likes the case with stand I made for the original iPad, and I recently made him a case for his new Mac-Air, since the one he had been using was too big, so this completes his set.

It was never in question how I was going to do it – it had to be stamps and Staz-on.  I played around with a few designs yesterday before my girl-flu kicked in and wanted to post this while I still had a bit of coffee in my system.  I’ll be crashing soon, I think.

Just a few warnings:  First, the Staz-on is really sticky when the ink hits the cover.  The grip between the ink-covered stamp and the material of the case was strong enough for the stamp to come off the mount and stick, requiring it to be peeled up.  The clear stamp stamped beautifully, very crisp, but the red-rubber lifted then fell back a bit, smudging.  I used permanent ink remover to wipe it away, with limited success, then a stamp positioner to re-stamp exactly over the image again.  There is a slight hazing of the ink on that panel, but it isn’t hugely noticable.  I masked off each of the raised panels so the ink didn’t touch the grooves as I knew it would never stamp in the depression clearly.

So, DH still has a nice cover, unique to him, and I got to have a play.  Win-Win.