I envy prepared people… 2017 and 2018 calendars

{sigh}I am NOT a prepared person – well, maybe when I am cooking but only sometimes.  I like to SAY I’m prepared, to PRETEND I’m prepared, but I so am NOT.

So I was a little surprised at how many people have emailed to commented that they want 2017 and even 2018 (!) calendars.

I did one – it’s the one I got asked for the most.  I have said we are possibly moving.  Buying a house in the UK is very unlike buying a house in the USA.  It feels like it could all go wrong at any second.  But I have to get prepared in case it doesn’t.  I know, in general, readers have gotten used to asking, then getting, and usually pretty quickly – please don’t expect that for a bit.  I’ll do my best, you can always ask, but patience is a virtue, or so they say….

This is the one I call the Pretty Circle CD Calendar.  Those who want to make gifts with more than one year, or update an old gift with a new years worth of circles can do so. To remind you:

Just a slight font variation in the year.

Get the 2017 calendar here

Get the 2018 calendar here

I have only done the Sunday to Saturday versions, as they are the least effort – I may get around to a Monday to Sunday at some point but no time soon. I use Sunday to Saturday so it will always be the one I do first!

Enjoy.

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Another cut&fold with photo

I am continuing to experiment with the cut&fold method and using my lined templates. I am still struggling with the proportions a little.  For example, I designed this one:

but after creating it, the proportion of the fingers isn’t quite right, although the circle did end up as a circle, which is what I was more worried about. I like it, I just wish the pointer fingers were a bit more elongated!

They should be MUCH longer than the thumbs, not just a bit.  Funny, I was afraid they would end up TOO long. I should learn to trust my instincts more LOL!

I am still waiting for a reply from the Bookami people regarding the Mac version but I may have to go ahead and order it anyway.  I am quite interested to see how it works compared to the lined template version.

Oh and just in case the finger length is OK to your eye (maybe you have stubby fingers ….) then you can download the lined template here. I may still go back and stretch that pointer a bit more, and if I do I’ll add that version here.

I think I prefer the books with photos added, like this and the heart and the photo strip one to the ones that just have flowers added.  I have a couple of ideas for finishing off this one, just wonder it is it worth doing….

 

More about the easy kusudama flowers with Nesties

Last week, pre-back injury, I mentioned making the kusudama flowers using a variety of Nestabilities dies for the basic shapes.

A reminder of the method:

And a reminder of the various versions:

There were a couple of little peculiarities with a few of the dies (the scalloped circle and the pinked circle in particular) that are worth noting. It matters WHERE you make the first in-half fold – you must have the little half-scallop or half-triangle  at the fold for the rest of the folding to work easily.

And the side-in folds sort of skip a step, instead matching up the scallops or the points.

Following on from THAT, on these, the joining area is a little less distinct than it is when beginning with a square, for example. And of course I am joining five units rather than only four. I addressed more of the specifics in a PDF I made.  You can download that here.

It shouldn’t be a huge stretch to work out how to make a flower ball from these units, like those made with the traditional kusudama flowers.

Have fun with them!

 

 

Been a while but I am anxious for Spring – printables!

I sort of got out of the habit of making printables.  Maybe partly due to dealing with changes in the new OS, maybe cause I got sort of consumed by book folding and cut&fold, maybe cause our house-hunting got in the way, it’s hard to say. But I did make these simple journaling (or photo-frame) cards and thought I would share them.  I was frustrated because I spent way too long trying to make the Quartz filter PDF reduction work in El Capitan and it won’t.  The original file was over 8 mb.  Huge.  I found an alternative method that took me down to about 3 mb, which is still larger than I would like, but not bad.  Although they appear to have a directions, really, I think you can rotate them to any orientation and they will look fine.

Download the single page here! I think you could easily add an oval cut photo into the space, or cut away the space and stick the photo behind.  Add a few lines and use as a journaling box, or add some bits and bobs to create a pretty cluster.  I might even adapt them to make a calendar, who knows? And with a little thought they might work well for planners, but that may take a bit more thought….

I’ve spent the longest amount of time at my desk today, since my injury, so that bodes well for next week. Fingers crossed…..

Another share of books

Oh dear.  Just after visiting the Make It! show I threw my back out, trying to clamber out of my friend’s low slung car.  It was bad.  The worst episode ever.  I spent the first 3 days basically taking a strong painkiller, sleeping for 4-6 hours, then taking another painkiller, sleeping, repeat.  Bu day 4 I could just about hobble, and today is the first day I have been able to sit at my desk AT ALL.  So if you requested a template and I’ve not gotten back to you, so sorry.  I will work thru any emails I have as soon as I can.

Just a couple of shares:

Bette did this one for her sister, who loved it.  I love it too!

Dee did two, both styles.  First, the folded version:

That swoopy L looks fab! and then a cut&fold version of the paw print:

Perfect for a dog lover.  I think, with a little effort, you could easily pop a small photo of the dog into the larger paw pad area for a super cute gift.

I have to take it a bit easy for a little longer, so bear with me.  But keep sharing your work – I LOVE seeing what people have done.