Tidy dies!

Good Evening friends!
Yes another week gone and also January drawing to a close. The snowdrops are out in the garden (as they should be) but all my little tete a tetes (tiny daffodils) are flowering too! they are a tad early and sadly will be over before I declare Spring has sprung! They do not seem to know what time of year it is!

No card today...been busy, but nothing I can show you yet in the card dept I am afraid.......so..........for those of you that have asked...and those of you that haven't............grab a cuppa glass of wine (drink responsibly though)and look at pics of my recent die tidy marathon. If you are not keen to look at a picture heavy post, then I will hopefully see you next week.

I have lots (yes lots) of dies of varying makes and sizes and thus I have about 4 different ways of storing them. Odd you may say but it works for me.

OK
 I am sure lots of you already have Really Useful Boxes so it will come as no surprise that so have I!!  I have put all my Spellbinder dies in one (almost full) and my Christmas and Sue Wilson dies in another. Here's one of the boxes....

I made dividers from brown recycled ? upcycled (call it what you will) cardboard covered in coloured paper. The dies were stored in their own folders. The early Spellbinder dies came in a folder,I had to cut them down a bit, the later ones and the Sue Wilson ones I had to add cardboard to the back to make them into a folder and the newer ones are in envelopes. I put the dies on magnetic sheets in their folders/packets to keep them safe. Be warned those boxes get very heavy!!

My very big dies are just in an A4 ring binder on magnetic sheets placed in clear A4 pockets.(no picture.....you all know what an A4 binder looks like)

Next up.....the majority of my other dies..............in Papermania cases made for the job. I have recently bought the second one and I am pleased to say that the magnetic sheets that came with it held the dies a lot better than my first one. I don't know if anyone else has experienced this. I think I am going to have to replace the magnetic sheets in some (when funds allow) as it is so annoying when they drop off when you look at them! I also only place the dies on one side of the sheet.

They are a bit of a mix in these...all different makes, hence when I make and blog a card I sometimes cannot remember who's die it is. All my Memory Box are in here but I still have the packets for those....just in case I run out of room ,(hmm that's only if I buy more dies of course) and then I could store them as the Spellbinders (smaller box of course). 

I can hear you all shouting ...I've got that die! I have grouped them into categories (flowers, butterflies etc) but that's just a personal thing...you could I suppose store by brand.

Lastly...........the one I like best .....BUT it takes up the most room!.
This is for my dies and matching stamps. A while ago I bought a box of blank DVD cases (no inserts) and so, where I have matching dies and stamps.the stamps go on the right and the dies on a magnetic sheet on the left in the same box. I have put a piece of copier paper between to protect them from each other.

On the outside .....dear hubby photocopied the carrier sheet and I was able to label the spine and have a picture on the front too! (An A4 sheet of paper cut down and slid into the plastic cover).

I am going to have to re-arrange shelf space to accommodate these but I like having the two together and have added mainly Clearly Besotted in these. Uniko stamps come in cases like this so have added my dies in a similar manner to the existing ones.

So there we are...........are you still with me?...............bet you wished you had never asked now! Those that didn't I am sure bailed on me a long time ago!

One other thing before I head off.............hubby bought me this amazing hot glue pen for Christmas....its cordless, rechargeable, easy to use, and small and neat................thought you might like a peep.... (no I am not on commission from Bosch!)

Thanks for stopping by...and staying if you are still reading this. I hope you are all safe and well in this very unsettled climate of ours. Have a wonderful weekend whatever you do.

Take care

Crafty hugs
Carole xx

Pink, pink and more pink!

I'm here!.....no here... not there...aah good you found me!.......... Hello!!!.........  OK so where did that week go? So much for wanting to slow this year down...guess it will go as fast as the last.......oh but we get an extra day don't we?....leap year! A whole 24 hours extra to fill...I doubt we crafters will find that a problem. Now I propose..............

We are in the pink this week...well card wise anyway. It is a card I made for a blogging buddy across the pond....she knows who she is...she's a sweetheart, and now that I know she has received it I can share with you all...........and the twofer I did at the same time...OH I do hope she doesn't read this and like the twofer better!!

 I think it speaks for itself really. The pink blending and splodging (technical name ) was done with distress (usually me in the craft room) inks and then I stamped the tulips......I think they are Clearly Besotted..........then I added wink of Stella for a bit of sparkle.

And the twofer.........

No splodging on this one, stamped and then painted with distress inks and Crafters Companion  pencils for depth...not thrilled with the colouring...but that was my fault......the pencils do not blend well over distress inks and it was watercolour card too. Live and learn as they say!

Ok go on then,..... tell me what you have been up to this week....I know you can't get a word in edgewise....so it's over to you now! Looking round blog land you have all been very busy and multi creative.......you are a clever bunch of people, I am so lucky to have you stop by me and say 'Hello'

I hope you are all well, and if you are not...please get better soon. Keep warm in this cold and if you have snow...........no slipping and sliding please. We have had fog the past two days...like November again....surely the year hasn't gone THAT fast!!

Right I must away and create..........I am knitting, making specific cards.......you know the ones you can't share for weeks because the event is yet to come....yes I am trying to get ahead............and I don't want my darling DIL to have the baby till all is finished here!!!!!!.............SOOOOOOOOO I'd better crack on as they say and wish you all a good weekend and I will see you next week.

For those if you interested........if you are still with me....the dies are all sorted now (smug grin on face ).........boy oh boy have I some money in dies!!  A good exercise it was...all that sorting............it has reminded me of what I had forgotten about. Is lifting (I know I am not supposed to) a heavy box of dies classed as a workout though? I hope so, its cheaper than the gym.........mmmmm..rethink on that one....maybe not!

Thanks for all your time and the love you leave me...it is always so very much appreciated....it makes my day.
See you later
Hugs
Carole xx

Challenges entered :-

In the Pink #86.....bling it on...........my wink of stella
Fantastic Tuesday 120....Anything goes...twist...make it girly
Uniko #28   Anything goes.........option of love
Addicted to stamps and More 177...........Make your mark

Sentiment or not?

Well another week has whooshed by...........and true to form I feel no further on than last week! Still moving piles of stuff around in the craft room, from the desk to the floor etc and back again! I am overwhelmed with everything that needs a home!..........surprised I'm not on the list!

Today is DIL Birthday and so now I can show you the card I made.......

The embossing folder and die are from Crafters Companion and I rubbed gilding wax over the embossing. I did also spray with iridescent glitter...not that you can tell on he photo.
Left it without a sentiment on the front in the end  (hence the title on this post) ...much deliberation on that one....I didn't want to detract from the embossing and butterfly......so Jury still out on that one and I put all the sentiments inside.

It's been a mixed bag of weather here today...very cold and wet, then sleet, grey and windy, then blue sky for a short spell and a splash of sunshine. I think the snow is on it's way, take care if you already have it! Don't want any slips!

OK friends...time to make tea I guess...groan.......isn't life a mundane roundabout?

Thanks for stopping by....... I love your visits.
Stay warm, well and safe and I'll see you again soon.
Crafty hugs
Carole xx

Challenges entered :-

Tuesday Throwdown 276.............Add dimension.........butterfly!
Time out ........Birthdays

CRAFTERS NEW YEAR RESOLUTION

CRAFTERS NEW YEAR RESOLUTION?

Twas the week after Christmas,

And all through the land

Crafters were gathering

Their craft stash to hand.

They were sorting and storing,

Even throwing  giving away

The excesses of shopping,

And stuff seen it’s day.

No more would they purchase,

They must use what they had,

They would use it, not stroke it...

That favourite pad.

Those snippets of card

Were all gone in the bin.

It seems such a waste,

It seems such a sin!

They’ve sorted, recycled,

Re-given and tossed,

And then in the process

Found things that were lost!

But now they can settle

A smile on their face,

For everything ‘s done

And back in a ‘place’.

But where did they put?

The right piece of card?

Everything’s tidy

It can’t be that hard!

Oh where did they put it?

They knew it would ‘come in’...

Oh no!.. could they possibly

Have put that in the bin?

So that’s why we keep stuff

We might need it we fear,

And to make us feel  better ?

Same sort out ....NEXT YEAR! 

Hello there friends.......is this you? I thought I would write us a little ditty! It no doubt will be me as I can't see the floor in the craft room...BUT I am aiming for little and often in the hope that I might see it all done ....eventually!............ bet I still won't be able to find something afterwards or wish I had kept something though!

Happy New year to those of you that have missed my previous wishes and did we all have a good Christmas then? Glad it's all over? ....or not?

I have to say as I get older I like to get the decorations down but this year they didn't seem to have been up two minutes and now everything looks bare....hubby is back at work...and dare I say I am back to normal......I know that's debatable maybe.....define normal!

OK here is the card I made for hubby's birthday last year!..........only December , but it was overtaken with Christmas cards so here it is.....

I stamped one of Sheena Douglas's scene stamps and coloured with distress inks (for the background). The canal boat is a Brittania die and I paper pieced the curtains at the windows. The frame was created using Sue Wilson Double pierced rectangles.........a birthday gift from my son... and I placed acetate behind the aperture after stamping the trees and grasses on to the acetate (bit tricky) to give the depth. Sentiment dies are Die-sire. The rest is obvious!

OK well the craft room awaits..... some cards to make..........and a few chores to do too so best get to it! I might pop back later and link this card to any challenges I might come across...if I have the time!...There you go, less than a week into the new year and TIME crops up already! I WANT/NEED this year to go slower than the last one not faster.......and more importantly to ENJOY my time! Make sure you enjoy yours too.

The rain has stopped momentarily here in West Yorkshire....so tired of day after day of rain, and dark grey days and oh how I feel for those poor souls that have suffered so badly at the hands of the floods. The roads round here were flooded Christmas weekend, but fortunately not nearly as bad as some other areas. Personally we are at the top of a hill, but the garden is soaked as the ground cannot cope..............nothing compared to some poor souls where there house belongings are ruined and in their front gardens...............there is always someone worse off than yourself!

Thanks for stopping by...let me know if you agree with my poem........I would love to know   :) 

Take care, be safe and keep well...................I know there seems to be a lot of cold viruses doing the rounds here in the UK so if you are under the weather.....I do hope you feel better soon.........wherever you are in the world.

Crafty New Year hugs all round. Carole xx

HAPPY NEW YEAR

To all my friends and followers all over the globe. Thank you for your support in 2015.



See you soon!
xx