a thought...

Sitting at my craft table, 

colouring a pretty flower--slowly, calmly;

Listening as the rain falls outside my window

My precious, loved ones sleeping nearby.

Debussy plays quietly as I work 

What a lovely moment--I'm so grateful for it--

And for all of you :)

Goodnight xx

Sarah Martina is having a Garage Sale!!

...but seriously, please don't go over there, coz I wanna buy all her stuff :) lol!!

Check her GOOOORGEOUS blog out HERE

As I'm sure you all remember, the card I had tweeted about by Hero Arts, was inspired by Sarah!  You can see that post HERE

Feel free to pop on over to her blog tomorrow for some amazing goodies!!

Linda xx

Lawnscaping Challenge Card #2

Hey y'all!! (I've always wanted to say that lol!)

**this is my 2nd post today, scroll down to see the first!**

Ok so this REALLY has to be quick! *yawn* :)

Here is my little card #2 for the Lawnscaping Challenge to use POLKA DOTS!!...I'm kind of in love :)

Originally I was going to do a standard card, but then once I'd stamped all the polka dots all over the yellow cardstock, I was just about to score it when I thought, "hey, this would look really cute as a postcard, with all the polka dots on one side of the image..." so that's what I did!

Here it is:

if I may say so myself, SQUEE!!

Look at this handsome fella!! Isn't he adorable?! He's just as cute blank and in the packaging as he is coloured in!

I decided to add a little bling to the flowers, his collar and cute nose. Various bling that I've had forever in my stash (sorry to be so vague! But mostly Kaisercraft.)

who's a good boy?!

So VERY easy to do. Stamped all the images onto Copic-friendly paper, using Memento Tuxedo Black ink. Coloured in with Copics. Masked the dog, tree and tyre image off and then using Tumbled Glass Distress ink, I did the sky, then a little Peeled Paint and Pine Needles Distress Ink for the Grass.

I used Jenny Bowlin Lemon Drops ink (my new FAVOURITE!!! Can't wait to get more colours!) to do the polka dots onto Papertrey Ink Yellow cardstock. I love the tone on tone effect.

The "to" and "From" are both stamped using Lawn Fawn Harold's ABC's stamps with Memento Coffee Bean Ink.

I'll do my letter on the back :)

Anyhoo, I'm SO excited this worked and that the image is cute  not distressed and quiet and muted. YIPPEE!!! (maybe that's the sentiment I should add to the card?!)

Ok, so I'm dragging my tired self off to bed now. I really hope you liked this one! I did :)

Talk to you soon my loves--feel free to leave me some Comment lovin' heehee

Linda xx

Lawnscaping Challenge Card #1

Hi everyone!

This will just be a quick post tonight, because it's VERY late and I"m exhausted! The girls are both sick, so have been awake numerous times in the night--leaving mummy very bleary eyed.

Onto the craftiness!

I'm a HUGE fan of Lawn Fawn stamps (as I'm sure many of you are) so I thought I'd try out for one of their challenges. The current LawnScaping (such a cute name!) challenge, over on their gorgeous blog, is to use Polka Dots...now, polka dots I can do! I'm love polka dots.

I always have trouble making my Lawn Fawn based cards look cute, they tend to look more distressed and muted than I mean for them to, and this first card is exactly what I'm talking about!

 

I used Papertrey Ink Polka Dot Basics stamp Set (one of my first sets from PTI!), Stamped in Hawaiian Shores Ink. (also from PTI)

Obviously the fox is from the gorgeous Lawn Fawn Critters in the Forest Set. Coloured in with Prismacolor Pencils and cut out with a Nestabilities circle die (which was also then embossed to give it the border). Keeping the die on, I then inked over the whole white area around Mr Fox in Tumbled Glass Distress Ink.

I used my NEstabilities Lacey Circles Die for the dark green cardstock (from PTI) and then I just mounted them all together! The banner and alphabet are both Lawn Fawn too :)

OK, so that's it for me--I'll have another card up here for you in just a minute! (I'm supposed to keep my two entries separate from what I can tell!)

Hope you liked my little entry :)

take care!

Linda xx

A to Z of me

Hi again!

My good friend Elizabeth from Visions of Paper did a cute little 'getting to know you' questionnaire on her blog, so I thought I'd do one quickly now, while I wait for Miss 3-year-old to eat her lunch.

A. Age: 31

B. Bed size: Queen--soon to be King I hope.

C. Chore you dislike: Dusting--I HATE dusting..


D. Dogs: 2 Toby and Molly.

E. Essential start to your day: Wish it were later or that I'd slept better :) then a cup of tea.

F. Favorite color(s): Pink or pale yellow.

G. Gold or silver: depends on what it's on. Gold rings etc but I think silver is still pretty.

H. Height: tall

I. Instruments you play(ed): Guitar, Flute, Piano, Piccolo (lessons for those) but I CAN play a Saxophone, Clarinet a little.

J. Job title: Mumma. Before that I got my Teaching degree, before that, I worked in Marketing. My degree is in Japanese studies and Marketing.

K. Kids: Isabella, 3 1/2 and Charlotte 1 1/2
.
L. Live: Perth, Western Australia

M. Mom’s name: Karen

N. Nicknames: Fishcake or Fred from mum and dad; Cutiepie from Matt.

O. Overnight hospital stays: for me: 2nights (tonsils when I was 3) and 1 night when I had my Wisdom Teeth removed; After having my kids: 3 nights and 2 nights both times. For Charlotte's surgeries, 6 nights in total

P. Pet peeves: Fools. (People who just don't THINK) & Thoughtlessness.

Q. Quote from a movie: recently Isabella has watched a LOT of Megamind, so she's been saying "You're Fun" (that's catching on lol) or "BOOM!" from that too. lol

R. Righty or lefty: Right Handed but I eat backwards (left-handed).

S. Siblings: 1 sister.

T. Time you wake up: Varies dependent on when Charlotte wakes up, usually around 6am.

U. Underwear: If at all possible! Lol

V. Vegetables you don’t like: Cauliflower and Cabbage (BLECH)

W. What makes you run late: Lately, a child-related issue (Where is my other shoe mummy?!) or if I'm going out with Matt too. I'm better if I only have to worry about myself and the girls. I forget what I have to do if he's home too lol

X. X-rays you’ve had: My teeth and my back/hips (chiropractor)

Y. Yummy food you make: most of what I make is yummy :) Omelette, Quiche, Cakes, pasta...

Z. Zoo animal favorites: Polar Bears and Penquins--these were Elizabeth's faves too. HATE the bird section (not that I hate birds).


Feel free to do this yourself! Post it on your blog and leave a comment below with a link!

Take care and I look forward to getting to know you all more!


Lxx

hey there

Hi again!

Ugh! No matter what I ATTEMPT to do on this blog, I never quite get there *sigh* oh well, it's all in the intentions huh?!

I thought I'd share a couple of layouts I've made recently and I'll do my best to follow up wtih some crafty updates in the next few days. I've been making a lot, just no time to share them with you!

So this is a layout I did with one of my favourite-of-all-time photos of Charlotte:

 Sorry about the mess you can see around this one, I  couldn't find anywhere else clean enough on my desk to take the shot! I'll try to re-shoot this layout.

I've long been a fan of Moon Ko, who makes beautiful UBER-clean layouts. Really not my style (in the i-can-do meaning), but so so lovely. And I'm so glad I tried to use her as inspiration.

This was also using a Studio Calico sketch from weeks back. I'm really happy with it.

Here's a close-up of the journalling:



I kinda love that little hand-made tag :) All papers were Studio Calico.

Now, this card was (and is) intended for my lovely friend Linda, who was ill a few weeks back. I made the card the minute I found out she was having health troubles, but it got buried under a pile of mess, good intentions and meaning-to's; SO, in order to actually force me to get my act together and SEND IT, I'm posting it here :)

 

The bunny image is from Tiffany Doodles   it's a digital shop. I've never really been "ínto" the digital style of things, but I LOVE Tiffany's work. it's really beautiful. And the best part? It ranges from sweet and life-life (like this Shy Bunny image) to cutesy and whimsical--perfect! (not to mention that the prices are AMAZING!). Please go check her shop out.

For the bunny, I printed the image onto Watercolour paper (just ran it through my normal printer) and then used Distress Inks to paint the bunny's fur. Here's a closeup:

The thing I loved with this in the end, is that you can barely see the black lines of the original image (which are already whispy and faint), so it looks like I literally painted Mr Bunny here ).

I used Antique Linen, Walnut Stain and that's about it!! (SUPER easy :))

If you have any questions/would like me to (attempt!) do a video to show you, I'd be happy to!

Here's the inside of the card. I used a Hero Arts stamp (NO idea of the name :)) sorry lol.

Ok!! SO I have kids who are causing daddy far too  much trouble to be dealt with alone right now, so I have to run!

Leave me some comment love :)

talk to you soon sweets!

it's been a while...

Hi there ho there...

So it's been a while, I know. I've been a very bad blogger lately. I've been going through a bit of a creative rut, so I spent some time away from my craft desk lately. Plus it's hard to blog some days, it feels like I'm talking to noone. But that's ok, I read a few blogs that I never comment on too---actually, I comment in my mind, but forget to actually type something lol!

Anyhow, I'm in the middle of making a quilt for Isabella--which is going REALLY well...I'll let you know as soon as it's finished, but in the meantime,

take care and thanks SO much for stopping by :) it means a lot to me.

Linda xx

Anzac Day

Today is ANZAC day here in Australia. A quiet, solemn day meant to remember those who have fallen whilst protecting this amazing country of ours.


If you'd like to read more information, please look HERE. There is some excellent information.

ANZAC stands for the Australian and New Zealand Armed Corps. At 11am, we have a minutes silence to remember soldiers from the World Wars, the soldiers who lost everything when they fought to keep Australia safe and free. We remember soldiers who have fought for us since then too and honour those who are still protecting us.

May you all have a quiet and peaceful Easter and ANZAC day, with your loved ones close.

Lest we forget.

Date Night Layout

Hi there!

Here is a layout I did, very much inspired by Nichol Magouirk (shock horror!) I'm really happy with it.

I used almost completely my latest Studio Calico Kit, which arrived much to my surprise a few days ago (Remember I'd said I was cancelling my subscription?! Well I did, but my email never arrived!! Lost in cyberspace somewhere..maybe cyberspace is telling me to keep the subscription! lol) Other than the SC kit, I used my new Lawn Fawn Say Cheese Stamp set (OH MY GOODNESS I'M SO EXCITED TO FINALLY HAVE THIS POLAROID STAMP!!!)

sorry for the horrible photo! I had to take this photo in a hurry while Charlotte grabbed at me to pick her up! lol

 I used Vellum in front of the floral paper, so it muted the colours a bit (it was VERY bright). I printed my journalling onto it too.

 The journalling reads: 

Matt and I used to have date night every Tuesday; we drank wine, watched movies, had long talks, held hands and fell asleep late into the night.

Now we drink juice from plastic cups, watch kids tv, talk about toys and favourite Play School presenters and Toy Story. We hold half eaten bananas, nappy bags and forgotten crackers.  We fall asleep at 9:30...and we wouldn't change a thing.

A few extra close ups so you can see the dimension and texture. I love dimension on my pages...I can feel another layout coming soon!

Talk to you soon--hope you enjoyed!

Linda xx

card and a layout!

Hi there! Yes shocking I know, an update! lol

So anyway, I'll cut right to the chase. I saw Sarah Martina's blog where she mentioned making a card for the Totally Hues Challenge...so I made one quick smart...and just as I was about to add my link a few minutes ago, I realised the due date had passed *sigh*. Oh well. Here it is :)

 

I used a Papertrey Ink diecut for the dressform, the pink lace is from a dollar shop, purple sheer ribbon is from my subscription to The Really Reasonable Ribbon Shop. The little flower (purple) is one I made using clay and a mould bought on etsy (from a shop who's name I can't remember!) and the stamp is an old Hero Arts one :)

Next is a card I made using Lawn Fawn stamps, for my big sister who is pregnant (YAY!).

I copic coloured the oven and bun, the background is all stamped with Chalk Ink from a Colorbox Queue.

Super SImple!

Next time I'll share the layout I made using my latest Studio Calico kit (which, as it turns out, I didn't cancel my subscription to! lol email got lost in cyberspace.)

OK! Talk to you all soon :)

Linda xx

Divas by design Design Team Call

Hello!!

There is a new CUTE-AS-PIE blog on the block people!!! It's Divas by Design,  and they're looking for DT members, so I thought I might as well throw my hat in the ring! (or my craft knife?! Paper cutter?! What's an appropriate crafty euphamism?! lol)

anyhow, I have to choose three of my favourite 'works' and show them here, so here they are...all 5 of them lol:

one of my first cards, still my absolute favourite.

An early attempt at Copic Colouring-I was so excited with how her hair turned out (and the clouds *squee!*)

Nichol Magouirk inspired...lots and lots and lots of masking (and colouring), but such a lovely finished product.

My first set of notecards/letterset. I was really excited to send these to my gorgeous mum-in-law

This is a VERY different card for me, but I loved the effect. It's very much inspired by Joy Taylor-who is amazing-in reality, the colours on this card are just gorgeous together.

So there you have it!
Sorry there are 5 instead of 3...I just couldn't choose between them. I wanted to show the different styles I do too. I also (as you will know if you're a frequent visitor to my little piece of bloggy paradise), love to do layouts and 'off the page' projects too. Anything crafty, and I'll give it a go!

Anyhoo, talk to you soon lovelies!!

Linda x

just a quick hello and thanks :)

Hey!

Sorry it's been so long, it has been cuh-raazy busy lately and I've been spending a LOT of time away from my computer, so blogging has been impossible.

This is just a quick note (no crafty goodness I'm sorry!) to say a huge thank you to Elizabeth from Visions of Paper blog who awarded me The Versatile Blogger Award (which is so sweet of her but I feel terrible I've been an awful blogger lately!)

Apparently there are rules that go along with this award, which are:

1. Thank the person who sent it to you!

2. Tell us 7 things about yourself

3. Reward this to 15 bloggers

OK, so while I'm usually pretty much a rule follower, in this case, I'm going to skip number 3, because I've stopped following a LOT of blogs lately. There is just so much amazing work out there (being done by amazing people) but it's taking me away from my family, and that's not a good thing (no matter how dreamy their crafty work is!), SO, all the people I follow now, Elizabeth has already given the award to (lol)

BUT, here is number 1

Thank you!!!!! You know you mean the world to me, even though it's been FOREVER since we've spoken! You're always in my heart and in my thoughts :)

Here is number 2.

7 things about myself:

1. I have a freckle on my little toe--as a child, I thought I was the only one in the entire world with this...it made me feel special lol
2. My first pets were 2 goldfish who I named Astro and Uraine after the Astro Boy characters (whom I was obsessed with as a child!). Uraine had a funny fin (the dorsal one?? the one on her back), it had been bitten off/torn in a fight with another fish. I loved her terribly. I was SO SO devastated when she died. Apparently SO MANY of my (subsequent) fish died (and I was always distraught) that my dad took to coming home from work in the middle of the day, randomly, to check on them.  If he found one dead, he'd replace it before I got home. that's love huh!!
3. I have never felt more alive, more at home, more comfortable and more myself than I did (and do) in Japan. I miss it so much it hurts.
4. I easily make friends wherever I go, but my friends never seem to stick around. And I never know why. (do I stink?! lol)
5. I wanted to sing and dance on stage (as in, musical productions) and was completely broken hearted when I didn't get into the Academy. I was good (if I may say so myself!) but too young.
6. I was the 3rd youngest person in my year (grade) at school all the way through, but usually one of the tallest.
7. My first crush was Jonathan Wright. He was English, (had the accent and everything lol), he was my best friend for years and we sang a song about Witches from Scooby-doo in front of my entire year 5 class. *dies of embarassment*
7.2. I saw Jonathan's mum at the shops recently and she remembered me...I'm too chicken to go see what he looks like now lol (why kill the dream memory?! haha!)

so there you go!! insight into the weird and wacky world of me!

I hope to be back on here REALLY soon. I've missed it! But if I'm not, please stick around. I will definitely be back and I'd hate to lose you:)

lots of love and thanks again to Elizabeth.

L xx

update with MANY photos :)

oooooooooook seriously, where did the last few weeks go?! every time I trun around another 10 days has passed!!!

Here's the Project Life version of what I did (Photos and a blurb-length bit of writing for those of you who don't get the reference):


I discovered that Charlotte loves pasta as much as I do (and Isabella does)--here's proof:

 I cut at least 3 inches off my hair (yes, myself);

 Please feel free to NOT notice the marks on the mirror in our bathroom--apparently when spitting toothpaste out/rinsing whilst brushing her teeth and actually making it land IN the sink (or basin if you use "USA-speak" lol), is-it would seem--too hard for Izzie.

Here's the resulting hair

I got a Mars Bar bouquet from Matt for our 5th wedding anniversary (lol)

I waited alone for Charlotte to come out of her final surgery (it's HARD to wait by your self.) Matt had to work this time, so he was stressed to the max whilst having to deal with customers.

I wrote a short fanfic story. If you don't like Twilight (which I do, but I realise many of you might not), you won't like fanfic and if you don't know what fanfic is, then you're missing out--unless you're one of the one's who doesn't like Twilight lol), but I'm very proud of it and I've gotten some lovely reviews. I'll have to write another soon.  If anyone would like to read it it's HERE...but it's not for children to read (adult content).
I'd like to preface by saying this: If you don't like Twilight/adult fiction please don't read this and then come back to me with negative comments!!!  It's not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but again, you're welcome to write it, but please please please don't go crazy at me if you don't like it...honestly, I don't want to hear it lol


I made a few things here and there:

A friend needed a bay shower card so I made these two. Not sure if I've shared this first little guy with you.
Embossed vellum with swiss dots folder, elephant stamp by Whiff of Joy, Copics for colouring, a circle die and some Antique Linen Distress Ink around the edges of Mr Elephant :)

 here's the inside (super simple--just some embossing)

 Here was the alternate:
Again, Whiff of Joy stamp (*sigh*, so pretty isn't it?!) copics for colouring, distress inks for the edge, I canNOT remember the name of the floral paper in the background...it's a Kaisercraft one I think...I got it ages ago at a craft fair.
May I just say, I'm VERY happy with the mama's hair. It looks really pretty in real life.

I loved Shari Carroll's canvas she showed HERE, so I made my own version:

I embossed the "sentiment" with red embossing powder, the stamp is Ali Edwards' for Technique Tuesday. love. 

 

 

Button heart, directly inspired by Miss Shari :)

I really like the dimension the vellum gives. They're punched using a Martha Stewart punch, stamped on with white chalk ink, then sewn on.

The spraying was made with Mr Huey's sprays and a couple of Glimmer Mists.

 

And of course, Japan... What can I say about the disaster in Japan that hasn't been said? My heart literally aches every time I see the news (which I never watch but I can't stop checking now since this happened). I've cried and cried to see those people left with nothing--less than nothing in some cases. I've cried to see 4 month old babies pulled from the rubble, I've cried to see people reunited with loved ones. As I'm sure so many of you have too.

The Japanese gave me a home when I was young and hadn't even realised who I really was yet, when I lived there. They taught me so much (not just the language), I made friends that I still miss every day-even those I've lost touch with over the past 10 years. I miss Japan every moment and the fact that this happened to such quiet, stoic, hardworking people is just beyond my ability to comprehend.

If I didn't have children, I can safely say without doubt that I would be there right now doing whatever I could to help, but I do have little ones, so I can't go. But my heart is with them all. With those who were affected personally by the Tsunami and Jisshin (earthquake) and those who live far away and have to go to work as if nothing has happened. 

I wish we could all do more to help.

Ok, well that's it from me, I'm off to live some more of my life!! (i.e. pay bills, play with my kids, have a heart-attack at the electricity bill etc etc lol)

talk to you soon lovelies!!

Linda xx

--->>insert witty title here<<--

what. the . heck?! WHERE did the last few weeks go?!!??!

So here is what's been happening for me :)

• Charlotte had her final procedure (With any luck) which is wonderful, but she has bad reactions to the antibiotics they put her on afterwards *sigh* poor little love
• I got smashed on the head with a wooden toy which hurt like HIZZELLLL and bled...now I have an egg on my forehead and a scab. nice
• We've found a house and had our offer on it accepted YIPPEE!!! Now to hope all the bank deets and timing and jobs etc etc fall into place :)
• Autumn is finally here and the weather has been MUCH more liveable and easy to deal with.
• I decided to cancel my Studio Calico subscription. I love love love  their kits, but I'm sick of all the kits being sold out so quickly. As a member, you get to buyt the kits 12 hours before the 'public reveal', but for the past 3 months (since I became a member), they've been sold out of all the kits barring maybe 1 other within--wait for it--THIRTY MINUTES of the presale opening. I literally woke up at 2am to try to get online quickly enought to buy a couple of the kits and they were all gone. not. good. enough.  So, despite loving the papers, stamps and kits, I'm going to wait to become a member again until they have their acts in gear. Sorry if you're a fan but I just don't think it's good enough to not have enough kits to at least supply your members (let alone any people who aren't members but want to buy them.
• I'm still going along with my One Little Word, but not finding ANYWHERE near the time I'd like to focus on the actual album etc but I'm focussing on my word of peace.  It's helping me to stay calm in stressful or frustrating times, I just take a deep breathe and think to myself "Find your peace" and it really does make a difference. If you don't know anything about OLW but would like to , check out Ali Edward's blog. she's amazing.
• I'm also doing the Project Life...I'm not going to say anything more than amazing and so so easy . 

Here's a cute pic of a little someone I love dearly, helping me with the shopping list:

I've made a few bits and pieces lately so I'll share those next time :)

Talk to you soon lovelies!!

L xx

Valentine's cards (part II)

Hi there!!

Here is a follow up couple of cards I made for Valentine's day MONTHS ago but we've been having computer issues and I haven't been able to see my photos properly (like when you open up your 'photos' file and you normally get the little icon/thumbnail size picture? Yeah, we haven't had that for weeks so I've been going through DOZENS AND DOZENS of photos...I only just found these, I hadn't filed them properly yet!

Anyhoo, here are my two little love cards

 Super Duper Simple--I was channelling Joy Taylor lol! ALL Hero Arts. Soft Shadow Inks, Ribbon, Blush notecard & pearls, stamp too :)  To create the 'line' border, I just used my scoring board and did lines the entire length and width of the card, half an inch in from the edge, then another 1/8 of an inch in from that.

I love the effect.

This was just a bit of playing around for me, a few different sets, a few different styles. I really just wanted a chance to play with my new Chalks`.

I really like the hearts and the sky that the chalks created.  The little hearts were done by stamping the hearts with embossing ink and then rubbing the chalks over the top--immediate resist!

The bird is coloured with copics and distress stickles, I wanted him to be super sparkly and special lol (and a little bit silly :))

Anyhoo, neither card is particularly "my style" but they are all I managed to get done in time! 

Talk to you soon sweeties!!

Linda

Valentine's cards..(i know I'm late)

Wow, where did the last week go?!

I know I'm several weeks late, but with Charlotte's surgery etc  I never got around to showing you these gorgeous cards by Ayana! I'm sure you're all well aware of Ayana and her gorgeous creations, I've long been a fan of her work.  These cards were made for the store blog, but of course, now that that's not running, I thought I'd show them here! They're too beautiful to lose into the bloggy abyss lol!

Here they are!

 I've had this stamp forEVER and never known what to do with it, this is such a lovely way to utilise it!

So, so, so so pretty. I love the colours, the layers, the damask tone on tone, the scalloped border, the string. EVERYTHING!!

Hope you enjoyed these as much as I did!

A huge thanks to Ayana for making them. Now, make sure you all head over to her blog!!

talk to you soon

Linda xx

I wish Ayana was my valentine lol, I want a card from her!

I-love my I-top

Hello friends!!

Authors note: this blog post was originally for the store blog, so if it seems a bit 'producty', that's why. However, I really do LOVE my i-top and to be honest, it took me a while to figure out how to use it, so I thought I'd give you this 'tutorial' of sorts in case you were interested!

I'm so excited about this tool that I can barely manage an introduction, so I'm going to leap right in--I give you...

I-top Tool

I LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE this thing!!

I'll admit freely, I've gone a little big (ok, a lot) brad-crazy since breaking this bad baby out of it's box.


This is just one of the cards I made with a homemade brad for the embellishment.

Sorry the picture is so dark, I was having some issues with lighting for a while and I've now sent the card of to it's intended recipient, so I can't re-shoot it.

I used a little EK success Cupcake punch that I got a long time back at a craft fair to make the cupcake and stuck it on top of the yellow brad. (I cut the bottom out of vellum paper and then re-cut the top 'icing' portion out of chocolate covered cardstock and covered it with Distress Stickles and added a gem stone for the 'cherry' on top.

OK--on to the making of the brad.

Here's a step by step (warning: lots of photos coming :))

NB: There are 3 sized brads you can make. A 16mm, 23mm and 28mm diameter.  To make the brads, you need to cut out a 'Topper' (the kind of circle shape you see below) of the correct size. You can use either a punch that is available (which I've used below) or you can purchase a template which you lay on top of your paper or fabric, trace and then cut by hand. (both options are in store).

Using the appropriate sized punch, punch out the required paper (you can also use the template to trace and cut with scissors--this is a better option for fabric covered brads).

Next you hold the diecut Topper in front of the pink carriage (the 'suction cap' looking section) on the top of the I-top.

See how the right side of the i-top is 'facing' the camera? You can pull it up a little to swivel it so it faces the pink carriage when it comes time to squeeze the two sections together.

**this allows you to choose which size you're using. The smallest brad size requires you use the smaller 'punch' and 'carriage' sections. If you use the wrong size, it wont work. To change the size you're using, you just pull the top section up (away from the handles) and swivel them in the appropriate direction.

This is what you will get in a packet of "Brad Daddies".  The top two rows are the insert pin of the brad, the bottom two rows are the 'head' of the brad (which will be covered in fabric or paper when you're done)

See? Now they're facing each other. I'm still holding the diecut.  Next you take the brad "head" and sit it with the paper (centred if possible.)

Next, slowly squeeze the handles so that the two sides come together, the smaller metal side should push the paper/fabric topper piece AND the brad head, inside the pink carriage.

In the next photo, I've rotated the right 'pushing' section out of the way so you can see what your paper will look like. The 'flaps' will stick out everywhere and that's fine.

Just fold the flaps in with your finger, making sure they're pushed well into the brad top.

Insert the brad base (the part with the 'pin' or arms that will eventually pierce through your paper and be opened to secure the brad in place)

Turn the handles to face each other. (NB though you can't tell, the brad base is in the left hand side of the handle, the brad top with it's paper covering is in the right pink 'cup'-side of the handle.

Squeeze the handle part together (like you would a crop-a-dile or pair of shears) and the top sections will squeeze together.

This is what you will now have. The brad base will be lodged securely inside the brad top.

Remove the entire brad gently from the pink cup. (You can push the pink cup backwards off the metal top holder, so the brad pops out easier, I find this results in a neater brad)

Here is your completed brad!

 

 All I did after this step is wet my fingers just a little (you could also lightly spritz the paper brad topper with a mini mister, but I just wet my fingers) and then gently go around and push those little ridges (on the edge) inwards, so they didn't stick out so much.

You could easily leave your brad as is at this point, but  I'm sure, as you saw on my card at the top of this post, I added an embellishment. 

I've also made brads out of material, or other papers but topped them with felt embellishments or even mini Prima white roses (which I've coloured with Glimmer Mist) and they look super cute.

I'll show you those soon!!

So get out there and have fun making these gorgeous brads! There are 3 sizes and a LOT more things you can make with an I-top, but so far, I've only tried the brads. I love that I can make a brad to match my card/layout etc perfectly!

Talk to you soon!

Linda xx