Never forget about the freebies

Hey all,

I think I've got my mojo back now as last night I altered another cute box and this morning I made cards! All because of my new Alex draws I got from my parents yesterday. It was a total surprise as I had decided to buy it for myself for my birthday in July, however they came back from ikea with a huge box for me.

Anyways back to the box! Here is my altered box from last night:

This darling little box didn't take long to make. It was originally a Thorntons box which I obviously ate the chocolates way too quickly! I looked at the box and thought this would be awesome altered. I added paper (from my sort out), Tim Holtz ink, flowers and gems. Mostly this was an idea for me to get used to altering items. I have another tin to alter now! Ideas ideas! 

As my title today says, never forget the freebies! I had got some amazing freebies from Papercraft Inspirations magazine which I had forgotten about and found yesterday. I decided to have a go making the beautiful cards from the magazine and it was just the inspiration I needed. Here they are, I only added flowers and a few chipboard pieces to the kit.

Unfortunately they didn't come with envelopes so I need to make some to go with these. Unless I donate them to someone.

By the way do you like my card backdrop? I think it shows my cards off.

Emma P

Buying a Bigshot- review

Hey all! 

Today was the day, the day I've been waiting for. Today I bought my Sizzix BigShot die cutting machine. I've been waiting to buy this for a while and received the money for Christmas so today we went to hobbycraft! Here is a bigshot machine if you haven't seen one.

I bought the £99.99 one (which is the starter kit), however you can just buy the machine for £74.99. The starter kit includes the dies, machine, plates, an embossing folder and card stock. 

Of corse as you all know me, I got back from my journey and started playing straight away. I tested all my dies first and I have to tell you Sizzix dies are very sharp and cut cleanly. They also produce a very wide range of shapes.

I also bought some dies from other makers which also work very well. I decided to buy more intricate shapes which I discovered in store (via a demonstration) that I would also need a "pokey tool". Now you may think I'm joking, however there is such a tool! It's in the Tattered Lace range for Hobbycraft and literally pokes the die cut piece out of die. 

Now who would like to see my cards? Firstly I'll show you one I have been working on using handmade paper, ink and an embelishment (not via my bigshot).

This card could be used for any occasion for anyone! I love cards which have multiuses! 

Now this is my first card via my bigshot machine! The embossed background has been inked over to make it stand out more and the butterflies have had the wings turned up. I also decided to add heat embossing to this card via the sentiment so technically this card was fully made with Christmas presents! 

I hope you like my mini review! 

Emma P