Oil Diffusers - Hand Stitched Original Designs

I have been working on these diffusers all week.  These are all hand stitched with my original designs. They measure approximately 3.75" square. The fronts are felt with fabric as the backer.

I came up with this design to provide diffusers in a travel case. These cases are nice because they are transparent. 

The diffuser can rest in the slot and stand in your personal space to provide a relaxing scent based on the essential oil you have chosen.  The oil can be placed any where on the felt but depending on the ingredients of the oil it may discolor so I have provided a drop on the back for that situation.

I have added a loop above the drop with a small hanger so it can be hung in your personal space of horizontal space is at a premium.

They are very cute and appealing.

Die - Decluttering and New Work Station

 All my die cutting stuff has been in storage for a year and half.  I knew that I wanted to get rid of a lot of them so I decided to unpack the 10 boxes and make the hard decisions.

My sister helped me as she was going to chose from what was left and was willing to liquidate the rest.

I brought 4 boxes home out of 10 which was really good.  I had worked out how I was going to set up the station when I got home.  I set up the shelving unit on July 1st. 

We had scoped out some clear containers at Dollarama while I was at her house. Once I looked at what I had brought home and purchased a few more.  These were all original thick dies so they are really heavy for plastic containers.

The containers had feet and the shelving has gaps between the boards so I needed something to on the shelf to allow the containers to slide.  

I dug into my plastic placemat stash which were just the right depth so I needed 2 to make it wide enough for the shelf.  I used clear packing tape to join them and that solved that situation.  The placemats sometimes have textured surfaces so I had to turn them upside down so the smooth side was facing up.

I had to do the same thing for the diecutting shelf where I was putting my Big Kick machine.  I used some wonderful yellow striped ones and again taped them together. The machine has feet which may be a problem with the gaps and I don't what to lose small pieces of paper in the gaps.

There is lots of room on the shelf for my work light, a small garbage can, and a wooden box that holds my spacers and cutting plates.  These need to be close at hand everything I cut something.

I love the yellow stripes on the work surface.

Generally, the thick dies in either original or Bigz size fit in old style CD storage containers.  I had these wooden storage boxes from IKEA and the dies fit in perfectly. Luckily most of them were empty so that was a win.

I have not labeled all the drawers yet but I will. One drawer contains the amount of embossing folders I kept.

The wood boxes are much sturdier than plastic but I still have to be careful  I used to store dies in plastic pop crates which were very sturdy.

The red drawers will hold thin dies which are stored in CD cases.  Those have not been unpacked yet.

The black case was designed for the Sizzix original dies so that is where they are stored.  I have a really hard time using stuff I can't see so I may have to put die cuts on card board and hang them in the space to at least remind me what I have.

The second shelf has the small yellow and green dies and sizzlets, and movers and shaper dies in clear containers.

I am using this translucent corrugated plastic sheet from IKEA on my die cutting work shelf to provide a neutral background for taking photos of my cards for my blog.

The plastic is stored on the top shelf above the red wicker baskets when not in use.

Here you can see my grey IKEA lamp in it's super heavy white base which sits on the left.  The shelf is by a window but there will be times that I need a light to work.

The wood shelf is from IKEA as well is was called STEN when I bought it 20 years ago.  The shelves are 11 inches deep and about 33 inches wide.  With the cross brace on the back it make for a very stable work surface.  Strong enough to hold the weight involved with storing these dies.

Here's my die cutting work station.  There is still some space on the bottom shelf which I am not planning on filling.

It works really well and I am so happy to have it back.  It may have to be dismantled if I move this year but at least is way more manageable.  Now it lives in the craft space which is wonderful.

The dies I did not keep were gone through by my sister, then my niece and the rest will go to my sister who runs a daycare.  There are about 30 dies going to her.

They will have good homes and I have just so much less to manage.  Many dies I had purchased when I was running card  making classes and card club.  Many suited that situation but I no longer need them as I don't do classes anymore.  I am retired.

Simple Sentiments Gift Box - Retro

I made a set of Simple Sentiment cards which feature images from my Retro Calendar.

These designs were created with a filter in photo editing software.

I have a wide selection of images from flowers, plants, tea related images, nature and insects.

Some have no greeting and some have Thanks as the sentiment.


Several designs have duplicates in the set.

Note Card & Encouragement Card Gift Sets

I made a couple of Note Card and Encouragement Card Gift sets today.

I created some new encouragement cards in the portrait orientation with some great art from Pixabay.  The hummingbird and mushroom ones are posted below.

These cards were included in these 2 gift sets along with some made with a landscape image from Maria (see image below) and some I designed a while back.

One of these will be given to a couple who is starting new roles. 

This landscape was created by Maria S.  I used the image in black as well as I converted the image into sepia, artichoke, and navy.

Advent Calendar - Boxed

I've been working on another presentation for my Advent Calendar.  This provides a 6 x 6 inch clear box for it to be stored in every year which will reduce the wear and tear on the pages. A jute cord and pins are used to display all the cards a once. The crystal bead marker allows folks to track the count down to Christmas Day by moving it to the next pin every day.  The list of suggested Advent activities is included.

The left inset shows the calendar with all the parts in the box.

The right inset shows the marker on the pin for a given day

Here's a link to the other one in a frame.  Leave me a comment as to which one - frame or box is more appealing to you.  Looking forward to your feedback. Thanks.

The Advent Calendar Kit - Cards Only is available on my Calendar page.

One Sheet Wonder 2 - 3 Cards

I made these cards following the cutting plan from my One Sheet Wonder 2 Template.
Since the plan makes 3 cards I chose 3 different colors of card stock from the DSP.  With the 2 inches strips cut, I chose an accent color, in this case turquoise.  Note: Your accent for card 1 needs to be designed to show well on the diagonal. I printed my accents on the neutral color card stock with the accent color with the Stampin Up Sweet Summer set.  Each card gets a half inch strip of the accent color.  On card one I cut that in half. On card two and three the DSP can be placed on the left or the right, top or bottom.  The accent is adhered to the card front with 3D foam tape.

The bottom photo is the cards in a clear box for a great look as they are a donation for an auction.