What’s On Your Workdesk this Wednesday?
A nice tidy desk, between projects.
Ta-da! Or, as I should say, To-Do!!!
Cindy, you will be pleased to hear that on Monday afternoon I finally got down to playing with the ToDo. I got my little notebook out where I have written down various instructions including all the sandwiches for the Cuttlebug, and started some new pages for the ToDo, with sandwiches and pressure settings for the different operations and different materials.
My first effort at letterpress, using a normal die, wasn’t that successful – it didn’t emboss very evenly but left some areas rather indistinct, and other areas almost cut through. Die cutting was OK, and the foiling was a triumph.
I think this is going to be a lot of fun. Also, I haven’t had any experience of combined stamps and dies before, and I loved cutting out these foiled sentiments.
I bought the Spellbinders magnetic tool for lifting hot dies off the plate as I’d seen it in operation on YouTube and thought it was such a clever idea, and easier to handle than the ToDo tool which doesn’t release the die – you are supposed to use the corner of the rubber mat to pull the hot die off the magnetic tool.
With this Spellbinders tool, when you close it, the round magnet fills the hole in the opposite prong of the tweezers. You use this to pick up the hot die, and when it’s over the heat-proof rubber mat, you allow the arms of the tweezers to spring apart, and the die is automatically released as the magnet is pulled away from it. I think this is a very clever design.
I can’t show you the first project I have made with the ToDo just yet.
A cut above
You may remember my mentioning that when I was having my grand clear-out in the studio, I managed to knock my old guillotine off a high shelf onto the floor. The plastic guard, which had already been cracked and mended with duct tape, broke off completely. This guillotine has served me well over many years but was designed as an office tool and not for crafting – it is just callibrated in millimetres. It still works without the whole shield but tends to stick a bit at the end. My hubby says he will use it in the workshop so it hasn’t migrated to the tip just yet!
I have replaced it with the Tim Holtz/Tonic Studios Maxi Guillotine. I did think of buying the small one but thought in the long run a cutter that would deal with 12 x 12 papers was more practical. It is quite narrow, and fine for most general use, but if you do want to cut larger pieces, you just attach the extension arm which is stored underneath the cutter. It’s lighter weight than my old one and takes up less space too.
The only thing it lacks is a mark for cutting A4 paper in half to A5, but I can easily add this with a Sharpie pen. I will still need to do this for office purposes.
Making a splash
Last week I had a bit more fun with some little backgrounds, using some of my scrap offcuts from when I was cutting the card bases. These are done with Distress Stains. I have a whole set of the old-style ones with the dauber on top – I wish I’d known they were going to discontinue these and bring in the spray stains, which I really would have preferred. I can prise off the dauber top and draw up some of the liquid in a syringe and put it temporarily in a mini-mister, which is what I did here, with a combination of Old Paper, Weathered Wood and Pumice Stone. I love this colour combo – something I saw on YouTube the other day.
One thing I do like about the dauber tops is that you can strike them down sharply on your piece and you get these gorgeous explosive spatters!
Kitties
It’s nearly all Ruby this week, but here’s Lily, being a trolley dolly one night, crashed out in the heat after a hard day playing in the garden.
Ruby on the cat tree. She really enjoys it and often rushes up and down it, causing it to rock about, and I am sure that one day she’ll have the whole thing over! Lily never uses it, apart from one of the scratching posts at the bottom.
Here she is again, just having woken up. It was a tremendously hot day one day last week, and of all places to go to sleep, she chose the enclosed fur-fabric lined little house on the cat tree. It must have been tremendously hot in there!
She now alternates this with her other recent favourite sleeping place – my neck pillow which I keep on the back of the settee.
Phoebe’s family
We recently heard from a lady we got Phoebe from, with news of her kitties. Back in 2003 after Beatrice’s sister Bella got killed on the road outside our house, we got Chloe and Phoebe from this lady. I remember it was summer time and we went to see the kittens playing so sweetly in their garden. We couldn’t take our pair straight away because we were about to go to Romania for a couple of weeks. They were ten weeks old when we got back and we were able to collect them then. A few years later, Chloe was also killed outside our house (you wouldn’t think a little country lane could be such a death-trap) and we were left with Beatrice and Phoebe, the surviving sisters of two pairs of kitties about two years apart in age.
The family kept the remaining kitten, Phoebe’s brother Monty.
I was so thrilled when she sent me some photos and news about these kitties. Their mother, India, is still living, aged 19, and so is Monty at 18, with a wonky leg! They are both doing well but under the care of the vet for various ailments suffered by geriatric kitties. Monty and Phoebe always looked very alike.
Our summer garden
Our patio, and the smaller one outside the kitchen, are a blaze of colour at the moment, with the summer flowers. Isn’t that a glorious pink lily? – and the brightest red gladiolus! The purple flower in the middle is what my hubby calls “the firework flower”! It looks a bit beaten down in the photo because of the recent rain.
Health update
I am continuing to do well after my breast cancer surgery. Two weeks on, a large bruise has made an appearance which I am keeping an eye on – it’s not painful, and doesn’t seem to be swollen, but if it doesn’t go away in the next few days I’ll phone the Breast Unit in case it’s a haematoma which needs dealing with. However, most of these do tend to right themselves on their own in time.
Last Thursday I had my follow-up/results appointment with the surgeon by phone. The good news is that they found no cancer in the single lymph node he removed from under my arm, or in the tissue surrounding the lump. This means that no further surgery is necessary. However, he was not able to confirm that I would definitely not require chemo; this would be down to the oncologist to discuss with me. I have an appointment to see him on 11th August.
There are full details on my Breast Cancer Diary, but I’ll just say here that I had a copy of the referral letter from my surgeon to the oncologist, and with some online research I was able to decode his medical jargon. So far, without the result of a further test tbeing conducted on my samples to give additional determination of risk of recurrence, the prognosis looks very good. I am hoping very much that the final test will confirm this and that he will not recommend chemo. Ultimately the choice is mine, of course; they can only recommend, and having as much information as possible at my fingertips, the choice I make will be an informed one.
Wow. It’s like we are crafting sisters! I have been well and truly fed up with my small cutter and have been looking at the TH large one to replace it. Sounds like you recommend it so that may tip the scales. Also, I need better tweezers. I like the reverse loaded ones that stay closed till you squeeze to open them but this design looks interestin, at least. I dumped all my old distress stains down the drain as they had degraded into odd colours and smelled a bit funny. Your experiments look fab, ‘tho, so I almost regret doing it. Only now does it occur to me I could have re-filled the bottles with something else and kept the sponge dauber aspect of them. Oh well. Good news on your medical report and may it continue to be so. Knowing you, you will surely be almost as well informed as the Drs you speak to LOL! Keep them on their toes….
Happy cooler days Desk Hopping!
Mary Anne (1)
Hi Mary Anne, still unable to comment on your blog so I hope you’ll come back and see this. Like you, I’m not into cutesy at all, but quirky is OK! I agree with you about our similar preferences re tools! I’ve been thinking of getting one of those reverse tweezers myself – sounds like a really good idea. The new TH guillotine is a dream, definitely recommended. I’m glad I didn’t go for the small one. My Distress Stains seem to have retained their colour, as far as I can determine (haven’t used a lot of them for a while) and I think I can live with transferring small amounts to a mini-mister when required. The spatter technique makes them worth keeping in their original dauber packaging, I think. You can also smear quite a good amount onto your craft mat and apply with a brush, too.
Thank you for your visit. I always like to find out everything I can about what’s going on with my medical conditions/treatments etc. I think a lot of the time, doctors are far too willing just to dole out the drugs and they don’t always give enough information about things to help you make a really informed choice. In the past, I’ve printed out medical papers I’ve found online for them to read, in case they haven’t come across the information – they are all so busy that they don’t always have the time to keep up with the latest research. I think it is very important to be fully engaged with your treatment choices – it’s very empowering and positive. At this point, I’ve more or less decided now that whatever they say, I won’t be going down the chemo route. Not again! From the info already gleaned, my prognosis looks pretty good without. Anyway, we shall see.
Happy WOYWW,
Shoshi #12
LOL! Yeah on the medical stuff – I swear in some ways I know more abut my odd-ball condition than the drs. seem to. I’ve passed on citations form medical journals to my consultant and he always reads them. Hang in there! And yes, the reverse tweezers are a great tool, not expensive and well worth looking at!
So glad that you continue to heal well and the news from the surgeon is so positive. Will have slightly bated breath about the chemo! Meanwhile, you are having fun with the foiling, great results indeed, isn’t it amazing what can be ‘reduced’ to a craft/domestic procedure that years ago could only be done big presses.
Praying Shoshi, just wanted to check in on you ahd few others not time to blog, have demands on my time each week I hope I’ll get back to it, soon, God willing. Pray for you each night along with other WOYWWers miss you all, will pray much re right choice and chemo. That’s actually one of reasons I’ve less time for blogging am praying more. So much needing prayer.
Lord bless in all things. ???
Shaz.x
Psalm 145:18-20
The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.
He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.
The Lord preserveth all them that love him:..
Firstly, great news about the cancer op and results, good, get the meeting on the 11th over and and with and then move on – I’m really pleased for you! Hooray for getting to grips with the Toodoo-ing, great results and that new tool you bought is perfect for the job. Wilson once sent me some artery forceps (from her days as a nurse) and they are awesome for all sorts of jobs, lol!
Love the blue/black splashes too, they make great backgrounds.
Hugs LLJ 5 xx
SO glad that you have had good news following the surgery Shoshi – praying that chemo won’t be needed. Love the kitty pictures this week. Our beloved cat Mizzy only made it to 16, so 18 and 19 are really good ages! Ruby looks so cosy on the neck pillow. Great that you have had time to experiment with the To Do, the foiled sentiments look fab. Meow to Ruby and Lily. Stay safe and happy WOYWW. Sarah #3. NB my email address has changed.
Your gold foiling looks beautiful and very professional, what a useful machine. I love the colour combo on your backgrounds – I find I use ‘pumice stone’ with pretty much every colour combo – it’s one of my favourite go-to colours. Your garden flowers are looking beautiful, and I’m glad the kitties coped well with the hot weather – how strange curling up in the hottest little nest on the tree!
What a relief that your news is looking so positive regards the surgery, I think you are very sensible collecting as much info as you can before making any decisions.
Take care and hope you have a good week
Diana xx #13
It’s bittersweet looking at much loved pets, no longer with us. Beautiful photographs of your cats, Monty looks very regal sitting there. Your garden has some beautiful flowers, I think the only thing flowering in my garden at the moment is the bindweed which is a pain and which will need dealing with when we get back.
Such optimistic news about the breast cancer, I hope the final test shows you don’t need chemo.
Your Todo sounds positively dangerous if the dies become that hot! I admit I don’t know much about that machine.
Have a great week Angela #9
How precious to hear about Phoebe’s family! Amazing that they are still around at that age! Apparently, the oldest cat in the world was Creme Puff, who was 38 years and 3 days old when she died in 2005 – I find that hard to believe, but it’s in the Guinness Book of Records. Crazy that Ruby was hanging out in the hottest part of the cat tree during the heatwave. Oreo was really panting at one point and I put a damp thin towel over him, which could have helped him cool down but he wouldn’t have any of it. It’s also difficult to make him drink – he almost never drinks just survives on the liquid in his food, which is why I always get him the gravy stuff and some soup. Today he got stuck outside in the rain (we had a little thunder storm earlier – it’s sunny again) – he was hiding under the car meowing but wouldn’t come in – he did eventually! Those paint dabbers are another of Tim Holtz’s cruel little selling tricks (and I mean that in the best sense)! Not enough to have the distress inks and oxides in dozens of shades (pads, refills and sprays in both variants!) – they also have to have the paints! It’s crazy! I tend to just buy the reinkers, as I think they offer the best value, but they are very messy to work with and you can’t always achieve the same results you might want with the paints or the pads. And then there’s still the dilemma of regular or oxide! Much as we want, we can’t buy everything! Having said that, I’ve just got some new oxides to play with! Have fun playing with yours! Love the splatters! The foiling looks great and the paper cutter will be very useful. Good news on the health front. You could do with a break not needing any chemo. Hope that’s the case. Enjoy the rest of your week, Shoshi! xx zsuzsa #16
HI Shoshi! I am SO HAPPY to hear the good news about your health, and hope that you don’t have to go through chemo! It was lovely seeing Pheobe’s family, I don’t know who Inky or Mittsy’s parents were, the joys of rescuing I guess! Your flowers are glorious! I really have to figure out my summer flowers, as I have great spring flowers, then a blah summer. The Gladiolas are my favourite, I really need to plant some next year. We have a couple of very sick Hollyhocks, which took 3 years to finally bloom, and we are barely getting any flowers. I bought a huge bag of seeds a couple of years ago, and I think they came with fungus and bugs. I will try different seeds next year! Lovely pics of Ruby sleeping on your neck pillow, she must smell you on it! Have a great week, Lindart #20
great news to hear such encouraging results of the op, and I hope you don’t have to have chemo . Good luck getting fully to grips with the ToDo. I could do with a decent guillotine too, but have seen one in Rymans I think is cheaper than Tim’s and won’t need posting! Have a great week Helen #2
Hi Shoshi, it’s always good to see what you’re up to. Kitties looking good and the flowers too. i have that Gullotine and I have a few pen marks added to it but I do like it. happy creative woyww, Angela x14x
Hi Shoshi, looks like you are having fun experimenting with the To To machine, the foiling looks especially good, doesn’t it. The spellbinders magnetic tool looks a lot like my reverse tweezers but with a magnet, very clever.
Oh no, you bought my most hated craft tool! That 12″ guillotine, it’s been the bane of my life since I bought it two years ago or whenever it came out, and I was moaning about it recently in another blog post. I bought it for the same reason, that it would be more useful than the smaller version, but I don’t like it at all. Really I have not had great experience with these new Tonic tools lol, you asked about my glass mat ruler and yes my ruler is also wonky. It’s not worth anything, although I did use the last week to stuff the sausage for the new cat beds lol.
I’m with you on the dauber tops, I don’t like sprays so I haven’t bought any of the “new” versions with the spray tops, sometimes things change for the better and sometimes not.
My version of your cat tree is holding up OK so far. I only bought this one a year ago and they didn’t use it much at all till I moved it last month. One of the other trees is definitely very wobbly, it’s swaying in the wind like a real tree haha, Mr G gets overexcited and rolls around in the top bed and he’s a heavy boy. I’m sure your girls are much more refined and well behaved that him! They are funny in that little square house though aren’t they, your Ruby and my Lily. I had thought about unscrewing the post that is in the way so she could spread out rather than around the post, but I think she likes it to lean on, so I’ve left it there for now.
Lovely to see your cat family photos, and so sad to hear about the death trap road outside your house. I would be so heartbroken if one of mine got run over, apart from the two that you often see in the photos (Lily and Mr G) who are indoor kitties, I have another cat who spends a lot of time outside. She was a farm feral that the Cat Protection people had caught, spayed and released, and she just turned up in the garden one day. Naturally we took her in, though she was terrified at the time and would not let anyone near her, that was six years ago. She sleeps in her own room with ensuite, and does not mix with the other two, as she does not like other cats at all, so she is really like a non-paying hotel guest who eats, sleeps and spends most of her day outside defending her territory. She’s very good at coming in on time at night, as she knows she gets tasty wet food dinner at night. I don’t like her out in the dark because of cars etc, but there are times when she hasn’t come home and I get a bit anxious and go out looking for her.
Glad you are recovering well from your op and that they don’t need to do anything else.
Happy WOYWW! Elle #18 this week
Oops sorry, all my line breaks disappeared and now I have given you a big wall of text to read, sorry about that!
What a to do… Lovely to hear what you have done so far. I really must get mine out!
Love those backgrounds.
Happy WOYWW!
Stay safe and keep well!
Susan #7
Calling All Crafters! – My Blog!
Your new cutter is the same as my X Cut one, only mine has pink bits! I’ve had it years and its been fabulous, only sometimes I think it might cut a bit wonky…but that might just be old age…me and the cutter! Your kitties looked lovely and could have been Mr Jinx’s cousins! Fingers crossed about the cemo and lovely pictures of your flowers. I might add a few of mine next week! Have a great week, Happy WOYWW!? ((Lyn))#15
Thank you for your visit. You are quite right about “being careful” with hot things. Truth to tell, I am a little accident prone!
I wanted to try Coptic binding today, but in making room for the grandchildren I took some craft stuff out and I think I have left my awl at home. Going to have a thorough check through my craft stuff. I watched a YouTube yesterday to refresh my memory and it wasn’t the method I was going to do! That’s the trouble with watching too many tutorials without the follow through.
It’s a rather cold grey day here, it poured down last night and was so noisy on the caravan roof, I ended up reading for a while. Sending love, Angela
So glad your results and recovery are good. Take care. I love the splats and that little tool looks very neat – if a bit scary! xx Jo
ooh Soshi, that sounds so promising to have good news from the doctors and I loved the bright spots of color from your garden and the antic’s of your kitties. 🙂 ~Stacy #21
Thanks for the YouTube link. My husband found me something to pierce the covers with, then tried to help by poking the hole far too big ?. I have had to unpick a couple of times and I think it’s going to be on the loose side, but I am halfway through. I have a curved needle at home – not much help to me here though! Like everything else, practice makes perfect! Angela x
Thanks for popping by Shoshi – you always have such a lovely post – and I am pleased to hear you are well on the mend. Have a lovely week – Cheers Maurs xxx #6