Warning! This is not a Silhouette Curio review by an expert but rather like the rest of us who had our hands on the Curio first, a very honest write up about this baby we have all been waiting for so patiently.

Welcome to frustration levels hitting the pitch of our very high thatch roof! Literally. This is me trying to install the Silhouette Curio as I excitedly opened the box to find everything I wasn’t expecting. Yes you heard me (insert gasp) I guess both of excitement and surprise.

First off the Curio is much smaller than what you think. It’s sleek and modern square shape had me fooled too – so no worries there feeling a bit like a dummy. Looks can be deceiving! I love the look though. As you unpack the box there is everything you need to get you started with this new toy serious machine. You will notice that the machine has loads of different matts, a funky platform, the normal ratchet blade as we know it, 2 x different embossing blades fine/wide, power cables and the normal i-guess-i-won’t-need-that-manual-and-CD.

So where do you start. Well fast forward to that real life moment when you decide to just update your current Silhouette software instead of installing it via the CD included in the box. BIG mistake. Not only did it crash my system, but Silhouette Studio has not worked since then. Plan B – fast forward and install the CD on another system where I am only a user and it crashes the system so that I can’t even open the Silhouette Studio. By now I am freaking out as I can envision that all my bought and free designs in my Library are lost. Had I only backed up the library as intended a million times before. Fast-fast forward and my DH computer wiz extraordinaire did back up the library as promised and I still have all my designs! Wheh!

Ok – so now we have a Studio that works and I can finally concentrate on the task at hand. So everything there pretty much looks the same apart from a few extra buttons and functions to go with the newly included features and the main reason you got the machine right – embossing, stippling, debossing and etching.

 The main feature of the Curio is the extra height clearance the machine has. Hence the base plate with all the different matts i.e. the platforms that will allow you to draw, emboss and etch onto thicker material like balsa wood, metal etc. 

The Curio 8.5×6 inch base is included in your box. On either side there are plastic clips that hold the platforms in place. The hard base allows you to keep thicker material and other media from moving and slipping while being in the machine. Having said this, the Curio has a whopping 5mm height adjustment that needs to be filled to reach the bar. So it means that you have several cutting matts that can fill the area – much like a sandwich that has to be built up to reach the top. So the plastic clips are there to group the matts and keep them together while building up the height to reach the top.

The Curio comes with 2 types of platforms – 2 x 2mm platforms and 2 x 1mm platforms that you can clearly tell apart. An embossing matt mounted on a 1mm platform and a cutting matt mounted on a 1mm platform. The platforms are separate so you can remove them and chop and change as you need to.

 From left to right: pause button, reload button, on/off button, USB, power
What I really like about this base is that it has a precision loading system – this means that it will load the base exactly the same way each time. So it means that you can pause a process, remove the base, check the progress, reload the base, un-pause the machine and it will continue where it stopped. Awesome!

The Curio is the first machine with a dual carriage system. This means that instead of just one tool you can load two tools at the same time. So by using the dual carriage you can now smoothly jump from one command to another without pausing the actual job. You simply send the image to the Curio, tell it to draw in two colours OR score and emboss etc. you get the idea.

What I like most about this feature is that it is so easy to tell it what to do inside the Studio Software. You simply chose the tool 1 or tool 2 option and do whatever you want done.

So all in all the Curio is amazing, and although it will take a lot of getting used to this will soon become one of my favourite machines. This is a basic intro to all the differences with the actual machine. The obvious ones at least, next up I will share the Studio workspace for the Curio.

Well what can I say – why would you need the Curio as well as the CAMEO. I personally think and know that the Curio is a game changer. It is made to work hard, made for a specific purpose and it is amazing!

The machine is firm, sturdy and functional. The Curio is the machine that will take your hobby a step further and help you dabble in home décor and decorating. It will change your life and you won’t have enough hours in the day to try everything that comes to mind – it really is a must. You can do everything you have come to expect of Silhouette as a brand and then so much more.

Here’s to many more hours of experimenting and getting creative as soon as I have my hands on all the other extras soon to be launched!

So all in all – yes this machine will be your husband’s machine as much as it will be yours – be warned!

Creating texture and dimension is so easy with the amazing Neon Amplify. The perfect amount of bulk to create loads of interest on cards and other projects - have you tried your hand at it yet? You will simply love it!
Head on over to the imagine crafts blog for a how to on this amazing product and card.

Happy inking!

With my regular scrapbooking pages I have so many off-cuts and embellishments left over, and I can’t stand throwing them out, but instead of hoarding them like in the past they have found a home in my Project Life layouts. And so came to be the Lady Pattern Paper project life cards for this layout.

I wanted to keep the layout simple, classy and elegant and the So Buff and Onyx Black colour range of off-cuts worked perfectly.
Step 1 - I started off by cutting my papers to measure 4×6” and 3×4” and then rounded the corners. Cut as many as you want for the pockets that won’t have photos in them.
Step 2 - To add journaling to my cards I first drew up a text box in a word document and printed it onto white typing paper.
 Step 3 - Once I was happy with the placement I adhered the cut cards to the printed sample page using a sticky square to hold it in place temporarily.

Step 4 - I place the page into my printer again and sent the same journaling to print, but this time onto my pocket cards. And so I could quickly and easily add my journaling to my custom made Lady Pattern Paper cards. TIP: I added some hand doodling and borders around my journaling for added details. I used a few simple embellishments to dress up my cards.  Step 6 - Another two toned card with some embellishments and then some gold paint around the edges.
 And in true Lady Pattern Paper style this Basic Essentials range is perfect to mix and match in with Project Life cards and other embellishments. I love the clean and feminine look of this layout and it has mostly to do with the simple way of memory keeping and because I used the much loved basics from Lady Pattern Paper.

It's been a while since I have blogged - i took a few personal days and look its all still here! thanks for hanging around though! In the meantime I did a lot of catching up on random things. But.... just wanted to hop in today and say
HAVE YOU BOOKED?

Classic, elegant with loads of spunk – that’s the NEW Basic Essentials range from Lady Pattern Paper. This range is perfect for past, present and future memory keeping – perfect with everything included from bold and bright to elegant and classy. I think I am in love with the range!

So when I first saw the range I was so excited, not only because the palette included my favourite colour RED, but because I could literally combine it with so many different paper ranges. It truly is the perfect companion for all your beautiful paper ranges from boyish, to girly to travel and anything in between too.

For this launch project I chose a simple layout design to showcase the beautiful patterns and colours and truly how versatile it can be. I used it for some old travel photos alongside a beautiful patterned paper, some rub-ons and smaller embellishments supporting my theme. All in all this is such a gorgeous range that it can work for anything and with anything you can imagine. The only thing standing between you and loads of creative fun is your imagination.

 To me personally, a travel page can include anything from dreaming about far off places, to a starry celebration of something amazing in my life, and this paper range gave me the perfect mix of classic and timeless with a bit of spunk added in the stars. I pulled the large star element from the starry paper and used it as inspiration for a fun over-sized element. Inside the die-cut star I used a beautiful patterned paper star – and it works perfectly, giving this layout a fun and modern twist on a traditional travel layout.

 “not all who wander are lost” and not all who scraps with their hearts are lost cases.

Some of my favourite techniques are those easy things that even kids can do. Yes the very basics of our art and craft journeys! Today’s project is one of those but incorporating (one) of my all-time favourite ink from The Wholesaler – All-Purpose-Ink.

Head on over to The Wholesaler blog here for a step x step on this funky and fun technique!

I am up on the Chiswick blog with this super cut and functional little altered notebook.
See how I altered one of their stamps into something for the everyday and not theme specific.

Just love the simplicity of how this turned out!