Sweet Talk with Mary Johnson

Welcome to Sweet Talk for May – this is a time when we get to know one of our SugarPeas just a little better, as well as learning some tricks and tips straight from their craft room! Today we get to visit with the fabulous Mary Johnson!

Mary has amazing style, clean and bright, but never boring, and she’s a sweetheart as well! Here she is in her own words and with a fab tutorial for you!

I’m Feeling…

Determined!  I’ve been drowning under a pile of work these past few weeks but I love what I do so I’m motivated to get it all done!

I’m Wishing…

That it’s Friday evening because that means all my work deadlines would be finished with!

I’m Loving…

Working with a social enterprise at the moment called Mum’s The Chef that is helping mum’s who have never worked before to get on the employment ladder.  Many of them are single mothers with little income and it’s so satisfying watching them to grow in skills and confidence!  I love that I have skills that – I hope – are helping them to develop to into a thriving company!

I’m Creating…

Not a lot this week!  But this weekend I will be starting on my projects for the next SugarPea Designs June release!  I’m so excited to get going because the stamps are (once again!) gorgeous and cute!

I’m Reading…

Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett.  Well, I’m not reading it as I bought an audio book for the first time in my life so I could listen it for a 5 hour drive last weekend!

I’m Watching…

My body getting toned up!  Well, I’m not really but the hubster and I recently joined our local gym and we’ve actually been using it.  He now goes every day but I’m only managing 3-4 times a week.  I can see that my wobbly bits are less wobbly though!

Today I am going to show you a few tips for fussy cutting.  AS they say, a workman is only as good as his tools so here are the tools I use…

In order from left to right:

1. Serrated scissors (Tim Holtz)
2. Craft knife (Xcut)
3. rounded sanding tool (BasicGrey set)
4. flat sanding tool (BasicGrey set but a nail file is just as good)

Here are a few things I do to get a good result:

• First of all, I always cut around the image, say 2cm all round so that I don’t have large pieces of card getting in my way as I cut round.
• Don’t try to get a perfect cut out using your scissors the first time you go round.  You can always go back to trim more off but you can’t put it back!
• Make sure your craft knife is sharp – you should be able to cut with quite light pressure.  If you find you are having to press down hard to get a cut, they are not sharp enough.
• Don’t worry if the edges aren’t completely smooth and rounded (especially around those tight corners) – this is where the sanding tools come in.  For the outer side of the cut out image, I use the flat sanding tool to smooth it out.  I use the rounded sanding tool in the inside cuts.

Mary created a fabulous card showcasing her masterful fussy cutting skills using the My Hero stamp set. Isn’t this awesome?!

You can find My Hero in our online shoppe HERE