I just love finding quirky bits and pieces for my Craft Room. I found it in my local florist costing £5.99 and before I knew it, it was in my bag …. they also had versions with 3 and 6 bottles ……. please …..someone hold me back!
Monday, 9 May 2011
Altered Primark Bag
This is undoubtedly my finest “too much time on your hands” project. Who in their right minds, other than me, would colour in this bag while watching Britain’s Got Talent on Saturday night??!!!
Primark have quite a few nice shopper type bag designs at the moment, priced at £1.50 each, I just wish they didn’t have Primark printed down the sides! As soon as I saw this lace effect print bag I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it.
I’ve only used ordinary Stampin’ Up pens to colour it in (both sides, yes I am quite mad!), so I think it will only be a fair weather bag, however if it did get wet and the colours ran, I think it could take on a different and probably more interesting effect. The gems are stuck on with fabric glue but to be honest I am sure a few will drop off when I use it.
I'm going to do a sample swatch and soak it to see if the colours run and will then let you know the results .... I don't want to be responsible for spoilt bags all over the country!!
Sunday, 8 May 2011
Crafty Individuals Stamped Tree Card
This card measures 14.5cms x 11cms and is made using white linen effect card and Crafty Individuals Stamp C1-280
I have visited the uncomfortable realms (for me) of stamping to make this card. The stamp is from Craft Individuals and I just couldn’t resist it, every time I look at it I see something new, it’s so quirky, and could be used for so many people and occasions. It’s also very me, and I would love to get a card like this.
I’ve kept everything really, really simple, all I’ve added is a tiny flat backed red heart and some other tiny red gems in the centre of the flowers and in the cocktail glasses, plus a few gold coloured gems in the (sun) flower at the top. It was a devil to get the image printed just right, but worth it in the end.
Saturday, 7 May 2011
Very Plain Card
This card is SO plain and simple. It is A5 in size and made using an ivory linen effect card. It’s hard to see the colours clearly but the centre panel is a wine coloured leather effect card mat and layered on gold mirror card. The font used is Parisian BT size 48 and finally the ribbon is from East of India. Simples!
Friday, 6 May 2011
Knitted Dishcloths
Remember the 4 balls of craft cotton I got for £2.50 from a carboot the other week? Well, I’ve managed to knit 10 dishcloths out of them with about 12 inches of yarn left!
I cast on 25 stitches on (old size) 4 needles, and knit 26 rows. Each cloth measures 20cms x 20cms and took me about an hour to knit. They really are brilliant to use and I am hoping that they last a lot longer that “bought” cloths.
I did sew in one of my knitting labels on one, but that’s a bit “precious”!
Instead I have made double sides tags on printable matte canvas and can’t believe how professional they look. It’s the first time I’ve used the canvas in my printer and it’s brilliant! I’m dead chuffed with myself.
Apparently this is a big thing in the US and there are whole sites dedicated to dishcloth patterns like http://www.knittingpatterncentral.com/directory/dishcloths.php
As my sister is oft to say …. “You have far too much time on your hands!”
Thursday, 5 May 2011
Exciting News – Do Crafts Royal Wedding Card Competition
“CONGRATULATIONS....
Your Royal Wedding Card has been shortlisted in our search for an overall winner!
From all the entries we’ve received, we have selected just a small handful of those that will go through to the final judging stage where the winning card, that will be featured both on our website and in a future issue of Creativity Magazine, will be selected.”
I very rarely enter competitions or challenges so you can imagine how excited I am!
Wedding Card
Making cards to order can be a bit scary because some people have a very clear idea of what they want when they ask me.
The lady who wanted this card was very exact, she knew what she wanted written on the front and on both sides of the insert …..
The bride and groom is a download from Quickutz Silhouette, but I shortened the arms and intertwined them to fit the card blank better.
The flowers are made using a variety of punches with clear flat backed gems in the centre.
The font I have used on the front and inside is Papyrus.
Wednesday, 4 May 2011
Bank Holiday Car Boot Bargain
After my woodworm ridden table (now clear and waiting for me to do something with) I am sure I saw my husband wince as I bought this box back to the car on Monday after we had been carbooting!
It was only £2. The inside needs lining and perhaps staining …..
And I am tempted to fill the panels on the sides with lovely papers …… but I’m still thinking about it.
Tuesday, 3 May 2011
Scrap‘N Easel Review – UK Premiere
Do you remember a week or so ago when I said that I’d received an e-mail from Marlo L Letterle, owner of ContainYa Crafts and creator of the new Scrap’n Easel, asking if I would like to review it?
I didn’t have to think long about it, of course I said yes and now it has finally arrived! I am overwhelmed and honoured that I am the first person in the UK to have and to use one! And …… oh my life, am I impressed, and I’m not just saying that, this piece of kit is really going to change the way I work when I make my cards, I just hope I can describe it and its capabilities well enough to do it justice.
I have cheated a little and have copied the information about the Easel directly from it’s website so that I can be sure all the details are correct and as the Marlo intended.
Scrap's Easel is a Magnetic, Portfolio Style, Double Paper Craft Easel. You receive 16 super strong neodymium magnets and a magnetic ruler with your Scrap'n Easel. Imagine! Work on Two Pages At The Same Time! A perfect work angle and two 12"x12" removable grids! Removable because when you flip Scrap'n Easel over it becomes a "Display Piece" to display your newly created items or use it to take photographs of your work! We don't need those lovely grid lines when in display mode or when photographing! Scrap'n Easel also holds about a half inch of 12"x12" paper. Just lay the paper in and close! Velcro tab closure too! Weighs about 4 pounds. Made In The USA!!
Initially I was worried about the size of the Easel, two 12 x 12 sides seemed huge to a cardmaker like me, especially as I work on one desk and my paper cutter is on and off my it all the time, but I found that I could angle the Easel perfectly out of the way, and its weight meant that it stands firm and the items placed on it cannot be displaced easily.
Elements for a project are held in place by magnets, they are fantastic, they are unbelievably strong … I really put them to the test on the project below as I needed to keep several large plastic toy tools in place.
They really do hold everything in place and just don’t budge, plus the Easel was big enough to hold all the papers I wanted to use in such a way that I could see how they worked altogether, at an angle and from a distance, as well as up close
Above - Scrap’n Easel in working position.
I was also curious to see how easy it would be for me to write and/or doodle on a card in a slanting position, something I have never done before, again, it’s brilliant. I tend to press down quite heavily and the Easel just doesn’t move and took all the weight I put onto it. I also loved the way that when I was doing some faux stitching the magnet was so powerful that I could move the card round smoothly as I worked and there was no fear of the card or my pen slipping.
To prove the point I made a short video, I was holding the camera with one hand and writing with the other, that’s how secure it is! (Please excuse my horrid fingernails, I am a terrible nail biter and that isn't peeling skin on my fingers ..... it's peeling PVA!)
As you know, I have been having terrible problems taking good pictures of my cards for ages, the Easel is the answer to all my prayers .
Above – Scrap’n Easel in display mode.
I just remove the plastic grid and replace it with the background of my choice
I can now photograph a card at any angle perfectly each and every time. I usually take pictures of my cards from directly above and have struggled with lighting and shadows ….. well that’s a thing of the past!! After using the Easel for only a short time I would buy it for this one feature alone.
When I am not sure if a card is right, I usually put it on the window sill to ponder, now I can leave it on the Easel, on my desk, and when I come into the room it really hits you and anything that doesn’t look quite right is easily spotted and sorted!
I am not really a scrapbooker, but I’ve put together a group of items so that you can see how easy it is to build up a layout. You can work on two pages at the same time or use one side to keep your pieces (even really small pieces) safe until you need them. What Marlo stresses in particular in all her information is that the angle at which you work when using the Easel eliminates the need to stand up to see your work (something I must do 5/6 times when I am working on a card), it makes it possible to sit comfortably and still be able to view your work clearly, how brilliant is that?
As well as having two moveable plastic grids the Easel also comes with a flexible magnetic ruler, which as great for me especially as I do a lot of free handwriting which needs to be equally spaced and level.
I know I have not covered every feature of the Scrap’n Easel, so I would really recommend that you click on the link below and watch Marlo’s videos as a back up to this review http://www.cricutcartridgestorage.com/videos.htm
I am so full of praise for the Scrap’n Easel, but to be honest the proof of the pudding will be if I keep it on my desk and continue to use it on a daily basis, which I fully intend to do, for this reason, I am going to come back and review it again in a months time, which I hope would further validate my opinions in this review.
www.CricutCartridgeStorage.com www.ScrapnToteBlog.com
Caution: Scrap’n Easel comes with 16 small magnets, which if swallowed can cause serious infections and death, therefore it is vital that they should be kept out of the reach of small children and pets.
Monday, 2 May 2011
Magic Fairy Drops – Sweetie/Favor Bag
I love “spotty buttons”, they are so pretty and have been wondering how I could use them in my sweetie bags, then I remembered these Poundland fairy stickers I’ve had for ages, perfick!
I’ve used a die from Nestabilities Label Set 8 that fit the width of my cello bag.
And as my sister would say “It’s all in the detail.” so I have added a small heart sticker and faux stitching to the back of the topper too
I’ve put 50 grams of drops in the bag and would ask about 75p for them.
Sunday, 1 May 2011
Pilfered Wooden Spoons
I am a terrible tea leaf ….. but when I saw these wooden spoons in the sugar/sweetener/stirrer section of a snack bar called Yums, I couldn’t resist popping a few in my bag.
Film Lovers Card
This card was made for a gentleman who had just completed his degree in Media and who also loves films. I’ve used this digi scrapbook set from http://www.scrappindoodles.com/ for another card a while ago, it’s pretty verasrtile.
I’ve made a simple decoupage layers for the camera, tickets and clapperboard, added a few crystal stars and some dimension paint for the popcorn.
I have quite a few digi scrapbooking sets, but I am afraid I don’t use them often enough, it’s only when I use them on a card like this that I realise how brilliant and simple they are to use.
Knitted Liquorice Allsorts
How cute are these? But I can’t take the honours, my mum knit them for my sisters birthday, they must have driven her crackers! She has far more patience than me!
They had seen something very similar in Covent Garden on a recent trip and my mum went straight out and found the knitting pattern to have a go. She said they were a devil to sew up and stuff!
Saturday, 30 April 2011
Friday, 29 April 2011
Royal Wedding Card – Fit For The Future King And His Bride!
This card measures 5 ins x 5ins and is made using white linen effect card and M & S mini gingerbread people!!!!
And came up with this …….. just right for today!
It’s sad but sometimes I make myself laugh and this card is so silly I just couldn’t help it!
This pack of mini M & S gingerbread people has been sat on my desk staring at me and daring me to make something with them for a couple of months now. Then I had a Ulrika Moment ….
Thursday, 28 April 2011
Wednesday, 27 April 2011
Father In Laws Birthday Card
This card is probably in very dubious taste, which is why I have left it a few months before posting it. The weekend of my Father In Law’s birthday there was a gas explosion in our village, as it was right next to his drive, his fence was seen on national and local tv that night and in the papers the next day.
It was a BIG explosion …… but lovely Colin knew nothing about it until the police went round to the doctors to get his number to phone to see if he was OK!
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