Stitches - Agapanthus, Fimo and lots more.

Just got back from the Craft,Hobby & Stitch trade show at the NEC. Two days of seeing all the new stock, watching some amazing demo's and attending a few workshops. Now comes the trick of trying to remember all that I saw and how it was done!

This gorgeous stamp is from Woodware. We went to a workshop run by Stix2 which had us using a hot glue gun to make a puddle of glue on a heatproof craft sheet and then using the stamp to make an impression in the puddle. Once cool we removed the stamp and dusted the glue with mica powder.
There is a similar technique used with UTEE but unlike UTEE this stays a little flexible when cold, ideal if you want to put it on a curved surface.

This technique had us using double sided sticky film placed on chipboard and run through a die cut machine to make a frame. We then used transfer foil to make marks on the sticky side, I chose to stamp the foil leaving flower shapes which you can just about see in this picture. we then filled in the sticky gaps with fine glitter. I was really impressed with the finished look and have arrived home full of renewed interest in foils.

This AMAZING creation is stunning when seen face to face. He was made by Bonnie McGough who is the most inspiring of ladies. Her area of expertise is polymer clay, mostly Fimo. We spent 45 minutes in a workshop with Bonnie and then I spent over an hour with her on the Fimo stand. I came away (eventually) with so many tips and ideas as well as a fantastic book 'The Wonder Of Polymer Clay'.
I now have another whole new world to play with. There aren't enough hours in the day or days in the week anymore!!!!
I think a few cards will now have Fimo elements on them. The main thing I learnt was 'it's not as hard as you think', now that's a challenge I can't resist!

Not only did I have the lovely book I bought but thanks to Bonnie's generosity and enthusiasm I also brought home this gorgeous dragonfly so I wouldn't forget how to make him. He has to be cooked so I'm hoping that I may be able to make a few small bits for him to share the oven with.

There were some lovely new products on show, too numerous to mention all of them but keep yours eyes on your local craft shop as I'm sure things will start to appear soon.

Taverham Card Making Workshop #1

Our first workshop at Sew Simple in Taverham will be quite basic. This will give us a chance to get to know each other and find out what we would all like to get from these workshops.
We are going to use Hobby Art stamp set 'Spring'. This lovely set has several elements to it that can be used in a variety of different ways. There are three greetings 'Happy Birthday' , 'Happy Mothers Day' and 'Happy Easter'. I would call this a value for money set because you can do so much with it.
We will do some basic stamping using masks made with sticky notes, create our own backgrounds with elements from the stamp set, mat and layer our design and create something unique.

Here are a couple of ideas using this stamp set. This first card is made using just a few of the stamps, then coloured in with pencils.
The second card is made using a few more stamps and a few more masks. Both designs have been coloured with pencils, the background and greeting shape have been coloured using Distress Inks. The greeting shapes are cut with a Spellbinder die and mounted on foam pads.

There will also be a basic guide to ink pads and their uses, there are so many available it can get a bit tricky choosing the right one for the job.

I hope this gives anyone wishing to join us an idea of what we are going to be doing to begin with.

We have many different techniques we can try as the workshops progress, it will give us all a chance to exchange ideas and help each other while we have fun creating. I'm really looking forward to it and if you're joining us I hope you are too!

Steampunk poinsettia

For this weeks challenge at 52CCT it's colours, red, green and gold only. As these are traditional christmas colours that I love this one was a pleasure to make.
The poinsettia is a stamp from the 'Steampunk Christmas' set by Chocolate Baroque. I stamped it on red card and embossed it in Cosmic Shimmer Bright Gold, then I cut out two large flowers and one small. These are layered using foam pads to give a little height and the petals have been curled slightly. The addition of a small gem in the middle finished off the flower.
The background is a piece of Coredinations card embossed using the Cuttlebug 'Holly' embossing folder and then sanded using an emery board. I have always loved dry embossing and spent many hours with a light box and a stencil (still do sometimes!) but these embossing folders give such a crisp image in a fraction of the time.
I used a white card blank but chose to colour it green with
Distress Ink 'Forest Moss' which looked OK but it still
needed a little something, so I used the poinsettia stamp and the same distress ink to randomly decorate the edge of the card.

The holly background is matted onto a piece of gold mirri card and then mounted on the green card. I used another small piece of the gold mirri card to cut a scalloped oval with a Spellbinder die. The oval has also been sanded to distress it a little before adding the greeting, which is a gold peeloff coloured with a red permanent marker pen. This was then mounted onto the card on a foam pad.

I do hope we'll get these colours come up again, I've really enjoyed this one.

Shepherd silhouette

This is my entry for this weeks 52(Christmas) Card Throwdown Sketch #2. The centre picture is a Dufex sticker that I've had for some time, it's a silhouette with a hint of blue. I've used that hinted colour to lift the card a little. The background is a gorgeous pearlised card I found in the draw. I then used black card, which isn't as easy as it sounds is it? Black is not just black, I didn't think you could get shades of black but Oh Boy do you have to shop around for something that should be so basic!

That job done I chose to use a satin silver card and emboss it with stars. Both layers were matted flat then the picture was put on top using foam pads. The greeting is a silver peeloff coloured with a black permanent marker and mounted on satin silver card.

It's a very quick and easy card because this week I'm claiming 'nasty cold' dispensation. Although after a few menthol tissues and a chocolate muffin I feel much better! I'll try harder next week, promise!

I would just like to thank Veronica and Jacqueline for their technical assistance, much appreciated ladies.

Rhinestone berries

Maybe not my best photographic effort but it's not easy getting the angle right sometimes when you want to show all the details.

This is my entry for this weeks 52 (Christmas) Card Throwdown . We had to use Rhinestone Embellishments, at least three....seventeen should qualify! The stamp is from Creative Expressions - Stylish Christmas 2 . I have used the separate swirl in the set to make a patterned background which doesn't really show up well here, sorry. I stamped and embossed with clear ink and clear powder to keep it subtle. The main image is embossed in gold. I then stamped and embossed another image from which I then cut out the leaves, candle and flame. The leaves are painted with Cosmic Shimmer watercolour paints and all the berries have been covered with red rhinestones. The candle is curved gently over some silicone glue to give it dimension.

I'm enjoying playing along with this challenge, there are some beautiful cards being posted, lots of inspiration.