Distress Ink Storage Solution

I have been looking high and low for alternative ideas to store my most used Distress Inks.  I already have a useful storage rack but struggle to get at it in my wheelchair.  What I need is something tall and narrow so I could pull it out easily enough from where I sit and craft.  Failing to find the right product I decided I would have a go at making something myself.  

I started with a piece of card cut down to A5 in size.  Using my score board I scored the card at 9cm and 11.5cm and made a cut line at 20.5cm  (9cm x two plus 2.5cm for the depth).  I then scored 2cm in from each long edge.

  
 I folded the score lines and made cuts to make it easier to glue together like this.

Then I used a circle die and made a cut out along the front edge to make it easier to grab the die from the shelf once constructed.   I started joining them together like this

Until I had them stacked 10 high.

To add stability I cut some card and stuck this to the sides of the box and then decorated it with some pretty card.

Finally, I coated the storage unit with some Mod Podge which is a waterbased sealer, glue and finish.

Here is the finished item complete with my Ranger Distress Inks.  I am very pleased with it, I can get them out easily enough and now keep those I use often, close to hand.

Crochet a neckwarmer

I recently stumbled upon a knitting and crochet community whilst I was looking for a crochet pattern to make a neck warmer.  The website I found my pattern on is called Ravelry.  Here I found photos of people's completed projects including the neck warmer I wanted to make.  This was reassuring because I had an insight on to how people got on with the pattern and what wool they used.

I used the wool recommended which came from Peru and made from Alpacas.  It was £2 a ball and I used 4 balls.

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/134-8-silver-shells---neck-warmer-with-fan-pattern

Here is my finished neck warmer.  I added some pom poms as I had a small amount of wool leftover.  It sits comfortably on my shoulders which is what I wanted in a neck warmer.  It took about 8hrs to complete.

Here is a close up of the neck where I started.

This is the finished edge and a close up of the pattern.

and finally, this is it laid out.

Clocking off!

If you were lucky enough to catch Sue from Imagination Crafts recently appearing on the Create and Craft shopping channel then you would have seen the wonderful decorated clocks they had made.  I also saw some new products worthy of a mention as follows:  

Magi-Blend, a solution to use with your mica paints and powders which when mixed together, allows you to paint onto acetate to give you a stained glass finish.

Magi-Glaze, a multi purpose non-dimensional glaze and carrier medium that can be used as a glaze, glue, a blending medium and a coloured varnish when coloured or tinted.

Magi-Bond, a superb high strength glue that dies clear and this too can be coloured or used between layers of Imagination Chalkies Stamping Paint to create antique crackle backgrounds.  I am going to try these on the weekend but for now take a look at the two clocks I have made.

Both clocks had been covered with Die Cuts with A View paper to form the backgrounds.  I then used stencils from Imagination Crafts and a new product that gives you a temporary bond when working with stencils called "Temporary Stencil Glue" by Pinflair.  You only need a small amount to hold your stencil in place.  After applying a small amount to the stencil let it dry for a good five minutes then you are good to go.  It makes your stencil lovely and tacky so you have a temporary bond to allow you to work without fear of your medium slipping underneath the stencil and spoiling your work.  Any glue that appears on your work can easily be rubbed off with your finger.  The product I used through my stencils was Sparkling Medium by Imagination Crafts.  It is a gel with glitter in it which dries reasonably fast and doesn's shed its glitter when dry.

Here are my clocks.

This one is my favourite in gold and turquoise.  It is the larger of the two clocks.

It is hard to see but the background paper has butterflies on.  

Oh my darling Valentine

I was very much surprised when I visited Westpoint, Exeter for the Craft4Crafters show that many of the exhibitors were displaying ideas for Christmas cards.  Indeed many of these designs I had seen back in September when the same exhibitors attended a similar event.  

I failed to get any inspiration for the forthcoming event "Valentine's Day" so when I got home I had a rummage through my crafty stash looking for inspiration and this is what I came up with.  I have no idea as to whether this is Chinese or Japanese writing but I love the simplicity of the card.  I used a stencil and glitter gel called Sparkling medium from Imagination Crafts.  I also used a new product from Pinflair called temporary stick Stencil Glue which worked a treat in holding my stencil in place.  No need for any masking tape!

 Further exploration and I found a lovely heart shaped die from Tattered Lace which cut so beautifully.  I put some red vellum behind and a piece of ribbon with the words "with love" finished the card off.

My final card was also made using a stencil and more sparkling medium in a lovely Periwinkle colour.  The background image is cardstock from Imagination Crafts.   It has a very nice coating so any spills of sparkling medium easily wipe off.

It is hard to see but the card topper has been stuck onto clear acetate and this has been adhered to the back of the card but first I put the card through my embossing machine to give it an interesting background.  Then I used a die with the words "Just For You".

Finally I made a Valentine card with my new stamps from a company I discovered at the Craft 4 Crafters Event called Little Claire.  This is a stamp set called Scottie dogs.  

Not bad for a weekend's work!