FabrIc Painting with Starlights Textile Fabric Paint

I've now moved on from painting cushion covers to my own clothes.  I brought some fabric paints this week from Imagination Crafts called Starlights Fabric Paints.  It is a water based paint with metallic sparkles and has a binder in it so that the paint is washable.  

I have plenty of old T Shirts in the wardrobe that needed a new lease of life and now they have them, take a look see!

This was the first one I made using a stencil from Imagination Crafts.  I started with the white pearl paint then some cyclamen then a tiny bit of sax blue in the middle.  The colours blend really well together.

Here I used another stencil from Imagination Crafts which is one of my favourite stencils.

After trying the paints on a few T Shirts I got out an old pair of jeans and found my poppy stencil from Clarity Stamps.  I love the dark topaz (browny paint).

This is another favourite stencil of mine from Imagination Crafts.  I used three colours on this working them lighter as I got towards the centre of the image.  Again, I used dark topaz and then used some orange and gold.  I feel like sewing on some sequins in the centre of the flowers.

I just love how this one turned out.  Here I used two colours, silver and the sax blue.

And finally another favourite stencil of mine was used to decorate this T Shirt.  I used the sax blue and green which are perfect for peacock feathers.  I may sew on some sequins on this too as it will make it look even more amazing.

Paper cutting with the Silhoutte

I am really keen on the idea of trying papercutting.  I have been collecting inspiration on Pinterest.  However, instead of cutting out with a scapel, I plan to use my Silhouette to make all those intricate cuts for me.  All I have to do is design something!

Okay so lets start with something simple that involves joining (or welding as the term is known) several elements together.


I start with a heart shape.  I only need the outer edge so I create two.  I place the smaller one inside the larger one and when I weld them together and now I have what I need for the edge of my papercut.

Next I try different fonts until I find a font that will look good when I nudge the letters close up and then weld together.


Next I play around with different leaves and flowers but finally settled on one image that I particularly like.

I then resized it to fit inside the heart and found a spot where the text would fit in the available space.  The text, flower and heart shape were welded together and this is the end result.  I have framed it so it can go on the wall.

Papercraft Garden Bench

I don't mind a challenge, especially if I think it is achievable.  Despite still being a novice with my Cameo Silhouette I have produced some stickers for a local choir and recently set myself a  challenge of making a 3D garden bench.  This came about because I didn't want to wield a scalpel!

I had been inspired by a bench that Neil Burley had made for Craftwork Cards.  It was one that started out as a window box card.  Paul saw beyond this and created a sweet little bench.

I too could have made one with the window box cards but as soon as I set about using my scalpal I knew I would not be able to do a very neat job.  This is really a job for the Silhouette.

I wanted my bench template to be cut from cardstock no larger than a standard A4 size of card as this is what we all have to hand.

I had a go at creating my trellis panels for the back of the seat.  It took the longest time.   After a few alterations to the design and template I came up with this little beauty. Now it may have taken me 4-5hrs to perfect and a few minor tweeks to each version before I was content with the design, but I have to say I am very pleased with it and inspired enough to have a go at making an edge-able card next.

Well, what do you think?

Birthday Shadow Box Die Card

I am enjoying a few days at home this week which is giving me an opportunity to watch all the live "Christmas" shows on Hochanda.  Needless to say I am getting inspired by ideas and taking advantage of great savings.

I would like to share with you a card I have finished making using Sue Wilson Birthday Shadow Box collection.  

Whilst watching Sue Wilson demonstrate on the Hochanda show I saw her demonstrate a product called Pixie Powder.  This is a similar product to the Brusho and used in the same way.  What I liked about these particular powders is that they have a mica powder in them and I like the finish.  Also, the containers they come in have a fine nozzle so it it easy to tap out a small amount.  With the Brushos you need to pierce the lid to create a small aperture and that isn't obvious!  The Pixie powders are also clearly identifiable because they have colour labels.  This makes it easy to tell which one you have picked up which I struggle with when using the Brushos.  Both products have a place in my craftroom but I suspect the Pixie powders will be a firm favourite.  

The collection of Pixie powders I have are Midnight Blue, Peacock Green, Aqua Lagoon and Teal Wash.  I used the Midnight Blue, Aqua Lagoon and a touch of the Teal Wash onto some card and used this as the background for the Shadow Box die.  There was just enough card left over to cut out some of the small balloons and coffee cups.  The Tea pot and cups are a product of Joy! Crafts.

Once I had cut out the Shadow Box die and mounted it onto the background I had made with the Pixie Powder, I cut out the smaller dies to put in the apertures.

I was unsure how I was going to mount it because of its size.  I decided to make a stepper card to mount it on.    I own a stepper card die which wasn't wide enough but it gave me a basis for creating one myself using Cameo Silhouette.

Now for the enveiling - da da!

Mr & Mrs Wedding Card

I love the fact that I can combine my Cameo Silhouette with my dies.  I have a lovely new large die from Crafter's Companion decorative Create a Card dies. It is perfect for creating a lovely edge on the front of cards.

Here I have combined it with a finely detailed topper (Mr & Mrs) that I purchased from the Silhouette Design Store.  The beauty is that I was able to re-size it to fit the area in the middle of the card. I also used a Tattered Lace die for the bride and groom.  The card has an easel stand at the back to hold it upright and a personal sentiment.

My Craftwork Cards - Venetian Card Collection

I have made a point of trying to finish this card collection that I started many moons ago.  I love the tones of blue and turquoise in this collection and I happened to have a venetian mask die that came in handy.  The toppers ran out before the paper pad did so I have tried my hand at some paper folding techniques.  I still have lots of paper left but it is time to move onto something else so I am uploading my cards to share with you today.

Stamping around!

I have been playing around with some stamp sets by Leoni Pujol.  I have used some fusible fibres on some of these.  Leoni released these new stamps on the Hochanda Show recently.  It has become my favourite TV craft show for inspiration.  

The first card I made was very simple to do. In fact it took me longer to delve into the back of my cupboard to find my fusible fibres and craft iron!  I simply ironed the fusible fibres between a heat resistant craft mat to fuse the fibres together.  I then used Leoni's heart stamp as a guide to cut around as I liked its quirky shape.  

On this next card I joined several of these hearts together to form petals of a  a flower.


















I used a technique new to me on this card's background below.  I applied ink to the stamp and then misted it before stamping.  I then re-stamped the card over the top of it once it was dry.  I then stamped and coloured some butterflies and stuck these one.

This time I use white embossing powder and stamped the card before applying my aqua paints.  I really love this effect.

On this last card it was this stamp set that I fell in love with.  I just loved the image of the young girl and the idea of making the wings look real with fusible fibre as demonstrated by Leoni on the Hochanda Show.  I had been playing with my aqua tint inks and had some cardstock left over which had fleshy colours so I was able to use this card to make the flesh look life like.

Wedding Bells Lantern

I am trying to make a point of making Monday's my "Silhouette Monday Day" so I will keep developing my skills and knowledge of this machine and software.  

All was going well, I have had my machine since March and getting on well with it.  That was until it started crashing when I needed to use the text tool.  It became so bad that I couldn't use it without it crashing on me.  Fortunately the American owned company were very helpful and sent me some helpful instructions.  After a download of the latest version and some deletions of files, fingers crossed, it seems to be working fine now.  

So to my next project that has come about because I have a wedding invitation to an evening reception this evening and wanted to make my own card and gift.  The gift I have made is miniature bunting that is wrapped around a large cotton reel. Here it is wrapped around the cotton reel.  I preferred the cotton reel painted with some vintage chalk paint so I have now painted it (see below).

As you can see the bunting spells out "Mr & Mrs".

I then made a box to put the gift in using my Cameo Silhouette and a flourish card with the words Mr & Mrs across the front.  Both designs were purchased from the Design Store for 0.99$.  

It was nice to be able to finish off the inside of the card using the text tool, without it crashing on me!  The Wedding Bells Lantern was slightly enlarged before cutting on the Silhouette so that the cotton reel would fit inside it.  The panels were cut from vellum.

A Tangle a Day!

Tangling is very therapeutic and completely self absorbing.  Once you breakdown the construction into zones it becomes much easier than it looks.  

I just love the way it is used in art.  Many different tangle designs are used to create images that look wonderful like these examples.

So I am on a mission to try and learn some tangles so that I can produce lovely works of art like those I have shown you.


I have a set of tangle cards and this is the first one I wanted to try.  I have found an illustration of it on internet so it goes to show you don't need to invest in books as there is plenty of ideas out there. 

It looked lovely in black and white but I decided to colour it in using my Spectrum Aqua Markers.

It is suggested that you start with a 4" square and put little pencil marks in each corner and then join up the dots to make an area to tangle in.  The area then needs dividing into smaller areas, here I have made a triangle and started a tangle within different sections.  By the time I got to the middle section of the triangle I was feeling quite bold and put two different tangles in this space.  

This final tangle looked very difficult at first to create again, I started off marking out a frame around the edge of the card.  I then draw a line down the centre, rotated and down the centre again.  I then draw a line on the diagonal from corner to corner and rotated the card and did this again.  Now I had the sections marked up I was able to start working within them.  

I draw from the bottom, almost to the top, slightly curving my line as I approached the diagonally drawn line and finished by marking a circle.  I then came in from the other side of this area I was working in and drew another line so the line alternate, first to right, then to the left etc.  It is really effective. Hopefully, the illustration above that I have found will show you what I mean.

Finally, here are some tangle cards I have made to use as a resource.