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!

Pom Pom Flower Rug

I think most of us can remember childhood days spent making pom poms.  Only then they took a while to make because you had to create your own cardboard template first and then push the wool through and around the cardboard.  I certainly remember it taking a while to achieve a pretty ball known to us all as a "pom pom". 

2014 showed a revival of this craft due to the creation of the pom pom maker.  The pom pom maker is available in different sizes and shapes.   The picture below is the Pom Pom Maker by Clover and come in 4 sizes.   

 
These pom pom makers are very easy to use.  They open out and you wrap the wool around one pair of halves then close them up and do the same on the other side.  You push both halves together then cut across the top.  Yarn is then used to secure the pom pom.



My revival of this craft started when my nephew asked for a pom pom maker for Christmas.  I thought it would be nice to give him some inspiration with his gift so I started looking for inspiration.  I gradually built up some ideas and saved them as pins on Pinterest.  

I made him a spider which was fun to do. but I didn't stop there.

Next I wanted to make a rug for our cat.  The idea came to me to make flowers out of my pom poms so I did exactly that.



This craft project took a month to complete.  Each pom pom takes about 5mins to make. The size I used for the pom poms was 45mm (the yellow one). 

I used about 9 balls of DK wool which I purchased at £1.39 a ball.  Once I had made enough pom poms I attached to them to anti slip stop rug underlay available from ebay.  If you keep your ties long on each pom pom you can feed them through the holes and neatly secure them to the back of the underlay.

I discovered there are lots of things you can make with pom poms.  I have a collection of ideas on my pin board in Pinterest.  I like the idea of making robins and hedgehogs and then selling these are craft fairs.  Children are always looking for little items they can purchase and i think these would be popular. 

If you are a member of Pinterest I invite you to look at my ideas I have been collecting.

http://www.pinterest.com/craftytash/craft-ideas/

Thank you for stopping by.

It's a Dog's Life

Happy New Year!

Occasionally we come across things that sparks memories of early childhood and for me it was one of the toppers in this card collection that I was working on.  Our family pet was a German Shepherd and she was called Jackie.  Such a sweet natured dog that seemed rather big in relation to minnie me! She was very well behaved and never jumped up on me or caused me to fall.   She had a rather large mat to lie on by the front door and was a good guard dog.   I made this German Shepherd topper into a card for someone special in mind, my dad who is going to be 80 this April.  I am hoping it too will bring back some happy memories for him. 

These doggie toppers are from a craft supplier called Kanban and the set is called "It's a Dog's Life".  I have been working on these cards post Christmas so they haven't taken too long but I haven't completely finished them.  Next comes the job of putting in the inserts.  A card isn't finished until it looks as good on the inside as it does on the outside.  After this I will put them into cello bags and price them up for sale ready for my first craft stall of 2015, whenever/wherever that may be.

Thanks for stopping by.

Materials used are Papermania Paper; Sue Wilson dies "California collection" and "Finishing Touches bow".

Card stock from "Die Cuts with a View - Preppy Princess". Frame die from Tattered Lace "Starlights Collection" and Sue Wilson "Classic 3D" Finishing Touches Bow die.

Here I used a Tattered Lace "Delicate Snowflake" embossing folder onto vellum paper and then cut around the embossed flowers.  Now, to add a sentiment or not, umm!

This is another bow die from Sue Wilson's collection of Finishing Touches Bows known as the "Lattice Bow Die".

Here I have gone for a different look and feel and used my card stock shaped like a stamp.  I have designed this to be suitable for a male.

Another card using a "Finishing Touches Bow".

This card is made using Tonic's Verso Die-Delicate Lattice Oval Die.

These beautiful butterflies are part of the Tattered Lace Starlight Collection.

The background paper is from Die Cuts With a View and the Die is a Spellbinders.

Again, more background paper from Die Cuts with a View and this time the die used from my Tattered Lace Starlight Collection is cut using a cream colour cardstock.

I love this burgundy chequered paper which came with the toppers.  Another bow from the Finishing Touches collection.

A chance to use my newest die from Sue Wilson New York Collection Times Square.  The topper fitted snuggly in the centre and then I used the outer frame to give the die a border.  My bow maker makes fabulous bows, don't you think?

A card that it is in a frame.

And another!

I pondered for a while about how to use this topper then decided to use a matching card blank which I embossed.  I then used a corner die (Sue Wilson's of course!) and cut out 6 and joined them together to edge the card.  Looking at it you would have thought it was cut from one die.  Quite a clever use of a corner die I thought.

Another card using Die Cuts with a view paper for the background, Kanban card stock and a Finishing Touches die.

I love this lilac card stock, it was in the paper pad from Die Cuts with a View.  a perfect match for this topper.

Same design as above but using Kanban card stock and on this one I left off the bow to make it more masculine.

The same here

and here

Here I have used a die from Crafter's Companion adding tiny gemstones to reflect the embossed pattern.

This time I put ink through the die before releasing it.

Well that's the sum of a week's work.  If you have a favourite, I would love to hear which one.

Happy Crafting, Natasha