A Wish Come True and a Winner!

Hello friends

Today I have a video to share with you.  

It shows how the craft studio developed from some shabby beginnings to

a much nicer end result.  I wanted to put this together as not just a reminder but 

also as thanks to my family and friends.

If you follow me on Facebook you may have already seen it...I couldn't resist posting it on
there last night!

Now to the winner of the Numbers and Letters M-Bossabilities™.
These are now available in my Amazon shop.

Bella has had a mini haircut - just a trim around the eyes so she could see to pick out a winner!

 You can just make out some lettering.... 

Then some serious chewing started....

 Phew...rescued!

The winner is ............. Callie!

Congratulations.

Drop me an email with your address and I will get your prize out to you.

Tomorrow I'm going to be having a chat with you all ...

stop by as all will be revealed!

Take care friends.

Frame...another one?!

Hello friends
You are all so wonderful - thank you for your brilliant comments yesterday,
it makes everything so worthwhile.

I have another frame to share with you today... I seem to have a run on frames at the moment!
I created this one for Spellbinders and was thrilled to see it on display in Birmingham last month.

It was quite funny as it had been loaned to a company who sell Spellbinders, 

I went over to look and the lady on the stand asked if I liked it...?

I  said "It's quite nice!"  But then went on to explain it was my project.

It features the very lovely Jewel Flowers and Flourishes,

Fantastic Flourish One - Die D-Lites™ and a bezel filled with ICE Resin®.
In fact, I'm hoping you can see from the photo that the flowers and picture look a little different -
this is because I coated old book pages with ICE Resin and then die cut them.
It was really simple to do and the effect was brilliant.
I'm not a messy crafter but I cope with ICE Resin, it comes in a perfect syringe system -
I promise to do a tutorial on this soon so if any of you are thinking of buying items from the
Media Mixage™ line you will know what to do.
Although remember...the metal bezels can be filled with all sorts of items - not just resin.

I'm back tomorrow and I think I should set that Bella to work ...she needs to pick out a winner!
Take care friends.

Hearts and It's a Sign!

Hello friends

Well the sun was shining and my shop sign finally went up!

It went something like this...

Arriving and setting up the ladders...yes that is Bella in the bottom left hand corner - a real family event!

Mitchell making sure he is happy with his ladder.

 Carefully carrying out the sign.

 At this point Mitchell realised he "doesn't do heights"...that's me up the ladder!

(So that's what I look like from the back?!)

The sign is in place and now for many screws to hold it secure. 

 And a shot of the whole shop, it proved impossible to get a photo without a reflection.

So the studio/shop is finally named!  

I kept it plain and simple so that it would match any window theme that I went for, 

right now the window is in the middle of being changed for Spring.

I'm going shopping for lots of pretty plants and daffodils.

Now for something crafty.

This is a card that recently appeared on Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L blog -

step by step details are here.

It shows how easy it is to use the 3D Foam Squares with your own patterned papers.

Wishing you a wonderful week - temperatures are climbing..looks like it might be a 

spot of gardening at some point.

Take care friends.

Four Butterflies

Hello friends

Today I can share with you a little frame that I created for Spellbinders.

It has just been featured in a US magazine called Crafts n'Things and here is a link

it provides full instructions on how I put this together.

Les Papillions - I adore you!

Talking of a butterfly frame...I am running a class on 6 April where we will be making 

a larger box frame incorporating many butterflies on a special background and using 

the wonderful 8 x 8 Teresa Collins Fabrications paper pads.  

All the details can be found under my Spellbinders Academy tab in my sidebar.

I will be re-running this class again on a later date as I've had a few requests for those who cannot

make 6 April.  Details of that date coming soon.

Also, a note to those of you have asked/reserved dies - the new Spellbinders dies and 3D M-Bossabilities are now arriving, I'm updating my Amazon shop to incorporate new stock as it trickles in but, as always,
email if you would prefer to purchase direct.

Questions: yesterday's card - the pretty rose paper is Cosmo Cricket - Odds and Ends
(my all time favourite paper...I have tiny bit left!)
The die used for the outer frame is A2 Fancy Weave - one of the Card Creator dies.

Shop sign news: we are one step further - hurrah!
The weatherproof vinyl lettering going on...this actually turned out to be a four man job -
Mitchell, Mum, Dad and I!   We must have measured it a zillion times to calculate the spacing etc.

Hoping tomorrow it will go up outside and then that will be the last finishing touch.
Definitely time for a special photo to share.

Have a lovely Sunday everyone.
Take care.

M-Bossabilities™...the Possibilities!

Hello friends

Thank you for the wonderful response to yesterday's Friday Die Day and the

M-Bossabilities™ folder featured.

I will make sure Bella picks out a winner at the beginning of next week.

I have received a few questions and I thought it might be useful to revisit some ideas that 

I featured last Summer for M-Bossabilities.

Try inking up your folders.... 

 When run through with plain cardstock the ink goes into the embossed area.

 Use stamps on your folders.

 Here you can see the stamping image is delicate but effective. 

 Easily cleaned with a baby wipe or damp cloth.

 Emboss vellum. 

Emboss glassine bags.

Or if you like the elegant whiteness of a card here is one of my favourites...

And I think it might be a favourite with others too...

I have this card on Pinterest and it is the one that has been 'repinned' the most!

Today I hope to be putting the finishing touches to the shop sign, I think I've had the 

slowest drying paint ever!  It is mainly because it needed quite a few coats and needs

to be weatherproof.  I hope to bring you photos tomorrow.

Also...for those who asked - the Homespun die set is now in my Amazon shop,

it features those gorgeous little flowers and leaves as well as cute other dies too.

 

Have a wonderful weekend.

I'm back tomorrow.

Friday Die Day and a Chance to Win!

Hello friends

So this Friday came around super quick as usual!

Now let's see what I'm featuring today???

It is the Numbers and Letters M-Bossabilities™  Embossing Folder.

I featured this on Create and Craft when making a gentleman's notebook and I 

thought I would do a little tutorial on that day.

To start you need a notebook.  I purchased mine in Sainsbury's!

Cut some patterned paper to wrap around the notebook, it is a good idea to mould it around the spine

so that you have the exact dimensions.  The paper used here is Tim Holtz - Retro Grunge, the reverse of one of the patterned papers.  But I think it would work equally well with other papers including kraft.

You also need a piece of brown cardstock which is going to create a leather-look spine.

Pictured here is one of the die cuts from Locking Loops.

Once you have cut your notebook cover, place just the front inside the M-Bossabilities folder.

The embossing sandwich is A Base Plate, embossing folder with paper inside and 

D Raspberry Adapter Plate.  

You will see I use Junior Plates - once you have them you tend to use them a lot!

The emboss is wonderful.

Next I chose to use distress ink (Walnut Stain) and rubbed over the embossed numbering 

to highlight and to add a worn look.

I inked the edges of the brown cardstock spine and attached it using Crafty Power Tape.

I added the die cuts from Locking Loops to the spine but equally other shapes
would work well.

A sentiment...just for you.
(This is from a stamp set created by Marion Emberson - details are here)
Marion isn't a relation of mine...we just happen to share the same surname!

A close-up picture of the brilliant embossing.

Hopefully you like...if so please leave a comment and be in with a chance of 

winning this M-Bossabilities folder.  As mentioned, I have some ex-demo products

so they are perfect but without packaging.  

Bella will be roused from her snuggly blanket and set to work again! 

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend - are you getting crafty?

Take care friends.