Black Ice

Whats that??? I hear you shout, good question.. Its the new technique that seems everyone is doing at the moment. So I did a bit of research on that famous You tube, then went and practised. 

It is a bit messy. I have to state that up front. Although if I stuck the card I was working on, to my grid paper I got a much better coverage. It only works with the black archival ink, and  you do need some pressure on the versamark to get an evenish (is that a word?) coverage. I used a heat tool between each layer to ensure that the ink was dry before starting on the next step.

I am still investigating which stamps this works really well with. So far I have used all the Lovely as a tree stamps and these are the best two.

I think with the next set I try I will make a little video so pop back and have a look this time next week. I really like the first one which I used the champagne foil for, it gives the card a sort of sepia look. 

I will be using this technique for my class on Wednesday. This is a monthly class for experienced crafters.

Shopping

Lovely as a tree stamp set 127793

Silver foil                           132178

gold foil                              132622

champagne foil                   144748

versamark                          102283

black archival ink               140931

clear embossing powder     109130

heat gun                              129054

 By clicking and of the product numbers you will be taken to that product in my online shop. From there you can have a good browse.

When you have had a browse and are ready to place your order use the hostess code before you shop. When shopping with me for orders over £30 please use the hostess code  RB9GBYFC I will send a card and a gift in the post at the end of April as a thank you..... more lovely crafty goodies!

A zesty little make

I'm not very good at boxes... but I am improving however I love a bag. Particularly a bag made in beautiful paper.
For this make I have had to stamp - creating my own paper. The zesty Lemon stamp set and punch has been calling me for 12 months now and I am pleased to say it is carrying over into the new catalogue so it had to be bought but there isn't a matching paper... so I made my own. Great fun, lots of stamping and I did use quite a few sheets of 'post it' notes to get the depth.
I can see a whole batch of these being made.

 The bag is 7" wide and 8" tall and holds an amazing amount. I need to sort something out to put in it, suggestions welcome.

Shopping

Lemon Zest Bundle (stamp and punch)   145360

 By clicking and of the product numbers you will be taken to that product in my online shop. From there you can have a good browse.

When you have had a browse and are ready to place your order use the hostess code before you shop. When shopping with me for orders over £30 please use the hostess code  RB9GBYFC I will send a card and a gift in the post at the end of April as a thank you..... more lovely crafty goodies!

Springer cards

This is the third of our makes for the project day and booking closes tomorrow to give me time to order your wonderful goody bags.. This little card is a 'springer card'. Its very simple to make but so effective.

As a bit of a challenge ....you know what an IT dinosaur I am I thought I would try a little video to show you how this 'springs' out of the envelop. It shows how it goes from flat to upright! The video is only 4 seconds long so don't blink!!!!!! (fingers crossed its worked!)

Check out the events page and get your seat booked for the Project workshop on the 21st April.

Moving butterflies.....

Its my first lot of classes today after my weeks holiday on the IOW and the wonderful Onstage in Telford. I am still working my way through the new catalogue. So many lovely stamp sets but not enough hours in the day.

Back to this weeks classes. This afternoon we are making cards that have some movement. I am using my butterfly stamps and punches. Some of these retired last year but my ladies love them.....is there something new to replace them this year???? You will have to wait and see unless you join my team before Friday when I am doing a big reveal. Lol. My team are meeting on Friday to check out the catalogue and look at all the goodies I bought back from Onstage. You do have to be a demonstrator to go to Onstage. Its just one of the perks. I love it.

Again back to todays class. Thinking about movement... I have created a shaker card, something in the past I have struggled with but this one came together really well.

The second card is one of those spinner type cards,  I had to rummage in the bottom of my handbag for 2 pennies to make it work. Why do the coins end up down in those un-reachable corners?

The third card is a lovely card that Ronda Wade created in her fb live. I love this. I have used glossy white card for the butterfly, it really pops. I have used that pretty SAB foiled paper for the background and coloured the leaves with one of my blends pens.

Telford

As you read this I am at last travelling home. I have had a busy week in the Isle of Wight followed by a wonderful weekend in Telford. The Telford part started after an 81/2 hour dive on Friday, well you could hardly call it driving it was very stop start. I think everyone was going somewhere!
Once in Telford we started the Friday evening with a lovely meal with friends at Zizzi's. I can highly recommend the hanging skewer! A lovely walk back to our hotel, it was so warm. The friends we were meeting was a demonstrator I met at the previous Stampin'Up event last November. We have kept in contact and were both in Telford with our OH's. So the men talked beer, sport and everything else that men talk about and we talked crafting. A really great evening.
Saturday morning was an early, wet start with my basket of flowers at the ready. (see yesterdays post)
Swapping is a lovely way of meeting new people and I am happy to say my swaps went down well. I will share some of the lovely swaps I received in return later on this week.
Today I wanted to show you the great team of ladies I craft with. We had a wonderful day, we are scattered across the country so Telford tends to be the only time we can catch up in person. This year the whole event has been fantastic. I am in bright pink on the right hand side at the front. If you fancy joining this great group of people and crafting with us then please check out the 'join my team' tab at the top of the page. I look forward to hearing from you.

Whats happening this weekend and next week?

Now we are in April and the new tax year has begun…… no we won’t mention that again.
For all those who shop with me online - this months hostess code is RB9GBYFC Not only will I send you a handmade thank you card, for every order over £25 before postage you will receive a packet of dimensionals (either mini or original)  from me for free.

What is happening

• This weekend I will be in Telford at the Stampin’Up convention. This is a demonstrator only event where I will get the new annual catalogue in my hand. Whoop whoop.
•  On Monday 9th April the retirement list will be live online In the past I have found that items do go very quickly. In fact I have never managed to get a bargain although to be honest my want list by this time in the year is quite short!

The one retirement we all know in advance 
The 'in colours' for 2016 - 2018. 

Sweet Sugar Plum, Dapper Denim, Emerald Envy, Peek-a-boo Peach and Flirty Flamingo. 

I will certainly miss this group of colours, particularly the flirty flamingo and peach. Ensure you have the re inkers if you have the ink pad and a pack of card for each colour so that you have things to match These are probably the items that sell out the quickest,
This is the link for all the retiring 'In Colour' products here 
Order online before Monday, don't forget to use the hostess code!

My little team of Kraftlings is working hard to grow. We have regular team trainings and an active facebook page. Wherever you live you would be most welcome to join our team and benefit from the discounts we get as demonstrators as well as product preview and many other perks from Stampin'Up and an active friendly group of demonstrations wanting to share ideas and the love of the products. I love my job, do you?

These are my swaps for Telford. I will show you what I bring back later this week.

I can re member years back when we used to regularly go out for a curry, some chap would come round with a single stem flower wrapped in cello. These remind me of those days! Do you remember that?

A brilliant little suitcase, another make for the project day

I have to say up front that this is not my design. Its from the brilliant Linda Parker. She is a wizz at boxes of all shapes and sizes. So thank you Linda.
I love this make, its useful and its stylish. And it works well in lots of the designer papers.

This little case is one of the main makes of the project class on 21st April. Full details of the class are on the events and classes page tab above. This class includes the papers and card to make this little bag as well as the stamp sets and other products. Booking closes on the 13th of the month but the sooner you book the sooner I can order your goodies.

The pink and black case still needs its sentiment, I will have to look at that next week when I am back in the studio.

Looking forward to sharing these in the project class. I have checked the box will fit a large bag of Malteesers or Wethers Originals.