Letters

Hi Bloggers.

Here's today's card -

Another proper card! This was was from my shows 22nd/23rd December with the lovely Tim Holtz stamps and CS Ultra Thick Embossing Crystals.

I have lots of pierced pieces of Coconut White Card from cutting frames and I used one on this card. I stamped the main image from the Tim Holtz Classics 8 Stamp Collection using Jet Black Archival. I stamped the sentiment from the Tim Holtz Classics 4 Stamp Collection, again using Jet Black Archival.

I matted onto Black Card and then onto Coconut White Card that I spritzed with Phill Martin's CS Chic Magenta Ink Spray Mist. I popped these onto a Coconut White Card blank.

I covered a Mini MDF Tag with CS White Gesso. I misted a little Chic Magenta Ink Spray Mist onto my Craft Sheet and then mixed in a little CS Warm White Chalk Paint. I used this to paint my tag. Once dry, I stamped the image from the Tim Holtz Classics 8 Stamp Collection onto my tag using Jet Black Archival. I added Clear Perfect Medium then CS Clear Ultra Thick Embossing Crystals and heat set. I added more ink, more Crystals and heat set again.

I lit the tea lights in the EFCO Enamel Pot. I added some Clear and some Black Ultra Thick Embossing Crystals to a pie dish and popped it on the hot plate. Once moulten, I poured it into a mould made from a Wendy Vecchi embellishment. After a couple of minutes, I removed it from the mould and added it to my tag using CS Glue.

I completed my card by adding White 5mm Pearl to the corners.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.
www.juliawattscrafts.co.uk
Free card with all website orders over £10 (ask for one in the comments box at checkout).
Deal of the Day today (22nd January) - Phill Martin Sentimentally Yours - Chic Floral 'Everyday' Border Sentiments only £8.99!

Glory of Art

Hi Bloggers.

I have an MDF piece from that ODS that I did last month featuring the Ultra Thick Embossing Crystals and Tim Holtz stamps. Good to do something different sometimes.

I painted both pieces of the MDF Baroque Square Photo Frame with CS White Gesso.

Once dry, I popped the back panel into a large box and misted with Phill Martin's CS Chic Aubergine Ink Spray Mist. While it was still wet, I used a brush to spread the colour around. Once this was dry, I stamped one of the stamps from the Tim Holtz Classics 4 Stamp Set using Jet Black Archival.

I spritzed a little of the Chic Aubergine Mister onto my Craft Sheet and added some CS Warm White Chalk Paint. I mixed it using a brush and painted the frame with it. Once dry, I stamped the heads stamp from the Tim Holtz Classics 4 Stamp Set and the sentiment from the Tim Holtz Classics 8 Stamp Set using Jet Black Archival.

I stamped the Creative Expressions Vintage Tapestry A6 Background Stamp onto Coconut White Card several times  using Lilac Heritage Crafts Pigment Ink. I cut Sue Wilson's Stitched Doodled Flowers from it and also a pair of leaves using Sue's Trailing Ivy Die Set (hard to see in the photos, I know).  I also cut some flowers and leaves out of Black Card. I pressed the black leaves into Clear Perfect Medium, added CS Clear Ultra Thick Embossing Crystals and heat set.

I made a mould using a cheap button and Ranger Mold n Pour. I lit the Tea Lights in the Efco Enamel Pot, popped a foil dish onto the metal plate, added some CS Clear Ultra Thick Embossing Crystals and popped the lid over. Once the Clear had melted, I added some CS Majestic Purple Embossing Crystals to the dish and popped the lid on again. Once moulton, I poured it into my mould and returned the dish to the stove. After a few minutes the UTEE was set and I removed my button from the mould. I repeated the process until I had 4 button embellishments. I glued them to the top of my flowers using CS Glue.

All orders placed on Thursday were posted out yesterday. The rest will be sent out tomorrow, latest Tuesday.

I've ordered more stock of the dies that I had on the Weaving shows. Unfortunately, the Star Flower Cluster is out of stock at CE. You can find everything here. Stock due in Tues/Wednes.

Thanks for stopping by.

 Julia.
www.juliawattscrafts.co.uk
Free card with all website orders over £10 (ask for one in the comments box at checkout).
Deal of the Day today (8th January) - Stampendous Cling Rubber Stamp - Seashells only £8.99!

Freebie Friday

Hi Bloggers.

Going back in time today for your Freebie Friday Card featuring one of my absolute favourite stamps that Sue Wilson's artist designed for me -  Curled Frame.

You can read how this card was made in this post.

Leave a lovely comment below to go into the draw. I will announce the winner on Monday.

Bookings are now being taken for my September and October Workshops at Creative Expressions HQ in Kettering. For all workshops at CE HQ, you can either contact Tracey on 01536 481778 during office hours or email her at tracey@creative-expressions.uk.com for more information or to book a place. I have also set the workshops up so that you can book via my website - see below for the relevant links.

The next workshop at CE HQ is on Wednesday 21st September. This is a Christmas themed workshop split into a morning and an afternoon session.

Morning Session - running 10am till 1pm. £30.

To book the above workshop via my website, click here.

Afternoon session - running 2pm till 4pm. £20.

To book the above workshop via my website, click here.

I have been asked to run another Stamping Masterclass. This will be on Wednesday 12th October. This ia an all day class with lots and lots of practise. The class runs 10am till 4pm and is £40 per person. You can book via my website here.

Oh, and just a little reminder - 

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.
www.juliawattscrafts.co.uk
Free card with all website orders (ask for one in the comments box at checkout).
Deal of the Day today (2nd September) - Ranger Dye Ink Pad : Lily Pad only £2.99!

 

Pastel Gilding Polishes & Pixie Powders

Hi Bloggers.

I had a fab day at Domino Crafts yesterday. They have seriously twisted my arm and I have arranged to go back for another demo day just before Christmas on December 10th - mainly so I can see Steve's Christmas window display!

I have a couple of MDF pieces to share with you today that I made yesterday - I made a couple of errors on them and we can learn from our mistakes, right?

I started my covering an MDF Heart with 2 coats of Heather CS Metallic Gilding Polish (I dried the first coat with my heat tool before adding the second - you can wait a couple of minutes at hime for it to dry but in a demo situation, speed is the key!).

Then using a Smoothie, I 'inked' through the Triangular Mask with Powder Blue CS Metallic Gilding Polish.

At this point, I should have made sure it was 100% dry and dusted over with an Anti-Static Bag but I forgot.

I added the Flower Bed Mask and spread some CS Clear Texture Paste through. I removed the mask and added White Gold CS Brilliant Sparkle Embossing Powder. The embossing powder should only have stuck to the texture paste but when I tried to tap off the excess, the powder stuck to the gilded area too. As it happens, I don't think it looks terrible but it'n not what I was aiming for.

I heat set the embossing powder and the texture paste bubbled up underneath and made little crackling noises as it did.

I stamped the sentiment from the Mystic Garden Stamp Set from Hot off the Press using Jet Black Archival.

I added some Heather & Powder Blue Gilding Polishes to a piece of Coconut White Card. Once dry, I cut both dies from Sue Wilson's Heart Spray out of the Heather piece and some flowers out of the Powder Blue piece using Sue's Exquisiste Poppy Die Set and inked through the die with Jet Black Archival (you could also use Midnight Clouds Colour Cloud or Black Soot Distress Ink but I did not have those with me). I cut the centres of the flowers out of Black Card.

So, not bad but would have been better if I have used an Anti-Static Bag!

Here's another -

I used an MDF Oval. I painted it with CS White Gesso.  I dried it with my heat tool. I popped a little CS Warm White Chalk Paint onto my Craft Sheet. I added just a little Plum Twist CS Pixie Powder and mixed thoroughly. You lose the mica element when you add the Pixie Powder to the Chalk Paint as the Chalk is dominant. I used this to paint my Oval.

I popped a little Purple Violet Pixie Powder into a Mister Bottle filled with water and gave it a mix. I popped the All Stirred Up Mask on top of my Oval and then misted with my Purple Violet Mister. I dried it with my Heat Tool.

I stamped one of Lisa Horton's stamps from her Wild Flowers Stamp Set using Jet Black Achival.

I popped some CS Multi-Tex Powder onto my Craft Sheet added a little water and a little Candy Pink CS Pixie Powder and mixed thoroughly. When driving back home, I remembered that I should have also added a little CS Dries Clear Glue to the mix to make it flexible. It does say on the pot but thought I should really mention it here for the ladies who were at the demo yesterday. I spread the paste through a section of the Spirelli Mask. I dried it with my heat tool. Multi-Tex dries really well when heated and does not bubble like Texture Paste does when heated.

I hope you've found this information on what I should have done but didn't useful?

Just a reminder that there's 10% discount on the items I have in stock from Sue Wilson's shows this week. You can find them here. Offer applies till midnight tonight. Discount is applied at checkout. You can still watch Sue's shows on catchup on www.hochanda.com for up to 2 weeks after the shows were aired. There may also be some repeated at other times too.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.
www.juliawattscrafts.co.uk
Free card with all website orders (ask for one in the comments box at checkout).
Deal of the Day today (3rd July) - Spellbinders 5 x 7 Flourished Frame Die Set only £13.99!

Pixie Powders One Day Special and Freebie Friday

Hi Bloggers.

The Cosmic Shimmer Pixie Powder One Day Special continues on Hochanda today with shows at 9am, 12noon, 4pm and 7pm. Not sure how long the Pixie Powders will last!

Don't miss out on any of the Justrite stamps and dies at silly prices. For more inspiration for the Applique Flowers Stamp Set, click here. For more inspirations on the Sunflowers stamp set click here. For more inspiration on the Fleur Twist Background, click here.

Today I have something a bit different which will hopefully show you lots of ways that you can use these powders -

I coated an MDF Scalloped Tag with White Gesso.  I popped some Cosmic Shimmer Warm White Chalk Paint onto my Craft Sheet and added a little Teal Wash Pixie Powder. I mixed it in thoroughly and then painted my tag. I actually gave it a couple of coats to give a good depth of colour. You lose the mica shimmer when added to Chalk Paint but you still get a gorgeous colour - more powder will give a darker colour, less will give a lighter colour.

I inked up one side of the Justrite Fleur Twist Background Stamp with Jet Black Archival and stamped it down the left hand side of the tag (great having such a large stamp).

Next, I popped some CS Multi-Tex Powder onto my Craft Sheet and added some Peacock Green and Golden Mint Pixie Powders. I added a little water and mixed to a consistency that I was happy with. I spread this through the Triangular Mask in the areas shown. One of the great things about Multi-Tex is that you can heat set it without changing the way it looks (Texture Paste bubbles) so that's what I did (too impatient to wait for it to dry).

I misted 2 pieces of Water Colour Card with water. To one I added, Peacock Green Pixie Powder and to the other I added Teal Wash Pixie Powder. Once completely dry, I dusted with my Anti Static Bag and stamped 2 tulips from the Justrite Applique Flowers Stamp Set onto the Teal piece using Clear Perfect Medium and embossed with CS Black Detail Embossing Powder. I repeated the process on the Peacock Green piece with stem stamp (I only stamped it once). I cut all the pieces out using scissors, snipping the stem into 2 pieces. I glued the stem pieces to the tag and added the tulips using 3D Foam.

I used Lisa Horton's technique to add little white dots using White Gesso and the end of a paint brush.

I stamped the sentiment from the Justrite Applique Flowers Stamp Set onto Coconut White Card using Clear Perfect Medium and embossed with CS Black Detail Powder. I cut it out using the smallest die in the Justrite Vintage Sentiment Tag Dies. I spritzed a little water onto my Craft Sheet, added a little Teal Wash Pixie Powder and mixed in using a Paint Brush. I picked some up onto a small piece of Cut n Dry Foam and 'inked' around the edges of my sentiment panel.

I misted some more water to my Craft Sheet and added a little Golden Mint, Teal Wash and Peacock Green Pixie Powders. I dragged some Blue White American Seam Binding through it. I dried it using my heat tool and added it to my tag.

Hope you have picked up a few techniques from this. I have made another tag for the shows (it's a bit OTT). I'll share that at a later date.

There's 10% discount on items I have in stock from the ODS shows on my website. You can find them here. Offer applies till midnight tonight. Please note : my stock of Pixie Powders is in a different bottle to that shown on Hochanda. The bottle has been changed so that manufacturing could be increased to cope with demand. The nozzle and the amount of powder is the same in both bottle types.

Now onto the Freebie Friday Card. I have a demo card from my last Spellbinders One Day Special up for grabs today -

You can read how this card was made here.

Leave a lovely comment below to go into the draw to win it. I'll announce the winner on Monday.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.
www.juliawattscrafts.co.uk
Free card with all website orders (ask for one in the comments box at checkout).
Deal of the Day today (20th May) - Sue Wilson Mini Gemini Collection : Aquila only £4.99!

Shows on Hochanda today

Hi Bloggers.

I have shows on Hochanda today at 11am, 2pm and 5pm. Hope you can join me. As I said yesterday, the shows are with a bunch of lovely Justrite Stamps at great prices. Do be sure to grab a bargain if you can.

I plan to show you lots of techniques rather than make completed cards so hit the record button!

Here's today's card which has quite a few technques in it -

With this one I started with the central panel. I stamped the sentiment and the frame from the Justrite Birthday Vintage Labels Four Stamp Set onto Milk Card using Cosmic Shimmer Flake & Gitter Glue applied with a piece of Cut n Dry Foam. I then added Ice Blue Cosmic Shimmer Polished Silk Glitter. When doing this, you do not need to scrub or wipe off the excess glitter - just tap it off. I used a couple of dies from the Justrite Vintage Labels Four Die Set to cut them out.

I went around the edges of the oval die cut with Phill Martin CS Decadent Teal Colour Cloud using a Smoothie.

I made myself an ink pad by misting a piece of Cut n Dry Foam with Aqua Breeze Cosmic Shimmer Ink Spray Mist. I used it to ink up the Justrite Dotted Fronds Background Stamp and stamped onto Milk Card. I cut it down to a panel and inked around the edges with Decadent Teal Colour Coud. I matted onto a piece of Black Card.

I popped a little more Aqua Breeze Ink Spray Mist onto my Craft Sheet and added a little Cosmic Shimmer Pearlescent Mica Powder. I mixed this into the ink and added it to my Ink Pad. I used this to ink up the Justrite Cornflower Damask Background Stamp and stamped onto Milk Card. I trimmed it a little, edged with Decadent Teal Colour Cloud and matted it onto a piece of Black Card. Unfortunately, it's really hard to catch the gorgeous shimmer on camera.

For the main background, I ran a piece of Milk Card through the Grand Calibur with the Creative Expressions Art Deco Fanfare Embossing Folder and inked around the edges with Decadent Teal Colour Cloud.

I popped some Aqua Breeze Ink Spray Mist onto my Craft Sheet and mixed it with a little Cosmic Shimmer Warm White Matt Chalk Paint. I used a little piece of Cut n Dry Foam to pick it up and 'ink' the Justrite Dotted Fronds Background Stamp and stamped onto Milk Card. I cut 2 sizes of Sue Wilson's Perfect Peony : Complete Petals Dies out twice and cut the corresponding Perfect Peony : Open Petals Dies out of Milk Card twice. I glued the Open Petal die cuts to the Closed Petal die cuts at the centre only, shaped them, stacked them up offsetting them and added a Small Black Circle Dazzler.

I cut some leaves out of Black Card using Sue's Laurel Leaves Die Set.

I assembled the card as shown adding some 8mm Cream Pearls and piercing around the edges using my Tim Holtz Ruler, Precision Probe and Piercing Mat.

I don't have many of the items that are on today's shows but you can see the items that I do have in stock on my website here.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.
www.juliawattscrafts.co.uk

Happy Birthday

Hi Bloggers.

This card hasn't had its day on the blog -

I started by making an ink pad by spritzing a little Cosmic Shimmer Mulberry Mist Ink Spray Mist onto a piece of Cut n Dry Foam. I spritzed a little more ink onto my craft sheet, added a little Ruby Red Mica Powder from the Cosmic Shimmer Delicate Lace Mica Spray Set. I picked this up onto my piece of Cut n Dry Foam. I used this to ink up the image from the Justrite Floral Thank You Stamp Set. I then added a little Cosmic Shimmer Warm White Chalk Paint to my Craft Sheet and mixed this into my Cut n Dry Foam and added a little to my stamp. I stamped this onto Coconut White Card. I cut it out using Spellbinders Labels 29 and inked through the die with Victorian Velvet Distress Ink.

I stamped the Justrite Garden Trellis Background onto another piece of Coconut White Card using Clear Perfect Medium. I brushed Frosted Mallow, Ruby Red and Sugar Grey Mica Powder from the same set over the image. I removed the excess with a dry wet wipe. I trimmed it and matted it onto Black Card.

I embossed a piece of Coconut White Card using the Creative Expressions Rambling Blossoms Embossing Folder. I inked around the edges with Victorian Vevet Distress Ink. For the main background, I ran another piece of Coconut White Card through the Grand Calibur with the Creative Expressions Knotted Trellis Embossing Folder and again edged with Victorian Velvet.

I popped a little CS Warm White Chalk Paint onto my Craft Sheet and mixed in a little Frosted Mallow Mica Powder. I picked this up onto a piece of Cut n Dry Foam and used it to colour a piece of White Crochet Ribbon.

I used the same Chalk Paint/Mica mix that I used to colour the ribbon to stamp the sentiment from the Justrite Extra Grand Sentiments Clear Stamp Set. I cut it out using Justrite Vintage Labels 4 Dies and inked through the die with Victorian Velvet.

I assembled the card as shown adding some White Pearls and piercing around the edges using my Tim Holtz Ruler, Precision Probe and Piercing Mat.

Sue Wilson is continuing with her shows on Hochanda showing off the first half of her Festive Dies so I'm offering 10% off all of Sue's Dies on my website till midnight tomorrow. Remember, free postage on orders £20 and above (UK only). Postage to Europe is calculated based on weight. Discount will be calculated at checkout.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.
www.juliawattscrafts.co.uk