New Design Team members and a card from Monday's show

Here's a very bright and cheery card from Monday's Create & Craft TV show. I know we should be thinking Christmas at the moment but people still have birthday's at this time of year and how nice would it be for them to receive a nice cheerful bright card! More about the card later but first some news...

I added 2 great new design team members to our blog on Wednesday evening, Vix, who is a true out and out Moonglow fan like me, I reckon she has it flowing through her veins like me:) I feel I've found a twin! Check out her blog... there's lots of Moonglow inspiration there, I'm really looking forward to our combined inspired play with Moonglow! So, watch this space:)

I am also very happy that Jo Austin, (my partner in the Springer Spaniel fan club), has joined us too. On the very rare occasions that I've been in the same place at the same time as Jo, she has accepted my Springer Spaniel type over excitement at seeing her, so the usual welcome with a big HUG goes to Jo, I am really looking forward to seeing what Jo does with our stuff!

Plus, tonight I am adding Tracey into the links too, as she has now got a blog! Do pop over and have a look, she has lovely cards on show there already. I did to Tracey what Debbie did to me, convinced her she needed to have one, Tracey is very new to blogging and we all know what that is like so I hope you will give her some support by joining and following her blog too.

So... more about the card.



A ran some of the vellum through the cuttlebug with the Swiss dots folder. Heavy pattern folders will crack the vellum and don't work so well, but the dots are great as the small white cracking effect looks good as a contrast against the colour of the vellum.

Use Nesties, punches or your trimmer to cut shapes out of shrink plastic, I used the largest square scalloped nestie for the platform and a slightly smaller circle to mount on top. I sanded the scalloped square piece and added colour from the Ocean Breeze Chalk ink pad before stamping with the black archival ink and the swirl stamp. Once you have done this you can shrink straight away, it is only when you want to colour in that you need to let the archival ink dry for half and hour.

I stamped onto the smaller circle with the Ranger black archival ink, without sanding, not necessary with the archival ink (also, it will bleed into the sanded lines, as will Stazon ink, so not good). Leave for half an hour and then you can colour in.

The Sakura Stardust pens are brilliant for colouring shrink plastic as they will give a great glittery effect when shrunk. I just traced around the stamp outlines and pulled the colour into the centres with an almost dry waterbrush. Don't apply too much colour, it needs to be very pale as the colour intensifies when shrunk. I went back over the lines before I shrank it, no need to wait for the ink to dry as they will heat set once shrunk.

If you haven't tried shrink plastic before, a very important tip here, and as I said on the show, don't panic! Easy said I know!!! If it looks like it is sticking to itself, just leave it and keep going, if you have a lolly stick to use then keep it where it is, don't start poking and prodding to try releasing it. Just keep heating and it will (normally) release itself.

Sometimes, especially with long thin pieces, it will stick and not release. With these pieces I rub my anti static bag over it lightly before shrinking, you can also use talcum powder for this if you don't have an anti static bag. You don't want to dust too much powder on it as it will spoil your colouring, so just use a small amount. It is less likely to stick to itself as the powder takes some of the sticky away.



What else to say on this... Use a good glue that dries clear to stick the pieces together, pva or silicone glue spread entirely over the back of a piece works well. I'll be showing more shrink plastic cards from the show and will give more tips as I go along.

I just need to add a greeting to this card before I send it!

Before I go, I must suggest that you pop over to Vix's blog, she has put up some Moonglow blog candy, totally thought up by her and from her own collection, how very kind of her, I will make sure she has something nice as a treat to thank her for doing that! You'll find her link on the right hand side with the other new DT members!

Thanks again for your comments and for reading all this, (if you've made it down this far)

Jill