Scrunch paper card and box with Funky Flowers

Here's another card from Saturday's show, this time with the Funky Flowers and Fancy Flourishes stamp sheet designed by Kay Carley.

Sorry this photo is not great, it has a really rich look in real life!  The flower image is stamped onto sticky backed canvas.  I detail painted with the Mardi Gras stains and also flicked the stains onto the canvas to give a speckled look.

The background was made from mopping up the stains from my craft mat when I had been misting, shame to waste it and it gives a lovely distressed look.  I over stamped with one of the flourish stamps.

I used a piece of 12" x 12" paper scrunch to cover the lid and sprayed the base of the box.  I also added a square of scrunched paper inside the lid on this one.

Jill

Masking with Post It Notes

After the excitement of blog candy announcements, it's back to the last of the cards from the last telly show with Kay's stamps.

For this demo, I wanted to show how you can use some of the elements on the sheets.  It is nothing new, it was one of the first techniques I learnt getting on for 20 years ago.  If like me, you have been card making for years, it is nice to revisit these solid core techniques that work time and time again but with new products or designs. 

It is one of the reasons I have stuck with this hobby for so long, there are so many different techniques to try with different materials.  That is the joy of stamping, adapting these techniques with new stuff we have.

Way back when we started and I'd learnt masking to share with customers, we had a stock of small inexpensive stamp designs that were easy to use.  The basic requirements for starting were a smallish stamp, a permanent ink pad, something to colour in with like coloured pencils or a pack of inexpensive brush pens with a paint brush/water, Post It Notes and some white card.

The stamp I used on the show wasn't the easiest example to use for this technique as the design wasn't obvious as to which way round it is, but, if for instance you choose an object that has an obvious top and bottom, like a butterfly, it will be much easier to do when you first try it.

I have to say that when I made the background at home, it went far more smoothly than when I did it on the telly (of course!), I enjoyed revisiting this technique and was happily engrossed in it for quite a while.

Ok, so how to do this for those that haven't tried it yet...

Use a single stamp that is easy to cut out. 

Stamp the design on a Post It Note, stamp at the top of the pad that has the sticky bit underneath.  Take 3 or 4 sheets off the pad and cut out the design.  This will give you 3 or 4 masks.

I find it easier to stamp the first design in the centre of the card, this will make it the focal point as it is going to remain in front of all the others you stamp.

Stamp your design onto a piece of card with a permanent ink pad, (such as Ranger Archival, Stazon, Memories), and allow to completely dry, you can use a heat gun for this.

Place a mask over the design matching the pattern and stamp over the top of the mask with the same design, stamp above/below/wherever you have a large enough space to place the design. 

Add masks over some of the designs you have stamped and continue stamping over them to build up the design until the card is covered.

Colour the designs with whatever you prefer to colour with.  I coloured the background as well to really make the flowers pop out.  I added glitter glue to the flower centres to add extra sparkle.

Well, that is basic masking.  You will find that as the design is quite busy, you can cut borders or mounts from the piece you have made to make quite a few cards, you'll be surprised how far an A4 sheet will go.

OK, another reminder, I hope you will be able to join Tracey and I tomorrow at noon on Create and Craft TV, (Sky 671, Freeview 36).

We'll both give you a wave:)

Jill 

More Nestie shrink plastic

Just a quick post today with more Nestie Shrink Plastic from last Monday's telly show used with a scalloped oval card mount.  This time I stamped the flower (from Kay's Funky Flowers stamp sheet) with black Archival ink over the white Brilliance flourish background on the shrink plastic.  I left it to dry before colouring with the Sakura stardust pens.

I ran the pink vellum through my Cuttlebug with the Swiss dots folder, which cracked the vellum to create white dots.  A few paper flowers and ribbon have been added as finishing touches.

Shrink plastic buttons from last Monday's show

Same basic idea and instructions as the previous 2 cards but on this one I made use of some of the Shrink Plastic scraps to make buttons, well you can't waste it can you? So use your punches or nesties to make them. If the buttons are for embellishments, so what if they are square, triangle, octagonal or oval!

I meant to mention this before, you may find that you get little shreads of plastic around the edges when you cut a shape with a punch or die cutting machine. That was what I was doing on the show when I stood there sanding the edges, but didn't explain. When I watched the show back I saw it was still a bit tatty, but Shrink Plastic is very forgiving though and it does hide a lot of imperfections when shrunk. If you do have a sanding block then it doesn't hurt to tidy it up a little.

Since the show I have been asked which colour Shrink Plastic I used, it was translucent.

Stamp the swirl stamps onto the Shrink Plastic with white Briliance ink for a nice elegant look then use an office hole punch size to make the holes (1/4"). Using anything smaller will make it difficult to thread ribbon, threads or cord through, and life's too short to spend 1/2 an hour threading ribbon!

Of course, you can stamp in any colour for the buttons that will match your project, just remember they will be darker once shrunk, so don't apply too much colour. If I want to make a coloured background to simply stamp over, I wipe the pad, direct-to-shrink style, then wipe a lot of the ink off with tissue before I stamp on it, it really needs to be very pale.  You may wish to try just sponging a little ink here and there on.

For this button I doubled up the ribbon, tied a knot at the fold, then threaded each end through the button holes to the back. I fixed the ends inside the card. It makes a nice knot with no loose ends.

Again I was Cuttlebug obsessed on the show, I just love the white embossed effect, has had me hooked for years, but it is SO much easier to do than dry embossing using a stencil and takes the blandness away from a plain piece of card.

This wasn't one of my favourite cards I made for the show, it was one of the last I got together and why I stuck that bow on I'll never know!

Anyhow, I can't hide it as it does show how you can use a Shrink Plastic button or in fact any button. Maybe if I make the picture of the button big, and the picture of the card small, you won't notice how bad it is.

I decided it is about time I decorated the blog, I hope you like the changes.

I think I've waffled on enough, thanks again for reading!

Jill

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

Brilliance ink card from Monday's show

I thought I'd start with this card from Monday's show first. I made it with the Brilliance ink pads featured in the show, I'll explain how it was made shortly, but first a bit about our day.

We normally only get to show 3 demos but on Monday they wanted extras, it caught me out as the floor manager had moved my demo crate to the other end of the set. I had told the producer I could do some demos on the hop if needed, when I looked down my crate wasn't there!

I always try to keep it near me just in case I've forgotten to get something out and only have to reach down, it was way too far down the counter for me to even grab when Joanne was at the other end, so the floor manager came behind us on his hands and knees to grab it back, better him than me, as you'd have probably seen my head bobbing up and down as I went along!! He couldn't even drag it in case it made a noise so he had to lift and carry it back while still on his knees. That'll teach him to move the guests things too far away from them:)

I hadn't worked with Joanne before but I found her good to work with, she is a lovely lady, I felt she let me talk and get on with it.

We had a meeting at Ideal World before we set off on our journey back home and found that the sign we saw first thing in the day about the A1 north being closed still stood, it was quite foggy in the morning and we thought that it was maybe an accident or fog that would have cleared by the time we headed home, but no, it was completely closed into the afternoon with a huge back log of traffic on the small roads in the diversion (to Newark).

Thank goodness for Sally traffic who said the junction was open so we turned around. The junction wasn't open as stated but we followed the other cars that had listened to Sally and obviously knew an alternative route and hey, we turned up at the next junction to a nice clear road! All was OK until we hit the M62. Sorry, I seem to be getting obsessed with traffic, I'll shut up about it now.... so more about Monday....

I think they were quite taken with this card and Joanne kept going back to it. I wasn't expecting to demo it but it was a nice simple idea and definitely my kind of thing.



In case you missed the show, I applied the Brilliance ink pads direct-to-craft sheet, just randomly using the crimson, ivy, gold and white ink pads (they are all pearlescent inks). I hadn't taken my spray bottle so I had to sacrifice my drinking water by flicking it onto the ink splodges, I did most of that off screen, not a glamorous way to do it, much better to use a spray bottle if you have one!

I then placed my card on top of the inky mess and swished it, lifted it, swished it, lifted it etc, until I was happy with the pattern. You can always add more colour and if you find it is getting a little dark, just apply more of the white. The card I made has more of a pink tone to it than the darker crimson as I had used more white on that piece. I used more gold in the demo, but as I say, it doesn't really matter as you can adjust it.

I stamped over the background with the black archival ink pad when it was dry. I did add some colour to the leaves on the finished card with the Stardust pens and also added the brads to the flower centres so basically a very quick card to make, but it does have a lovely pearlescent finish to it.

I'm not sure if the show will be repeated at the weekend, but if it is I will post the details as soon as I know. I'll show another card from the show tomorrow, it'll be a shrink plastic one, didn't Joanne do well with her first piece of shrink plastic, I think she was really pleased with it. You didn't see us doing it on screen, but we did a high five after it!

Thank you for the comments and messages you have left here or emailed, they are always lovely to receive.

Jill

Next live TV show on Create & Craft - Mon. 9th Nov @ noon!

Yes, yet another live show!

Here's another card from the last show with Kay's Funky Flowers stamp sheet. A simple card coloured with Tombow brush pens.


I know, I know, I've not been posting or commenting as I normally try to, but October was a busy time so I have just been flopped out for a bit since. It's my own fault for lifting those crates onto the darn trolley at the end of the Doncaster show that didn't help and on top of that I got a cold which knocked me for six too, so all in all, in amongst other things, not a good time!

I had a burst of energy on Tuesday, my back wasn't quite so painful and how strange that I felt a different person! Anyway, I spent a bit of time preparing for Monday's telly show and yesterday I got some more of the elements ready, I had made a list of ideas, and at least some have been done and I'm feeling a little less pressured about Monday's show now. I will play again tomorrow to finish things off.

I will be using Kay's latest collection of stamps again and wanted to demo different things from the ones I demo'd in the last show, although there'll still be shrink plastic! If I can get my bits together to form some cards then I will be even happier:)

Yes, it's me on my own on this one, I have been dreading the drive and had decided to go by train this time but, Mr Superman Stamp Man has stepped in to chauffeur me, phew, that is such a relief, as I know I couldn't do that loooooooooong drive at the moment. I didn't nag Ian, honest....OK, I'll stop whinging now!

Kay's 3 new DVD's are on their way to us, and they will all arrive on our website very soon! If you are a beginner at stamping, do start with the first one as Kay explains, very well, about different ink pads, of which there are many, and so much more, it will prove a great start to your new hobby. There's loads to learn on them all, so they are a good idea for you to add to your Christmas pressie list this year. We'll have a multi-buy offer too if you want to go for all 3 DVDs.

Kay has used some of her stamp designs on the DVDs, including her latest collection that I am showing on Monday's show.

What else do I have to mention, oh yes, Walnut Hollow products for metal embossing, I have now added them to our website. I tried the starter kit at our workshop last weekend and it has a good mix of stuff to get you started. There are other add-ons which you can gather as you go along, it really is great fun to do. I'll show you what I made as soon as I get them finished.

I've added a few new workshop dates to the website too, the workshop on Saturday November 14th is with Jill Boulton, grunge paper and metal embossing techniques, so another great workshop theme with a chance to try metal embossing if you missed out on last weekend's workshop.

More blog candy is coming soon, once I get a chance to get it together along with a photo, so do call back to join in.

Umm, I think that's all the waffle I have for today. Thanks for reading!!

Jill

Another bright and sunny card from last Wednesday's show, nearly matching the warmth of the Indian summer we had here yesterday, it certainly isn't usually this warm in North Yorkshire at the end of October but is most welcome!

I decided to change the blog background colour, having a play about while eating my toast when I really should be getting on with more important stuff. Even changing that won't make the photo here look any better, honest the card does look a bit better in real life! Thank goodness Christmas is coming soon, and I may be able to justify asking for a new camera:)

Jill

A couple more cards from Wednesday's show with Kay

A couple more cards here made with Kay's fabby stamp collection from Wednesday's show. If you live in the Doncaster area, you can see them all in real life along with others at the Stamp Magic show at the Dome today! I checked with Paula (the organiser) today, you can just turn up on the day and pay at the door. It's a huge light and airy hall with plenty of room for everyone, so a nice show/shopping experience for everyone.

Kay has made such beautiful cards with her stamps, (they are so much better than my simple creations), I hope you can visit and see them all in real life.

I used the Fancy Flourishes sheet and chalk inks to create the background on pastel blue vellum. The main image has been coloured with Sakura Stardust pens



For this card, the side panel has been Cuttlebug'd with the swirl folder, the main image is again coloured with Stardust pens.

Jill

PS: I may be back posting later today... Depends on available energy level!!

A couple more cards from Wednesday's show

A quick post today with a couple more cards, as we'll be setting off for Doncaster soon.

I've used the yellow pastel vellum and Easy Sew Stitches on this card. The main image is from Kay's Funky Flowers sheets and the wording from the Fancy Flourishes sheet.



I used the Cuttlebug Swiss dot folder with some doubled-sided yellow/black black magic card that I sanded to match the flower heads.

Kay Carley's Fancy Flowers Stamp Sheet - new cards from the telly show and other ramblings....

This is the first card I demonstrated on Wednesday's show.

I stamped onto the translucent shrink plastic with a black archival ink pad, it does take about 30 minutes to dry before you can colour in. I didn't sand the shrink plastic as with this ink pad and Stazon ink, it can bleed into the sanded lines. I do sand it when using Brilliance ink pads and will explain more as I show the other cards with the shrink plastic.

I used Sakura Stardust pens to add colour, I traced around the outlines of the petals and put a little colour around the centres. I used a nearly dry waterbrush to pull the colour into the centres of the petals slightly so that it was a very pale pink. You need to have a very pale shade as the colour will intensify when it is shrunk and look far too heavy. If you have too much water on your waterbrush/paintbrush it will bead, it only needs to be slightly damp.

The Stardust pens have a shimmer to them that also intensifies when shrunk. They really are the very best pens to use on shrink plastic, the finish is superb.

I used the swirl Cuttlebug folder to create the background and although you cannot see very well, I used gold mirri card as mounts along with a torn strip of pink vellum.

OK, a little more about Wednesday... When I had my meeting about the show, the buyers did say that they would try to have Nigel presenting on the show for us but couldn't promise it, but this slot was free for him if he could do it. Nigel was there in the studio on Wednesday but was busy filming other things with Stephanie. He has had a hernia operation today so they must have had a lot to do before he has time off. Ian (Mr Stamp Man) has had this op, so I know that Nigel will have to have time to get over it.

Nigel is a really lovely chap, and I think he is so great at his job, he always seems to ask the right questions about the products before our shows so he can learn as much as possible about them, and it shows in his presentation of them. I think he will be missed while he is off screen. I must find some time this weekend to make him a card.

Dave did a good job for us on the show though, to say he was brought in at the last minute. He is another presenter who looks so different in real life than on screen, he's so tall, handsome and tanned! I met him before years ago, so felt comfortable working with him, although it was our first show with him. It made me laugh when the producer told us that someone had emailed in earlier and told him to tuck his shirt into his trousers... and he took note... and it was:)

My blog posting has been delayed as I was at the shop yesterday, and today I have been at home catching up on more paperwork (the growing tumbling heaps of it) plus a huge pile of washing and ironing before setting off again tomorrow for the Stamp Magic Show at The Dome Doncaster. I really like this show as there is plenty of room for people to move and I gather from customers that there is a good mix of retailers there. It also has a lovely atmosphere. Nice food too, so I hear, I am happy with my bacon sarnie at 8am that usually lasts me through the day, we may be lucky and have a sandwich later in the day to see us through, but they also do proper sit down meals... oh for the chance of one of those at a show!

We are finishing the packing and loading of the van at the shop before setting off to set up our stall in the evening. The show is on Sunday, you can just turn up on the day and pay at the door if you fancy coming along.

We will have the stamp sheets and other products we have featured in the 2 live shows, and will have special multi-buy prices for the stamp sheets we had on the shows. Plus, we have some other nice bargains for you!!

We will also have plenty of Moonglow products with us as usual if you missed out on the sampler kit on the telly when they sold out, no doubt we will be demonstrating them as well, so expect some messy techniques! If you want me to put together a sampler set for you then just ask! We'll have all the colour charts there too so that you can cherry pick your own colours/set if you wish.

Tracey Coates, designer of the 3 sheets in last Tuesday's show will be with Ian, Caroline and I, so do come and say hello!!

The cards from Kay's show on Wednesday will be on show along with the cards from Tracey's show, so you can see them in real life and ask any questions you have about them. I will also have the background papers/vellums that Kay showed with her Fancy Flourishes sheet. I took some photos of them today but they look much better in real life as do all the cards so I hope people that can come to the show will pop by and see them all. Please pop over to Kay and Debbie's blogs to see the cards they made for the show, (the links are over to the right), hopefully they will be showing them soon.

Isn't it flipping typical, that Lisa promises a visit to the shop and she came today when I wasn't there!! The shop is in a bit of a muddle at the moment too as Debbie and Helen have been packing for the show this weekend, there's also packing for the telly going on and we've not had a chance to get straight from last weekend's demo day either. I hope that now you've found us Lisa you'll come back when we are a little more organised and when I am there:) I hope you found what you came for and it wasn't already packed!

Thank you everyone for visiting and for the great comments you have left here recently, they are much appreciated!

I will schedule a couple of posts for the weekend with some more cards before I set off again, so do call back!!!

Time for bed now me thinks! Thanks for reading all that, if you made it this far

Jill

French Country Funky Flowers

I hope you are having a nice weekend, or should I say had, as it is nearly over as I post this.

This was a quickish card to make using Kay's Funky Flowers and Fancy Flourish stamps. I coloured the main image using French Country Starburst Stains, the same set as the giveaway. I misted the pre-printed background paper before stamping the flourishes over the top. I also stamped them on the yellow mount. The wording is from the flourish stamp sheet. Yellow and white brads plus a little white yarn are used as embellishments.

Shrink Plastic Funky Flowers card

I'm still enjoying using Kay's new stamp sheets, here is another I made recently.

I sanded and coloured translucent shrink plastic using a Brilliance lavender ink pad. I put the ink pad directly onto the shrink plastic (direct to paper style) making random blobs all over. I then worked the ink over the whole sheet lifting some away to leave it fairly pale. As the shade will intensify when shrunk, it needs to be very pale.

I stamped the design using Stazon black ink and then painted the flower with the Brilliance ink that I had pressed onto my non stick sheet, and a detail paint brush. I also used coloured pencils for the leaves, then heated the piece with my heat gun to shrink. Use wooden dowling, or lolly sticks to hold it down as shrink plastic doesn't stick to wood and it is also less likely to spoil the plastic than using tweezers (that can also get very hot). When it looks like it won't shrink anymore, splat it with the back something solid that won't spoil such as an acrylic block. This will give a nice flat finish. If you call into the shop you may see this card, the photo shows the piece quite dark but it is a lot lighter in real life.

I punched out a flower and made 2 holes in it to make it into a button. I shrank the piece completely and while still really hot, I stamped one of Kay's flourish stamps into it with black Stazon ink and attached the ribbon when it was cool. Oh, nearly forgot to mention that I reheated the flower a little after stamping, just enough to make it curl upward to give it dimension.

I stamped over the pre-printed dragonfly background paper with the Brilliance ink pad, then stamped over again randomly with the black Stazon.

I added mauve brads to the corners and added some Magenta mesh style ribbon that I attached to the back before mounting onto a square base card.

I used silicone glue to attach the shrink plastic to the card.

I'll add appropriate words to the card before sending.

Mardi Gras Starburst Stains

This is one of the newer sets, the set name sounds as if it is bright colours but is actually a very rich, regal set. Great for vintage work and would be lovely to use for Christmas cards. The stain colours are deep and rich and the secondary gold is a brassy/antique gold. The colours in the set are:

Jazzy Jivin' Purple, Voodoo Purple, Bayou Boogle Gold, Gator Gumbo Olive, Cajun Camelian Bluebells

What lovely names!

The card above is one that Debbie made with the Mardi Gras set using one of Kay Carley's new stamp designs

Funky Flowers & French Country S. Stains

Back to cards today.

I made this card with Kay's Funky Flowers stamp sheet and French Country starburst stains. I detail painted the flower design with the stains then misted over with the stains.

The bottom half of the card is made by mopping up spillages on my craft mat.

The top panel is vellum stamped with one of the fancy flourishes stamps in white Stazon. Curly clips, brads and organza ribbon have also been added to finish off the card.

Jill

A few things

Welcome to the new followers and thank you everyone for your comments, I hope you'll keep visiting us.

Kay's Blog Candy Winner
Here is a photo from Jeannette, winner of Kay Carley's Blog Candy, who has used one of the flower stamps from the Funky Flowers sheet that she won to make 3 framed pictures that will adorn the walls of her newly decorated bedroom, great idea Jeannette, so pretty!!

Stamp Magic Show, The Dome, Doncaster - Sunday 21st June
I know I've been asked about this before so just to let you know that we will be at this show as usual. We will have Kay's new stamps with us along with sample cards, and probably the book I've been showing for the last few days. I have some plans to add other things to the book so do come along for a look. I will also be demonstrating, and will have some lovely new things by then so waiting to see what we have and what I can come up with before I make firm plans.

Workshops
We have a workshop on Saturday, Cards for Men, if anyone is interested we still have spaces. You can book online here.

Jill x

French Country/Funky Flowers & Frames Book, p4 & 5

Late again! So just a quick post to show pages 4 and 5 of the HSNW book.

Jill

French Country/Funky Flowers & Frames Book, p2 & 3

A look at pages 2 and 3 of the book today, I will post more detailed descriptions during the week.

If any ladies from the HSNW group have photographed their books and would like to share them here, please email them to me, I would love to see them all. It was great seeing people being creative and doing their own thing with the items in the kit.

Thank you for your comments, I will catch up with replies another time.

Jill

HSNW Workshop

Here's a preview of the book that the HSNW stamping group will be making at the workshop tomorrow. I'll post some photos of the inside next week.

Have a good weekend!

Jill x

Starburst Stains + Surgical Spirit = Alcohol Inks!

Research and Development!

A few weeks ago I had a little play as Tracey, owner of the company that makes the Moonglow products emailed me about an idea she tried, it seems an obvious thing to try, once you know about it!

You may know that Starburst Stains come in the bottles and jars as a ready mixed formula that you need to add hot water to when you get them home. Therefore as the water isn't in them when you buy them, you can add other things!

Now Tracey said to use rubbing alcohol, which according to the chemist is surgical spirit. I needed to have an experiment with it so I tried filing a half bottle first and then found I could fill the dauber bottle with the same amount of surgical spirit as you would normally add water and still get the same colour shades as when you add water. I left them a while to activate as you normally need to when you add the hot water.

Bearing in mind you cannot do this if you have already added water to a set, you will need to decide if you want your new unused set as alcohol inks or the normal water based product. If you think this is something you'd like to try then perhaps mix a new set putting half the formula into another container with water and mix the other half with surgical spirit.

Be warned it does smell!! If you don't like the smell of surgical spirit, then this definitely isn't for you as the even the card takes a while to lose the smell. The smell reminds me of some mint sweets I bought in the US, I think they were called Wintermint, it was mentioned by someone that tried the sweets that they tasted of TCP, so it is that sort of smell if it helps!

A plus point to making them into alcohol inks is that the Starburst Stain set colours are lovely and work so well together and will match projects you may already have with the waterbased version.

Anyway, I filled the dauber bottle with surgical spirit (about £3 for a large bottle) and gave it the usual shake to get the mica mixed, then I tried it on glossy card and also on normal smooth stamping card. It works really well on both and using the gloss and matt card gives a different finish.

I liked the idea of applying it with the dauber top directly onto the card, I'm not sure I would fancy spraying it. I dabbed the inks onto a non stick craft sheet, swiped the card onto the mat to pick up the colour, then filled some of the white gaps on the card directly from the marigold yellow orange Stain dauber bottle.

When the card dried it left a residue of mica on the surface which I just wiped off, and I ended up polishing the card to a high sheen. I stamped one of the flower stamps from Kay's new Funky Flowers stamp sheet and as I didn't have the alcohol inks with me when I got around to colouring it, I used my normal water based French Country set to detail paint the flower.

I used 2 of the alcohol ink flowers that Debbie made for me a couple of weeks ago as an embellishment along with the new pink Woodware nailheads (metallic self adhesive dots).

When I have more time I will play a little more and let you know how I get on.

Jill