Otter Nurseries Demo - Valentines cards

 Hi all,  My next demo is coming up on Sunday 27th January at Otter Nurseries from 10.00 - 4.00pm.

Come along and see the latest range of products from DoCrafts and watch the Demonstrations.

I'll be making Valentines Day Cards as well as demoing lots of other exciting products.

The new Die's are now in and I just love the Heart Die - so intricate and pretty. The "Build a Scene" Dies are also very adaptable and I'll have a variety of samples to show you displaying how they can be used for different effects. I even use what's left over from the cut out to make pictures but you'lle have to come along to the demo to see what I mean.

Out now too is the Chronology and Vintage range -  Lovely strong masculine colours for the chronology range and very soft and feminine colours in the Vintage range.

I will be playing with the Artiste Paints making background papers and Zig pens as well so please come along and take a look at the demo.

 Hope to see you there....

Crochet Flowers -Video tutorial

Hi - At last I now have my camcorder and so I can add video tutorials to this blog.
My first attempt is a  video of crochet flowers.  There will be many more to come using Pan Pastels, paints, fusible fibres, card-making, felt and silk work.

I hope you enjoy the video - please leave a comment as I'm always looking for constructive criticism for future videos.

New posts on the WoW Embossing Powder Blog

Hi again,

Iv'e been busy blogging over at the WoW Embossing Powder Blog - click here to take a look.  The projects were on the theme "Snow and Ice". Each month there is a theme to work to and anyone can join in. Why not give it a go yourself and enter one of the Challenges.

As well as Demonstrating for DoCrafts (see my list of demo's on the right hand side of my blog), I also work for WoW Embossing Powders too as a Designer and Demonstrator.

I'm currently in the process of designing my new stamps and there is also something else a little special in the planning - but that's a secret for the time being. 

A new year and also a re-vamped website coming along with video tutorials on this blog and with a new range of Digi-stamps as well I can see it's going to be a very busy and exciting year ahead for all of us.

More info on all of the above coming soon........

A New Year with New Demonstrations

Hi Everyone and HAPPY NEW YEAR

A new year ahead and Iv'e lots of Demonstrations booked up already.  Check out the list on the right to see where I'll be demonstrating this coming year.

I have lots of new things planned for the blog this year including videos showing how to make lots of lovely crafts including felt work, drawing your own digi-stamps, card-making, jewellery and more, so keep an eye on my blog in the near future for some inspiring and creative projects.

 Happy Crafting.

Christmas craft ideas

Make your own decorations at Christmas.

I thought I would put up this Christmas Decoration and Paintbrush holder for you to see - something to keep you all busy this weekend if you fancy a bit of crafting.

The decoration is made from square pieces of cardstock folded into triangles and cut at angles. Each piece is then stuck together to form this decoration which, if made in white, resembles a snowflake. Iv'e made mine in various shades of red and added an embellishment in the middle to give a bit of Christmas sparkle. 

The Paint brush holder is a recycled crisp tube (I did eat all the crisps in one go just so I could use the tube you understand!)

The tube was covered in  fabric paper with glittered leaves and tissue flowers added to decorate the front. Somewhere for all my paintbrushes now so no excuse to leave them lying around the house. 

Decorated tubes have lots of uses, especially in childrens' rooms and might just encourage them to tidy up too if they make one for themselves. It's good to recycle things too.

  Happy crafting.

Canvasses for Christmas

Decorate a Canvas for Christmas

Iv'e started decorating canvasses now for Christmas - you can use them as presents or just to decorate the house with a Christmas theme.

This canvas was created for my next demo at Otter Nurseries for their Craft Evening on 5th December from 5p.m. I'll be making Christmas Decorations, Canvasses, gifts including earrings in boxes and much more....

I have used Artiste paints, chipboard shapes, embossing powders, outline stickers, and hand-drawn holly leaves for this piece.

Come along if you are in the area to take a look - there are a few demo's going on including knitting too.  I'll also be demonstrating how to paint your own Christmas Cards the easy way.

This second canvas was made using Artiste Crackle glaze and paints. I also used some pretty serviettes that I had lying around the house. (I'm a great one for recycling).

You can add any picture to a canvas using serviettes.
After you have painted the canvas  just add a thin layer of glue to the canvas then carefully position your chosen picture cut out from a serviette over the top and add another layer of glue. I used PVA glue - you also need to varnish the piece too if you want to keep it wipeable and it makes the whole piece a little more secure as well.

Happy crafting.  

Iv'e won the weekly "Pan Pastels" Blog Challenge

Yipee, Iv'e won the Blog Challenge at Pan Pastels last week with my Triple Trees card for their "Red and Green" theme.

I should be receiving my lovely prize later on in the week - a Trial Set from Pan Pastels.

Go over to their blog and give your creative skills a challenge - there is a different theme each week and the winner is randomly drawn. You could end up very surprised like I was. Click here for their blog