Making your own embellishments

Firstly apologies for not blogging  for some time, i’ve not been well so it’s been hard to balance everything and do something for the blog.

I often get asked now days to do personalised cards for people, I’ve become the go to girl where there concerned, one person receives one and asks where it was from and they get told and so on it goes! The problem for me is i like to do quite unique things and as time goes by the more i find myself wanting to do things more and more differently.

I was recently asked by a friend to do a book/album for a Christening and pushed me further and further into something i’m doing more and more often. Thats making my own embellishments. I adore beautiful embellishments and there are some gorgeous ones out on the craft market, but the really good quality lovely ones cost a lot, and further to that there not individual many people can buy and use them. While thats great if you doing standard cards or scrapbooks, i think sometime when your going for something premium or personalised, it’s fantastic if you can find a way to make beautiful embellishments of your own.

Just to give you a basic idea to start here is the cover of the Christening book i’ve started working on.

All the embellishments here are handmade. I’m just going to brush over it here, but i will be doing some step by step projects on some more individual embellishments to show you what can be done. Here the embellishments are based on items cut from a personal cutting machine (i use a Cricut) but it can be done the same with things done on die cutting machines too. Rather than just using them as is, i like to make a feature of them by making them more 3D i do this by enamelling them with embossing powders. Its simple if you have a melt pot you just heat it up till its melted the dip the items in, its better it you shape the items first to make them more 3D. if you have any bubbles or uneven parts just use a heat tool on them to level them out. I often buy fashion braclets in the sales, manly the elasticated ones, then cut them up so you can use the pieces for flower centers etc. The butterfly is the same principle but it is built of several layers.

This is just a quite basic one, i have some more, that are much more individual and interesting, but as i said i will do a step by step project for these.

Again sorry for the long delay in the blog but 4 courses of antibiotics later i’m back.

Hopefully I will have another great giveaway going up very shortly for you all to enter.

Thanks Beck x

Winner Announcement

Hi all the winner drawn from the hat of chance at random was @janesgrapevine, congratulations jane, please DM me on twitter you name and address and i will get the prize sent out to you.

Blog Project – Stamped Tag Thank You Card – Plus Giveaway!!

Hi everyone!!

A few things this time for you! Hopefully a project you can follow along with and enjoy and a nice little giveaway to boot. The project is a Thank You card featuring a stamped tag and a sentiment rosette.

This is what we will be Making!!

It’s featuring a really cute stamp from Paper Artsy, I just brought a couple of the minis to try but i have to say i’m falling for them in a big way and they have some really interesting ones available. Most seem to be available already mounted on Ez Mount. See www.paperartsy.co.uk and have a look yourselves.

Ok so first i will go through how i put together the card and then after i will show you what the giveaway item is and how to enter this giveaway.

STAMPED TAG THANK YOU CARD

First i picked out a square pearlescent card blank and then i chose a paper mat layer to mount on top, here i have used a Docrafts Papermania Paper in a pastel stripe. I have torn the egdges along a ruler to keep them straight but get the rough finish i want, then i have lightly inked around the edges with a Distress ink in Tattered Rose.

Then I have taken a white tag that is large enough to be a feature size on my card and using the Tattered Rose Distress Ink i have taken down the bright white colour, by just lightly using the blending tool to colour from the outside edge inwards.

Give the ink a little time to dry. Then using a black ink pad and a stamp of your choice stamp your image on to the tag. Here i have used one of the really cute minis from Paper Artsy that come ready backed with Ez Mount, i find they are really cute and have great personality.

Then once the ink had dried i coloured in the image in the pastel theme of the backing paper using Letraset Aqua Markers.

I chose a Sentiment and rubbed over the Distress Ink to match it in with the tag. Then i cut short strips of ribbon in two colours to match the theme of the card, i cut four of each colour, then i mad small loops by sticking the ends together with the extra strength double sided tape, I arranged them alternately around the sentiment and using the same tape stuck them in place. Then using 3D foam pads i stuck the sentiment rosette to the tag.

Finishing touches!!

A few things to finish off the card. First using Distress Stickles glitter glue in spun sugar I rubbed some of this around the outer edge of the tag to get a light glittered effect, i did this just using my finger, its a little messy but gives a nice un-uniform effect. Then on the main card i added a strip of the ribbon of both the colours i used to the right had side, securing them with same extra strength double sided tape. Then in the top right corner on top of the ribbon strips i added a 3D foam Glitter flower and in the middle a Yellow gem detail to tie the colours in.  Position Your tag and use 3D foam pads to stick it to your card.

And its completed – I hope you guys like it!

So thats the Card completed now for the giveaway!

GIVEAWAY!!!!!!!

Ok so i’m giving away a great clear stamp set, it has 26 stamps of sentiments and images for all occasions! plus you will get my Thank You Card i made as shown in the project above.

To Enter the Giveaway you have to do the following things!

1. Follow me @beckslayer on twiter

2. Tweet –   follow @beckslayer for great craft projects and giveaways on craftytwit.wordpress.com #craftytwitcomp

3. reply to this post telling me what your favorite craft product or item is, it can be anything from your fave stamp brand to the best quality card you have found, i’m just interested to know!!

I will pick a winner on the 28/29 of april depending on the happenings of the bank holiday, it will be posted on here and i will announce when it has been posted on Twitter … but you must make sure you check to see if you have won!

Good Luck …. and i hope you have enjoyed the project xx

Please feel free to leave any feedback on the project too, i’d be happy to hear what you think xx

goings off and comings up

Apologies for the delay in posting I have been really busy working on a few projects and its really taken up a lot of my time.

Firstly I have been working on something for manufacturer of Artists supplies and all i can really say is I have invented a range of craft techniques for use with a new product in their range. Its involved a vast amount of work thinking how to use an art product in a fun and functional way for papercrafters! After a lot of thought and trial and error I came up with a selection of techniques, step by step instructions, photos and a range of card samples in varying levels of difficulty to display them.  I also thought up ideas for products that could go along side their new product and they are looking at developing them! So its all very exciting and they are currently going through everything and looking at the best way of going forward with the craft project, which should be great!!

I will keep you all posted.

I also went to the Hobbycrafts show at the NEC, my unsuspecting husband took me along. We went on the thursday thinking it would be quieter and we were wrong, it was so busy i could hardly move and my other half spent the whole time we were there moaning. I did get a few great deals on bits and bobs, but was disappointed by the small number of demos etc. We did learn one thing and that is when its busy older ladies have very sharp elbows lol, I actually had bruises the next day and i am being serious!

I have also been working on some cards or a good local cause. www.rutland-falconry.com if your in the midlands you may want to check it out. They are a sanctuary mainly for rescued Birds but on 2nd May they are showing their four rescued Leopards. I am helping to raise money for their upkeep by making cards and bookmarks for them to sell all with a animal theme. Leopards, owls, birds of pray and other birds have all been put onto some lovely cards for the project. They really are passionate about their animals and its a great cause, its a lovely family day out to visit so well worth a look. As for the leopards they are breathtaking!!

One final thing… I would like to see some feedback on what type of crafty prizes you would like to see on the blog? papers,card, stickers, stamps? please be realistic i’m unlikely to get a Cricut lol

So feel free to leave a comment saying what type of prize you would like to see on the blog.

I will be back up with a project to follow very soon!

 

Becky

Lucky Giveaway winner Anouncement

Thank you to all who took part in my first giveaway.

All the entries were placed in the hat and a winner was drawn at random.

The winner is @needaphone

to claim your prize you need to send me a DM on twitter to @beckslayer

including your name and address.

I have made sure i am following you so there should be no problems.

 

Many thanks

Becky

 

PS  A new giveaway will be going up very shortly!

Cricut Dreams

If your really into your paper crafting you will probably have heard of Cricut, in fact you will probably have considered getting one at least in thought. For those of you who haven’t heard of this crafting marvel I shall tell you a little about it.

Cricut machines are basically personal electronic cutting machines! it’s sounds impressive and to be honest they really are. There are quite a few versions of these from small to large, the main difference being the size of paper they take and the size upto which they cut. There is also one machine that prints as well as cuts.

For the purposes of this blog I will be talking about my machine, which is about the middle of the road when it comes to Cricuts and is called a Cricut Create.

The one thing I will point out before going into a little detail is these machines don’t come cheap, but if you are serious about your craft they are well worth it and there are options if found that help with the cost, i will mention those later.

The Create machine cuts from 0.25″ – 11.5″ and works on a 6″ x 12″  sticky cutting mat, so you do have to trim down A4 card to fit on it (bit of a pain). It has an 8 way blade which means it cuts out everything with ease. You can cut out portrait and landscape so you can make the most of your card, and you can move the blade to help with this so you can start the cutting further down if your using one of your scraps.

The machine works with cartridges, each cartridge is loaded with great images or fonts or both, you can change the sizes on all of them to suit what you are doing, it comes with an over lay that goes on the keyboard that matches each cartridge and makes it really easy to use. there is also a instruction book with each one that explains all the features step by step. The best way i found to do it is to just have fun and have a play with some non expensive card. There are many cartridges to choses from and each cartridge is packed with images.

You can cut out font, you just type the name in a letter at a time, chose your size and click cut, then off it goes and your name is cut out, and you can professionally personalise cards, you can also do text shadows, images, layered images, image shadows – features vary on each cartridge but you will be amazed at what you can get out of them, i’m still amazed with mine now. The flourishes and swirls still get me every time i do them, they make the cards look fabulous!

The one thing i will say is the sticky cutting mats you need to use with the machine don’t last very long and are quite steep if you buy them from main suppliers, i’ve found they are a better buy from Ebay.

When i brought my machine i got it as part of a package which included several great cartridges, which is the best way to start as you already have plenty to play with. I brought mine www.createandcraft.tv they offer interest free easy pay which means you can spread the cost(i think mine was spread over 4 payments), also if you pay £20 and join their craft club you get 10% off anything you buy, plus you get £10 of it back as credit, so if your buying a Cricut you get far more than your moneys worth there.

I realise that this takes some serious thought, it is an expensive piece of kit, i was lucky as i was helped by a relative to buy mine, but it has changed what i can do, people can’t believe the creations i come up with and i am still amazed by the things i can create with the help of this machine. Maybe its not something for you for now, but maybe you could consider it something to save for it really is worth it.

If you can find a store or a show doing demos i would suggest you go along and have a look or have a look on channel 671 on Sky Create and Craft often have them on.

Becky

you can see an example mothers day card text and corner pieces done on Cricut

 

starting up giveaway

To welcome people on board  I have put together a little giveaway, hopefully a little something for everyone. This will hopefully be the first of many. I would like to encourage more crafters and craft companies to be on twitter with us.

So….. What i have up for grabs is a crafting goody bag the contents are:

* 12 sheets of Kanban patterned A4 card – various colors and prints flowers, butterflies etc

* 10 multi colour card blanks and envelopes

* 5 blue card blanks with blue pearl envelopes

* 3 sheets of multi coloured peel off stickers

* a small stack of small cordinations textured core colour card

* some small pattern paper squares

* 5 glitter glues

* 1 wooden block small floral stamp

* 2 small stamp ink pads

* 1 small pot of multi gems

* 1 pair of decorative edging scissors

* double sided adhesive pads and glue dots

* 4 metallic pens green pink orange blue

* and a bumper little bag filled with embellishments, gems, ribbons, cords, etc etc

Please excuse the mess of my craft desk in the background lol

** PLEASE NOTE AS THIS GIVEAWAY CONTAINS ADHESIVES AND SCISSORS IT CAN ONLY BE ENTERED BY THOSE 18 YEARS AND OVER. THANKS

To enter the give away follow a few simple steps

1. you need to be a follower of me @beckslayer on twitter

2. you need to subscribe to this craftytwit blog, just click on the subscribe button. (don’t panic too much about this if ur having trouble if i know you from twitter its all fine)

3. most importantly leave a reply message to this post stating your twitter name – of course any other comments are welcome

Then i will draw the winner on Friday the 18th of March

Simples!

Welcome to Craftytwit

Hello to everyone deciding to pop by and take a look at my shiny new blog. I’m here to take a look at everything craft and art related. I personally love crafting, particularly paper crafting and i also do a lot of art. I hope to be able to bring you information on new and exciting things in the world of craft and art. I will also be looking at and reviewing products that i use, hopefully giving you some hints and tips along the way. Also looking at where the best buys and the savvy deals are and which sites are good for which products as i have learned the hard way to shop around. Also the intention is to get some great little competitions on the blog bringing you some lovely little prizes along the way.

For me crafting has been a great thing in my life, i have been very ill over the last few years spending a lot of time in hospital and house bound. Through the many medications and difficulties many of which i still face, i find crafting gives me a sense of peace and release as i know it does for many others.

The shown shoe artwork image is a piece of my own work created using alcohol inks and fine point graphic pens.

Becks

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