I've previously shared some of my cards using Tim Holtz's Crazy Cats, Crazy Dogs stamps and several Crazy Birds (1, 2). These were great fun to make and really inspired my creativity to make different scenes for a whole range of different occasions. Several of the people in my team at work and friends are also mad-keen on animals (especially dogs) and one regularly did pet sitting so was always sharing stories of the various animals under her care. Of course this meant that cards for … [Read more...]
Cards: Distress Crayon Blending
I made these cards using a Distress Crayon Blending technique a while ago but hadn't got around to sharing the results until now. This technique uses Tim Holtz' Distress Crayons: they are lovely and soft and spread really well but I always struggled to work out how to use them best. My friend Steph showed me this technique that basically involves scribbling the crayon over watercolour paper and then using a baby wipe over your finger to blend the crayon and move the colour around. You … [Read more...]
In Praise of UV Resin
Using resin has been something that I've wanted to do for ages across many of my crafting activities: for making clear resin jewellery with botanicals, using it to give a glossy finish to jewellery and other items and to provide a protective surface for coasters (e.g. alcohol ink on tiles with a resin finish). But it has always seemed a bit daunting and I didn't really know where to start. The materials are expensive so I was a bit wary of making too many mistakes. This is my journey with the … [Read more...]
Making your own Silicon Moulds
I recently went on a Resin Jewellery-Making Course that also included an introduction to making your own silicon moulds. It was a fascinating process that I thought I would share with you because, whether you are making jewellery or other items such as soaps, you can produce unique items rather than things that everyone else can buy a mould for. First step is to find or make the things that you want to create a mould of. I gathered a bunch of nature-inspired jewellery pieces including … [Read more...]
Cards: Archival Ink on Glossy Cardstock
Archival Inks are fade resistant, water resistant, acid free, non-toxic and permanent, which means that they stay put when you use them with other inks, dyes, pigments etc. I've always used black archival ink to stamp on top of inky backgrounds or to stamp an image that I then want to colour in and not have the outline react. Ranger Inks brought out a whole set of archival inks in a range of different distress colours and I was inspired by Juliana Michaels to try a layered stamping technique on … [Read more...]
Beach Scene Cards
These gorgeous beach scene cards are made using Tim Holtz Bubbles stamp and inspired by Tami Bastiaans' 'make' for its release last year. When I saw the amazing way she had used the stamp to mimic waves on the beach, I was hooked. I made a whole set of different cards using the various sea-related stamps that I had and had such fun making them. The first step is to ink up the stamp with clear embossing ink and stamp it down onto the corner of your card front. Experiment with different … [Read more...]
Making Beeswax Candles
My first foray into making beeswax candles was not very successful. In that first failed attempt I had tried to make a pillar candle using melted beeswax but struggled with getting a wick size large enough for it to burn properly. Then I saw some natural beeswax sheets that were made from wax that was filtered to remove impurities to allow it to burn cleanly. There was also a tutorial on how to make rolled beeswax candles. Surely this time it would get a better result. Use a whole sheet … [Read more...]
Making a Pillar Candle
I've made lots of candles before but they have all been in containers of different shapes and sizes. I had always wondered about making pillar candles and of course had to give it a go. In a previous post on Candle Making Tips I outlined the process for choosing and measuring your wax, selecting the wick and fragrance etc. All of those apply here so I won't repeat them again. The main difference is that you need a candle mould and you need to get a soy wax blend that is specific for making … [Read more...]
Powertex Wall Art Kea
I always collect photos of gorgeous NZ flora and fauna from calendars etc with the intention of using them in my artistic creations. I have successfully incorporated pictures of tuis and woodpigeons into Powertex wall art but I generally like to use wildlife that could be found naturally in that environment. My stack of pictures of beautiful native birds such as kea, kakapo and takahe was increasing without an obvious outlet. So when my friend Chloe bought a cabin in the small alpine village … [Read more...]
Toadstool & Frog Cards
My friend Chloe just loves toadstools and is always taking photos of them when she goes hiking, so these cute toadstool stamps were just calling out to me to make a set of cards for her. I had also rediscovered a set of frog stamps that my friend Steph had given me for a present years ago; as they are quite small they made the perfect combination to go with the toadstools to create some charming little scenes. I started with one set of toadstools and used different colours that I had seen in … [Read more...]
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