Hello

Wow, it's been a while since I posted here!  So I thought it was time to start this up again - I've been doing a lot of crafting, and with the run up to Christmas there will definitely be a lot more makes to share!

Here are just a few things I have made over the last few months, and I'll be posting more (with info) over the next few days.

 

 

Happy Crafting!

Mandy x

Mosaic Bunting

Bunting - mosaic magic or madness?!

Since going to The Handmade Festival last September and taking part in a mosaic session, I have been hooked!  I've made coasters, Christmas decorations, and a couple of suncatchers.  The outdoor pieces really appeal to me, so I thought I'd have a go at making some mosaic bunting for the garden.

Here are my first 3 pieces,  I have another 6 pieces of mosaic bunting ready for grouting (though I’ll need more to go around the garden) but I can’t quite decide on the colour!  I started off thinking I would just use white, I grouted a couple of pieces and thought “hmm not sure” so did one in black, plus even though the adhesive and grout is for outdoor use I’m a bit worried the white still may discolour over time.  What do you think?

All The Good Things can make purple fish

Who says that fish can't be purple!?  Well you never know there may be some, we may just not have seen them!  Plus in crafting fish (and anything else) can be any colour we choose - so I chose purple!

I love this stamp set, though I have to admit I probably won't use the phrase it came with that often, but you could use any sentiment you like for a birthday, get well or good luck card!

I also used Wink of Stella and flicked it across the card for some sparkle - it's my latest favourite crafty thing!

Stampin' Up! materials used:
Stamp sets - All The Good Things
Ink - Gray Granite, Highland Heather
Cardstock - Whisper White, Highland Heather
Embellishments - Wink of Stella
Adhesive - Tear & Tape
Tools - Stampin’ Trimmer, Sponge Daubers

Screen Printing Gold Ink Review

Hi!  Today I would like to share with you my review of a selection of gold screen printing inks. You may have noticed in recent posts that I have been creating my own screens for printing, and have been printing onto bags which is great fun.

I have also been on the look out for a really good metallic gold ink, which is reasonably priced, readily available and prints well.  Having managed to get hold of a selection I thought I would do a video which is at the bottom of this post, and share my thoughts here.

I used a screen that I had made myself with Heat Transfer Vinyl (HTV) and screen printing mesh, observations printing onto black fabric are as follows:

Jacquard Professional Solar Gold
Consistency - very thick
Smell - not much of a smell
Colour - beautiful rich and bright gold
Print - any surface
Set - leave to dry, then heat set
Washable - yes
Clean up - soap and water.  Came off the HTV & mesh screen easily
PLEASE DO NOT USE on the blue Screen Sensation screens as this ink will remove the blue media and ruin your screen.  This is my own experience, and even with this, it came out on top for me for using with screens that I have created myself, just a shame it can't be used on the SS screens, though I would use a number of these other inks on them and also achieve really good result 




Imagination Crafts Starlights Textile Rich Gold
Consistency - quite thick
Smell - bit of a smell
Colour - beautiful bright gold
Print - fabric, fabric coated surfaces
Set - leave to dry, then heat set
Washable  - yes, up to 40 degrees centigrade
Clean Up - soap and water
I love the colour of this ink, only downside is the very small pot as its only 50ml 



Pebeo Setacolour Shimmer Opaque Gold
Consistency - a bit runny
Smell - slight ammonia type smell
Colour - quite a bright gold, but not as rich as the Jacquard Professional or Starlight Textile inks
Print - farbic
Set - leave to dry, then heat set
Washable - yes, up to 40 degrees centigrade
Clean Up - soap and water
I quite like this one as its a bright gold colour with good coverage, but it's only a 45ml pot 



Jacquard Versatex Gold
Consistency - very thick
Smell - slight ammonia type smell, but only if you put your nose right over the pot
Colour - a nice bright gold, not as rich as the first two listed above
Print - fabric, paper, wood, canvas and other porous and semi-porous surfaces.  Not suitable for vinyl or non-porous surfaces
Set - leave to dry, then heat set
Washable - yes
Clean Up - soap and water



AV Vallejo Textile Metal Gold
Consistency - reasonable thickness, but definitely not one of thickest
Smell - none
Colour - a nice vibrant gold
Print - fabric, paper and card
Set - heat set.  Bottle also says you can air dry for 48 hours with no need to heat set but I  have not tried this out yet
Washable - yes, up to 40 degrees centigrade
Clean Up - soap and water




Hunt The Moon Gold Metallic
Consistency - thick but runny (hmm... not sure that makes sense - you need to watch the video!)
Smell - quite smelly, with an ammonia type smell 
Colour - nice bright gold colour
Print - fabric, paper and card
Set - heat set
Washable - yes
Clean Up - soap and water
Even with the smell, which does seem to decrease the longer the pot is open, I will definitely be using this one!





Screen Sensation Gold Metallic
Consistency - quite thick, but not the thickest
Smell - none
Colour - a nice bright gold
Print - most surfaces
Set - heat set
Washable - yes
Clean Up - soap and water





Speedball Gold
Consistency - very thick
Smell - slight smell
Colour - a pale goldish/silverish colour, quite pretty if that is the effect you want
Print - fabrics and card, not for use on nylon
Set - heat set
Washable - yes
Clean Up - soap and water






Decoart So Soft Metallic Glorious Gold
Consistency - very runny, but this is advertised as a paint for applying with a brush, stamp or sponge and comes in a very small pot
Smell - slight smell
Colour - quite a pale gold
Print - fabric
Set - dry for 48 hours
Washable - yes
Clean Up - soap and water






Screen Sensation Gold Shimmer
Consistency - reasonably thick, but not the thickest
Smell - none
Colour - very very subtle shimmer, not easily seen on black fabric
Print - all surfaces
Set - heat set
Washable - yes
Clean Up - soap and water


All in all, I would say that I was pretty pleased with printing all these samples of gold ink - I have some prints for reference, and can look at them all together to compare so that I can choose the right ink for what I am working on.

I hope you have enjoyed reading and watching this review!

Happy crafting!

Mandy

Golden Fish Screen Print Tote Bag

I had chance to have another play with my Silhouette Cameo to make some more screens this weekend which has been fun!  This is a tote bag made using a lovely fish design - the Heat Transfer Vinyl did take a while to weed to make this screen, but I think it was worth it.  Think I will make a t-shirt next with this one!

If you would like to purchase one of these bags, I have a few for sale in my Etsy shop.

Materials Used:
Screen Sensation - screen printing unit, inks, tape
Arteza - Heat Transfer Vinyl
Hunt The Moon - screen printing mesh
Silhouette - Cameo
Cricut - Easy Press and mat
Other - tote bag 

Money Can't Buy You Happiness (unless you spend it on fabric) Tote Bag

I've been having fun screen printing recently, and mostly onto bags - it's easy and fun!  For this one, I even made the screen myself using Heat Transfer Vinyl, my Silhouette Cameo and screen printing mesh - and I have to say I was pretty pleased with this one!

If you are interested in getting hold of one of these, please take a look in my Etsy shop.

Materials Used:
Screen Sensation - screen printing unit, black ink
Arteza - Heat Transfer Vinyl
Hunt The Moon - screen printing mesh
Cricut - Easy Press and mat
Other - cotton tote bag

Party Like A Panda

Oh My Goodness!  I am so in love with Stampin' Ups! new Sale-A-Bration Party Pandas stamp set!! I have used it to create some party accessories - invites, a banner, cupcake toppers, a mini popcorn box and a gift box!
 
You will see the name Flora on the banner, which is the name of my panda bear pictured.  I was given her by my sister when I was born, so Flora is a little on the old side now and as you can see well loved.  She normally sits on the top of a bookshelf as she is a bit delicate, but I thought you would like to see her as she is what started my love of giant pandas!
 
I have used a number of products to make all these goodies, and I also have ideas for more, I just could not wait any longer to share what I have completed so far. 

Stampin' Up! materials used:
Stamp Sets - Party Pandas, Letters for You, Brushstrokes background
Dies - Layering Circles framelits, Stitched Shapes framelitts, Layering Ovals framelits, Large Letters framelits, Popcorn Box framelits, Banners framelits (retired)
Designer Series Paper - Petal Passion
Card - Blushing Bride, Whisper White, Whisper White thick card, Basic Black, silver foil sheets
Ink - Blushing Bride, Basic Black
Markers - Blushing Bride
Other - Big Shot, Stampin' Dimensionals, Whisper White organza ribbon, silver mini gable boxes, Snail adhesive, multipurpose liquid glue, Stampin' Trimmer

Other materials: Brother Scan N Cut, toothpicks, cupcakes!

Christmas Tea Sachet Holders

Hi!  I have a Christmas make to share with you today!  Some tea bag sachet holders - I think these will make lovely stocking filler presents or teachers gifts, and they are very easy to make.

Stampin' Up! materials used:
Stamp sets - Merry Little Labels, Labels to Love
Designer Series Paper - Quilted Christmas
Punches - Everyday Label Punch, Project Life corner punch
Ink - Real Red, Garden Green
Card - Whisper White
Ribbon - gold 1/8"
Other - scoring tool, hole punch 

Happy Cats Bag

Hi!  Today's make is a bag - and don't you just love that cat fabric, its so much fun!  I've made this for someone special (though she doesn't know it yet!), and will be putting it in the post in the next couple of days, but I just could not wait to share it here with you!

Materials Used:
Timeless Treasures Fabric of Soho -  Happy Cats by Gail Cadden
Purple star fabric - unknown as it does not have a printed selvedge with any details (sorry), but I bought it from Hometown in Rochester

Have a Tinker Bell Christmas!

Yes, it's a Christmas card for you today, and made using the super cute Disney Tinker Bell dies and paper.  There have been a ton of Disney papercraft collections released over the last year or so, and I just could not resist getting a few bits from the Tinkerbell collection!

The Tinker Bell image was die cut from the Colourful Creations pad, which was teamed up with the sentiment in the same die set cut in red and green and layered up onto some backing paper.  As I stuck the sentiment and character image down flat on the card, I thought it was a little lost on that busy paper so I used a pale grey Graph'It marker to give an outline and make them stand out a bit.
 
Materials Used:
Disney / Create & Craft - Tinker Bell Season of Sparkle die set, Colourful Creations paper pad, Backing paper pad
Hunkydory - white A6 card blank, 3mm gemstones
Stampin' Up! - Real Red card, Lemon Lime Twist card
Graph'It - marker 9501 

Cheers!

Goodness - where have the last couple of weeks gone?!  I've had a busy couple of weeks at work and home, but I have managed to squeeze in a little bit of crafting!

So, the card I am sharing with you today is for the men in your life (or anyone that likes drinking beer).  It is based on a couple of cards I saw on Facebook (sorry I did not make a note of the designers), and this is my take on it.

Stampin' Up! materials used:
Stamps - Mixed Drinks, Playful Backgrounds, Sassy Salutations (retired)
Designer Series Paper - Urban Underground (retired), Neutrals (retired)
Ink - Basic Black, Crushed Curry, Smoky Slate
Card - Whisper White, Whisper White thick card
Other - Stampin' Trimmer, Stampin' Dimensionals, Fast Fuse

Santa Suit Gift Tags

I have some fun Santa Suit gift tags to share with you today - I seem to have a bit of a thing for making tags at the moment - they are quick to make and fun too!  I made these for the craft fair that I did recently, and even though it was in July I did sell a few of these Christmas tags all packaged up! You can also find them in my Etsy Shop.

I have used the retired Tag Topper punch for these tags, but you could also use the Scalloped Tag Topper punch in the current annual catalogue if you don't have this one.

Each tag was cut to 4.9cm x 8.3cm, and I added the white strips before using the tag punch - that way you get the hole in both layers.  I cut out the buckle from silver foil card using by Brother Scan n Cut - I created the shape in Canvas using a square and two rectangles - then threaded a strip of black card through each buckle before adding to the tag.  The buttons were stamped using an image from the Sweet Home stamp set.
 
Stampin' Up! materials used:
Stamp sets - Sweet Home, Forever Evergreen (for the packaging)
Card - Real Red, Whisper White, Basic Black, Silver foil
Ink - Basic Black, Real Red
Punch - Angled Tag Topper

Beach Hug Tags

Hi!  Something a little different to share with you today - some beach huts tags which were inspired by a trip to the Whitstable Oyster Festival last weekend.  It was a bit of a gloomy day and we did get a rather sudden downpour of rain at one point - but you know us Brits, it never puts us off being outside!  

To make these tags I used the Home Sweet Home dies, designed to make a  treat box, to cut the shape of the hut, as well as the door and bunting.  The roof of the hut was made using a stamp from the co-ordinating stamp set, which I then cut out on my ScanNCut.  You could cut this out by hand, but as I was making rather a lot of them I decided on the electric cutting option!

Stampin' Up! materials used:
Stamp Sets - Sweet Home, Diagonal Stripe background
Dies - Home Sweet Home 
Ink - Real Red, Pacific Point, Flirty Flamingo, Pool Party
Card - Whisper White, Whisper White thick card
Ribbon - Pacific Point 1/4" stitched edge ribbon, red & white ribbon from stash
Other - liquid multi-purpose glue, BigShot
Other materials: Brother ScanNCut

Daisy Delight

Sometimes our crafty mojo just gets up and walks away - I think I often see mine running!  So where do you look for your inspiration?  I can spend hours on Pinterest, I look on Facebook, at magazines and also product catalogues!

So this card is my take on the sample in the Stampin' Up! annual catalogue - a great place to start when you are looking for your mojo!!

Stampin' Up! materials used:
Stamp sets - Daisy Delight, Soft Sayings kit stamps
Designer Series Paper - Delightful Daisy, Color Theory
Ink - Old Olive, Night of Navy, Daffodil Delight
Card - Whisper White, Whisper White thick card
Other - gold faceted gems, Stampin' Trimmer, Fast Fuse adhesive, multipurpose liquid glue  

Thank You Anna Griffin!

Today's card is a thank you to Anna for coming back to the UK!  I just love these pinky/red poppies and tend to keep them for special cards, so I hope you like this one!

Materials Used:
Anna Griffin - So Smitten card kit, All Occasion card kit, metallic card & paper layers, Spring seasonal dies, perfect bows
Hunkydory - 5"x7" card blank
Pinflair - glue gel
Stampin' Up! - tear & tape adhesive 

Crocodile or Unicorn - which is your bag?

So, I had a bit of fun at the weekend, screen printing some tote bags and drawstring bags with the Cool Croc and Unicorn Wishes screens from Screen Sensation.  I ended up using two colours of ink on each image which I think you will agree looks fab - you can see the difference using just one colour makes on the middle crocodile bag in this photo - that was the first one i printed which made me decide to use two colours to add some depth to the colours/image.

Materials Used:
Screen Sensation: Screen Sensation system, fixing tape, Cool Croc screen, Unicorn Wishes screen, Raspberry, Turquoise, Key Lime & Green inks
Tote bags & drawstring bags

Anna Griffin Good Luck card

Well today is the day - Anna Griffin is back on our screens here in the UK on QVC!  So I'd thought I would share this card with you today to wish Anna good luck on her first shows back with us.  Not that she will need it as she is a total pro, and a lovely lady too!

Materials Used:
Anna Griffin - All Heart die collection, Vintage Collage Toppers 2, So Smitten card kit, metallic card & paper layers, perfect bows
Hunkydory - 5"x7" card blank
Pinflair - glue gel
Stampin' Up! - tear & tape adhesive 

Anna Griffin Thank You Roses

Do you love all the beautiful Anna Griffin vintage flowers?  Yes, I do too - and I am sure that you will have noticed from the cards that I have been sharing recently that I particularly like the pink and red ones!

This card was really quick to make as all of the flowers and the swirly embellishments were all precut.  I love making my own embellishments, stamping and die cutting etc.  but sometimes I think we all like to be able to put some quick cards together - you know those times when you want to be creative, but maybe don't have a lot of time!

Materials Used:
Anna Griffin - So Smitten card kit, All Occasion card kit, holiday metallic cardstock layers
Hunkydory - 5"x7" card blank
Pinflair - glue gel
Stampin' Up! - tear & tape adhesive 

From My Kitchen Gift Tags

I thought I would share the "from my kitchen" gift tags that I made recently to take along to the craft fair last weekend.  Happy to say that I did sell a few packs of these, and I think I will also be  making some more to add to Christmas gifts that I will be making!


Stampin' Up! materials used:
Stamp sets - Label Me Pretty, Brushstrokes, Fresh Fruit (retired) 
Punches - Pretty Label, Starburst, Angled Tag Topper (retired) 
Dies - Stitched Shape Framelits
Ink pads - Pool Party, Bermuda Bay, Flirty Flamingo, Sweet Sugarplum, Real Red 
Card - Lemon Lime Twist, Flirty Flamingo, Bermuda Bay, Sweet Sugarplum, Real Red, Whisper White, Whisper White Thick card 
Other - Fast Fuse, Stampin' Dimensionals