Important lessons learned

Hi all i come to you today with a bit of sad news, I have had to leave the Canvas Corps Design Team. mostly because being a UK based designer i would have to pay VAT at 20% of the value of the products plus a handling fee on top of that, when the products reached the UK. the worrying thing is that these charges are undisclosed so i would not know how much extra i would have to pay on top of the shipping fees. yes if you design for an international team you are charged for shipping and yes this company did offer to reduce them for its international designers which i thought was a kind offer.

i just wanted to give you all the heads up about making sure you know this information before accepting a position with a design team who's company is overseas. i was told by customs that if the value of the products exceeds £130 then you will have to pay duty as well as the other charges i have mentioned.

not all overseas design teams will have to worry about these charges but you must check before hand.

I will be back later with some mixed media layouts and tips.

Thank you for visiting.

Why i craft and how it all started

Hello everybody i have been asked by the lovely Emma Collins to write a bit about how i got in to crafting and what my favorite products are ect.

 I got in to this highly addictive hobby nearly 10 years ago, i don't know where to the time has gone. my mother introduced me to Scrapbooking as i was trigger happy with a camera and wanted some where to jot down a few memories along the way. when i first started Scrapbooking was a brand new concept in the UK so naturally i went in search of products to use. Back then i stated off with  Papermania  you will probably remember the Citrus and Colossal paper packs. i can tell you the brand has grown since then.

 I craft because it is a great way to relive stress and express yourself. after working for a bookmaker for nearly 8 years you need stress relief. but now back to craft talk, my favorite Docrafts products apart from all of them would have to be my Xpress die-cutting machine, it is so easy too use and i can buy any type of die without the worry about whether or not it will fit. you see it has adjustable rollers cleaver eh.

My next favorite product would have to be the spritzing inks as i use them to add colour and customise any embellishment that needs to fit in. i store them upright in a carry box designed for holding cleaning products but lets not mention cleaning far too much crafting to be done.

I have a few more storage ideas to share with you below 

I keep my Small stamps on a large binding ring so i can flip through them and hang them on to things when i need them to had. this idea works with stickers and embellishment packs.

This was a cutlery rack i got from Wilkinsons for 50p and found it was a great place to store my craft tapes.

        I use a letter holder to store my small embossing folders which can be customised if needed.


                                                       Thanks for visiting

Trimcraft Christmas 2014

brrrrrr i think someone has turned off the heating, summer has gone and now we are heading towards winter. but don't worry we still have time to make cards before Christmas comes. As promised i am going to introduce the Trimcraft Christmas ranges.

I will start with my favorite range first. This is the scrumptious Vintage Noel pad by First Edition. This pad is full of lovely Victorian style prints and images. I combined it with lace to add to this vintage style.

I used boarder punches to add texture to my page. My favourite brands are the Xcut and Fiskars ones because the punch through card so easy and leave a clean detailed pattern. 

I really love the paper flowers that Trimcraft have released the texture is perfect inking. You could even add a little glitter to the petals.

This is the 12 Days Of Christmas range and it has a huge assortment of embellishments. I love this range because it has a traditional Christmas color scheme.

i made this card using the new metallic card blanks which have a  pearlesent finish and come in both gold and silver.

Trimcraft have just brought out their own range of Dies and embossing folders. Below i used the Me to You one which has a leaf pattern and the snowflake one from the Krafty Christmas range.

I will have a few more projects available on my Timcraft gallery .http://www.trimcraft.co.uk/users/katiel

Thanks for looking xx

Something a bit less Christmassy

As much as i enjoy and appreciate the opportunity to play with all the fabulous Christmas products that are out right now, i do love to take a breather from it all. Today i have some projects i made using the beautiful stamps by Oak House Studio. As you can tell i love all things nautical and i just had to have these stamps.

Here is my card i have made for the October frames and boarders challenge at http://www.oakhousestudio.blogspot.co.uk and  you can also join their Facebook group inspired by Oak House Studio. The challenge ends 31st October and you must use at least one Oak House Studio product to qualify.

I used the Sea Shells Stamp set for this project. They are a very good size for using on any project and range in size from 3 cm x 1.5 cm for the smaller stamps and 6 cm x 1 cm for the longest stamp.

 I just stamped these out onto plain card using a stamping mat underneath to ensure a clean image is stamped out, you don't need to press down too hard as the stamps hold the ink very well. I have used many acrylic stamps in the past to find that the ink bubbles on the surface causing the image to come out patchy but not with these stamps as they are ready to use straight away without having to scrub off any of that residue you get with the acrylic ones. I then cut them all out and mounted them in a frame around the sentiment using 3d foam pads.


Here is a shaker card i made using the Crab stamp. It is so detailed that you don't have to color it in. I love the fact these stamps are very British and remind me of the illustrations you find in old books. to make this card i embossed an A6 card with a stencil mask, then i layer up some patterned papers which i decorated the edges of with a couple of boarder punches.

To make the shaker card i took a circle nesting die and placed a smaller sized one inside the largest  sized circle, i held it in place with washi tape to create a frame and i did this twice once with funky foam and with patterned paper. Next using the larger sized circle die i cut out one plain paper circle and one from acetate. i stamped my image onto the pain circle and heat embossed it. i then adhered the foam ring to it using PVA glue. once dry i placed some green wool in to look like seaweed and glued the acetate to the foam. i finished off the shaker box by adding a ring of patterned paper to hide the foam. I again used the Sea Shells set to accent the frame with. The crab stamp is part of the Sealife set and comes with a starfish.

These stamps are beautifully designed  with so much detail and at an affordable price too. As a crafter i am amazed at how easy it is to get a clear image with these stamps. if you would like to get some stamps for yourself and look at the other products available the go to http://oakhousestudio.com/. Its free postage on stamps and free postage if you spend £25 or more.

Thanks for looking and i will be back with more projects soon.

The Memory Nest Make it Monday 27

Hi everyone i am back this week with another one of my sketches and a new challenge over at The Memory Nest www.thememorynest.blogspot.co.uk. Just a reminder to get crafty and enter our challenge this week.

 I thought i would start getting my holiday photos into an album and i have started with Dawlish a lovely English seaside village that we visit every year. I used American Crafts Maggie Homes Style Board paper pad for the background.

These paper flowers are from Trimcraft and are brilliant for mixed media projects.

                                  The stickers are from the Grace Taylor scrapbook kits which have three different themes. this one is from the Parisian Chic pad GS2681. it has a lot of vintage travel themed papers and stickers in this one.

Thank you for looking and please play along with us.

Introducing First Edition It's a Boy/Girl pads

I have had a bit of a baby boom in my family over the last year, so i thought it would be appropriate to show off some of the projects i have created following this theme.

First of all i would like to welcome Logan into the family who was born on the 4th October weighing 5lbs. I am sure he is keeping my cousin Becky very busy.

 I made him a little shaker card using the First Edition Its a Boy paper pad by Trimcraft. i will teach you a easy way of making these soon. The die cut is one of the new Xcut dies called Toy Box (XCU 503207).  

I filled the box with white sequins and used the tiny duck die from memory box and used a small punch with craft foam.

 I was feeling creative and as i didn't have any wrapping paper suitable for a baby, i used the Clear Impressions Stamps and Jean Blue ink from Artiste to stamp out my own pattern by putting the stamps on to a huge acrylic block.

 You will have to excuse my gift wrapping skills, i tried to hold it all together with washi tape but it didn't stick very well.

 Here are a few more card ideas and a chance to show off a bit more of the pad. as you can see each pad comes with either a pink or blue colour scheme and also includes a few gender neutral shades as well.

  The three cards bellow where made using the Its a Girl pad which is so cute and pink

here are the codes in case you want to get yourself some

the pads come in three sizes 6x6 8x8 and 12x12  you can find out more here http://www.trimcraft.co.uk/products/632/it-s-a-boy-it-s-a-girl-bella-rose-brand-new

Its a boy FEPAD077 6X6
Its a girl FEPAD079 8x8
Toy box dies XCU 503207 www.docrafts.com
Clear Impressions sue dix stamps new baby rocking horse set

The Memory Nest Make it Monday 26

            Its time for another sketch challenge over at www.thememorynest.blogspot.co.uk.


Here is my card for the week, another Christmas one made using assorted Trimcraft Christmas ranges. The topper is made using the 8x8 decoupage pad, i love these as they are easy for adding to those last minute cards. I love the new vintage Christmas pad from First Edition and i will be sharing some more of this yummy vintage paper later this week.

                                       

This week we are using Crystal's Sketch and you can submit either a card or layout for this challenge. we will be back with another sketch later in the month but you will have plenty of time to participate.

A Beginers guide to using the Xcut Xpress.

I love it when products are simple to use without the need for a PHD to work out what goes where. The Xpress die-cutting machine by Xcut is one of those products.  This month I will be reviewing the new die-cutting machine and also covering the basics for those of you who haven't used one before.

The Xpress comes with a base plate, cutting plate and a metal shim.

to change the height of the rollers, you turn the dial until you can fit your pates and material through the rollers with enough tension for the die to cut through your material.

What makes the Xpress standout from the other brands of die-cutting machines, is its adjustable rollers.  With the Xpress there is no fumbling around trying to work out which combination of shims to use or the need to buy special add-ons  to get your dies to cut correctly.  All you do is turn the dial on the top until your die and plates fit through the rollers. It also means that it is compatible with all brands of die-cutter and allows you to cut through material such as felt and foam.  The adjustable rollers mean that you no longer have to worry about jamming the roller or snapping the handle off if you try to push too much material through the rollers.

you can emboss full A4 sheets of card and paper and the XPress  is compatible with most A4 embossing folders and die-cuts

                with the XPress  you can cut multiple dies at once

The Xpress  can fit up to A4 sized  paper  through its rollers, this makes it easier to use when cutting multiple dies as you don’t need to cut the paper to fit the dies. The new extra-large dies make matting and layering easier and neater when creating scrapbook layouts and the A4 embossing folder means that you can add an embossed pattern to any sized card without worrying about buying the correct size of embossing folder leaving a consistent finish. There have been times where I have had to cover a card over with paper because the embossing folder was too small for the card.

I can hear you saying ‘this must be huge’.right? There is no need to panic, the Xpress  machine folds up into a neat carry case which can be stored away and is easy to transport to craft groups, crafts shows and even the caravan.  It is a little heavy thought so I wouldn’t  try and take it on the plane. It is also rather stylish with its black and white design meaning it wont stick out like a sore thumb and will appeal to the elusive male crafter.

 

The handle is very easy to turn and very strong so there is no need to worry about accidently snapping the mechanism.

Tips

You can use the a4 embossing folders to add texture to your scrapbook pages. Why not rub ink over the embossed pattern to add a touch of mixed media to your layout.

The new box die means that you can make a batch of gift boxes for a wedding or party quickly and cheaply. Better still you can personalize  them and make them special.

Why not use the extra-large nesting dies to create uniquely shaped cards.

Keep your Xpress machine clean by using  a micro fiber cloth to clear away dust .

if you would like to treat yourself to one then visit www.docrafts.com to find your local Creativity store. The product code is (XCU 268300 )

If your metal dies are moving about too much or you need to cut out something intricate then why not use the magnetic sheet that comes with the Xcut dies.

Have a haunting Halloween

yes its that time of year where we  get creative with our home decor and outfits and then scare ourselves silly whilst scoffing just about everything that is bad for you. its Halloween and today i am sharing with you some of my spooky cards and crafts to get the creativity flowing.

Since it is hard to get hold of any kind of lovely Halloween papers or kits in the UK without spending a fortune i went hunting on line for a few lovely digital paper packs that are absolutely free. Yes you heard right Free.

These cards i made using downloads from the Farfar Hill blog site http://farfarhill.blogspot.co.uk/ there are a huge range of free paper packs and embellishment kits available on this site for free.

https://www.docrafts.com also has a lot of free downloads and sketches to use just register for free. Creativity Club members get the bran new downloads 2 weeks before release. There is a new Halloween set out now