My 8x8 layout in Creativity Magazine issue 59

Hi everyone 

I am back with another project i made for creativity issue 59.

This is an 8x8 layout of Timmy who just loves to sleep in boxes. No box is to tall are too small for him to squeeze in.

You can see more inspirational projects in the latest Creativity Magazine

How to color hair with Artiste Watercolor pens

Hi i am back with a mini tutorial on how to colour hair, I'm still learning but here is where i have got to so far

Take the lightest tone of yellow or whichever colour you are using and colour in the areas where you think the light would fall.

                  next take a darker tone and colour in the areas that would be in the shadows.

Finally go over the roots and darker tones with a darker colour to create texture.

My First Scrapbook Feature with Trimcraft

I have some news to share xx

My first scrapbooking tutorial has been published on the Trimcraft website. You can see it by visiting

http://www.trimcraft.co.uk/articles/how-to-scrapbook-introduction-with-basic-layering-and-embellishments-tutorial

I will be publishing a different tutorial once a month and will be covering different techniques and inspiration on scrapbooking. For the step by step guide please follow the above link. Bellow are some money saving tips for beginners.

When looking at purchasing die cutters, i always go for things that i can adapt to use on several projects. Nesting dies are great for saving time when cutting out shapes and also means you do not need to cut them out by hand which with me usually ends up wonky. I buy alphabet dies because in the long run you save money, as the alphabet stickers eventually run out of vowels to use. You can make your stickers last a bit longer by mixing up the different sticker sets.

If a 12x12 page is too daunting you can always try 8x8 or A4 pages and build up. A lot of the paper craft ranges come in multiple sizes and the smaller pads are cheaper.

The shells are made by pressing white clay into a silicone mould and left to air dry. these can then be painted if needed.

If you don't want to purchase a lot of embellishments then you could always look at recycling packaging to use on your pages. You can always take ribbons off of gift boxes or labels off clothing.

Thank you for looking and if you have any ideas or feedback please leave me a comment. I will be back in April covering the basics of mixed media.

A Beginner's guide to heat embossing

Today I am going to teach you the basics of using heat embossing on your projects.

First of all you can heat emboss on anything that will hold high temperatures such as wood, acetate and card. if you are not sure if you can heat emboss on something then test a small area of the material first.

lets look at some of the equipment you will need.

 To heat emboss you will need a heat tool not a hairdryer as the force of the air coming out of the hairdryer will blow the power off the project and not infuse the embossing powder, also a hairdryer does not concentrate the heat in one area which leaves an uneven effect,trust me I tried doing it the DIY way then had to buy a heat tool which you can buy from around £15.

You will need to use a ink to hold the powder on to the project, use pigment inks as these are sticky and slow drying. If you use a normal ink pad then the powder will only stick to part of the image or dry before you can heat the powder. You can use any coloured pigment ink or use a clear embossing ink which is invisible until you pour the powder over it.

Then there is the main product, the embossing powders of which there are many different colours and brands and it's up to you to find ones you like. In this tutorial I have used the Papermania embossing powders.

If you use a tray such as the Anita's clear away tray, then you can capture any spilled powder and pour it back into the tub. You can use a piece of folded up card but eventually this gets messy as powder and ink will stick to it. A selection of different sized acrylic stamping blocks will allow you to use  a block that fits your stamp correctly and this allows you to apply a even amount of pressure on the stamp.

Now on to your first technique which is very basic.

                               
                 1) Take your stamp and ink it with clear embossing ink. You can't see this ink so you need to dab it all over the stamp to make sure you have covered it completely.

2) Place your stamp into position and hold the block still with one hand and apply pressure by pressing down all over the stamp with the other. By using this method you stop the block from rocking and causing the image to smudge.

3) Place the project over a tray and pour the embossing powder over the stamped area. You should see your image appear as the powder is poured off it.

4) Give it a firm tap against the base of the tray to remove any excess powder.

5) Place the project onto a flat surface that is heatproof and then heat the powder with a heat tool.  As you move the heat gun over the powder It should change colour and turn shiny.

6 ) You can leave the embossed image as it is or  you can spritz it with spritzing ink and then dab off the excess ink with a paper towel.

Thank you for visiting and please leave a comment if this tutorial was helpful or if you have any questions