Christmas Flora

Christmas Flora

Hi Everyone!

We're halfway through this strand

and today Claire Jackson has

brought some Poinsettia for us:

"When you think of Christmas flora the showy 

poinsettia immediately comes to mind. 

Over the years I have collected a few poinsettia

 stamps. My latest addition is by Deep Red and 

perfect for Christmas cards.

Stamp the image and heat emboss with 

gold embossing powder. 

This stamp has particularly fine details 

so using Versafine ink is a good idea

Repeat this until you have four embossed images. 

Cut away parts of the images to varying degrees.

Watercolour each piece. I used Pixie Powders 

because they have a lovely shimmer, 

perfect for the festive season.

Alternate dark and light layers and build up

 the colour to add a little shading.

Stamp the image in aged mahogany 

Distress Ink in the centre of a 12x12cm 

card blank. 

To make sure it is perfectly centred 

I suggest using a stamping tool and 

practising on some scraps cut to size...

that’s what I did! 

Add a sentiment.

With a paintbrush or water brush paint

 over the image with water to draw out 

the ink and create shading.

Put the pieces face down on a sponge mat 

and use an embossing tool to gently rub over

 the reverse of the images to create 

a domed effect. 

Put a sticky dot in the centre of each 

image and foam pads around the middle, 

not too near the edge as you want the edges

 to curve downwards.

Layer the pieces over the card blank 

and add a gem to the centre.

 Changing the colour of the embossing powder...

..or the Pixie Powders or ink will give a

 different effect.

Products used:

Poinsettia stamp
White card
Versafine ink
Distress Ink
Embossing powder
Cosmic Shimmer Pixie Powders
Gems
Stamping tool
Waterbrush

Thank you for such a lovely

card Claire.  Always so good

when you can change the

colours to suit the recipient

'Till tomorrow

Mickie xx

Paper Mash Up

Paper Mash Up

Hallo All

Today we have another

use for those bits of paper

we can't bear to throw

away but still we are not

using.

Angela Radford is going

to show us how she

manages all those bits.....

"Hi all. 

Here to show you something I've 

made with some left-over 

background papers.

When looking through my stash I noticed these..... 

I must have made them a long time ago and was

 made with Mica stains and rubbed over with

 treasure Gold wax. 

I thought they would make great paper beads. 

So here goes!

I've drawn the measurements on the back 

of the paper to make it easy for you.

And here is a larger view. Top...

and bottom. 

Next you need to cut along the lines.

Using a wooden skewer, roll the paper 

starting with the widest strip (3/8"x3/8")

 then go onto the next (3/8"x1/4") 

which will narrow at the end ready to 

take the third piece (1/4"x 0") 

which ends in a point. 

You will see that I've added glue along

 the length of the strip.

You should end up with something like this.

For the long bead I used two strips (3"x3" and 3"x0") 

and then repeat the process with these.

Close-up of the measurements.

 At this stage I used a glue to seal the beads

 on the outside which also has the effect of 

hardening them.

And here is one of the round beads 

wired and ready to be completed.

Now I hadn't planned to do a tutorial for the

 background paper but it seemed a shame not

 to show you how to make this so start off by 

putting about three to four puffs of Pixie Powder

 into a container and adding about three tablespoons

 of water. Mix thoroughly and you're ready to go.

Apply with a paint brush onto a sheet of A4 paper.

 Allow it to dry just a little and then 

screw up tightly while damp.

Open it up, flatten out and allow it to dry.

Take your Gilding wax of choice and rub it 

over the creases with your fingers ........

and yes, I am wearing gloves... Wimp!

 When complete you get this which is just lush! 

Obviously you can flatten it out more if you wish.

Had to show you the handbag charm in situ.

 Sorry it's a bit lengthy today but hope 

you enjoyed watching. 

Happy crafting, Angela xXx"

Products used :

Pixie Powders

Gilding Wax

Glue

Sealant

Paper

Jewellery Findings

Wooden skewers

Thank you for a super project

Angela and not to mention

the bonus background tutorial

I had forgotten just how

effective paper beads can be

and with the Gifting Season

coming ever closer .........

'Till tomorrow

Mickie xx