Dazzling, Dunes?

Contrasting Cards :)

Welcome back crafter's, that is if you've already visited us today to read this morning's blog, but if not, hello!

So you all hould know what day it is and exactly what this post will be all about. Yes, it's Thursday which means that we are now free to tell you all about this week's workshop cards. So lets' get straight to it.

Ever needed a card for a young woman? Whether they're growing up, moving job, or just having a fab birthday bash. Well if you have then you won't be in future because the first card we'll be revealing is just right for anyof those ocassions and more. Now, although we've said "young woman", always keep in mind that with a few ajustments, cards can often be adapted to suit anyone!

Now that you've got that in mind, here is this week's first card...

You Will Need:

- A4 White card

- Patterned paper

- Plain coloured paper of your choice

- Kaisercraft Crackle Stamp

- Ink pad of your choice

- Gold mirror card

- 'That Dress!' Template

- Peacock Blue & Prussian Blue glitter card

- Cafe Riviera Stamp Set

- Corner rounder punch

- Star Punch

How To Make This Card: 

1. Take a white piece of A4 card, place it landscape on your MNF fold board and score on line 6.  

2. Cut a piece of patterned paper, 21 x 7cm and stick it on the left hand side on the front of your card. Then cut your plain coloured paper  to measure 21 x 8cm. Using your Kaisercraft Crackle Stamp, stamp onto your plain paper and stick it on the righthand side of your card. (the pieces will overlap slightly). Now cut a piece of gold mirror 21 x 1cm and stick it in the middle to cover the overlap.

3. Using your 'That Dress!' Template, cut a dress out of the Prussian blue glitter card. Cut the bottom of the dress as seen in the picture. Use your Peacock Blue glitter card to add the details. Stick this on the left hand side of the card. TIP: if you want your dress to arch slightly, bend the card slightly and stick it using pinflair glue).

4. Stamp out the mirror frame and a sentiment from your Cafe Riviera Stamp set, (or stamps of your choice) on to a piece of white card and cut around the edge of the mirror or chosen stamp. Cut a piece of Peacock blue glitter card 7 x 5cm and round the corners using a corner punch. Attach your sentimetn to this piece and stick it on the right hand side of the card using foam pads.

5. The stars are made using a star Woodware punch and spare glitter card. The handbag is made by cutting out two D shapes and sticking them together. The shoes are also cut out of spare glitter card. See image above for refernce.

So! A glamourous card made using... glamorous glitter card! A perfect woman's card, that is, unless you know a drag queen or two!

So what could the second card be? Well the title of today's blog is 'Dazzling. Dunes?' and now you know what the dazzling part means but what could 'Dunes' mean unless it's a seaside card? Well it's not, but it's still a lovely card to make and to give someone else. 

Here's the second card we made this week...

You Will Need:

- 2 x A4 Cream card

- Ranger Distress Inks (to match mulberry paper)

- The Treasury, Dune dots stamp.

- Green Mulberry paper

- Oval toppers of your choice

- Oval Die Cut

- Acetate

- Card Candi

- Dute/string/ribbon

- Cafe Riviera stamp set

How To Make This Card:

1. Place a piece of A4 cream card landscape on your MNF fold board and score on line 6. This is your base card.

2. Cut your other piece of cream card to measure 20 x 14cm. Distress the edges of this piece of card. Now stamp around the edges using the dune dots stamp (or one of your choice), still using the same distress ink. (This is how the card is realted to the title). 

3. Wrap your ribbon/string/dute around this piece of card 3 times. Now attach this piece of card to your base card. 

4. Place your topper on to your Mulberry paper. Using a water brush paint around the topper leaving a border roughly 1cm wide. Die cut an acetate oval to fit on your topper. Attach your topper to the Mulberry paper and using a small amount of tape on each side, attach your acetate to your topper. Cover over the tape using Card Candi. 

5. Attach this whole piece on to your card roughly in the center. Stamp out the banner and a sentiment from your Cafe Riviera stamp set (or stamp of your choice) on to a seperate piece of cream card, using the same distress ink as before. Cut round the banner and stick down either side so that this piece is slightly arched.

Well done! You have now made two great new cards and hopefully been inspired in the process. Let us know what you think of these cards by commenting below or on our Facebook or Twitter.                                                    

Welcome To Summer.

Stick With Me Kidz Summer Guide :)

Hello crafters unfortunately we've been experiencing technical difficulties and so our posts have been delayed but we're back up to date and we'll be posting twice today.
Today's first blog is all about the kids. Now that they've all broken up from school, whether they are: going up to high school, leaving for good or just moving up a year, we all hear the same words... "I'm Bored".

It's hard enough trying to keep up with the ever changing trends when it's comes to young people, and if they are between the age of 7 and 17 then it's even worse. So how on earth can we entertain they without setting up the tv or spending lots of money? It seems impossible but luckily for you crafter's you have a secret weapon... your hobby! 

Crafting is a great way to get kids outside, where they can still have fun and it won't cost you the world either! All you need is a garden table and our ''Stick with me Kidz'' guide to summer!
So how can you entertain the kids when they run out of things to do? Well how about you make paper lanterns, or paper windmills? They are simple to make and you don't need a lot of materials to make them. If that's not really the approach that you want to take then why not get some decopatch and get the kids to decorate that? You can decorate bird cages and all sorts, with all the papers that you've got lying around at home or ones that you can buy in store. There are loads of great projects that you can do outside and inside that the kids are sure to love!

If you want to see how you can make all of these projects and more then visit our Pinterest Board: Summer Ideas.

HOWEVER: if you would rather not spend time in the beaming sun, then we know the best way to cool yourself down. Get out your crafting box and pull out that christmas cardstock! Because there's no better way to cool down then thinking about cold, cozy christmas!

We hope we've helped and inspired you to get crafty with the kids!

Multi Media Class Sucess!

What A Brilliant Weekend!

Good Morning and how was your weekend? Ours was fabulous! The Multi Media class that took place this Saturday was a huge success and everyone had such amazing outcomes!

If you haven't already guessed this will be the theme of today's blog and before we get started, if you would like to all of the pictures from the class then head over to our Facebook page :)

Moving on and getting down to business. Obviously we were very busy here on Satrday and so we didn't have time to post at all! We're very sorry and we assure you that we try our hardest to find 2 minutes to post online but sometimes it's just impossible! However, we'll move away fr4om that subject and get down to the real point of today's blog.

So what is Multi Media?

Multi media is using a various range of mediums together and/or in different ways to reach an overall result.

Example?

When using distress inks you can spray water over the top of your colours and dab it with tissue paper to remove some of the colour. This is called spritzing. This is an example of multi media because you have used two mediums (water and distress ink) to create one effect.

So now that you have a better understanding of Multi Media, let's move on to what we actually made :)

The class ran from 10am - 2pm, and during that time the ladies were taught how to use various mediums that we have in the shop such as sprays/sprintzers, structure paste, distress inks, crackle paint and more!

Each lady was given a blank canvas, and then let loose with all the materials we put out on the table...

And this is what they got to play with!

Our lovely Pat showed all the ladies various techniques and helped them to create some amazing work and we had a fabulous suprise when our new lady came up with some fabulous meanings behind their canvas'...

 A canvas made for this ladies grand daughter who is going up to high school...

- The weaves of the lace that go to the key that unlock the cogs  of time to the blooms that blossom in to her future.








A canvas that was made to hang in this ladies new summer house...

-This key unlocks the summer house of dreams with the waves of thought that flow through the cogs of the mind, to the sparkle of future that we do not know 

This canvas was made for the ladies new little niece Pippa.

- The beginning of life which develops and blooms in to the flowers with the key that opens the heart of the new baby girl.

This was made by our new lady, who wanted to try something new and we say well done.

- The cogs of life are peaceful with the footprints leading to the key to the heart of my family and my garden that is my sanctuary.

So all in all a wonderful class with some breath taking results. We hope that this had inspired you to have a go at sime multi media yourself and if there's anything you'd like to know then pop down and see us and we'll do our best to help or ring us on 01562 510203 

Penny To Talk About

Your Weekly How To.

Hello there crafter's. We hope that you are all enjoying this fabuous weather and that it's inspired you to do some summer crafting, but if it hasn't then we've got just the thing that will!

You may have already guessed (thanks to the title) what type of card the ladies were making this week. It's a wonderful, quirky kind of card that's not only fun to make but offers you so many possibilities!

Here's the penny slider card that the ladies have made...

To Make This Card You Will Need:

• 2 x A4 White Card
• Floral Patterned Paper
• 1 x A4 Purple Card
• Shaded Lilac & Brushed Corduroy Distress Inks
• 2 x 1p pieces
• Punches of your choice
• Stix 2, Foam Pads and Strips

To make the base card: Take an A4 piece of white card and place it on your MNF fold board landscape. Score on line 6. Cut a piece of floral patterned paper 20.5 x 14.5cm then matt and layer it on to your base card. 

To make your slider: You will need to cut a piece of white card 19.5 x 4cm. Distress the card using your Ranger Distress Ink Pads. Cut a strip out of the middle of the card measuring 18 x 1cm using your craft knife or prefered cutting tools. This is where your penny will slide. 

Attaching the slider and pennies: Place a penny on the table and stick a round foam pad in the middle of it. Place your slider over the penny making sure that the foam pad doesn't stick to the sides. Leave your slider where it is and place another penny on top of the first. Attach your chosen image using foam pads and now it will slide!

To attach the slider to the card, cut 2 foam strips 19.5 x 0.5cm and stick your slider roughly 1.5cm from the bottom of your card (see image above). 

The finishing touches: Cut a piece of purple card 6 x 4.5cm. Then cut a white piece of card 5.5 x 4cm and stamp out your sentiment using one of the inks you used to distress. Matt and layer these 2 pieces together and stick it on your card with foam pads. (The small butterfly is a Woodware mini punch.) Punch some different sized daisies (Woodware) out of patterned and purple card and stick them onto your card. Now you can go over your card using your Stickles and highlight the card to make it really shimmer.

Now, with that out of the way and looking fabulous we can move on to our second card. This card makes a great man's card but with a change of colour could easily be a woman's card as well...

To Make This Card You Will Need:

• 1 x A4 White Card
• 1 x Sheet of Checkered Paper
• 1 x Sheet of Dark Green Core'dinations paper
• 1 x A4 Gold Mirror Card
• 1 x A4 Plum Card
• 1 x Pack of gold brads
• 'The Cafe Riviera' stamp set from Creative Stamping issue 18
• Glue Gloss by ColourBox
• Archival Ink Pad
• Stix 2 Foam Pads

To make the base: Take a piece of A4 white card and cut it down so that the width of the card is 15cm. Place the piece of card landscape on your MNF fold board and score on line 6.Cut your checkered paper down to measure 14.5 x 14.5cm. Matt and layer it on to your white card.

Next, cut down your core'dinations to measure 7 x 14.5cm and put it through an embossing folder. This will give it texture. Stick this length ways down the middle of your card. 

The topper: Die cut a shape that is about 8.5cm wide and 7cm high. This will be enough surface to stamp on. Stamp outyour image using Archival Ink, Please keep in mind that this is an oil based ink and therefore you cannot use your alcohol based markers to colour in. We used distress markers which are water based markers. Now colour your image :)

Put your topper to one side. Cut a piece of gold mirror card 10 x 8cm. The cut a piece of plum card 9.5 x 7.5cm. Matt and layer these together.

Bring your topper back and attach it to the matt and layered piece using small, round, gold brads. You can now attach the whole thing to your card using foam pads.

The sentiment: Cut a piece of gold mirror card 9.5 x 2.5cm. Then cut a piece of plum card 9 x 2cm. MAtt and layer these together. Now stamp out the banner that you get with your stamp set onto white card, and then stamp your chosen sentiment inside it using the same archival ink form before. Cut around the banner and stick it onto your matt and layer piece. Stick this to your card using glue or souble sided tape.

Now you're done! And we hope that you have once again enjoyed our how to and that you are looking forward to us getting our video tutorials up and running. Please feel free to go onto our Facebook page and leave a comment or a review and/or our Twitter page

A Quick Note

Keeping you in the loop.

Good afternoon everyone! Welcome to day 2 of the open week. The week where you get to choose what you read about. We've had no suggestions yet but we've always got something to talk about.here, so we're going to tell you what's going on in store :)

First off, we've got something that will definitely get your attention. For those of you who follow us on our Social Media sites you'll know that we have the new Sue Wilson dies in store. And we've got some good news because we've got a special offer on! 

So now's the time to come on down and take your pick because the offer is only on while stock lasts! If you can't get down to us then don't forget you can order online from our website by clicking here

And if that news isn't enought to satisfy your crafting hunger then we have something that will. We have had Hunkydory issue 18 in store! We think it's definately a must have ready for christmas.

You can reserve your copy by ringing us on 01562 510203 or order your copy from our website by clicking here.

Also remember that this is open week on our blog and we want you to tell us what you want to read! So contact us on Facebook, Twitter or by emailing us at the-treasury@btconnect.com

It's An Open Week!

Letting you decide.

Good afternoon crafter's. We hope that you all had a wonderful weekend and you're looking forward to another week of fab crafting.

First off we've got some exciting updates for you.. Now available to buy in store and online are the fabulous NEW Sue Wilson Fench and Austrian Collection Dies! Aling with the latest form the Finishing Touches and the Striplet range! The best thing is that all these dies are at an amazing price!

To see the range for yourself come down and see us at 200 Park Lane, Kidderminster, DY10 6TQ or visit our website by clicking here.

So what's happening this week? Well. we were just about to ask you the same thing. As a change of pace we;re letting all of you decide what ou want to read about on theblog this week. Simply let us know by commenting on this post, messaging us or posting on our Facebook, or our Twitter posts. Alternately you can email us at the-treasury@btconnect.com

We do have a little something to show you today that we think is simply fabulous!

A lovely lady that comes down to our shop recently told us about a cup that she won at Edith Hall for the Droitwich Horticultural Spring Show. She won the prize thanks to a bookatrix card that she made using a board that she had bought from us...

The bookatrix card that she made :)

The prize cup!

We chose to feature this on our blog not only because the card itself is absoloutely fab, but also becasue it just goes to show that with a little confidence and the attitude to give something a chance, you can do things you never thought possible :) A big well done for winning and you defonately deserve it!

Delivery!

Get them while they're hot!

Good morning to all you lovely crafter's out there and how are you all enjoying this wonderful weather?

Well we're certainly finding it uplifting, that's for sure. However, if it's not quite bright enough for you then we've got just the trick to fix that!

We have had 2 fabulous deliveries the past two days and as we always do we're going to tell you all about what we've got!

The first delivery came Wednesday, late afternoon, and we fell in love as we opened that box to find NEW Marianne Design, Lea'bilities and Craft-Too dies! 

A fabulous range of die that would make a fabulous addition to any card and to prove how nice they are here a selection of them...

Marianne Flower Mirror

Marianne Mini Alphabet

Marianne Snowglobe

Cheery Lynn Bird Bath

Cheery Lynn Gear Butterfly

Cheery Lynn Whistle A HappyTune

Cheery Lynn Ornament Tree

Cheery Lynn Snowflakes

Lea'bilities 3-D Fireplace

Lea'billities Corner Flowers

Lea'bilities Multi Die Flower 006

Lea'bilities Scenery With House

And there's much more! These are just a few of our latest arrivals so why not log in to our Website or pop down and see for yourself, but hurry, while they still last!

P.s. If you are coming down to the shop tomorrow then you'll have a treat waiting for you in-store! We've had the brand new collection of dies from Sue Wilson come in today and they're going out on the shelves tomorrow! You can be the first to see them and grab one while they are still in stock! And we're not kidding when we say you get first pick because they won't be uploaded on to our website until Monday, so if you've got some time tomorrow then come on down and have your pick :)