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Sunday 28 August 2011

Hello Crafty Friends

Hello my crafty friends, hope you are all having a good bank holiday week end. I've just been to London to see Billy Elliott which was absolutely fantastic. If you want to see a show, I recommend this one......it's full of drama, smiles, laughter, tears and love! A must see!
I'm now in Stratford UpOn Avon with family to celebrate my 40th birthday which is next Tuesday. I am visiting a fantastic craft shop on Tuesday Honeypot Crafts in Nottingham, what better way to finish a birthday celebration in London of shopping, dining and show in London. Craft shopping, I can't wait.
So, to my point today lol......I have been in a lovely garden today near Buckingham Palace, and the colours of some of the flower mixes were stunning. I have taken some photos and will be using these flowers as some ideas for card projects. You see, thats the great thing about being a crafter...you never switch off from it and take inspiration from your surroundings......so on this note, I have lots more ideas to play with from my fantastic trip to London.
Enough of my waffling, lol, enjoy the rest of the bank holiday and I'll be back soon lol,
happy crafting
lots of love NJ XXX

Monday 22 August 2011

40th Birthday Card

I made this card for a friend who was 40 a week ago. No disguising the age with this one lol, I think he liked it! I have used candy dots, I love using these, they just finish a project off.

Thursday 18 August 2011

'NJ's Crafty Tips'

Hello everyone, hope your having a good week so far. It's nearly the weekend and I know I'm looking forward to it! I just wanted to give you an update about my crafty tips. I love sharing my tips with you, but it takes quite a bit of time for me to go through them and upload all the pics. As I'm really busy at work, running my own business too, crafting, commissions and other craft project committments I have decided to do my crafty tips monthly instead of weekly. I hope your not too disappointed, but I have such a busy life lol, not enough hours in the day. I also want to make my tips enjoyable and interesting, so I feel by doing them monthly it will give me more time to prepare a tutorial with different crafting ideas for you all to try out. I am having a week end away at the end of August for my 40th birthday so it wont be the end of this month. My next crafty tips will now be at the end of September....so I hope you will look forward to the next installment, I know I will look forward to sharing with you the next project I have in mind! Thanks for reading, and happy crafting to you all,
lots of love NJ XXXX

Sunday 14 August 2011

'NJ's Crafty Tips'

Happy Sunday my fellow crafters! LOL Hope your all having a lovely week-end.
This week's crafty tips I am going to show you ways to decorate plain flowers.You can use various types such as fabric, paper, mulberry or whichever flowers you may already have in your craft stash.
So, the materials needed for this are:

Embossing machine such as Texture Boutique, Bigshot or Cuttlebug etc/selection of embossing folders/flowers/Sakura gelly roll pens/Promarkers/Memento Dye ink pads/Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pads/embossing ink pad/Distress paint/Distress embossing powder/Glossy accents/Pearl Ex powder/mister/selection of stamps/Crafters Companion spray & sparkle/beads, brad, button, candy/ heat gun/craft sheet or glass mat.


Tip 1
Run a large white flower through one of the embossing folders.


Paint the flower using the Distress Paint. I've used the colour tarnished brass.


Speed up the drying time using your heat gun.


The flower will start to curl but thats fine.


Now it's dry, use your distress inkpad and rub gently over the flower using a sponge. I've used spiced marmalade.


Ink the underside of the petals as well so they've got colour if they curl up. Using your embossing ink pad take the ink to the flower centre only, using the sponge.


Sprinkle Black soot Distress embossing powder in the centre.


Use the heat gun to melt.


Rub with finger to release crystals to distress. It will be hot so be careful and let it cool first.


Finally, spray the centre using Crafter's Companion spray & sparkle in gold.


You can use any colour paint of your choice. I like the vintage effect of this colour, it makes it look like a big old sunflower. Embossing the flower just gives it a bit more texture too.


Tip 2

Emboss another flower. Using a sponge, take the ink from the Distress Ink pad Chipped Sapphire to the flower.


Put some Pearl Ex powder into a mister with water. I've used a silver powder.


Shake gently to mix and then spray lightly over the inked flower.


Dry with heat gun.


Paint over the flower with Distress crackle paint Clear Rock Candy.


Dry with the heat gun. The petals will curl, separate gently if needed.


Tip 3

Ink a stamp using the embossing ink pad. Stamp over a flower.


Pick up the pearl powder with a brush and brush lightly over the flower.


Wipe away the excess powder gently, using the larger brush.


It's really that simple to decorate flowers using embossing ink and Pearl Ex or Perfect Pearls powders.


Tip 4

Take a fabric flower and ink with a distress ink pad.I've used Tea dye.


Use a text stamp and ink up with Rusty Hinge distress ink. Stamp in the middle of the flower.



Dab embossing ink around the petal edges.


Sprinkle on Milled Lavendar Distress Powder.


Use your heat gun.


Rub off the release crystals with your finger after it has cooled. Attach a candy dot on the underside of the flower using glossy accents.


You only need to do that part if you have a hole in the centre of your flower and you still want to be able to see the full word.


Tip 5

Emboss a flower using a swirl effect folder. Simply colour in using your Promarkers.


You can use chalks too if you want to. Choose whichever colouring medium you prefer. The colours will bleed together with your Promarkers on paper flowers, but I like this look.


Finish with a pearl brad.


Tip 6

Take a white flower.


Ink up a text background stamp with Tuxedo black Memento ink. Stamp over the flower.


Use a Sakura Black sparkle pen and draw around the edges of the flower.


Glue a button in the middle of the flower using glossy accents.


Tip 7

Colour a white flower using Red star Sakura gelly roll pen.


Ink a text stamp using Paris Dusk Memento ink pad.


Stamp over the flower.


Add a Twilight Candy to the centre using Glossy accents.


Tip 8

Apply small dots of Glossy accents to a black flower.


Sprinkle with Glamour dust.


Tap off the excess dust and set aside to dry.


Tip 9

Ink a stamp with Lady bug Memento ink. Stamp over a pink flower.


Use a Sakura gelly roll pen in Pink Star and add shimmer to edges of petals.


Add glossy accents to the flower centre.


Sprinkle beads on and set aside to dry.


Tip 10

My last tip for these flowers is to simply use a plain flower and a black fine liner pen and doodle on the flower.



Finish with Candy in the centre.


So, there you have flowers.


One of my favourite quotes is on a stamp that I bought some time ago.


Imagination
is more important
than knowledge

Albert Einstein

That's exactly what sums up crafting for me. Imagination!

That's all you have to do. I just hope I've helped you along the way with my own imagination! LOL

I hope you enjoyed the flower tips. Thanks for reading and have fun trying them out. Have a great week and I'll see you all next weekend with some more crafty tips.
Have fun and happy crafting!
Lots of love
NJ XXX