Very Exciting News & Congratualtions a Card and a Voucher

Hi all, It's a very exciting day, some of you might know that I've been running a Big Giveaway this month. The December Craftascope Giveaway, It was a chance for 3 people to win 100 pounds each to spend on Crafty Goodies. All you had to do was share one of your crafty creations, using you Craftascope Products. Today I am sharing the winners. Thank you ever so much for entering your designs, your creations were stunning. You have really helped to support Craftascope. I have to say I was so disappointed that not more people entered and joined in the fun. I couldn't help but feel disheartened, but maybe this isn't something that people want to get involved in after all.

A mug I made with the Retro Chaos Striplet Die and the Craftascope Heat Transfer Paints. A Drum Roll Please.......

So a HUGE CONGRATUATIONS to Jacqueline & Emma, who will both get a voucher code for 100 pounds to spend on whatever they like. It's quite a nice treat for them. Sadly as only those 2 took the time to enter, the 3rd prize will remain unclaimed. Thank you ladies your entries were wonderful, I am so happy that you both like using the Craftascope Designs. I can't thank you enough for your support. Like I've said before, supporting Craftascope is important and not just about buying the goodies and without it, I just can't go on.

All of the offers on the Craftascope store have now ended, I'm sorry if you missed out on anything, but I did try to give plenty of reminders. The support I have received from some of you has been absolutely amazing. Honestly I will never forget your kindness and generosity, I do hope you like them when they arrive and have plenty of fun. There's a little card below, just a little something I made earlier on Craftartist and a Christmas Voucher code for everyone t use. It will give you 50% off across the store on any purchase over 30 Pounds, so if your basket is 30 pounds you will pay 15 pounds and so on. Any additional support will be greatly appreciated and will hopefully help to make a difference.

Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to post the parcel of orders today, but now they have lifted the restrictions at the port, I will be posting straight after the Christmas Break, once they open, I think this will be on the 28th December. So it's great news for any of you that would like to take advantage of the discount voucher, any orders made between now and then will also be added to the Parcel and sent out from the UK. So it should cut down on the postal delays that are plaguing us all. Take care and Stay Safe. xx

Advent Offers Added Plus some amazing Star Buys, A Bit Of Baking and Another Beautiful Card

 Hi Everyone, What a day, I have just finished adding all of the Advent offers and some amazing Star Buys too. I do hope you will take a look and maybe treat yourself while they are available. There are even more items in Baskets today, I really don't want you disappointed, so please check out so you don't miss out, there are more in baskets than I have available to sell. Some of the Half Price offers are ending tonight and tomorrow. The stencils are also running low, so please choose while there's a larger choice. I thought I would do a bit of baking this morning, I love Bakewell Tart, there was even enough to make some small ones to, so I will look forward to a couple after dinner tonight.

I had another wonderful card from a Friend and customer yesterday, along with a beautiful leather bookmark. Thank you ever so much Judy, the card will be treasured, as will the Bookmark, It really is brilliant and so kind and thoughtful of you.

I thought I would keep this post short today as I really have been so busy, trying to add all of the offers to the Craftascope Store. I do hope you will take a look and add your support, there are some very attractive prices. There are some amazing star buys, saving well over 50%. I have added all of the offers so you have chance to buy before Tuesday, as I want to send the orders off to the UK, that way we can avoid some of the Postal Delays and Hopefully your orders with arrive sooner. 

The  offer on the Chrysanthemum dies had run out, so I have added another discount for 24 hours only as there are so many in Baskets, so don't delay if you are after these as they will be going up to the regular price. It really is the best time to buy with the prices so low, it helps you to increase your Craft goodies and supports me at the same time.

Thank you ever so much for your support so far, I really appreciate it. Take care and Happy Crafting.xx

Mixed Media Stitched Journal

Morning Friends and Crafters, well at last I have had the chance to prepare and film the stitched Mixed Media Journal, it will go live at 7 pm (UK Time) this evening, if you would like to join me on on you tube . It's very similar to the one I decorated on my last Hochanda Show. The show is also available on my youtube channel, if you would like to look back on it. The video is 'The Regal Rose' collection, with Janice which aired on the 13th August at 12 noon.

I have to admit this was a tricky one to film, with positioning the camera and with such a small viewing area that I had to work in. You will have to forgive me for the mishaps, I hope I haven't made it look to difficult, I can assure you it's a lot easier to make than I have made it look.

The size of the covers are 8 1/2 x 6 1/4 and are cut from Zutter Board. This is a perfect size for A4 card, Fabric or material folded to A5 size. There is no waste at all and no trimming necessary. I do hope you will join me at 7 pm, I will be there to answer any questions you have and for a chat of course.

Just a couple things to remind you about. There are a few more days left to get your hands of the HALF PRICE Blooming Marvelous Collection, Please don't miss out, it's a wonderful collection of Stamps, Dies and Stencils. Secondly the GIVEAWAY, all you have to do is leave a review for any Craftascope purchase on Etsy for your chance to win my New Collection. There is a link to my Etsy Store at the top of the page.

Here is the link for the video this evening, I hope you will join me for a chat.

For now Take Care and Happy Crafting.xx

NEW 'Back to Basics' with Craftascope and MORE

Hello Friends and Crafters, I do hope you are all well and the weather is getting better for you, I know it was bitterly cold on my last couple of days. Well today I have started a new series of Videos 'Back to Basics with Craftascope'. This was following my Natter with Nick on Wednesday, there were a couple of comments with regard to Masking, subsequently I received a couple of messages about the same thing. It occurred to me that there are so many new crafters and there is very little out there to help, so I though the Back to Basics might be a great idea. This is one of the cards I made in the show.

This is really to test the water and see if anyone does find it useful. I will keep an eye on the messages and comments to see if it's something that crafters would like to see regularly. If it is popular then I am more than happy to continue with the shows. So if there is anything at all that you would like to see, pleased add your comments below the Back to Basics Video on Youtube, so I know that this series is something you want to continue. Here is another card I made during the show today.

The Natter with Nick show was great on Wednesday, it was good too see some of you there and chat. The offer for the show is the wonderful Textures 1 stamps, these are great to add to any collection so if you don't have them. it's a great time to add them to your collection. There is a 5 pound saving on them until Midnight on Sunday (16th June). Here is the link for the Back to Basics Show.

There is also a welcome reduction on my Craftascope 'Blooming Marvelous' Collection, normally 79.95, now only 58.95, but this is only while this stock lasts. It's been a really popular offer and there are literally only a handful left. I know some people have it in their baskets, but if someone buys it you will lose out. I hate to see people who want things lose out, quite a few people missed out on the Retro Banner Stamps and the Rose Petal Dies, so do be quick.

This is the first chance I have had to say a huge thank you to everyone of you who has supported me on my short Craftascope Journey. It really has been terrific to have had so much support from you, I was over the moon that so many of you embraced the One Day Special, I was so proud of my Retro Collection. I've been thrilled to see all of the amazing creations being made and shared by so many, Above is a link for one of the shows with Charlie, if you would like to have a look, some inspiration or simply a refresh. For now take care and Happy Crafting.xx

With Love House Mouse Card

Morning Everyone. I must apologise for being so behind with my replies. I have read your comments and I am so happy to get them. Sadly I lost my little cat 'Smudge' a couple of days ago, she was nearly 23 years old so she did have a good life, but I am sure most of you will know that it's always hard to say goodbye. Here she is with her Mum (Mum is black n white).

I have always thought it would be nice if animals passed away peacefully, instead of us owners deciding when the time is right. We are never so lucky though are we, however little Smudge, went out to sit in the sun on the terrace and fell asleep. It was only in the afternoon when she didn't come for in for dinner that I found her. I was in my early 20's when she first arrived and that seems an age away now.

Anyway, everything has taken a back seat and so I am very behind with everything. But I did still want to try and get a post up for today.

This card is another House Mouse card, I know a lot of people like them and the cards are always well received. I chose a topper for this particular card ad built my design to fit the image. I made a gate fold card blank by taking a piece of Centura Pearl (Crafters Companion) an 8'' square with 3'' either side. The left hand side was to house my topper.

I created the cotton reels by hand and coloured them with my Alcohol markers. I wound embroidery thread around the middle reel to add a little extra, then pushed a needle through, I used 3D glue get to ensure it was completely secure. Then I traced around them leaving an extra 5 mm onto the right hand side of the card and cut around this leaving it attached to the card.

I added a layer of pink Co-ordinations card onto the card back and the left hand side and used the same card to mat my topper. I chose ble card to form the next layer, approximately 5 mm smaller than the pink. I then took my backing paper along with the blue and hand stitched the pieces together. I repeated this for the back also.

Finally I cut a hand stitched 'With Love' sentiment using a spellbinder die and layered onto the same blue card stock. Finally I assembled my card. I hope you like what I have shared today. Exciting things happening in the week, so I will hope to share it very soon.

Thank you so much for visiting today and I hope you will be back very soon. Take care xx

Rose in the Moonlight

Hello again.

For this card I used a selection of Stamps from Leonie Pujols' new launch. I also used a sentiment stamp by Sheena Douglas. Blueprint Sketch,Weathered Wood and Chipped Sapphire Distress Inks. A selection of blue alcohol markers as well as a couple of greens and a Sharpie white fine liner pen. To cut the design I used a Tonic Circular Die.

I really loved making this card and I love the colours in the moonlight. I won't go into great detail with regard to the masking as I detailed it in the Parchment card earlier in the week and I don't want to bore you. Below is a photo of the mask I made of the image I wanted to use. You could use Drawing Gum, but if you do make sure your are careful with the ink residue from stamping when rubbing off the gum. I decided to use the paper as it's faster for this size and type of design.

When choosing the stamps to use, I tried to bear in mind the petals that would be darker or lighter and used stamps to reflect that. When the stamping was complete, I used my alcohol markers to add colour and depth to the flower and stem.

For cutting out I used the out of the box technique with a Tonic die. Then using my selection of distress inks I blended around the moon shape and using a mask blended away from the flower.

Finally I used foam tape to attach it to black card. I used an inverted corner punch around the edge of the black card. The I layered it onto blue card, I used a different corner punch on the blue card. Lastly I added some stars in the sky using the white fine liner.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog & I hope you will come back again.Nick xx

A frame card made using my Brother Scan N Cut

This is a frame card I made using my brother Scan n Cut. It is my own design and all done by hand, then coloured using copic markers. Firstly, I started by drawing the design I wanted onto vellum so I could see the photo through it,  slightly larger than I wanted the finished design to be so I could get more detail. It also had to be a negative of what I wanted to keep, so after a few mistakes I finally got the design I wanted. 

I then scanned it into my Brother, reduced it to the size I wanted and cut out the base design onto 300GSM Super Smooth Card. Then I drew the first layer of flowers, again on copier paper, scanned these and had the machine cut them out on the same card. Then this was repeated for the third layer, this time slightly smaller then the first layer, cut out on the same card and then I drew in the fine detail with a copic fine liner.

Finally I coloured all of the layers with copic markers so once the card was finished no white card was showing. It wouldn't have been possible with scissors as some of the branches within the frame are less than 3mm think so it's very delicate. At the back of the base card I have attached a layer of mauve card covered in acetate and the design is placed over the top, this added some protection without loosing the delicate effect.

A Doctor Who Easel Card For A Friend

Day Four, I have done really well keeping my Blog up to date. Hopefully people are liking what I am sharing.

I wanted to share this one today as I am fairly proud of it. I have a friend who is a great fan of Dr Who. So for his birthday I decided to make a Dr Who easel card to include all of the Doctors. Its quite a large card made with A3 Centura Pearl for the base card.

I imported the doctors into Serif Craft Artist and used a variety of frames around them. Then after cutting them out, I suspended across the back of the card using a construction weight acetate cut into an arc shape joining on the right hand side to the flat Tardis picture.

I then made a three dimensional Tardis which acted as a stopper along with a group picture of the Doctors. I printed a background paper which looked like the start of the universe for the background and made mats and layers from Black Pearlesant card. I hope you like the end result, I think it was well worth taking the time over this and he was very pleased.

I am entering this card into the challenge at Suzy Bee's.