A Slice of Heaven - Launch of the New Craftascope Collection

 Morning Friends and Crafters. This is a really exciting and very special day for me. After such a long wait,my New 'Slice of Heaven' Collection from Craftascope is being launched today by the wonderful Lou Withers. It would have been amazing if I could have been there myself, but I am so very lucky to have such a marvelous Crafter launching it on Hochanda today. I'm sharing one of the cards I've made using a selection of Stamps and Dies, along with a beautiful stamp from Clarity Stamp.

I believe that the 'Slice of Heaven' Collection is one of the most versatile ones I have brought to you so far. As always they are perfect for all of your Paper & Cardcraft projects, however they are designed be used perfectly with Fabric as well. You can easily create your own bespoke fabrics. With many of the stamps, there's also the option to use them for Quilting.With a little patience you could even try micro-quilting.

I am decorating at the moment, the stamp I have used in the card comes in 3 sizes across the collection.I am using the largest of these to create a feature wall and I will share the photos as soon as it's finished. To give you an idea, I have stamped a sheet of A3 paper, obviously for the wall I will be spacing the stamps further apart. 

The same stamps can also be used to make the most gorgeous flowers,either using one size stamp or a mix of the sizes together. If you have the thicker type Chinese rice paper they make stunning poppies. If you would to use them with foamiran, be careful to choose the correct ink and a light colour to stamp with.

Having the versatility in a collection is the key and having so many other options is always a good thing. The stamps are sized perfectly to work across any project from ATC's to Scrapbook pages as well as larger Home Decor projects. They work wonderfully with the Craftascope Heat Transfer Paints,also available on the website.

I had quite a few requests for Spanish Phrases, so in this collection I have included a couple which are great to use in greeting cards and scrapbook pages. There are so many options with the whole collection and I really hope to see some of your creations.

There's far too much to share in a blog post, so I will be sharing other ideas over time as well as youtube videos. For now I do hope you will tune into the shows with Lou tonight and Saturday Morning.It's really good to be back with you.If you have shopped on my Etsy, you should have received a thank you voucher, if you didn't and would like to shop the code is FEEDBACK15 and will give you 15%off anything in store. Take care and Happy Crafting.xx

Heat Transfer Links & Lot more Great News to Share

I have stolen some time to sort out a post and say Hi to you all, I can tell you I have missed being in touch so much. The wonderful Lou Withers has been a star and is going to Guest my December shows on Hochanda. This is such a massive treat for me as well, to sit back and enjoy. Lou has a huge talent and she always shares such a lot of inspiration, with everything she brings to us. Im really looking forward to watching and learning, to see the totally different take on the Craftascope Goodies. Tune in on Sunday 22nd December for a cracking selection of Craftascope goodies to suite a wide range of Occasions, Projects & People at unbeatable value too.

I can imagine you are all incredibly busy getting ready for Christmas and the big day. So sorry that I've not been around much over the last few weeks, I can tell you that I have really missed you all, the chats and your wonderful creations. I have to say a big thank you for all of your messages and the beautiful Christmas Cards, I promise that I am answering them all, but it's taking longer than I wanted.

There was a huge interest for the new Design Team Call, I had over 40 applicants, so it's taking time to  go through them. There's been some great artwork and I need to make sure I spend the time to make the decisions.

Today, I want to add some links for you. These are for the items that I use and recommend for use with the heat paints. There are other makes available, I've not used all of them, so I have listed the ones here that give the best results, while being great quality and great value too.

MUG LINK. These are super quality mugs, they are the ones I use and give excellent results, whether used in the press, oven or for even an iron for patient crafters.

SELLER LINK. This Ebay seller gives excellent customer service, the items are high quality and again give great results. Every item I used on the show, along with the samples was from here. There are other sellers that I have used, I will recommend this one as I found the quality was far superior and the results were excellent. They sell a wide range of items that are perfect for use with the heat paints, from key fobs, aprons, cushion covers, glass clocks etc. Highly recommended.

My heat press was from another seller, it was an item I purchased before discovering this seller. I have shared the link for the heat press I use various times previously, so please use the search facility on the blog.

SILICONE WRAP LINK. For those of you who dont have a heat press and don't want to buy one. This is for the silicone  wraps, they enable you to design your own mugs and bake them in the oven. Again there are others available, but these are the ones I have, so I know the quality.

For a Guideline, the oven should be around 350 F, they should be baked for around 30 minutes. Id also leave them in the oven until cool. PLEASE BE CAREFUL AS THEY DO GET VERY HOT!!!!

Just one last thing, I have at last figured out how to use Instagram, Well I say figured out, Im not great so please be patient, as I work it out. I am sure,I will make quite a few mistakes. My Name is NICKJR999, I will make the time to be around and I hope too chat to you all before Christmas. Take care and Happy Crafting.xx

Floral Mirror

Morning Friends and Crafters. I have something different for you today. Will it be Mirror, Mirror on the wall? Or maybe They Do It With Mirrors, How about a Floral Mirror using the Mirror Mist brought too us by Lou Withers and Clarity Stamp. Such an easy but extremely effective product to use, giving some amazing results every time. Here I have used stamps from the Craftascope Floral stamp and die collection.

You Will Need:

Craftascope Floral Stamp & Die Collection

Thats Crafty Acrylic ATC

Pentart Mirror Mist from Clarity

Amsterdam Acrylics, Greens, Yellow and Pinks

Black Stayzon Ink Pad

Black Acrylic Paint

Copier Paper Masks for your chosen florals.

Step 1: Stamp and cut out the florals for your design from copier paper.

Step 2: Peel off the protective sheet from one surface, this will be the back of your finished piece. Using the masks, create your design. Be careful stamping on the acrylic or similar surfaces, it can easily slip. If you do have a stamping platform it's a lot easier, line up the shape in the corner and then use the magnets at the open sides, this will hold it in place.

Step 3: Start with the yellow Acrylic filling in the centers of the flowers.

Step 4: Next use a selection of greens to colour the leaves.

Step 5: Then move onto the flowers starting with the deepest pink, then the mid pink.

Step 6:  Finally end with the lightest of the pink or even a cream, try to blend the colours.

Step 7: Use the Mirror Mist over your design. Normally one coat is plenty. Leave it too dry totally before adding a fine spray of the protective varnish spray. The leave this to dry thoroughly.

Step 8: To finish the piece add one or two coats of black acrylic. I did the first with an off cut of kitchen or bathroom sponge.

To reveal your finished design, peel of the protective sheet from the other surface. There so many wonderful projects you can create with this product. A project made to look like an antique mirror for example would look beautiful.

Thank you for joining me today, I hope you got to see my wonderful news yesterday. Thats Crafty do some amazing surfaces to use, including some really nice ATC Stacks. I was so pleased to read the comments that were left. I still cant quite believe it, but thank you to each and everyone of you for the support, It does mean a lot to me. Take care and Happy Crafting.xx