Spring and Summer One Day Special

Morning, Hope you all enjoyed the Bank Holiday and the wonderful weather. Debbie is with us today on Hochanda with a great one day special, with a super price too. I have used both 'The Spring' & 'The Summer' set so I am sharing some of the samples I have made for the shows. Debbie will be on again today at 9 am, 1 pm and with the last chance show at 5 pm this afternoon.

The set's comprise of a collection of dies, 3D embossing folders and stamps, I do hope you tune in to see some of the inspiration from Debbie's Demonstrations and the samples from the rest of the design team.

Justin and Gordon will also be on Hochanda for 2 jam packed shows today at 11 am and 3 pm. Please dont miss these shows as they are bringing some fantastic new 'Must Have' goodies that will expand your stash. They will also be showing the amazing luster paints, stencils and Background Stamps, which really are worth adding. Or visit the links above, there are some great offers on their website.

The Wonder Crystals will also feature of these shows, they are offered on a pick and mix today, so you can choose your favourite colours. I have a feeling that a couple of the colours sold out yesterday, so please dont miss out on the colours you want.

I love the Wonder Crystals, there are so many techniques you can do with them. I love using them and always recommend them. Don't miss out.

Thank you for taking a look today, I hope you like what I have shared. See you very soon. Take care and Happy Crafting.xx

Create your Own Journal Series and other News

Morning. I thought I would start my Tutorials for the New Collection 'Jungle Dreams' On Monday, to start the new week. So today, I am using my blog to let you know about my Journal Making Series on the Hochanda Blog with a GIVEAWAY and a show you just cant miss today, along with some project photos. Justin and Gordon from Be Creative will be sharing their AMAZING Wonder Crystals at 10 am and 3 pm today, Don't miss these shows, especially the first one as they're on a fantastic offer, with bonus goodies included too, so they might not last till the 3 pm show.

Secondly, My 'Create your own Journal' was published yesterday, I hope you will join me for the series of 3, taking you right from the beginning to the end. I will be giving away a 6 x 6 almost identical version at the end of the series, so please join in the GIVEAWAY and even more exciting get involved with the series, it would be lovely to have you on board and you will have great fun.

As you know I love working with the Wonder Crystals and have created many craft projects using them. If you love them too today is definitely the time to get them. Here are some more projects using the crystals.

I hope you will join me next week for more tutorials, I have 2 posts on the Hochanda Blog. On Monday I am sharing a Foamiran Chrysanthemum tutorial and on Thursday, I have an exciting Groovi/Clarity tutorial. I do hope you will join me there as well. For now take care and Happy Crafting.xx

Crystal Marquetry Tulip

Hello all, I'm properly back. Working with Michelle's ( MJM Design Studios ) Lilies and Light Collection was a real treat for me. Being so versatile, her images can be used across the board. There really is something for everyone. Not just a few elements either, the triple CD collection is jam packed with everything you could possibly need to create a multitude of projects. Today's project also used the Wonder Crystals from Be Creative's Justin and Gordon, along with the Wonder Sheets.

To start I selected the design, then printed it directly onto the Wonder Sheet. I peeled the backing off and secured it to a piece of 250 gsm card.

Next, the individual pieces were cut out carefully.

Each element of the design was then covered with Wonder Crystals from the extensive colour palette from Be Creative, then heat embossed.

Once cool, they were arranged and secured using Collall Tacky glue from Crafters Companion.

To show off the design, it was mounted onto a double sided pearl black card. I used another coordinating image from the collection to create an insert.

Here is the finished card.

I do hope you like it and the step by step. It's nice to be back with you. I have really missed you all. Much more to come.xxx

Brand New Wonder Crystals.

Happy May Day. Today, I am sharing a project I have made using the exciting new Wonder Crystals that Justin & Gordon launched recently on Hochanda. To create the design, I used Leonie's Mixed Media Die Collection 'Mosaic'.

The addition of the mica flakes has brought a whole new look to the already amazing Wonder Crystals, giving them even more texture and depth. Here I have made my project into a wall hanging, but by using other materials, it would make a stunning statement necklace.

I started by cutting a rectangle measuring 3 1/2'' x 7''. I covered the card with a Wonder Sheet before shaping one end using a basic circle die.

I positioned the Mixed Media dies onto the card to create the design I had in mind.

Next I drew a larger triangle to compliment the design, then drew lines to divide the area into panels to use the area to best advantage.

I cut the remaining areas, applied my chosen crystals and heated with the heat tool.

I secured my design onto a backing with Cosmic Shimmer glue. Once dry I positioned four small holes using a Cropodile.

To finish, I threaded a length of black cord. It would make a lovely wine bottle tag or a smaller version on leather or faux leather would make a wonderful key ring and as I mentioned before it would make a statement necklace or even a card topper.

Thank you so much for visiting today, I really hope you enjoy your May Day bank holiday. Hopefully you have enjoyed the step by step today and the finished piece.Take care and Happy Crafting.xxx

Very Exciting Day, A couple of things to share with you all.

Morning. Justin and Gordon from Be Creative are on Hochanda today with some amazing new colours of the Wonder Crystals. I do hope you got to see the first show, they are on again at 1pm so do try to tune in. ere is a vase of Roses that I have made with the new colours.

They are made in exactly the same way as my Ribbon Roses, but using only the Wonder Tape. Just take the required length of Wonder Tape and treat as you would the ribbon. I used the excess tape to attach the rose to a length of copper wire, to act as the stem.

Then coated the finished piece with Wonder Crystals and heated with the heat tool.

There are some very exciting things to Share with you. Firstly Leonie is back on Hochanda with her Typography Rage with a twist next week.

Secondly, Which I am very excited about. I was asked if I would like to join the Crafters Companion Design Team. I have gladly accepted, I would have told you earlier but I had to wait. I am so pleased that I am able to share it with you today, there are lots of Very exciting things coming up. Thank you for stopping by. Take Care and Happy Crafting.xxx

Poinsettia Wreath

Today's Project was really fun to make and decorate. For this I used the New Wonder Embossing Crystals that Justin & Gordon from Be Creative, launched on Hochanda during the Birthday week. I also used the Winter Die from Leonie along with the Poinsettia dies from Sue Wilson.

The heart shaped wreath was already made. I made  a lot of wreaths last year using the prunings from my grapevines but this one was ready made, so I had the fun part of decorating it. I started by cutting out the Winter die. I had already covered the card I was using with a wonder sheet. I peeled off the backing sheet and coated using the 'Celebration Blue' Wonder Embossing Crystals.

Next, I covered another piece of card with a Wonder Sheet, then I cut out a selection of poinsettias, using dies from Sue Wilson.

At the same time I cut out some foliage. I used 'Celebration Red' and 'Carnelian' Wonder Crystals to colour the poinsettias. Then 'Verdite Green' and 'Pistachio' to emboss the leaves.

I shaped all of the elements by wrapping them around a marker pen. This way the Crystals wont crack as they are really easy to manipulate. I layered  the flowers using Collall 3D glue gel and placed around the wreath using a hot glue gun. I then added the 'Winter' to the right side of the wreath and added the foliage in the same way. To finish the project I added a gold satin bow and it was ready to hang.

Thank you so much for visiting today. I hope you have enjoyed the step by step that I have shared and the finished project. I hope that you will join me again very soon. Take care and Happy Crafting. xx

Christmas Joy

Morning, Today's card has been made with papers from the paper pads and the New Wonder Embossing Crystals that Justin & Gordon from Be Creative launched on Hochanda for the Birthday Week.

The paper pads have been great to work with and are such great quality. I took the pine tree sheet from the pad for this card and used the full sheet.

To start with I blended around the edges just to add a little distressing, here I used Faded Jeans, but any of the blues would work well for this particular card depending on your embellishments.

From an identical sheet from the pad I cut 'Joy' from Sue Wilson along with a frame from the same die set. I cut an inner oval on a sheet of plain card which I had already stuck a Wonder Sheet to.

I took another sheet of card which was covered with a Wonder Sheet, from this I cut a selection of poinsettias in different sizes using a die set from Sue Wilson.

Next I added some Faded Jeans Distress Ink to the 'Joy' and the frame.

I stuck the oval Wonder Sheet to the back of my main oval after peeling the coating off, I placed the 'Joy' back inside.

I then poured over 'Midnight Blue' Diamond Sparkles which stuck to the wonder sheet. I also secured the frame using Cosmic Shimmer.

I stamped my sentiment from the new stamp set and layered the card onto cream and blue card.

Using foam tape I raised the 'Joy' topper from the card for dimension.

Having embossed all of the poinsettias using the Celebration Red Wonder Crystals, I shaped them with a ball tool, layered them and secured to my card using Collall 3D glue gel.

I am so pleased that you have stopped by to look at the finished project. I do hope that you have enjoyed the Step by Step. Please stop by again very soon. Take care and Happy Crafting.xx

Glittery Greetings

Morning, Here is another project I have made with the new colours that Justin & Gordon from Be Creative launched during the Birthday Week on Hochanda. I enjoyed making the 20's Mosaic so much that I thought it might be nice to make a Christmas card using the same technique. I also used the stamp set that they launched at the same time.

I had a reindeer stained glass window design from years ago, so I thought it would make a lovely card made with the Wonder Crystals. I started with a sheet of Centura Pearl and stuck a Wonder Sheet to it, before transferring my design.

After cutting it out, I started to emboss each individual piece using the Wonder Crystals. The Deer was done with the finer embossing crystals: Winter Sparkle, Jack Frost and Snow White.

These are the other colours I used for the design.

I pieced the design together, making sure all of the pieces fitted together properly.

Then on another sheet of card I started to secure them in place using Cosmic Shimmer glue. I worked from the bottom up making sure there were no gaps and everything was in line.

I wanted this to sit on a black background, I cut so black pearl card to size, making sure there would be a 1/4'' border all the way around the design. I took the 'Glittery Greetings' stamp from the new set of stamps and using Versamark and the Winter Sparkle and embossed the corners.

Finally I secured the design to my black card with Cosmic Shimmer and it was complete.

Thank you so much for joining me today and taking the time to look at this design. I hope you have enjoyed the step by step I have shared and the finished card. I hope you will visit again very soon. Take care and Happy Crafting.xx