All about Flowers Today. Day 13 Advent Calendar Offers.

Hi Everyone. Today is all about flowers. Flowers have always been the most popular for any card or project. There are so many flowers that you can make, they make a difference on a card whether they're flat, decoupaged or in full 3D. Todays Advent offer is a real treat, there are 4 sets of stamps included in the advent offer today, all single so you have a choice of 1 set or all of them. All of them are only 9.99, it's worth mentioning that they are big stamp sheets, not just A5. There are lots of projects below, all made with the Craftascope Range. 

First is a very plain gift or presentation box, which has been decorated to make it something extra special. They are thoroughly enjoyable to make, goodness know how much you would pay in the shops for a hand made decorated box to this standard. This has used a selection of different sized roses made using the rose Petals, these are very low in stock, there are less than 5 remaining. The large Rose petals are a perfect companion set for Rose Makers or anyone wanting to start, you can make so many more sizes and blooms. They are also on a half price offer, but it is ending tonight. The Advent offers from the last few day have all been left on but will be removed tomorrow ready for Day  14, so do take advantage of anything that is available today.

Next moving onto the Floral Companions set, this is an absolute must for every crafter. These are constantly out as I use them on so many cards and projects. I used dies from the collection to decorate the card below, I have video for these, although they really are very simple and take seconds to make. I've also used the small Rose petal dies to make small white roses. The set also contains a selection of leaves which are needed for so many projects. The separate stamp and dies are not on offer but the pair are as they are designed to be used together and have 40% off.

Next is a seasonal Cracker box and Crackers, the decoration was made with dies from the Floral Companions Stamp & Die Set, explained above. As I said the set is a real go to collection, it has a wide variety of leaves and blooms to use on all of your floral cards and projects.

The project below is also made with the same set again, showing how versatile they are, the look is changed completely just by altering the colour used. The colour really can change the look of any bloom you decide to add to your creation.

Lastly, here is a project using the Chrysanthemum Die Set, this is a marvelous collection of 4 dies, you can create a variety of blooms using these and very easily and quickly. I usually cut a selection of sizes and colours and spend an evening shaping them all. Then the following day make them up ready for using in decorating or adding to a vase. These have been demonstrated on one of my YouTube Videos. I have added it below for you to see. Please be aware, this is the last stock I have and it won't be brought back again. It has never lasted a show, even when adding extended stock. So please get them, especially while they are at such an amazing offer, They have never been reduced to such a low price.

I shared a photo last night of one of the biggest blooms I have ever made, It is a real stunner and once you know how to make a rose, these are so simple to make, they really are. The most important step of making any flower is spending the time shaping the petals, don't skimp on the time taken for this stage. There are lost of videos on my YouTube Channel to show you and I am sure I will add more. Below are a couple of projects made with the Retro Leaves Die Set, this is just 2, there are so many other ways of using them, they have made super strawberries and all sorts of things, as always there are videos on my YouTube Channel to give you more inspiration.

I hope that you will take advantage of the amazing prices on the store and the generous offers today. It is Christmas and I know everyone has had the most dreadful year, either socially financially or both and hopefully we can now see a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel. If you read my Heartfelt post on Day 6,you will know how much I have struggled through this year as well. It has been incredibly difficult for me, but I really don't want to close Craftascope, I have tried with every bone in my body to get through and now I am asking for you all to add your support, if you possible can. If everyone just added a small order, even the pick n mix of stencils, it really would make all the difference.

I have 3 collections on Paper that I would do anything to share with you next year, but it's not looking promising. Every single purchase will make a difference, however small. Take care and Happy Crafting.xx

Hochanda Show Tuesday 26th March

Morning Friends and Crafters. Well here we are again on the eve of my new launch on Hochanda Tomorrow at 11am and 3pm. I really cant tell you how exciting this has all been for me, I really have pulled out all the stops and put everything into the 2 collections I have brought with me this time. I put my heart and soul into everything I bring, so to have had such a demand for the first launch has been heartwarming to say the very least. I know I said it on my show, but without the support from Hochanda and all of you, there really wouldn't be any collections to bring to you, so Thank you.

Tomorrows launch is a smaller but just as important set and an must have to add to your Craftascope Library of tools. There are some super useful stamps and sentiments. It also has the addition of my very first 'Leaded Lights' Die Set, with my Dolphins. I have some more beauties to add to this over time, including a beautiful Dolphin Striplet Die.

Another great little dies set, which so many have asked for is my Rose petal dies set. It's a collection of 10 hand drawn dies in various sizes, giving the perfect petals for my Foamiran roses. There is every size combination you need to make some stunning blooms along with complimentary accent flowers too. They work perfectly with other mediums such as card and paper and all of my dies will cut fabric, leather etc. I do hope I have time on the shows to demonstrate a little, these are invaluable.

I do hope you will join me tomorrow (Tuesday 26th March) for my new launch with the wonderful Dave Bradford at 11am and 3pm. For now take care and Happy Crafting.xxx

Bee's Dancing Daisy

Morning. I am sharing a nice little 3D plaque today. You could use it as either a card, wall-hanging or just a nice piece for a shelf or mantelpiece. For this project, I have used an embossing folder and stamps from Leonie Pujol's new launch on Hochanda. I have also used words from Leonie's Heart Die Collection.

To start with I cut my card to size, approximately 5 x 7''. I used Whitewash Coredinations  card with a green core from Crafters Companion. I ran it through my machine with Leonie's  'Forever Swirls' embossing folder. I used my sanding block to highlight the pattern and let the core colour show through. I wiped over the card with my magic cloth from Crafters Companion, it makes a real difference to your embossing.

I then cut out the heart in the middle of the embossed card.

I took my backing board which was the same size and placed my embossed card over it to mark out where my design needed to be. I stamped the flowers with black Memento ink so they would show through the heart aperture.

On a piece of velvet card I stamped the flowers as I wanted them to decoupage on my design. I stamped quite a few as I wanted the design to be quite deep.

I took the backing image and coloured it with a selection of alcohol markers and did the same with the flowers for the decoupage. I masked of the flowers in my background and coloured the sky with Memento Ink 'Summer Sky'

On black pearl card, I cut out the words 'My Friend' from Leonie's die collection. Then stamped and coloured 3 of the Bees with alcohol markers.

I layered up my decoupage using 3D glue gel, secured a bee to the background, I secured the last 2 bees with spiralled coloured wire, to give the effect of flight.

Finally I added foam on a roll to secure my embossed front, I used four layers of 2 mm foam because of the depth of the decoupage.

I hope you like the project today along with the step by step. Thank you for visiting and I hope that you will visit again. Take care xxx

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.