Fabulous Finds Friday — Oh, That Tim Holtz!

Oh, Tim Holtz, what have you done? Come up with more cool stuff, that’s what!

First up is new Metallic Distress Stains. Oh, how I am dying to try these! They are touted as being luminous, with a semi-translucent metallic finish, perfect for paper, ribbon, , fabric, wood … and even with the other translucent Distress stains for a layered effect. Like the others, they react to water. Oh, the mottling I can do!

Then we have clear Rock Candy Distress Stickles in a larger jar with a built-in brush. And new Distress Stickles Dry Glitter is sure to be a hit with its random particle sizes and shimmery clear finish. Yum.

And one more thing… A FREE TIM HOLTZ APP! The new app lets you keep track of your Tim Holtz products, create a “wish list,” watch Tim’s technique videos, click on his blog, and more.

Did I mention it’s free? Check it out:

For more info, visit Tim’s blog at www.timholtz.com

Way to go Tim!

Fabulous Finds Friday — Random Treats

Well, I’m a little late for Friday … but here are some random treats:

Is it ever too early for Halloween? Not on Friday the 13th! Check out these new All Hallows papers from Bazzill Basics:

Let’s chase the spooky with a swee. Check out these sweet cards from Basic Grey that show off BG’s new summer line being introduced as we speak at the Craft & Hobby Association Show in Chicago:

Ooooh, so pretty!

Thanks for stopping by!

Fabulous Finds Friday — Fiskars Fuse

Wow… how often can you write a headline with all Fs?

Hot off the press today is this letterpress. My Fabulous Find is a new letterpress machine from Fiskars. Called the Fuse Creativity System®, this bad boy cuts, colors and letterpresses in one fell swoop. Weighing 25 pounds, it’s no lightweight; it’s sturdy. The 12 inch platform offers plenty of space — including a built-in storage compartment, which I adore — and the whole contraption folds nicely to a compact, upright position.

Take a look:

And closed:

You know how impatient I am (I want to play NOW!!) so I loved that I could use it right out of the box, since the kit comes with everything you need to get going. You can die cut, letterpress, emboss or do a combination. It handles other dies, such as those designed for Cuttlebug, Vagabond and BigShot, but you will need a Fuse Adapter Kit (sold separately.)

I had a chance to try the Fuse (*see disclaimer) while writing an article for Crafts ‘n things about texture (watch for the article in the October issue!). The kit I tried comes with two adorable tag dies and plates. These were so easy to make because they cut at the same time they letterpressed. One pass and I had one of these:

I used the dies two ways: on the right, the black butterflies were letterpressed (pressed into the cardstock). I inked the plate using the black ink that came with the machine. Yum …  (I have since played around with various pigment and dye inks, which seem to work just fine.) The paper, by the way, is a slightly textured, thick paper from Paper Source. Sadly, the blush pink color I used is discontinued, leaving only Luxe white and cream. Love this paper for letterpress. But I digress….

The blue tag (made using a textured paper from Core’dinations) I did the opposite way, using no ink, so I got a raised impression on the front. I lightly sanded it to bring out the core color of the cardstock. This is a fun way to get double duty out of some designs (be careful with words or letters!)

Can you stand two more? Same process — inked up and letterpressed the right way for the pinkish tag; reversed and not inked for the blue tag:

(papers are the same: Core’dinations and Paper Source.)

Sigh. Now I want more dies. I want to play some more with this machine. See the demos here.

Thanks for stopping by!