More New Craft Stuff!!

What, you thought I could stop at just five nifty craft items? Hah!

Here are some others in no particular order:

Love me some glitter paste! Cosmic Shimmer Glitter Kiss from Ecstasy Crafts has an applicator right in the lid!

Glitter goes on easily with Ecstasy Craft’s Glitter Kiss, which comes with its own applicator.

I can’t wait to try these new Translucent Gelatos® from Faber-Castell:

Translucent Gelatos give a watercolor look

The BowVy (a Creativation Innovations winner) from Little Pink Ladybug uses a hot filament to slice and seal polyester ribbon.

In action:

And a new online company, Love + Lemon, lets you pick from a plethora of craft supplies to suit every need:

Check out the sparkles:

Can’t you just imagine a box of these dazzlers showing up on your doorstep?

That’s it from the show for a while. It’s February and I have Valentines to post! So stay tuned … and thanks for stopping by.

Quick Creativation Recap

Hey … what happened to January? Can’t believe we are in February already!

I have some Valentines ready to go, but first I need to do a quick report on what was new, fun, and fabulous at Creativation, the big trade show for the craft and hobby industry (a recent report puts crafts and hobbys as a $36 billion-plus industry!)

So here are some quick shots:

More Distress Oxides? Yes, please, may I have another??? From Ranger.

Whaaaa? Macrame is back? Yes, but hipper and cuter. These are kits from Plaid. There was a lotta knottin’ going on….

Plaid also has a nifty acrylic marbling ink, just dribble from a jar. This opens up such possibilities! Check out this one:

Cool, eh?

Check out Tim Holtz in the cool shades, ready to show off his new 3D embossing folders for Sizzix:

(No, it’s not your eyes … you need the glasses to make sense of the sign!)

 

Here’s a folder:

There’s more to come!

Check out my Instagram account @RobertaWax.

Fabulous Finds Friday with Faber-Castell

I love making backgrounds so I’m thrilled with any new colorants, techniques, etc.

Check out this new, fun and easy Tea Stain Dye from Faber-Castell® — it’s as easy as making a cup of tea!

I love this sample, seen at the big craft show in January:

My first experiments were not at all as pretty as the ones above! I basically made background paper (which I have not photographed yet; I’m not that happy with it but let’s see what happens when I play!) But I do love how easy it is to use this dye. So there will be more to come!

Thanks for stopping by.

 

 

Terrific Tags!

Oh, how I love making tags! Check out this new set from Stampin’ Up!

The stamp set is called That’s The Tag and the matching dies are called Timeless Tags Thinlets™ (by Sizzix). I highly suggest getting both sets! These tags are addicting … and a great way to use up scraps. Make them for any occasion!

Here are some close-ups:

You can do simple stamping and coloring ….

… easy layering …

… more layering  (there are several word choices)…

… and use up lots of scraps!

Thanks for stopping by.

Easy-Peasy Gift Card Holders

‘Tis the season to give gifts … and gift cards.

I couldn’t stop making these fast and easy gift card holders from Lawn Fawn. So easy to make using this great Small Stitched Envelope die.

Take a look:

The set also comes with the label (which makes a very cute tiny note card or gift tag), three word dies and some hearts!)

Here’s the inside:

You just die cut, fold, glue and decorate. Easy-peasy!

I have another adorable mini-tote die-based project, also from Lawn Fawn, so stay tuned.

(*This die was provided to me by Lawn Fawn for a magazine project.)

Book ’em, Again

In a previous post, I showed a book made using a coaster and the Cinch easy binding machine from We R Memory Keepers.

Here’s a different style made using the Zutter Bind-it-all:

I first covered chipboard with a pretty wrapping paper from the Paper Source, making pretty front and back covers.

Here are some inside pages:

I LOVE adding envelopes to these books.

I use this book for samples — here some samples made playing with (then) new inks:

Here’s another book, made using lots of envelopes:

And the cover of that book:

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Book ’em … the Easy Way

I love making little books for various occasions — some I keep, many I give away. But I also love taking the easy way, which I found using two machines: the Cinch by We R Memory Keepers and the Zutter Bind-it-all. Both are good and easy to use.

Here are some projects:

First, this one was made using the Cinch and coasters I picked up for $1!

Here’s a look at the inside and a close-up of the cover:

(I used a lot of scraps to make the inside pages — yay for using scraps!)

Stay tuned for a Zutter-bound book!

Thanks for visiting.

More Topiary Frenzy

In my last post, I went crazy using Vertical Greetings, a nifty new topiary set from Stampin’ Up. I was all about the white embossing on blue.

But had to experiments a bit more, using mostly what was left on my desk.

Still playing with the white embossing:

And trying out two-tone embossing:

(embossed with Ranger’s Lime Green and Tea Rose powders.)

A little different, embossed in gold on vellum:

(Using TapeTastic tape to hide some boo-boos. Not my favorite, but hey, that’s what experimenting is all about!)

And my favorite use, tags:

I stamped the topiary and the sentiment in Ranger’s Wendy Vecchi Archival leaf green, then gold embossed a pot, cut it out and added it on top. This was fast and easy, especially since I had pre-embossed and cut a bunch of pots!

Thanks for sticking with me!

 

 

CHA Highlights: Spellbinders

Spellbinders® always has a delicious booth at the CHA MEGA Show, but this year’s entry was a delightful mix of artistic styles that gives the company a fresh appearance, with something for everyone.

There are also some cool new tools, including the Platinum™ Die-Cutting & Embossing Machine, billed as Spellbinder’s most powerful machine to date. I’ll post more on the new tools later.

There was a decided Southwestern look to the booth, with lots of clean, simple geometric shapes – all very on trend.

“We’re looking for a modern, contemporary (feel) while staying true to our roots,” said Spellbinders CEO Greg Tipsord. And that they did.

The company teamed with some of my favorite designers to create these fresh looks. “Creativity is more than selling a lot of products,” Tipscord noted. “Designers are a big part of who we are.”

Here are a few of the designers, including some new (to Spellbinders®!) faces:

Mixed media artist Seth Apter’s first release with Spellbinders® includes dies, embossing folders, stamps and a journal/planner/artist book set.

Here is a closer look at his display:

Tammy Tutterow, whose blog is on my “must visit” list, also joined the Spellbinders® team with dies, designs and embossing folders perfect for her shabby chic style:

The third designer added to the team is Debi Adams, who created the Quite Contrary™ collection with her signature clean and spritely style. The collection includes stamps and beautiful steel rule die flower shapes.

Don’t those flowers make you say “Yay, Spring!”?

Here’s a closer view:

I’ve long been a fan of Becca Feeken’s stunning Amazing Paper Grace line (and blog), so I was immediately drawn to her display of the Amazing Paper Grace Wedding Collection with its gorgeous array of elegant, delicate, swirling die designs.

Here she is with designer Donna Salazar, who brings a load of new dies and stamps to her “Girlie Grunge” style, including my faves, Cascading Butterflies die and Flower Bouquet, a stamp/die flower combo.

Spellbinders® founder Stacey Caron has gone all out with a gorgeous, elegant selection of Art Deco dies, which I covet! But we’ll have to save the rest of my Spellbinders® report for another post.

Stay tuned for more on Spellbinders®, including a look at some of the samples seen at the show!

 

 

Upcycling a Gift Box

Can you ever have enough gift box or bags? Obviously not!
Here’s a project I made using an old matzoh box (yes, left over from Passover!) and some old calendars (from Cavallini).
I love boxes. I love using up scraps. This was a project made in scrappy heaven.

Here’s the original box.

Notice how the covering is just that, a covering? So I could easily strip it off to get to the plain box:

I then used some heavy duty double sided tape and glue to fold the flaps to the inside. I clipped them until the glue was dry:

This beautiful calendar was the perfect cover:

To make the handle, I just poked holes in the sides and threaded some ribbon through, knotting the ends inside the box.

A little Stickles glitter glue for sparkle and I’m done:

Now, who do I give this to????