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.

A Rainbow of Birthday Wishes

Would you believe I never made a shaker card? I don’t know what took me so long! But with this Birthday Wishes die from Simon Says Stamp, and some Distress Oxide inks from Ranger, it was a perfect storm.

I LOVE these Distress Oxide inks. I love the colors, I love the way they blend, I love the way they react with water, I love everything about them.  I used Fossilized Amber, Worn Lipstick, Cracked Pistachio, and Broken China. After blending them on my card stock, I spritzed a bit with water and dabbed off the water with a paper towel, leaving those cool spots. There just wasn’t enough sparkle, so I added some Ranger Perfect Pearls. 

I added some foam tape to the die cut and sprinkled some small sequins (I think they are from Sulyn). I was tempted to add more sparkle, but decided to keep it simple.

Here is a more detailed shot:

This was a very good play day!

Thanks for stopping by.

Fabulous Finds Friday — Concord & 9th

One of the pleasures of attending an industry craft show is seeing new products and meeting new people. One of my favorite finds this time has been the stamp company Concord & 9th, which is less than two years old.

I am inspired by the company’s unique and innovative dies. I’ll try to explain two of them — the Happy Card Frame Die and the Love Notes Envelope die.

The Happy Card Frame die, with its interchangeable components, offers so many creative possibilities.  The smaller die frame has a gap in it where there is no cutting blade.  After you cut out the frame, the card portion is still attached. Then you add an insert die in that gap (in the above card the insert is the “happy.” There is also a pretty flower, which you’ll see in a minute). You line up the sides of the insert with the gap in the frame. When you run the die through again, with that extra piece in place, you cut out the sentiment and it is attached to the frame. Cool, huh?

But don’t listen to me … check out the excellent video  here!

(Again, check out the video.)

Both cards also use the coordinating Happy Words stamp set.

Here’s the die set using the flower insert  (flip the die around so the connection is now at the top of the card instead of the bottom):

There are so many other ways to mix and match the components (see the video!) For instance, you can also cut out that portion of the die and use it separately:

Pretty sweet, eh?

Stay tuned for a sample of the Love Notes Envelope Die — it’s a good one!

Thanks for checking in.

 

More Fabulous Finds from Creativation

Here’s another look at some of the Fabulous Finds found at the Creativation craft and hobby show in Phoenix last month:

 

(Layering stamps clockwise from top: large roses, Hampton Art; koi and rooster, Hero Arts; small vintage roses, Altenew)

Stamp layering (images you layer to create depths of color and design) is so pretty … and still oh-so popular, with more and more companies producing layering images. And ditto for stamps with coordinating dies. I became a huge fan of Altenew stamps, a company that elevated the stamp layering technique, when I first saw the company a few shows ago. They really ignited a trend.

Also fun, Hero Arts (love the koi and rooster and … a croissant? Whaaaat? So yummy); Waffle Flower  (marble, cross stitched cacti and roses, and more); Hampton Art, and more.

Here’s a cute layered/stitched cactus from Waffle Flower:

… and a nifty marbling stamp, also from Waffle Flower.

I also love the flower border stamps!

Thanks for stopping by!

Fabulous Finds Friday — Spellbinders

I’ve had Fabulous Finds all week as I recoup from the Craft & Hobby Association winter show! (Yikes … this never got posted on Friday…)
Today, it’s Spellbinders’ turn to shine.

If you love the embossing of Spellbinders’ double sided M-Bossabilities, you’ll be ga-ga over the deeper, more sculpted looking 3D M-Bossabilities.
Here is one example:

These folders are a tad thicker than the others, so your sandwich will use the pink embossing plate and the raspberry adapter plate, rather than the normal base plate. Also, mist your cardstock first to loosen the paper fibers for an even deeper impression. The folders snap apart, making it easy to ink the plate itself for a letterpress look. Check out this video:

Here is a finished card:

And a closer view:

For this project, the embossing plate was inked first with gold Delicata ink from Tsukineko.

Then there’s the exciting collaboration between Spellbinders and Susan Lenart Kazmer, creator of ICE Resin, who has designed the Media MixageTM line of bezels, papers and dies to use with Spellbinders new Artisan X-plorer MachineTM. Here is a sample of a pretty bezel:

Besides bezels and blanks, there are matching templates, metals and more. The new Artisan X-plorer Machine, which I have not played with yet, is a multi-purpose high pressure machine that cuts, embosses and presses a variety of materials, including metal.

Stay tuned for more samples, examples and projects … including Valentines! Thanks for stopping by.

My Adventures at CHA

Am I a lucky gal or what? I spent 3 1/2 days at the big Craft and Hobby Association show in Anaheim. I posted some pictures from the show… not much explanation, but just a glimpse of what I was finding.

I’ll be writing up a CHA Hot List for Crafts ‘n things magazine, but in the meantime, here are some quick peeks:

First the lowdown on new Tim Holtz products from Ranger. Tim has so many new goodies he needs his own post! (For a comprehensive look at what’s new in Tim-world, go directly to his blog, www.timholtz.com.)

Perhaps the most exciting are the Distress Paints — a paint-like medium that behaves a lot like ink. Here are some photos:

This tag was made using the same technique you’d use for distress stains — dab some on your craft sheet and swipe you tag through.

You can also swipe the paints directly on your surface, then blend, mist, wet, etc. While the inks are wet, you can manipulate them. Once they dry, they’re done, baby.

And check it out … you can stamp with the paints. They create a nice, flat finish, just as inks do:

Stay tuned for more exciting CHA coverage! Thanks for bearing with me…

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 — Paper, stamps and more!

So much crafty goodness coming up in the craft world. Here are a few snippets:

 

Tim Holtz is working like a mad crafter on new ideas that he will present in January at the big Craft and Hobby Association show. One highly anticipated item is the sequel — yes, part deux — to his technique book A Compendium of Curiosities.

 

A Compendium of Curiosities, Vol. II follows the same format as the first — it’s not a traditional how-to book, but rather what Tim calls a “creative field guide” for crafting. It will be released in January, and I, for one, can’t wait. For more info, check out his blog.

 

And for all you Tim fans (and there are oh, so many!) check out my interview with Tim in the February 2012 issue of Crafts ‘n things magazine. (YES! The February 2012 issue is out now!) He talks about how he got started in the craft world, what inspires him, and more.

 

(and now a photo to break up this post!)

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Sigh…. Every time I think I can’t love Hero Arts any more, they come up with something new! Page through the new catalog. I adore text backgrounds, and Hero Arts has some new dandies — including a city scape and an owl. (I thought I was over owls, but apparently I’m not.)

If you love your die cuts, you’ll go wild over the 10 new Frame Cuts made for Hero Arts by Sizzix. There are frames and flowers and… oh, just go see. I love the new letter matching system — the dies are given a letter designation and the stamps are similarly labeled so you know which dies work with which stamps. Brillian.

 

Another new product I’m crazy about is the Add Your Message set. There are 12 pre-printed cards in each set, which come with envelopes and four wood mounted stamp sentiments. Talk about quick and easy! (I must find out if you can buy replacement cards — that would be so cool.) This is a great gift idea to entice a new stamper! (Go ahead, be an enabler!)

 

And one more … new Basic Grey items. The Kissing Booth collection is just in time for some serious Valentine’s Day stamping. Can’t wait to break into this set for some delish cardmaking.

 

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Before I forget … I hope you will take a look at the February issue of Crafts ‘n things magazine, which has my annual exhaustive look at what’s new in the wonderful world of ink. PLUS the famous ink chart (found online.) I hope to have some ink-inspired projects soon.

 

Doesn’t that look yummy?

 

Happy stamping!