Random Craftiness

Here are some bits and pieces of crafty news:

Let’s give a warm welcome back to Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps. Prickley Pear, which opened in 2003 by Nicole LaCour and closed last August, is back with new owners but the same fun, whimsical designs.

Tanya Doner-Kostynuk, owner of Riley & Company and Cornish Heritage Farms stamps, and Sue Helm are the proud new parents.

With nearly 900 products in 36 categories, Prickley Pear boasts a large assortment of vintage designs, many of which remind me of the cards my grandmother used to send me! Stamps come in clear polymer or red rubber and there are many matching dies.

Here’s a card I put together very quickly, using just scraps that were on my desk, and the birdcage stamp and die set:

I die cut the bird and cage from some card stock that I think was made using Ranger Distress stains and/or sprays. The butterflies were from punches, the sequins from Doodlebug Designs and the cool background is the Art Deco Texture Plate from Spellbinders.

It’s great to have Prickley Pear back!

. . . . . . . .

If you love fabric and you love vintage, take a look at 7gypsies‘ new Gypsy Seamstress line here and here, which  brings together the look of old fabric prints, quilt-like bunting shapes and gypsy style printed banners.

Aren’t these yummy: 

The collection includes banner making surfaces, totes and an apron.  Besides adding lace, fabric, charms and other bits and baubles, you can color them with  markers, acrylic paint, watercolor, glimmer mist, ink, etc. 7gypsies is part of the Canvas Corp Brands. 

. . . . . . . .

WOW! Embossing Powder (www.wowembossingpowder.com) has come out with its own embossing “mixing” jars so you can create custom-made embossing powders. Why, you ask, do you need to buy a special jar? (Well, that’s what I would ask …) Because these jars are treated with an anti-static material on the inside so your powders don’t cling to the sides. They also have a label so you can jot down your mixology notes. Check out the video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDAm7lU_SCE

If nothing else, check out the website for lots of embossing facts and to see the company’s wide range of powders and more. You’ll say “Wow!”

Thanks for stopping by for this little craft update.

 

Fabulous Finds — Ken Oliver Colors, Stamps and More

Another crafting star was born at the Craft & Hobby Association Show … Ken Oliver. It was Ken’s first time starring in his own booth, and he did it with flair, introducing several cool new products, including coloring agents, papers and stamps.

Let’s start with his exciting Color Burst color treatment. Color Burst is a concentrated watercolor product in a powder form. To use it, first spritz your watercolor paper with water. Then squeeze the Color Burst bottle to spray out the colored powders. The powder reacts with the water and … POW! Bursts of color!

You can use Color Burst with stencils, over an embossed or wax resist, etc. You can spray more water to help blend the colors, move the color around with a brush or even a heat tool, and more. The vibrant colors make fast, easy, beautiful backgrounds and designs. As Ken says, “just sprinkle and spritz.” Color Burst will be available by mid-March.

Check out these samples:

And these pretty blooms:

Ken also introduced his Click It ink pad, a retractable, pivoting 1 x 1 inch raised dye ink pad. The velveteen pad gives a great color application whether you are stamping an image or edging a tag. It’s compact and I love the hangable chain that is attached.

PEGz™ stamp sets are individual letters that you click together to form words. Have you ever tried to line up alphabet stamps to create a greeting? Not so easy. Until now. (Look for them in your stores by the end of February.)

Look how easy they are:

Then there’s Stick It, a thin, dry adhesive specially formulated for use in intricate die cutting. When you first lay it down, Stick It is repositionable, giving you some sticky wiggle room. After a while, it becomes permanent. You apply Stick It to your cardstock before die cutting, then just peel off the liner after it is cut.

As for stamps and paper … Ken has definitely mined his small town roots. His Hometown images are vintage, nostalgic and beautiful, whether on paper or stamps. Paper designs include the Studio Collection (a soft, more colorful vintage feel), Watercolored Memories (vibrant botanical prints) and Pitter Patterns (geometrics.) I’m hoping to play with these soon!

Check out Ken’s blog at www.kensworldinprogress.com. His products are being distributed through Product Performers.

Pretty Prima Papers

Here’s a short, but sweet, post.

Yes, it’s taken me more than two weeks to sift through all my notes from the Craft & Hobby Association Mega Show! But now I’m ready to share some of the goodies I’ve found.

Like these nifty papers from Prima Marketing (I remember when they mostly sold flowers! They’ve come a long way.)

The tag was made during a fast make-and-take at the Prima booth. The papers are from the lovely Cartographer collection. The ribbon is spritzed with Prima’s Color Bloom spray.

Thanks for stopping by!

Vintage Cards from Crafts ‘n things

Happy Friday!

Time to catch up on some card making. In this post  I mentioned the article I wrote for the October issue of Crafts ‘n things (on the newstands now!)

Three of my cards were featured and a few people asked me about the stamps or techniques I used for these cards. So, with permission from my editor, here is the 411:

“Road Trip”

Doesn’t this image remind you of road trips with the family? (“Mom, he’s touching me….” “I’m thirsty…” “Do I have to turn this car around?”) All images are from Artistic Outpost. The focal image (the car) was stamped first, then masked. Then the map was stamped in brown Distress ink. The edge of the card was distressed, inked, then slipped into photo corners.

“Old Friends”

The background image for “Friends” is from Alpha Stamps, the “sisters” image is from The Stampsmith, the fun film strip felt is from Creative Imaginations, the saying from Hero Arts, and the buttons are just random. The plain and scalloped circles are cut using Spellbinders Nestabilities.

“Bathing Beauty”

I’ve had this bathing beauty (A Tin Can Mail stamp from Inkadinkado) in my collection for ages — love her, but hardly ever use her. Until now! This was such a fun card to put together. She was stamped first on white scrap stock then cut out and painted using watercolor pencils. The “sand” is a piece of textured card stock from Core’dinations. Don’t you just love the darker “core” color peeking through? The paper was lightly sanded to bring out even more texture. The blue sky is also from Core’dinations, run through a Cuttlebug embossing folder (on my good ol’ Sizzix Big Kick) and sanded to bring out the other shade. The ribbon is from Maya Road. Yum.

And while the gal was hangin’ at the beach, I made another card. So here’s a bonus card that did not appear in the magazine:

“Blue Beauty”

The flower background (dotted with Perfect Pearls)  is from Hero Arts, the damask image (stamped in white on blue) is from Judikins and the ribbony thing is from Making Memories.

Thanks for stopping by!

Fabulous Finds Friday — October Afternoon

I’m probably the last kid on the block to discover the fabulous papers of October Afternoon. These vintage-look papers are full of wonderful colors and designs — even the names are cute: Good Junk, Needs Paint, Ice Cream, Strawberry Jam, Picnic Table, etc.

I was lucky enough to work with some of these nifty papers while writing an article for Crafts ‘n things magazine. The article (in the October issue — how fitting!) is about how to create a vintage look in card making using papers, inks, stamps and embellishments. (Do check it out!)

Here is a fun card I made using October Afternoon papers, stamp and embellishments:

Won’t this be a great card to welcome a new baby?  The paper (including the tiny scrap on the lower half!), alphabet card and even the tiny flower stamp are all from October Afternoon. The flower is from Prima and the rick rack is from Making Memories.  

Here’s another:

The bottom paper is from the Fly A Kite collection, the flower is from Stampendous! and colored with watercolor pencils, then blended. There’s a dash of Ranger Stickles on the flower and I edged the paper with brown ink to make it more vintage. The sentiment is an oldie from Rubber Stampede.

For more information, visit www.octoberafternoon.com. And please check out the October issue of Crafts ‘n things! www.craftsnthings.com

Thanks for stopping by!