Wednesday 23 March 2011

Charity shop bargains


These little boxes were part of a kit donated to one of my local charity shops. I enjoyed putting them together and they are now on sale in the shop for mothers day.
There was a large stash donated along with this kit. I would like to say a big thank you to my fellow club members for helping to raise £45 for the East Anglian Childrens Hospice charity by buying most of it.
Charity shops are for me a great source of bits and bobs for altered art as well as books. You never know what you might find. So next time you're in town, any town, go and have a look.

Wednesday 2 March 2011

Bitten by the tag


I have been well and truly bitten by the tag. It gives just that little bit more space than an ATC. The lady I gave this one to was adamant it would be taken off the card and hung on the wall.
I also like this size to work as samples, enough room to showcase techniques and materials without producing a whole card. I've got a little metal tree with grippy clips on each branch that's really good for display (Lakeland Plastics).
This tag was created using the ever popular Distress Inks, Stamps from Crafty Individuals, paper roses cut with Marianne Creatables dies, a couple of peel offs and some paper lace. If you take a look at Creative Expressions website you will find a tutorial for making the roses and lots more too.
I was lucky enough to go to the trade show at the NEC, lots of new goodies coming out. My favourite has to be the new Pearl Mica Spray from Cosmic Shimmer (thanks Karen!). It's great for that subtle shimmer on wedding cards, christening cards and perfect for christmas snow scenes. Is it too early for christmas crafting?
There are some really lovely masks coming out, shed loads of Tim Holtz goodies too. That man costs me a fortune, he just keeps coming up with things I try to resist but can't! I don't do much grunge and shyed away from his materials for ages but they are proving to be really useful for lighter projects too.
I'm also looking forward to playing with Eco Green acrylic paints, I'm no artist so it will have to be simple. These paints are very eco freindly and safe for kids to use, the red has already been earmarked for a cardboard fire engine and he has his eyes on the rest for a castle!