Yippee ... fabulous storage for Stampin Up Ink Pads and Punches

Just had to share the following from the guys at Candy Box Crafts, fabulous storage for Stampin Up Ink Pads and Punches. If you would like one (or more) of these - Pink Tulip Creations Ltd in Warwickshire will be doing a "special introductory price" - pre order yours tomorrow by giving them a call - just click on the Pink Tulip link to go to the website for their contact details:.

This was the FB post from the guys at Candy Box Crafts this morning:

Good morning everyone and Happy Easter !

Well its been a busy old week but first I'd like to welcome all our new likers, thank you for liking us here on Facebook and hope it will inspire you to get creating 

Well this is one for all you 'Stamping Up' fans - we've been asked many times recently if we could devise a unit for these types of pads so we've been tweaking one of our ever popular Ink Pad Storage units to hold 32 Stamping Up type Pads. It also comes in very handy for storing some of the punches too.

Can be free standing or easily wall mounted if space on your craft table is at a premium. Neat, robust and versatile. With an rrp of £19.95 its an affordable way of storing all your ink pads together, being able to add another unit as your collection grows. Available from Monday and like all our products comes flat pack.

Monday will also be competition time !! so stay tuned for that when up for grabs will be one of our our latest products being showcased for the first time x

My New Storage for All 60 Tim Holtz Distress Inks

The wonderful guys at Candy Box Crafts have done it again, they have designed a new mdf storage solution that will hold all 60 Tim Holtz Distress Inks. The storage unit can either be sat on a shelf/desk or can be fixed to the wall as there are 2 key holes on the back for screws.The kit comes with easy to follow instructions ....I assembled/glued mine together in a matter of minutes, it is as yet undecorated as I can't decide which Graphic 45 paper and embellishments to decorate it with.

I've attached a picture of my plain one along with a fabulously decorated one that was done by the guys at Candy Box Crafts, using Brushos and some of the amazing Designs By Ryn stamps.

There are lots of new Candy Box Crafts products in the pipeline that I am so excited about. Sadly, I can't tell you what the new products are as yet, but all I can say is that if you are a Stampin Up fan ... keep your eyes on the Candy Box Crafts website and Facebook page.

Links to the site are on my blog, just click on the Candy Box Crafts logo and it will take you straight there. Happy Crafting.

A Gardening Themed Gift Box

 

A Trio of MDF Hearts

Did you know that Candy Box Crafts also make a fabulous range of mdf plaques/shapes as well as their mdf kits? Knowing I wont be receiving any Valentines cards this weekend, I decided to have a little play with 3 of their mdf hearts, amd make something just for me.

I covered both sides of the hearts with Kaisercraft paper from the Enchanted Garden collection. Then I used a SU punch and punched out hexagonal pieces from more of the same collection and glued them into place.

I used dots white opal perfect pearls around the edges and added adhesive pearls in a swirly design, I then used a selection of pale pink paper roses to decorate each heart along with some pale pink and white gingham ribbon. I used my Crop A Dile to punch a few extra holes in the hearts and attached them all together with pink bakers twine.

Craft Room Tour

Have had a huge sort out and tidy up today, can honestly say I don't think my craft room has been this tidy in ages, not only can I see my desk but the floor is clear too .... yaaaay.

A few of you have asked to see where I craft, so at the risk of boring you I thought I would post a few pictures. The room measures approx 5 ft by 6 foot, there is only just enough room for a desk/chair so I try to utilise the wall space as much as I can.

My projects are generally photographed on the glass mat on top of my printer.

I store my dies on a couple of old cork noticeboards that have been covered with magnetic sheets I , managed to get the in my local £1 shop (2 for £1).

 My 48 distress inks are stored in an mdf caddy from Candy Box Crafts,, but this will change shortly  to the new bigger one that Candy Box Crafts have designed, which will hold 60 distress inks (in readiness for the new colours coming out this year). The majority of my stamps are kept in the white ring binders, but I also have a large box to store the rest of them and next door to my stamps are my very precious G45 12 x 12 pads. 

Bit of a murky photo, but this is where I craft, write my blogs and chat on FB etc - depending on how untidy I get, I can sometimes be working in just a 10 inch square of desk! lol  

I use all the space under the desk to store (from left to right ...) my offcuts of coloured cardstock, alterable items, material, adhesives, embellishments, stencils/masks and more 12 x 12 paper and cardstock than I care to admit to! 

These are my favorites at the moment, 3 masks and 3 sets of stamps by the amazing Ryn - I will show you what I've been up to, in a future blog post. The Designs byRyn stamps are now available in the UK from Pink Tulip  Creations,Spernal Ash Nurseries/Alcester Road, Studley B80 7PD, Phone:01527 852052  - they sadly don't have an online shop but they will mail items to you if you order over the phone. 

How many pairs of scissors do I need? - funny how they all seem to disappear when I need them.

A little bit of home made stationary, using G45 - of course 

I love all things pink - so I just had to get the limited edition Hougie board in aid of Breast Cancer Care, but will admit I us the smaller board more and that one was a free gift with a craft magazine.

These are the 4 tubs on the 3rd shelf up, containing more ribbon & lace than I will ever need so I am on a ribbon and lace ban until I can reduce the number of tubs to 3.

Also have 3 tubs full of punches, mainly Martha Stewart, Woodware, EK Success and Stampin Up. 

So that's it folks a very brief tour around my craft room. If there is anything you would like a closer look at, just post a comment and I will see what i can do.Am off for a little bit of a craft now. so till next time - have fun xx

Raindrops ..... On Coasters ....

Those who know me, will know I am a little stamp phobic and only stamp only when I really have to.

Well,  I bought a set of "Designs By Ryn" stamps this weekend - "Water Effects1" from my wonderful local craft shop Pink Tulip Creations, (who by the way are one of only two UK suppliers of this fabulous Canadian range of stamps). The quality and the design of these stamps are truly amazing ...  to say I am blown away by the results is an understatement! I feel as though my stamping confidence has been well and truly boosted and I can't wait to try more of Ryn's stamps.

I used the water droplets stamp on a sheet of Chatsworth paper by PaperArtsy, using a Versafine ink in Vintage Sepia. I then used white acrylic paint and a fine paint brush to add highlights.

The effect was amazing, the droplets look so real. I used the stamped results and covered four round mdf coasters from Candy Box Craft, yes I am a bit addicted to coasters at the moment. I added a few thin coats of Crafters Companion Spray and Shine to to protect the surface. Cant wait to use them when I next have a glass of wine - hope you like them as much as I do. Crafty hugs xx

Longing for Spring ....

Like many of you, I buy things and don't seem to use them, well my mission in 2015 is to be a lot more selective with my crafty purchases and to use the huge stash I already have.So having looked at my button collection I thought it was about time to put some of them to good use.

It's cold and miserable here in the UK and I am longing for warm spring days when I can sit out in my garden with a nice glass of wine. With that thought as my inspiration I decided to use a selection of spring flower buttons that I have had in my stash for years, and make some coasters to use when I am outside in my garden.


I took four square coasters, (designed and made in the UK by Candy Box Crafts) painted them with some white gesso and allowed them to dry. I then select my buttons, making sure that they were all the same thickness to make my coasters were level - I don't want my glass of wine to tip over.

I then did a dry run with my buttons and placed them where I wanted them to go, trying hard not to have two of the same buttons next to each other. Once I was happy with the layout I glued them in place with wet glue.

After the glue had dried I used some texture paste to fill in the gaps in between - it was a bit like grouting tiles. After the grunge paste had dried I cleaned the excess paste off  my buttons.

They may not be every ones taste but I love them and cant wait to use them.

Triple Mini Photo Frame, from guess what ......

... three square mdf coasters from Candy Box Crafts of course.

Ok, I admit it, I seem to be getting a little obsessed with mdf coasters at the moment, but they are just so very versatile.

To make the photo frame, I covered the front of each of the 3 coasters in paper. (I used the brown and cream script sheets from the 6 x 6 "Time To Celebrate" Graphic 45 pad.)

I then cut 3 squares of cardboard approx 3/8ths of an inch smaller than the coaster, out of which I cut a 2 inch square to make a small frame. I covered the frames in a coordinating paper from the 8 x 8 "Time To Celebrate" Graphic 45 collection and attached four ornate metal corners to each frame.

The frames were then attached to the coasters using 3D foam on the bottom and left & right sides,  don't use any foam on the top of the frame as you need to leave a gap in order to insert a photo.

I used card to make hinges and attached the coasters all together. I then used a square of decorative paper to cover the back of the coasters. Hey presto a triple mini photo frame.

Candy Box Crafts Mdf Coasters & TH Washi Tape

Having recently painted my ancient orange pine bedroom furniture a beautiful shade of off-white/cream, I have started using coasters to put my tea light holders on when I light my candles. The coasters I had were really ugly and did not go with the decor, so I decided to make some of my own.

I took 4 mdf coasters (made by the wonderful guys at Candy Box Crafts)  and painted them on both sides with a few coats of white gesso (allowing each coat to dry before applying the next).

                          
Then I took 4 rolls of  Tim Holtz washi tape (that I hadn't actually opened, let alone used ... lol) and applied 5 strips to each coaster. I then applied another thin coat of gesso and allowed that to dry.

                             

I used "White Fire" gilding wax by Treasure Gold around the edges and then sprayed a few light coats of Crafters Companion "Spray and Shine" high gloss varnish and allowed that to dry.

I then covered the reverse of the coaster in co-ordinating felt, and hey presto I have 4 beautiful handcrafted coasters that go perfectly in my bedroom.

Candy Box Crafts - A Little Boxette of Love

As you all know I am lucky enough to be on the DT for Candy Box Crafts, and whilst it is very hard to choose my favourite mdf item I do seem to favour the ones that can be used for storage. The boxette is the perfect example, it is made from 3mm mdf and comes in an easy to assemble slot and tab kit, The boxette can be used to hold, tags, cards, precious items or even chocolate!

This one has been decorated with Valentines Day in mind. The main paper used is "Bouquet" from Kaisercraft's "On This Day" collection, with the bouquet wrap, envelope and note being made from parts of another sheet from the same collection called "Proposal", I added a dozen red paper roses, a felt heart, a heart padlock and ornate key, ribbon and a few adhesive gems. Hope you like it xx

Candy Box Crafts - When is an mdf coaster not a coaster? ....

... when it's a desk top calendar, of course!

I have been lucky enough to play with some of the Candy Box Crafts mdf coasters, now whilst I enjoyed painting and stamping them I wanted to see what else I could do with them. So with 6 mdf coasters and the addition of the new Time To Flourish collection by Graphic 45, a free 2015 calendar downloaded from the internet, a couple of hinged rings and some ribbon I came up with a desk top calendar,

I painted the edges of the coasters in black acrylic paint and let them dry, I then measured the coasters and cut a square of paper about a quater of an inch smaller than the coaster. I edges all the edges of the paper with black soot distress ink and then adhered th e suares  to the coasters using a wet glue.

I downloaded a free 2015 calendar from the internet and trimmed each month as small as it could go. I then rounded the edges with an ek success 1 inch corner punch. I then matted the months onto black card stock leaving a border of approx  1/8th of am inch all around and then rounded the corners in the same manner.

I was going to glue the calendars to each months picture, but I decided to use a clear plastic pocket to pop the month's into - that way I can reuse the calendar each year. I punched two holes into the coasters using my crop-o-dile and slipped the two hinged rings through the holes. I then decorated the rings with a few pieces of ribbon.
Hope you like it: