Returning very soon

I am truly sorry for my long absence. So much has changed in my life, but finally things are taking a turn for the better.

I hope to return to crafting very soon although I am now purely a hobby crafter and will post less frequently than in the past. I will craft less than before and intend to concentrate mainly on more time consuming and real quality items.

I look forward to catching up with all your blogs in due course.

Chilling out with Belle & Boo

Over the weekend I indulged a bit moe in Belle & Boo products. I had already a card with the cute ballet decoupage image in mind where I wanted to use white die-cut corners and leaves for a light summery feel. But I also wanted to create an MDF plaque with a seaside scene utilising the ice cream scene. And this one is not for gving away, it is just for me and my new home and therefore extra special.

Base of the plaque is an MDF coaster. I used a Crop-a-dile to punch a hole and then covered both sides in patterned paper from the Belle & Boo II collection with the help of glossy First Edition Deco Mache glue.

All die-cuts used for the two projects are created using First Edition die sets.

I have again prepared product lists and step-by-step instructions for both projects in case you want to re-create them. Just go to my Trimcraft gallery for details.

Belle & Boo Summer Crafting

The new Belle & Boo products by Trimcraft are just lovely for nice summery craft projects. And I just cannot resist the cute rabbit Boo. So the items came in pretty handy for some crafty relaxation on lovely days with loads of sun like we are allowed to enjoy them at the moment. The result are two plaques and a card with a folded sheet of patterned paper, which you can see in this post. I hope you like what I have created.

Product lists and step-by-step instructions as well as larger images of the projects can be found in my Trimcraft gallery.

Santoro Mirabelle III Plaque

I must admit that the Santoro collections by Trimcraft are my all time favourite craft products for the creation of decorative items for my own home. And after the coasters there just had to be another Santoro Mirabelle plaque.

The plaque is created using a rectangular piece of MDF, which came already with two holes at the top, a length of string, some First Edition Deco Mache glossy decoupage glue and apart from that only Santoro Mirabelle III products. A list with all individual items as well as step-by-step instructions are again in my Trimcraft gallery.

Santoro Mirabelle III Coasters

Trimcraft have done it again and just brought out more absolutely gorgeous craft products in the Santoro range: Santoro Mirabelle III. I really love the beautiful and luxurious images for home decor items.

Today I would like to show you some coasters that I created with the new products. They are based on 10cm square MDF coasters. And a generous layer of Deco Mache gloss decoupage glue to finish of the coasters ensures that they are protected.

A product list and step-by-step instructions as well as individual images of the coasters can be found in my Trimcraft gallery.

Relax

I must admit that I spent most of today on this project, but I just love to turn MDF items into unique decorative items for my home. And when I found these Dovecraft MDF letters on the Glitter Pot website there was no holding back. They just appeared to be perfect for the new First Edition Deco Mache papers by Trimcraft.

Other products I used were First Edition dies, First Edition textured cardstock and some paper roses and rosebuds.

Initially I tried to cover the front and back with another section of decoupage paper and to then work on the sides. But I got neater results by using small sections of decoupage paper, really soaking them with adhesive on the letters and then smoothing them into shape. It is without a doubt messier, but I feel that it was worth fingers covered in Deco Mache glue and the 'clean-up work' at the end (and yes, I still peeled off small sections of adhesive from my fingers and nails hours later).

A full product list and step-by-step instructions are again in my Trimcraft gallery.

Dovecraft's Purple Goody Bag

After the cards created with the pink goody bag it is now time for two projects based on the purple goody bag by Dovecraft. The only other products I used are First Edition dies, some light green cardstock from the First Edition 12" x 12" textured cardstock pad and adhesive.

For full product lists and step-by-step instructions please refer again to my Trimcraft gallery.

Dovecraft's Pink Goody Bag

Dovecraft Back to Basics Goody Bags - 25th Birthday

It is playtime with the Dovecraft Back to Basics goody bags! What really surprised me in the most positive way and the gorgeous and extremely sturdy square card blanks, which have a nearly glossy finish and come in three shades.

Dovecraft Back to Basics Goody Bags - Butterfly Wishes

For the two cards shown in this post I used the pink goody bag, First Edition dies and just a bit of silver-coloured cardstock for the birthday card. Full product lists as well as step-by-step instructions are - as usual - in my Trimcraft gallery. Just click onto the titles below the images to go directly to the projects.

Decoupaged Polystyrene

I might have used polystrene eggs for the home decor items, which I would like to share with you today, but polystyrene balls would also do the trick in case egg shaped objects remind you to much of Easter.

Polystyrene objects can easily get covered with decoupage papers (I used Simply Creative papers by Trimcraft). And as they are white, they do not even require a primer.

Alol embellishments used on these eggs are also by Trimcraft. Detailed product lists and step-by-step instructions for all items can be found in my Trimcraft gallery.

Sequin Easter Egg

Firstly, apologies for the long time without blog post. A lot is going on in my life right now.

I hope you are all enjoying the Easter weekend and are not too much impacted by the awful weather.

The sequin Easter egg shown here is a project I created a couple of days ago using a small polystyrene egg, Dovecraft Serendipity sequins and Dovecraft glitter ribbon. The pins I used are 13mm long sequin pins, which worked well and did not get into the way of each other.

It took me about two hours to complete the egg, but somehow it was really therapeutic to push the pins into something ...

Decorative Floral Muse Frame

Just good that I picked up another deep RIBBA frame in IKEA last Saturday. I like the new Dovecraft Floral Muse collection by Trimcraft so much that I just have to have some of it as decorative item in my home. So yesterday's craft project was another decorative frame. And I really love how it has turned out.

And this time I even remembered to take a photo of the project before putting it back into the frame. Reflections on the glass can make it so difficult to photograph these decorative frames.

If you would like to re-create the frame, you can find a product list and step-by-step instructions in my Trimcraft gallery.

Floral Muse Inspirations

 

Over the last days I have indulged a bit in the gorgeous products from the Dovecraft Floral Muse collection. They are so beautiful - and I just love those muted colours.

Here I would like to introduce two cards that I made 15cm square card blanks in ivory and Floral Muse products. I compiled again product lists and step-by-step instructions, which can be found - together with larger versions of the images - in my Trimcraft gallery.

Tatty Teddy Sweet Treats

After a busy week and continued property hunt I really needed to treat myself to a bit of crafting this weekend. And what could be a better 'pick me up' collection than the Me to You Sweet Shop products by Trimcraft. Guilt free and 0 calorie indulgence!

This post features three square cards I created with these products. Full products lists and step-by-step instructions will be available in my Trimcraft gallery by Monday night.

New Year - New Storage

I hope you all had a great start into 2016. May it be a healthy, peaceful, inspirational and successful year.

I decided to end the year with layers of glue on my fingers - First Edition glossy deco mache glue to be precise (and I added so much glue to my fingers that I would not have left identifiable fingerprints anywhere ... in fact, I still found traces of glue on two fingers this morning). Two rectangular TJENA boxes from IKEA, which were originally white, were waiting to be turned into storage boxes. So they got covered in First Edition deco mache papers on hogmanay and decorated on 1 January.

The first box is for storing paper flowers (mainly paper cherry blossoms) and should be stackable with other boxes, so I added cherry blossoms together with some assessories to the front of the box.

The second box is for storing bus timetables. This box will be kept in a drawer with a frosted glass front hence the labelling on the lid.

Product lists and step-by-step instructions for both boxes are - as usual - in my Trimcraft gallery.

New Year's Card

On the last day of the year I want to spend some time progressing storage and home decor items, so this is my final card of 2015. And to round up the year in style it is a card for New Year.

I used products from the Dovecraft Christmas Basics by Trimcraft plus First Edition dies and some small adhesive pearls from the Glad Tidings collection. For a full product list and instructions for this card please refer to my Trimcraft gallery.

Have a great start into a hopefully healthy, peaceful and successful year 2016!

Belle & Boo Christmas Plaques

During 2015 my crafting focus has really shifted from cards to home decor items. I never thought that I would enjoy it so much to create decorative frames and MDF items. And my handcrafted Christmas decorations, for example, that are currently surrounding me are - in my humble opinion - even nicer than many bought items.

The two MDF plaques in this blog post are created around the adorable Belle & Boo Christmas collection by Trimcraft. The plaques were prepared with white gesso and First Edition deco mache papers. A final all over application of First Edition deco mache gloss decoupage glue gives them a nice shiny and smooth finish.

Product lists and step-by-step instructions for both projects can again be found in my Trimcraft gallery.

Wintery Snowflake Decoration

Merry Christmas!

Today I would like to share a wintery home decor item with you. I found it perfect as Christmas Day crafty treat, but it could also be a nice gift for a host during the festive period. And as it features snowflakes, it is not just for Christmas but a lovely item throughout the winter. I used Dovecraft Christmas Basics wooden snowflake shapes and white adhesive pearls as well as metallic paints and jump rings.

I am so pleased with the way this snowflake chain has turned out that I will definitely create another one in gold and silver.

If you would like to recreate this project, you can find a product list and step-by-step instructions in my Trimcraft gallery.

Christmas Countdown

Just a short time to go now until Christmas Day. I would like to use the opportunity to share two more Christmas cards with you, which I made recently with Trimcraft collections.

The first card features products from the Helz Cuppleditch range 'The Night Before Christmas'.

The second card is a quick make created with the Dovecraft Christmas Basics collection.

Product lists and step-by-step instructions for both cards as well as larger images can again be found in my Trimcraft gallery.

Merry Christmas everybody!

Tatty Teddy Birthday Card

Today I would like to share an 8" square birthday card with you. For this project I reverted back to products that Trimcraft brought out at the beginning of this year: the Me to You Mother's Day papers and decoupage images.

I really indulged in the die-cut decoupage images and used as many as three on this card.

In addition to the Me to You papers and decoupage pad I used brown cardstock, paper flowers and the First Edition traditional sentiment die set (also by Trimcraft). This die set has quickly become one of my favourites and I will probably use it very often for sentiments on cards.

The Night Before Christmas Plaque

Today I would like to share another home decor item with you.This time it is an oval Christmas plaque based around an image from Helz Cuppleditch's The Night Before Christmas collection by Trimcraft and the matching reindeer deco mache papers. The base is an oval MDF plaque into which I punched two holes using my Crop-a-Dile Big Bite. Other tools like a drill would also do the trick.

For a product list, step-by-step instructions and a larger image please go to my Trimcraft gallery.