Bow Select'a

Not had too much time to myself over the last week or two, so not blogged as much as I have been doing recently.

So I decided to get back to basics

I have seen the nice big, card bows around, during my internet site surfing adventures.

Namely the Sue Wilson Die, for cutting out bows that you then just glue together.

Everything seems to revolve around these die cutting machines, and, I admit to wanting to jump on the band wagon, and purchase my own eventually...but for the mean time I have to try and be resourceful and try engineering my own versions.

Now I'm not saying this post is about something to stop you buying the dies of this nature, they are probably well worth their money.

But for those of us that are a little bit 'strapped for cash' it could help us to achieve similar looks.

I will post a picture of my templates, so you can right click, and save the image, then you can use it in any technically minded way you like, whether you print it off as it is and stick it onto card to create your template, print it onto card straight away, or even if you have some fancy gadgetry, that will resize and cut it out of a sturdy plastic for you

Here's how I made my bow

i started off by drawing myself out a design template (it differs slightly from the template above, as this was my prototype, but achieves similar results)

Once this was done, I cut the pieces out, ready to assemble my bow

I started with Bow template 1

because the card was a little stiff, I rolled it around a little to help create a smoother curve, then stuck each of the end tabs, back on themselves, so the overlapped in the middle section, see below. 

I held the middle together until the glue took hold, I would have used double sided tape, but I couldn't find mine...oh the shame!

I then took Bow template 2

As with the first part, I rolled the piece a little to create the smoother curve 

I added glue to Bow Template 2

                                                                                                                                                                          

   

Then wrapped it around the centre of Bow Template one, again holding until the glue took hold.

I took Bow Template 3

I applied glue to the centre of Bow Template 3, then pressed it on to the back side of the rest of my bow.

I turned the bow over and applied pressure to the middle section, to allow the glue to take hold, and to help the design dry flat, for easier application to cards.

And this was my finished bow! I was really pleased with how it turned out...

So did another in a different colour card stock, just because I could. :-)

So there you have it, a nice and easy bow that didn't require the use of a die cutting machine

Thank you for reading.

all the usual applies,

XOXO

Dib Dab...Save Yourself Some Cash

Hey guys, I've gone slightly off track. 

I wanted to cover more money saving craft ideas, than I have been.

So wanted to rectify that.

I don't think I'm the only person to have thought of this, so cannot claim it as an original idea, but thought it would be worth sharing for those who didn't know about it.

before my craft sabbatical, a couple of years ago. I bought an Anti-Static bag...thingy. I had purchased it under the influence of Create and Craft. They showed a demonstration, showing how this little bag of dust could help you achieve a cleaner, sharper image, and how by rubbing your card with it first, it would prevent embossing powder from sticking to anything you didn't want it to.

So I tootled off to my local craft shop and bought one, again this thing cost me around the £5 mark.

And again, this time around, post sabbatical, I wanted to get a new one. But as with the inking tool from a previous post, I didn't want to have to pay out for something that could be made.

My solution was to cut the foot off from an old pair of tights (pantihose, if you're in the US)

I filled it with fine talc, and tied up the end with an elastic band.

This gave me exactly what I wanted.

Step by step Details of how to make your own Anti-Static Bag

You will need...

Some fine grade Talc and an old pair of tights (clean, of course)

Cut off the foot from your clean pair of tights

Like so...

Fill the foot with Talc

and gather the top edge, to close it

Use an elastic band to tie the foot closed, as tight as you can, without it snapping.

And voila, one, Anti Static Bag

Once you've made it, you can then use it to help you achieve tidier stamping and heat embossing

I used Dovecraft and Kanban products to test this cheaper alternative out

 Picture without using the bag, you can see if you look closely, to the right of the image, that there were stray bits of embossing powder, this makes work look untidy.

This image was stamped after using the bag. I got a nice clean image, with no stray embossing powders.

I saved myself some money, with it costing me-technically-nothing to make, as I already had in the old pair of tights and the talc.

This is where I write the usual...

Instagram at #lindsiloolabell.79

Youtube Lindsiloolabell's craft channel

Google+ lindsiloolabell79

and Pinterest Lyndsey Anne Russell

Happy Crafting

XOXO

Glitter, Glitter, Everywhere, on the Craft Desk and on the Chair

I love glitter, and loath it at the same time. 

Because of my love of my glue gun, and a good sprinkle of glitter, it means I have it everywhere, if it's not stray bits of it, it's me, knocking over those fiddly elongated tubes of the stuff.

I'm quite a clumsy person.

So over the past few days, while I have been laptopless, I've been busy coming up with more ideas for glue gun embellishments.

So today I have filmed a couple of new tutorials, as well as getting a free Edward Cullen, sparkly, Vampire makeover in the process.

This tutorial was inspired by a lady who wanted to make Christmas lights, but didn't know how to go about it, she is the lovely Leslie de Santiago, and she's a member of the card making tips facebook page, which is linked in the side bar over to the right.

I've got a few more to add, when I get time, but for now I thought I would add these two new ones to my blog. 

Add me and tag me on instagram at #lindsiloolabell79

find me on google+, pinterest, and of course my youtube channel.

Happy crafting 

XOXO

Bargain Hunt

Forget David Dickinson and that other dude that does the presenting of Bargain Hunt, I'm starting up my own.

Today's finds, and definitely needed to be snatched up, is Glitter.

BIG tubs of glitter.

now, for anyone reading this in the States, 

this might not seem like a big deal, seeing as you have places like Michaels,  

who stock wonderfully lagre tubs, in various grades. 

However, here in the UK, it's a different story.

I have been crafting for many years (before taking-what shall here-forth be known as-a sabbatical from crafting)

 and have never been able to find big tubs of glitter, 

or if I have found a reasonable size, it has cost the earth...ok, 

so that might be a slight exaggeration...

But having to craft on a budget, 

anything over £3 for a pot of glitter is 'the earth' to me.

Imagine my delight at finding BIG tubs of glitter in red, gold and silver. 

Yes, it says Christmas on the label, 

but that was not to be scoffed at when each tub 

only cost £1!!!

We've had a Poundland in our town for years now, 

and their craft range is good if you're on a budget.

But we recently had a Pound World open it's doors...

and they were selling these in their Christmas range. 

Yes, they'll be fab for Christmas, 

but the colours can be used all year round, 

and would be great on anniversary cards and cards for other events.

The tubs of glitter I bought for £1, in Pound World, the small stampendous glitter cost me £2.52, and probably contains a tenth of the amount in these bad boys.

I can't wait to get crafting with these, and posting the pictures once done.

follow me on instagram at 

#lindsiloolabell79

and tag me in any of your work, that you think I might like.

You can also find me on Pinterest

And can check out my craft channel on youtube

Lindsiloolabell's Craft Channel

and on google+

Happy Crafting 

XOXO

We Wish You a Merry Scrapmass-Wing it Wednesdays

You all know I'm one for saving pennies right? I bang on about it enough, lol. So I wanted to see what I had around the house, that I could use either to make or put on a card. My search didn't come up with much, 

Except...

 ...the only things I could really find-though I didn't do an extensive search- was a broken pastry cutter, a Cling film middle roll and a lid (unused) from a foil container.

 The cling film middle roll, was a bit of a bust, I pinched the top together, hoping to achieve somewhat of a paisley print shape. It did work to some degree, but seemed a little sloppy, and hit and miss as to how well the stamped image turned out.

The pastry cutter was broken, so I taped it together and tried stamping with that instead. Again, this failed, due to not having a softer edge, allowing better contact with the paper/card. So I decided to use it as a stencil instead, to help me create a scalloped edge for matting and layering.This worked out a lot better.

I drew a simple snowflake on white card and cut it out. I might not have a die cutting machine, but I still wanted to add some depth to my card, and that element of tatty/scrappy.

Using the cutter as a stencil, I marked out the shape on some pale blue Paper, from a Dovecraft essentials 6"x6" pack, then did the same on a white piece of paper, from the same pack.

I ripped the white scalloped circle, and stuck half onto the blue, allowing the 'river' edge to overlap. I then ripped a few more pieces of the white and layered those onto the others, to give the illusion of a snowy slope.

I put this onto white card, cut around it then matted it onto the silver foil lid. I stuck the snowflake to the back of this, so that only the ends would poke out

I then realised that I had nothing to actually use as a feature. So I just HAD to take time out to specifically design a Digi, just for the occasion. Drew her, printed her out, coloured her in, and stuck her down. I drew up a small pile of snowballs to accompany her. I used my Ice Grey 1 Promarker, to add hints of shadow to the background, which I then blended out with my blending pen. I added a little bit of iridescent glitter to add highlights (but did it with glue that I though dried clear...Apparently not. (this picture was taken before I actually screwed up)

I stamped and embossed the greeting and added three of my Glue Gun Jelly Hearts, one of which I pressed a gem into while in the making stages, and while the glue was still wet.

Finished card, with the added glitter, but it didn't pick up so clear on the camera

So What do you think? I challenge you to go, rummage around and see what you can find. And make a card.

All the usual applies...

Lindsiloolabell's craft channel, over on youtube,

#lindsiloolabell79

Pinterest, Lyndsey Anne Russell.

Google+ lindsiloolabell79.

XOXO

Cleaning Out The Cave And Tutorials

I've spent today trying to get organised in my little corner of the livi...*cough* crafty cave.

I've sorted all my card stock out and found a place for everything to go...sort of.

I've also made a little holder for my unused glue sticks...

Problem was, sorting them all out just made me want to make more things, and catch up with filming a couple of tutorials I've been meaning to do for days now.

I yet again had a battle with Youtube, I'm please to say after two hours, I won!

and now shouldn't have any more problems uploading my videos.

Touch wood.

So this is only a short post today, mainly to tell you about my good sort out, and the two new videos which are below 

Glue gun Jelly sweet/candy style heart embellishments

Glue gun Pirate Coin Embellsihments

Tomorrow I'm going to try sorting out some more thrifty crafting ideas

XOXO

ATC's OOO ARRRRRHHHHH

I mentioned in my first blog post about the crafts I used to do before giving it up.

One of the things I used to make were Artist Trading Cards, a trend that had been revived from the 19th Century.

The fact that artists couldn't afford to do big paintings, and the fact that they were too big to cart around was a big issue for them. To help them promote their talents many of them started to create small pieces of art on the back of playing cards and other small bits of card.

These were known as Artist Trading cards, and were a more simpler way to get their work out there, they would hand them out to people, or show them to the well off, with the hopes of being asked to commission a work of art.

A few years ago, this trend was revived by crafters around the world, This time though, they were being swapped and gifted to others for fun.

When I used to make them, there weren't many others around me, for me to trade with.

Since then the internet is being used far more with Social media sites, popping up all over the place. 

I am a member of a facebook group (the link is at the side as card making tips.)

I made a friend in there-the lady I blogged about swapping with) and she has posted an ATC, tonight, that she made. It quickly inspired me to make my first one in about five years.

I wanted to centre it around an embellishment that I had made yesterday, It was a coin, made with my glue gun (of course) a penny and gold embossing powder. I heated it back up today, with my heat tool, and then pressed into it a stamp, nothing fancy, as it needed to look old. I inked the stamp with black ink and pressed it into the wet coin. It gave me the desired effect that I was hoping for. As soon as I had done this, I knew I wanted my trading card to look old and distressed. This then morphed into a Pirates of the Carribean theme, so I created two different colour paper feathers, and added some black stamping to the background, as well as doing a little bit of matting and layering under my embellishments.

This was the ATC I made tonight, after seening my friends post

I feel like there will be many more of these in the pipeline, as they're sooooo addictive to make.

 I find that, sometimes, I really want to craft, but I don't necessarily want to make a card. These are perfect makes for such occassions. 

At least now I have somewhere I can find others to swap with, even if it's through the post.

If you haven't yet had a go at these little gems of delight, then please do. You won't be sorry.

I'd love to see them too, so hit me up over on instagram 

at #lindsiloolabell79

and I'm also on google+ and pinterest 

XOXO

Glue Gun Tangfastic

Those that follow this blog will know that over this past week, I have been playing with my glue gun, and seeing what sort of things I could make with it. 

The Jelly tots were a roaring success and my mind started to race with other ideas and all the possibilities that came with them.

These were what started it all

My Glue Gun Jelly Tots, for those who haven't seen them.

And this is the 'how to' Tutorial

They were so easy to make, that I started to wonder if things could be made on a slightly larger scale. My worry was how to keep the glue from drying too quickly, before I'd finished what I wanted to do.

Then I realised that my Crafter's heat tool would re-warm the glue and allow me more time to work with it.

It worked a treat. 

I have since been able to create various sweety/candy embellishments. All of which have seen me receive requests on facebook, for more tutorials. 

The first one of these new embellishments were some Haribo style, non edible, sour cherries

As well as the cherries, I had a go at the sour dummys/pacifiers too, but have not had time to do a tutorial on these, so that is on my agenda for tomorrow

Tomorrow, I will also upload the pictures of some other glue gun embellishments, that I made with normal glitter, and other things like pearls and love hearts. I also made some flat bauble embellishments that I plan to use to make a Christmas card from.

For now though, it's clocking off time for me. I really need to try and get some sleep.

While I'm off dreaming, please feel free to leave me a comment, if you've found my tutorials useful.

Don't forget, I'm over on instagram 

at #lindsiloolabell79

I'm on pinterest and there's, of course, my Youtube channel.

And I'm now on Google+ too.

Goodnight 

and 

XOXO 

Odds and Sods Round up

Well, I've been a blogger for nearly one full week. and have had more page visits 

than I expected to get, 

so think I'm in it for the long haul. It's been a brilliant first week with plenty for me to sink my teeth in to, and crack on with. 

I've had such a good time writing about it too. 

I think the highlight though, was posting my Jelly Tot idea over on the card making tips group, on facebook. Not only was I inundated with notifications of over a thousand likes, I was also encouraged to do a video tutorial to help people understand how to make them. Then to actually upload it to Youtube was kind of surreal, especially when my youngest daughter, thought it would be good to stream it over to the TV...

It was strange to say the least.

I've made new crafting friends and even done a swap with one of them, well, I can't actually post her swap items until after the weekend, but they will be in the post first thing on Monday morning.

It's not any big elaborate swap, just a few bits. A die cutter is still out of my means at the moment, so my lovely friend sent me some die cut shapes, embossed card and some stamped images for me to colour in. I've bundled her up some of my jelly tots and a copy of some of my digi's that I designed; I hope she likes them.

I've also had a Lady pay me to make her one hundred of my Jelly Tots, They went in the post to her yesterday evening, so she will have either got them today, or maybe in the morning.

This was a card I made, using some of the die cut 

flowers my friend sent me...

And one of my digi designs, printed off and coloured in with Promarkers.

I stuck it onto one of the embossed bits, that she sent, and did some basic matting and layering and added a stamped greeting with one of my £1 stamps, from The Range and some tartan ribbon.

I have more videos in the pipeline too, again, using a glue gun and different glitters to create some rather cute little embellishments. But I'm having a problem at the moment, trying to edit them before publishing them.

I hope you've enjoyed following my small doses of drabble, on my crafting adventures this week, and hope you'll come join me for more.

Oh and I guess I should confess, My crafty Cave is really nothing more than a corner of my living room, and quite tiny really.

But then we have to make the best of what we've got in this world, don't we? 

Feel free to leave me a comment below, letting me know what you've thought of my posts this past week, and/or what sort of things you would like to see me blog about.

Check out my Youtube Channel, the link is in the sidebar to the right of the page. There's only one Video on at present, but there will be more coming up within the next week or so, once I get to grips with Youtube, that is.

Also if you want you can follow me over on instagram

at #lindsiloolabell79

And I'm on pinterest and Google+ too

XOXO