Glitter Snowflakes

Hello, design elf Katrina here with the last post this for this year.

      Now I love snow, snowflakes especially and have quite a collection of snowflakey things to craft with. I just can't pass them by. So when Sarah-Jane sent me the new Woodware Chipboard snowflakes Chippies I just couldn't wait to play with them!

For me Christmas snowflakes have to sparkle, that's just the law, but I also wanted them to have colour too. The best way to get both I found was to paint then first and then glitter them.

For this one I painted the largest snowflake with the Cosmic Shimmer chalk paint Alice Blue, the middle snowflake Cosmic Shimmer Nude and the top one with the Cosmic Shimmer Warm White.

For the glitter I reached for my Cosmic Shimmer Sparkle texture paste which I applies with a paint brush. The largest snowflake is covered in Silver Moon sparkle paste, the middle one in Pink Blush sparkle paste and the top one in Aurora sparkle paste.

I left them all to dry over night then layered them up using PVA glue. You will need a wet glue because of all that wonderful glitter! I then added a gem to finish it off.

Snowflake 2 was painted with the Cosmic Shimmer chalk paints Nude and Warm White and then covered in the Cosmic Shimmer sparkle paste Pink Blush over the Nude paint and then Aurora sparkle paste over the Warm White chalk paint.

Again I left them to dry over night and layered them up using PVA glue.

For the final snowflake I decided to try a darker colour. The top snowflake was painted with PaperArtsy  London night paint and the bottom snowflake in PaperArtsy Snowflake.

I then covered them in the Cosmic Shimmer sparkle paste Silver Moon over the London night paint and Aurora Cosmic Shimmer sparkle paste over the Snowflake paint.

It was made in the same way as the others and a large gem added at the end to finish it off.

These look so pretty hung on the tree or if you can bare to part with then they would look beautiful on a gift.

You can find what I used in the shop by following these links - 

WoodWare Snowflake Chippies - http://www.thefruitpixie.co.uk/woodware-chipboard-414-c.asp

Cosmic Shimmer Chalk paint - http://www.thefruitpixie.co.uk/cosmic-shimmer-paints-644-c.asp

Cosmic Shimmer Sparkle paste - http://www.thefruitpixie.co.uk/cosmic-shimmer-texture-paste-622-c.asp

The gems are from my own stock

Well I hope you enjoyed looking at my Glitter snowflakes and perhaps make some for your tree.

Have a wonderful Christmas and I will look forward to sharing more of my projects with you in the New Year.

                                                                        Love Katrina

Craftworkcards Magic of Christmas 3D star box

Hello from Design elf Katrina's craft nook. Today I have a cute little 3D project to show you using the Craftworks cards Magic of Christmas kit.

     I love the little 3D scenes people build for Christmas, so these have inspired me to build my own. Now I made my star box using my Sillhouette Cameo but you can easily buy one of the little card boxes available on the market.

I covered the inside and outside of the star box using the Magic of Christmas papers. 

I then covered the back of the star with the same paper as the outside. The little deer is cut from one of the many die cut toppers that is in the kit. 

To give a background to my scene I cut a scrap of white card into hills and added some die cut trees. I then put my little deer on 1 layer of 3d foam.

I then cut some more snowy mounds for the foreground and built them up on 3d foam pads.

I cut up another of the die cut toppers for the Seasons Greetings and used some of the paper to cut the pinecone and leaves. Before I added these though I glued some of the Ranger tinsel around the box using my hot glue gun. I then added the collage pieces I had cut out earlier.

I think my little box looks very vintage. It was such fun to put together.

As you can see this kit is very versatile, there is plenty to use and the images are gorgeous.

I hope you enjoyed looking at my 3D box project and have a go yourself.

  Happy Christmas Crafting

                                     Love Katrina

Craftwork Cards Magic of Christmas cards

Hello, design elf Katrina here. I would like to introduce you to the Craftwork cards Magic of Christmas kit. The kit has a beautiful vintage look and has plenty of papers, die cut sentiments and of course their Candies to meet everyone's needs.

   To begin I have made a couple of very simple cards but as you can see they look lovely.

This card used just one of the 8x8 papers. I cut the paper to fit my square 5x5 white card base and then cut the JOY letters out of the remaining paper and glued them onto the card. I then just added a die cut snowflake using one of my many snowflake dies then used my clear star glitter pen to finish the card off.

 A very simple but effective card

My second card used a Craft card card blank and one of the papers as a background. I then cut the bird from another of the papers in the pack. The Merry Christmas topper is one of the many die cuts that comes in the pack too. The holly and other greenery is from another paper in the pack, just cut out and collaged onto the card making it looks very Victorian I think.

This kit has so many options for cards and all kinds of other projects, its well worth looking at.

   I hope my cards have inspired you to have a go yourself.

                                                                      Love Katrina

Craft consortium candle jars

Hello, design elf Katrina here with my latest project.

   One thing that is a must have a Christmas for me is candles. I love their soft glow. I also have a thing for nice shapes jars, don't ask me why but I just can't seam to recycle a nice jar. So I decide to use the lovely Craft Consortium tissue to decorate a couple of my jars and make candle jars.

         The Tissue cuts like a dream in your die cutting machine or you could cut the shapes out free hand too.

This one is a Christmas themed jar. I cut a strip of the Craft Consortium distressed wood 2 tissue that was deep enough to cover my jar and then cut it to the right length. Using my dies I cut a reindeer with a tree either side. I then applied PVA glue to the jar and gently placed the tissue onto the jar and smoothed it down. Make sure it is all stuck down well and leave to dry.

I finished the jar off with a bow of the snowflake twill and a snowflake charm from my collection.  

For this jar I cut a strip of the Craft Consortium tissue in the same way as the Christmas jar and then just cut a single star in the centre of the strip using a die. I then applied PVA to the jar and gently smoothed the tissue onto the jar.

To finish the Star Jar I used some hemp garden string and added a couple of charms too.

There are so many ways you could decorate these jars and they would make lovely handmade gifts too. There are some beautiful Christmas Craft Consortium tissue in the shop now too.

You can find the Craft Consortium tissue here - http://www.thefruitpixie.co.uk/art-papers--cardstock-9-c.asp 

Snowflake twill here - http://www.thefruitpixie.co.uk/ribbons--trims-nproducts179curpage-3-179-c.asp

The Tre'penny charm here - http://www.thefruitpixie.co.uk/charms-beads-crystals--gems-nproducts33curpage-2-33-c.asp

Hope you enjoyed my project today

                                                   Love Katrina

Craftworkcards Festive Chalkboard " from our house to yours" card

Hello from Design elf Katrina's craft nook. Christmas is getting closer and closer now and I have another lovely card using Craftworkcards Festive Chalkboard cardmaking kit.

This time I cut a central stepper card out on my Sillhouette Cameo and used the papers to cut out the house, again using my Cameo. The tag and the sentiment are from the kit as well as the Candies.

This is a lovely card to send to a whole family.

I hope you try this kit. As I have said before I would not of chosen to use black for Christmas before I used this kit. Now though I think I have changed my mind, towards this kit anyway! 

                         Love Katrina

Festive Chalkboard Christmas countdown

Hello! Design elf Katrina here to share with you a really fun and festive project that will put you right in the Christmas mood!

       I love the build up to Christmas, once I have got all the Christmas shopping out the way that is, I have so many advent calenders that I have made over the years but there is always room for one more!

This was very easy to make. 

I used the wonderful Craftwork cards Festive Chalk board set to make this.

First I cut a star out of a sheet of the Festive Chalkboard paper and then did the same but made the star slightly smaller in a deep red card, This then gives you a thin red boarder around your star. Place a piece of the Chalkboard Sheets by Forever in Time behind the star to make the blackboard.

I then stick them together and used the thick chipboard backing to the paper pad to give me my base and covered the back with another piece of the Festive chalkboard papers. Punch your holes and add some ribbon to hang it up with.

For the decorations I used the frames from the Festive Chalkboard kit and put some black card behind them. I used die cut letters for the "Days to Christmas"  and added one of the lovely bows to pull all the frames together and finish it all off.

Then all you need is to add some glitter, it is Christmas after all, find a piece of chalk and you are ready to count down to Christmas in style!!

You can find the Craftworks festive Chalkboard kit here - http://www.thefruitpixie.co.uk/craftwork-cards-8-x-8-collection-pack-festive-chalkboard-25677-p.asp

Black card - http://www.thefruitpixie.co.uk/payper-box-a4-black-240gsm-card---10-sheets-24139-p.asp

Of course this could be made to count down to anything you like, just change the papers and you could countdown to a holiday, wedding or a special birthday. 

What ever you are about to celebrate, have a wonderful time!

                                                                                        Love Katrina  

Chalkboard Christmas cards

Hi there, design Elf Katrina here with some exciting news! The Fruit Pixie now sells Craftwork Cards! I have loved their products for many, many years and so I was so excited when The Furit Pixie sent me the new Christmas packs.

    It was hard, as usual, to choose which one to begin with but I eventually chose to start with the Chalkboard Christmas set.

   Now, I would not normally use black at Christmas, when it comes to the festive season I am defiantly a vintage traditionalist, red, gold and green is our chosen colours at home and we bring out the same decorations year after year, which I love. So I thought I would give this set a go and I have to say I loved using it, as you will see I hope.

   To begin with what do you get in the set?

Well you get the pad of 8x8 papers which are all lovely and you get 6 of each design so you have plenty to do lots of things with. Also some beautiful toppers with frames you can take out and some die cuts too. Not to forget their Candi, which if you have never come across it they describe them as brads without the fuss as they are made of paper and have no little legs, so you just stick them onto your project. All coordinate beautifully and the whole set is beautiful quality, as you expect from Craftwork cards.

Here is my first card, nice and simple using part of one of the papers in the pad along with a sentiment and 2 die cuts. I just love that little bird!!

The second one is using another paper but this time I have cut out the image and used 3d foam to give it some hight. I then used the other half of the same paper as a backing paper and just added a sentiment to finish it off.

As you can see by these couple of cards you can make quick and easy cards with the set that look striking. You can also spend more time and create bigger and more involved projects with it too, as I will show you in the coming weeks.

You can find the set here - http://www.thefruitpixie.co.uk/craftwork-cards-8-x-8-collection-pack-festive-chalkboard-25677-p.asp

There is also a Magic of Christmas set too, so stay tuned for that one too!!

                          Love Katrina

Halloween mixed media frame

Happy Halloween to you from me, design elf Katrina and the Fruit Pixie!!

     I have a little Halloween project to show you today to celebrate the festival.

I began with one of the Crafty Individuals chipboard frames which I painted with the Cosmic Shimmer paint Midnight black on both sides along with one of the chipboard swirls from the same sheet.

When the paint had dried, it did need 2 coats I smeared on some PVA glue. I wasn't worried 

 about how well it covered, then rubbed in some of the Cosmic Shimmer polished silk glitter, I used Sahara gold. I did the same on the swirl too

I then ran some more PVA glue around the swirl, the inside of the frame and the top of the frame and poured some of the Cosmic Shimmer Glitter Jewels Midnight Snow,

 pushed them into the PVA , poured them off and let them dry thoroughly.

Once everything was completely dry I made up one of the flowers from the Graphic 45 Steampunk Spells collection and added some glitter glue and one of the Creative Expressions vintage black buttons to the centre. I also made a couple of paper streamers from scraps of the Graphic 45 Steampunk Spells paper. Then I stuck them onto the middle of the swirl and the swirl to the corner of the frame.

I wanted my frame to hang so I punched a couple of holes in the top swirl of the frame and made up a couple of paper beads by rolling a small strip of the Graphic 45 paper around a cocktail stick. I threaded a length of wire through the bead, gave a few twists to secure the bead on the wire and then through one hole, left a short length then back through the other hole and through the other paper bead and twisted the wire off to secure as you did the first. I had left some wire at both ends to curl to finish it off.

Then all you need is something to fill your frame with. I used one of the Graphic 45 Steampunk spells images in mine but you could use what ever you like.

You can find the things I used in the shop here -

Chipboard frames - http://www.thefruitpixie.co.uk/crafty-individuals-chipboard-399-c.asp

Cosmic Shimmer paint - http://www.thefruitpixie.co.uk/cosmic-shimmer-paints-nproducts644curpage-2-644-c.asp

Cosmic Shimmer Polished glitter - http://www.thefruitpixie.co.uk/cosmic-shimmer-polished-silk-glitter-600-c.asp

Cosmic Shimmer Glitter Jewels - http://www.thefruitpixie.co.uk/cosmic-shimmer-glitter-jewels-603-c.asp

Graphic 45 Steampunk Spells flowers - http://www.thefruitpixie.co.uk/steampunk-spells-614-c.asp

Creative Expressions Vintage buttons - http://www.thefruitpixie.co.uk/creative-expressions-embellishments-nproducts464curpage-2-464-c.asp

Have a wonderful Halloween

 Love Katrina

Art Trading Cube

Hi there, design elf Katrina here with another project from my craft nook.

    Now I have been creating altered art now for many years and up until a year or so ago I thought an ATC was an Artist Trading Card, a card 2.5 x 3.5 inches which is then decorated in your style and traded with another collector. I have a great deal of these wonderful cards which are all filled away safely and treasured.

   Now though there is a new kid on the block  ( sorry )   an Artist Trading Block or Cube. This cube can be any size you like and decorated on all sides then traded with other collectors. The nice thing about these are they are easier to leave out on display and gives you a lot more space to decorate.  I have known about these cubes for a while now but have just not gotten around to making one but now I have!!

I made the base of my cube from brown card stock and decorated it before I stuck the cube together.

Then used the Marion Smith Designs Time Keeper papers to cut mats for each side

and then cut out the different images with in the papers to collage over the top.

These papers make it so easy to make up our collage

There are so many lovely images to choose from and they are very easy to cut out.

I decided to make little feet for mine. I made them by cutting thin strips of the leftover paper and then rolling them up into a paper bead. I made 2 then cut them in half to form the feet.

You can find these lovely Marion Smith design papers here - http://www.thefruitpixie.co.uk/marion-smith-designs-680-c.asp

This is a lovely project to do and can be made using any theme you can dream up.

Have fun with your Artist Trading Cubes

  Love Katrina

Marion Smith Design collaged file folder

Hi there, design elf Katrina here to show you what I have been up to in my craft nook lately.

Have you seen the new papers by Marion Smith Designs in the shop yet? They are right up my street and I just couldn't wait to get crafting with them. They have lots of great collage pieces on them and they have not been collaged for you too much so it leaves you to do with them what ever you wish. 

As I expect you can tell I love to collage and so I decided use the Timekeeper set first and to make a collaged file folder using the file that comes on the Portfolio 12x12 sheet. 

So to begin with I simply cut out the file folder, scored it and folded it in half. I then inked around the edges. The word Journey comes from the Tinker page.

I then used the Gypsy clear stamps, the Timekeeper set would work as well, to stamp a background on the inside cover and used the different components from the papers to collage. The die cut cogs are cut from one of the Tim Holtz dies but you could use any Steampunk style dies.

Don't you just love this image!

I wanted something inside the file folder so I made up the envelope from the Tinker 12x12 sheet and made what is called a "Tip in " by attaching the envelope lengthwise using washi tape to the fold of the file folder then turning the page so to speak and attaching it on the back as well with the same washi tape. This then makes a new page. I used one of the Tim Holtz washi tapes as it seamed to go quite well but you could use anything you have. I then used more of the elements on the papers and the stamps again to fill in the spaces.

I then made a tag to go inside the envelope, I love to have bits hidden away to find. For this I just used a scrap of card and some of the collage elements again. The Timekeeper word is in fact the name on the tare strip of the paper.

I then collaged the reverse of the envelope

I had great fun collaging this file, there are so many great elements in this paper collection

I just couldn't resist making this little pull out using the top hat advertisements, such fun!

This is not the only project I have made using this paper collection, so if you liked this project then stay tuned!!

This is such a versatile collection, if you like to make vintage style cards or any vintage style project in fact then there is so may elements to use. It is also beautiful paper to work with too. I am so looking forward to trying the Gypsy collection by Marion Smith Designs.

You can find the paper collection in the shop here - http://www.thefruitpixie.co.uk/timekeeper-682-c.asp

Hope you enjoyed my project, please leave me a comment if you did 

Have a great crafting day!

                         Love Katrina

Shiori doll plaque

Hi there, design elf Katrina here to show you my latest project using the wonderful things here at The Fruit Pixie.

As you can tell by my latest posts I have been in an Asian mood of late and this time I have brought together the lovely Spellbinders Dancing lanterns die along with the papers from Far and Away and one of my Shiori dolls to make a sweet wall hanging plaque. 

For my plaque I used a wooden blank from my collection but you could use anything really that is stiff enough, or a canvas perhaps would be good.

I covered the wooden blank with a piece of the Far and Away Light blue character paper and added a border top and bottom.

I cut the Spellbinders dancing lanterns out of the Far and Away papers 6 from the Dragon Shimmer and then 4 from the Black character.

I then stuck the lanterns onto the White dragon paper and cut them out and shaped them

From 3 of the red lanterns and 2 of the red ones I just cut the middle sections of the lanterns out and then stuck then in the centre of the others using 3d foam to give a 3d look. 

I used a thin wire to string across the plaque and then up to make the hanger.

I made my origami Shiori doll from the Far and Away Lanterns shimmer paper and her Obi is from a scrap of the red dragon shimmer.

I placed her where I wanted her and arranged the lanterns around her and stuck them all down.

To finish off I cut a Chinese character on my Silhouette cameo to go in the bottom corner.

As you can see from this project and the others these products go so well together. I hope you like my plaque and will have a go yourself.

What ever you are doing I hope you have fun crafting.

                                                     Love Katrina

Shiori Dolls made with Far and Away papers

Hi, design elf Katrina here to show you what I have been up to recently in my craft nook!

  I have always loved Origami, I spent most of my revision time for my exams making origami animals with the paper pad rather than notes on history and commerce! I did pass my exams but also fell in love with paper folding.

   Then a few years ago I bought a kit at my local craft shop to make Shiori dolls. The trouble was the papers were so lovely I just didn't want to spoil them, so they went away in my craft cupboard but I have been in quite an oriental mood recently with all the dies and cards I have made so I dug out the kit and made one of the dolls up.

  I then remembered how well the Far and Away papers folded and so decided to make one up using them...............   Trouble is I had so much fun I couldn't just stop at one!

These are very easy to make, there are lots of instructions on the internet.

The Far and Away papers make lovely dolls. I used the scraps left over from the cards I have been making over the past few weeks

Its always nice to do something different with your papers. These make great bookmarks too.

The next project I have to show you includes one of these cute Shiori dolls along with the dancing lantern dies.

What ever you are doing with your papers I hope you have fun crafting!

                                                                                                            Love Katrina

Spellbinders Dancing lanterns card

Hello there, design elf Katrina here again. I have been busy in my craft nook again, here is what I have been making.

       I just love these dies from Spellbinders, the Dancing Lanterns dies are such fun, I love the 2 different designs and they have even given you the lantern holder to hang them on, how cute is that!

            I also used the wonderful Far and Away papers, these papers are beautiful and were just made to go with these dies.

      So here is my card -

I made the card using a 5"x5" card blank and the Far and Away papers - White Dragon, Red solid and Pink character shimmer. 

As I have already mentioned you have 2 different lantern designs, which are separate dies. The small shapes in the middle can be found with the handle which is the 3rd die in the set. I didn't use the handle this time but instead hung the lanterns on some bakers twine.

I then finished the card off with a greeting.

A nice quick simple card but by just changing the colours I think it could be great as a card for the men in our lives too.

Hope you like my Dancing Lantern card.

Happy Crafting

                           Love Katrina

Spellbinders Plumb blossom die card

Hello everyone, Design elf Katrina here to show you what I have been up to in my craft nook lately.

    I have been sat with my die cutting machine, I use a Cuttlebug machine, making cards using the Spellbinders Plum Blossom die.

    I must admit now thinking about it, Plumb Blossom is usually pink but I think I was thinking more cherry blossom with this card!

As you can see I have teamed this pretty die with a sheet of the Far and Away paper called Navy Blossom. If you haven't seen these papers yet, take a look, they are beautiful and some of then have a wonderful pearlescent sheen to them.

You can find the papers here - http://www.thefruitpixie.co.uk/far--away-168-c.asp

Once I had covered the front of a 6" x 4" card with the Far and Away Navy Blossom paper I cut an oval aperture into the front and placed a piece of acetate behind it.

I then cut the die out. You get the branch with the base of the bird sat in the middle, so I cut that in brown. You then get the body of the bird which I cut in blue and then again in a purple colour. They only need tiny pieces so its great to use all those little scraps we crafters hoard.

The flowers are all on a separate die again and there are enough to put all the flowers on the branch. I cut mine in a white pearl card.

Once it was all put together I glued it to the front of the acetate.

I then cut and built up more of the branches to go around the card.

Then for the sentiment I used one of my own dies that would fit on the front. Then the card was finished.

This really is a pretty die and could be used in many different colour ways for all sorts of occasions. The little flowers themselves could be used for all kinds of other things with other dies.

You can find the die here along with lots of other wonderful Spellbinders dies

http://www.thefruitpixie.co.uk/spellbinders-dies-648-c.asp

Hope you are having a great crafting day!

                                                       Love Katrina

Down a rabbit hole book with Visible Image stamps

Hi there design elf Katrina here with my new project using the Alice in wonderland stamps from Visible Image.

    This is quite a project that did take me a while to complete, so grab a cup of tea, check for door mice asleep in the tea pot and come with me for an Adventure down a rabbit hole!

I wanted to make a peek through book using the story of Alice. The cover is very simple, I used the largest of my circle dies to make the first hole and chose the paper from Ruby Rocket to cover the front and some of the lovely washi tape to add some definition.

The title for the book was printed out from the computer. I tried to get a font that was as close to the font in the stamp sets and this was the closest match. The font is from Lettering Delights called, rather appropriately Red Hatters Hand. 

So the first page had to be Alice, the hole is the same size as the covers, I then just chose the next size down to cut the page after and continued like that until I had finished my book pages. All the holes have acetate sandwiched between the embossed card and the backing paper on the reverse side. I coloured all the pages using watercolour paint first then chose an embossing folder that I thought would match the character on the page. Once embossed I used an ink pad to bring out the highlights of the emboss. 

I then stamped, coloured and cut out Alice along with the other small stamps in the set.

It was fun to find and cut die cuts to build a little scene around each character to help tell the story. Of course my Silhouette Cameo electronic die cutting machine helped a great deal!

On each page I cut up the quote for each character and stuck it over the window.

Page 2 is the white rabbit of course! He has a Tim Holtz clock embossing folder for his background and as well as the character of the white rabbit I also used a clock die and of course that wonderful quote and the tic tock stamp that comes in the set too.

Now page 3 is a character I haven't used up until now but I loved this page, the Cheshire cat! I added a branch for him to sit up in and grin down on us. He has a swirly background and I just love that quote too! He also comes with just his grin as a stamp too.

Page 4 is another character I haven't shown you yet, Twiddle dum and Twiddle dee. You only get 1 stamp but by stamping them twice and colouring them in differently they become the twins. They have a number embossed background and I used a piece of Washi tape to give them somewhere to stand and kept the page simple with just their quote. Sometimes if you have lots of busy pages its nice to let your eyes rest on a simple page.

Then onto page 4 with our very glamorous Queen of hearts. I used the small Tim Holtz card embossing folders for her background and the just cut some hearts that I used as wings for the Jar of hearts and her quote that comes in her set.

Then at the last page we come to the Mad Hatter and his tea party. Funny I wasn't sure of him at first but as I have used these stamps he has become my favourite, he really is quite Bonkers!! So this page has a crazy background and of course it had to have tea cups and a tea pot all grounded by a strip of washi tape. Then these wonderful Ha Ha's floating about around his quote, which I just love!

Well there we are a trip down the rabbit hole. I had a great time making this book, OK its not a quick project but it is sometimes nice to pull all your craft items together and make something fun. This would make a great gift for someone who is a fan of Lewis Carroll's wonderful book.

 Happy 150th Birthday Lewis Carroll!! 

Hope you can enjoy some bonkers crafting soon!

                                                                     Love Katrina