Etceteras: cameo holiday candles

Here’s a quick and easy way to dress up plain white candles for the holidays.

Etceteras: the spotted canary

I received the most intriguing package the other day. This spotted feather was sticking out of a kraft folder.

The spotted feather {quill} was accompanied by a bottle of black ink. 

And a fun mug and spoon. 

The package was from The Spotted Canary. Have you heard of this site? It’s sponsored by EK Success Brands – you may know some of their products - K&Company^TM ,  Dimensions®, Jolee’s Boutique®, Martha Stewart Crafts^TM and more.
 
The Spotted Canary is a fun site and it just got even better. Besides being a social community dedicated to crafting, you can now find how-to classes, craft supplies to purchase and over 7000 projects that include tips and techniques.

You can upload your own projects to share and even enter contests to win fun crafty prizes!




One of the projects on the Spotted Canary that caught my eye was this batik print pillow using stampers. I love the pretty blue ink used for this project.

Of course, there’s all kinds of paper goodies and paper inspiration. 

The Spotted Canary already has over 36,000 members, so I’m eager to start sharing some of my projects with this community. Maybe I’ll see you over there.

Thanks for visiting.

Carolyn

See my full disclosure.

Inkling: french flair paper

Jolee’s Boutique® {EK Success Brands} has done it again – they’ve partnered with French General, a Los Angeles-based boutique that specializes in French fabrics, buttons and baubles. The result is a collection of paper crafting embellishments that will make you feel like you wandered into a vintage notions shop.


I received a sampling of the new goodies and this was the label on the packaging. They had me at “vintage” and “old world charm”.



Here are a few of the items that are in the line and that I received. So fun – cameos, buttons, labels, ribbons and more.


I sat and stared at all the embellishments for quite awhile. I’m not a scrapbooker and layering the bits and pieces and putting them together was challenging for me. What I did figure out quickly is that the products all go together and so you really can’t make a mistake. It’s just a matter of what you want to create and how you want to put them together.

I made some hang tags that I’ll use to identify supplies in my craft boxes. 

Most of the fabric sheets and labels have adhesive backs. Just peel and stick.

I also cut some of the labels and ephemera to cover some match boxes.
[ephemera: items designed to be useful or important for only a short time; pamphlets, notices, tickets, postcards, or labels that become collectible]

 

The collection is also perfect to create beautiful gift wrap and packing.

How fun would these be to use for a French vintage-themed wedding? ooh la la!

My favorite embellishments are the little cameos – so tres chic!

If you’re interested in this collection, the line is available on the EK Success Brands website, and Michaels stores in June. 

Thank you EK Success Brands for the wonderful opportunity to play with this beautiful line of Inspiration Francaise.

Thanks for visiting.

Carolyn

I received samples from EK Success Brands but was not compensated in any other way. All opinions expressed in this post are 100% mine.

I link at the wonderful parties listed here and 

 

Etceteras: crafter’s clay

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[ Updated on May 18th, 2012 ]

Want to win a Martha Stewart crafter's clay nature starter kit? Click here.

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Martha Stewart has done it again. She’s come out with a new product that appeals to me on so many levels. From a crafting perspective the new Martha Stewart Crafter’s Clay is easy to use and provides wonderful results. And the fast air drying formula is perfect for an impatient crafter like myself.

I was so excited when EK Success sent me the Nature Starter Kit to try out { as seen in the above photo courtesy of Martha Stewart }. The kit comes with white clay and four additional colors that allows you to mix an endless variety of clay color combinations. You also receive the molds, tools, floral stems and tape.



I have to say I had my doubts about those little silicon molds. Some of them are tiny with a lot of detail. I was sure I would be heading for a craft fail with bits of clay sticking to the inside of the molds. I started with a few flowers and leaves and was amazed at how easily the clay popped out of the molds.



Once the clay was dry, I glued them onto some painted miniature clothespins. They look so pretty and add a touch of spring to my memo board.



Since I was sold on the silicon molds, I wanted to try using some other objects as a mold. I grabbed a jar of shells and pressed the plain white clay onto the shells.



The clay picked up little bits of sand and ocean debris as well as the beautiful shell texture.



Next up, the oh-so-popular lace imprint that has been popping up around the crafty blogs. This is my attempt at a little free form dish. I know…it’s very “free form”.



The shape of the dish may be a little irregular but I love how the clay picked up the intricate detail of the lace.

Thank you so much to EK Success for letting me try out this clay. I love the product and the creative possibilities.

Thanks for visiting.

Carolyn

I link at the wonderful parties listed here and

  

Inkling: inkadinkado stamps

Inkadinkado has come out with a new line of beautiful stamps and I couldn’t wait to try them out in non-traditional ways.



The wood stamps showcase three big time designers in the paper crafting world: Brenda Walton, Susan Winget and K&Company. I used the dragon fly stamp to create this votive.


I stamped the image on white tissue paper and Mod Podged the paper onto a glass votive. Once the Mod Podge was dry I used a little glitter paint to give each dragon fly a touch of  iridescence. One more coat of Mod Podge sealed the deal.



 

For my second project, I wanted to break out of my neutral shell and go bold with color. With summer around the corner I thought these butterflies stamped on fabric would make pretty patio pillows.

To stamp on fabric, I used craft paint that I dabbed onto the stamp with a foam brush. I heat sealed the images by ironing them but I may need to scotch guard the fabric for outdoor use. If you have any tips or suggestions, please let me know.

Thank you to EK Success Brands for letting me try out some of your new pretty stamps.

And thank you all for visiting.

Carolyn

I link at the wonderful parties listed here and

EK Success Brands provided me with some of the supplies for this project but no monetary compensation was received.