Right then! Times up!!!

So then Calvin Mouse! I went easy on you earlier due to Maddy waking up, and i gave you a day to get my stamp back....so why do i find myself sat here without a certain Sugar Nellie stamp?

Not good my furry little friend.....not good at all!

I mean we are mates and all that Calvin Mouse, but a stamp is a stamp and I'm sure any crafter would feel the same. In fact I've seen crafters do terrible things over missing stash, you should see Maddy when her fave ribbon is missing!!! I'm still having therapy from when i accidentally used her new 12 x 12's for wiping up glue!

So I'm sorry Calvin but.....

The alcohol ink it is then!!!

Sorry Calvin Mouse but you brought this on yourself. Assisting a known stamp thief is a crafty crime beyond belief, and one that must be dealt with swiftly, and colourfully

So then, we've started with the Stream blue ink....do you want to divulge any info yet? Or do i have to go for the.....CRANBERRY!!!

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OK, we're playing hard guy are we? Right then......oh hang on....postman is at the door.....

Ah.....um......well......um........well......thing is.......it's a funny story actually.......you see......in fact you really wouldn't believe it......the postmen has just brought me a parcel.

On the front of the envelope is some writing which says, "Sorry about the delay, got lost at the sorting office".

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I've just opened it....and you'll never believe this.....um.....how do i say this....ummm....this was inside.....

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It would appear that Maddy sent it a while back and it got lost in our wonderful postal system!

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I am so sorry Calvin Mouse! I should have known you wouldn't have helped out in such a terrible crime when you have such an honest and lovable name as you do. I feel really bad,i really do.

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Tell you what, so there are no hard feelings, I'll do this for you. Firstly I'll give Maddy my brand new bottle of blending solution to get you cleaned up. Secondly, it's really bad weather up here and i need to get back to collect my girls from school tomorrow. If i stay, the snow will not let me travel, so as a gesture of friendship, from one man to another......you can have my Grease night ticket so you can go with Maddy!!!

Oh yes my groovy little rodent friend.....yourself......and the leather jacket and medallion WILL GO TO THE BALL!!!

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Sound good? Aha i can see that smile under that ink there.....so off you go, and let me know how you get on OK. I'll keep an eye on Maddy's blog for the update.

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Sorry again Calvin Mouse, i will go forth into my craft room and ink myself as punishment!

Crackle glazing tip.

This is probably old news to most out there that have dabbled with crackle glaze, however i did not know about this tip until i tried it myself, so I'm passing it on to anyone else who is new to crackle glazing.

In the past when i have used crackle glaze to give that lovely vintage crackled effect, i have just squeezed it on as level as possible on my stamp board, and just hoped for the best as far as it evening itself out. This has led to thicker parts of crackle glaze in some areas of the stamp board, and thin in others. This can also result in you using more than needed.

So last night i tried painting the glaze on, which gave it a thin, even layer, which when dry will leave a thin, even crackled texture which will not hinder the view of the picture underneath.

Here is a quick look at it step by step, very basic i know, but it may help.

*Click on images to enlarge*

1. First i used distress ink pad colours and did a two colour blend on a piece of white stamp board. Once dried, i then chose an image and stamped it onto the board with black archival ink. (You do not have to use archival ink for this).

2. Next i squeezed the crackle glaze around the stamp board in random lines. You could just do a blob, it doesn't really matter.

3. I then took a paintbrush, this one is a 1/2in soft bristle ordinary cheap paintbrush......

.....and painted the glaze on the board as you would if you were painting normally. the glaze should now be evenly spread across the board.

4. Allow the crackle glaze to dry. Follow the drying times on the instructions as this can vary from product to product. You should be left with a nice even crackled effect on your piece, ready to use as you wish. Normal rule of thumb is that the larger the cracks you want, the thicker you apply the glaze.

5. Lastly, i rubbed over the whole piece with a distress pad, the ink colours the cracks nicely.

Like i said, this is probably a basic tip that most already use out there, but i didn't know it so i can't be the only one! :)

Ah......as usual the woman is right......my girlfriend Maddy has just said that you have to be carefull that you do not force air bubbles into the glaze when using a brush to apply it. Plus if it is too thinly coated, it can cause bits to come off later down the line. Cheers for the tip Maddy.

Maddy has a nice crackle glazed piece on her distressed album card on her blog here.

So as long as you bear this in mind, hopefully this will come in handy.

Edited to say: Looking back on this, i'm not 100% happy with the result, maybe thats due to the colour, maybe i did it too thin? Definately needs more crackle to it! Have i then wasted the best part of an hour trying it? Nah.....i'll file this one under "learn from experience". :)

What i've learnt today.....

I've been after something to wear whilst crafting as i seem to wreck everything i craft in!

After the thousandth time accidentally splattering alcohol ink on my clothes, i decided to make a crafty t-shirt, something i am not fussed about getting messy.

So after investigating a few methods of applying different colours to fabric, i have learnt the following things.....

1. Always listen to your fellow crafters!!! If they say that alcohol ink is not great on fabric, don't think it "may be different for your t-shirt!

2. Permanent calligraphy markers, whilst good on other materials......look rubbish on fabric! They bleed, don't write smooth and basically make a hash up of your already hashed up t-shirt project!!!

3. StaZon does not come out nice when stamped on fabric. I guess the material soaks it up and you can hardly see the result!

4. Distress pads do not make your t-shirt look vintage.....it looks like you need a bath!

5. Finally, no matter how many of Tim Holtz's videos you have watched, no matter how easy Tim and other crafters make the blending technique look.......it will not work on a t-shirt!!!!!! Well not mine anyway!

So i now have a t-shirt that looks like it's subjected to a frenzied ink attack, by a colourblind two year old!!!


How not to do it!


On a positive note, i now have a t-shirt that really can't get any worse through crafty spillages!!!
Back to the drawing board methinks. Time to go and learn how to make decent t-shirts!

Made a card tonight!

More of a colourfull play about really, but over at the Crafts By Carolyn forum, one of the many competitions that are running is one to make a card with just stamps and inks. No patterned paper.

So i dug my Tilda stamp out, she's been a bit neglected lately, my chalks and Whisper pens, and a lovely Lavina willow branch stamp.

Click the image for a better view.