Got some sequin waste in your stash? Well I'm sure you've seen it used in papercrafting before - maybe you've used it as a stencil to sponge through or perhaps you've attached a piece to your work. But take a closer look at the background of this ATC. It's peel-off sticker waste - what an interesting background! I've used up just about the entire sheet of these oriental script stickers but I just couldn't let the beautiful negative left behind go to waste. It's added a lovely lacy-ness to the background of the ATC and yet the contrast of the black-on-white adds a very strong touch. I've kept the embellishments fairly simple so they wouldn't compete with the background.... just some fans painted with Lumiere paint and an Opals heart, all cast from Krafty Lady art moulds. I love the result so much that I'm going to check the rest of my peel-off sticker sheets to see what other potential backgrounds there might be. I have a lace border sheet whi......

It was back to the kitchen this week to experiment a little more with Friendly Plastic. I seem to spend quite a bit of time in the kitchen these days but it never seems to be to cook (well except for family meals). I seem to craft more there than I cook and I really don't have a problem with that any more as my children are all old enough now to prepare a meal when I can't. But I emphasise prepare because they still don't clean up afterwards! But I do enjoy playing with my craft stuff in the kitchen: sometimes it's Opals, sometimes polymer clay, and at the moment it's Friendly Plastic. So, here's what I tried this week. I placed a square of Friendly Plastic over the mould and heated it with the heatgun until it began to soften and droop down into the mould cavity just slightly. With wet fingers, I carefully eased it down into the mould until I had worked my fingers across the entire mould cavity. This stuff gets very hot, so keep wetting your fingers. If you fe......

Some time ago, I taught some workshops and classes where students created a really funky card in the shape of a pair of thongs (aka flip flops) using gloss card and alcohol inks. Everyone really enjoyed themselves and it was a really fun class! So, as I've been playing with the oriental theme a bit lately, I thought it might be interesting to do an asian take on this and make the card in the shape of Japanese zori. The pattern only needed some slight alterations and with a change of embellishments, the card has taken on a much more oriental look. You can find the full instructions for the Funky Thongs (including a template) in Issue 57 of Australian Paper Crafts. By the way, did you know that zori is the name given to the woven straw-soled sandals worn by Geisha. Those gorgeous wooden clog-type sandals with the little platforms are called geta. I love shoes, but I have no idea how you would walk in these - hats off to the Geisha who move so gracefully in them!...

I seem to have the oriental bug just lately! After turning the Polished Pigment backgrounds into a set of Asian inspired ATCs last week, it seeemed logical to make a box to house them. I found a diecut pattern at my local stamp shop which was designed just for this purpose, and an oriental themed serviette from my stash in just the right colours. Add a few embellishments and some gold and black peel off stickers and you have a really neat box for storing the ATCs in. The black and gold symbol on the back is a Krafty Lady art mould (AM042 Asian Symbol No. 2). Back view - The black and gold symbol is a Krafty Lady art mould (AM042 Asian Symbol No. 2) Right hand side view Left hand side view...