Vinylux Nail Varnish .... does it last 7 days?

 I recently heard about a new weekly nail polish which lasts up to 7 days so couldn't wait to give it a try and my nail varnish lasts a maximum of 2  days without chipping (and thats only if I've washed my hair before I do my nails as that causes my nail varnish to chip).

Vinylux is made by the people who do shellac polish but with this you don't need a uv lamp or any special equipment. I went for the mini pack with four colours and a top coat which was £20 rather than paying around £16 for one large colour.

 With Vinylux you need put the coloured polish on bare nails and then put the top coat on and the whole thing dried in under 9 minutes (which is the best bit in my opinion).

The colour looked good but the polish is quite thin so all ridges showed through so I took it off and smoothed my nails before repainting them.

 

The above polish lasted for ....... less than 24 hours before chipping.....NOT GOOD! I hadn't even done anything strenuous!

I tried again and also painted my sisters nails, this time in a different colour. I made sure that I ensured the tips of my nail were sealed in and it lasted a little bit longer, around 2 days before chipping (the below is after 3 days)

 My opinion on Vinylux....nice colours and it does what it says....lasts UP TO 7 days so technically 2 days is fairplay. I wouldn't buy it again though

Suit Up! How I Met Your Mother Card

 While I was going through my computer I found a photo of the card I made my Husband to open on our wedding day morning. Running up to our wedding day we had watched lots of How I Met Your Mother, and for those who don't know Barney always wears a suit and his catchphase includes 'Suit Up' and 'It's going to be legen......dary' so I made the below card in our wedding colours and had a pop up in the middle with 'dary' to finishing of the 'Legen' from the front.

This was one of my early cards and I was so excited to give it to Lee and he loved it.

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Stamps, stamps and a few more stamps!

I apologise for the lack of blogging! I've been doing a lot of crafting but forget to take photos of it and post. 

Recently I brought a huge bundle of unmounted stamps as I'd been wanting more for my card making and always stick to the same kind of thing. When I got the stamps I wasn't sure exactly what designs I'd be getting as the picture was just showing a mound of rubber. I was so excited when I got them to find out what designs were in there and I was so pleased. There were different themed designs including Christmasy ones and lots of cool characters. 

I then had to set about cutting the stamps to shape and finding out how on earth you mount rubber stamps. I won a Mulberry Wood stamp from Crafters Companion last year and they suggested either using EZ Mount or Stick and Spray but I ended up using some doublesided tape on the stamp I won (which didn't work well). This time I wanted to do it properly so brought Stick and Spray and some Crafters Companion Rock-a-Blocks. Rock-a-Blocks for those who don't know, are slightly curved stamp mounts you can use instead of normal acrylic blocks. The rocking motion means that you could get a perfect image every time. 

 

Stick and Spray is a re-positionable adhesive spray.

You need to put the stamp (or what ever you want to make tacky) onto some scrap paper, shake the can then spray on the back of the spray. DO NOT spray it on the etched side of the stamp, ie the design.......yes I got a bit tired of stamping, didn't think and sprayed the wrong side! Luckily it washed off. You then need to wait 30 seconds until the adhesive stops being wet and is tacky.

Then you just need to attach your stamp to the block! Ta-da! Then just tap the ink onto the stamp (making sure you don't get it on the ink on the side of the block then it's ready to use!

 What I didn't realise is that the tackiness of the Stick and Spray stays on the stamp and it can be repositioned up to 50 times! So for storing my stamp I stuck my stamps onto plastic packaging and acetate, ready to use the stamps again when needed.

I really like using the rubber stamps as they don't stretch or squish like the see-through stamps you get. I also love the Stick and Spray so much I think I'll get the permanent one, Stick and Stay, for when I have thin diecuts to stick, especially at Christmas.

More Fun with Jumping Clay - Martha Stewart Moulds

The other day I saw the new Martha Stewart moulds on Create & Craft and they were being used with melted embossing powder which I thought looked good but thought nothing more of it (mostly because I have so much craft stuff already and would want to then buy a Ranger Melt Pot which I'd probably use once and then it would sit gathering dust). 

However..... on Thursday they had the molds on again but this time they were using them with Martha Stewart clay. This is a new clay which air drys and apparently is made of paper so it's really light and from looking at it I thought it seemed very similar to Jumping Clay so wondered if I could use it with the moulds to make card embellishments. I watched a bit longer and then found that for under £10 you got 4 molds in each set which really tempted me.....so I had a look online and found them a bit cheaper from an eBay store I've used a few times and postage was free too so I brought them and they arrived this morning.

The moulds I went for were the sweet shop set which comprise of a strawberry, cherry with stalk and leaves, bows and a cupcake. The molds are made of silicone so you can twist the mould the help ease the item out and also means you can use them with melted embossing powder.

I got my pots of Jumping Clay out and had a little play with the moulds. I found that I did have to work the clay in my hands a bit to dry it a little as very moist clay stuck to the mould a bit. I tested the small bow first as wanted to only use one colour so I could re-do the bow if it didn't work (if I had of done the strawberry or cherry I would have ended up mixing the colours and then wouldn't be able to re-use it).

Below is the best way I found of making embellishments with the moulds and Jumping Clay.

To start with choose an easy, simple design, I chose a bow and went with the blue Jumping Clay.


Press a mound of Jumping Clay into the mould you want to use. Use a little more clay than you need as this helps when getting it out without distorting it.

Press the Jumping Clay into the mould, trying to make the back as flat as possible.

To get the item out bend the silicone mould. This one just popped out when I squeezed the sides but you may need to bend in a few directions to get more intricate pieces out or use a tool to help get it out. (Please ignore the headache tables I had a migraine coming on and my husband just brought me a cup of tea and headache tablets into the study).

You will now have your shaped clay. Sometimes you get creases in the item where you've not pushed it into the mould enough but I just usually push it back in the mold and press a bit harder then get it out again. You can see this a little in the bottom left hand corner of the bow.

 Now to get rid of the clay round the edges I used a pair of scissors to cut the large bits off then smoothed the edges with my fingers.

 You are then left with your embellishment. The white specks on the bow is actually embossing powder which I didn't realised was still on my craft mat and I'd put the clay down on it while taking a photo of the molds.

 Then it's just a case of waiting for the clay to dry. Below are a few of the embellishments I made. I still need to work on the large cherries and strawberry  as they were harder to get out of the moulds but may try putting some talc/cornflour/glitter or something in the mould first to stop it sticking (I think glitter may be quite nice as it would give a nice sparkly embellishment).

I did try to use the moulds with some embossing powder after watching the video by Sugar and Spice  Crafts (below) but tried with normal embossing powder rather than the WOW Melt It (which is thicker) and then gave up after my husband got involved (he said that the heat gun wouldn't be hot enough so put it on the gas hob, then used a lighter as said I needed to use a flame....he is a jeweller though so is use to melting metals etc in a similar way). I'm going to pop into Sugar and Spice and get some Melt It and try again but use a peg on my foil tray rather then using tweezers so it's easier to hold.

I love these Martha Stewart moulds but wish they were food safe as they would be great for putting on cakes (the packaging doesn't say they're not food safe but on TV they said they weren't). There are lots of other moulds available from Martha Stewart including flowers, frames etc. I brought mine from http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Make-or-Take as they were the cheapest and I've brought from them before. The Jumping Clay is available from http://www.jumpingclay.co.uk 

I'm going to use my finished items on cards and gift wrapping as embellishments and as the clay is light it shouldn't add too much weight to my cards. I'll attach it with silicone glue to my projects to ensure it sticks properly.  

All the above items were brought by myself and I've not been paid etc to use or review these items. 

Crafty Creatives Box 11 - Spoilers #CCBox11

It's my husbands birthday so I'm off today and he kindly opened the door to mr postie at 8.30 to get my box and his cards.

The themes this month is Glamour and the artcard is very Angelina Jolie!

Before I go any further, if you get this box and haven't opened it yet DO NOT open the tissue in the velvety pouch on your bed, near pets or where things can roll....I now have half the contents in and under my bed! 

The box contains:

CCkit hair clip - not sure about this yet but may give it a go (I still haven't done the steampunk kit so it will go in my drawer of bits to do if I look creativity)

Beaded fluffy trim - I'm thinking of cushion trim with a black velvet cushion make from the fabric in this kit.

10 Swarovski crystals beads (I have 6 pink left...rest under bed)

Photo glue from stix2 - I have loads of stix2 adhesive now (I usually use silicone glue, tape pens and collall) I found photo glue was quite good on felt as it didn't harden it like pva does

8 stardust beads - very pretty, just wish I had more to so a whole bracelet of these (simple stretch elastic type) but think I'll either do a knotted bracelet or get some black beads and mix them in.

Lace stamp - nice for the inside of cards and on envelopes - I have some flock so may try flocking the stamped image

Ink pad - I don't get on with dovecraft ink pads unfortunately and sold all mine in place of memento ink pads as these are too wet for me and my stamps weren't crisp enough.

Bag of metallic star dust - very handy, I have some which I use a lot and like to die cut stix2 double sided adhesive sheets and attach the little balls on that way.

Fat quarter of black velvet - think as I said I'll use this as a cushion cover

Red rose pendent - may use with my remaining ring blank from the gothic box

Silver plated rhinestone faceted teardrops (first think I saw in the box and I love them!)

Findings - will use these with the teardrops for some nice earrings.

Overall it's a nice box but I am beginning to get too much stix2 in my stash and starting to get duplicates of things I own most of which I've sold when I've cleared out my craft room.

I think I'll see what the next box has in store and may re-evaluate as I want to do more stamping and colouring and also with all the projects I have to sew from the Great British Sewing Bee book! 

Jumping Clay - My New Favourite Craft Medium!

When I got my Crafty Creatives box 10 I was intrigued by the sachets of Jumping Clay and opened them up straight away! I've always loved clay, Playdoh etc but find clay messy and polymer clay needs baking and I find them a bit hard to work with (I ended up with bruised hands from the polymer clay in a previous Crafty Creatives box). Having Muscular Dystrophy my hands (or any body part) hurts if I over do it (ie kneading polymer clay).

Jumping clay is different though as its really light, silky soft and not at all messy. It's like a lighter version of blutak in consistency I think. It also smells amazing as it has a jasmine scent (not too strong either so not migraine inducing).

It reminded me a little of the moldable soap Body Shop did years ago (although that was a bit messy) so it was a bit nostalgic playing with the Jumping Clay.

In Crafty Creatives box 10 there were two smallish foil sachets of Jumping Clay (white and blue), a phone charm loop and pin, and ideas card to make a little bug. Straight away I set about making the bug in my pjs on my laptop table on top of a DVD case. My tools were my hands and a credit card to make the lines on the bugs body (all very technical...lol).

My bug was made in 15 minutes (majority of the time was mixing the perfect shades between white and dark blue). I had to look up online about drying time and it suggested up to 2 days for small items in a warm environment. I was planning to send the finished bug to my little cousin Georgia for her birthday on Sunday (today) so had to get it in the post Friday but luckily it dried by Thursday night (32 hours later). The great thing is that Jumping Clay is very light and quite robust so I wasn't worried it would break in the post (in a box I'd made).

I used the left over Jumping Clay yesterday to make some flower embellishments for cards (stamping into them and cutting them out with scissors).

This morning my cousin text me to thank me for the bug and said her Mum wanted to know if I could make her one! I did want to buy more Jumping Clay but was trying to be good and use up what I had in the craft room but after the feedback and needing more I jumped onto the Jumping Clay website! I purchased Jumping Clay Mini Gift Set for £15.50 (reduced from £18) and more phone clips, magnets and accessories. I went for the gift set as firstly its in a jar to keep it tidy and most of the clay comes in resealable pots so I can reseal it and use it as and when.

I am going to get my sister to have a go of using the clay too as she has Dyspraxia and it helps with her coordination.

I wish I knew about Jumping Clay before my wedding as think it would be amazing to give to the children to play with during/after the meal.

I'll definitely be recommending Jumping Clay to my friend and family.

Thank you Crafty Creatives and Jumping Clay for introducing me to this!

Check out http://www.jumpingclay.co.uk/

Yeyyy huge pile of parcels!

My poor postman was so happy that I was home this morning as he had a massive pile of parcels for me (and one for my husband).

In the pile of goodies were two boxes from BzzAgent, a reviewing website which I am a member of. One box contained two full size E45 moisturisers with samples; the other box contained a Scholl express Pedi.

I am sooooo looking forward to using this as my feet go through so much and I've been looking at getting an express pedi . I've tried ped eggs before but they feel really harsh and I end up with grate marks. I'm really hoping this works and I MUST use it and not just use it once then put it on the side.

I can't wait to use the E45 either and didn't realise with the moisturising lotion that you can use it all over! Even on your face!

My other parcels contained cake boxes (to take my cakes into work next week for my birthday) and bits for a craft project I've been asked to do for an old school friend. Lots of felt and tule for a wedding gift! I'll post once done but still waiting for everything to arrive.

Well I'm off play with my new goodies!