What's on your workdesk Wednesday

It's Wednesday again, so it must be time for a glimpse of my messy desk!

I've been playing with foils, glitter and gilding flakes. I started out covering chipboard die cuts, but although the (Crafty Notions) adhesive that I was using is great for use with gilding flakes, it wasn't producing such a good result with foil. Trying to cover the chipboard with self adhesive film instead proved a bit of a faff. So, I decided to make my own self adhesive die cuts by covering a thick sheet of A4 card (like the card at the back of a writing pad) with a sheet of self adhesive film, then die cutting it (results below). This was a lot easier and provided a much better adhesive surface for foiling.

I have some new stash (Cuttlebug embossing folders) at the top right of the picture - they only arrived yesterday, so I haven't actually embossed anything with them yet. My WOYWW easel is also proudly displayed - thank you Julia and Mr Dunnit :-)
If you're curious about WOYWW, more details of what it is about and how to join in are on Julia's Stamping Ground blog. It basically involves snooping on other crafters' stash, and seeing what they are up to - great fun!

Crafty Notions metallic gilding flakes and embellishments

Foil Play is now stocking another great range of products that you may have seen on QVC, this time from Crafty Notions. The new goodies include high quality Twiddleybitz laser cut chipboard embellishments which can be painted, stamped or decorated in many other ways, adding a touch of luxury to your crafting projects.
Rainbow Drops are small flat-bottomed translucent gem like droplets which add the perfect finishing touch to card, scrapbooking and other papercraft projects. Attach using Craftynotions glazes or other clear craft adhesive.
Gilding flakes, as demonstrated regularly by Dawn Bibby on QVC, can be used in many ways. You don't need to use a texture sponge when applying the flakes to a dry adhesive (such as double sided adhesive film or Crafty Notions craft adhesive) - just apply a tiny amount of the flakes at a time and rub them in gently. Any leftover flakes can be saved again and reused - these flakes will go a very long way.

Luxurious lilac wedding stationery

Here's another sumptuous selection of wedding stationery created by Angie, using one of the luxurious papers from the Kanban Textile Collection.
As you can see, a little of the paper goes a very long way, teamed with co-ordinating lilac ribbon and beautiful shell flowers, designed and made by Angie.
A slide pocket invitation, with close up of the shell flower.
Wedding favour box, again with gorgeous shell flower. The leaves were created using a paper punch.
This beautiful stationery would be suitable for weddings, civil partnerships or any other posh party.
Angie is currently setting up her own business to produce bespoke wedding stationery, so if you would like her to do all the hard work and produce a beautiful design to complement your special day, contact her for further details.
A Dufex butterfly topper has been decoupaged and added as an elegant accent on the Save the Date card above.
The money card below would be a very welcome wedding gift!
The Kanban lilac Opera paper which Angie used to create these beautiful designs is pictured below.
It is part of an opulent selection of papers, foiled mirri card and die cut toppers in the Kanban luxury Textile Collection.

What's on your workdesk Wednesday

Well here we are at Wednesday again, doesn't it come around quickly! Various rather unco-ordinated things going on on my desk at the moment - I've been playing with some more of of the Kanban Christmas Quilts toppers and doing some embossing with Cuttlebug folders to go with them. I've also coated some chipboard flowers with Crafty Notions glue - I've gilded one and planning to try them with rub on foil & glitter too.

I'll finish off with a peek into my 'bling' box:
If you're curious about WOYWW, more details of what it is about and how to join in are on Julia's Stamping Ground blog.

Kanban Christmas Quilts stepper card

My first Christmas card of the year - well it is June, after all! I used a Redhotbed single stepper card as the base card, and foiled the edges, using double sided adhesive tape and gold rub on foil.

I filled in the panels using a red check pattern HOTP paper and went to town a bit on the embellishments, using Kanban toppers, DCWV chipboard trees, a HOTP transparency (fixed with brads) and some poinsettia stickers.
The Kanban Christmas Quilts topper sheet that I used to make this card is pictured above.

For many more Christmas card ideas, check out my friend Fabrizio's blog. Even better, join in with his weekly challenge and then you won't be rushing to make your cards (along with me!) under pressure in mid December...

Kanban elegant Mitford Ladies cards

Here's a selection of cards with a gothic feel - Angie made these beautiful cards using the Kanban Mitford collection of toppers and co-ordinating card.
Angie teamed one of the largest lady toppers with a red base card, and coloured the roses in her hair and on her waist red, with a glitter gel pen.
Angie is a big fan of True Blood (I am too!) - can you spot the influence in the gorgeous goth card above?
For the card above, Angie used the lady toppers with co-ordinating sage enamel glazed card and greetings topper, which has been added onto a lush black bow.
The Kanban Mitford Collection Olivia sage sheet that Angie used to make these cards is pictured above.
I also made a card from this collection - I used the largest lady topper, matted onto co-ordinating rose enamel glazed card, with corners chomped using a corner chomper. I used a textured card from Inspire Me Papers for the background and finished it with a fan topper and some black Bling gems at the corners of the lady topper, base of the fan and on the dressing table .
The Kanban Mitford Collection Olivia rose sheet that I used is pictured above.

What's on your workdesk Wednesday

First picture this morning is of the opposite side of my craft room, to reassure Bleubeard and Elizabeth that my WOYWWAC does have a home there! I put it back to where it was living previously, I still haven't got around to rehoming the contents and putting new ones in, when I do, it may move :-)

I put completed cards on the sideboard until I've taken photos of them - partly for inspiration (hopefully) it's also handy of course to stand them up for a couple of days just to make sure that everything stays firmly attached as intended!

No major changes to the work desk this week, although I do have a new petals template to play with from Craftwork Cards. I'm still playing with the Kanban Couture Ladies toppers, one last card to make from the sheet now. I made my first Christmas card of the year at the weekend, which you can see on the sideboard, a stepper card with foiled edges. I should put the magnetic sheets away - I did use a couple of them, not a whole load of new nesties Julia (alas!), but I did get a new labels set and also put my Nellie Snellen dies on the sheets too.
If you're curious about WOYWW, more details of what it is about and how to join in are on Julia's Stamping Ground blog.

Craftwork Cards Card Candy, Oh My Word! and more

I'm delighted to say that Foil Play is now stocking beautiful embellishments and other goodies from Craftwork Cards. You may have seen these products featured on QVC - I particularly love the Card Candy and the Oh My Word! die cut message buttons.
If you haven't seen Card Candy before, it is a really clever idea - pearlescent and metallic shaped circles of card which are like brads, but without the legs. They come in a gorgeous array of colour co-ordinated packs with a generous amount in each. Stick them onto your project with either foam pads or silicone glue. Examples of cards that I've made using Card Candy are here, here and here.
Oh My Word! messages will add a touch of luxury and elegance to your cards. The in circles messages pair particularly well with mats cut using the smallest scalloped circles nestabilities die. Examples of cards using the messages are here and here. Birthday, everyday sayings and Christmas greetings are available in a wide selection of delicious colours. These messages are normally sold in packs of four sheets, however Foil Play is selling the sheets individually so that you can pick and choose just the ones that you want.
Other new goodies from Craftwork Cards include the Anglo Mania die cuts pictured above, versatile templates and back to basics scalloped cards and envelopes.
For lots of inspiration and ideas on using these scrumptious products, check out the Craftwork Cards blog.

Luxury butterfly themed wedding stationery

Stroke it or use it? Most crafters will be very familiar with this particular dilemma...
I know (because she told me so) that Angie had to steel herself to cut into this particularly lush butterfly glitter enamel glazed card from Kanban.
I'm sure that you will agree though that the end result - this gorgeous stationery, suitable for weddings, civil partnerships or any other posh party - was well worth it!
Check out this beautiful shaker card with love hearts - what a great idea!
Angie decoupaged beautiful butterflies from Dufex die cut topper sheets, as accents for the stationery, which also includes place card, thank you card, favour box and two styles of invitation.
Other finishing touches were added with co-ordinating ribbons, pearl gems and peel off stickers.
Angie is currently setting up her own business to produce bespoke wedding stationery, so if you would like her to do all the hard work and produce a beautiful design to complement your special day, contact her for further details.
The Kanban enamel glazed card that Angie used to make this stationery is pictured below.
Kanban is renowned for the high quality of its cardstock, and Foil Play stocks a huge selection to choose from. As you can see from Angie's designs, just a little of this luxury card can go a very long way.

50% off La Pashe World Cup Promotion

La Pashe is flying the flag for card makers during the World Cup, and Foil Play is currently offering 50% off all La Pashe products. The promotion will last as long as England remains in the World Cup - so why not grab a bargain whilst stocks last!
There are new goodies to choose from too, including Framin' cards decoupage, a bargain at only 50p a pack during the promotion. Each pack contains two A4 sheets of La Pashe Framin' Cards decoupage, printed on 130gsm silk paper. Cut out the decoupage elements and layer them up with foam pads or silicone adhesive on the background sheet to create a beautiful framed effect 3D card.
Flippin' Men and Flippin' Women decoupage with co-ordinating backgrounds are now in stock too. These ranges have been slimmed down to eight each of the most popular male and female designs, a limited number of the older designs (without co-ordinating backgrounds) are still in stock.
A limited amount of Flippin' Kids and Flippin' Teenagers decoupage is still in stock - these sheets are now a real bargain at only 25p a sheet during the promotion, but once they're gone, they won't be restocked so if you want them, don't miss out. I've also stocked up on Flippin' Christmas designs - it is June, after all!
Remember When designs are now available as in packs of two sheets, each pack containing a background and a character sheet. La Pashe Transport decoupage sheets are also available at a bargain price of 25p each, during the promotion.

Kanban Betsie Bob stacker cards

Angie made these two pretty cards from a Kanban Betsie Bob die cut stacker sheet and co-ordinating card pack - Bouquet Pink.
For the first card, Angie layered three of the die cut stacker elements, and added tiny fabric flowers to make a gorgeous dimensional bouquet and co-ordinating border accent.
Close up of the fabric flowers in the bouquet.
The second card has a simple but effective design using the largest die cut topper on a square of the backing card, with co-ordinating flower, bling and ribbon.
The Kanban Betsie Bob stacker set that Angie used to make these cards is pictured above.