Distress A Little Different with Tim Holtz

Hi bloggers, so last weekend was one of the best weekends of 2016 to date and will probably be one of the biggest highlights of the year for us as we got to craft with Tim Holtz once again. It's been 5 years since our last meeting which was the starting point for Vintage Follie and teaching our own workshops so we couldn't wait to learn more about distress and there is no better way to learn than from the King of Craft himself.

Tim was over in the UK for the CHSI Stitches trade show which is held at the NEC in Birmingham every year. So not only was he over here to demo his new products at the show but to also fit in a workshop for retailers and designers.

The name of the workshop was Distress A Little Different and the project was an altered frame using Tim's new Framed Panel from his latest Idea-ology release.

If playing with Tim's new Idea-ology releases wasn't enough we also got to play with Tim's new Distress crayons and mediums and got a set to take away with us.

I took a few pictures along the way to show how we transformed a plain framed panel into a wonderful vintage masterpiece. And of course Tim took us through step by step with plenty of hints and tips along the way. As teachers ourselves it was great to be on the learning side for a change and to pick up a few teaching techniques along the way.

All the distress that we added to the project was through Tim's new crayons and a bit of distress paint - no distress ink pad in sight which Tim said was a first for him which goes to show just how versatile these crayons are!

It was the first time we used Tim's Letterpress and we absolutely love them so will definitely be getting hold of some of these!

The finished result!

It's fair to say that had been the best 3 hours spent crafting in a long while and has definitely inspired me to get back on it and get our next workshop project finished asap. This may not be our next workshop project but I can definitely say it will be appearing sometime this year so watch this space.

Of course Tim was his usual gracious self and kindly signed the back of our frames and posed for a photo so thanks Tim for a great afternoon!

The fun was not over for the weekend as the next day was the start of the CHSI Stitches show which houses some of the biggest suppliers to the craft industry including Notions Marketing, Groves, Personal Impressions, Tonic Studios, Woodware and many many more!

We caught up with Tim again at the Personal Impressions booth to see the new crayons in action once again and you can't help but pick up even more tips and techniques on how to use this fantastic new release.

Other than the hundreds of stands that were in the hall there was also a seminar area set up which played host to some fantastic seminars including Reinforcing Your brand through Blogging by Hannah and Rosie from The New Craft House and How to Build a Social Media Plan for Success by Warren Knight which provided me with endless inspiration for what we can do to engage more with you guys! So again watch this space for new social media channels appearing from us, including Instagram.

All in all it was a fantastic weekend and it was just great to be around like minded people who love to craft just as much as us.

Valentine Treats

Hi bloggers, well this is my first post of 2016 which wasn't the start of a brand new year that I was hoping for but hey ho that's life. I can't let a holiday occasion go by without providing you with a bit of inspiration and this post is about Valentine's Day.

Now don't switch off if you're thinking that you have no one to give a Valentine's treat to as these can be given to any loved one, a friend, sibling, family member or if you are lucky the love of your life. It's just nice to share the love and tell them that they mean something to you this Valentine's Day.

Most of these sweet treats below were inspired by using my Minc machine and these adorable Valentine tags that Heidi Swapp has designed to be used in the machine. Couldn't resist!

This sweet bag is really simple to make, just grab a cellophane bag and cut some paper that will fit inside, score a line across the card to allow for a fold along the bottom which will help provide a sturdier base for your treat bag. Fill with some chocolatey goodness (pink smarties, chocolate hearts) and then tie the top together and attach a tag.

For this treat bag, I used a small striped paper bag and die cut some heart shapes from one side of the bag. I then filled a cellophane bag with some sweets and placed inside. I then tried my best to line up the three sweets in front of the hearts - but this was not an easy task! Finish by tying some string around the bag and then attach a tag.

This final treat bag is super cute and I made it using the Tim Holtz Pocket Envelope Bigz L Die. I die cut the envelope from vellum so that it has a see through effect to it. Fold along the score lines and stick together using a little bit of double sided tape. Place your treat inside and then finish with some washi tape and some string with a tag attached.

The pocket envelope has a really lovely tie up at the back so you will need a couple of brads to secure the pieces in place.

So there you have it, a bit of last minute Valentine's inspiration.