Thrifty But Glam

Every year my wrapping of Christmas gifts seems to turn into a torturous event.  My painstakingly chosen gifts are turned into a crumpled, sad looking monstrosity of ill wrapped disappointment.  This year WILL be different. It started (as most of my craft obsessions do) with pinterest.  After browsing for Christmas crafts, I started to lust after the beautifully presented packages that seemed to festoon the pins.  An absolute favourite seemed to be Kraft tags and brown paper. I have always loved the traditional red and golds of Christmas, so perhaps it wasn't such a leap for me to decide to pair this colour scheme with the Kraft card and brown parcel paper. Turning back to pinterest, I started a board for inspiration.  Here are a few of my favourite pins! I'm a sucker for anything gingerbread related, so there is a definite NEED to create my very own gingerbread house tags! Do you see that fantastic 'Time to Drink Champange' tag? ...

So a few weeks ago I stumbled across glitter wine glasses and mugs (read my diy here ) I have been wanting to transform a wine glass since I spotted the original pinterest posts, but didn't want to do the stereotypical covered wine glass. The Wizard of Oz is one of my favourite films, and after posting about it on my shop page  I realized that I wasn't alone.  When I posted our latest paper cut , things went a bit crazy! Inspired by the obvious interest, I went back to pinterest and found this I was smitten!  I had found a wine glass design that would do my new craft justice! So following the same steps as the mug tutorial, I covered stem and base in ruby red glitter, and used my silhouette cameo to add a Dorothy vinyl decal and an adorable gingham bow.  I am so in love with the results! <3 Depending on how well my facebook fans receive the pics, I am hoping to do a glass for each of the main characters!  I can'...

So I made a vow this year to do more crafts that were for me, rather than geared towards selling in the shop.  When I cam across this picture on pinterest, my heart literally swooned <3 courtesy of whitehouseblackshutters blog It is pointless, something only a gal would understand, but I needed one! The blog mentions that in order to make the glitter mug dishwasher safe, you need to use Martha Stewart Decoupage glue - what followed was an epic weekend long search to find a supplier in the UK I was frustrated beyond belief, and about to bite the bullet and import it from the US (to hell with the import tax, I NEEDED it!) when I stumbled across a site called emerald crafts  and they had one bottle left in stock.  It was mine! So once it arrived, I gathered up all my supplies and set to work! Rubbing Alcohol / Surgical Spirit Mug Masking Tape Brush Glitter Rub down your mug with the surgical spirit and make sure it is dry before ap...

From the moment I purchased my Silhouette Cameo I was in love.  The only way I could justify the cost was to start up a business , the only problem with this was the cost of the blades.  I was getting through a blade every few weeks, at just under £16.00 (including postage) for a single blade it was getting very expensive.  I knew that once business picked up I was going to either have to increase prices (never a good idea for new businesses) or take a big knock in profits.  The only solution I could see was be to try and find a cheaper solution to the blades. I was first made aware of using disposable blades by Ligaya's Creativity Zone .  She had had success with an aluminium (CB09) Blade Holder.  This blog was invaluable for advice on the different angled blades available and suppliers of the CB09 Blade Holder. The only drawbacks were the seller was based in Asia (have been stung for import taxes before, and it is a hefty amount) and there were re...

If you are lucky enough to own a Silhouette Cameo and you live in the UK, you probably already know that most of the tips and tricks come from our lovely cousins in the US.  Although very handy, it can sometimes be a bit tricky to find like for like UK materials. After a bit of trial and error I thought I would share my method of re-using mats for the UK market :) It is always handy to have more than one cutting mat - the Silhouette mats are a bit on the pricey side, and in my opinion quite flimsy - it is all too easy to cut straight through the mat with the wrong blade settings (particularly if you are new to using the Silhouette).  I recommend using Cricut mats instead :) They are thicker, more durable AND cheaper!  In fact, you can even buy two 12" x 24" Cricut mats for £19.00 and cut them down to four 12 x 12 mats - this works out at £4.75 per mat, versus £12.99 for a single Silhouette mat. The best place for cheap cricut mats is ebay . I have h...