Handmade by Lou: Back to reality!

Sunday, 14 January 2018

Back to reality!

I've been MIA for a couple of weeks, as I accompanied my 13 year old Thing 3 to a fencing camp in Melbourne. It was a great camp - the kids worked hard and had fun; and I had plenty of time to play tourist while the fencers were training!

Me in front of the iconic Flinders Street Station in Melbourne

Had to test the local coffee. Melbourne rightfully prides itself on the quality of it's coffee.

Me at the art gallery - loved visiting there!

Meanwhile the latest Stampin' Up! Occasions Mini Catalogue and Sale a Bration has started. I had a quick chance to play with some new products before I left, but ran out of time to post photos on my blog.

I did post a teaser photo on my social media of the following cards:

See any new products? I used the new Brush Crystal Colours to watercolour the flowers; the flowers are also new from a set called Beautiful Day. The background was made with a new silver embossing paste too.

I have to say I LOVE the silver embossing paste. It looks really pretty once dried. I noticed it has a runnier texture than the usual white paste, which takes getting used to, but it is just as easy to use.

Here's a Stampin' Up! video on how to use embossing paste if you haven't given it a go.

As for the other new products, the Beautiful Day stamp set is one of those versatile, easy to use sets you'll reach for over and over. It looks great embossed, or coloured with watercolour pencils, or with the Stampin' Blends as well. But I couldn't resist giving the new Brusho colour crystals a go. They are fun! I've been using them to create gorgeous watercolour backgrounds too.

Again, Stampin' Up! has made a helpful video to explain what these Brusho crystals are all about: