My new toy

Here it is, my new Letraset airbrush system to use with ProMarkers, and I love it. I am still on a learning curve and just playing around, but when I get back from CHA I will do a video tutorial on using it - when I know enough to tell you about it that is! It works with my aqua markers as well. I am really looking forward to having a proper play with this the first lesson learned - don't put your fingers in the way of the airbrush. Ditto avoid your jeans if you can. Cover your worksurface with paper unless you want an interesting modern art effect on your desk........

When it came, I grabbed an already coloured stamped image and sprayed around the edges with sky blue. It was only when I did a bit of research that I found out I should have cut a mask to shield the image, but quite honestly I liked the effect it gave and it didn't seem to affect the coloured image at all

as you can see.......................... Isn't that a lovely soft sky effect?



I used metal tiny alphabet brads for the sentiment. The stitching is faux - I find threading my teensy Janome machine in the UK such a faff, I just run the cardstock through it with no thread, then join up the lines with pen, in this case Signo white rollerball

Then I die cut my gorgeous butterfly, it comes in two layers, and I just messed around with colours really, using Promarker pens to start, then airbrushed around the edges in a darker colour. The bottom layer was totally airbrushed. I then sprayed the whole thing with Crafters Companion sparkle glitter glue. I am sure I can refine this a lot as I get used to the technique of airbrushing, but this butterfly hasn't been put into the reject bin, and will make it onto a card eventually, it looks really pretty

I got a bargain as well. I ran up to Hobbycraft to get some new blades for my fiskars trimmer (I totally forgot that I have to take a basic craft kit with me to CHA). I found a big roll of masking film in the clearance bin. (This is stuff that you stamp on, cut out the mask, peel away the backing paper and it is slightly tacky to stick to your stamped image, the masks can be used over and over)
So there was no price or wrapping on the roll, which looked undamaged. 'How much is this?' I asked a chap who was busy filling shelves. 'I dunno, what would you pay for it?' he asked

'well it looks worth about 50p to me' I joked. 'Okay' said the guy, who turned out to be the manager. I then went upstairs and found the same stuff with the wrapping on, selling for £23. RESULT! I also got an 8 x 8 K & Co scrapbook album reduced from £22 to £1.99. There was a huge assortment of American Crafts brads as well for £1.49 a pack. So if any of you are near Hobbycraft, run over quickly, they have some great stuff at bargain prices. For those of you not in the UK, Hobbycraft is the only big-box craft store in the UK, they never have coupons, so we deserve a sale!

I will schedule a post for tomorrow, think of me as you read it, sitting for 14 hours in an aluminium tube at 35,000 feet. I will be bringing you snippets of news with lots of photos from CHA, so watch this space