There is nothing quite like impressing your friends or family with a greeting card that looks spectacular. One way I know to get that ‘wow’ factor is to make a reflection card. You can use your stamp sets to double effect!

Here is what you will need for this cardmaking technique:

• A rubber stamp. Choose an image you would like to see reflected in water, such as trees, an animal or a flower
• Plain cardstock in white, light beige or cream
• Some ink pads or paints. Choose a watery colour and a sky or grass colour. You may also need colour for the ground
• A brayer and a bone folder
• A plastic or acetate sheet
• Some Stazon ink
• Some tape or repositionable glue/tape
• Other items to finish your card

Here is What to do:

First, brayer the colour for your water on the cardstock. Next brayer your sky or grass. Make sure the water and the grass or sky meet in the middle or wherever you want to place your water line.

Next, stamp your image in Stazon ink on the grass or against the sky, positioning the bottom of the image near the water.

Now take your plastic or acetate sheet. Stamp the same image on the sheet. Flip the sheet over so you have a mirror image of your stamp and position it on the water where there would be a reflection of your original stamped image. Anchor the plastic down with tape or repositionable glue. Rub the reversed image onto the water using your brayer and your bone folder. The ink should transfer to the water.

Take away the plastic sheet and set it aside.

Now tear a piece of paper in half and position the two torn pieces so that there is a gap between them for your ground. Anchor these down to the table or your craft mat with the tape or glue.

Slip your image under the torn paper and position it so that the gap in the paper forms a ground line. Brayer some colour onto the image to make the ground appear.

Slide your image out and inspect it. If you like it, use the image to decorate your greeting card.

If you are not yet satisfied with it, keep playing with it till you are – it is your card!

You can use the plastic or acetate sheet over and over again. Most of the ink for your reflection card should transfer to your cardstock when you rub it over with the brayer and bone folder. If there is any ink remaining, clean off the acetate with a little stamp cleaning mist or a baby wipe that has no alcohol in it. (Alcohol dries things like plastic or rubber out and can cause them to become brittle or crack).

Other Ideas

You can make your background without the brayer. Try painting, colouring with markers, or transferring ink straight to paper.

Think of other surfaces you might like to make a reflection in such as glass or a rain wet road and make your backgrounds to suit the scene. Experiment with shimmery mediums on the reflective surface.

Use the reflection technique to stamp characters face-to-face.

Use this technique on your scrapbook pages.

Enjoy!

Would you like to see an illustrated step by step tutorial of the Reflections technique? You can do so at http://www.papercraftcentral.com/reflections-cards.html

At PaperCraftCentral you can also see other techniques, ask questions about paper crafting, publish your own work and subscribe to Paper Twists, a newsletter all about papercrafts, for free! http://www.papercraftcentral.com/subscribe.html Come and visit today.

(Copyright: you may freely republish this article, provided the text, author credit, the active links and this copyright notice remain intact).

What is an open house craft show?

It is a show hosted by you providing more than one vendor. It is different than a hostess party. A hostess party is provided by a friend, family or someone who likes your product. There is a commission program setup for the person throwing you the party.

Here are advantages to hosting your open house craft show:

1. You choose what vendors you want in your show
2. Having more than one vendor and it will attract more customers
3. You do not have to provide a hostess reward package and that means more money in your pocket
4. Make your own hours
5. When it is your own, you do not have to drive and prepare.
6. You can have your show prepared way in advance and do not have to worry about setting up and taking down your booth
7. You can take breaks and the other vendors will watch your table

How to get more shows lined up easily:

I had 2 other vendors at the party I threw. So, we lined up other craft show parties between the 3 of us.
So, there were a total of 3 shows lined up without the headache of asking other people to host a show and putting together a hostess package. More vendors you have, more shows you have lined up. For example, let’s say you have 5 vendors at the party and each agreed to host a show for each other. There would be 5 shows scheduled for the season.

No hassles, no fuss. Just easy marketing.

Dawn Hulslander-Shaffer is a candle and soap silicone mold maker by trade. You can find her molds at French Hill Country.

She enjoys helping candle and soap makers market their products. Learn more creative marketing ideas at Candle Marketing Sweeti. Join her newsletter and receive and FREE ebook on ” Easy Candle Making Techniques”.

In recent times the availability of digital downloads of card making papers, card toppers and card making embellishments has started to change the the world of card making and scrap booking.

Instead of having to go out and buy a set of papers, and perhaps finding when you get there that the stockist does not have exactly what you want, you can now simply turn on the computer and browse to your heart’s content until you find the perfect product for your project.

Using digital products also gets over, what for many people, is the problem of storage space. You simply download your chosen product and file it into your virtual library on your computer, ready for printing off as you require it.

Another advantage digital products have over physical products, is that once downloaded, you have the ability to print off the product as many times as you like. Purchase a physical product and once you have used it it has gone. The digital product, once saved, can be used over and over again. This is especially cost effective when you have to produce a large quantity of cards, such as Christmas cards.

Provided you purchase your digital product from a reputable on line retailer,then the quality will be just as good as any physical product you can buy. The key to getting a good result is simply to ensure that your printer settings are correct, for example using a best quality setting rather than a draft quality.

You must always make sure that you print off on a good quality paper or card stock. Although you can print out on any paper the heavier the weight, the better will be the result. I would recommend a minimum weight of 90gsm, but a 160gsm card stock weight is perfect for most projects. Reams of this paper can be bought quite cheaply at any reputable office stationer.

Do not be afraid to experiment with a few different paper weights and finishes to see which best suits your needs, and which you prefer.

What many people do not realise is that once you have purchased and downloaded your product there are software programmes freely available on the Internet which give you the capability to alter the size of what you are printing. If you do not require a full sized sheet you can print off just half the design, a quarter of or go even smaller. This helps to save on ink and wastage.

Card making and scrap booking has just entered the new digital age!

Susan Hazell is an experienced card maker who owns and operates http://www.cardmaking-ideas.com.
Cardmaking-Ideas is a site packed full of wonderful downloadable printables to help you create the perfect handcrafted cards and scrap book pages time after time. The vast majority of the products are exclusive to Cardmaking-Ideas so visit it now

Candle making is becoming a popular craft of many people nowadays. This is attributed to the fact that candles, besides being very useful in lighting and warming a certain place, is also becoming a valuable decorative material and expression of so many emotions. A person savvy with making candles, gets to save a lot of money and is able to personalize each piece according to his taste or qualities of the person to whom he will be offering it to as a gift.

Before, we only used candles to be the boring and monochrome sticks sold at the store. Now, candles come in more exciting shapes, sizes and colors. Add to this the innovation made to the materials or basic components used. Among the most popular variations in this craft is gel candle making.

Since the use of gel in making candles is still relatively new, one will have to train and study the proper way to come out with the perfect piece. The process is very easy though and a lot safer than when using other materials. For starters in gel candle making, one must learn the different types of gels that can be used and mixed with other materials like colors and fragrances. After that, one can already proceed with the actual work. Once a person gets the hang of the craft, he will learn that gels can be so much more fun to use. Besides, the possibility in terms of mixing and matching colors in every piece is just so endless.

Another benefit of making gel candles is that it the pieces produced are more durable and have better burning quality. The gel can last for a very long time especially when put in a glass or another container that does not melt or burn. It can also come with beautiful decorations and accessories.

Tabitha Johnston is a crafting enthusiast with a love for candle making. Visit her site for more candle making ideas at http://thesecrettocandlemaking.com/gel-candle-making/ or visit the homepage at http://thesecrettocandlemaking.com/ for an entire course on everything candle making.

When you start a craft project, do you end up spending more time looking for your tools and supplies than you do actually working on your craft? If you do, you are not alone! If you do any type of crafting or creative work, the supplies you use can quickly spread out and take over your home. The more crafts and hobbies you do, the more need you have for organization.

Organizing your supplies and tools will allow you to quickly locate the items you need to complete a craft. Organization will also save you money you won’t need to run out at the last minute and purchase a new pair of scissors or skein of yarn to replace the one you can’t find!

There are two different ways to organize your craft supplies, and chances are one will be better for you than the other. If you only work on one or two types of crafts, like scrapbooking and knitting, it is easier to make yourself a complete kit for each craft. That way you can pull out your scrapbooking bag and get started, without grabbing tools from a bunch of different locations.

If you do a huge variety of crafts– beading one day, sewing the next, and making soap a week later, then you should organize your supplies by type. That way you won’t need to dig through your sewing stuff to find your scissors every time you want them for a project.

Organizing by Craft:

If you decide to organize your supplies by the type of craft they are for, make a kit for each craft you do. Ideally, the kit will include everything you use to complete the craft, along with your tools and raw materials.

Start by gathering all of the supplies you have into one area. Doing this will allow you to get an idea of exactly how many items you have, and how big of a container you will need to store them. Once you have everything in one place, select or purchase a container to fit all of the items. Check out the storage section of your local craft store, and the scrapbook section as well– croppers have mastered the art of storage, and you can use their pieces for any craft you’d like. You should also check out the selection of tackle boxes at your local sporting goods store, they are designed with small items in mind.

Pick up an inexpensive pencil box for tools like scissors, tweezers, needles, and related items, so you can find what you need quickly. Use small containers like film canisters and plastic storage containers to hold little items so they don’t get lost.

Place your items in the storage container, with the largest things like books, fabrics, and other big pieces on the bottom. Top with the smallest items, and close the lid. When you are ready to work on a project, simply pull out your box and get started, without wasting time looking for loose items and supplies.

Organizing by Type of Supply:

Creative people often excel in more than one area. It is not unusual for someone who enjoys on craft like quilting to spread out into beading, embroidery, or even knitting. As they learn more techniques, they acquire more supplies. If this sounds like you, you will probably work best if you sort your items by type.

Having all of your fabrics in one location can help you pick out things for a project very quickly. If you sort them by color, you can get a good sense of what you have and what you need, before you head to the store. You can also store all of your scissors and cutting tools together, and grab a handy pair whether you are sewing or working on a paper craft.

Begin by sorting your items by type – put all the beads in one location, all the fabrics in another. Markers and pens stored together, as can adhesives. Choose a container for each type of item, and label the container. That way when you work on a project you can gather what you need, and get a good sense of what supplies you have on hand.

Organizing in this way can help the creative process as well – sometimes just seeing your materials all together can help you see things in a new light, and trigger new ideas.

No matter which technique you choose, organizing your stash of craft supplies can help you find things quickly, and spend more time crafting and less time seeking out lost items.

Whether you’re looking for craft supplies or finished items, Factory Direct Craft has it all. If you feel the creative urge, you can get just about any craft supplies you may need. Whatever you need we’re sure to have!