Happy Easter!

It'll be Easter soon so I've been using it as an excuse to buy more craft materials  to make Easter cards.  Although I've made cards in the past, I've not made them from scratch and I often used the designs from craft magazines as inspiration.

With these cards, I've made them myself from a kit I brought on eBay.  I like the way they've worked out so far and I'm going to be making plenty more.

My favourite is the Bunny!

My first handmade chocolates

OK, so I’ve chosen the really easy way to make chocolates by buying some cooking chocolate and some chocolate moulds but I want to get used to the tempering and handling the mixture first.

You can use a bain-marie to heat the chocolate over the stove or you can just add some water to a saucepan, add the chocolate to a bowl and top and let the chocolate melt that way.  Alternatively, you could just melt it in a microwave but I didn’t want to heat it too quickly.

Once melted, you can pour the melted into the moulds; I used heart shaped silicone moulds and then left them in the fridge for an hour or so. (I had to wrestle with it a bit to get the chocolates out after wards).

I’m pleased with the results so far and just need to work on getting the backs of the chocolate a bit smoother (some of them are a bit too full of lumps and bumps) so with the next batch, I’ll let them cool for a bit before smoothing them out.

My first soaps

In the past few weeks I've been trying my hand at soapmaking.  At the moment I'm just using melt and pour soap while I get used to working with it and with the moulds.  I've noticed a book on Amazon about making your own melt and pour base so this is what I'm going to do next and then I will be able to say I've made them from scratch.

I've been experimenting with different colours and fragrances.  The colours I've come across are limited but you can use them to make different shades, for example, a few drops of blue soap colouring will make a turquoise colour while using more will make a deep-blue colour.

I'm using what I know about aromatherapy and hopefully putting that to good use.  I'm using lavender/chamomile to make relaxing soaps, geranium and ylang ylang to make uplifting soaps, lemon and orange to make refreshing soaps and eucalyptus and peppermint for if you've got a cold or you need to clear your head.

After heating the soap, you can mix in the colours and then the oils.  The soaps take about an hour to set and smell divine.

The Craft Business Handbook by Alison McNicol

I've spent the last few months buying supplies, learning new craft techniques and revisiting old ones, making soaps, cards, lip balms, and learning to use a sewing machine.  Next, I want to start to run it as a business rather than just selling to family and friends.

I recently brought The Craft Business Handbook by Alison McNichol.  This book is one of the most useful and inspiring books I've brought recently, and I've brought a lot of them. 

Divided into nine chapters, the book covers everything from setting up a business, developing a brand, selling online, using social media and promoting yourself.  The case studies - all people who have themselves started from scratch - is inspirational to a beginner.

The book is available from Amazon.

Quick recipe to make your own lip balms

You can make your own lip balms quickly and easily with just a few simple ingredients.  Lip balm recipes vary but I've gone with the most basic of recipes which makes a firmer balm.  You could also add essential oils to it as it cools such as ginger to make a muscle rub balm (more about those later).

Ingredients You'll Need

Cosmetic grade beeswax
Shea Butter
Vitamin E oil

I don't use quantities, I just melt a few pellets in a saucepan and then add some more until I have a reasonable amount.  I then add in the Shea butter and stir in until it melts.  Once I've done that, then I add the Vitamin E and stir them in.  That's it.  You just pour it into empty lip balm pots or you can buy empty lip balm pots from eBay which is where I brought all of my ingredients.

For a fuller description on how to make lip balms you can visit:

http://www.squidoo.com/how-to-make-lip-balms

Using 'paint' to make backing papers and designs

If you have a Microsoft computer then you likely have a paint programme included on it which can be used to make backing papers for cards and other designs.

I find it useful for creating my own unique designs and you don't need to be artistic to use it - I'm certainly not.

Using the paint brush takes a bit of getting used to but with a few short cuts, you can creative colourful, eye catching designs. With paint, you have the options of choosing shapes such as hearts and stars and the option to block colour the shapes and the background. Once you've got used to the different options and how to use them, it takes minutes to do.

The designs made in paint can be printed off and the colours look good even on ordinary print paper.

If you have any tips for using paint to create designs then please let me know.

My first attempt at card making...

...in I don't know how long.  Years ago I used to make cards, cushions and other craft items and sell them in the run up to Christmas at local fairs.  A while ago I thought I'd would give it another go.

I used to make cards with pressed flowers and these used to sell well but I'm making them differently this time around and I've started by using card making kits and the kits that come with magazines just to get into it again.

I'm one of these people that can't seem to cut in a straight line so I've got a paper trimmer to get around that and make them look neater and I've brought a bone folder to make the edges crisper and more defined.

So far, I'm enjoying every minute of it, and it will be quite some time before I need to worry about buying Birthday or Christmas cards given the amount of craft materials I have.