A-Fusing, A-Musing and A-Thank You!

Hello Avid Crafters! I wanted to first say Thank You to all and any of you who joined in with the Mind Crafternoon. Verity raised £400 for the Charity so thank you if you donated. It was good fun again and I look forward to it being an annual tradition.

I've been floored by a rather nasty stomach bug so my crafting last weekend until now hasn't been huge. I've been feeling a lot better lately and so got my Fuse tool out for another play and made another couple of Christmas cards to send off.

I absolutely love it, but like everything it requires a bit of practice to use it. I noticed when using it at first that the plastic split back open after I'd Fused it. It was like it wasn't melting the plastic enough, so this time I let it get really, really hot and left it for about 20 minutes before using it. It's not the kind of tool you can have lying around with children, so you need to be careful. I know there are special silicone holders, so I think I'll invest in one of those.

I pre-cut my backing card from white card stock using my SSS stitched rectangles, and because I didn't want the plastic sides to show I cut some frames from blue and green card to cover them up once I'd made the pocket.

I started by stamping the Create-A-Smile Wish in my Ranger dye inks - Lily Pad and Blue Ribbon - and the little 'we' in Memento Tuxedo Black. On the back I stamped 'you a merry Christmas' and hand wrote a note to the intended recipient. I wasn't too happy with the finish of the word 'Wish' so I went over it with my Spectrum Noir Sparkle pen in clear. It's like Wink of Stella but it has oodles more sparkle. I was given it by Dawn as a birthday present, but I have a feeling I might be buying more of them!!

I then got to work on the pocket. Using the metal ruler that comes with it, I Fused the plastic pretty close to the edge of the card so that I didn't have too much extra plastic and the card didn't slide around inside. I Fused three sides, then filled the pockets with some of Lucy's sequin selections. I then Fused the opening shut. I was wise to leave it so long to heat as it melted nicely and held up well. I then cut round the seal leaving a small border.

Not a brilliant picture, sorry, but you can sort of see the plastic seal around the outside. You also need a glass mat to use it on. I just have a cheap chopping board I bought at the supermarket for £3! 

I then glued the border on the outside with some glue tape - it's not actually that brilliant, so I'll use liquid next time - and the images I stuck on with glue dots. I had done them in during the October colouring challenge with my Inktense pencils. Those reindeer are hilarious - totally cool and Beatnik!

Supplies: White, blue and green card stock 240gsm; Inktense pencils; Ranger Dye Inks; Create A Smile - Make a Wish stamp set; Simon Says Stamp Shapes with Stitches; Memento Tuxedo Black; A4 Plastic wallets; We R Memory Keepers Fuse Tool; Little Things from Lucy's Cards - Winter Wonderland; Blue Topaz; Lime Cordial; Stick It! Permanent Adhesive Roller; Spectrum Noir Sparkle Pen - Clear]

I do love the Fuse and have seen so many other things I can do with it. It has a really great price point - £19.99 where I got it from online - and I know I'll use it for shakers from now on. I love that there is no more mess from sticky tape!

Before I go, I just have to share that I fell off my seat when I checked the results of the Muse challenge #144 - I got an Honorable Mention - crazy time! Thank you so much to everyone who voted for me. Am so chuffed given how much great talent there was. I now have my first button on my blog!

Thanks for reading - that's all for now. Have a great week and hope you're all bearing up under the last minute Christmas card rush and present buying. I'm trying not to panic but I have loads more to do!!