NBUS #7 - Using my Fuseable papers at last!

Hello, hello! Well we have returned from holiday and are getting back into the swing of things before school starts up again - the holidays have gone remarkably quickly. The Colouring Challenge ended at the start of August, but another of my favourite challenges, Darnell's NBUS [Never Before Used Schtuff] started on 27th and I finally got round to having a play with some of my NBUS. It's amazing what you can amass quite quickly!

My sister asked me if I could make a wedding card for her to give to a couple who are getting married soon. I decided now would be a great time to crack out my as yet unused Fuseable Papers. This is plastic paper that you can use with your Fuse tool for scrapbooking and card making.

I really loved it - it does melt and bond beautifully. I started by making a shaker pocket with a cheap plastic folder around the image I'd previously coloured as part of the 30 Day Coloring Challenge. I cut out some hearts from the paper and fused them onto the front. You do need to make sure you have a piece of paper in between the pocket sides when doing this otherwise the pocket will also Fuse together :). I then filled it with Sparkling Coral shaker selection from Lucy's Cards (it's now discontinued). I sealed it up and then got on with sealing it onto the Fuseable paper.

I took three sizes of squares, bigger than my shaker pocket and simply melted the plastic through the layers as you can tell by the photograph. It works well through two layers. The back layer I fused through the green spotty paper. It feels very secure.

I stuck the panel onto my card base with some strong double sided tape.

Below is a list of materials I used to make this card. Please note I DO NOT USE affiliate links :) 

Lawn Fawn Mermaid for You	Ranger Archival Ink Jet Black	WHSmith Watercolour Paper 12 Sheets - Art, Craft and Hobbies	Hobbycraft Clear Acrylic Stamping Blocks 2 pack	WRMK Photo Sleeve Fuse Tool	We R Memory Keepers - FUSEables Paper - Sweetheart	We R Memory Keepers - FUSEables Paper - Confetti	Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper - 1/4 and 1/2 inch
Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolour Sketcher's Pocket Box Paint

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I am so thrilled I finally used this, so thank you Darnell as it's got me using my Fuse again as I hadn't had it out for a while. I'm mulling over some other ideas for using this paper and have been looking for some standalone dies like butterflies and hearts as I think they would work brilliantly on the front of shakerpockets.

I hope you'll feel inspired to have a go at giving your NBUS some love - don't let it sit all alone on the shelf and link it up below:

Let's Sail Away - Shakers with the Fuse tool and Newton's Nook - VIDEO

Hello Fellow Crafters! How are you all? It was our last day of the Easter Holidays today and the weather, in typical fashion, was fabulous. Chilly, but gloriously sunny and we got the grass cut and spent lots of time in the garden.

I mentioned in my crafty haul video that I had been making cards with my Fuse and the Newton's Nook stamp and die set Message in a Bottle that I bought. I was inspired by seeing Kim Dellow's tutorial on using the Fuse in my recent edition of Simply Cards and Papercraft #148. I felt it was time I had another play with it and this is the result. It is such a brilliant idea to use the die as a Fuse guide.

I started by approximating where I wanted the bottle to be on some Neenah card stock and then stamped the ship, placing the die around it and then the bottle around that - made it easier to cut them both at once!

I then taped the bottle die to a bit of an A4 thin plastic wallet (I got these in a supermarket for £1 for 10 and I find they work well), where I wanted the aperture so I could get the ship and sequins in.

I then Fused around the die. I do love this tool. I find I need to get it hot, and I mean leave it 15-20 minutes to heat up hot. I always test it on a corner of plastic first. If I find I can pull it apart easily, it hasn't Fused properly and I need to leave it longer to heat.

I leave mine on a spare bathroom tile on the floor next to me. I need to sort out a proper holder, but since it's only me in here when crafting it's not a problem. I always unplug if I have to go away for anything more than 30 seconds - better safe than sorry!

I digress! I then cut around the shaker and added my sequins, and then the ship, Fusing up the gap. I then taped it to the back of my card panel, and then with double sided tape to the card base. I then added the sentiment to the front - next time do this first!! - and some coloured dew drops that I had in my stash from a giveaway win from Michelle.

And here is the video showing how I made it. Thank you for your continued support of my videos, it means a lot as I'm so new to it all!

  
Below is a list of what I used to make this card and where I purchased them. Please note I DO NOT USE affiliate links.

InLinkz.com

I loved making this card and I hope you found it interesting and useful. I love experimenting with my gadgets. Thank you so much for reading, and for watching, and for all your lovely comments. They really do make my day :)

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!!