BRAND NEW Craft Consortium Premium Collection Enchanted Jungle has arrived

Hi there!

More new goodies have arrived and we couldn't be more excited to tell you about these lovelies.

Enchanted Jungle is a beautiful new collaboration between Craft Consortium and Edinburgh based illustrator Linsey Kelly. Enchanted Jungle features a hand illustrated collection of delicately drawn tropical florals, tigers and leopards, inspired by their beautiful natural habitat. In the collection is a 12x12 premium paper pad, 6x6 premium paper pad, an A4 card pack, clear stamp set, chipboard ephemera, beautiful metal charms, ribbons, enamel dots, transfers and, for the first time, a beautiful embossing folder with the most gorgeous details!

 

This collection is perfect for a huge range of projects from making cards to home decor, the designs are amazing and the colours are sumptuous. We absolutely love it and we know you will too!

BRAND NEW DecoArt Impasto, Wax Effects and Water Marbling ranges, and NEW Americana Colours!

Hi everyone

We hope you're all doing well and taking time out to be creative.

It's been a busy few weeks here at A Crafty Pause HQ! We have lots of exciting new DecoArt products now available over on our website. Here's a quick run down of what's new ...

DecoArt Impasto is a heavy-bodied acrylic that is perfect for every budding Van Gogh! This lovely, rich paint allows your art to flow and your brush/palette strokes to show. You can also add in textures using the tools DecoArt have designed, meaning each piece will be totally unique.

Next up is DecoArt Wax Effects, which allows you to create art with the appearance of wax encaustic, but without the need to apply heat! The paints are available in a selection of gorgeous rich colours and they dry to a waxy finish. They're perfect for freestyle application or why not try applying them through stencils for some really lovely detail.

Marbling has been extremely popular for some time now and DecoArt have designed a range of marbling paints which, along with a couple of magic ingredients, can be used with water to create some amazing marbling effects on pretty much anything including paper, fabric and much more. Customise canvas pumps, tote bags, t-shirts and even create unique wall art, cards and gift tags - endless options.

And to top it off, there are some yummy new Americana colours for you, with more arriving soon!

So, head over, fill your basket, and let the painting begin! Who knows what you will create but one thing's for sure, it's all good and remember, in the words of Bob Ross, there are no "mistakes", only happy accidents!

Useful links:

DecoArt Impasto Paints

DecoArt Wax Effects Acrylics

Decoart Water Marbling Paints and Accessories

DecoArt Americana Paints 

BRAND NEW clear stamps from Woodware, Designer Boutique and Sam Poole - let the Christmas crafting begin!

Hi everyone

Yes, believe it or not, it is that time of year when the new season's Christmas products are launched. The sun may be shining brightly, and we may be in the middle of a heatwave, but now is the time to start thinking about your Christmas craft to-do list, and make a start on those all important festive projects.

To help you along, we have a selection of lovely new clear stamps from Woodware, Designer Boutique and Sam Poole that we think you're going to love! They're perfect for making cards, gift tags and wrap, home decor projects, gifts and so much more. They can be used on pretty much any surface - just make sure you use the correct ink or paint for the surface you're working on. They can be coloured with inks, markers and paints and you could even try paper-piecing - stamping the design onto white card, then onto patterned papers to cut out and adhere to your stamped card image, to create your own unique designs - endless possibilities. And the prices are great too! What's not to love?

So, without further ado, here's a look at each new selection ...

First up, we have Winter Gnome, Santa Gnome and Robin Post from Woodware. Designed by Francoise Read, they're sure to make you smile. Gnomes now seem to be as much a part of Christmas as robins, even though they are around all through the year. Have fun colouring and painting these lovely images to create unique pieces of art that your family and friends will cherish.

Next, we have a selection from Designer Boutique, including an adorable deer, a snow dome, a lovely snowman and a very pretty gingerbread cottage in the woods. But our favourite? A sloth hanging on to a tree branch, with holly and berries all around. This is no ordinary sloth though, this sloth is a very special Christmas sloth, complete with santa hat and cosy scarf! So if you love something a little different, this is definitely the one for you!

 

Last, but by no means least, we have new stamps from Sam Poole, which are sure to give you a warm and fuzzy feeling. Novelty Christmas Mugs, Fuzzy Mittens, Sweet Stocking and Gingerbread Bakes have a dinstinctly foody theme going on whilst also being extremely festive. They're perfect for a wide range of projects and the themes are ageless, meaning you can use them year after year.

To use alongside these lovely stamps we have the Creative Expressions Wordies Sentiment Sheets - Traditional Christmas and Christmas Blessings - each set packed with useful words and sentiments for adding the finishing touches to your projects.

 

So, with your favourite Christmas tunes playing loud and proud, hop over, fill your basket, and let the Christmas crafting begin!

Craft Consortium New & Old

 Hi

We now have a new Craft Consortium collection in stock and lots of re-stocks of the ever popular Essential Papers and their new Essential Embellishments, and there are more to come!

Firstly Craft Consortium's Ocean Tale, designed by world renowned illustrator Clare Therese Gray, is a bold, vibrant collection, based on adventure, travel and the natural beauty of the Ocean, our relationship with it and creatures within.  In the collection is a 12x12 premium paper pad, stamps, wood shapes, beautiful metal charms and some iridescent dots! This collection of Ocean Life, both above and below, is great for all those sea themed projects and works well alongside their existing Sea & Shore collection.

A lot of Craft Consortium's Essential craft papers are now back in stock with a lot more to follow very shortly. These include Baroque, Brick Textures, Bright Blooms, Bloom & Wild, Ink Drops Candy, Dusk, Earth, Vivid, Grunge Light, Grunge Festive and the ever popular Metal Textures.

For those of you starting to think about or even starting your Christmas projects, card making and so on now, we have NOEL, designed again by Clare Therese Gray. These papers feature beautiful hand-illustrated designs, inspired by the vintage Christmases of old, with Victorian nostalgia.

New Cosmic Shimmer and other shop news

Hi

Here's what's been happening in our shop recently.

Cosmic Shimmer has released 2 new products for crafters, Gilded Touch and Glossy Glaze.

Cosmic Shimmer Gilded Touch is a rich, water based wax allowing you to easily create a shimmering metallic effect on any crafting, mixed media or home décor project. It is supplied in an 18ml tube which allows you to squeeze out just the right quantity for your project. Then simply apply in a circular motion with a sponge, dauber, cloth or even your finger. It is fast drying and non-toxic, and when dry is water and fade resistant. It is available for you to purchase now in 10 rich colours!

Cosmic Shimmer Glossy Glaze is a translucent tinted water based dimensional gel with a glossy finish which is suitable for use on most surfaces. Designed by Cosmic Shimmer in conjunction with Jamie Rodgers, this gel remains flexible when dry so can easily be die cut to create embellishments. Apply with brush, spatula or sponge through stencils to create some unique effects.

Both products are easy to clean up with soap and water and on top of that they are both made in the UK!

There are also 2 new Woodware stencils, designed by Francoise Read, Wiggles and Pebble Dash which are ideal for adding texture to any craft project.

Just in case you missed it there are some new Stamperia collections, You and Me - a wedding/romance collection and Garden of Promises - a floral collection. There are papers available in various sizes including 6"x6", 8"x8" and 12"x12" as well as some co-ordinating stencils. There are also 3 handmade paper flower packs for embellishing your projects.

We have also restocked various products including DecoArt Patio paints, ready for brightening up your outside areas (you'll find ideas and projects using these paints in our Inspiration section). We have also restocked some Tim Holtz Distress ink pads and sprays as well as some Woodware stamps (and the one and only Woodware die, designed by Jane Gill for creating bubbles to decorate her bubble stamp designs).

Check out all of the above and much more over on the website! Clicking on a product image will take you to the relevant section of our website in a new tab/window, or hovering over text will show you where there's a link you can click on.

Bye for now!

Easter Egg Painting Inspiration

Hi

I can't believe Easter is so close, so I thought I would share some egg painting ideas with you courtesy of DecoArt and some of their contributors.  There are all sorts of designs to choose from including glitzy ones, terrazzo, designer and more so have a look below and see if there are any designs that might inspire you. If you click on the image it will take you to the respective designer's page with that design which contain anything from step by step instructions to how to videos but all with beautiful ideas for your inspiration.

Firstly we have have Terrazzo Inspired Easter Eggs courtesy of Jolie Carrier, over at Vintage Meets Glam. Using DecoArt Americana these eggs are so colourful and Jolie has included step by step instructions to create them.

Then we have have some beautiful designer Easter Eggs courtesy of Lucy, over at Craftberry Bush. Using DecoArt Extreme Sheen these eggs are stunning and Lucy has included some basic instruction and a video for you on how to create them.

Another idea from Jolie Carrier at Vintage Meets Glam, beautiful Lemon and Buffalo check eggs. Using DecoArt Americana and Crafter's Acrylic these eggs are so bright and fresh and Jolie has included step by step instructions for you to create them.

Then we have have some bright and glitzy Easter Eggs courtesy of Mariah Leeson, over at Giggles Galore. Using DecoArt Enchanted, Enchanted Shimmer and Galaxy Glitter these eggs are so out of this world and Maria has included the products used and instructions for you on how to create them for yourself.

And last but not least we have some bright Designer Easter Eggs by Crimson at DecoArt with a complete project using Americana Acrylics and Extreme Sheen.

I hope you find some inspiration with these beautiful designs. You can take the ideas here and use them on pretty much any surface and any shape. All the gorgeous paints are in stock over in our shop so if you are wanting to decorate eggs or anything else this Easter, head over and stock up on your paints now!

New Sam Poole Stamps and Botanical Stains

Hi

Sam Poole has just launched some beautiful new products in conjunction with Creative Expressions.  These are 9 new clear stamp sets, 1 new rubber stamp and 6 new gorgeous colours in her Botanical Stains collection.

Firstly there are the new clear stamp sets which have a definite nature and gardening theme running through most of them. They include beehives, flowers, watering cans and chickens! The odd one out is called "Hugs & Kisses" which features rustic hearts and sentiments. I've included just a few samples below to give you some inspiration for how to use them.

Then there is the rubber stamp "Rustic Alphabet" which is great for adding texture or creating backgrounds for your projects as in the example below.

And last but not least there are 6 new Botanical Stains colours available, which brings the total number of colours up to 14.  Botanical Stains are a water based dye ink which allows you to create stains and washes for your projects. The new colours are inspired by traditional colours which were originally obtained from plants such as Marigold and Lupin which are both used in the example below.

All of Sam's beautiful designs and products can be used for a variety of different crafts from card making to mixed media and home decor. So why not pop over and take a look.