Enamelling Fun!

Hi Everyone!

Just thought I'd let you see what my eleven year old niece and I did at the weekend. She wanted to make some Christmas presents for her school friends and as she had never done enamelling before I thought it might be fun.

Well, she took to it like a duck to water as you can see. So if you've got an arty young one in need of a birthday or Christmas present then I can highly recommend the Efco Efcolor Tealight Oven and Starter Set. It will give them hours of fun and make you very popular!

As I didn't want to worry about my Efcolor powders getting contaminated with mixed colours I got my niece to pour the excess powder onto another sheet of paper. (See below.)

The colours looked so amazing that I decided to have a play with them on some extra copper blanks. In fact, even my mum who hasn't enamelled before decided she fancied having a go! as you can see...

If you use your spatula like a shovel and pick up some of the powder on the end you can tap the spatula over the blank to distribute the powder. And these are all the pieces we ended up with...

Most of the colours are very subtle but it does give you an idea of what you can do by mixing the Efcolor powders. So never throw out old mixed powders as they could be used create some unusual effects or at least as a basecoat before applying the colours of your choice!

Till the next time...

Happy Crafting!

love Fee x

HobbyCrafts Show Follow Up

Hi Everyone!

Hope you are all managing to stay warm in the awful winds and rain we are experiencing in the UK at the moment. For those of you on the other side of the globe... don't forget to slap on the sun screen... and for those who are in the more wintry climes than us... much sympathy and don't forget to wrap up warm!

Now that that's all sorted I've been doing a little experimenting due to a question I was asked at the Hobbycrafts Show which was: Can you use ordinary glitter with the Efcolor Enamelling system? The conclusion I've come to is yes and no. Sorry folks, typically there isn't a straight forward answer. Basically, ye you can use other glitters - some work better than others (in fact some are a definite no no) - but none of them look or feel as good as Efco's Efcolor Glitter powders.

When you enamel with the glitter powders you end up with a beautifully smooth and glittery finish. However, the range is limited. (I shall have to have words with them and see if they can add more to the range, especially irridescent which is my all time favourite glitter.) That said I have tried with various makes and have come to the conclusion that all the glitters work best if you mix them with clear transparent powder before applying them to your blank. Art Institute and Jones Tones glitters which I absolutely love and use in lots of other ways don't appear to be able to cope with the heat as well as some others and can give patchy results. Impex micro fine glitters so far seem to come out tops but again tend to leave a somewhat rough finish.

The first sample is Art Institute Black glitter with clear transparent powder over the top which you can see has started to pull back in places. It is glossy in some areas and looks as if it has started to melt in others.

The second sample is Jones Tones Rainbow-Lites glitter mixed with white and clear transparent which again is ok in places but in others looks as though it has started to melt.

The last sample is Impex Fuschia Micro Fine glitter mixed with clear transparent which gives the most even finish although it is definitely rough compared with the Efcolor Glitter Powders.

Hope that helps anyone who has wondered about using glitters!

Happy Crafting!

Love Fee x

Projects4Crafters.com launch

Hi Everyone

Hello and welcome to the Projects4Crafters.com Crafty Li'l Blog! 

The site launched today and hopefully will grow over the months and years and provide inspiration and crafty hints and tips for anyone who would like to get creative. Do get in touch if you need advice or help with your craft projects - I look forward to hearing from you!

Happy Crafting!

love Fee x