Edwardian Bling

On Saturday, The Geffrye Museum held a Love Day that included some Valentines Crafting. I was asked to run a workshop for teenagers inspired by this beautiful Edwardian picture frame. It is absolutely stunning, the photo doesn't do it justice. It's totally sparkly and seems to be resin coated with gorgeous pearly shells and gold dust. I highly recommend visiting the museum to see it in person.

I came up with this concept to make your own version - participants made 'heart shaped' versions to keep with the Valentines theme but I stuck to having my own leaf frame just because I'm so in love with the original.

To make one, you will need:

• Stiff Card
• Black poster paint
• PVA glue
• Thick gold and pearly glitter (looks more like shreds rather than ordinary glitter)
• Mirror card

1. Draw the shape of frame you want to make on the card and cut it out. You will need to use a combination of a craft knife, scissors and possibly tearing by hand to get through thick card.

2. Then cut a rectangle of card so you have two pieces of card in total.
On this smaller piece draw a window in the centre, either a square or oval like mine, large enough to fit your photo in and cut the centre piece out.

3. Draw an edge around the main frame and along the edge of the centre frame and paint these black.

4. Time to get messy. Work on the two pieces separately, coat them in thick glue and then pour on the glitter - get a full coverage by pressing the glitter into place with your fingers.

5. Cut out some shapes from mirror cards and stick these on randomly.

6. Finish with some more detail in black paint.

Voila, your own antique Edwardian frame, perfect gift for a Valentines gift, maybe for someone in your family. My frame has a very old family photo in it!

Moo-vallous!

Mini Moo cards have been on the scene for a while. They are very popular among crafters but up until now I've not needed a set. I had 400 business cards printed back in 2006, and three years on, I've finally finished them. Sadly I haven't had 400 offers of business but they have been the perfect conversation piece as they featured a 1960s retro Bollywood actress.

Everyone I gave one to thought it was me on the front. So this time I decided to put me on the front for real, along with an image of my work on the back!

Using the Moo website is easy and it's super quick too. They have a range of designs you can pick from (which are actually very tasteful) or you can upload a photo, crop it on screen and design your front and back. They are also very affordable at just £11.99 for 100 (coloured and double sided) but most amazing of all is their mega speedy service.

I ordered my cards on Dec 23rd, one day before Christmas Eve, got an email to say they would arrive on January 6th but then as if by miracle, they appeared in the post on Boxing Day......even though post doesn't get delivered then. Which leads me to believe they actually arrived late on Xmas Eve.....which means they made and sent them on the 23rd.......and not a single bit of Xmas post delay got in the way. Probably the best delivery I've ever had!

I'm such a fan that I've now ordered a sticker book from them as well. They convert up to 90 of your photos into little stickers inside a sticker book for you. I opted for 'my highlights of 2009' photos, it's only £5, so much cheaper than ordering proper print outs, and it will be much more fun 'sticking' them into my new album!