As you may have guessed already, I love mulberry flowers. So much so, that I knew for a very long while that I wanted to make flowers staple in Craft Box but also to create our very own range. What came out of this wish is a box dedicated to mulberry flowers – Craft Box Flowers.
We are working with three factories in Thailand which are making these gorgeous flowers for us. Each flower box will contain six packets of flowers, occasionally, we may have five packets and a set of mulberry leaves. Here are the pictures showing our very first box and how we packed them:
The next Flowers box is releasing on 1st November and will be available here:
I have been having a not-so-secret love affair with the micro beads lately. I love everything about them and the versatility of them as a craft product. Lets have a closer look at what types of micro beads are available for us crafters to enjoy!
Metallic micro beads
These are fully opaque micro beads covered in metallic coating. They come in a variety of colours with gold ones being the most popular. These beads are also the most commonly available and often cheapest of all the kinds. They look great on more rustic projects especially whenever other metallic mediums are used like metallic paints of liquid leaf.
Translucent micro beads
These are some of the hardest to find especially if they are see-through, glass like quality. Translucent micro beads can be either clear or tinted with colour but they always look like a tiny droplets of coloured rain. As translucent beads are lacking any opacity they pick up colour from underneath really well and are perfect to add to pieces featuring a lot of watercoloring, pigments or sprays.
Pearlescent micro beads
Pearlescent micro meads are semi-translucent and they look a little milky upon closer inspection. They are coated with the pearl finish and look lovely on stronger coloured pieces kept in the same colour scheme as the beads used.
Iridescent micro beads
Iridescent micro beads are similar to the translucent ones – they are see-though however, on top of the colour they are also iridescent so display different colours depending on the light angle. Iridescent beads look great on the multi-colour projects where they can compliment different shades and hues.
Larger size micro beads
All micro beads mentioned above were of a smilier size, between 0.4 and 0.6mm. However, on the market you can also find a larger size beads which are around 1mm.
So what can you use the micro beads for? Plenty of wonderful things! Here are some of the ideas:
Adhering to the mixed media canvas to add interest and highlight key areas or to create texture
Mixing with texture paste and using through the stencil
Filling the vials & bottles
Creating a special effect flowers
Sprinkling on top of the glue covered die cut to add interest (clear translucent beads)
Here are some project created using the micro beads:
I hope you find this post helpful! Craft Box will be adding new lines of micro beads to it’s Craft Box Minis line frequently so do stop by here now and again to check what’s new. New line of iridescent micro beads is launching on Saturday 3rd September!
I have some exciting news for you – Craft Box has its own design team! Yay! I have received over 50 entries for the Craft Box Design Team and selected 6 wonderful crafters to design for Craft Box this summer. Here they are!
Row 1: Claire, SuzeJo, Tracy
Row 2: Linda, Marie, Julie
Here are a few words from our new designers about how they got into crafting:
Claire Chapman
I never crafted as a child as I’d always been told I was useless at art but started doing a little sewing about 20 years ago. I started stamping about 10 years ago now and I’m totally hooked. I don’t think I have a particular style but I do love mixed media projects and I adore colouring. I trained as a nurse and now work in mental health so crafting is my escape after a hectic day at work.
SuzeJo O’Connell
I started crafting many years ago, well as a child really. Â I then became a nurse and used crafting as therapy with my Mental Health patients and it just envolved into what I do now….. my passion is altered art and i spend hours in charity shops finding bargains so I can duff them up, distress them and bring them back to life!
Tracy Hill
I worked full-time as a window dresser and traveled quite a lot so was very much on the go all the time, until I had my daughter. I became a stay at home mum and got bored so thought I would try crafting.  Through crafting I meet the most fantastic friends you could ask for that kept me crafting through good and bad times.
Linda Grover
I started crafting as therapy to escape from the stress of dealing with my daughter’s autism and learning disabilities. Now we craft together at our local craft shop at least 3 times a week and have met some wonderful, talented people.
Marie Willetts
My crafting story started in 2004 when I saw a scrapbooking demonstration on a well-known shopping channel. It was soon-to-be my sister’s 21st birthday and I thought it would be nice to give her a Scrapbook so I got busy creating one. Back then, all you needed was a piece of background paper, cardstock to matt your photo, a few simple embellishments and alphabets for your title. Now, 12 years on, my scrapbooking style has evolved and I use lots of different mixed media techniques such as painting, spritzing, pasting and stamping. Why do I love it so much? Well, one of the main reasons is because I get to relive happy memories and reminisce about the joyful times in my life. Scrapbooking makes me appreciate the small things in life like a single moment or saying. I can preserve and treasure it forever!
Julie McCaffery
I started crafting as a teenager, making rag dolls to earn extra pocket money to pay for my pony`s weekly keep and have been crafting ever since! I am happiest when I am creating, it helps me to get through tough times as it is the best therapy.
Here are some beautiful, May Craft Box project the DT team created already:
It feels like forever since I wrote a blog post last and now I’m fully intending to go back to blogging. Things have been happening in the Craft Box emporium!
The April Craft Box has been shipped and received a few weeks ago and got such a warm reception. I have a secret to let you on – I’m myself not a biggest fan of the sea theme but even  I loved all the embellishments, shells and charms! I heard similar reviews from many Craft Box customers which is lovely and only shows the real spirit of Craft Box – Discover. Create. Share. It’s all about learning new techniques and getting outside of your comfort zone – this is what makes us all better, more skilled crafters!
Whilst I’m excited that the box was received so warmly, I’m equally excited to let you know that one of the wonderful craft bloggers and YouTubers, Amanda also known as Lolli Lulu Crafts has kindly reviewed the April Craft Box and filmed her reaction to the box opening! It’s a treat to watch and I’m so pleased that both Amanda and her viewers enjoyed opening of the box. Here is the video if you would like to catch up!
I am hoping that Amanda and I will work together again in the future. Amanda will soon be sharing a project she created using her April Craft Box goodies so please do subscribe to her to see what she makes. I cannot wait to see it myself! If you are interested in checking out Amanda’s blog, it can be found here.
Have a wonderful day and I will soon be back with some more May Craft Box excitement as well as Design Team and Craft Stamper collaboration news!
Wow, it has been one of those weeks and weekends. Lots of things happening outside of Craft Box but equally much is happening with and around Craft Box.
We have been packing the March Craft Box and I’m so pleased with the progress. We have 10 products packed now with 5 more to go. The March Craft Box boxes arrived as well and they are beautiful! I’m using a new printer following issues with the previous one and I could not be happier:
Whilst we have been packing, the Craft Box storage room was being created. I am so pleased that in is finally done. I have so much more storage and more working space. The units on the right side are the Really Useful Boxes units – these will be full of boxes once the RUBs are delivered.
If you are not a part of the Craft Box newsletter you may not have heard about Anna’s Picks and Craft Box Replay. I am so excited to see these two ideas taking off! Anna’s Picks is a part of the Craft Box website where I recommend old and new products I love. I have been crafting for over 10 years now and through that journey arrived to many favourites. It is so exciting to be able to offer them to the Craft Boxers!
Craft Box Replay contains all product leftovers from the previously released boxes. I love it! Due to the minimal order quantity I need to go by, I often have an odd number of products left after the box is shipped. I’m so glad that I can offer specific products you may have fallen in love with. It also helps me greatly as, despite of the new storage room, the space is still in short supply so it’s great to be able to free it up for the next month’s products.
I shall finish here for today. Thank you for reading and for being a part of this crazy but exciting Craft Box journey!
I hope you are all well. I’m here today with a very exciting report from our last night’s online event – the first ever! At 5pm on Saturday 23rd January we crafted live with January Craft Box and I streamed my crafting and chatter to everyone via YouTube.
I have to say – I loved every minute! We had 32 of you joining with average watch time being over 20 minutes which I think is brilliant. The event lasted for just under two hours. We chatted, laughed and I even sung. There has been so much positive feedback following this event that I will make sure it will happen again, perhaps even monthly! Thank you so much to all of you who joined, watched and chatted!
If you would like to have a look at the event and perhaps join me next time (if you haven’t) here is the event page with all the lovely feedback:
I have also received many beautiful pictures of your creations!
For those of you who asked, I have used the following products:
Card:
January Craft Box Bicycle Wood Veneer, Novelty Sequins, Paper set, Heidi Swapp stamp, Resin crystals, Leaves, Flowers, Ribbon (from packaging). A handful of January Craft Boxes is available on a back order basis here.
Adhesives: Glossy Accents by Ranger, Tape runner (not branded)
Canvas:
January Craft Box papers, tissue paper, bicycle wood veneer, enamel dots, resin crystals, crystal spray, crackle beads, leaves, flowers, hemp twine from packaging. A handful of January Craft Boxes is available on a back order basis here.
Texture: Golden Gel Medium Crackle Paste
Stencil: Tim Holz Collection Bubble THS002
Adhesives: Multi Medium Matte by Ranger, Glossy Accents by Ranger
Paints: Wickes Durable Matt in Cream (sample pot of wall paint), Lumiere by Jacquard in 555 Halo Pink Gold mixed with LuminArte Primary Elements clear medium, LuminArte Silks Acrylic Glaze in Rustic Rose (canvas) and Vintage Mint (hemp twine).
Desk (picture credit Craftaholics Anonymous, sadly this is not my room but I do have the same desk). Desk is not available in UK, I was super lucky to find mine at storage4crafts.co.uk and as it was a factory second I got mine very cheap too. Keep an eye on their website as they sometimes have great deals on their seconds and end of line products.
Happy New Year to all of you. I hope you had a lovely Christmas as well. I have been off work for nearly three weeks and spent a lot of this time working on our January Craft Box. It’s been fun but it has also been a hard work! I will soon put together a post talking about how the January box went.
For now, the focus and spot light is on the February Craft Box which has been announced on 8th January. I have planned so many beautiful products inside of the February Box – glass bottles, lace, lots and lost of charms, gears (of course!) flowers, papers… the list goes on. I can talk about the February craft Box for ages but since the picture says more than a 1000 words, here are some pictures. If you are interested in our February Craft Box, it is still available on our website. But do hurry up – we are likely to be sold out in the next few days!
Wow! As all December Craft Boxes have been posted and started getting delivered I got a bit nostalgic. Wow! It’s been a great journey so far. Yes, sometimes stressful and sometimes tiring but I really enjoyed it overall. Lets look back at the making of December Craft Box…
I started planning the December Box right after the November boxes were posted. In retrospective, it was probably too late and January Box has been planned so much earlier because I know better now!
The theme of December Craft Box, Ornately Vintage, came to me really easily – I love vintage and LOVE everything that’s ornate. There were items in my craft stash that I knew will be perfect for this box. I reached out to my suppliers as soon as I could to order extra quantity, enough to fill all the December boxes.
I had my mind set on a few things this month – I wanted the box to be white to symbolise the snow and to contrast with the red tissue paper and packaging. Even though the box was not Christmas themed, I still included a few Christmas touches and more than anything I wanted to have a way of wishing you all Merry Christmas – hence the little journaling cards and the cute Christmasy pegs!
If you are wondering what it takes to put a Craft Box together, I can confidently say – it takes more time, research and effort than I thought! It takes around 15-20h to research products and purchase anything that’s pre-made. Then the packaging needs to be designed and ordered. Craft Boxes and postage boxes are ordered along with cello bags and packaging tape. Then everything needs to be packaged – and with me being a perfectionist, it all needs to look beautiful and should be visually pleasing! All handmade products need to be created – in December Craft Box, each resin frame took nearly 24h to make!
Once all is done and packaged in cello bags, I write your cards and create the “what’s inside of your box” info sheet. All products are put in the boxes, wrapped in tissue paper and sealed. Your Craft Box is ribbon tied. Your cards and gifts either go inside the box or are put on top of it. Posting box is sealed, I handwrite your postage label and then the boxes are posted. Phew!
Bring on January Craft Boxes!!!
Here are some pictures I took when working on your December Craft Box:
Craft Box UK Blog 