Using Brads

What is a brad?
A brad is a bit like the old style of paper fasteners, often used in stationary products and as an alternative way of securing envelopes. It’s a metal pin with two prongs going down its stem and the top can be coloured or decorative. Brads come in all shapes and sizes and are great to use on your scrapbook pages or within your handmade cards. They add colour, texture and charm to layouts and cards. Brads are one of those great embellishments that are both functional and decorative.

How to use brads:
Make a small hole in which to stick the brad through. I use a paper piercer to poke the hole in the paper/card. You could also use a small hole punch, the tip of your scissors or an sharp craft knife. The piercers do make a neater job of it though. Another useful piece of equipment is an old mouse mat – the type that has a spongy underneath. Turn the mouse mat over and place on top of a cutting mat or a magazine - not on directly on your table top! Place your paper/card flat on it and push through your piercing tool. Then insert your brad whilst it is still on the mat. Put the prongs of the brad through the hole and open up the prongs on the backside of the paper.

Brad Buddies™
Brad Buddies™ are lightweight metal shapes held onto paper with brads. To attach a Brad Buddy™, simply place the metal shape on your paper and mark the holes with a pencil. Remove the metal shape and make a hole at the pencil mark. Use the included brads to attach the metal image to your paper.

That’s it!
As you can see brads are really easy to use and require no special tools. That is one of the reasons these little embellishments are gaining so much popularity. Another reason for their popularity is that they are fairly inexpensive too.

A few ideas on how to use brads on your layouts:
connectors on paper piecing for moveable parts
attaching vellum
centre of flowers
centre of letters
spell out words (outline letters)
corners of picture mat
nails in a fence
"stone" in a ring
attach elements on a page by wrapping wire or fibre
to form "bullets" for a list of things
as an accent on the tail of a letter
in the hole of a tag
M & Ms
buttons on a shirt
decorations on an Easter egg
lights on top of a police car or fire truck
the "dot" on an i or j
attach handle to a basket
use as nails on wood
use to embellish the corner of tags, borders or titles
use star brads to replicate a night sky
Buttons on a dress

Most brads are shiny and perfect looking. If you like adding a rustic touch you can sand the top of your brads with sandpaper. This will scratch the brad up and if the colour is painted on it will allow the metal to shine through giving it that great shabby chic look!

If you find yourself in a pinch without the perfect colour of brad for your layout, do not fear. I have painted the tops of brads using regular acrylic paint. You can also use your markers too on silver or gold brads for a great look.
Another trick for brads is heat embossing the tops. Dip the top of the brad into ink and then into embossing powder. Heat with a heating gun and you will have a shiny embossed brad. This is also a great tip for getting the perfect colour to go with any layout. NB Try not to over heat the brad as this can cause it to become fragile and the backs may snap.

When you’re using vellums or some types of delicate ribbons, you’ll find that certain glues show through and can look unsightly. Brads come in very handy in such cases, as they can be used to fix vellums or ribbons to a project instead.

You can also add peel offs and rub ons to the top of some brads…the list really could go on and on!

Happy Crafting!

Summer is almost over

Summer is almost over! Where has this year gone?


With all the changes coming about on Ebay I have been spending way too much time trying to refine our products for the new listing criteria. The fact that I will not be able to list items with immediate purchase that cost less than 99p was a cruel blow. I like being able to offer a choice of 1 metre of this and 1 metre of that. I will of course still be offering this choice on www.kaydees.co.uk but a huge proportion of craft buyers like to mix and match smaller quantities together for certain projects.

Anyway, enough of my moaning!

Our Destination buttons are a fantastic way of preserving memories. Did you have a holiday in New York or the Far East?

Using these themed craft buttons to highlight a page within your holiday scrapbook or memory box is a great start.

Some come with shanks, some don’t. Simply snip the shank off with wire cutters, nail clippers or sharp craft scissors for an instant flatback.

We currently have 10 different destinations to choose from as well as dragons, mermaids, fairies and pirates!

Of course our range of Creative Charms can be used to compliment your memories too as described in our earlier blog.

What a way to preserve your seaside holiday!

Karen x

Beginners guide to embroidery, patterns and fabric

Choose your fabric and a simple pattern. Fabrics made from 100% cotton, such as calico, are the easiest to embroider on for beginners. Remember most patterns are copyrighted and their uses can be restricted so check carefully before using them. There are many free patterns available from talented designers, though as you learn from your new craft you may very well start creating your own designs to use, as I do for some of my hand embroidered cushions.
Trace your pattern onto your fabric using a sharp dressmakers pencil or washable marker.

I use a disappearing marker (or fade away) for my embroidery as I found that sometimes the traced design did not disappear without vigorous washing which is not always practical. You may very well not be able to see the design clearly enough by simply placing it underneath your fabric. If not you can use a well lit window. Tape your pattern to the window pane with masking tape and then tape your fabric over the top. Make sure the design and your fabric are both straight and stretched taut. This will make tracing a lot easier and your design should be clearly visible. Some crafters use a light box to illuminate their pattern but I found these are very expensive for occasional use. Dean made me a simple light box from scraps of wood with a Perspex top and an energy saving bulb within.

Place your embroidery hoop onto your fabric. The fabric should be taut. Always remember to take your fabric out of the hoop when you are not working on it. I always used wooden embroidery hoops until a friend lent me a plastic hoop. I find these hold my fabric much tauter but every crafter has their own preference including lap frames and for larger projects floor frames.

Choose your coloured embroidery threads to compliment your design and fabric. Most embroidery thread, also known as floss, is made up of 6 strands. Use 2 or 3 strands. I always wash red threads before using them as I find they have a higher tendency to bleed. I then rinse the threads with a mild vinegar solution to ‘set’ the colour fastness. I also always use good quality thread such as Anchor or DMC as snagging is less frequent and they are much easier to sew with. I would highly recommend avoiding using metallic threads until your experience has built up and your patience has increased at least tenfold! These threads although very beautiful are very difficult to embroider with due to their delicate make up.

Always, always use a sharp needle!

Crewel needles are used for most embroidery stitches, as the sharp point & large eye make them easy to work with. They are medium- length and are used for embroidery on plain weave fabric. Choose a needle that takes the thread easily. Whilst a small needle will help to keep your work fine, if the needle is too small for the thread you will find it hard to pull the thread through the fabric. Thread your needle and start to embroider using your chosen stitch. I start my embroidery within the main colour area, unlike cross stitch in which you should start work from the centre.

Backstitch is a very simple stitch to master for beginners which I will add instructions on how to do in a later guide.

Using Craftime Creative Charms

When you think of charms you think of jewellery. You may imagine Charm bracelets with multiple charms, each having its own special story or, you may think of a single charm hanging from a necklace.

While these two are probably the more popular uses of charms, they are not the only ones by far.

Creative Charms have gained in popularity for their wide range of uses. Creative Charms are very high quality, three dimensional metal charms with intricate detailing. All Creative Charms come with a metal fixing ring and many pieces come with beautifully coloured enamel and inlaid crystals as shown below.


Many people passionate about crafts have found various ways of using charms besides the typical ones. Charms can be used for adding a special touch when card making , on bookmarks, in scrapbook pages, as mobile phone embellishments, adding to home soft furnishings (they can even be put onto curtain tie backs),as wine glass charms …..the list could go on and on!


Scrapbooking is a very popular past time. Hours are spent making the family pictures reflect the emotions felt the day they were taken. By placing a charm of a swimsuit next to the page with your child's first visit to the beach, or a love heart next to the picture of you and your partner you will add that little bit of sparkle needed to complete the page.


If you are looking for a unique fund raiser, think about using Creative Charms. You will find that the added touch of Creative Charms will increase the appeal of your product and will, in turn, increase the amount of money you earn for your cause.


I have one customer that adds Creative Charms to handmade mobile phone ‘socks’, another that uses Creative Charms in tiny bracelets for Reborn babies and yet another who used Creative Charms on literally everything for her Wedding Day, from the invitations to the beautiful handcrafted vellum wine glass tealight shades.

Charms can be used in or on anything that your creative imagination can come up with.

It is important to keep in mind, no matter what the craft is or what charm is used, that the charm is lead free. Lead has been found in imported charms. Please make sure that you know where your charms came from and that they are free of lead.

Creative Charms are all lead free.

Fibromyalgia

I woke up this morning and switched the PC on as usual.

I had a very sad message from a lady who lives in Spain. On Ebay I have created a page to try and describe fibromyalgia and how if affects me. I did not want it to be all doom and gloom but a way to show fellow sufferers that they are not going mad, the pain is real but you can work through it and around it. Anyway back to the lady who wrote to me. This lady has had several operations, both hips replaced and lives on pain killers. Her pain is undoubtedly worse than I suffer but she still continues to fight and live life as normal as possible.

Everyday I see or hear of people fighting pain, discomfort and disability to live a 'normal' life.

Another lady was in a horrific car accident last year that has meant she has had to give up work. Not content with sitting alone everyday whilst her children are at school and her husband is at work, she has decided to start her own business making handmade cards, wedding stationery and other crafts. As well as being very good at what she does, it is also a form of therapy (although she may not even realise it yet). Crafting takes your mind elsewhere and focuses you on other things. I am helping this lady get to where I am now. I have given her advice and encouragement and in return I have her friendship and trust. How wonderful is that!?

Another of my customers is a very talented, compassionate and dedicated crafter who helps others to express their thoughts and feelings through art and crafts. Whenever I have goods that I feel would be helpful I package them up and send them off to her.

In my attempt to help I have decided to use my own website to help promote fellow crafters. Be they disabled mentally or physically, looking for a new source of income or just crafting because they love it. The UK is filled with many talented people, courageous people and thoroughly NICE people.

Our communities are slowly eroding and people are becoming more and more isolated. Being online is a terrific way to get support and encouragement from other people you may not otherwise ever get the chance to meet. So for people like Patricia, Denny, Mel, Tamsin and many many others long may we continue to craft, share and discover.