Barbara Gray Blog

Thursday’s Blog is always Blue, so here’s a cool blue piece,  which – how shall I put it?  evolved. Shall we start with a blank white piece of Claritycard? Here’s what else I used: 3 remountable Ducks Claritystamp Set Large Sapling Tree Small Sapling Tree Both Trees Very Special Offer  Claritymat A3 Moon masks Low-tack masking tape Brayer Juniper Adirondack Denim Adirondack Denim Blue Promarker Black Micron Pen. Ready? Steady? Go! Run Low-tack masking tape around all 4 sides of the …

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Hello there! Wednesday’s Blog is something new, so at the risk of putting the mat among the pigeons, I would like to introduce you to our brand new Clarity Blending Mats. I got my thinking cap on with this.  Thought it might be cool to include more than one function.  You know what we’re like at Clarity;  always at the cutting edge! So let’s take a closer look… One side has a deckle-edge. Great for tatty tearing card and paper….

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Tuesday’s blog rolls back the hours and is the day we look at aspects of business, where Clarity has come, and where I was at the time! I know that many of you reading this are building your own businesses, one step at a time. That is Brave and Brilliant! But always bear this in mind: If it were that easy, everybody would be doing it. And actually, I think it’s getting tougher out there. To my mind, creating a…

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Good morning on a rainy Monday! Yuk.  So here’s a colourful card, to lift your spirits. A Poppy Pop-up Card! I love Pop-up cards. They take a little time,  but what a delightful keepsake they turn out to be! Look tricky. Aren’t. I used: Tall Wild Poppies  Wild Poppies Base Poppies (BOTH Sale) Old Mill Barrow Field Mouse 1 Field Mouse 2 Poppy Promarker 50 x A5 Theuva Card. Craft Scalpel Espresso Adirondack Lettuce Adirondack Scoreboard and folder. Clarity Stencil brushes…

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It’s Sunday, it’s a simple step by step, and I hope with all my heart that your house is safe and dry, and NOT flying away, up in the clouds! So what do we need? Curved street The miniature set of Village stamps The remountable Happy Words A5 ClarityCard – the coated stock Black Adirondack ink pad Cloudy Blue Adirondack ink pad Juniper Adirondack ink pad Versamark ink pad Cotton wool ball Speedball Brayer Scissors Post-Its Black Micron Pen First I did…

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Hello there! Happy Saturday to you. Now Saturday’s blog is a new technique, so I thought we could take a look at some good old vintage gold leaf edging.  You will need: On Your Special Day Claritystamp Floribundance Claritystamp However you Spend it Claritystamp Crafty Notions Glue Gold Gilding Flakes Versamark Ink Pad Detail Gold embossing powder Heatgun. Talc + Brush Here’s how. Screw up a piece of copy paper.  Squirt some Craft Notions Glue onto the craft mat and …

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Friday’s Blog a Private Peek,  so I have a confession to make…  I have had to eat so much Pizza over the past few years, dare I admit this…  said quietly,  so nobody hears it… that I am about to squeeze myself into Spanx (although I don’t imagine these two pictured here have ever even smelt Pizza, let alone tasted it!) Anyway, back to Pizza. All sorts.  Not too fussed about the toppings,  although I do favour American Hot.  They…

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Thursday’s Blog is something blue, so I decided to log the Gelli Plate demo I did on Sunday with the lovely Magpie Stencils. Not everybody watches telly, you know! And I really would like to catalogue the technique here. I was so happy it came out well! I used: The 3 Magpie Stencils. They come individually. There are 2 parts to each stencil –  the inny and the outy. Magpie Stencil No. 1 Magpie Stencil No. 2 Magpie Stencil No….

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Hello there! On Wednesday’s blog, we look at something new.  So how about a rare sight? Inky fingers? Me? Every so often, I get covered. But I had fun, and Imperial Leather gets this off easily. If you were watching the Clarity Show on TV on Sunday, you will have noticed me using some little bottled inks. Basically, they are Adirondack ink pads in bottles. Ranger used to sell them as Inkabilities, but for some strange reason discontinued them. At which point…

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Tuesday’s Blog rolls back the hours, and takes a look behind the scenes at Clarity, where we were and how we got here!  Last Tuesday, we talked about P for Progress, and how, after years of pedalling like a lunatic, just making ends meet and raising a family, the pages of the Corporate Clarity chapter began to unfold.  When I started demonstrating them on Create & Craft, our Claritystamps finally got the recognition they deserved, and what was a tiny…

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