Cool2Cast eBook Review

Hi everyone, I am so excited to be participating in a blog hop with Tiffany Windsor’s Cool2Cast  products and Bella Craft Quarterly. 

I  had the pleasure of working with Cool2Cast products recently so when the opportunity came to participate in a review of Tiffany's ebook, I was thrilled. The book has an amazing variety of projects from jewelry to canvases and more.  At over 100 pages, you can truly get a feel for using Cool2Cast.

The book begins with a warning that Cool2Craft is addictive and I will advise that is definitely true!  
I had never worked with Cool2Cast before so I was definitely intrigued with the product.    Cool2Cast is a product similar to Plaster of Paris - you just mix it with water and pour it into a mold - and you can use any flexible mold you desire.  Tiffany sent me an assortment of pre-casted molds of flowers, leaves and butterflies to work with and I created this canvas which can be found in Tiffany's book.

It is very easy to add color to the casted items and add assorted details from findings to buttons to beads to hangers and more.  It's easy to experiment and see what you can create.  I added color to my pieces using Ann Butler's Crafter's Ink from ColorBox which I mixed with a little water and then painted on each piece.

This book is very well written, the instructions are clear and easily explained,  and Tiffany provides many tips throughout the book.   There are lots of step by step photos to guide you along your casting journey. 

Please stop by the Cool2Cast blog to find reviews by other designers as well as a chance to win some amazing products.

Cool2Cast - http://cool2cast.com

 

Bella’s Website- bellacraftsquarterly.com

Thanks for stopping by today.

Steph
 

 

My Butterfly Garden with stamps and inks

Hi everyone.  Last month I was fortunate to participate in a blog hop between Ann Butler Designs and Cool2Cast.

Cool2Cast is a product similar to Plaster of Paris that you just mix with water and pour into a mold.  However, it is much lighter than Plaster of Paris and has a nice porcelain finish when dry.  Mix with water in a Ziploc bag; pour and wait approximately one hour before removing from the mold and then let it dry completely before coloring.  The cold cast designs you can create are amazing - and you can use any flexible mold.

I was lucky enough to receive this wonderful butterfly.

 

Using Ann Butler's ColorBox Crafters Inks in Limelight, Tangelo, Berry and Lilac, I put some colors on a craft mat, spritzed them with water and then painted the butterfly. 

Using my finger, I painted Aquamarine Iridescents on the outer layer.

Using Unity's 2" Stripes, Dots and Hearts rubber stamps with Ann Butler's Aquamarine Crafter's Ink, I stamped around the exterior.  Because of the uneven surface, I used the stamp without a block. 

 

 

Now that it's finished, it's perfect for my yard.

 

 

I hung it on a garden stake.  And now it sits pretty in my garden.

What do you think?  I think I'm hooked on Cool2Cast and need to play some more.  I have lots of molds I can use.

 

Steph

 

Ann Butler and Cool2Cast blog hop

Hi everyone, this month the Ann Butler Design Team is working with products from Cool2Cast.  

Cool2Cast is a product similar to Plaster of Paris that you just mix with water and pour into a mold.  However, it is much lighter than Plaster of Paris and has a nice porcelain finish when dry.  Mix with water in a Ziploc bag; pour and wait approximately one hour before removing from the mold and then let it dry completely before coloring.  The cold cast designs you can create are amazing - and you can use any flexible mold.

I received an assortment of floral designs to work with  and created this dream canvas.

I began by spritzing the canvas with  water, then painted ColorBox  Crafter's Ink by Ann Butler in Aquamarine and Limelight on the canvas.  The water on the canvas allowed the ink to flow freely across the surface so I could get gradient colors.  I placed the canvas aside to dry while I prepared my other elements.

This Cool2Cast flower is very pretty (unlike my photo).   In order to get into the crevices, I spritzed the flowers with water, then used an art dauber with Berry Ink to add color. 

 Lilac and Berry inks were added to additional flowers.  Limelight and Sunshine were used on the leaves.  I stamped several floral stems on the canvas with Limelight Ink, then adhered the flowers and leaf.     To simulate grass along the bottom edge, I used the 2" Leaves all over stamp set.

 

 

Tangelo, Sunshine, Turquoise and Lilac were painted on the butterfly after first mixing the inks with water.  I just love the effect these inks have on the products.   The butterfly's tail was created by adding Dew Drops from the Robin's Nest.

 

 

For some more dimension, I used stamps from the 2" Stripes. Dots. and Hearts  stamp set and the 2" Doily Picnic stamp set, stamping them around the edges of the canvas in Aquamarine and Limelight.  Then added some Lawn Fawn stickers to spell out "dream" across the top of the canvas.

 

Be sure to stop by everyone's blog and see what they've done with these fabulous products --

Ann Butler
Ava Gavloski
Beth Watson
Carmen Flores Tanis
Connie Hall
Irit Shalom
Kristi Parker Van Doren
Larissa Pittman
Lisa Rojas
Roberta Birnbaum
Steph Ackerman       HERE
Tiffany Windsor
Vishu Reberholt

What's a blog hop without a prize package and leaving some comment love on every blog.

To Enter for the giveaway please leave a comment.  For each blog you leave a comment on, your name will be entered into the giveaway drawing, so be sure to check out the entire Blog Hop for more chances to win!

 Thanks for stopping by today.

 

Steph