Our offices will be closed for the festive season on 23rd December and will re-open on 3rd January.
We hope you have a Merry Christmas and wish you a very Happy New Year!
Magnets from Wooden Discs
Most people pass the fridge several times a day so it makes sense to use it as a noticeboard to share notes, schedules, shopping lists and dates.
These cute owl decorated wooden discs with Efco’s extra strong magnets are perfect for making sure all your lists stay put.
Materials & Tools needed:
2406502 – Wooden Discs ø 3-5cm
1662012 – Owl Family Tree 3 ply Napkin
1056011 – Extra Strong Magnets ø10mm
1802532 – Comfortline Hobby Scissors
9315210 – Decoupage Medium
1880406 – Synthetic Hair Flat Brush, Gr 6
9311433 – Mixing Palette, 24 x 19cm
1945820 – UHU – Max Repair Extreme Glue
1802830 – A4 Cutting Mat
First cut out the desired owl from the napkin. Remove the back two layers of the napkin so that only the printed upper layer remains.
Brush the wooden disc with a good layer of decoupage medium and lay the owl motif over the top. Pat it down before carefully brushing more decoupage medium over the top.
When dry, fix a magnet to the back of the wooden disc with the adhesive. Leave to dry and you are done!
Nabbi Bead Threading Tool
Nabbi® beads are not just for creating patterns and pictures. You can also use them to not only decorate but also protect headphone cables. In fact any cable which has a diameter not bigger than 2mm can be decorated with Nabbi® beads eg. phone charger cable or mouse cable.
Materials Needed:
Headphones
Nabbi® Beads (1082380)
Nabbi® Bead Steel Tool (1830099)
Comfortline Craft Knife (1802523)
A4 Cutting Mat (1802830)
Use the craft knife to cut one side of the Nabbi® bead.
Slide the Nabbi® bead onto the tool until it opens up the cut.
Insert the cable through the gap created and slide the tool out, allowing the bead to close. Repeat until the cable is covered!
To view our range of Nabbi® beads check out pages 30-34 of The Basics Catalogue
Contact us for more information on the new steel Nabbi® Threading Tool.
Woodies Stamps
Efco are the only UK distributors for Woodies stamps and ink pads.
Manufactured by RoyalPosthumus (one of the oldest and largest stamp manufacturers in Europe) they are made from 100% fair trade, renewable raw materials from European suppliers: FSC-certified beech wood which has been painted with UV-resistant varnish, 2mm of foam rubber and 100% natural rubber.
There are 96 designs in all covering 12 different themes including Wedding, Handmade, Invitation, Baby and Christmas. Each theme is packaged in its own display which is in keeping with the Woodies natural look. The round ink pads, just perfect for Woodies stamps, are available in 25 delicious colours. In 2015 RoyalPosthumus extended their stamp range to include 72 miniature motifs which are available in 8 different collections.
For more information check out the Everything for Paper Catalogue (pages 63.67 – 63.87).
(All images copyright of RoyalPosthumus)
Cork Mobile Case
Working with cork leather is easy as you can see in this craft tutorial from Efco which shows in a few steps how to make a great looking, durable phone case. In fact it’s so easy a child could make it as a gift for Father’s Day!
Materials and tools:
Template
Pencil
Cork Leather, 45 x 35cm, 0.65mm (33 706 ..)
Velcro Fastener 20mm Black (25 520 89)
Scissors Soft-Cut Premium Line (18 029 11)
UHU – Allcraft Transparent Flex + Clean (19 450 40)
Wooden Clothes Pegs 30mm (14 024 01)
Aluminium Ruler, 30cm (18 027 30)
Step 1. First create a template for the phone plus a closing flap. Allow for seams down the sides too. Mark it on the cork leather and cut it out with scissors.
Step 2. Apply a thin line of adhesive (approx. 4mm wide) down the long sides of the cork leather. Leave it until it is touch dry and then squeeze the edges together and secure them with clothes pegs for at least 2 minutes. Leave the short side open.
Step 3. Glue the flap centrally on one side of the phone case. Cut about 2cm of Velcro. Stick the fluffy part at the end of the flap on the underside. Stick the hook part to the corresponding area on the case.
Tip: The phone case can also be sewn with a sewing machine on the denim setting. First place the Velcro on the flap and sew it in position with a zigzag stitch. Sew the other piece on the pocket before sewing the sides together, again with a zigzag stitch.
For more information on the complete range of Cork Leather, Fabric and Paper contact us.
New Stripe Mix available in Nabbi® Beads
Nabbi® Melting Beads now come in a new bag of mixed striped colours which are great for children’s projects and birthday presents.
Here’s a great idea from Efco…
Materials and Tools needed:
Iron and Ironing Pad
Greaseproof Paper
Nabbi® – Melting Beads – Striped Colour Mix – ø5 x H 5mm (1082380)
Nabbi® – Mixed Heart Pegboard 1 (1082222)
Snap Hook with Keyring 50mm (2188350)
Position your chosen Nabbi® beads on the pegboard leaving one peg empty on either the left or right upper area of the heart. Lay the greaseproof paper over the top and iron to fix the beads. After briefly leaving it to cool, carefully remove the beaded heart from the pegboard. Iron the back to stabilise the heart. When cool, push the keyring through the hole left by the missing bead.
Multicoloured Letter Beads
New to Efco for Spring 2016 are multicolour letter, number and sign beads.
The coloured cubes are 6mm whilst the white cubes are 7mm and they come in 30g packs. The beads are 7mm in diameter and come in 85g packs. They can be found on pg 172.34 of the Spring 2016 News Catalogue.
Chalkboard Fabric and Stickers
Another new range to Efco is the Chalk board fabric and stickers which come in various sizes and shapes.
New Felt Shapes for Spring
Efco have some new felt shapes for spring in assorted colours…
For more information check out the News Catalogue for Spring 2016.
Embossing into Efcolor
Crafters can create two different effects when combining Efco rubber stamps with the Efcolor cool enamelling – not just stamping onto the enamelled surface when it is cool but also stamping into it whilst it is hot.
It is worth recommending that customers ink up their stamp with an ink pad as usual when doing this technique as it will help release the stamp from the enamel. If they want to brush acrylic paints or mica into the grooves afterwards then they should use a VersaMark or Clear Emboss ink pad which can be found in the Everything for Paper Catalogue (pgs. 51 & 53). (A baby wipe can then be used to clean the paint etc from the raised enamelled surface.)
If stamping onto the surface when cool crafters need to use a permanent ink pad such as a StazOn found on page 63.55 of the Everything for Paper Catalogue. (To look after their stamps it’s advisable that crafters use the StazOn cleaning fluid before they then either wipe with an alcohol-free baby wipe or wash with light soapy water.)
If embedding crystals into the enamel then it is advisable to use Swarovski flat-backed gems as they do not lose their sharp edges and shine unlike the acrylic gems (pictured above) which will start to melt and give a round domed appearance instead.
3, 4 and 5mm Swarovski flat-backed crystals are available in 15 different colours and can be found on page 121.12 of the Beads and Gems Catalogue.
