Hi crafters....Dr Sonia here to review an exciting new product called Kraft tex ....every paper-crafter's must have product!!
Being able to work with super tempting new products of my choice is one of the biggest perks of being DT for Shalini's Crafters Corner....Shalini always brings innovative and amazing products for crafters in India! And this is one product which has been selling out so fast that in fact I had to hold on for this post to go live as it had already sold out from Crafters Corner several times!!
Kraft tex is a super special paper which looks and feels like leather, can be die-cut and stamped on like paper and yet is supple and strong like fabric and the ultimate is it can even be washed and ironed!!
Why is Kraft tex so special?
What is so special about Kraft tex and why it is so popular with paper crafters is that it has all the properties of paper which we paper crafters love [can be die cut, stamped, embossed etc] but yet is strong and durable and can take wear and tear. So it is highly popular in making albums, books, bags, wallets and any project which needs to withstand wear and tear!
Kraft tex is sold in huge rolls of 18 x 54 inches and comes in many colors , the most popular being natural and black. I have used natural Kraft tex in my projects as I love the leather look of this shade of Kraft tex. The rolls are huge and value for money as you can create so many projects from a single roll.
Bag Tutorial
When you buy a roll of Kraft tex you even get a free Tutorial with detailed pattern to make a handbag using Kraft tex. Kraft tex is so popular that there are even books of sewing projects using Kraft tex !!
How to Use Kraft tex ?
Kraft tex feels like a thick leather paper. You can cut it with normal scissors and even die cut it with thinlit /wafer thin dies.
Though it already has a lovely leather look and feel, if you want to make it look more like fabric/ leather ...here is how to do it :-
Cut out the required amount, crinkle it, soak or even boil it in hot water and either smoothen it with your hands or iron it and use.
Another way to get a crinkled leather look is to wash it in the washing machine and after drying ,iron it using your iron.
Because of the fibre content in Kraft tex it will not tear even on machine washing...isn't that cool!!!
Cutting ,Scoring and Embossing Kraft tex
Embossing
Because of its unique properties you can score Kraft tex using a bone folder and hence it can be used to easily make the spine of your mini albums.
Also it can be run through an embossing folder to get a lovely embossed texture .
I scored and embossed a piece of Kraft tex to form a sturdy cover for my mini book.Left the spine area unembossed as the spine would look better un textured.
A tip to follow when using Kraft tex in album making is to use wet glue like Aleene's Fast Grab tacky glue rather than red tacky tape as it gives a stronger adhesion.
Here you can see the lovely texture of the Kraft tex on the cover of my mini book.
Mini book
Here is the inside of my mini book/album with pockets and tags.This book was made with a single sheet of 12 x 12 inch pattern paper and has 8 pages with pockets to hold 8 tags. I used 4 x 3 inch piece chipboard on the front and back and wrapped the whole thing in Kraft tex for extra strength.
Here is the Video Tutorial
The spine of my mini book has a golden chain with cute metal charms - a rose and a tiny key. Love the variety of charms in Crafters Corner!
Created the main focal element on the cover by twisting rose buds around a resin heart and adding leaves galore [Cheery Lynn leaves and Heartfelt creations leaves] plus lovely crystal fillers.
All the metal charms and embellishments got a nice rubbing with Inka Gold. Do scroll down the post for links to all the products I have used to make this mini book. Making Monogrammed Luggage Tags with Kraft tex
Luggage tags
Luggage Tags and name tags need to be super strong to sustain daily wear and tear and for this project I die cut Kraft tex using Xcut Luggage Tag dies though you can use any nesting die you have or hand cut your tag shapes.
It is super easy...and in fact I could get nice cuts even without the metal plate adapter. See how clean even the tiny circular apertures on the side have die cut...!
Luggage Tag
Gluing Kraft tex
Gluing Kraft tex
Though Kraft tex has many properties of cloth it is not difficult to glue . I used Aleene's Fast Grab tacky glue not only to glue paper and ribbon to Kraft tex but also one layer for kraft tex to the other. Love this glue which Shalini sent me in my DT pack.It is sticky but not irritatingly sticky if it gets on your fingers, dries fast and is very very strong.
Luggage Tags
Stamping, Inking and Heat Embossing Kraft tex
I wanted to see how well Kraft tex took inks and so stamped on it with a variety of ink-pads including Memento and Archival ink using alpha stamps .Also experimented using Embossing Powders and loved how sturdy the material was in taking the blast from the heat gun.
In the tag below , the central part is normal white card stock I inked with Tea dye and Walnut stain Distress Inks to match the color of natural Kraft tex . The shiny butterfly was made using glass cabochons, mariposa paper and Ultimate Back support.
Dont you just love the variety of charms in Crafters Corner. The golden flower girl is my all time favorite!!The monogram in this tag has gold embossing, outlining with a Sharpie and a die cut felt P. Did you know that Shalini has now brought felt too to Crafters Corner!
