Hazel & Ruby

For several years in my career I was so fortunate to work in the craft and scrapbooking industry.  I’ve been a Buyer for Robert’s Craft Stores and Memories Scrapbook Stores.  I’ve also worked on the manufacturing side of a few scrapbook companies in various positions from design to customer service.  As a Buyer I would review and analyze 100’s of products every day to come up with what I thought were the best products to sell in our stores.  I am constantly keeping my eye on what the trends are and any new products that come out in the market.  It’s fun for me because I also like to craft and DIY in my spare time.  So, when I see new products coming out that I like or hear of a new company that is producing amazing product I want to shout it to the world and especially to our sweet blog followers and friends.

Have you heard of the new company called HAZEL & RUBY?  They are a new company started by two veterans in the paper crafting industry, Lindsay and Jayme.  Together they are adding a refreshing new spin to the crafting and DIY industry with their new products.  You can read more about them on their website or to see them in action watch their segment on My Craft Channel.  I also love their mission statement.

Initially, after reading and checking out their website, I was intrigued!   Jayme was so nice to send me some products to try out and review.  I received three huge sheets of their adhesive-backed STENCIL MASKS, a roll of their CHEVRON NEWSPRINT TISSUE PAPER, and a roll of their WRAP IT UP PAPER.

STENCIL MASKS

In all my years in the industry I have never seen a product like this and I found so many uses for them.  The biggest reason, I feel , they are so great is that they are reusable.  I’ve used stickers and vinyl before to create masks on my projects, but they can never be used again.  Such a waste!  With the STENCIL MASKS I can use them over and over again.  Here, I’ll prove it to you.

I wanted to jazz up this plain old step ladder and just painting it wouldn’t do.

After painting an undercoat of pink I added the STENCIL MASKS and then painted a second coat of the aqua color.  Use a tooth pick to remove the masks.  To keep my masks clean I quickly took a baby wipe and wiped the wet paint off the masks, dried them with a paper towel, returned them to the plastic sheet and “ta da”, they are ready to use again.   After the paint dried I sanded the ladder and it’s ready to be used.

I also had a present to wrap and thought it would be fun to add their name to jazz up the paper.  Using white paper from a roll I got at IKEA I wrapped the box, adhered my STENCIL MASKS, sprayed a color mist over the top of the letters, removed the masks and cleaned them, and let dry.  I then added a bow and it’s ready to be given.  I’m going to keep my roll of white paper and alphabet masks handy.  I have a feeling I’m going to be wrapping presents like this for a long time.  Be sure to rinse your masks when doing this so the fibers from the paper don’t ruin the adhesive.

Another thing I did as I was getting ready for the holidays was to use the masks on my window and spray a snow spray over them to create a wintery design.  So fun!

I also discovered the masks can work on fabric and can also be used as stamps.  Yep!  Here’s a canvas pennant I made for Valentine’s Day.  I just added my masks to my canvas fabric and painted over them.

Here, I added a shape to an acrylic block, rubbed the mask onto a stamp pad, stamped the mask on a piece of cardstock and made hearts for a card.  The masks were thick enough to even do this.

I thought the STENCIL MASKS would make great temporary signs like this sign on a trash can for a party.  I can just remove them when I’m done and reuse them for another project.

TISSUE AND PAPER ROLLS

I use scrapbook paper all the time and most pieces are 12×12.  Sometimes that size just isn’t big enough especially for a home décor project.  Well, these rolls of paper are the perfect solution and measure 18”x48”.  Pretty cool, huh?  I used the tissue paper for this plaque and found it very easy to work with and is durable.  Not only did I decoupage the tissue down, I gathered a strip of it with a sewing machine for the ruffle.  Again, I used the masks and creating my “one little word” for 2014.

I started by painting a piece of wood a dark grey.  Once dry I sanded it lightly and then decoupaged the tissue paper on top (I also painted a coat of the decoupage on top of the paper.).  Let dry.  After placing my masks I painted a light coat of sparkly gold paint over the whole top, removed the masks, and let dry.  I then lightly sanded and added the tissue ruffle and embellishments.  I’m going to place this board where I can see it daily.  (Sorry my picture is so bad.  The colors are black and gold.)

Well, if you can’t tell I’m truly IN LOVE with the new products by HAZEL & RUBY.  They also have new products coming out soon.  Stop by their website and blog to see what they’ve got in store for us and where you can purchase these items and many more.

I’ve got an extra roll of the paper and a sheet of alphabet masks that I would like to give away to one lucky reader.  Please comment below and let me know what you think about these products and what you would use them for.

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