Good and bad news, but only one layout!!!!

This morning I woke up with a couple of objectives in mind.

1) Create a layout for Let's Scrap sketch 5-7-10.

2) Use my brand new heat embossing ZAP tool. I bought the tool with a set of embossing powders a few months ago in a steal from Crafty Steals, and I only realised I needed embossing inks once the tool got home and I read the instructions. So I had to wait for a few more months until a friend travelled to the States and got me the ink. Today, everything was ready to start heat embossing!

Since all the birthday patterned papers I had were VERY busy, I decided to create my own embossing some birthday stamps on plain cardstock. I cut the cardstock, stamped and powdered the designs and turned on my heat tool. After less than a minute, it stopped working. I had forgotten the voltage difference! I know the US has 110 and we have 220, and I have an adaptor for other appliances, but for a fatal minute it slipped my mind. Even the plastic began to melt! Bye, bye brand new heat-embossing tool. And now it may be months until I get a new one... that was, of course, the bad news.

And here is the layout:

The good news is that while I was looking for a way to make the candle flames, I started playing around with some leftover crepe paper strips from a previous layout (they were still on my work table - oh, the mess on that table!) and discovered that by twisting the crepe paper strips you can make something that looks like yarn but is much softer and easier to work with. I made fabulous candles with the yarn and also used it to "sow" a circle around the title! I have been thinking of many uses, and, considering crepe paper is one of the few materials I can buy in a local shop, I will definitely use this technique again in the future! Here's a closer look at my candles, aren't they cute?