Unpacking a Parcel from Dala

I recently received a parcel from Dala and had no idea what was going to be inside it. This meant that unpacking it was very exciting. My nine year old niece was with me when I unpacked the box and I don't know which one of us had the most fun. I decided to share the joy of this with you, so you would know what you had to look forward to in blogs to come. Throughout the blog I will be introducing the items and giving short explanations of their uses, making this a fact-filled blog. What better day to share the unpacking of a gift box than on my birthday? The blog was not accidentally scheduled for today! What I love about Dala is that they are a local company and that means that their prices are very good. But don't for one instant think that it means you will be getting a mediocre product. On the contrary, I am convinced they compete very well with any of the established foreign brands.

Honestly, the first bit of joy starts when you see this brand on the outside of the box. You just know that sheer pleasure awaits on the inside.

Layers of goodness to explore! I did not stand a chance. My niece settled herself on top of the table and did the unpacking herself. I was handed the products with loads of comments about what we could do with it. I took mental notes.

This packet of pom-poms was a hit with the nine-year old. She assured me that this was high on the agenda of things that had to be opened first.

The only thing better than pom-poms could be packets that glittered with Rhinestones.

The very next day the two of us sat together and she made an underwater scene with a treasure chest where the precious stones lay scattered around the chest. It goes without saying that she also needed to include the skull of a dead pirate in the scene!

Did you notice how she managed to add a few pom-poms to the scene as well?

I had cut a number of items from the foam rubber included in the parcel and she was given free reign with the off-cuts. She cut the grotto, the chest, the rocks, the sun and one of the clouds from these. Ingenious, isn't she?

You will want to get your hands on one of these brilliant craft knives. When it comes to precision cutting, I found the knife to be brilliant for cutting the foam rubber and even the Styrofoam!

Something else that was included in the parcel, was this tub of clay. It has a soft, almost creamy texture that responds brilliantly to the touch and is easy to knead and shape as you like.

I kneaded a little bit of the clay, rolled it out and then used a cookie cutter on it to cut 4 hearts from it. Leave it to dry overnight and the next day it will be hard enough to paint (if you want to) and use in another project! I recommend using Dala Craft paint to paint the clay with.

I bet you can't tell what this is. There are not mere ice cream sticks, but in fact they are cut from foam rubber! I can't wait to use them!

Something else that was included in the parcel is this packet with 5 felt sheets. I know exactly what I want to do with this. Now this will be a blog that you will truly enjoy if you have smaller kids. But I don't want to say too much. I'll make sure I keep you informed through all the normal channels. Alternatively, you can subscribe to receive the blogs in your email inbox. Drop me a note if you need some assistance with that.

Then we got to the Fabric range. Oh what joy! Let me start with these Fabric markers.

The colors of the markers match the colors of the paints exactly, making it marvelously easy to seamlessly integrate the different mediums in one project. I also loved the precision tip on the markers.

The paint flows through the tip in a pump action. Press the tip down and the paint will flow freely. It can be heat set, just like the Fabric Paint.

I tested the markers on sheeting. Look at that writing! What more could one ask for?

I almost take it for granted that everybody must be familiar with Dala's brilliant range of Fabric Paints. Then I remember that a number of my readers live in very remote areas. What I love about these is the fact that they are colorfast, wash very well (once the paint has been heat set) and comes in such a wide range of lovely colours! And if they don't have the colour you're looking for (which is almost impossible!) then the colours mix very well, allowing you to create your own colour. Simply wash your wash your brushes in water and you are ready to paint another day.

Just look at these beautiful vibrant colours.

Or perhaps you fancy these ones better? And then there are so many more colours to choose from! It makes your head spin.

This is a product I was unfamiliar with, but I was thrilled to discover. This transparent Fabric Liner actually washes out, even after the colours have been heat-set. Wow! Now you can have that perfect line to work with, without it being a permanent fixture after the paint work is done!

I drew a circle with the liner and waited for it to dry.

These Fabric Markers had me very excited.

I drew this neat circle with the three liners. Isn't that wonderfully precise and neat?

At some point my mom came out to see what caused all the excitement in the studio. She became so enthralled by what she saw, that she grabbed those Fabric Liners and started drawing designs in the circle I had made with the transparent liner, mistakenly thinking I was done with it. I did not mind one little bit. This is the nature of the products. You simply HAVE to try them and resistance is futile.

I simply drew another circle with the Transparent Liner and painted it with Fucia once it was dry.

The circle I had drawn with the colored liners were painted with Teal and Orange. Pity it got smudged when a crowd of nosy onlookers came around, but fortunately this was simply a trial exercise. So, no harm done.

Another product I was completely unfamiliar with was the Fabric Spray.

I discovered that you had to keep the bottles a fair bit away from the fabric when spraying it, or you would get those ugly blotches. But once again the colors matched the paints perfectly and if you held the bottles at the right distance, you got the most beautiful even spray you could wish for.

And when I lifted the bottles away, I discovered this pattern and endless possibilities opened up instantly! Just wait till I do an actual project with these instead of just a testing blog!

If you have ever tried to glue anything onto Styrofoam (or Styrofoam onto something else), you have probably discovered that some glues actually melt the Styrofoam. This is why I was so thrilled to discover a bottle of Styrofoam Glue in the box.

I used the Styrofoam Glue to stick a Styrofoam frame to a backing paper. The frame was painted with Dala Craft Paint.

Dala Craft Paint adheres beautifully to a wide range of surfaces and comes in a brilliant range of colours.

I had this wooden block floating around the studio that I had painted with Gesso a few weeks before. I decided to test the Craft Paint on this.

I started with Purple.

This was followed by the delectable Custard.

Now came Burnt Orange.

These were crossed with Warm Red when dry. See how the colours affect each other when painted one over the other. Brilliant!

The one colour in the parcel that I did not use on the wooden block, is possibly my personal favorite and it is called Duck Egg. I used it on this masonite square, along with some Washi Tape. Isn't it beautiful?

Have you noticed how I kept turning my bottles upside down? The reason is that I am in LOVE with those colors!

How many of the items sent in the parcel can you spot that has been used in making this project?

For more crafty ideas and great products, visit APrettyTalent.com.
Remember to keep nurturing your TALENT for making PRETTY things.
You can subscribe to this blog and receive regular updates by email by simply registering your email address at the top of the current blog.