Travel Mini Album

Before we went away for our trip to the UK, I made a mini album for the friend who was going to travel with us. This was her first trip to the UK so I wanted to help her to remember it with a special journal/album.
I have been very inspired by Anne at www.annespapercreations.com as she makes the most amazing mini-albums, specialising in using Graphic 45 papers.
Having watched many of her videos - which are fantastic as she goes through every step involved in making the albums, I decided to have a go at creating one for myself.
I took several photos of the finished album for my friend, and decided to make these into a video instead of putting every picture on the blog.
The papers I used were mainly from Kaisercraft and I used several Tim Holtz stamps and dies as well as using the Cricut to cut several little mini-books and folders to put into the album.

The video is short but it shows all the pages and inserts I made for the album. Each page has two different sides as well as an envelope between to insert a bigger mat for photos and journalling.

Terrific Tuesday Die Cut and Stamp Challenge Reminder

Just a reminder that the Terrific Tuesday Die Cut and Stamp Challenge over at PCW ends next week.
The theme for the fortnight has been Dr Suess and Reading and Melin has created some wonderful digital stamps and cutting files that you can get here.

I made this cute pop-up box card using a Sam I Am digital stamp that had been pre-coloured (you can download them coloured). I cut the image out and attached it to the pop-up piece of the card.

I cut the card using a cutting file I designed using Funtime 2010 software and cut it out using the Black Cat. I also cut the layers on the cut with the Black Cat then embossed them using the Cuttlebug. Added some dimension with distress inks.

The top layer on the pop-up piece was stamped with a bubble wrap stamp from Kaisercraft that I bought on Saturday. Edged the piece with distress inks before attaching it to the back.

I printed the sentiment using word art then cut it with a circle die and cut a backing using a scalloped circle. Embossed the edges of both before adding a bit of distress ink.

The card folds down flat for posting, as shown in the picture to the left. To open it up, simply pull the stand up piece out from the centre of the box.

I have done a video on making the pop-up box card and you can see it here.

I really encourage you to pop over to Paper Crafting World to have a look at the lovely files (and a freebie as well) that Melin has created to celebrate Reading and Dr Suess' birthday. She has also done some great St Patrick's day files.

Advent Calendars

I have been busy making some advent calendars for the family to enjoy during December.

Both are made using the Advent Calendar Kit from Kaisercraft. I stained the wood using vintage photo distress stain then fitted the pieces together.

For this one, I used a 12x12 sheet that I cut down to fit the back of the box and lined the edges of the box with the same paper. I made a tree using a Nellie Snellen die, fitting 4 trees together and added little gold ornaments and a star. Made little presents to put under the tree. Along the top of the box, I placed three poinsettia flowers that I cut from SVG Cuts file - 3D Wintergreens.

I got a little more adventurous with this one! I cut some little house frontages using the Christmas in the Village set from SCG Cuts. To make them stand up, I made little boxes from acetate and attached the houses to these, then glued them into the box.
The tree is made with the smaller of the tree dies from Nellie Snellen. I cut 8 trees and folded them in half and glued them all together to make the 3D tree. I also cut a couple of sets of houses using the Tim Holtz on the edge die and glued them behind the three houses.

The Santa and his reindeer were cut from the Christmas in the Village set and mounted with foam pads over the moon! Added a Merry Christmas banner to finish it off. 

Craft Room DT Call

My friend Zoe is working with the owner of the Craft Room, Julia, to coordinate a design team for the new challenge blog. Well, I thought to myself, why don't you give it a go as you need a bit more of a challenge at the moment! So here goes...

When we were cleaning up my mother's house, I found this box that she had kept pens in. She had it for many years and it was originally a box for tea! I decided to decorate it for her to keep then pens she needs in her new home.

I gave it a distressed look by painting it with a wine coloured paint then going over it with a cream colour using the PVA technique - painting a layer of slightly thinned PVA then covering it with the paint.

I coloured the additional bits of the swirls with my copic markers .

The inside of the box was covered with a dark green card and the edges painted with gold paint.

To finish it off, I added the flocked chipboard letters P E N S which I had coloured using a gold dabber paint. This enabled to flock feature to remain a little textured.

Starngely enough, when I gave it to my mother, she asked if that was the box she had kept her pens in at home!! Alteration does not necessarily change!!!

The second project is a book I made for a friend. I haven't put the photos in it yet as I want it to be a surprise.

The pages were all cut using the Tim Holtz Alterations Mini Cabinet Card Die. I used heavy card for the base for each page and covered them with different papers from my stash. Each page was edged with vintage photo distress ink to give it an aged look.

The cover has a large flower die cut from the Tattered Florals die (Tim Holtz Alterations Dies). I cut the flowers from 2 different papers and alternated the layers. Each layer has been sprayed with Cosmic Shimmer (silvery colour) then edged with Vintage Photo. I shaped the petals on each layer to provide a bit of depth to the flower. The centre is a large diamante. I also cut two leaves and gave them the same treatment as the flower's layers.

Each page in this book is different.

The page inside the front cover has a journalling stamp so that I can write a message to my friend.

Some of the following pages have  frames on them. The frames for the photos (which I will add later!) were cut using nestabilies dies from Spellbinders. I also embossed the frames to define the edges more.

Paper flowers and a crochet flower have been added to some of the frames. The flower on this page was coloured by stamping Versamark ink onto the petals then dusting with Perfect Pearl powder (green). A yellow brad was added to the centre of the flower.

Background stamps have been used to provide a little detail to the pages. One page was stamped with glimmer mist which I first sprayed on a foam pad then stamped the background stamp on it to pick up the ink. Another page was stamped using white paint from a dabber which I applied directly to the stamp.

I also used a mesh stamp to provide some interest on this page.


Some of the pages use different techniques. For instance, the next page is made like an envelope. I folded the card before I cut it and placed the fold just inside the cutting edge of the die. I then cut the top of one side with a tab die (TH again!). I added a couple of cards to the envelope with some nice sentiments from Tim Holtz. (I got some new stamps recently and wanted to use them - this project seemed like a great opportunity!)


I added a little die cut with a nice sentiment to finish this page off.







This page is made from a heavy card that I embossed with the patchwork quilt folder and inked up with shabby shutters, faded jeans, chipped sapphire and vintage photo. Added a little bird from Kaisercraft and a key cut with the cricut expression and rusted up with vintage photo distress ink and clear rock candy distress crackle paint.




This page is made from acetate which I coloured using alcohol inks in blue, yellow and green shades. Also added some metallic copper to give it a little depth. The acetate is attached to the base card with little dots of Glossy Accents. Amazing stuff as it does not show through the acetate.

 This page has a lovely sentiment from Hero Arts - The future belongs to those who believe in their dreams.

I cut the tag with a nestabilities tag die and cut the backing by tracing around the outer edge of the die. This works really well to provide a shadow for these tag dies.

The flower centre is done by adding gold metallic beads with glossy accents.


The final page in the book explains the journey of the book. The sentiment stamp is from a Darkroom Door set and the poppies are from Montarga, stamped with rusty hinge and overlaid with a cute balls and sticks stamp (bundled sage) that I got from the lovely Wendy at The Stamp Attic in Wantage last year.

 This is one of a series of ATCs that I made some time ago. It is a tri-shutter ATC, measuring 3.5 by 2.5 inches when it is folded flat.

I used tattered rose and weather wood distress inks to colour the card and used the same inks to stamp the delightful little cogs (designed by Zoe!). The Eiffel Tower stamp was one I picked up at the Craft Barn last year - I think it is by Crafty Individuals. The ticket was cut around the ticket stamp - Tim again!!


I would love to contribute to the Craft Room's Challenge Design Team. I love using a range of different techniques and enjoy teaching other people about using them. I also think that it would provide me with some more challenges that I am really ready for. Enjoy!

Blogging again

Well it has been a while since I put anything new on my blog. I have been busy, just not doing crafty things!
I have been busy over the past few days doing some ATCs, Skinnies and Tags for a swap. I thought I would blog them before I sent them off.

These ATCs are designed around the theme - Oriental. I used distress inks to colour the backgrounds with the spray technique - layer colours of ink onto a craft sheet, mist with water then lay the card down on the inks getting a good coverage of colours.

I used the same ink pads to stamp the images. The coin was stamped then embossed with thick embossing powder then stamped again while the powder was still liquid. The stamps were from Montarga, Rubbadubbado, Kaiser Clear Stamps and Tanda.


I used the same background technique for the next set of ATCS (Theme - Time). Again, I stamped the images with the same inks that I used for the backgrounds, except for the word stamps. The stamps used here were from Montarga and Paperartsy.

These skinnies were based on a theme - Scenic, which I took literally! The ones on the left and right used a photo that I "photoshopped" to provide a mountainous background. The pictures were taken earlier this year when we visited Mount Cook. Distress inks used to colour the pictures and again to stamp the images (except for the cats!). The bird and butterfly were stamped then cut out and mounted. The middle skinny used a Japanese picture which I coloured using Tombow markers then layered onto Japanese paper. I punched flowers from the same paper (which is why they are hard to see!) and added a bling flower to the centre of each one. Skinnies are made from a 3" x 5" piece of card.

These tags were made for a swap with the theme Paris/France. Used distress inks to colour the backgrounds and stamp the images. The tag on the left has a flower made from scrunched up circles of paper. The centre tag is embossed on the grey bits with weathered wood distress embossing powder and has a deliciously rough texture. The tag on the right used a kaiser stamp on the background, with another kaiser stamp (chandelier) and a paperartsy stamp. The tickets were cut with a TH die and stamped with ticket stamps I bought at the Craft Barn, then attached with a brad.

I really enjoyed playing with these, but I must make some more cards!!

SENZ

Well, it was SENZ weekend here in Christchurch and it was the place to be for stampers and scrapbookers!

Lots of displays by retailers from all over NZ and lots of classes and demos for people to attend. Some of the Crafty Girls met up yesterday for a guided trip around the retailers and went home very happy with lots of goodies and a lot less cash!
I bought a few things, as you can see from the picture at the left - some darkroom door stamps, clear stamps from Kaisercraft, some plastic face moulds, distress embossing powder, a leaf punch and some other stuff!

Today, I went back again to do a vintage clock class. Mel and Ali from Kaisercraft in Australia were running the class and they were just lovely.

This is the clock I finished at home - it always takes longer to do something like this for the first time. The clock is a pre-designed set available from Kaisercraft and is made from MDF. Covered the square base with Kaisercraft paper and distressed around the edges with Walnut Stain. Others painted around the edges, but you know me and my penchant for distressing!! Added pearls to the edges which had been coloured with alcohol ink to make them look a bit more vintage. The keys and the numerals were cut with a cricut then coloured with walnut stain DI and painted with Distress Crackle paint. The frame was covered with another KC paper and the edges again distressed. I cut the flowers from another sheet of KC paper, rolled the edges and distressed, then shaped them a bit so they would stand out from the base. Glitzed with gold GM and attached using glue for the bigger flowers and foam mount for the smaller ones. The photo mount has some beautiful cotton ecru coloured lace along one side and the keys are attached with ribbon. The pictures in the photo mount are from a Victorian Birthdays CD that I sort of adapted to provide the sepia look.  Of course, it looks so much better in real life than in the photo and I am quite pleased with the end result. Thanks Mel and Ali!
The other great thing that happened was that I won a prize in a draw in the class and came home with some lovely goodies from Kaisercraft - Thanks Kaisercraft - I shall really enjoy using them all.