Layout 9 - Castle Venue

This was the place my sister got married.

It was a fabulous day & the place was beautiful.

 

Materials List: Paper - Papermania New Chelsea Green Capsule Collection

Frame - XCut die from Paperazzi Glitter Stax

Stamped Bird in Vine & butterflies - Kanban

Title - Studio G Alpha set & American Crafts Thickers - Rockabye

Glitter Blitters - Chelsea Green

Journal Card - Happy Days Papermania

Memories word - CI156 Word stamp - Crafty Individuals

 

I raised the word Castle on tiny square foam pads to lift it up.

I hand cut foliage from the paper & also raised it on foam pads.

Project Book 2012

This is another book I have recently made with my Bind It All.

I like to have a place to jot down what card I make for whom and commission pieces I design.

It is also nice to have a place to keep a track of art made to give away.

I like a bit of blank space to jot down any ideas if they come to me.

 I bought a card magazine and got these free Raspberry Road Designs papers and the Project Book was born.

I used my fabulous Marvy Tab Punch for the side page turners.

The squares on the left hand side are some of my fav Distress Ink mixes.

I love this orange paper and there was some green almost the same.

I used one of my Tim Holtz On The Edge dies,

"plaque/Postage" to add a bit of interest.

I loved the papers so much, I couldn't bear to throw it away.

The spot paper is gorgeous!!!

I used lined paper cut up from an A4 pad and some blank white card.

The whole book took just one afternoon.

I am so delighted with it, I will make a new one for next year too!!

I stamped the months on each page using Studio G mini stamps.

Alphabet on front cover Tim Holtz Chipblock.

Spiro circle - Papermania Xcut die.

Butterfly - Anitas 3D.

8x8 Album, Layout 8 - Fun

I had fun in Picasa making this fab border to go around layout number 8 of my 8x8 album, because the page is so graphic I thought the border would dd a great disply edge.

The photo is of my SSG - Scrap Shoppin' Girls friends at a get together we had back  in February 2008. We rented a farmhouse and spend the time scrapping, talking, eating & laughed a lot. Had a photo shoot with Kirsty Wiseman & afterwards, Kirsty stayed to scrap with us.

We had done a circle journal & gave each otehr their completed books at the start of the weekend. It was fabulous!

Materials used are;

Cardstock - Papermania Ledger

Papers - Cosmo Cricket, Nutmeg Clove & Studio Calico, Happy

Xcut Dies - stars, Papermania

Stamps -  Stars , Numbers,  (&) Ampersand , Labels - Studio Calico

Blue no.8 - Sassafrass chipboard

Journal Sticker - Jenni Bowlin

Title Stickers, Black Ledger - Jenni Bowlin

As usual, on my screen, this layout looks blurred!!!

Minibook for storing my Xcut Dies

This is a fun minibook I made  in an afternoon, one weekend in June, to store my Xcut dies in.

They come on magnetic sheets & I thought it would be a cool idea to glue funky scrapbook paper to some chipboard pages & then glue the magnetic sheets to them.

The pages then have a piece of double sided paper between each die set to prevent the magnets "sticking" together & I added funky tabs down the sides.

The bookplate on the cover is by TH and it is painted with some old nail varnish.

All bound with my Bind It All, which is quite tight as I do not have larger O Wires.

I love the elephant in the bottom corner.

The papers are some I have had in my stash for some time. They are all by Sassafrass & were all part of the Studio Calico Kits which I used to subscribe to.

Also some of the papers are from a scrapping friend Lisette, in Denmark.

I struggled to use the bold patterns on a layout but found them perfect for a minibook.

I love the tiny elephant on the funky floral sheet.

Mixed together the patterns really work to give an otherwise boring item the WOW factor.

Papers used are all double-sided collections and are called;

Sweet Marmalade; Sunshine Lollipop; Amplify

You might even spot a tiny clown on this funky floral sheet.

The tabs are created using a punch by McGill.

It sits on my shelf neatly and is ready to use whenever I need it.

Well worth an afternoons work & I would love more for my other dies.

Stampman Challenge - Celebrations

Here is my entry for the latest Stampman Challenge.

I'm a little late with this one because I have been away.

I went for a really long weekend to my sister's in Stamfordham, Northumberland. (Just outside Newcastle) I went up & back by train & we had a fabulous girly weekend. I took lots of photos along the way to use at some point.

This card is a commission for someone who has just given it to a friend for her 21st Birthday.

My brief was Vintage/Black & Gold/Lace/Roses/butterflies/Pearls.

I had to dye the lace with Antique Linen Distress ink to get the shade I wanted.

The paper is from Paper Cellar, I went with this for the gold & grey colour scheme black was too heavy. Bookplate & Bird Cage, TH die cuts, Butterflies, Memory Box. Bird - Papermania Stamp. Key & Lace, Ribbon Girl. Pearls & roses from my own stash along with the gems. I was extremely proud with how this one turned out.

I did another 21st in similar colours a few months ago but the photos just didn't turn out very well at all as my camera was in one of its funny moods. It does need upgraded & hopefully that will be after Xmas. Our trip back to France comes first!!!!

Layout 7, Kia

This is the 7th layout for my 8"x8" mini album. I wanted a lovely cherry red page to mix in with the two beautiful greens & the woodgrain backgrounds I have used so far. Having just made 2 white pages in a row, I longed for some colour. This page features a photograph my sister took of her cat, Kia (whom I fondly call Kiki)

I wanted a layered look but didn't quite achieve the amount of layering in the way I had envisaged. Oh well better luck next time.

Below is a close up of the journal tag which is housed in a glassine envelope under the photo.

I had real fun creating my layered butterfly. One is die cut, the other stamped & cut out.

Materials used;

Bazzill Red Cardstock

Patterened Paper; Anna Griffin - Darcy/ October Afternoon Report card- Story Hour

Studio Calico Journal card (old one with 2009 on it so hidden in the layers)

Glassine Envelope - Internet

Tim Holtz die - Tag

Papermaina die cut frames

Memory Box Butterfly die

Butterfly Stamp - Innovative Stamp Creations (Friendship plate)

Papermaina Stamps - Around the World 2

Brad - Papermania

Title - Tim Holtz Die - Typeset.

Adirondack Inks; Raisin & Cranberry

Another 8"x8" layout, I'm on a roll!!

This next layout is designed around the mini frame stamp I received in a Studio Calico Kit, Cotillon in 2009. I have to be totally honest and say it was one of my most favourite of all the kits that I had during my subscription period.

My sister does work for her local Cats Protection League, she took in 5 feral kittens, 4 which were Tabby brothers & sister, the other just found along with them.

It was her job to tame them and then re home them!!

These photos were taken on a mobile phone and not very good quality, so they were well

suited to being printed small.

Cardstock is Swiss Dot. Border punches Doily Daisy & bracket.

Title, TH Chipblock. Stamps from a cat set.

Butterflies, Craft Individuals.

I don't know if other people have noticed, but the last half dozen pictures I have uploaded to blogger have been appaling quality. Yet, I am not using any different software or doing anything any different. so annoying!!

Stampman Challenge - Anything Goes/Summer Colours

I only just got an item made for the last challenge on the Stampman blog,

now the next challenge is up!!

It was a commission and can't be shared!

So, the next one is Anything Goes/Summer Colours.

I got my inspiration for this layout (page 5 in my 8"x8" album) from the advertisement below! Isn't it just amazing!!!

As soon as I saw it, I just knew it was perfect!!

Materials used:

Bazzill Cardstock - Avalanche

Heart die cut from Glossy Cardstock

Alcohol inks - Stream/Plum/Meadow/Butterscotch (blown through straw)

Ric Rac - Purple/Lime/Orange

Basic Grey Opaline Pearls - Purple/Teal/Pink/Yellow

Stamps - Tim Holtz Fairytale Frenzy

Flowers - Prima

Butterfly Die - Memory Box

Title -  Summer - Quickutz - Moxie

Title - french style - rub ons - Doodlebug

Photos I took in Piegut-Pluviers and Brantome, France 2011

Advertisement Courtesy of LG & Metro Newspaper!!

Happy Birthday, Tracy!

This is the birthday card I made for my sister's birthday today. It features a photo I took of Alnmouth Beach. We spent a beautiful couple of hours together here in April 2011.

My sister is a huge fan of minimal so I knew this design would really suit her.

I was inspired by this fabulous scrap layout on Pinterest. It ws the use of the compass on this page that lead me to the idea of the beach theme.

I loved the card so much I decided to make my third layout for my 8"x8" album to match.

Materials used;

Patterned Paper - Spots - Scenic Route Garden Grove - Joy Street

Patterned Paper - Script - Not sure, think 7Gypsies (from my scrap box)

Stamp - Dream/Discover/Destiny - Stampers Anonymous

Ink - Salty Ocean & Weathered Wood Distress Ink

Photo - taken by myself & the image on the card has had text typed onto it prior to printing

Compass - Travel Stamp Set

Silver Eyelets & String

Holes punched & backed with blue paper

Title - Tim Holtz Typeset Alphabet.

Another Layout for my 8"x8" album

I had a bit of fun trying to take a photo of this page ! As you can see the net curtain won!!

This is actually layout number 4, but I can't show number 3 until my sister's birthday on 5th July as the layout is directly connected to her birthday card.

This album I am making is all about my favourite photographs. This particular photo was taken on 24th October 2009, when my sister lived at Shortflatt Farm (a farmhouse I will be using in a future layout & one you have seen before). The hens thought it was actually their house & it amused me to see them strutting around the kitchen watching what Tracy was doing.

To make my page, I took some pale green bazzill cardstock & I used a tree embossing folder to create the tree design on the left, rubbing over the design firmly with a punch. I used Jillibean Soup Vegetable Broth paper to support my picture. Once this was in place I stamped the cockerel & the two hens from my stamp set Poultry Pantry by T J Designs. I stamped a ticket from the same set onto scrap card & coloured with Frayed Burlap distress ink. The word Hen in the title is made from Tim Holtz Typeset alphas in kraft & over inked with Frayed Burlap. The word House was Making Memories Great Escape Bamboo Alphas. I stamped chicken wire & the Hen Party Post image directly onto the page. I also used a grass stamp from a See D's set. Finally I coloured the hens using copper & bronze pearl powders which gave them a smudgy, oil painted look. I didn't add journalling I felt the photo & title said it all.

Layout No.2 & a Quick Tag

This is the second layout I have made for my 8"x 8" scrap album. The first can be found a few posts down. I picked 8x8 as it is quick to work on & small enough to make up into a coffee table sized album that won't get put away and forgotten like many of my larger layouts. The theme of this album is Favourite Photographs. This particular layout is of the Gite in La Marchaderie, St. Mathieu, France. We are set to go back in September and I am seriously counting down the days. So far the weather here has been nothing short of miserable. When it is sunny, I'm usually stuck behind my desk at work.

The materials I have used are;

Co-Ordinates Woodgrain cardstock sanded  & inked.

Patterned Papers- Making Memories Paperie Double sided sheets in Geometric Window Greenhouse, Skinny Stripe Greenhouse, which I made chevrons from.

Title is October Afternoon Newsroom Stickers.

Stickers are 7Gypsies. Journal shape cut with Spellbinders & strips created by computer. Stars stamped using SC stamps on patterned paper.

I very recently bought the new Summer Dsitress Pads from the Artistic Stamper & while I have not had a lot of time to play this weekend I wanted to make something.

I've been busy making a card for my sisters' forthcoming birthday & my next scrap layout which is based on the card & can't be shown until 5th July, but found just half an hour to create this beach themed tag.

Materials used are Tim Holtz Summer Distress Pads in Salty Ocean, Mowed Lawn & Picked Raspberry. They are extremely vibrant but just screamed summer & beach to me. I have used the Salty Ocean on my sisters card & the matching scrap layout & it stamps fabulously :0)

TH Compass Mask, TH Birds & words. Cherry Pie Beach stamps which include all the seagulls & the waves. The ART circles are from my old stash & the lighthouse is cut from one of my own photos of St. Mary's Lighthouse in Whitley Bay.

Stampman Challenge - Time or Travel

As the Stampman challenge stated one or the other, Time OR Travel, I knew I should not really combined the two into one piece of art. Deciding which to make then proved difficult as I love both themes, so I made one of each on matching tags!

I made two identical tags by adding emulsion from matchpots in cream, pink & chocolate. Once dry I overstamped in Archival black with the Crafty Individuals Crackle stamp. I chose my focal images of the German Castle by Cherry Pie and the CI 062 Angel Child stamp & after stamping them onto white matt photo paper I over inked them with distress inks in Frayed Burlap, Rusty Hinge & Worn Lipstick. Once dry I bleached out some of the colour to give the images definition before over colouring with a little Tattered Rose. On the Time piece I embossed 2 Heidi Swapp clock stamps in copper. The clock face is from a broken watch. Travel stamps are by Royal & Langnickel. Quotes from the internet.

Brads & ribbon,  Papermania.

Happy Father's Day, Dad!!

For this card I wanted to use a photograph which had some meaning to Dad & I wanted a really masculine feel to the overall design. After some thought I decided to use the "No Stamping Joseph's Coat Technique" which I saw in the Masterclass by Trish Latimer in the April 2011 issue of Craft Stamper.

I cut a piece of glossy cardstock to the size of the Tim Holtz Texture Fades Patchwork embossing folder & inked the piece with Wild Plum & Eggplant Adirondack Dye inks (my two favourite shades in this range)

I embossed it with the Patchwork folder, then inked the whole piece with clear embossing ink & heat embossed with clear powder. Once this had cooled I covered the whole piece liberally with Archival Black dye ink making sure it got into all the crevices of the embossed areas. Once rubbed off it had a rich purple black shade.

I had to cut this down further to fit the card front leaving a fraction of white card showing all around & inked the edges of the white card black. The photograph is the Steam Train at Alston, Cumbria that we took Dad on for his birthday when we went to Newcastle at Easter to stay with my sister Tracy. It was a beautiful journey but it did rain!! Nothing new there then! lol. The photo was matted onto white, then black card.

A Challenge & A Layout

First up is the latest challenge from The Stampman, Make it for a Man. I used some old map scrapbook paper & a piece of kraft card cut into a tag. Each piece was washed with a mix of Cappuccino & Gold Perfect Pearls & then stamped. Some of the stamping was immediately smudged to give a worn apperance. Walnut Stain distress ink was used to age the pieces further. Stamps used, Tim Holtz & Artistic Stamper Clocks.

Next is a Layout all about my favourite place of the moment, Pinterest!

Papers used: Studio Calico - Bunting.

American Crafts - ModaBella - Preppy

American Crafts - Dear Lizzy - Spring Sweet Strawberry

Main background - American Crafts - reverse of Everyday - Long time no see.

Red Butterfly stamped onto Cosmo Cricket - Nutmeg - clove

Blue Butterfly stamped on Basic Grey - June Bug Cabana

TH small Butterfly stamped onto Studio Calico Bunting

Spiro Circle cut from Basic Grey - June Bug - Picket Fence

Ticket - Sei - En Route

Large Butterfly stamp - ISC

Happiness Stamp -Catslife Press

Title - Tim Holtz - Alpha die -Typeset

The "Mystery" Challenge

 I recently set a mystery challenge on Chrysalis & I sent all the players a small bag of "bits & pieces" and a set of instructions. Part of the instructions were to work in only two sets of colours, either blues & purples or reds & pinks.

The only other colours allowed were black, white, grey, silver or gold.

As I set the challenge I decided I really ought to make two pieces. The first piece I made was in blues & it is my imaginary idea of a 3D postcard using TH Texture Fades Postal embossing folder. The image was Urban stamps by Papermania & I selected this particular one because I love France & the postal emboss folder contains the word Paris twice.

This is the second piece in reds. I totally love this piece & I went to town on texture & gold embossing. The plain grungeboard wings were painted with red acrylic paint before running through a texture fades checkerboard folder. I coloured them with Raisin & cranberry alcohol inks to give shaded areas of red. The couple are on acetate. 

Originally I had planned a transfer for the couple but nothing worked & I had to remake this piece three times!! So determind was I to get the design in my sketch book onto the work table.

I am very pleased to say  that it actually looks exactly how I wanted it too & that is always a bonus to a piece of art :0) The small TH fragment has a stamped butterfly in stazon & painted with gold acrylic paint on the reverse. The flower was white painted with red acrylic, stamped & painted withregular gel (semi gloss) medium to add shine, the heart was also painted with the semi gloss medium. I used Gold Krylon on the edges as well as the gold powder.

Some Old Artwork

This first card was a commission for Keeley who used to travel on my train each day. She wanted something suitable to give to her boyfriend, Josh to celebrate one year together. I wanted something masculine so went with the Papermania Urban stamps, keeping the colours limited to reds with some perfect pearals sprayed on mixed with Fired Brick distress reinker.

This piece was made for my colleague to give as a birthday gift to a friend after her original gift didn't work. (someone else bought the same thing!) It was a small canvas covered with some pretty paper & the butterflies were die cut using my Memory Box die.

Stamped quotes Tim Holtz.

This next card was made for my work colleague Lesley who gave birth to her second daughter Maisie, sister to Gemma.

Mum and baby are doing very well. Gemma adores her baby sister.

Papermania embossing folder Boofles Buttons, image Lili of the Valley.

This final card was made in March during the time I had no computer. It was a thank you card to the people who kindly took my ailing machine backwards & forwards to the repairers.

Xcut die fancy frames & paper Webster's Pages

All About Butterflies

 This first image is a card made for a forum friend, Joanne for her birthday. Her special day is the day after mine and as my computer system died on my birthday, I lost the last weeks work. Thankfully Joanne was able to email these shots so I had a record of my work.

I based my designs around our other forum friend, Jo Capper-Sandon's background technique featured in the December 2011 issue of craft Stamper. I made the mini canvas to match.

I used perfect pearls on the butterfly wings for shimmer.

This next butterfly item was made for Jo Capper-Sandon's birthday the following month. As she adores butterflies I made her an exhibit box. Sadly it did not work quite the way I wanted it to. The background looks far too dark in this photo.

These too, had perfect pearls dusted onto the bodies.

Materials I used;

Distress inks, Weathered Wood, Wild Honey, Iced Spruce, Rusty Hinge,Tumbled Glass,

Stormy Sky, Seedless Preserves, Chipped Sapphire and Brushed Corduroy.

Gesso, Chalk Emulsion Paint and Standard Emulsion Paint.

Torn newspaper, Tim Holtz stamps -Attic treasures.

Perfect Pearls, Mandarin, Gold, Mint and Plum.

Stampman Challenge - Favourite Technique

Warning: Photo heavy!!

This is my entry for the Stampman Challenge, Favourite Technique. I have three actual favourites, the main one making wrinkle free distress ink backgrounds, but these go hand in hand with stamping & bleaching. As my blog name suggests I am a minibook maker, although to be fair there are over 18 books that will never be seen on this blog because they were made many years ago before I even thought about running a blog & sadly, lost all the images when my computer died! Anyway this is the front cover of the mini & the following pages are the inside. Materials listed at the end.

Pages were made using thin card from an empty tea bag box.

Distress inks used: NEW Spring set; Dusty Concord; Tumbled Glass; Broken China;

Spun Sugar; Mustard Seed; Pine Needles; Shabby Shutters.

Stamps are a mixture of Tim Holtz sets & Studio G.

Computer generated words for front cover & pages 3, 4, 6, 7 & 10.

Secret Garden embossing folder, Heart die & fancy frames both Papermania/Xcut

Bleach. Bind it All. Scraps of ric rak & glitter paint.

Another Birthday & Commission

 This first card is for my train buddy, Claire who has a birthday today. She makes a lot of cupcakes for various engagements, weddings, baby showers & birthdays so I thought this LOTV stamp very apt. Paper was free Pink Paislee Spring Jubilee. Butterfly die, Memory Box.

This card was a commission I made for Claire for her mum's birthday last month. I used Prima Pixie Glen paper. TH Die cut bookplate. Memory Box Butterflies. Papermania XCut fancy frame dies, a white blossom, a pinked circle die cut using Xcut dies. The Chiffon was kindly donated by my forum friend Chris & I made a flower with a crystal for the centre.

The butterflies are embossed with Papermania Secret Garden folder (my absolute favourite)

I thought it quite fitting to show both birthday cards together.

A Commission & A Birthday

 This first card was made for my train buddy Claire, for her sister's birthday. The papers are Birdsong &Wild Asparagus. The photo was given to my & they are Claire's sister, two dogs enjoying a spell of sunshine in the garden.

The second card was made for my friend Kate. She used to travel on the train with me and was my reading buddy. We meet once a week for a catch up. It was her birthday the first week in April & she spent her birthday in Norway, with husband Alex. Paper is Birdsong,

image Lili of the Valley- Best Friend.

Shabby Chic/Distress Challenge

This week on the Stampman Challenge http://thestampmanchallenges.blogspot.co.uk/ we were asked to make something Shabby Chic/Distressed. I adore this theme as I use shabby distress a lot in my work. I obtained some free Pink Paislee paper - Spring Jubilee in a card making magazine & knew it would be just perfect for what I had in mind. I love to read & every now & then I decide I need a new bookmark.

I decided that today was the day & I would use this theme.

I took some of the paper & dry brushed is with gesso to tone down the colours & then I stamped a TH Stuff to Say journal stamp down one side before dry brushing some more gesso over the top to give it the apperance of the stamped image already being part of the paper design I smugged it slightly to give a distressed look. I then stamped my main quote & added a small chipboard butterfly. I made the button by gluing a small piece of the same patterened paper to the reverse of a clear button. The bird image is courtesy of The Graphic Fairyhttp://graphicsfairy.blogspot.co.uk/ The lace was from Ribbon girl. I cut the actual frame of the bookmark from Xcut fancy frames.

It was important to try & keep it quite flat as it does have to go in a book!!