Party On

Everybody loves a party and I'm certainly having fun with Crate Paper's Pretty Party collection. It has a nostalgic feel which has me turning to the photos from my childhood. Here is a page I made about my little brother and sister dressing up after they had seen me getting ready for a Fancy Dress Parade

Mixing up chipboard and stickers for some layering..



..and using my Slice to cut some greenery to echo the tree in the background of the photo. It's a picture from Siver Jubilee year - have you found yourself going back to photos from past celebrations as we get ready to - party?

It's Just Scraps

It's been a while since I've done a "scraps" for you. But with a kit as lovely as this, how could I resist? I wanted to use up every last little bit and this is what I made:

My inspiration for this page was actually a sheet of  Bazzill patterned paper. It has a line of labels and tickets done the right hand side and I thought it would be an easy trick to try so I used my Slice and a couple of punches to reproduce the effect. The strip on the left hand side is, of course, simply from the bottom of one of the sheets in the kit and the title is cut from the green cardstock in the kit. Give it a try!

Times & Seasons - Movember

We all love to check out the latest Gotta Craft kit; but it's definitely worth keeping an eye out for other new additions to the shop. Sandra has fresh stock arriving all the time.Recently she sent me some of the new Echo Park Times & Seasons - and it didn't take me long to decide how to use my pick of the papers, Spiffy Mustache:

I made a layout about "Movember". And because I couldn't persuade anyone else in the family to sport a tache for my photo - I added one to a picture of our hamster. It's silly, I know. But Movember is a wonderful cause and Gary was happy to lend his support.

Beard and hat both cut with the Slice

I used some pieces from the sticker sheet and some scraps of Glitz Vintage Blue which Sandra suggested as a great match. She's right - they go together perfectly!

Making Memories with Memorandum

While we wait for Sandra's lovely Christmas kit, I thought I'd show you my Christmas album inspired by November's kit. I've been using the Lilybee Memorandum to put it togethet:

I didn't manage to squeeze the whole thing from the kit - I ordered an extra 6x6 paper pad which made it very easy to decorate my paper bag album.

Becasue of the bags I have extra pockets for pull out pages, and you can see that I am adding in some of the tags from my last post too.

I'll have more to show you as it progresses and if you are interested in a tutorial for a paper bag album, you can find one here on my own blog (did I tell you I gave it a Facebook page? One of my first "likes"? Gotta Craft, of course!). But what about your Christmas album? Anyone making one this year?



Note to Self: Buy More Memorandum

So there I was, crouched in the wet grass, with no coat on, taking pictures of pumpkins and thinking "Sandra, these papers better be worth it".

And of course, they are. November's kit has Lily Bee's stunning Memorandum. This collection is beautiful! every last little bit of it. Honestly, I have already been back to the shop and ordered a Tiny Tablet because I am thinking about using it for my Christmas album this year. See how it looks with a Christmassy page?

The patterns are truly lovely; but what makes this collection so special is the ledger paper reverse sides. Each one is a winner - very easy to use as a background or cut into journaling blocks or mini albums. Check them all out in the shop. But don't hang around taking notes for too long - just remember, supplies of the Memorandum kit and its lovely add on won't last forever!

And those pumpkins? Here they are.

We faked it this year. These ones came from a shop. You'll find that pretty blue ribbon in the kit, along with some cute things I have even started on yet. I'll be back with more..

It's Just Scraps (But it's Spooky)

Okay, I think I'd better hold my hand up from the start and say that this was one of those projects that seemed like a good idea at the time. You know the kind?

It started out as a pile of black cardstock and some blue and grey Authentique papers. They said Halloween to me. Something sophisticated - my two are too big to dress up now, but I thought a few more grown up decorations round the house might be nice. I had spotted a paper chandelier in a magazine and wondered if I could make it work. I did. Just about. Eventually.

Two trips into town, a plea on UKS and a lot of hunting and I had a Halloween punch and two shapes to glue my shapes onto:

I also used my Slice to cut some pumpkins and stars, and lengths of black ribbon to tie it together. If I made one again, I would wrap the shapes in black fabric first and glue onto that to save the base from showing through. But you live and learn! So, wrap two hoops in fabric strips or black wool, and glue punched shapes all over them. I sewed more witches into banners for a drapey effect (they worked well and would make great decorations on their own) and tied the two hoops together with the ribbon. You could also add buttons, streamers , anything to give a really loaded on effect

It did take a few evenings of punching and glueing, but it's a great way of putting scraps to good use. And if Halloween isn't your thing - what about a Christmas version? Or flowers or butterflies for Spring? Just thinking ahead..

Crate is Great!

The lastest monthly kit from the shop featured papers the Farmhouse paper range from Crate Paper. The kit has now sold out but Sandra has the papers available singly as well as a cute 6x6 pad. I've made a couple of projects using the 6x6 papers, which are mini versions of the bigger papers.

On my layout I used some of the papers as a mat for my photo and some smaller squares and a punched strip raised up on scrap card to frame the edges.

I made the flowers by folding up strips of paper concertina style and then finished them off with a button. I used pinking shears on the outer edge first to give a frilly edge.

To embellish my card I made some flowers using a Tim Holtz dies, they were cut from cream card and then sprayed with glimmer mists before finishing them off with an adhesive pearl. The Happy Birthday stamp is one I've had for ages, I stamped it using Distress Ink in Fired Brick which was the perfect match for the red and orange tones of the papers and the flowers.

Very Victorian.....

Echo Park have brought out another lovely range of papers called Victorian Gardens. The papers are fresh, bright and summery - perfect for those summer photos....

With a background of kraft Bazzill (something I can't live without!) I have used lots of different papers on my layout and used punches and die-cutting on them along with a Tim Holtz die for my layered flowers. There is also a sticker sheet and journalling tag sheet available for the finishing touches.

I used the same die but in a different way for the flowers on my card, I cut them from plain cream card and then coloured them with glimmer mists, scrunched them up and then layered them up when they were dry and finishing off with a pearl. The bird and cage are another Tim Holtz die, again coloured with glimmer mists.

You can check out the Gottacraft Facebook page for more ideas and inspiration with this range here.

Thanks for stopping by, Clare x

A Paper Bag Album

When Sandra sent me some of the Lost And Found Sunshine papers I laid them out, looked at them carfeully and wondered if I could come up with something special to show them off. A layout or two just wasn't going to cut it. So I decided on a mini album:

The front cover

The back cover

Have you ever made a paper bag album? I have a big stack of brown paper lunch bags my brother brought me home from America, so I thought it was about time I had a go. It's so easy! I just folded up the gussets and glued them together. That gave me an album about 6x7 inches, so I trimmed off an inch. Why? So I could tell you how perfect this size would be for using up a 6x6 paper pad!

After that it was quick work choosing and trimming papers to size and embellishing with all the lovely Lost And Found bits and pieces.

You can see that I chose the heavily embellished sections of paper for my covers, lining them up so they looked like a book jacket. It's a good way to showcase the "best bits". And this is the perfect way to use all the pieces from a collection you love.

I was quite happy working away on this one without even an idea of what I could use it for. As I moved the bits around, though, I could see that it had feminine and masculine elements. The sewing machine reminded me of my grandma; and the grey stripes of my Grandpa and his grey cardigans. So it will become an album about the two of them and I hope you like it.

A little more Authentique

I hope everyone is looking forward to the weekend, maybe even with some scrapping time planned? (I know that's my plan!)

Following on from Sian's pretty layout I have also been busy with some of the new Authentique papers from the Blissful pad and this is what I've come up with.

By coincidence I have also made a background grid of the papers on my layout like Sian, there are plenty of different patterns in the pad to mix and match. I die-cut some flowers from plain card, scrunched them up a bit and then distressed them with Tim Holtz inks (I used Scattered Straw and Tea Die on mine) I then layered them up and added buttons to the centres. I also die-cut the little bird and cage from some of the papers and finished off with a mist of some glimmer mists that toned with the papers.

My other project is a card, made using the Uncommon pad. This card is definitely quite girly - but I do love a bit of pink!

It was a quick card to put together, I cut one of the papers into 3 for my background and then die cut some scallop circles and punched some flowers that I then layered up and glittered before adding Prima pearls to the centres. I finished it by adding a ribbon and a stampted sentiment.

 

Have a great weekend x

Six Squared

I've been playing around with some of the Authentique 6x6 papers and I think I like them! Actually, I know I like them. I'm always saving up my full sheets of patterned paper because I love to use them as backgrounds - with a 6x6 bundle I can happily cut away without having to worry about spoiling a 12x12 piece. I'm converted.

I made this page with some of the pink patterns from the Uncommon bundle simply by choosing a few favourite patterns and cutting each sheet into quarters. That gave me squares of 3x3 which I arranged loosely into a grid, roughing up the edges a bit for added texture. That crepe paper flower is from Girls Paperie and if you like it, grab a packet while you still can; they aren't being made any more. The wooden butterfly and the alphabet are from my stash.

So, 6x6: have you tried them? I'm going to make some cards next.

Still Blissful

I'm still feeling the bliss from August's kit, how about you?

This page was inspired by the chipboard banners in the kit. I covered them with patterned paper and then added in a few more cut with my Slice. The buttons came from my stash and the little flashes of pink paper are from one of the new stock Authentique 6x6 paper pads. I added some punched butterflies for dimension and a few paint splatters to make my dark background a bit more lively. And at the end I squeezed in my journaling right round the sides.

Now I'm off to see what else I can make with those pink 6x6 squares. .

What have you done with your August kit? Leave us a link!

Blissful - August's Kit

You've caught me in a reflective mood today. It's all because of Authentique's beautiful yellow and grey Blissful Collection. As soon as it arrived here I looked out a photo of me in a favourite grey shirt and I made this:

These papers are so heavy and luxurious they were easy to distress, so I roughed them up a bit. I thought the raggedy edges would reflect the them of my layout which is really about how much my family means to me right this minute. And how I know they are growing up and will want to move out into the world; so my thinking is a bit rough around the edges too! The little fold up journaling card was perfect for my private notes and I added a little brad from my stash to hold it shut.

Here's a bit of detail so that you can see the little flashes of pink on some of the paper.

The colours really are lovely, aren't they? I don't think this kit will hang around for long - so don't delay, buy one today!

It's Just Scraps: Patchworked Papers

So I came home from holiday and I looked at the lovely bits left over from this month's kit and I thought I just had to do another page.

I gathered up the scraps and decided to make a patchwork effect to emphasize the country feel of my photo, with crumpled up edges and some machine stitching. Here it is:

While it was coming together, this is what I thought:

- the distressed edges disguise the wonky edges from the left over scraps

- this kit mixes well with Crate Paper's Emma's Shoppe. That's where my buttons came from

- to add to the scraps I placed some pages from an old dictionary. Any kind of ephemera can bulk out a page if you are running low on the patterned paper you want to use

- I cut my title from the very middle of the cardstock before sticking the rest down

But most of all I thought - doesn't Sandra put together a pretty kit! This one might be my new favourite.

Odds & Ends - July's Kit

Have you ever not wanted to go on holiday? No, neither had I. Until Sandra sent me the July kit and I realised I wasn't going to be able to fit in all the things I wanted to make! It's Cosmo Cricket's Odds & Ends, and it's absolutely beautiful.

It's a kit for cutting into right away, so that's what I did:

with this page about some retro kitchen accessories from a recent shopping trip. The little paper dolls are cut from one of the sheets of paper. I cut the big doiley shape and the red numbers with my Slice and the lovely cream alphas come with the kit. My favourite piece? I think it's that blue dotted paper, but that could change, I'm not finished yet. In the shop here

I'm just butting into Sian's lovely post, to say that July's kit will be going on sale on Saturday 16th.  And to say a HUGE thank you for everyone's kind words, and cards - it's really meant a great deal to me and my family.

Take One Slice..

I have a quick page to show you today, one I made with my new MM Slice and my favourite sheet of paper from April's kit:

Oh, and Pinterest? I love it, how about you?

This and That: May's Kit

At last! Today I get to show you the the layouts I made with the beautiful May kit. I was delighted when Sandra said she was ordering some Lilybee for the shop. Isn't it lovely?  Have you seen the matching stamps? and the plain colours? Gotta love those.

My first layout uses photos from a trip to an old fashioned haberdashery shop:

I pleated the paper for the outside and sewed it on with my sewing machine. And I have one big tip for doing this - think seriously about stitching a line first and then faking it by hot glue gunning the pleats on the back. That's what I'm going to do next time! I also used the glue gun to make my paper rose (and I have a tip for that too - make sure all the stray strands of glue have been removed before you try to take photos..)

My second page tells the story of a little pie funnel which used to belong to my Grandma. The felt embellishment is one I made a while back and have never used. It just seemed to fit. I kept the rest simple so that there was one obvious focal point.

And finally, my favourite this month, about a half finished sampler. I worked some cross stitch from the sampler chart straight onto the blue paper. Still loving rosettes too, as you can see.

So, now you've seen mine - what are you going to do with yours? I'd love to know.

It's Just Scraps

So, it's nearly the end of the month. Have you finished up your kit yet? I have a few bits left:

 

and I've been thinking of ways to use up the scraps.

First, I pulled out a fresh sheet of white cardstock (next time I think I might need to order more matching colour - a great way to stretch your kit). Choose one photo only and cut narrow strips from what is left of your patterned paper, to the width of your picture.

Layer them up.

Add texture and interest to a simple design like this with stitching, punched shapes or what is left from that beautiful sticker sheet.

Finally, check for charm. It's the finishing touch. Look at your layout and see what there is about it to charm your viewer. Is there something to make them smile? Something to make them say "Ooh! Look!"? Add a special piece. Here I used a Bumpy Road punch to make the top of my page look like a frothy head of Guinness. Finished.