Baby Steps Mini Album

Hello everybody.  I hope you are all having a fabulous day.

I'd like to show you the Baby Album I spoke of a few posts ago.  A close friend's daughter is having a baby and I made this for her.  I must warn you this is quite a large post with a lot of photos.
This album was made using Kathy Orta's All  Occasions Mini Album Tutorial.  If you wish to have a look at the album she made  you can find it HERE.

The papers I used are from the Baby Steps Collection by Simple Stories.  These are gorgeous papers with lots of bits and pieces to fussy cut and lots of really cute little phrases as you can see above.  Instead of using cardstock I covered the spine with some cotton twill which I purchased at Spotlight.

This is the inside cover and the first page.  The cute little teddy bear is an applique which I found  at Big W and the little jumpsuits and the pram are images fussy cut from the paper line. 
The inside cover opens out to reveal some photo mats....

....and a spot to record the baby's birth details.

Pages 3 and 4.

On the left hand page you can see two photo mats held in the book by a heart shaped paper clip.  The mats are tucked into a pocket formed by the little sleeve which holds the journalling tag.

On the right hand page there are two more photo mats tucked into the pockets.

See what I mean about the gorgeous papers?  Lots of details and cute little phrases.

Pages 5 and 6.

In between these two pages you can see one of the little half page pockets that are in this book.
I love this feature, it's one of the reasons I decided to buy this tutorial.

There is a photo mat inside the pocket but I'm thinking about making some small envelopes instead so that she can perhaps place things in it like the first haircut or other memorabilia.   I don't have much time to decide though because the baby was due yesterday.  LOL

Here is the photo mat from the pocket on the other page .....

Pages 7 and 8.
This set of pages holds the other half page pocket.  This one is set a bit lower in the book...

...and also holds a photo mat.

These are the mats from the larger pockets.

Pages 9 and 10.

Each even numbered page has pockets which hold photo mats.  On some, both pockets are the full height of the page, but on a couple the pocket is smaller.

 Most of the photo mats I made are folded over so there is room inside them for more photos.
Last page and inside back cover.

Not a lot here, just a pocket on the inside cover for a mat.
When I first started this album I had great plans for lots of embellishments.  I was going to use bits of lace and nappy pins and little bibs and lots and lots of flowers.  But, as they say, the best laid plans of mouse and men, etc.  I wasn't able to do much of anything because when I finished the book I found it only just fit into the box I had made previously.  So I was really lucky that the papers do stand up all on their own and it didn't really need too much extra stuff.
In case you haven't seen it, here is the box I altered to place the album in.

If you'd like to take a look at the post for this box you can find it HERE.

That's all from me for now.  Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day.
Take care and God Bless.
ox Marg

 

Prima's 'Craftsman' Paper on a Feminine Card

Hello and welcome.
I have a card to show you which has been made with Prima's Craftsman paper. Now, this is a fairly masculine range of papers but that doesn't mean it can't be used for feminine cards.

 OK, I haven't used a lot of the paper but you can see the masculine design at the edges here.  I actually love the colours of this paper.  For a masculine card it is ideal but as you can see it is just as nice used in a feminine way.  

This is my first attempt at sewing around the edges of my card and I think the tension on my machine is off  but, because I don't have a lot of this embossed cardstock left,  I didn't want to waste it so I'm just going to say it adds a bit of character.  LOL.   The stamp I used is from Kaisercraft and the clock is from Scrapmatts.  I coloured it with a Versa Color Bronze stamp pad.

The patterns and technical drawing on the paper give it great dimension.  I have layered a few pieces here and even brushed a little bit of gesso on the two smaller strips but you really don't have to do a lot to it.   The swirls were cut with a Marianne Creatables Die.

The flower cluster is mounted on a small piece of mesh which I coloured with a Versa Color Umber stamp pad.  The large flower is from Prima and the small roses are from Kaisercraft.  I brushed them all very lightly with gesso.  The leaves were cut with a Die from Magnolia Ink and I've drawn on them with a fine brown texta.  Another little technique I picked up from visiting scrapbooking blogs.  (Love you ladies for sharing your talents)

The tag is a piece I cut from one of Prima's Nature Garden Labels and the small doily was cut using the smallest of Die-namics Decorative Doily Duo Dies.  ( There's that tongue twister again )  I lightly dry brushed the doily with gesso.

And there you have it.  A feminine card made with a very masculine range of papers.
( OK, I know it's not an original idea, but it gave me a nice title for this post.  LOL )

Thank you so much for stopping by.  Enjoy the rest of your day.
Take care and God Bless.
ox Marg

'Vintage' Card

Hello everyone.  So nice of you to visit.

Those of you who have been here before would realise that I don't do scrapbooking as such.  I mostly make cards and mini albums and have done a few off the page projects, but I do love to visit scrapbooking blogs as you can tell  by the list at the side of my blog.  These blogs that I visit are a great inspiration for the cards that I make and I am very grateful to all of these ladies for showing their creations online  for the rest of us to drool over.  ( Well, I drool, anyway.  LOL)

The inspiration for this card came from a varied number of other blogs.  Thank you, Ladies.

The papers I used are from a Glitz Paper Pack.  It's their French Kiss Collection.  The tag is from Prima's 'Nature Garden' Collection.  I cut it in half and simply placed one piece on top of the other so that it would fit on the card. The edges are slightly crumpled and then coloured with 'Walnut Stain' Distress Ink.

The larger red flower and the small gold one are Kaisercraft.  The white one is from my stash.  The little rose buds I just edged with Walnut Stain Distress Ink to give them a bit more dimension.  I love these little buds they are so cute and help to fill a flower cluster very nicely.

Here is a closer view.

The small gem spray I put together myself.

  The chipboard pieces are the 'Flower Leaf Swirls' from Make it Crafty. I coloured them with 'Shabby Shutters' Distress Ink and then covered them in Ranger's 'Clear Rock Candy' Distress Crackle paint.  Once they were dry, I rubbed them all over with Versa Color 'Evergreen' and then wiped them clean with some paper towels.  As you can see below, the crackle really stands out.

The 'Ornate Corner' is also from Make it Crafty.  It was  coloured the same way as the Leafy Swirls.  The little red velvet flower is from my stash and the cream rose is Kaisercraft.

This gorgeous Bird House stamp  is from a set which came free with one of the Craft Magazines I purchased a while ago, and the metal rose is a charm from my stash.  I coloured the curls on the paper with Versa Color Bronze  although it looks pink on the photo.
Perhaps someone could help me here.  I am looking for a product which will enable me to edge some of my pieces in gold.   I wanted to do this on the leaf swirls but couldn't find anything which stood out.  I'm looking for a stamp pad or something similar which will put a vintage gold edge on things but I don't want glitter.
If anyone knows such a product please leave me a comment.  I would really, really appreciate it.

This butterfly is actually part of the tag.  I fussy cut one from another tag, edged it with Stickles and then glued it on top.

Thank you so much for visiting.
Take care and God Bless.
oxox Marg

Altered Tissue Box Cover

Hello everyone.  So glad you're here for a visit.

I'd like to show you a tissue box cover that I altered a little while ago.  I had a Kaisercraft Tissue Box in my stash and decided to pretty it up.  It's not elaborate so it  didn't take a lot of time to do but I'm quite pleased with the result.

 For this project I used paper from Kaisercraft's Sweet Nothings Collection ( love that bird cage ).    I cut a piece from Kaisercraft's gate flourish and glued that to the side. I didn't bother colouring it because I felt it looked fine as is.

 I've had the little roses for quite some time so I'm not sure where they are from, I think  they might be Prima, but again I'm not sure. 

 The spiral stems were originally straight, I just twisted them around an old paint brush to get the spiral and the leaves were cut with a punch from EK Success.

This side I just left plain.  All I did was edge the paper with Versa Color Umber.  All the papers are done  the same.

The next side was covered with a different design from the same paper collection.

 The butterfly is another wooden piece from Kaisercraft and, again, I left it bare and just placed the flat back pearls on the wings.  I did edge it slightly with Versa Color Umber.

This flower is from Prima ( I'm pretty sure it is ), the spirals are the same as on the other side and the greenery was punched out with Martha Stewart's Branch Punch.

 This side was also left plain.

The hole at the top of the cover was edged with some dusky pink braid.

And there you have it.  My altered tissue box cover. 

 The reason I made it with two slightly different colour-ways is because, it sits on a shelf in the corner so you only get to see two sides at a time and, when I get tired of looking at one side I simply turn it around and get a new perspective.  I must admit though, I do prefer the bird cage side.

Thank you once again for visiting and I hope you enjoy the rest of the day.

Take care and God Bless.

oxox Marg

Card for a Boy!

Hello everyone.  

I have a 'boy' card to show you.  I made it for my grand-nephew who turns 11 this year, I hope he likes it.

I struggle sometimes trying to work out what kind of card to make or what colours to use, and then, if I'm lucky, I'll find a collection in my stash which is just perfect.  In this case it was Kaisercraft's Up Up and Away.  The colours are just right and the label perfect to use as an embellishment.

For the vertical panel, I used Martha Stewart's Optic Dot Border Punch.

I cut out a mat from the brown cardstock ( Sorry, I don't know what the die is called.  It's been in my stash for quite some time  and I hadn't kept  any of the details. ), trimmed the edge off the hot air balloon label and attached it with some 3d foam squares.

I attached the mat to the card with the foam squares as well to give it extra dimension.  Sorry for the blurred picture but I hope you can see what I mean.

Before I glued the paper down I wrapped some string around it and attached a button ( I think it's from Graphic 45 ) when I tied the bow.

The Birthday label is made from a ticket tag.  I liked the edge on it so I cut out a mat from the cardstock to match, turned the ticket upside down and stamped the sentiment on it.  After attaching it to the card front I also stamped over it with two stamps from Tattered Angels Timeless Romance Clear Stamps Set. 

For the inside of my cards I usually print a page with a little verse and a picture that matches the theme of the card.  I just attach that in the centre so it opens out when the card is opened.  I also write a little personal message underneath the verse before I send it off.

Once I decided on the paper and the layout, this card didn't take too long to make.
 I'm pleased with the way it turned out.  Hopefully my nephew will be too.

Before I go I would like to say 'Thank You' to the lovely ladies who have left me a comment.  I really do appreciate them.
   Thank you so much for visiting.  Hope you have a great day.
Take care and God Bless.
oxox Marg

 

I Won a Prize!

Hello everyone.  Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog.

Yes, the title of this post is right.
  I Won a Prize!

Just before Christmas Sandie Edwards at Delightfully Crazy ran a giveaway competition for the followers of her blog.  There was just one prize and it was awesome.  Lots and lots of fantastic goodies so I thought, 'Why not',  and put my name in.

  So, in January Sandie had her gorgeous little boy Jesse pull out of the box the name of the person to win the prize, but he didn't want to stop at just one, he was having too much fun ( Told you he was gorgeous didn't I? ).  He pulled out a couple more and so Sandie, beautiful, generous person that she is decided to allocate two more prizes, and I won Third!!!  I was gobsmacked ( for those of you who don't speak Aussie that means 'stunned' ) I really hadn't expected anything and I was totally thrilled.

So, of course, I just have to  show you my 'loot'.
( Sorry folks, I don't have a video camera so there's going to be lots and lots of photos. )
 ( I'm not really sorry 'cos I really, really want to show you everything.  LOL )

Lots of beautiful hand dyed laces,  some gorgeous little charms, resin pieces some plastic flowers and brads and a little bit of bling.
Now for the close-ups.

Sandie wrote me a lovely message in this little card. Isn't it sweet?
Apparently it is one of the first ones she ever made and I will treasure it.

There are lots of gorgeous little butterflies which I can use in my charm strands and there's  some bees as well.    I love the large butterfly and the little heart, they will have to go on a special project.

 

 I haven't seen these before but they should look fabulous tucked into some flower clusters.  Can't wait to try it.

 Aren't these little urns beautiful?  But I must say those little birds have won me over.  I have to get some more of these.

Aren't they sweet?  Again, I can't wait to use them on something special.

Then there's these lovely resin pieces, and don't you just love that little teddy bear?
He is adorable.  That piece of bling will be great as a closure for a mini album.  Mmmmmm,  I know just the one I'm going to use it on.
And now, the lace.

Isn't this gorgeous?  

 And this...

And this...

 And this ...

Oooooohh!  I'm in heaven.  The colour of that seam binding is glorious.

And aren't these beautifully coloured as well?
Sandie hand dyed all these laces and they are just perfect.  I love every single one, and I'll probably cry if I have to cut them apart to fit on my projects but I can't wait to use them.
I would like to thank Sandie from the bottom of my heart.  She is such a talented and generous lady, if you haven't visited her blog, it is a must.  She is on quite a few design teams and does the most amazing work.  You can visit HERE. Please take the time to check it out.
Once again Sandie, thank you so much for my prize.  Love it, love it love it.
That's all for today.  Thank you so much for visiting.
Take care and God Bless.
oxox Marg