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

 

Travel Mini - Part two

Hello again everyone.  Here is the second installment of my Travel Mini.
Just a warning that it is a huge post with lots and lots of photos.
In my last post I mentioned I would give you the link to Kathy Orta's tutorials in case anyone wanted to get it for themselves but first I'll give you the link to the video of the album this tutorial is based on.  That way you can see exactly what you'd be getting.  The album is Kathy's All Occasion Mini Album and you can view the video HERE.   I'll give you the link to her tutorials at the end of this post.  (Sneaky huh?  Now you have to look through my post don't you?  LOL)

Here is page 5.

Just a simple page same as No. 3.  The suitcase is a pocket which holds a photo mat and a journalling card and, again, there is room on the page underneath for another photo.

Page 6.

 In between pages 5 and 6 is a half page which is actually just a pocket.  This is a very clever little design that Kathy incorporated into this album.  You simply cut a couple of slots into the leaves of the binding and pull that section to the side when glueing in the page.

 Then onto the spare piece you glue this little pocket and it acts like just another page that you can flip over.   You can make your pocket any width you like but you will have to glue the bottom closed because this piece of binding will probably not be wide enough.  You will also need to glue that section closed at the bottom of the main page.

 

 I love this idea and will use it in future albums too.   As you can see the small pocket/page holds a photo mat and the large page also has a photo mat in the side pocket.

 

It's hard to tell from the above photo but the larger mat has a photo stack inside it as shown below.

Once I get the photos into it I'll do a bit of decorating.

Page 7.

Again a simple page just with a pocket, photo mat and journalling tag.
I mentioned in my last post that I'm using Kaisercraft's Check-in Collection for this album and most of the labels are from their collectables but the large label in this page is actually from Prima's Romance Novel Collection and the circular  journalling spot is from Melissa Francis.  I also should tell you that all the papers and tags are distressed  with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.

Page 8.

 This is another page with the pocket/page in the centre.

Three photo mats to this set of pages, two are doubled over and the larger one is folded three times so, again, lots of places to put photos.  Needless to say this album is quite thick.

 When the pocket/page is turned over you can see there is another fold out section here and again, I have fastened the tags and the page together with a paper clip.

 As with the fold out page in my previous post, this one also opens out twice but is different in that it  also has a pocket with an extra photo mat inside.

Page 9.

 Another simple page with pocket, and labels.  The hot air balloon was in with the collectables.  Loved it so I had to pop it in somewhere.

Page 10.

On this page there is a half pocket with a double photo mat inside and there is also a double photo mat in the side pocket which itself has a pocket on the inside. 

Page 11.

Nearly there folks.  This is the second to last page.  Another simple one with just a pocket and some tags.

Inside back cover and final page.  Whew!! Told you there were a lot of photos. LOL

 This page has a double pocket with a double mat in the bottom one and a mat with a pocket and another double  mat in the top one.

Final photo is the back cover.

 

I just left this plain.

There you have it  folks.  My Travel Mini Album.  I do apologise for the length of this post but I didn't want to go to a third installment and I really did want to show you all of it.

As promised the link to Kathy Orta's tutorials is HERE.  There are a few of them on the page and they are all for sale but as I said at the beginning of this post this album is the All Occasions Mini Album.

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