Card for a 16th Birthday

Hello everyone.

I'm back again to show you the card I made for my grandson's Birthday.  He turned 16 a few days ago.  ( Isn't it scary how quickly they grow up ? )

 The papers I used are from Prima's Craftsman Collection.  The metal embellishment below is actually a button I found at (Surprise! Surprise! ) Big W.  I cut a small circle from cardstock with a plier punch, coloured it with a silver Versa Colour Stamp Pad and then swiped it lightly with Bronze and then glued it to the inside so that I could cover the button holes.

Here is a close-up of the cogs.  This is actually a single piece which I obtained at the Melbourne Paperific last year.  I think it was from Twiddlybits but I'm not sure because, unfortunately, I've thrown out the packaging.  I coloured this with Black Versa Magic and then swiped it with silver and bronze Versa Color to give it that old rusty look.

I've placed a small tag behind the main image for the greeting. 

I covered the tag with paper from the same collection and then stamped it with a flourish stamp from my stash.  For the greeting I simply cut a strip of paper, inked it all over with Walnut Stain Distress Ink, stamped the happy birthday with a Kaisercraft Stamp and then folded it to make the banner. 

The number 16 was cut from black cardstock with my Silhouette Portrait. (Love this little machine.) 

I lightly inked that with the bronze Versa Color, edged it with gold and covered it with Glossy Accents.

I made an envelope from a different set of papers, made another banner for his name and placed a few cogs in the lower left hand corner  which were coloured the same way as the main piece.

He really liked his card and that made my day.

That's all for now.  Thank you so much for taking the time to visit.

Take care and God Bless.

ox Marg

Anniversary or ... Maybe ... Birthday?

Hello everyone, hope you're having a lovely day.  

I'd like to share with you a card I made.  Usually I make cards with a specific person in mind so I take note of the colours they like and the things they are interested in.  Lately though, I've made some without worrying about who they were for.  These cards were made simply because I wanted to try out some different techniques  and because I was inspired by the layouts and/or  colours from different scrappy blogs that I visited.  I've already shown you a couple of these in past posts and here is another one.  (  I must warn you here ... There will be more  )

This is obviously a feminine card but I haven't yet decided who or what I'm going to use it for.  Hence, the greeting has not yet been stuck down.

 I will be using the small Imaginarium frame but it could be for an Anniversary or I might decide to give it as a Birthday card.  Who knows.  ( I certainly don't at this stage )

The frame was painted with gesso and then I randomly covered it with glossy accents.  It's a bit hard to see on the photo but it turned out quite nice with just a little bit of shine here and there.    I made the large flower from a tutorial  by Natasha at Moments of Tranquility, the gold rose is from Prima and the buds are from Kaisercraft.  The little plastic flowers you can see I received as part of a prize I won from Sandie Edwards at Delightfully Crazy.  (Check out her blog, she does some fantastic work)

These little flowers fitted in here really well.  The pink ones I coloured on the back only with some nail polish.  I love how they look.  Again, the photo doesn't show it but in real life they almost seem to glow.  

Did a little bit of doodling on the leaves and the pearls are threaded through the centre of the flowers  and then attached to a small spray.  The doily was cut in half and edged lightly with Walnut Stain Distress Ink and then tucked under the paper layer.

 Here you can sort of see what I mean here about the little plastic flowers 'glowing'.  ( Well, to me they do anyway.  LOL)

Coloured the Make it Crafty Ornate Corner piece with Versa Color Bronze and then added the tiny pearls.  The stamp is from Kaisercraft.  I don't know how I smudged the paper here but I'm telling myself that it adds just a little more grunge.  ( Trust Me !!! )

There's not a lot to this card but I'm pleased with how it turned out.  Now I just need to sort out who I'm giving it to. 

Thank you so much for stopping by and please do come again.

Take care and God Bless.

oxox Marg

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