Positivity Journal

Hello everyone!!  So pleased you've come for a visit!!

Today I'd like to share a little Journal with you.  Those of you who visit Astrid Maclean's Blog will know all about this one.  At the end of last year Astrid posted about a Journal she was starting up and invited others to join in with her.  Each day you write down something positive that happened, such as someone who smiled at you, or opened a door for you or even seeing sunshine through the trees, just something nice that happened to you that day.  To keep a record of all these things, create a little Journal to keep them in.  If you'd like to see that post HERE is the link.

I thought this was such a lovely idea that I just had to join in, so I created this Journal just for that purpose.

As luck would have it, my DDIL Kerry-Jean Watson had just learned how to make books using Coptic Stitching so I asked her to teach me and that's how I put this little book together.  I don't think Kerry-Jean actually did a post on the books she's made yet but if you'd like to have a look at her blog you can find it HERE. What I really love about this method is the fact that the pages sit really flat ...

which makes them so much easier to decorate.  The papers I've used are ones that have been in my stash for a long, long time and they are quite thick and sturdy so hopefully I won't have too much trouble with them when I ink and spray.
Here is the back of the book.  All I've done here is inked the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink ...

... and here is the front.  It was actually covered in the same paper as the back and then I used a separate plain sheet of paper to decorate it.

 To colour the background I used Distress Ink in Fired Brick, Mustard Seed and Walnut Stain.  Simply pressed each of them fairly close together onto my non-stick mat and then swiped the paper through it.  For texture I used the Cracked Paint Stencil by Scrapbookingncraft with my homemade texture paste and also did some stamping with a text stamp by Prima.

The die cut is Memory Box's Honey Blossom Sprig which I cut in two and glued to separate corners. 
I wrote the Title on some tissue paper with a Sharpie pen and then simply glued it onto the cover.  It doesn't blend in quite as nicely as I would have liked but I am fairly happy with it anyway.

The Butterfly die cut is Memory Box's Vivienne Butterfly.  I mounted it on some tissue paper, trimmed around it and then simply glued it onto the cover sheet.

 Here is the other half of the Honey Blossom Sprig die cut.

I did a bit of shading around the die cuts, etc. and also a little bit of edging in gold acrylic paint
and that's it.  My Journal is ready to go.
If any of you are interested, please visit Astrid's Blog for the full details and let her know that you wish to join in.  There is a logo that you can get as well.  You can see it on my side bar, this shows everyone that you are a part of this project.  I am really enjoying this, it is a lot of fun and a great reminder that good things happen even on bad days.

Thank you so much for visiting and I do hope you will take part in this Positivity Project, I'm sure you'll enjoy it as much as I am.

Please take care and God Bless.
oxox Marg

Side Step Card

Hello Everyone!!!  Welcome to my blog, I hope your day is going well.

The weather here in Adelaide today is beautiful, bright and sunny but not too hot, just the way I like it.  I do feel so sorry for those of you caught up in the extreme cold and terrible floods they are getting in the Northern Hemisphere.  It must be so difficult to get on with your life in those kinds of temperatures and conditions.  Let's hope it lets up real soon.

I have a side step card to share with you today.  Haven't made one of these in a long time, I do find they take a bit more effort, but I really do like them.

 The papers used are from Pion's Flower and Frames Collection.  I really love these papers, they are so pretty.  Lovely pastel colours and subtle patterns and so easy to work with.   Below you can see a close-up of the subtle images these papers have on them.  Love it!!  This time I've used the 12 x 12 papers which are double sided so the base paper and the top layer are cut from the same sheet, I've just used opposite sides.  The contrast is easier to see in real life.  As you can see, I did a little doodling with my white gel pen.

The piece of lace used here was the last little bit I had left and it wasn't quite long enough for the length of the card so I manipulated it to look like the edge of a doily sticking out of the side.  I've also used Memory Box's Honey Blossom Sprig Die again (love that die, I use it a lot) and placed a little bit of gauze and a couple of branches between the layers.  

The large flower is called Meadow and both it and the small roses are available at Meg's Garden.com.  The leaves were cut using my Silhouette (they are actually left overs from my Christmas cards) and I used some Perfect Pearls for the veins.  The small branches were cut with Martha Stewart's Twig Branch Punch and the music is Memory Box's Virtuoso Music Die. 

The metal embellishment was coated with gesso and then sprayed with Pearl Glimmer Mist.

This card took a little more effort only because you need to marry up the side panel with the embellies on the front and I had a little trouble with that initially, but I'm happy with the final result.

Thank you so much for visiting  and, hopefully, for your comments as well.
Please take care and God Bless.
oxox Marg

Art Journal - 'Bubbles'

Hi everyone and a very warm welcome to my blog!!

I have been procrastinating over this post all day, trying to make up my mind as to what to share with you.  I have a few projects on the go at the moment and couldn't decide as to which one to do first but, finally, the decision has been made. 

I would like to share another Art Journal page.

 I've called it 'Bubbles' for obvious reasons but haven't yet found a quote to put on it.  Not even sure if I want one for this page.  I just enjoyed the process and am not really fussed about any words for it but, you never know, I may come across something someday that will fit.

 The background was created by putting  different Distress Inks on my non-stick mat and then just placing the page on the top.  This seems to be the best process for me.  I have tried so many times coating the page with gesso and then using sprays for the colour but it just never works, so I think Distress Inks are going to be my 'thing' as far as my Journal pages are concerned anyway.  The colours I used are Fired Brick, Mustard Seed and Walnut Stain.

 The large circles or 'bubbles' were stamped with BoBunny's Stained Texture stamps on a separate piece of paper the smaller ones were hand drawn.  They were then cut out and coloured and then glued onto the page and edged with a black and a white pen.  The smaller ones were also stamped with another BoBunny Texture Stamp.  I also place some washi tape in two of the corners.

 Used TCW's 'Mini Grandma's Doily' template in opposite corners and went around some of the edges of the design with a white gel pen.  Did some stamping with Kaisercraft's Crackle stamp and used TCW's Mini Circle Explosion template as well.  The floral stamp around the edge is also from Kaisercraft but I don't know the name of it. 

 And that's about it!!  A fairly simple page although it did take a while to do, mainly because I'm never sure which direction these pages of mine are going to go.  As I said at the beginning, I procrastinate, in all manner of ways (sigh).  

Thank you so much for visiting.

Take care and God Bless.

oxox Marg

A Simply Masculine Card

Hello everyone!!  Hope you have all recovered from the New Year Celebrations!!!  

We just had a quiet night at home.  Sounds very boring doesn't it, but it was nice actually.  Hubby and I  just watched a movie and had a couple of drinks together.  He actually went to bed early but I stayed up till after midnight as I usually do.  Luckily this year we didn't have anyone letting off fireworks near us  so our dogs weren't scared out of their wits and that was a big relief.

Anyhow, I'm here of course to share another card with you.  I have got a few other projects to share as well but they will be for another day.  This time it's a masculine card.

It's a fairly simple one but I like it which is a good thing I guess seeing as how I'm the one who  made it. 

Anyway ... on with the show!!!

 As I said it is fairly simple.  I trimmed a bit of cardboard to size and then tore off one side of the paper to expose the corrugation underneath and used that as my base paper.  Really like how that looks gives it a bit of a grunge feel.  I then wound some twine around one end for a bit of interest.

 The clock is from a sheet which is available at Meg's Garden called Old World Time.  There are some fabulous clock images on these sheets, this is only one of them.

The papers I've used here are actually some leftover Christmas papers also from Meg's Garden.  I simply tore the paper to the size I wanted leaving the edges raw and then  just curled the corners.   The small chippie is from Scrapbookncraft.  It is actually a corner piece which I cut in half and placed on opposite sides of the card.  The two pieces were coloured with Versa Color 'Lapislazuli' and Kaisercraft 'Red Gum' and then I swiped them lightly with Versa Color 'Silver'.

The light bulb is from Prima and the label plate might also be from them but I am really not sure.  I cut the packaging apart and didn't take note of the manufacturer.  I've really go to stop doing that, but I get enthusiastic about using the product and forget to take note of who made it.  

Lined the inside with a couple of strips of Kaisercraft paper which was edged with Martha Stewart's Optic Dot Border Punch.  

I've had a few questions about how I write the sentiment when I decorate the inside of my cards like this.  What I usually do is print out a sentiment on my computer, use a die (in this case the Victorian Square from Couture Creations) to cut it out and then simply sign it.  

This one is just to demonstrate so, of course, there is no actual sentiment.  I haven't yet decided who this card is for so I won't print out anything until I've made up my mind.   

And there it is.  A reasonably simple card which didn't take too long to make but, for all that, I really do like it.

I'd like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year and hope it brings you everything you wish for.

Thank you so much for visiting and, hopefully, leaving me a little comment, I really do appreciate it.

Please take care and God Bless.

oxox Marg

Ribbon & Lace & Pion Design Papers

Hello everyone!!  Welcome to my little blog!!

  Are you still recovering from Christmas???  I know I am.  Hope you all had an awesome day!!  Not long and we'll be celebrating the New Year!!  Is it just me or are the years flying by a lot quicker these days?  Getting scary how it all just slips by so fast!  

As you can guess I have a card to share with you.  This one was again made with the Pion Papers I won a little while ago.  Adore these papers, they are awesome and so easy to work with!!

 I used the 6' x 6' papers again for this.  Cut the base paper and tore a couple of strips for the layers.  Distressed them all and did a little doodling with my white gel pen, then layered the lace in between.

 The leaf flourish is from the Kraft Expression range from Little Birdie.  They are available at 'Cheap as Chips' here in Australia.  

 The small rose is from Kaisercraft and the other flowers came from Seriously Scrapbooking.

 I also added some gauze underneath and the small pearl stamens.

 The ribbon used here was actually wrapped around the papers.  It is so pretty I just had to use it too and popped in a couple of stamens when I made the bow.

 The strips inside were edged with Martha Stewart's Doily Lace Border Punch.

There you have it!!  As I said before, I simply adore these Pion Papers they are so lovely and so easy to work with.

Thank you so much for stopping by.  Love having you visit and would love it too if you could leave me a little comment and let me know what you think.
Before I go, I would just like to thank all of my followers, especially those of you who visit and comment on a regular basis.  I really appreciate you taking the time and giving me such wonderful and heartwarming support.  Love you all. ox

Do take care and God Bless.
oxox Marg

Christmas Cards # 3

Hi everyone!!!  Welcome to my blog ... so pleased you came for a visit.

I'm back to share with you the last of the Christmas Cards I made for this year.  These are the ones I made for close family and some special friends, although I must say, all of my friends are special.  They must be to put up with me!!  hehe!!

As with the other cards I've shown you, these are all basically the same card just made with different papers.   They are Easel Cards and all of the base papers are from Meg's Garden's 'Musical Christmas' and 'Christmas Time' Mini Packs and the trees were made with a number of different Kaisercraft Christmas papers.

 Construction of the tree is simple.  You just cut a triangle to whatever size you want from chipboard or some other type of stiff board, glue a small frill of border punched paper along the bottom and then fill the shape with leaf diecuts from different papers.  It is a little time consuming but I thoroughly enjoyed making these, they are a lot of fun.  You could add some glitter here and there or maybe a few small gems to represent lights or even use some white puff paint or embossing powder to represent snow but I left these plain.  I felt the different colours of the paper was enough.

The star at the top of the tree is a plastic snowflake which I painted with gold acrylic paint.  The label is from Kaisercraft to which I added the greeting sticker and the diecut is the 'Virtuoso Music' Die from Memory Box.

 The inside was decorated with more of the papers from Meg's Garden and I just added a diecut oval shape with the sentiment and also a Kaisercraft 'Holly Border' flourish.  The flourish was coloured with Versa Color in Scarlet and Green  and I also added a few red gems to represent berries.

 Here is how the card looks standing up ...  

 ... and here are a few pics of some others made with different papers.

On this one you can see the little bit of border punching I did on the paper.  It doesn't show up quite as well on the others.

Once again, this is just a sampling of the cards made.  

Not sure if I'll be back here before Christmas so I would like to wish all of you a wonderful and joyous Christmas.  Hope you all have a fabulous day and many Blessings to each and every one of you.

Thank you so much for visiting.

Take care and God Bless.

oxox Marg