Art Caddy using Meg's Garden Damask Papers

Hi everyone and a very warm welcome to the blog.  Thank you so much for visiting.

Today I'd like to share with you a Caddy I created from scratch.  I have to warn you though that this is going to be a pretty long post as I've created a Step by Step Tutorial as well.  So, I do hope you won't be put off.  Anyway, here goes.

First up, a little sneak peek of the finished piece.  

I hope this will entice you to stay till the end.  LOL!!

Step 1 ...  You need to determine what type of box you want.  In my case, I needed a box in which I could keep my Art Journals and a few supplies, such as Water Colour Pencils and Crayons.  So for that purpose, I decided I wanted a Caddy so I could have my Journals in one side and my supplies in the other.  You also need to decide what size you want your box to be and that, of course is determined by what you wish to keep in the box.  I measured the height, width and depth of the Journals and supplies and this is the design I came up with.

Step 2 ... Work out what pieces are needed for the box and the size they need to be.

As you can see, the size of these pieces corrolate to the dimensions on the original drawing.

Step 3 ... Cut out the pieces needed from your choice of product.  You can use cardboard or chipboard or any other material which has some strength to it.  I have actually used paperboard which is available from the Newsagent.  This is very similar to Chipboard but it does work out a little cheaper.

As you can see, the sizes of the pieces cut out are the same as the sizes on the drawing.  For the centre panel, the straight edge is 8" high and then I used a plate to draw the curve.  The heart shape was cut out using a Fiskars Cutter and Heart Template.  It didn't actually cut all the way through the board but I simply cut the rest of the way with a craft knife.  On the base, draw a line at the half way mark.  This is the guide for placement of the handle.  You should also mark the half way point on the longer side pieces for the same reason.  I forgot and had to do it after it was put together which was a bit of a pain. LOL

 Step 4 ...  To join the pieces together you need to cut some strips of card stock.  They should be about one and a quarter inch wide.  Then score them down the middle lengthwise and place double sided tape on each side of the score mark.

 Step 4 ...  Adhere the joining strips to each piece of the box.  For the base you will need to adhere a joiner on all sides as shown below.

 For the sides you will only need to adhere a joiner on one side edge of each piece.

For the handle you will need to adhere the joiners on both sides at the bottom and also on both sides of the side edges but only up to the height of the box.  In my case that was 5". 

 I have only shown it on two sides here but you will have to place the joiners on the other side edge as well.

Step 5 ...  Now we can start to put the box together.  When joining the side pieces to the base I found it was a good idea to first, take the backing off the double sided tape and then stand the side piece up along the base and push the joiner onto it making sure it sticks down really well.  

As you can see below, it leaves that little bit of space between the two pieces which is necessary for movement in joining the side edges together later.  If you butted these two pieces together, you would not be able to lift the sides up to join them.  

Make sure you have one side joiner at each corner of the base. Here you can see how it looks with the sides attached.  

Now you can lift up each side piece and join the corners together ...

 ... and here is the basic box all joined up.  Now it's time to insert the handle.

Take the backing off the double sided tape on one of the bottom joiners, line the handle up to the centre guideline and stick the joiner to the base of the box.  Then stick down the joiner on the other side of the handle base.  Once it is stuck to the bottom you can then adhere the handle to the sides, lining it up on the guideline as shown. 

 Here is the basic box all ready to be decorated.  I really do hope you are still with me.  I did warn it was going to be a long post, didn't I ?????

So now I can show you the completed box.
TA!! DAAAAA!!

 To cover the box, I have used three different papers from Meg's stunning Damask Collection.  I will give you a list of all Meg's Garden products used at the bottom of this post.

 Although these papers don't need a lot of enhancement I did decide to do some masking and stenciling to make it more uniquely my own.

I've also used some Washi Tape and did some fussy cutting  as well.   Ran the frame on the front  through an embossing folder, coloured it with Black Soot Distress Ink and Versa Color Gold, and then it was clear embossed.  The quote was printed on some scrap DP and also clear embossed.  The clock  and the label were fussy cut from Meg's papers. 

 The sides were decorated with stencils, stamps, washi tape, a bling flourish and some flowers. On this side I fussy cut the label from another sheet and mounted it on some paperboard to give it a bit of dimension.

 I also fussy cut some of the leaves from the papers.

 A closie of the stamping and stenciling.

This is the other side before ...

 ... and after decorating.

 The inside ....

... and the handle.

I had a great time making this box and I hope I made the instructions clear enough for you to follow.  I also hope I didn't bore you to tears with such a long post and thank you so much for your patience.

As promised, here is the list of Meg's Garden Products used

Blue Belle Jardiniere 12 x 12 Paper - P6380
Blue & Green Damask 12 x 12 Paper - P6368
Framboise Fleur  12 x 12 Paper - P6371
Forget me Not Mini Pack - S113
Old World Time - 1037
Small Rectangular Parisian Frame - fr005

Thank you so much for visiting and enjoy the rest of your day.
Take care and God Bless
oxox Marg

'Happiness' Art Journal Page

Hello lovely people and welcome to my blog.  

Here I am again to share another Art Journal page with you.  Wow!!  This is a first for me ... two journal pages in a row.   My Journal pages usually take quite a long time for me to finish because I never really know what I'm going to do.  I am still experimenting with this medium and I very rarely have a design in my head when I start.  I do usually know the colours I want to use but once I've got that on the paper I don't always know where to go from there so it sits on my desk until I decide what to do next.  This page was a bit different.  I started with the basic colours and it all came together quite quickly from there.  It still took most of a day but when you consider that they usually take me a few weeks to complete, this one came together very quickly indeed.

 After posting my last page, I was in the mood for getting a bit messy so started creating the background colour.  I tried laying down some gesso but still don't seem to have the knack.  I watered it down a bit thinking that might make the difference but for some reason, when I coat the page with gesso the colour just seems to disappear.  I've seen other people's work using gesso and theirs is fabulous, but I just can't seem to make it work. Consequently my first page ended up in the bin.  It was an awful mess.  So then I started this page without the gesso and it worked!!  I'm really happy with this background ... I love the dark, richness of it!!  I used watered down Distress Inks in Brushed Corduroy, Broken China and Walnut Stain and also used watered down Viva Precious Metal Colour in Olive.  You can't really see it in these photos but the green has a lovely golden sheen to it.

 Brushed on some 'Clear Rock Candy' Distress Crackle Paint in a couple of places and used 'Walnut Stain' through a  Crackle Stencil by Scrapbookncraft.  Used a music stamp by Prima with Memento Tuxedo Black and the top from one of my spray bottles dipped in gesso and then in Black Soot Distress Stain for the circles.

 The hearts were cut from some plain cardstock with a Fiskars Shape Cutter and then coloured with Fired Brick and Mustard Seed Distress Ink.  Glued them onto the page and then outlined them with a black watercolour pencil and also highlighted them with a white gel pen.

 Here you can see the other patch of the crackle.

I had actually intended to put flowers on this page, hence the washi tape which was meant to be the ground.  When I changed my mind and used the hearts instead I tried to remove the tape but it started tearing the paper beneath it so I simply left it there.   

The quote stamp is from Kaisercraft.  Stamped it with Memento Tuxedo Black and then clear embossed it.  I was very pleased with myself that I finished this page so quickly and I must say, I am really happy with the result, it really represents how I feel about my life right now.  I am very, very blessed to have a wonderful, loving family and some amazing and treasured friends, so my heart really does bubble over with happiness right now and happiness is so much better when it's shared isn't it??
Even in the tough times we really do need to sit back and count our blessings.

Thank you so much for visiting, I am really pleased you came to have a look.  Please do come again.

Take care and God Bless.

oxox Marg

Butterflies and Washi Tape

Hi everyone!!  Welcome to my blog.  I hope you are all having a lovely day.

I actually have an Art Journal page to share with you today.  'What!!' I hear you say?  'No, Step Card?'  Nope, not today!  Today I have an Art Journal page.  Do I hear cheering????  LOL

 This page has been sitting on my desk for an age waiting to get finished.  I was experimenting with different sprays and drips and this was the only one I really liked so I kept it, but I had a lot of other things to make  and I really didn't know what I wanted to do with it and so it just sat there.  I would look at it from time to time, and each time couldn't make up my mind as to what to do so would give up and do something else.  Then, finally, the other day I did the stamping around the edge and added the Washi Tape and it was like a dam broke and it all came together in a very short amount of time. 

 Added strips of Washi Tape in the middle, did the background stamping with a Kaisercraft script 

stamp ...

... stamped the KC Flutter stamp onto some tissue paper  and glued that down with some Multi Matte Medium and coloured the stamp with some Watercolour Pencils.  Then I stood back to make up my mind as to what to do next .... and decided I love it just the way it is.

Unfortunately the stamping on the tissue paper is a little fuzzy but I still like it.  Adds character I say!!

Thank you so much for visiting and I would love it if you would leave a comment to let me know what you think..  

Please take care and God Bless.

oxox Marg

In Step with Meg's Garden Damask Collection

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog.

I'm back to share my Meg's Garden DT Project with you today.  This card is made with the stunning new Damask range of papers. Once again, it's a centre Step Card.  I think I'm stuck in a rut.  I seem to be making a lot of these step cards but I just love working with them.  So .......  I guess there probably wil be quite a few more to come.  Really hope you don't get bored ???  

 As you can see I've incorporated a few different papers from the collection in this card to create the layers.  Some of the papers are from the Mini Pack and some are scraps from the 12 x 12 sheets left over from another project.  The leaf flourish on the side panels was stamped with Memento 'Tuxedo Black'. 

 For one of the layers I've used a square doily cut in half  and scrunched up a bit and then placed a torn piece of the paper over that.  Added a bit of lace and another strip of torn paper.  I love using odd bits of paper.  The uneven edges look more interesting to me that regular straight cuts.  The flourish and the twigs  were cut from cardstock with my Silhouette and the label was fussy cut from one of the mini papers.  You'll also see I've inserted some small branches in between some of the layers for extra interest.  The small gem sprays are from Magnolia Ink.

 Just a closie of the layers.  You can also see I've used a little bit of gesso in the corners and down the side as well.

 This gorgeous flower was white originally, but it simply looked too stark against the rest of the card so I decided to give it a bit of a make-over.  I gave it a burst with my Lindy's Stamp Gang Starburst Spray in Sea Grass Green and 'voila' now it blends in beautifully.  Well, to me it does anyway.  I really love that the centre is now more or less a solid green and the petals have also got some spots of colour as well.  Wetting the flower with the spray actually caused it to open out a bit and gave it more dimension ... you could say the spray made it blossom !!  LOL

 The chippie border is from Little Birdie and I've simply coloured that with some watered down Acrylic Paint.

And there you have it.  My Centre Step Card made with the new Damask Collection papers.  These papers are truly beautiful and such a lovely colour.  The photos really don't do them justice.  Why not visit Meg's Garden shop and have a closer look, you can find it HERE.  Believe me, you won't be sorry.

List of Meg's Garden Products used:

Blue Belle Jardiniere 12 x 12 Paper - P6380

Blue & Green Damask 12 x 12 Paper - P6368

Framboise Fleur 12 x 12 Paper - P6370

Damask Mini Paper Pack - S120

Gardenia 3 Layer White - gar wh

1.6cm White Lace - L2920

Mini Square Doily - bond10

If you'd like to see the awesome projects created by my Teamies please visit Meg's Garden Blog HERE

Thank you so much for visiting with me here today, I really do appreciate you taking the time. 

I hope you enjoy the rest of your day.

Take care and God Bless.

oxox Marg

Shabby in Blue

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog.  I hope you are all having a lovely day.  

It's a beautiful day here in Adelaide.  A little bit cool, which suits me to a tee, and beautifully sunny.   It is Autumn though, so that could change at the drop of a hat.  In the meantime, I will simply make the most of it.

I have made another step card that I'd like to share with you.  

 The papers used are Kaisercraft's Hidden Treasure.   The only ones I have actually cut are the doily, which was cut in half and placed diagonally across opposite corners, and the base paper.  The rest have simply been torn to the sizes I wanted.  It gives them a wonderful distressed edge and a lovely shabby look.  

 
This lovely little flower is a gardenia which is available from Meg's Garden as are the copper leaves.

This chipboard piece is from Little Birdie .  I simply painted it with gesso and, when dry, randomly applied some Helmar glue and sprinkled clear glitter over it.  

The papers were curled using a Kaisercraft Tool and I also wrapped some different sized twines around the bottom and tied it in a bow.

I fully lined the inside with paper from the same collection and decided to place some contrasting strips on the stand for some extra strength.

Just a closie showing the layers.

I really love this paper, especially the one with the tiny floral pattern.  Took a while for me to actually use it and now it's gone.  Ah well, I hope whoever gets this card will appreciate the sacrifice.  hehe!!

Thank you so much for visiting and for any comment you might leave.  I really do appreciate you taking the time.
Please take care and God Bless.
oxox Marg