Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #261 - Lots of Layers

Hi everyone!   Thank you for stopping by my blog today.  So happy to have you visit.  A very special welcome to my new followers.  Thank you for joining me on my creative journey.

So, the CCM Team are back from our break and it's time for a new Challenge.   Jo is our host for this one and the Theme is Lots of Layers.  As always, you can enter anything you like, a card, layout, off the page, whatever you wish  as long as it follows the Theme.

Over the last few months, I have been busy creating a couple of mini albums and, as the cover of this album has lots of layers, thought it would be perfect as my DT contribution for this Challenge.  I usually take my time creating my albums and only work on them in between other projects.  This little book was created for my Granddaughter who turned 18 just recently.  I am only showing the cover today and will share the book itself later on.

The papers used in this book are from the Darcelle A4 paper pad by Prima.  I love these papers, they look pretty here but are even better in real life. There's actually 5 layers of paper on this cover, the first of which is the main base mat.  It's mostly covered here but is very pretty.

You can see some book paper in between the dp and I added a cute little bow made with a new punch I purchased recently.  A little difficult to make as it is so small, but really sweet.

Added a small cluster of Little Birdie Flowers ..

.. and created a faux Polaroid frame which I edged with some gold embossing.

The closure on this album is a ribbon bow which was simply threaded through an eyelet on the front and back cover..

I do love how this turned out.  Hope you like it too.

For more inspiration, please pop over to the CCM blog and take a look at the fabulous creations by my Teamies.  Would love it if you joined in with the Challenge.

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #261 - Lots of Layers.

 

Thank you so much for your visit and the lovely comments as well.  I haven't done much crafting of late so I haven't posted as often and I also haven't done a lot of visiting either (I do apologise for that) so I'm especially grateful for your visits and comments.  I'm hoping things will get back to normal soon.

 

Take care and God Bless.

 

oxox  Marg

 

Happy Anniversary

Hello everyone.  Thank you for stopping by my blog today.  Hope you are all safe and well.

My Sister and her Husband celebrated their Anniversary a little while ago and I thought it was time I shared the card I created for them.  They live in Victoria which is going through its second Covid19 wave, which is a bit scary.   Luckily though, they don't live in the danger zone and are both still safe and well.  Just hope and pray they stay that way and that this second wave will dissipate soon.

The card I'm showing here was created at the same time as the Wedding card I shared with you a little while ago HERE.   It was also made very much the same.  The only differences are the papers and the flower cluster.  I find it so much easier now to create a couple (or more) cards at the same time using much the same elements and design.

The papers are from a paper pad by Crafters Choice called Pale Garden.  Lots of pretty florals in this pad and I felt they were quite appropriate for this card.

I used the same lace and twine as in the previous card and the greeting was generated on the computer and then mounted on a small piece of cardstock for dimension and strength.

The flowers are by Little Birdie.

Pleased to say that my sister was delighted with it.  Not so sure what her hubby thought but then, I think,  Anniversary cards are usually directed more towards the female half of the couple anyway.

That's all till next time.

Thank you so much for your visit and taking a peek at my little creation.  Please stay safe and well.

Take care and God Bless.

Work Trays & Stations

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog. 

Gosh, it's been ages since I posted anything here so I thought it was time I showed you some of what I've been doing.

I have been watching a lot of videos lately.  Crafty ones of course.  Well, mostly crafty ones.  One lady I have been watching a lot is Jennifer Harrison of JenofEve Designs.  She has a lot of videos on different styles of mini albums and items related to them which can also be used in other types of crafting.  One of her ideas which appealed to me is the use of work trays.  I was already using plastic trays  to store some of my stash, but Jennifer used hers to hold the things she was using in the particular project she was working on.  I really liked this idea, mainly because I am always losing things amongst the mess on my craft table.  I know, I should tidy it up after each project but, unfortunately, that very rarely happens.

Anyway, although I haven't used Jen's templates, I decided I would create some work trays of my own.  

  This was a tray I already had made up.  I simply covered and lined it with new papers and edged it with cardstock.  The papers are from Kaisercraft's Misty Mountains Collection.

Found the feet in my stash.  I think they were purchased at a Craft Fair a few years ago and never used.  They certainly came in handy and I need to find some more.  I used Martha Stewart's Doily Lace Edge Punch for the trim.

The larger tray was made from a Cereal Box.  I simple cut off the front, reinforced the corners and then lined and covered it with papers from the same collection as above.   At the moment it's full of journal cards and ephemera I am using for a little album I am making.  So handy having them in the one place instead of spread all over my desk.

Pretty sure the feet on this one are by Tim Holtz.  I actually rescued them from another box which was heading for the bin.  The trim was punched out with Martha Stewart's Optic Dot Edge Punch.

As well as the work trays, I made a couple of work stations.  You may be wondering what's the difference between Trays and Stations.  Well, the trays can be used for different things.  Different projects, different stuff.  The Stations, on the other hand, always have the same purpose.  So, this Ink Station will always be used to hold an ink pad and applicator.  The one at the back actually sits permanently on my desk.  Now my ink pad won't ever get lost amongst the mess.

The papers used to cover these are digitals.  The floral is from ArtyMaze, (the link will take you to the video where she shows the kit.  If you wish to get the kit, please subscribe to her channel as this is a freebie for her subscribers) the collage paper I have had for ages and have no idea where I got it from.  Both are really pretty.

You can't really see it in these photos but I have placed a piece of acetate in the bottom of the station so it's easier to keep it clean.

This is the one I use all the time and you can see how dirty it does get from the applicator.  Having the acetate in the bottom means I can simply wipe it clean with a damp cloth.

I also created a glue station.  One to hold double sided tape and a few wet glues as well.  Again, I've used the floral paper by Artymaze.

Unfortunately I had no metal feet left for this station but, I had recently watched a video by Vectoria Designs showing how to make these little feet from cardstock and that is what I used here.  Really easy to make but, instead of using brads, I used a few sticky back gems.  (Yes.  You guessed right. I forgot to add the brads before glueing them onto the corners.  Duh!!)

Double sided tape in the back and wet glues in the front.  Perfect.  This one is also permanently sitting on my desk.

I've been using these for a few weeks now and I am really happy with them all.  Now I don't have to worry about losing my glues and ink pads no matter how messy my work desk gets.

On a different note .. I have just written this post with the new blogger.  This is the first time I have actually gotten all the way through without having to revert back to legacy because it was too hard to work out.  They have obviously been listening to all the complaints and have made some changes.  I can't say I love it but at least it was do-able.

Thank you so much for stopping by.  I must aplogise for not visiting much lately.  Life has been a bit topsy turvy for a while but, I am hoping, that is sorting itself out now.

Have a wonderful week and do enjoy your crafting.

Take care and God Bless.

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #259 - Masculine

Hello everyone and welcome to my bloggy space. 

 A very special welcome to my new followers.  I am so pleased you decided to join me on my creative journey.

It's time again for a new Challenge at Crafty Cardmakers.  It is my turn to host this one, and the Theme is Masculine!  

As always, anything you care to create is fine as long as you follow our Theme and, please, link your project to the Challenge post and not to the main CCM blog.  Thanks.

Of course, I created a card.

I used Kaisercraft paper for the base of my design ..  

.. and added some texture paste through a stencil for a little more interest to the background.

I then created the cluster with a scrap piece of Prima paper, fussy cut clocks, die-cut cogs and a small wooden gear.

The Best Wishes chippie is by Scrapmatts.

Would love it if you could pop over to the CCM blog and take a look at the fabulous creations by my Teamies.  You will find some wonderful inspiration there as well as the link to the Challenge.  I sincerely hope you will join in the fun and am looking forward to seeing what you create.

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #259 - Masculine

Thank you so much for your visit and for the lovely comments too.
Have a wonderful week.
Take care, stay well and God Bless.

A New Recipe Book

Hi everyone and welcome.  So lovely to have you here for a visit.

I hope you are all having a wonderful day and you are well and keeping safe.  Life is still not back to normal here as yet but, hopefully, we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel and it won't be long before things are back to normal.

Okay.  So, I have been a little busy in my craft room of late and I would like to share what I've been working on. 

Yup!  Been making myself a Recipe Book.  Not your usual recipe book though.  This one was made to hold recipe cards and will only hold a limited number of them.  During our lock down time,  when we  couldn't go out to eat, I found a few different things to make for dinner while watching You Tube and had the recipes printed out for reference.  As you can imagine, the paper gets quite messy when it's sitting on the kitchen bench while you're cooking so, this book is meant to alleviate that problem.  Hopefully, anyway.

The base covers are made from chipboard and the spine is covered in fabric.  I used a heavy duty file folder to mat the covers.  They have a plastic type surface which means it will be easier to keep clean.   For the label, I used a Kaisercraft die for the frame and printed the title on my computer.  It was heat embossed with clear embossing powder, again, to make sure it would stay reasonably clean.
Yes, I am a messy cook.  Almost as messy in the kitchen as I am in my craft room.  LOL!

The clip art graphic was fussy cut and coated with Glossy Accents before being adhered to the cover.  Looks a bit blurry here but it does look a lot better in real life.

The inside front cover and first page.   I used papers by Tim Holtz and Kaisercraft and simply created pockets to hold the recipe cards.  Most people I know, keep their recipe cards in a box but, for me, a book is much easier to store.  There are four pages in this book and each one is designed the same.  Just the  papers are different.

So far, I have only added pockets to the right hand side.  If I find I need more, it will be easy enough to add them to the left side later. 

The paper I wanted to use on the left hand side was not wide enough so I joined two pieces of paper together using washi tape.  I found this idea watching a video by Jennifer from JenofEve Designs and I loved the look so much that I have used it on all of the left side pages.  

  The pocket on the inside back cover ..

.. will be used to keep any new recipes I find until I have the time to write them up on a card.

 As you can see, I do have a few of them already.

I created my own recipe cards as I couldn't find any printable ones that were suitable.  I wanted them to be double sided, with the ingredients on one side and the method on the other and, although I can print these out completely on my computer, I decided to hand write them.  Not as neat, but I do enjoy writing them out and, I can certainly use the practice. 

In the pocket on the inside front cover I have place a small, plastic plate stand ..

.. which will be used ..

.. to hold the card when in use.  Another way to keep things relatively clean!  LOL!

I've already used it a few times and it worked a treat.  Even managed not to mess it up.  Not yet, anyway!! 

Thanks so much for stopping by and for any little comment you might like to leave for me to read.  I really do appreciate it.

Enjoy the rest of your day, stay safe and God Bless.

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #258 - Weddings

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog.  Hope you are keeping safe and having a fabulous day.

The new Challenge is up and running at Crafty Cardmakers.  Jackie is our lovely host and the Theme is  Weddings!!  As always, you may create anything you like as long as it follows the Theme.  Please do make sure that you link your project to the actual Challenge and not to the main blog.

Just another simple little card from me this time.  I seem to prefer the minimalist look at the moment rather than anything more elaborate.
They are a lot quicker to make as well, which is a bonus.

I cut a piece of watercolour paper to the size I wanted, which was 6.5" x 3.5", and attached a piece of lace at the side.

I found some gold twine (part of my Christmas stash), wrapped it around the card a couple of times and finished with the bow at the front.  Then added the flower cluster. 

The flowers are by Little Birdie and the leaves are a die cut by Cheery Lynn.

The greeting was computer generated and mounted on a piece of card for extra dimension.  Although you can't see it very well in these photos, I did edge it with gold ink.

Fairly clean and simple and very easy to put together which really suits me at the moment. 

Would love it if you would pop over to the CCM blog and take a look at the fabulous projects created by my Teamies.  You'll find plenty of inspiration there and, hopefully, will decide to join in with the Challenge.

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #258 - Weddings

Thank you so much for stopping by.  I really appreciate your visit.
Take care, stay safe and God Bless.

oxox Marg