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On the wall...

Those of you who have visited our shop know that we like to have lots of inspiration on the walls, and we're constantly updating the layouts on display. I thought I would share with you some of the more recent ones...

This layout, by Karen uses the new Fancy Pants Kraft Kuts papers to great effect. She has doodled with one of the Crafters Workshop templates (Regal Flourish), and the title is Doodlebug letter stickers which she has drawn around for added emphasis. The other letter stickers are Jenni Bowlin chalkboard alphas.

I love how she has curled the edge of the round paper to give a bit of extra dimension to the page.

Karen has also used the (new to us) October Afternoon Weathervane papers in the layout below. The woodgrain effect is the reverse of the crunching leaves paper - and she's also sneaked in an embroidered canvas tab from Prima - these are great little embellishments for something a bit different!

I really like her idea of using circle punches to cut out sections of the patterned paper, which she then inks round and layers on top.

And finally, this one was the kit layout from this months crop, using Bella Blvd papers, and focusing on using felt. The title was cut from felt using a cuttlebug and the butterfly was handmade.

I used blanket stitch round the edge and stuck some bling onto the wings. The plier punches from Woodware cut out the circles in the felt really well, and by cutting some felt in a contrasting colour, you can add them in to create your own unique embellishment!

Paint techniques ..... part 2

I have found myself stuck in a rut of only scrapping single photo LOs recently so I decided to create a multi photo LO for a change.

I just love the new October Afternoon ducks in a row collection, and thought it would be perfect for these photos, even though its not a baby LO.

I cut rectangles from the this little piggy and splish splash papers. I went round the edges of the two paper rectangles with my paint dabber and then layered the rectangles up finishing off with one of the Ducks in a Row - Label Stickers

I took the scallop die cut from the Ducks in a Row - Die Cut Shapes sheet and again edged with my paint dabber

I stuck the scalloped die cut to the bottom of my layered paper rectangle

I cut a strip from the Peek-a-Boo paper and stuck this behind the layered rectangles

I took the three photos that I wanted to use and painted round the edges of all the photos with my paint dabber to frame each photo

I then attached the photos to the LO

I painted a messy stripe under the bottom photo

And then added a butterfly die cut from the Ducks in a Row - Die Cut Shapes, I attached the die cut using 3D foam

I wanted a paint effect coming from the butterfly so I painted some bubble wrap in a swirl shape

And stamped this onto my LO


I used the same technique and added some more paint to the top left hand side photo

I cut some more rectangles to fill the space in the bottom left hand corner and added another label sticker. For my title I used Ducks in a Row - Schoolroom Alphabet Stickers, some more label stickers and some making memories tiny alphas. I also added some baby blue rik rak to the top of the scalloped die cut shape.

Here is my finished LO

A hint of glimmer

With a particular set of autumn photographs in mind, I chose the Bella Blvd Family Tree papers and decided that a splash of Lime Twist Glimmer Mist would pick up the green in the papers.

To emphasise the numbers aspect of my story, I chose to use this KI Memories lace cardstock as a mask.



I found that less was more when it came to spraying. Too much and the card warped into a glittery mountain range. I moved the bottle evenly and reasonably briskly across the card as I was spraying. I then added another light layer of mist to any areas that needed it.

Another tip I picked up was to keep the tip of my finger back from the front of the spray top whilst spraying. With my finger too far forward, mist collected on my fingertip and dropped onto the project.



I had a piece of patterned paper which was the shape I liked but was slightly too large. To make a smaller-sized template, I first traced the shape onto a piece of scrap card. I very carefully cut out the shape which I put to one side. I laid the outer 'waste' piece of the scrap card onto a second piece of scrap card and using my very technical size-reducing tool, I drew around the inside of the shape giving me a smaller template to cut out.



I used my template to cut a shaped piece of the glimmered cardstock.



I used the same template on the back of my Bella Blvd paper. I cut only half the shape which I then laid over the glimmered cardstock shape.

I stitched it all into place and added my photos.

The leaves were cut from felt and cardstock using Quickutz dies. I'd cut some leaves from white watercolour card which I painted using two different shades of green. I inked the painted leaves and the felt leaves with a Dew Drop Brilliance pearlescent inkpad.



I finished the layout by adding a couple of lengths of ribbon, journalling and a title.



And a close up of that glimmery goodness:



See also Carol's introduction to the world of Glimmer Mist.

Paint Techniques.... part 1

I love using paint on my scrap book pages so I thought I would share a few of the techniques that I use.

I find the dry brush technique works best. You will need a paintbrush, the paint of your choice.... I used a paint dabber. You will also need some kitchen roll or a paint palette or a paper plate.

I put a small amount of paint onto the tip of the paintbrush.

Then i pushed the paint into the bristles using my paint palette, this removes excess paint and allows you to get a much more subtle paint effect.

Then I lightly painted across my card

Another great effect is to use bubble wrap.
Using my paint dabber I applied some paint to the bubble wrap.

Then turn the bubble wrap over and place it where you want the paint effect on your LO and press down with your hand, be carefull not to move the bubble wrap around while you are pressing it down.

Then removbe the bubble wrap and here is the effect that I got

The ends of paint brushes give great paint effects too. Just dip the end in a bit of paint and heres the effect that you get.


This paint brush had an open end so i got lovely little circles.

Paint dabbers give great effects on their own on textured card stock. I just ligthley drew the paint dabber across the card, if you wanted a more intense look you just press harder to get more paint flowing and you can go over the same area a few times

I found this old stencil brush which has a much rougher texture, I stippled using this brush for another great effect

And then I used this brush to acheive a much more intense coverage of the paint.

I will be back soon to show you a LO that I made incorporating some of these paint techniques.

Lush Fancy Pants Papers...

I had alot of fun playing with this layout of myself using alot of different techniques i thought this line of fancy pants papers were perfect for just that.

1 using white card stock stamp an image to the right hand side of the card as shown

2 cut the fancy pants shaped paper in half place to one side

3 using black card stock stamp the same image used on the white card stock this time in white ink cut and tear edges as shown.

4 using an old book tear and pleat paper then glue onto fancy pants paper then glue this onto the black card stock and mount onto you white card stock

5 using several pieces of card stock and patterned papers cut into strips layer as shown

6 glue photo into place curling and tearing the top right hand side if the card and sew all the torn edges

7 add title and embellishments to make the page complete.

Fancy Pants Kraft range

When I received some of the Fancy Pants Kraft range from Papremaze I was thrilled - this paper range is of excellent quality and designs are bold without being too distracting. In particular, I was excited to receive this tree-designed sheet of cardstock - the trees are just begging to be made a feature using cutwork and the colours are very versatile with a mix of kraft, light pink, dark pink and green with a hint of dark brown too. I decided to create a page about some statues at Osbourne House which we visited recently - we took photos of us posing with the boar and the tiger and ended up with some fun shots!

I started by cutting a sheet of light pink Bazzill cardstock to act as a backdrop to my photos. I pierced around the edge of the card with a needle, then use white thread to add a running stitch. I used a craft knife to cut around the left hand side of the tree designs on the Kraft cardstock - the Bazzill would slot in underneath this.



I decided to make use of some of the Kraft cardstock that would be hidden behind the pink card - the green spotty design - and stamped some butterflies using Autumn Leaves stamps then cut them out using a craft knife. I then adhered the pink card onto the Kraft cardstock over the top of the cut piece and slid just underneath the tree design at a slight angle.

The rest of the layout was fairly straightforward. I positioned my two photos over the top of the pink mat and slightly overlapping - I slid one just underneath the cut tree design to embed it into the page. I added a title using American Crafts Thickers - the Jewellery Box range in chestnut and a date using Making Memories tiny alpha stickers. I also added a few 7Gypsies stickers to the left hand side of the page.



I added my butterflies using foam pads to give them a raised effect, and finished off the design by adhering a few buttons and some white ric rac across the page as shown.



The finished page looks quite detailed, but actually took little effort as the design of the paper brings so much of the detail.