DIY Christmas with Simple Stories

I know the Christmas season is almost over but I just wanted to share a wall hanging that I made for one of my daughters.

I used a large chipboard shaped ornament and decorated it using the Simple Stories DIY Christmas collection. I was also sent these adorable acetate snowflakes that added a sweet touch to the piece.

I hope you are all busy enjoying your Christmas x

wall hanging

so after a recent trip to Ikea and eagerly looking through there catalogue I stumbled across a clever idea of using a cork trivet stand  as pin board.

For this project I used the beautiful Bo Bunny candy cane papers. I cut out several different sized circles of pattered paper and  my photo. I wanted to be able to remove the photo and change it, so I  attached the photo to the cork trivet by using a drawing pin. Wooden stars have been adhered to the smaller circles and the tim holtz mini snowflake die has been used to add dimension.

The stickers spell out "I believe" and the dots on the letter I is done using curled up wire and mini buttons.

 The edges of the paper are distressed using pumice stone distress ink.

Best Day Ever

Hi, It's Lisa with you today.

As we near towards the end of the year, I like to think back to some of my favourite days that we've had. One that stands out in particular was a day at one of the Disney Waterparks in October.
Typhoon Lagoon.
We met friends there and just laughed all day.
Hot sunny weather, good company, a lazy river and ice cream.
Who could ask for more????

I documented this day here.

 

I didn't have much of a plan for this LO. It just all came together. I was feeling arty and started on the background. I loosely based my colour combo on the photos.

I started by tearing some old book pages and gluing to the LO and painting gesso over the top and left it to dry.

 

I dipped my paintbrush in some acrylic paints and then in a pot of water and let them drip over the LO. I did this with different colours. Some of them I swished over the page a little and then dried off.

The splashiness kind of goes with the water I guess : )

 

I inked up a couple of my Kaisercraft background stamps too. These are great. I think they are really good value for money. There are quite a few to choose from here.

 

 

I already had these Mini Placemats in mind from Jillibean. I'd placed them to one side to use.

I've got quite a few of these now and really enjoy using them. They are great to use on cards and PL pages too. I used 2 on this LO.

  

 

I have to show you the bucket of ice cream that we shared. Yes that whole bucket is full of an ice cream sundae. I'm not a big fan of ice cream but that was amazing. It tasted homemade.

 

So do you have a  favourite day from this year that you are going to scrap?????

 

xx

Twas the night before Christmas….

Hi, Carol with you today with some more Graphic 45 Christmas paper makes…. at this time of the year I'm well in card and tag making…so, with the left overs of my papers I  have made these:-

For my base I have used a 6" square card base and have covered that with Graphics 45 Christmas backing paper …..The main image has been cut from a large 12" x 12" page I added stickles to the holy leaves, the berries and Santas beard….another cut out from a 12" x 12" page added the clock…. small poinsettias from here finished off my card…

I also made a matching tag:-

I used a tag for my base and covered with the same background paper and added piece of washi tape to the bottom…I cut out Santa and his sack from left over pieces of a 12 x 12" sheet and added stickles to  his beard and trim on his outfit…and toys in his sack….a couple of tags from the tags and pockets sheet were added to finish off the tag…

All items available from the shop

Here are they both together:-

This is my last Papermaze post before Christmas to I would like to wish you all a Very Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year and I will see you on the 2nd January 2015.

Using December's kit

Our December kit is available today, and although it is the season to be merry, we've tried to make it a festive kit, without being overly so!  So you'll find a sprinkling of snowflakes, a smattering of stars and a few glimpses of glitter.  With colours of red, gold and teal, the kit could easily be used to showcase Christmas photos.  But the designs equally lend themselves to non-Christmas projects - just take a look at the layout that Lou has created here:

It's great value at £10 and there's also the option to buy an extra co-ordinating cardstock kit to supplement the 2 sheets that come with the kit.  You can find it on the website here :)

Our Christmas crop is tomorrow, and features our Christmas challenge kit, Christmas bingo and two free make and takes!  The shop is opening up early, at 9.30am and will close around 11-11.30am.  If you fancy joining us, just drop us an email!

Bo Bunny Candy Cane

I looked at all the new papers in the shop and the new Bo Bunny candy cane collection caught my eye. Not colours I would have normally have gone for, but lots of fun to use.

I have used blocks of patterned paper distressed with pumice stone distress ink on some white card stock. Cut elements out of the patterned paper and the letter stickers off the sticker sheet to create my title.

The acetate layout is from my minds eye transparent frames.

the snowflake is made from cutting the patterned paper using the Tim Holtz mini snowflake rosette and the finally added some light grey ink splatters to my layout

Scraps and Stars

Hello, it's Lisa using up scraps today.

Do you tend to keep hold of pretty scraps too?
They are far too pretty to throw away, but then you just keep on buying all the new pretty papers that come out and before you know it you are swamped in pretty scraps.

Today I am using up some scraps.
I ordered quite a lot of the DIY Boutique collection from Simple Stories in the Summer. I'm a big Simple Stories fan.
This particular paper was a fave of mine.
   

I'm a sucker for little frames!! 

I still had some of the frames left so I made this LO here to use them up.

 

 

I still have a couple more frames to use. I might make a couple of cards.

 

I also used a Prima Star Stencil.

It's the first time that I've tried one from Prima and I was really impressed. They feel really solid in comparison to some stencils that you can buy. I will definitely be adding to my collection.

You can see the whole range that we have here.  

They are worth adding to your Christmas wish list : )

 

See you soon xx

Simple Stories DIY Christmas

Tracee with you today.... Do I look older?
Sharing a quick and easy project with you today as I have been busy celebrating my big umm ...0

I love to make a cards with matching gift bags and that is what I have to show you today

 

 

I was given the Simple Stories DIY Christmas collection to play with and it a super collection with gorgeous reds and greens, all set off by a striking black for contrast.

 

 

 

 I used some Kraft cardstock for the background of my card to match the Kraft bag that I altered.

I added some inks and used 2 different Polka Dot masks, I then used another mask with texture paste to create an interesting but simple mixed media background. 

 

 

I followed the same steps on the bag for the background and then clustered some more of the elements from the Chipboard shapes  to complete my bag.

 

I hope you enjoy the projects for today and don't forget to pop over to the shop to purchase some of this adorable collection for yourself

 



 

Baby It's Cold Outside

Hello, it's Lisa here today.
I hope you are all cozy and warm.

I've been playing with the Carta Bella 'All Bundled Up' collection.

To me this is the perfect Winter paper collection.
Those colours have my name all over them and I'm not one for themed papers. I like something that can be used all year around. I love these!!

I wanted to document a morning we had at a Disney Crazy Golf course recently.
It's called Winter Summerland. It's Christmas all year round. Christmas songs are playing, everything is Christmas themed and there's even fake snow.
All rather odd when it's 30c out there, but so much fun.

 

 

I used this paper here 'Snowmen' as my background, but as always, I loved both sides. So I cut out the area behind the white cardstock so I could cut out the snowman and all the little leaves.

It worked a treat!

I also had cut all the little trees from the same paper and stuck them along the bottom of the LO. I alternated between sticking one down with glue and the other 3d foam tape.

 

 



I love these stickers. They are so much fun!! 

 

 

I finished off the LO with some hand stitching and some stickles of the leaves and snowflakes.

 

I can't wait to carry on using this fun collection.

I have so many more ideas.

 

Thanks for stopping by today xx

 



Welcome December…..

Hello, Carol with you today as we head into the last month of the year….with most of us frantically making those Christmas cards, tags and presents that we thought we had time for…will we do it? I am usually finishing off those "special" cards on Christmas Eve Eve!!

So, I thought that I would share with you a quick tag that I've made…

 

I started by cutting  a tag from cream cardstock, or you could use a ready cut tag, tape your tag to one of the fantastic new Christmas stencils from Tim Holtz, I have used the holiday knit stencil using festive berries distress ink and evergreen distress ink and a blending tool add colour to the tag, over blending in some areas….ink the edges with the festive berries ink…

For the poinsettia - this is made using the poinsettia bigz die….for this large size I have used all of the die cuts,  using this versatile die means that you can mix and match the sizes so that you can make a flower thats the right size for your project - for this one I have cut a large green set of leaves, large, medium, small and centre in red….I then cut out two of the red leaves and fixed these to the large green so that you have 3 green and 2 red on the base level - Ink the edges with walnut stain distress ink and then painted a layer of crackle paint in rock candy over the leaves and left to dry…. once dry build up your flower glueing each layer in place, I have used a button for the centre…. I have added a strip of washi tape and then added  my poinsettia - add a couple of pins and then some elements from the Graphics 45 tags and pockets pack

All elements are available from the shop just click on the links.

Thank you for looking today.

carta bella- Moments I Love

For this layout I have used the carta bella, moments and memories papers along with a  tando mini letterbox tray I has amongst my stash.

The letterbox tray comes in 3 parts that you adhere together so I wondered how they would look put together on a page. I painted them up and  layed them on my page and printed off some black and white photos and added to the apertures along with scarps of patterned paper. Added some stitching and stickers from the sticker sheet

The card is made from scraps of patterned paper. I have embellished the bottom corner of the frame with rolled flowers made from the paper, a wooden embellishment and brads. Finally added a sentiment made from the letters off the sticker sheet.

Christmas boxes...

Hi, Carol with you today…. carrying on from my last post I have made another gift box using the left over bazzil cardstock from the previous box, these boxes are great as you can change the dimensions so that they fit what scraps of card you have left from other projects. I have also used some more of the fantastic Graphic 45 Twas the night before Christmas cardstock….

I have made a 3d flower using red bazzil cardstock, (take a look in the die section at the shop there are loads of great flower dies available)  once I had my die shapes cut I edged using distress ink and painted a layer of Distress stickles Rock Candy, once this way dry I glued into shape and then spritzed with glimmer mist using a punch I used some red paper, layered these up and added a piece of bling for my additional flowers… lace, dew drops and pins were also added along with a tag from the tags and pockets set from the same range….

To finish off the edges I used some of the new washi tapes available here…

TFL

Altered Hoop

Hi Tracee with you today to share another project that I created with the MME Jubilee collection papers. You can see my first project here

 

 

I took a small embroidery hoop and placed some fabric inside (it was a scrap that came from an old skirt). I used mists and some white ink on the chipboard fern, I then coated it with a layer of clear embossing powder to give it a little shine.

 

 

 

 I simply layered up the papers and used one of the flair badges as a main focus for the piece. The flair badges are a little larger than the ones I have used in the past and this makes for a great focal point for your projects.

 

I hope you enjoyed my projects with these gorgeous papers. Don't forget to pop over to the shop where you can find all you need for your crafty projects.

 

 

 

Part 3 with Bella Blvd 'Tiny Tots'

Hi there, it's Anna here popping in with part three of my Bella Blvd 'Tiny Tots' projects. 

I couldn't have this lovely child related collection without scrapping some of my son when he was little. 

I cut out the star from this sheet and added some Dew Drops alongside it. As I said in my previous posts this month this collection is just perfect for scrapbooking young children. Take a look at the whole collection in more detail here. 

November's crop

We're getting all ready for November's crop here - cakes in the oven, kit instructions printing and punches in the car.  This month's kit uses some of the new Distress Stain Sprays, punches and embossing. 

 

And just a reminder that the crop will be finishing an hour early tomorrow, at 4pm, as the hall has to be transformed into a little theatre!

Simple stories DIY stamp review

So this time I decided I would do a product review on some stunning simple stories DIY stamps. They contain lots of words, washi tape style prints and icons.

I decided to go with a project life style with 6 vertical pockets, the stamps have been subtly  used on each of the 6 cards. some have been stamped on to washi tape, some around the edge of the card.

The paper used is from an old prima collection, showing that stamps are versatile on any style of paper, they are fantastic value for money and stamp really well. I have also used some chipboard cogs, die cut cogs and the ek success slim edge zipper punch  to add dimension and interest to each of the 6 cards.

A Happy Hello

Hi Tracee with you today to share a layout I created using the My Minds Eye Jubilee collection.
My MInds Eye always have a few different colour schemes in each of their collections and this is the gorgeous Sherbet and you can find this along with the other colourways here.

 

I chose a white background and gently dry brushed some purple paint on it, I chose to keep it plain and simple to show off the delicate colours this range consists of. I added a few simple embellishments to it to finish it off.

 

I used the negative shape of the deer I cut out to create a simple birthday card

Nothing gets wasted in my scraproom!

 

 

 

 

Happy Monday and don't forget to pop over to the Papermaze shop to find all the supplies you need for your projects

Christmas gift card holder

Hi, Carol with you today…with Christmas on the horizon its time for those of us that make cards and presents to step up and get going (well me anyway!) - in order to prevent being last minute minnie again! I'm starting now….so, today I'm sharing with you this gift card holder which will hold a store/itunes gift card…

The base is made from bazzil cardstock and the top has been created using Graphics 45 "twas the night before Christmas" papers… ….I added a stamped sentiment to finish off the top of the box….to add a bit of bling I've wrapped tinsel around the top and tied in a bow...

If you left the middle section out of this box it could be used as a gift box for a small gift or for some small notelets.

TFL

'Tiny Tots' Part 2...

Today I have a quick project life page to share with you using the Bella Blvd 'Tiny Tots' collection. This time I have used it to document a child's birthday. I use an album per year and add in project life pages along with normal 12x12 layouts. The smaller project life pocket pages are great for scrapping events where you don't have many pictures. To create this pocket page I cut out some elements from this sheet in the 'Tiny Tots' range.

You can find the whole collection of 'Tiny Tots' here

and Project Life items here.

Thanks for looking! 

Anna x

Papermaze October Kit Layout Progress Video

Hi Everyone!
Today I would like to share with you a layout I created using The Papermaze October Online Kit, plus a few more products. Here's a pic of what you get in the kit...

Gorgeous Heritage colours and textures!

 

So for my layout, I have teamed this kit with the following:

 

Carta Bella Moments & Memories 'Flourish' paper

Sizzix Framelits Dies

Tattered Angels Chalkboard Mist 'High Heel Teal'

Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Walnut Stain

Alphabet Stamps

 

So here's the progress video, speeded up for your convenience :-)

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 



 

More Spooky Halloween

Hi Tracee with you today sharing another Halloween project idea using the Carta Bella "Spooky" collection
I shared this post with you at the beginning of the month.

This time I have a card and a treat dispenser, which is full of spooky chocolate eyeballs!
I really made use of the Spooky and Scary sheet by cutting the strips and using them all around the treat dispenser box edges.
From black cardstock I cut the Ghostly house and attached the bats with thin strips of acetate. I even incorporated the word Spooky from the title strip along the edge of the paper!

The card was made quite simply using one of the 3 x 4 cards that is on the journaling cards sheet.
I added some bats cut from black cardstock to give it a little dimension and some strips of Orange cardstock that I drew lines on with a thin marker.

I hope you are getting some ideas for your Spooky Halloween night, all made easy with this fun Carta Bella collection. You can grab yours here along with all your papercrafting needs.

I will be back later in the month to share my final project with these papers for you.

Product review and Trick or Treat!

Hi, Carol with you today.

I have been playing with the new distress stains from Ranger, found here.

I had barn door, spiced marmalade and walnut stain….

I wanted to see how these behaved in three different ways so taking three large manilla tags, the great way to experiment, I did the following:-

Using my heat resistant mat I spritzed the barn door and spiced marmalade in strips next to each other, not overlapping tho. and then added a spritz of walnut stain either end of my strip - I then added a spritz of water and dragged my tag thro the devine inky mess!  this is the result:-

as you can imagine there was an awful lot of ink left, so knowing that I was going to make something with my tags I took a length of seam binding and dragged it thro the left over ink, scrunching it up as I went and drying it off using a heat tool, just be careful not to burn your fingers!!

For the second tag I sprayed directly onto the tag, dried off and then sprayed again.  I then spritzed the tag with water and dried… this is the result.

For my last tag, I sprayed direct and then lifted the tag up so that the colours all ran into each other and then levelled off the tag leaving the excess ink to puddle - once dry, I placed a stencil over and spritized with water to remove the colour…

Here are all three together.

I must say that these colours are so vibrant and come in such a great range of colours that they are bound to add colour to your projects I can't wait to add some more colours to my collection.

As its nearly halloween I thought I'd share these little trick or treat packets with you….the bases are the same method as I used here for the Valentines gift…. this time the base is made with carta bella - spooky dance cardstock, and my embellishments are from Tando, painted with acrylic paint, with a stamped label, I've added some washi tape around the bottom - each one is filled with goodie for my own grown up trick or treaters.

TFL

Bella Blvd - Tiny Tots...

Hi, it's Anna here and this month I have been working with the Bella Blvd collection 'Tiny Tots'. 

For my first layout I created a back to school page to scrap a photograph from last year. The 'alphabet soup' paper just made me think back to school!

This collection is brilliant for scrapping young children and features some really cute patterned papers. 

Take a look at the whole collection here. 

I'll be back soon with some more Bella Blvd projects to share with you. Thanks for stopping by. 

Anna 

October's Crop

Tomorrow is crop day here in Otley, so it means cake, shopping and, of course, scrapping!  Our crop kit uses the beautiful Kaisercraft Be-You-tiful papers (which you can find here).  

If you'd like to join us, the cost for the day is £4.  As well as the optional kit above, we have plenty of punches and dies for your use, plus light refreshments and a discount on any items you may decide to purchase!  I hope you all have a lovely weekend, and manage to fit in some crafting somewhere!

A Mixed Bag

Hello!!

Today I have a fun little pack on My Minds Eye goodies to show you.
They are called 'A Mixed Bag' and are from the Jubilee collection.
They look like this.

The bag is full of little bits and pieces. 91 pieces to be precise.
Numbers, banners, tags, arrows, leaves, circles, balloons, clouds, tabs....loads!!

I had so much fun using them to make this LO here.

I love using them to form clusters on a LO. Aren't they fun?!

I also used this 12x12 paper.

To add extra dimention and interest I've stuck some on with foam pads and added some hand stitching.

I just love these colours in this Jubilee collection. Perfect for this time of year.

I hope you like this pages that I've shared today. I have loads of the pieces left over from the mixed bag. I'm off to make some cards with them now.

Lisa x