Simple Stories - The Reset Girl - Part 1

Hello friends, it's Lynn with you today; I'm pleased to bring you the first of two blog posts to show what I have been busy making with the amazing new The Reset Girl papers from Simple Stories.

My mother (Mary) was a dedicated follower of fashion in the 1950's and as an accomplished dressmaker made all her own dresses. The papers reminded me of some early photos of her, so I picked just a few of the many snaps my father took to make this wall hanging using three embroidery hoops.

To make a base to work on I took three embroidery hoops and cut circles of thick card the same size of the inner hoop, sticking these into place to make a firm surface. A circle of patterned paper was cut to the same size as the card and glued into place over the card. Then the hoops were mounted over each other using some strong glue.

10" Hoop - Like A Boss paper
8" Hoop - Pink Speckle / Coral Speckle paper
6" Hoop - You Got This paper

These and other elements were inked around the edges with Distress Inks in dried marigold and weathered wood.

I searched the web for images of vintage dress patterns which I printed onto paper and cut to size. The button cards were found on a blog called A Field Journal, these were printed onto a thick card and after cutting them out I stitched on buttons selected from my grandmother's button tin.

I used a Library Card from The Reset Girl collection to print out a quote from Yves St. Laurent: 

"Fashions Fade, Style is Eternal,"

           
American Craft foam Thickers were used to create the smaller letters for the title. The larger letters are some old chipboard letters from my stash. I painted the letters with Distress Paint in antique linen and forest moss, then a heavy layer of Glossy Accents. The numbers for the date are Basic Grey Letter stickers from the Obscure collection. 

Keeping with the stitching theme I added three card floss bobbins with DMC thread wound round in colours to match the papers. There are also buttons, glass headed pins, ribbons, lace and other trimmings added to the wall hanging.

Finally I added a variety of paper roses and punched leaves from the scraps of paper leftover. The leaves were made with a Martha Stewart Frond Branch punch. 

I will be back early next month with another project focusing on the planning elements in these stunning papers.
Thanks for looking.
Lynn x

Halloween with Doodlebug

Hi, it's Anna here. Today I'm sharing a layout using Doodlebug 'Boos and Brews' just in time for Halloween. My layout features my little zombie ready for a Halloween party.

I used bazzill cardstock as my base and added some layers of patterned paper. I made some tears randomly around the edges of the cardstock and patterned paper and then adhered more of the patterned paper behind.

Supplies Used:

• Boos and Brews - Matter Spatters 
• Boos and Brews - Boo and Crew
• Boos and Brews - This and That Stickers
• Bazzill Cardstock
• Cardstock
• and don't forget to check out Papermaze's Halloween section on their website, which you can go directly to here.

Have a great week.

Anna

X

Pebbles Warm and Cozy Part 2

Hello there, I am back this month with another post using the wonderful Pebbles/Jen Hadfield Warm and Cozy collection.

As Halloween is round the corner and a favourite time of year for me I really wanted to do a Halloween layout but felt I should try a more non-tradtional Halloween layout.  I found this wonderful picture of the children's great grandmother and wanted to use it to create a fun layout.

For my background paper I used Log  Cabin and then layered a piece of Dotted Swiss on top of it.  Even though this paper was a dark orange I decided to wet the paper and then use the gorgeous Cosmic Shimmer Pixie Powders in the colours Rich Gold and Firework Burst and Lava Red to create a textured dark background.  I then further layered a piece of the gorgeous Botanical on top of the papers.  I dotted the Cosmic Shimmer Mist in the colour Ancient Copper and a Heidi Swapp black shimmer mist on top of the Botanical paper and matched this look with some enamel dots in similar colours.

I cut out some leaves using the Lawn Fawn Stitched Leaves die and some leftover Log Cabin and then used my trust Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Black Soot to make them a dark.  I then went a step further and rubbed some Rich Gold and Ancient Copper Pixie Powder onto them to highlight the stitching and to add shimmer.  To add a little interest I also used Sprigs to make a couple of penants for the sides of the photo.

I hope you enjoyed this non-traditional Halloween layout, thanks for looking.  Julie x

Seaside Cottage....Blue Fern Studios

Hello to you all, it's Anita here with my first offering using some items from the lush Seaside Cottage Collection by Blue Fern Studios. The soft vintage summer colours and sun bleached wood patterns make this such a pretty set....with a little extra distressing I achieved a look that I am happy with.

Our family holiday this year was based in Somerset, one day we drove down to Briport in Dorset and onto West Bay. It was such a pretty little place and we very much enjoyed seeing some of the places that were used in the making of the series Broadchurch. I took this selfie of us when we were out on the harbour wall (after we had all been crabbing) and when I saw this range of papers I just knew they would be a perfect pairing.

The layout is based on a sheet of Gala. I cut a few slices in random places on the wooden slats, rolled back gently and inked to distress the edges and make them stand out. I then cut the large ships wheel from the sheet of Mermaid and popped lots of foam pads underneath, raising it up to give some dimension to the layout.

Over the years unfortunately I seem to have acquired a rather large obsession with using blossoms.....everywhere and anywhere on my layouts, whatever the theme may be (nothing is safe!!) So I rummaged about and picked some that I liked and then layered some of them together. My photo seemed to be a bit stark against the softness of the papers so I softened the edge by gently sponging with light brown, then white acrylic paint and finishing by gently rubbing some gold gilding wax along the edges. I popped a couple of gold doilies under the photo for a partial mat.

I cut out a few elements from the Calling Cards sheet, inked the edges and added them to the page. I also had some wavy shaped die cuts to play with. I painted them white and then dragged wisps of pale turquoise across them and then finished them off with a gentle rub of more gilding wax. I also rubbed some gold wax onto the edges of the ships wheel, each of the blossoms and all around the edges of the layout, giving a soft metallic sheen which gently compliments the gold in the doilies.

Once again Blue Fern Studios have produced another beautiful collection of papers that are lovely to work with and this and several other collections from them are available in the shop...... I hope you liked my layout, I will be back early next month with another project using some more of these gorgeous papers.

TTFN, Anita xx

Journal away with Seth Apter

Hi Carol with you today to share with you my latest art journal pages.

I started off by prepping my pages, this journal is a dylusions smaller sized journal, I tore up strips of paper and adhered to the pages using Rangers multi medium, I also cut some cardstock using the new Tim Holtz Alterations thinlits die set - mixed media - this gives a great texture.  Once dry I added some dylusions acrylic paint using my fingers, this enables you to get down and dirty! lol, with your work, it also enables you to add various thickness of paint to your work… these dylusions paints are quite thick so cover your patterned paper with no problem.  Once dry I then added some white paint using a dry brush.  

Various doodling and stencilling was then added to my pages, to finish off, I added some stamping using the fabulous Seth Apter stamps…the saying from the set was stamped onto cardstock, matted and then adhered.

Here are the finished pages:-

TFL xx

Beautiful today

This  month i have worked with a very different set of papers from authentique. Its the fabulous collection, bright and a little retro in its styling and patterns.

I had the perfect photo, so armed with that, and some old hambly transparencies i had stashed away and the Camille prima doll stamp, i was ready to create

I printed of 2 photos of the same image in black and white, as i have done on a previous project, i kind of like the effect it gives to the layout.  Cut pieces of the patterned paper and layered that vertically on the page with some of the transparency pieces underneath. I cut out one of the journal cards from the paper and adhered below the photo.

The doll stamp was firstly stamped on to some old ledger paper i had. And then stamped again several times in the patterned paper to create the dress, shoes, hair band, and waist band. Before adhering this all together i stapled some tulle to the bottom of the dress to give it that 1950's feel. I couldn't decide  whether to mount this on white or black card as both looked good but decided that the black made the colours pop and tinted the edges of the black in white distress ink.

October crop

Here we are again, round to crop time!  Hope you're all looking forward to spending a day crafting?  This month our kit features a mixture of papers, and features my eldest daughter who has just started at Loughborough University :)

We're at Otley Village Hall as usual, from 10-5.  If you fancy popping along there's a good array of punches to use, homemade cakes, tea & coffee, plus you'll get a discount on your shopping - just drop me an email :)  Next month's crop is a week early on the 12th!

Kaisercraft - Barber Shoppe - Part 2

Hi Lynn here!  Back with my second layout created with the masculine Kaisercraft Barber Shoppe collection.  Following on with the theme of my dad's model plane hobby and another photo form the 1950's. I picked a photo of Dad flying a model plane at Epsom Downs. 

I started with a sheet of black Bazzill Basics cardstock, I used bands of papers from the collection (Beard, Scissors and Comb), distressed with the Tim Holtz Paper Distresser. The edges were then inked with weathered wood Distress Ink before being stuck to my base. Two 12" strips from the sticker sheet were trimmed and placed between the bands (a wooden ruler and a film strip with plane images). A further band was made with some kraft corrugated cardstock.

My photo was trimmed and distressed and mounted on a piece of burlap.

I cut letters for my title with a Sizzix Bigz die - Word Play, dry brushed with weathered wood and antique linen Distress Paints. These were completed with a sprinkling of Stampendous 
Frantage Embossing Enamel in shabby white. The tiny sticker letters and numbers were also from the sticker sheet. 

As before I made lots of cogs using Sizzix Tim Holtz Alterations Thinlits Die Set - Gearhead. I covered these with a selection of embossing powders - silver, gold, black and copper.

Other embellishments were from the shop or my stash and the stickers were from the Barber Shoppe sticker sheet. 

Back soon to show you what I have made using a fun new line from Simple Stories.

Thanks for looking
Lynn x

*Magical Adventure ~Part 3*

Hi all,

Today I'm here to show you my third and final layout using Echo Park's Magical Adventure Collection.

I've really enjoying using it to scrap some photographs of our Disney holiday last year. I'd defiantly recommend it to anyone working on Disney pictures! It has so many Disney themed quotes and elements making it perfect to use.

While at Disney, Jack used my camera to take some of his own snaps. He got quite creative, zooming in through fences etc! I think some of them really captured parts of our Disney days. As he was taking them I knew I would have to do a page, I'd even thought of the title.

Thanks for stopping by!

Anna x

Jen Hadfield Warm and Cozy

Hello there, I'm back this month with a layout that I made using the gorgeous Jen Hadfield/Pebbles collection Warm and Cozy.

I started with the idea that I wanted to use autumnal leaves as my main focus for this layout.  I decided to use the wonderful new PaperArtsy Infusions to create my own leaf background texture.  These Infusions are addictive!  I wet some watercolour paper with a brush and shook some Infusions in the colours, Golden Sands, Sunset Beach and The Sage on top of the wet paper and watched the colours melt together to create the most impressive background for my leaves.  To add a little shine I also sprinkled some Cosmic Shimmer Pixie Powder in Ancient Copper and Rich Gold on to the paper.  This added a wonderful subtle shimmer to the leaves.

I took the watercolour paper and used Lawn Fawn Stitched Leaves and my Big Shot Plus to cut out leaves to use on my layout.  These dies go through the paper like butter and have really handy little holes to help ease your die cut out if they get stuck in the die.  As I will show you later, they also cut a variety of materials, not just paper!  I used these dies to cut a pattern in the background paper (Log Cabin) and layered a piece of "Sprigs" behind the leaf shapes that I had cut out to add more dimension.

On the background paper I sprinkled some Cosmic Shimmer Mist in Ancient Copper around the background to compliment the leaves and the wood on the paper.  It is a really simple layout but with lots of texture and depth thanks to those lovely leaves.

I highly recommend you try out the wonderful Infusions and Pixie Powders to create your own backgrounds and pull out those dies and make your own individual die cuts!

Finally I just wanted to show you that dies are not just for paper!  I used my Lawn Fawn Stitched Leaves to cut out felt and glitter fabric with my Big Shot Plus to make my own autumnal wreath for my front door.  I often use my dies for home projects to get full use out of them and I encourage you to do the same.  I purchased an inexpensive plain wreath from a home store and then used my hot glue gun to stick my felt leaves onto it.

Back later this month with more from Warm and Cozy and how to make a non-Halloween, Halloween layout!