I hope that you enjoyed the Christmas break and had a wonderful time with friends & family. The camera was quite busy this season and I took lots of photos of the grandkids. Now I have to find the time to download them and print a few out to scrapboook! I try to put my photos into labelled folders when I downlaod them so I at least have some chance of finding the ones I want later on!
With the end of the year fast approaching my wish is that everyone will have a safe, happy & happy new year in 2012.

Only 12 Sleeps to Go!

I can't believe Christmas is just around the corner! Here are a couple of quick & easy layouts for those Christmas photos-ones you already have & those you are yet to take. Layouts can be made without photos at hand. I cut out a piece of paper the size of the photo I will use. This helps me to see how the photo will look on the layout and it helps with the placement of embellishments.
On this layout there is ready made journal blocks, stickers and flowers. The photo is not matted but adhered to the shaped background page. The embellishments were adhered around the photo. Ta Da! Done in no time! It took longer to decide what to put on the layout then what it did to make it.

 This "framed" layout is easier than it looks. The patterned paper has a patchwork strip look to it. I cut it to the width I wanted the frame to be. Cut the ends of the strips on an angle (like a mitred corner) and adhere to the background paper. I also cut strips of paper & used a border punch to decorate the edge then attached this to the frame strips. Once again I used ready made embellishments to save time.

Christmas Photo Shoots

Summer is only a few days away & so are lots of photo oppotunities with Christmas, holidays & celebrations. Try a few different sorts of shots this year as well as the usual posed ones. If you like to take a family shot for your Christmas cards & letters give the kids a pile of Christmas decorations & dress up bits & pieces & see what they come up with. Sometimes the spontaneous photos are the best ones-not always perfectly posed but lots of fun! I took the Christmas tree outside one year when my boys were teenagers & then the the camera up on the tripod with the automatic setting on. It took us about 20 shots before we took one with us all looking at the camera. All of the other shots had us tallking, laughing & being silly. It turned out to be a fun afternoon & we eneded up with some great photos & good memories. I don't worry too much if I don't get the "perfect" photo... if that is all I have I scrapbook it anyway & tell the story behind it.
This layout has photos of my son & grandson at the beach. I was sitting a little way up the shore & zoomed in on them . My grandson wasn't too sure about going in the water & as soon as he had a splash & a play, he was out of there. The photos were nice natural shots & I really like the photo of them walking down to the water, hand in hand. It is a different angle where you can't see there faces but it still shows emotion. The layout is quite simple with a plain backing & the patterned sheet is distressed & inked. A few readymade embellishments finishes it off nicely.

 These flowers are off a layout I made but their colours weren't quite right. I used mist sprays to change the colour of the paper flowers to help them match in better with the colours of the layout. The smaller ones were a light lilac colour & I gave them a light spray with a silvery black colour to darken them slightly. Just because some embelllishments don't suit what you want still take a second look at them & see if they can be altered to fit in. Flat flowers can be inked, stamped & rubons used on them. Other flowers can be scrunched, layered, pulled apart or flattened. Flowers aren't the only embellishments that you can alter. Take a look at some of your older embellishments that have been sitting around for awhile & see what you can do to revamp them..just have a play.

Christmas Bits

Here is a  Christmas cluster as an embellishment on a Christmas layout. The rosette is made from a strip of paper with one edge punched. It was then folded back & forward concentina style  & then had the ends taped together to form a circle. It was then "squshed"(squuezed & pushed!) into a flat circle. Cut out a circle of scrap card a bit smaller than the rosette & glue the rosette onto it. I used a hot glue gun because it is instant but you can use a good strong glue & put something on the top to hold it down until it dries. The other pieces in the cluster are from old Christmas decoration picks that I pulled apart. A good hint is to wait until the after Christmas sales & pick up little bits & pieces really cheap.

 I am looking forward to making more tags for this Christmas. There is a bit of work in them but they are lots of fun & they make good embellisments for cards & scrapbooking as well as being a little gift all on their own! I am taking orders from the ones I have already done & the colours can be altered to suit what you want. (look at the "KIT" page for what I have) You can contact me by email or leave a comment.

 This is an old Christmas graphic that I found and is wonderful for scrapbooking with all the older photos of Christmas' gone by. There are many graphic sites that have free downloads-just Google them & a list comes up.

 Getting ready for all those Christmas photos. This is a ready made layout but I can also make it up as a kit so you can add your own touch to it.

Not So White

Believe it or not, these pages started off white! It's amazing what some mists, masks, mediums, stamps, inks & embossing powders can do. The holly in the corners of the background page below were drawn on freehand with "Smooch". The fine tip brush makes it easy to paint on/draw designs. You can always lightly draw or trace a design in pencil first before going over it.

 Layers of masked mists, texture paint, more mists & embossing powder.

 Masks, mists, reverse masks, inks & embossing powder.

You can do similar  technique on plain card/paper & cut it down to make cards with.

It's fun to have a play & experiment with the products & tools that you have...you never know what you might come up with!

Happy Halloween/Anniversary

Well it's nearly the end of October & only 8 weeks until Christmas. Where has the year gone. We are in the middle of renovating our house so that keeps us busy. October 31st sees the American tradition of Halloween-it seems to be coming more of a thing to do here in Australia.
More importantly it is David (Darling Husband) and my 30th wedding anniversary. Through no choice of his own, here is a man who is thoroughly versed in the art of Scrapbooking & all it entails!!LOL!

 The layout below doesn't have any photos as it is a readymade kit I put together for fast & easy scrapbooking or for those who like the look of scrapbooking but either don't have the time or just want a few quick pages for an album.

As Christmas gets closer I hope to have a few more things to show you.

Altered Book

This is an altered book I made for a CWA(Country Women's Association) cent sale. The plain mats are where the photos go.The acrylic word on the front says "Friends"

 In the book there are pockets & mini books for photos or keepsakes.

Bookmark Tags

Here is the second lot of tags I made as boookmarks that can also be used in other projects.

I just gathered a pile of bits & pieces together & put the ones that went well together ino lots & played around from there. Lots of fun & pottering!

Tag Bookmarks

Dual purpose tags...use as a bookmark (as a gift or for yourself) &/or use them on a card or layout. I used Glimmermist & a mask then stamped onto a plain sheet of card then cut out pieces to stick onto the tag. The tag was inked using distress inks in 2 colours. Ribbon, lace, stickers, flowers & metal pieces were used to embellish the tags. This project is good for using up left over bits & pieces. Take the time to cut out a stack of tags to have handy & that way you can complete one while you are scrapbooking, inking or stamping.
On the back of these tags I stamped a piece of card with "For You" & "To" & "From" to make the tag into a card itself. This makes a nice gift & one that you can send in the mail for any occasion.

Springtime Scrappiness

I may have to rescan these cards as they look a bit surreal-maybe the settings were changed! The first card is a white base painted with a colour wash Then inked around the edges and stamped with a script stamp. The chipboard doilley has been inked then coated with chalkboard mist. The flower & the embossed scallop edge are made from Tim Holtz glassine paper( a bit like thick wax baking paper) with perfect pearls dusted over & heat set so it doesn't rub off.

 The background of this tag was inked & stamped with a mesh design stamp. The flowers & leaves were stamped & coloured in using Copic markers then cut out & layered.

 The detail in this card didn't scan very well. The embossing folder has a leafy design around the edges. The card was inked & colour washed. The bird cage is a Tim Holtz die cut that was coloured using alcohol inks as was the chipboard word.

 The embellishments on this card were pre cut from a cricut expressions machine &then stuck on top of patterned paper. Very quick & easy but effective looking.

Blog candy

Stacy from scrapwithstacy.blogspot.com is having a birthday giveaway with some lovely blog candy. So take a look & have some fun!

Tutorials

There is a stand alone page on this blog titled tutorials but I also wanted to have some of the posts labelled as well so it is easier to go to where you want to see them together. I hope this will make things a bit easier and that you find them helpful.

Gift Card Box

This gift card box makes a great gift for someone or you can just keep it for yourself and have a supply of gift cards on hand. They can be themed or blank general cards. I mix & match the colours & papers & embellishments so each design is different but still look good together. 2 sheets plain cardstock makes 8 cards at 20x10cm each. Another piece of plain cardstock is used for the matting & I use 2 sheets patterned paper for the top layer. Embellishments & stamping decorate each card.

 Start off by painting a small square box-this one is a 12cm square paper mache box. Two layers of paint give good coverage. You can ink or spray ink the box if perferred. The top of the box is decorated with paper & embellishments. A ribbon can be adhered around the rim of the lid &/or the box.

 The cards are made in a production line manner. Cut all the cards, then the mats then the top layer.

 Double sided tape works well & I tape all the pieces first.

 All the embellishments are assembled & any stamping is done. Then I tape the mat pieces on followed by embellishments. Sentiments can be stamped inside the cards if you wish.

 Any themes can be made or even a box of different occasion cards can be assembled.

These take a little time to make but they are lots of fun to do. You could also make up a mixed box by using up some of the scrap paper stash.

Handmade Flowers

I spent a morning making some flowers that I have been wanting to do for awhile but never had the time until now. I experimented with a few different materials and there were some that turned out better than others.

These gold swirl flowers were made from a 3cm wide 2m long ribbon that was twisted as it was coiled around the center which was made with a knot at the end of the ribbon. I cut out a circle of card & adhered double sided tape over all of it. (A glue gun would work as well but mine is still packed & I'm not sure which box it is in!) As I twisted the ribbon I stuck it down as I went. Buttons were stuck in the center.

 These green stripe flowers were made by cutting 5 x 5cm strips of ribbon that were folded in half then had a running stitch along the bottom. I didn't cut the thread after each one but threaded the petals on as I went and gathered them up when all the petals were on the thread. A couple of stitches secures the petals together and a button was sewn in the senter before cutting off the thread.

 The organaza flower have 2 x 3different sized circles(6 layers). VERY carefully singe the edge of the circles using a tealight candle. I did mine on the draining board of the sink so I was close to water if things got a bit carried away. Some materials are quite flammable so you need to be extremely careful. Once this was done all the layers were put together with a brad in the center.

 The pink organza rolled flowers were made the same way as the gold ones but small beads were used in the center. The organza didn't stick very well to the double sided tape so when I find my glue gun I will use that to hold it in place.

 These lacey flowers were made quick and easy by gathering cotton lace, joing the ends then sewing a button in the center.

 Lastly are the material flowers made by cutting out circles (finished size depends on the circle cut). Sew a running stitch a few millimeters in from the edge & gather up.This edge will tuck under & tie off the thread. Sew a button in the center to finish.

With all these wonderful flower embellishments you can make it will seem like Spring has come early!