A Box for Cards

So I had a little play around with making a box for the set of cards I made the other day. I need to make it again and remember to write down the measurements so I can post them here for you. But in the mean time, this is the box I made, nothing fancy,but does match the cards. I have 4 cards in the box, but you could easily fit another 4, or if you really wanted to pack it full, I think you could easily fit another 6-8 cards in there. It is VERY easy to make the box smaller or bigger, depending in how many you want in there. Enjoy!

Check back soon for the tuorial!

Paper Flowers

A quick tutorial for today! MAKING PAPER FLOWERS.

I would love to say this is an original idea, but it's not. It an idea from the Kaisercraft website.

Lets gets started. Here's the supplies you will need, 2 punched/cut out circles (I have used 2 Scallop Circles), some scissors, and a brad.

The first thing you will want to do is mark the centre of the circle with a pencil, it doesnt need to be exact, but close enough. Then you will need to make equal cuts around the circle, not quite to the centre. The scallops make it REALY easy to know where to cut. Do this to both of the circles.

Next take one of the cut sections between your fingers and 'fold' them in half. Continue to do this for all sections on both circles. (sorry the pictures are small) Put a small hole in each of the circles to put a brad through, place the circles on top of each other and place the brad in.

And thats IT. Here is a card I made with the flowers. (I plan on using them on a scrapbook page SOON. They are very quick and simple, and so effective. They give a ncie amount of texture to any project.

If you would like to try making another Paper Flower , Check out my latest tutorial HERE

Stampin; Up! Supplies:

Cardstock:Whisper White, Real Red
Paper: Rose Red & Certainly Celery Print Designer Paper
Stamps: Friendship Blooms- for the leaves (retired set), Fast and fun Notes (Happy Birthday Wishes greeting)
Ink: Basic Black
Other: Snail adhesive, Scallop Circle, Scallop Edge, Old Olive Marker

Non Stampin Up Supplies: White Brad

A time for CARDS

I am not a 'card' person, I'm a scrapbooking person. But I know that cards are a whole lot quicker to make, especially for demonstrations. Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike cards, I love handmade cards. I wanted to make a set of 'quick cards' that I could re-make at anytime. This is what I came up with

For these cards I cut some patterned paper and adhered a scalloped edge. Punched out a scallop circle. Stamped an image on white cardstock and punched it out with the round circle punch and adhered it to the scallop circle. Added a dimensional to the back of the scallop circle and placed it on the card, and lastly stamped my greeting. I'm putting this into the 'Under 5 Minute Project' category.

REALLY simple to make. If I was organised enough I would have made a box or co-ordinating envelope for the set to go into, but we'll save that for another day.

I really love the versatility of the Prints Designer Paper. You can find on page 137 in the 2008-2009 catalogue here. If you wold like to order some of this paper, don't hesitate to contact me.

Stampin' Up! Supplies:
Cardstock:Whisper White, Real Red
Paper: Rose red Print Designer Paper
Stamps: Polka Dot Punches, Warm Words
Ink: Real Red
Other: Snail adhesive, Dimensionals
Punches: 1 3/8 Circle, Scallop Circle, Scallop Edge

A Space Saving Storage Idea

For my birthday, yes I'm another year older - still none the wiser lol, I took a trip into IKEA with my friend Melany. The 2 main products I HAD to get was some more Drona Boxes for my scrabooking storage shelves, and some hanging storage for my daughters room. Unfortunately, they were out of the boxes, fortunately I get to go back when they do lol.

Recently becoming a Stampin Up demonstrator, I now need more room for my stamps. So my scrapbooking storage are is getting an overhaul. I will have more on my storage area in a later post. The one good thing about the Drona Boxes is that they are quite deep and long. Deep enough to fit 12x12 paper and at about 38cm/15inches long, I can fit ALOT in them. It worked perfectly for me for a while, but I soon found that I wasn't able to make good use of all that space. Take my 'tool box' as an example. I was always rummaging though to find what I need, which always happened to be at the bottom of the box. This the mess I was working with:

The solution: hanging storage within the boxes! Why didn't I think of this before? See what a difference it makes

These are the storage items I'm using:

Wire containers and 'S' hooks from Howards Storage World

'Bygel' containers from Ikea. These are great because I can just hook them on the inside of my boxes.

This is a close up of how I'm using some of the containers. The first picture is the wire containers and the small 'S' hooks to hang them

Here im using the large 'S' hooks to hang items that have a hole

I'm still in the process of going through and re-organising my boxes, but it's looking good so far. I'm now able to fit so much more in each box and not have to dig to China to find what I want lol. Once I've been back to IKEA (dangerous if you ask me)and have the rest of the boxes, i will show you all my storage ideas.

Stamps are HERE....and there's some freebies

I've got some very exciting news! I'm now a Stampin' Up! demonstrator! This has been a decision that I have been umm-ing and arr-ing about for well over a year. So at the start of a new year, I have taken the plunge. Of course I am hoping to be successful, but I figured if I decide it's not for me, or things just don't work out, I get to keep a whole bunch of stamps and stamping products which makes me a very happy little girl! From where I stand it's a win win situation. More exciting than signing up, was my receiving my starter kit box of goodies. I tell you it was like Christmas!
I have included links to the the Stampin' Up! website as well as their current catalogues on the right hand side.

If you love scrapbooking, stamping or card making, you will no doubt LOVE Stampin' Up! Products. January and February are great months to hold a workshop or put in an order because of the Sale-A-Bration promotion that is running. For every $100 you spend, you will receive a Stamp set absolutely FREE. Did I mention FREE? FREE is my favourite word lol!

To help me get started in the Stampin' Up! Business, I would love for you to help me. If you are interested in holding a workshop I will include a FREE 2008-2009 Catalogue. If you happen to already have one, you can choose one FREE Classic Stampin Pad in the colour of your choice. This offer is only valid until February 28, 2009. If you dont have time for a workshop, you can have a catalogue party. Simply gather orders from your friends and family and place any order. You can still receive the same benefits

I'm also more than happy to send you out a copy of the Summer Mini Catalogue free. Just email me on the link on the right had side.

Wish me luck!

Update on Project 365

I have been very diligent is taking at least 1 photo a day, a lot of the time its hard to choose just 1! You can see all my photos here. Watching Becky's blog over the past week, and there is still no definite answer whether the kit will be re-released. The exciting news is that my friend Mel and I have decided to make our own kits! As much as I love the design of Becky's kit, it doesn't really suit me. I already have several portrait photos, that don't fit her design. So this is the plan:

While we were in our local scrapbooking shop, I came across this particular piece of paper, and it was like the heavens parted lol. Its by Fancy Pants Design. The collection is called 'The Daily Grind'. The is going to be the base of my whole project. I'm re-naming project 365 to The Daily Grind. I love the colours, and will use them throughout the album.

The first problem I needed to resolve was the positioning of the photos. My original plan was to get a normal 12x12 page protector and use clear thread to stitch it to suit my photos. But the variation of landscape and portrait photos just wansn't working for me. I'm still going to be using a double 12x12 layout for one single week, getting back more to a traditional scrpabooking layout, but I am going to add a 6x12 page protector in the middle of the 2 12x12 and use that as my journaling. Here is a similar one made by Fancy Pants Designs. So one side will hold the week and date title as well as 3 days of journaling and the other side will hold 4 days of journaling. Both sides will correspond to each side photos with journaling. It will make more sense once I have a page to post. I might also mix it up a bit and add some 8x8, we'll see how it goes.

The next element from Becky's kit we wanted to re-produce was the the transparent month dividers. To do this we are going to use clear acetate and Staz On ink to stamp the months. Here is the jet black colour, but more colours are on their way care of Mel and her mum at Scrappamania.

To re-create the designer cards Becky has in her kit, we are going to simply use patterned paper and embellish them as we see fit. The journaling cards we are going to use a mix of our handmade designer cards and handmade journaling spots. I'm yet to decide on an actual album, but I'm leaning towards the colour black. It will be a 3 ringed album though. I'll let you know in a few days when I have made my decision.

I am also thinking I might use Ali Edwards Days and months Digital overlays on my photos to record the day and date. She has so many great digital elements, its hard to choose lol.

So thats the plan so far, I'm sure there will be more once I start putting it together. It's going to be so much fun! Let me know in teh comments if you have any otehr great ideas to share.

The Process

I got stuck into my mini book yesterday, and wanted to share the progress I've made (not very much lol). I cut all the paper to fit onto my scalloped journal. While I was deciding on the order, I chose to use the backside of the dark burgandy paper from my previous post, as I felt it worked better with the other 3 papers. To tell you the truth, I didn't even look at the other side when I was in the store.

Once they were all the paper was cut and I was happy, I started to glue them on with Mod Podge. Mod Podge is a waterbase sealer, glue and finish for all surfaces. I applied it wth a normal paint brush. You can also use a sponge applicator. I then gave the paper a quick rub to make sure the ends were stuck and let it dry. I have used this as a sealer in the past, but I have the glossy finish Mod Podge which leaves brush stroke evidence quite a bit. I prefer the matt finish, which is why im using mine as a glue.

This is the basic journal without anything else attached. I dont even have the inside pages covered with paper yet. Over the weekend I plan on making more of an effort on it. I'll keep you posted

My One Little Word

Inspired by Ali Edwards, I have chosen a word to be the theme for ME this year. The word I have chosen is SIMPLIFY. The definition of simplify is To make less complex or complicated; make plainer or easier (and I am also adding); to organise and de-clutter. For me, it's getting back to the basics, getting back to what really matters, and not sweating the small stuff.

I have set some specific goals I want to achieve and to help remind me of what they are and to track how I'm doing, I will be making a journal/mini-book. Below are the core products I plan to use to create the book. It features my favourite colour burgundy, but i love the splash of teal in the top paper made by Bo Bunny. It was the paper I co-ordinated everything else with.

I will be using:
Scallop Planner by Kaisercraft
Rhinestone Borders by Kaisercraft
Papers by Bo Bunny, My Minds Eye & Prima Marketing
A quote card by My Minds Eye
Assorted Ribbons

Of course along the way I'm sure I will add more from what I already have on hand. Keep a lookout in the next few day to see the progress.

You can read more about Ali Edwards and her One Little word theory here http://aliedwards.typepad.com/_a_/2008/12/best-laid-plans.html

Project 365

An ongoing project I will have for this year is the Becky Higgins' inspired Kit Of The Month - Project 365. The theory behind this kits is that you take 1 photo a day for a year to capture your life. You can read more about it at this link http://www.kitofthemonth.blogspot.com/ , or on her website www.beckyhiggins.com/blog. Unfortunately, there was a mad rush when the kit went on sale on January 1st and we were unable to get one, but hopefully they will re-release it in the very SOON future. My scrappin friend Mel is coming along for the ride with me on this one. My daily photos will be updated on the right hand side for you all to see.

WELCOME!

First things first

WELCOME TO MY NEW CRAFT BLOG

This blog serves a few purposes. Mainly to share with the world my bit of creativity. It may come in many forms, Scrapbooking, Cards, Sewing, Altered Crafts, Stamping and hopefully many more. So sit back, enjoy the ride. Leave me comments so I know someone is out there lol. I'll be back soon with some inspiration for you all!

-Hugs-