Scrapbooking Articles

Christmas Ornaments

I created this little pretty after the kids in my class showed me how. 

For full instructions, download the PDF file here. 

Green Star Album

Requirements –

2 Frogs sheet – cut into 6 inch by 6 inch squares

2 green bazill card – cut into 6 inch by 6 inch squares

2 White floral paper – cut into 5 inch by 5 inch squares

2 white bazill card – cut into 4 inch by 4 inch squares

Cut all the paper into the measurements as indicated above.  Fold all of the 6 inch squares in half.

Fold the 4 inch squares of white card in half and glue the edges to the edges of the inside of the patterned paper (I used the froggy paper for this).

Punch a fancy border along the top and bottom edge of the 5 inch squares.  Fold in half with the straight sides on the side.  Attach to the centre section of the green bazill card in the same way as the white card squares.

Add in a folded white section in over the top of this layer.

Join each section together, alternating the green bazill sections with the patterned sections.

Create a spine cover by cutting a strip of white card that measures the height of your spine and approximately 10cm wide.  Find the centre of the smallest side and mark out 1cm . 

Score and fold the spine piece then glue over the spine to decorate.  Finish off your book by adding a ribbon tie to the opening side of your book.

 

And thats it, you just need to finish your album off with photo's and decorations of your choice. 

If you would prefer a downloadable copy of this to print and keep (I know I prefer these), you can find it in the articles list at the side of this blog.

Colour reflecting Baubles Xmas Card

I love the effect this has for the overall appearance to my card and I discovered the effect when playing which is even better because it worked out!!

 

With Christmas just around the corner already I have begun to create my cards ready to send out.  I created these little pretties to a very different colour style to my usual colour preference and wanted to add to it with a very different technique.

The photo’s actually don’t do the baubles much justice, as you hold it in your hands and tilt them different colours reflect back at you.

To create one of these baubles –

1. Stamp your design with a wet black ink and emboss with a silver embossing powder.

2. To a glass surface add a couple of drops of alcohol inks.  I used the pearlescent mixer, cranberry and bottle for mine.

3. Leave the inks for a minute to blend together then dab up with a cotton bud and randomly dab over the surface of the silver embossing,  the more uneven the colouring the better reflection.

4. Coat the complete surface with dimensional magic and leave to dry then add another final coat.

 

Club Articles

While creating for this months club I created 2 tutorials that were included in the newsletter.  The first was this little pretty -

And this -

To download a copy of the articles just click on the images. 

Resist Techniques

Have you ever seen some of Tim Holtz’s amazing stamping work?  He has created some amazing techniques over the years using his range of products but the beauty of his techniques is that most of them can be reproduced using alternative products.  I’m going to walk you through his basic technique here and then as a bonus, two other alternatives to his technique that I have seen over the years.

Tim Holtz technique

1. Begin with a piece of white card.  Using a versamark stamp pad or an alternative clear embossing pad, ink your stamp and stamp.  Pour embossing powder over the stamped image and heat set

2. Next, get out your choice of coloured stamp pad (I chose a pale pink even though the photo doesn’t reflect this) and using either a balled up tissue or a cotton ball apply ink to the card by rubbing it into the surface in a slow circular motion.

 

3. Continue applying the ink using the cotton ball or scrunched tissue.  Ensure that all the tiny grooves around your embossed image are filled with the ink.  Don’t be afraid to go over the top of the embossing as this will wipe off when you are finished.

4. Leave for a few minutes to give the ink a chance to dry then rub over with a clean tissue or cotton ball to remove any excess ink that has accumulated on the surface of the embossing.

To finish my panel and of course my card, I then went in and re-inked the edges of my card with a darker pink ink and the same technique as above.

 

Alternative Technique 1

1. Follow steps one and two of the original technique described above but use a glossy card stock rather than a standard piece.

2. Using a brayer and a multi tone stamp pad, roll the ink liberally over the surface of the card.  Re-ink the brayer as necessary, taking care to roll in the same direction each time to keep the gradient effect.

3. Once completely covered, leave to set the ink for 10-15 minutes before rubbing down gently to remove any excess ink.  This also gives the surface a kind of polished effect.

4. Attach to your card and decorate as desired.  Here is a photo of the card I completed using this effect.

 

Alternative Technique 2

1. Choose 2 coloured ink pads that will tie in with your final colour scheme.  Using one cotton ball for each colour, apply ink to the cotton ball and randomly dab it over the card surface.  Repeat with the second colour.

2. Leave to dry thoroughly.  Apply a thin layer of talcum powder to the surface and brush off any excess.

3. Next, stamp your image over the surface with clear embossing ink and emboss with clear embossing powder.  I chose to stamp flowers around the outside edges of my card because I knew that the centre of the image would be covered.

4. Finally rub ink over the whole surface of the card as we did in the first technique, ensuring you cover the surface completely.

Leave to dry for several minutes before rubbing down carefully with a clean cotton ball to remove any excess ink.  Here is the final card I create using this effect –

Note... Try this effect with vibrant coloured dabs and black inking over the top or for a grungy effect, try dripping ink droplets onto the surface and then stamping/ embossing/inking over the top.

Mini Book

What do you think of this mini book?  You can download a copy of the article I wrote for the Scrappit Newsletter which details how to create it.

Click on the photo to link to the article or alternatively on the list on the side of my blog.

Mar Club Scrapp-it Now Articles

There are two very different books this month.  The first is a mini book that has been bound -

 

To access the information on how to create this book simply click on the image or here.

Fold out book

  Well its been awhile but I have another article for you -

 

Pretty huh?  But the real magic is how it works inside with all its fold out sections -

 

So, here's how to make one for yourself -

Card cut into the following dimensions –

1. 21cm x 30cm folded in half to create the main card section.  (we’ll call it section A)

2. 20cm x 28cm folded in half to create section B

3. 13cm x 28cm folded in half to create section C

4. 13cm x 24cm folded in half to create section D

5. 12cm x 22cm folded in half to create section E

6. 10cm x 22cm folded in half to create section F

 

To assemble –

  

1. Open section A and adhere section B to the centre of the right side, ensuring it opens to the left.

  2. Open section B and adhere section C to the centre of the right side as well, ensuring it open upwards.

3. Open section C and adhere section D to the centre of the bottom side, ensuring it opens to the right this time.

 

4. Open section D and adhere section E to the centre of the left  side, ensuring it opens to the left.

5. Finally, open section E and adhere section F to the centre of the right side, ensuring it opens downwards.

 

6. Decorate as desired.  I chose to use patterned paper to coat most sides of my pages in addition to cutting photo mats from the leftover card to adhere to different pages ready for my photos.  I also attached a strip of ribbon below the patterned paper covering the cover to tie my book closed.

 

Princess Carriage

Here it is!!

Requirements –

Twidleybits pre-cut wood Carriage kit

Basic grey Patterned papers or assorted patterned papers to suit

Various paints and embellishments

To create –

 

1.       Using the wooden pieces as templates trace each onto the back of patterned paper and cut out.

2.       Adhere the patterned pieces to each of the sections.  I also chose to cut pieces to fit each of the large floral shapes on either side of the carriage.

3.       Use a piece of sandpaper or an emery board to smooth out fit of the patterned paper to the edges of your shapes.  This will also help the patterned paper to blend into the shape as if it was always meant to be there.

4.       Ink all your edges to hide any imperfections and to add greater contrast.

5.       To complete my frame I painted each surface with the appropriate colour (eg green for the swirls and leaves and  pink for the flowers).  Once dry I dry brushed a pearlescent paint over the surface of the green to provide a means of tricking the eye into believing there was numerous layers of shading.  Finally I added blended shades of pink to the flowers and the word princess before coating with a light glitter paint

 

6.       To decorate my frame I chose to add some large Tim Holtz chipboard hinges to the front section then painted them with a gold leaf paint.  The inside pages I have only added a few embellishments so that I have plenty of room to add my photo’s.

 

 

Mini Book

  Here it is -

 

Requirements –

At least 2 sheets of 12x12 patterned paper

Scrap pieces of chipboard

Embellishments

To Create –

1.       Using a Scorit board, score across your piece of patterned papers at 3 inch intervals to create 16 squares.  This is your basic template for your book.  See template to clarify.

2.       Cut along the 3 sectional folds as indicated on the template. And fold along the valley and peak folds to kind of concertina fold your book together.  Make sure the wrong side of the patterned paper is showing on the front and back of your book as these will be glued to the cover.  Glue together each fold to create the pages of your book.  I then went ahead and scalloped the edges of every second page in my book for decorative purposes.

3.       From the chipboard scraps cut 2 squares measuring 3 ¼ inches by 3 ¼ inches and a small strip 3 ¼ inches by ¼ inch.  Lay on your table with the small strip in the centre.  This will be the cover of your book.

4.       Cover the chipboard with a piece of patterned paper, ensuring the strip remains in the centre with approximately 1/8 inch gap on either side of it.  Trim sections out of the excess to ensure a smoother fold over of the over lap.

5.       Fold over the overlapping patterned paper and glue down.  The cover of your book is now complete.

6.      Glue the front page of your book to the inside front cover and when dry glue the back page of the book to the back of the cover.  Once dry close and gently score along the gap section of your spine to shape it.

7.       To complete my book I added sticker strips to the pages that weren’t scalloped and decorated the front cover with a heart sticker, flower and various valentine rub-ons from Basic Grey.