Other Craft Projects

Sandy Adventures: Beach Mini Album

on December 2, 2012

I know this is a little out of season, but who cares, right?

After our first trip to the beach with Piper I was looking through my photos and realised there were loads that i really wanted to treasure forever, so i decided to make a mini book about our sandy adventure.

I had a fun time making this album, and kinda threw caution to the wind a little bit, not really worrying too much about the design on each page, just having fun! Some pages are minimal, others are a little more embellished, but I’m super pleased with the way it turned out.

The pages themselves I cut from scrapbook paper, some 6×6 pads and other remnants of larger 12×12 sheets that were lurking around my craft table at the time. I also mixed in some yellowy textured cardstock which really pops next to the patterned paper.

I wanted bright colours – of course i did, this project is about the happy, vibrant, fun times of summer! I didn’t care too much on what colours i used, but enjoyed mixing different patterns together to achieve a playful look.

I even decided to be a little bit brave and stamp directly onto some of my photos! I used a stamp set from Ali Edwards for the ‘you make me smile’ message, and the ‘you + me = together’ is from a Unity Stamps kit. So much fun. I also was delighted to FINALLY use a pre-printed ribbon that has been lurking in the craft room for ages, waiting for the perfect project to come along!

I printed my photos in a variety of different sizes – i didn’t want the book too look overly organised or restraint, rather i wanted it to be free flowing and quirky. I also mixed it up by giving some white borders and some i cut down without borders- thats just the way i roll! I have to say though that my fav photo in the whole book would have to be this wide photo of Pi and Daddy which I have made to span across the two pages. I love that they pop out of the right hand page, but i equally love the left page because of all those cute little beach huts all in a row! aww!

I bought some Any Tangerine Day Book embellishments a little while ago and i love that they are so perfect for projects like this. In fact i think i have used about three quarters of the whole pack on this project alone. What a great investment! Having those shapes and images on hand really made the process a lot quicker.

I used washi tape and stickers to add more layers to the page, but all in all the pages are not overly embellished or bulky – which is good because i wanted the book to stay relatively flat.

I stamped a few images using label stamps and i also printed a few of my “Thankful for this memory” journaling cards to use in the mini book too. There are great for layering and for adding little phrases and quotes.

To put it all together i used my Bind It All. I forgot how amazing it is. Every so often I am reminded at how easily i can make professional wire bound books that i adore. i {heart} BIA!

I think the thing i am most proud of is the cover. I had an idea to add layers in order to build a scene on the front cover, but almost dismissed this idea due to practical reasons. I thought that Piper would try to pull things off the cover and it would end up being messy and grubby. Then, Eureka!!!

..I built my layers, using a little of my ‘other lover’ aka distress ink to add definition and depth to the edges. I then hand cut a sand castle and spade, added alpha stickers and clouds, and to wrap everything up safely I covered everything with a piece of acetate and sewed around the outside edges. This was a great way to protect the front cover, prevent little prying fingers from ripping off any tiny pieces and it also means that I have hopefully extended the life of this little guy!

Thanks for stopping by even though you are all thinking about snowmen and elves and fairy lights. 🙂

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Fly Free: Mixed Media Home Decor Plaque

on October 12, 2012

A month or two ago, my friend Lindsey came over for a Saturday and we spent the day crafting. It was such a lovely change to be sharing my craft room and have another person there to bounce ideas off and also to have a jolly good laugh. Throughout the day we played with ink, papers, stamps and the trusty heat gun and we each made a plaque.

This was so far outside my normal crafty zone, but still so much fun. I was using supplies to guide Lindsey through the different techniques which she could use on her plaque. I never got to take a photo of hers (hopefully i’ll get one to show you guys at some point) but heres a look at mine.

Part of me is gutted i didn’t take step by step photos, but heres a quick run down of what i did to end up with this piece of art.

Before i even began i stuck my chipboard to the craft mat because i knew i wanted a good steady surface to work on. To do this i used masking tape all the way around the four edges. Then i stamped the butterfly (unity stamps) with clear embossing ink and embossed with white embossing powder. Before cleaning the stamp i also made an image into scrap paper which i cut out to use as a template. I sprayed repositionable adhesive on the back of the butterfly template and stuck this over the embossed image to create a mask. Next I cut a flowing section out of a piece of scrap paper and adhered to the chipboard once again using repositionable adhesive. This was a mask to add the little stream of butterflies, which once again i inked in clear and embossed in white. Next I removed the mask which protected either side of the butterfly stream, and covered this section with another mask. Next stop was to stamp and emboss the chevrons, over the top of the masked butterfly and the masked ‘stream’. At this stage of course, my whole project was white on white. The next stop was to add colour. I loved this bit, mostly because i had lots of fun with my distress inks! I started with the butterfly and i used my fingertips to blend the colour as it was kinda tricky to use the big bulky blending foam pad over the tiny areas. Next I reused the masks to cover the chevrons and used the blending tools to mix yellows and oranges into that middle section. I love the way it gives a kind of graduated look. <3 Next stop was the chevron section. Once again i masked off the butterfly and the yellow bit, and then added the teal colour with the blending tool.

At this stage the project looked really pretty. I was pleased with it, especially the subtle white outlines and funky colours. THEN guess what happened! As i was removing the masking tape, I realised i had made a booboo. The heat that was applied when embossing had made the masking tape really sticky and when i pulled it off, it ripped most of the upper coating of the chipboard. Ahh puuuH! In order to try to save it i grabbed a posca paint pen and drew the border. This gave the project a completely different look. A bit more funkylicious and punky! To bring it all together i also used the pen to outline some of the elements on the project, and to finish, added some beautiful felt alpha stickers. ohhhh pretty!

Im not sure where this will go, but i liked breaking out of the norm and trying something different.

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Love Letter Ephemera Mini Book: (Facing The Giant!)

on October 10, 2012

Ever have a project which has been lurking in your house for years? A forgotten project, once started, never finished? This was one of mine.

When I spent a year in France as part of my Uni degree Craig and I wrote letters to each other every week. I kept these all in a box along with some postcards and brochures etc from Lyon. When we moved into our previous house in 2009 I decided that i was going to make a mini book to hold all these items. I was going to make a video and I designed the whole thing and pre-cut all the papers and everything. Then I hit an issue. The video i was started was rubbish- the lighting was really bad, so much that the colours were not true and that bugged me soooooo badly. We also didn’t have a proper camera mount. Because of these things my inspiration flew out the window and hit itself in the face on the way out. I packed everything away together and then it lay in hibernation.

Fast forward. Geez, has it been three years?!

Then one day for no apparent reason, I did it!
I faced the giant and decided that it was GOING to GET MADE! I didn’t want to do a video any more, that ship had sailed, but it was silly having a half finished project staring at me all this time.

And here it is. And I LOVE IT! I like the design, (i wanted a vintage, timeless yet french inspired romantic feeling), I love the textures, I love the content, i love the story behind the project getting made and i love the fact that it is finished.

My bind it all had its work cut out for it because there were so many things to go in to the book. The final thing doesn’t even close properly but i don’t care. Because its done. and its great.

Do you have any projects which are dwelling on your mind? Go get inspired and face your own giant!

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