Hippity Hoppity...

...it’s the Banana Frog blog hop! I hope you are enjoying the ‘spring’ themed creations? I decided that the obvious choice of subject matter to represent spring was flowers. I’d been meaning to scrap this photo of my beloved dog for ages – I just love how it appears for all the world like he’s leaning in to smell the flowers!

Banana Frog stamps I used were: Super Dreamy (flowers); Teen Tiny (small letters); Butterflies & Swirls
Other items: Versamagic inks Perfect Plumeria and Spring Pansy; Memento Ink Sweet Plum; purple scrapbook paper (unknown); Basic Grey Eva scrapbook paper; green card; white card; seed beads; brads; Diamond Stickles; chipboard letters; leaf frond stamp; black pen

This is how I made the layout:
1) Stamp multiple flowers – stamp some of the solid flower in a mix of the two Versamagic inks and some in Perfect Plumeria. Stamp the open flower onto Eva patterned paper. Stamp leafy frond onto green card. Cut out.
2) Add glitter glue to brads and when dry place in the solid flower centres. Add seed beads to the centre of the open flowers.
3) Cut a piece of purple paper and stamp all around with a swirl (Butterflies & Swirls) in Plum ink.
4) Doodle all around the edge of a sheet of white card with a black pen. In places, stamp the tiny flower stamp in Perfect Plumeria.

5) Stamp and layer a butterfly and decorate with glitter glue.
6) Assemble all the bits and bobs as shown, adding a title made from stamped Teen Tiny letters and chipboard letters.

I am also trying to get into the habit of using up my scraps, so when I had finished the layout I used the leftovers to make some cards and a tag. I originally had more flowers on the layout (I took them off as it looked too busy) so I had some blooms left to play with. I also originally cut the circle at the top from a different paper but decided I didn’t like it. So these items are just made from those discarded pieces - they are really simple but better than throwing those scraps in a drawer never to see the light of day again!

Your next stop on the hop is Nat - enjoy!

Gingersnaps - Kraft challenge

Morning all!

It's Gingersnaps challenge day again - today the challenge is Kraft. Easy peasy for me, one of my favourite and most used colours.

I chose to make a mini album - I think Kraft is a perfect colour for seaside-themed creations. This 6x6 mini album will hold images of my holiday in Cape Cod. Confession time - I had planned to do a layout to show you here but I didn't get time....). I do wish life wouldn't get in the way of crafting - it's very inconvenient!!!

Here's how I made it:

Materials...
Card: Chipboard or mountboard sheet; Kraft cardstock; Blue Core'dinations cardstock; brown Bazzill cardstock
Stamps: Fancy Pants (swirls); ISC Picturesque (main image); Crafty Individuals (birds and small shell); Stampington Shore Cliff Elements (shell and starfish)
Inks: black Archival; Distress Broken China, Antique Linen, Faded Jeans; Memento Desert Sand, New Sprout; Versamark
Edge distresser and sandpaper
Chalk (Pebbles Inc)
Twine
Thickers letters
Distress Stickles: Antique Linen

1 Cut two covers from chipboard 6 1/2", cover with brown cardstock front and back.
2 Cut a piece of Kraft card 6" square and stamp with the flourishes (Fancy Pants) in Versamark, chalk over the Versamark in a tan coloured chalk. Distress edges. Cut a mat for this in sanded Core'dinations card and distress the edges of this too.
3 Stamp the Picturesque scene and colour with inks and a water brush. Stamp the birds at the top of the scene. Distress and add to the Kraft panel.
4 Stamp shells onto Kraft card, cut out and cover with Distress Stickles. When dry add using Silicone glue to get shape and dimension.
5 Assemble, adding with twine and letters. Punch holes for book rings. Decorate the inside covers with a stamped Kraft panel as created for the front. The pages inside are 6x6" Kraft card.
That's it - nice and simple :). Do go along to Gingersnaps and join the challenge!

Thanks for popping in!
Katy

He's so vain

Another LO I did with bits and bobs from the last two Sarah's Card kits, plus I used a couple of stamps (Prima border and Cats Life Press journaling block) and a Sizzix die cut for the flourishes. Gus didn't want me to scrap this picture as he didn't think it was flattering enough, hence the title (which if you can read it says 'You're so vain...you probably think this page is about you')!

Soggy Doggy!

This is one of my layouts from the UKS Cyber Crop which has been going on this weekend - I managed a whole two (and started a third!) - I am sooooooooooooooo slow. Some of my team mates did practically ALL of them!

Anyway, this one is from a class by Sarah Palmer. Mine is quite different from the original but it has the same technique which is to paint over letter stickers and then remove them to leave a title (i.e. masking using letter stickers). I added a some dimension to the painting with a bit of tin foil I had lurking on my desk from my last Gingersnaps tutorial - I dipped the scrunched up foil into a blue paint and pounced it on before taking the stickers off.

I've mostly used the latest Sarah's Cards kit to make it. I also inked up my new 7 Gypsies Disclaimer stamps - these are sooooooooooooooo cool! You need them ;0).

I like this one - the dog's face is priceless!!!

Gingersnaps - botanical

The theme this week over on Gingersnaps is botanical. I've made a really simple card with a stamp from ISC - it's a single stamp and really large. The set is called 'Plumeria'. Beautiful image I think, so I kept it the focus and left the card unfussy.

Not much point doing a tutorial on this one - I think it's pretty self-explanatory. I coloured the flower with Coloursoft pencils. I coloured the largest flower twice and layered them up to add some dimension. A really easy and quick make but pretty I think.

Thanks for popping by,

Katy x

Banana Frog Guest - part 2

Today my second lot of Guest DT creations for Banana Frog go live! This is a little BIA book I made using the Butterflies & Swirls set and the Willing Race alphabet set.

I used some of the new Distress Ink colours - Wild Honey and Crushed Olive - they are sooooooooooooooo gorgeous!!!

I made the book to store colour combinations I like - great for when I need a bit of inspiration. I've just scribbed pencils and pens, and smooshed inkpads onto the pages in combinations of colours. I've also stuck images out of mags on some of the pages. It's not neat and tidy inside but then it's meant to be a working document! Here's a little close up of the panels.

My other creations are over on the BF blog :). Thanks for stopping by!

Katy x

Watch out - soppy alert!

I made this little slide mailer into a cute picture frame. I saw the idea in a fabulous book by Donna Downey; I'd seen these a lot on altered art blogs but never before in a 'scrapbooky' style. It's pictures of my darling OH and loved-themed - warned you it was soppy! The best thing about this project is it costs next to nothing. It's all made from scraps and the slide mailers themselves are really cheap (less than £2). Great for little presents I think.

I painted the slide mailer with cream paint and used some leftover pieces of scrapbook paper my friend Ally gave me for Christmas (thanks Ally!). The front is embellished with some twine, ribbon, a chipboard heart and a teeny button. I used some torn old book paper too, which I inked with white ink to tone down the text a little bit. Inside I used a mixture of pictures, stickers and more paper scraps.

I really liked making this and will definitely be making another - my OH wants one of me. Now that's a turn up for the books!

Katy x

Car booty!

Oh I do love a car boot, don't you? My other half indulges me as I rummage through for what he would describe as a load of old tat! Today I got a very impressive haul indeed - loads of old sheet music, a few vintage postcards, some fabric flowers for 10p, buttons also 10p and a really tatty but oh-so-vintage map. I think I spent less than a fiver in total!

I also got this totally amazing bit of kitsch. It's a Disney souvenir, I think it has to be from the seventies and OMG it's uber naff but I love it soooooooooooooooooooo much.

A good days rummaging!

Katy x

For you

Oh dear I haven't been a very good blogger lately, have I? It seems everything I've been doing is for the Gingersnaps team or for publication and I can't show any of it! It also didn't help that my mojo went on holiday for a few days... how dare it!

Been a busy day today - beautiful sunshine meant we could get out into the garden and plant some lovely new things. Me time this afternoon so I plan a little bit of scrapbooking I think.

Anyway, back to all things crafty, today I have a quick card to share. I actually made this from a reject piece from another project and the bits I had in lying on my desk. This isn't the way I normally create - I like to be much more specific - but I think it turned out OK. Always useful to have a spare card or too as well isn't it?

The great big stamp is by Fancy Pants and I love it but rarely use any of the others off the sheet (it's one of those giant 12x12 packs). I coloured over the stamped image with white Coloursoft pencil - I love this effect, I think it's so pretty.

Thanks for popping by and have a wonderful weekend!

Katy x

Another foil technique card

Here is another card I made using the foil background technique I demonstrated yesterday on Gingersnap Creations.

The stamps are ISC again - love their stamps!

Gingersnaps tutorial!

I've uploaded my first Gingersnaps tutorial today. The theme for this month is 'recycled supplies'. If you'd like to know how to make the background effect on this card, pop over to Gingersnaps for a step-by-step photo tutorial. Hope you like it!

All Summery

My layout for this week's UK Scrappers challenge. It uses a sketch from Page Maps and the theme is summer. Pics are from New England and the paper is Fancy Pants. Thanks for popping by!

Second Banana Frog Creation

The second of my Banana Frog Guest DT submissions, again using the Fireworks stamps. I thought these stamps were ideal for a man's card so here I've used them for a more abstract design which is quite suitable for all ages and genders I think :). Instructions are on the Banana Frog Blog.

Gingersnaps Debut!

'Home Sweet Home' is my very first DT project for Gingersnap Creations, the theme for which was ‘ginger, copper or rust’. I like those kinds of colours so that was a good start! I seem to be using a lot of corrugated cardboard lately (I use up the many pizza boxes my stash gets delivered in!) as I love the texture it adds. Plus it’s free!

I am going to try to post a short tutorial for everything I create over on the Gingersnaps blog so if you like any of my creations do pop over here for more information. I enjoyed making this, now just have to persuade other half to let me hang it somewhere - he is not exactly into the whole craft thing!

Materials…

ISC Tranquil stamps (bird and branch)
Hero Arts Branch Background
PaperArtsy script mini (MN61)
Memento Ink: Tangelo; Potter’s Clay; Rhubarb Stalk
StazOn Ink: Timber Brown
Cream acrylic paint
Red scrapbook paper (Basic Grey)
Corrugated cardboard
Alphabet letters (Cosmo Cricket and Basic Grey)
Bit of sponge
Twine

1 Cut a piece of corrugated card (mine is 7” x 5 ½”), tear off the top sheet to reveal the corrugations but leave some of the paper intact in places. Sponge with cream paint – wipe all the excess paint off the sponge so it is practically dry to get a light coverage which retains some of the colour underneath. When dry, stamp small portions of text around the edge in places to add a bit of extra depth. I use a bit of cheap bath sponge for this; no need to use up your expensive Cut-n-Dry for this type of painting.

2 Ink the background stamp with all three colours of Memento Ink and stamp onto cream card. Trim to size and distress and ink the edges. Stamp the branch on the lower portion. Stick to the corrugated card along with a piece of red paper.

3 Stamp the bird twice onto brown card in brown ink and cut out. Turn one of the birds over to get a mirror image so the birds face each other and ink it up with the brown StazOn so the colour tone matches the first bird. Add to the branch with 1mm foam pads. If I am using a solid stamp and cutting the image out, I always use colour on colour stamping (e.g. brown ink on brown card) – that way if my stamping is a bit ropey it doesn’t show anywhere near as much!

4 Ink up the letters ‘home’ with the brown StazOn and when dry (won’t take long) add them to the composition. Stick letters to spell ‘sweet’ onto a scrap of red paper and add that too.

5 Finally punch two holes and tie string through to allow the plaque to hang. I knotted the string at the front using the knots as a decorative element (a tip I picked up from fellow Gingersnapper Jo Capper-Sandon – thanks Jo!).

Banana Frog Guest DT!

I was so excited to be asked by Bev at Banana Frog to be a guest designer for April. For my first submission, which has gone up today, I made three items. This is a scrapbook page I made using the Fireworks set of stamps. I also made two cards as well.

There are a couple of fun techniques in this layout. All the instructions are over on the Banana Frog blog.

My second feature will be on the 20th! How exciting!!!