A Pretty Little Girly Project

Hello again,

I have been crafting again today!! I have a friend on CraftSwap Forum who has a little girl who is celebrating her birthday just after Christmas and she usually misses out a bit as Christmas takes over. So, I have made her a little card and a cute little taglet book.

As she is only 7 I decided it was a fab age to use my K & Co Young Girl stash! I love this collection and very rarely get the chance to use it...so have jumped at the chance this time :O))

I have the 6" pad of papers and they all co-ordinate beautifully. I also have the Grand Adhesions and the Glittery Stickers too.



I used mountboard for the base of each tag, I had cut them out ages ago and they are in a large stash of others that are ready to be altered!

Using the papers, I also added little birthday messages using stamps by Hero Arts, Penny Black and Whispers. I stamped in clear embossing ink and then used a lovely pink lustre powder by Blonde Moments to emboss the words.



On the card, I used some of the paper matted with some silver sparkle card. I stuck this to the left of the card and then added a Grand Adhesion to the right of the card and added a message mat further up just to balance the design.


I went a bit bonkers with the Stickles and managed to glitter up most of the paper, images and the card too!!



I hope that she will like this little keepsake and that she will have lots of enjoyment looking at it.

Thanks for looking...I am off to try and get rid of all this glitter on me...even AlfieCat is sparkling!!

Hels x

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Hello Peeps,

I have been busy getting inky and messy again! This time, I have made a Bind It All book in a Gatefold style and have done purely inking and Stamping.


I started off with two pieces of 5" x 5" mountboard. For the front cover, I used a Stanley knife to cut a diagonal so this would be the opening. The back piece was left intact ready for colouring.




I took four pieces of mountboard that I had cut 4" x 4". I cut three of the pieces so they would also give a gatefold opening and left one piece whole so it was a page.



I used Adirondack Inkpads using Butterscotch, Rust, Cranberry and Espresso colours. I applied Butterscotch to the page using a wet babywipe. I then blended a little Rust and a little Cranberry to it using the same babywipe. Once the piece was covered, I then spritzed with water to blend the colours better together. Once I had stamped my chosen image, I edged the piece with Espresso but this time used a dry babywipe to do this.




Once I had all the pages stamped and coloured, I then used clear Embossing ink and clear Embossing powder and heated it to give a lovely glossy finish.

The stamps I used are by Tim Holtz, Crafty Individuals and PaperArtsy.



On one of the diagonal cut pages I added a sqaure of mountboard with the image stamped again onto it, so this gave the page that added something.

I did the same for the cover and used my Ltd Edition Tim stamp as the focal image.

Finally, I used two lengths of 3/4" brown wire to bind the pages and covers together.

Thanks for looking

Hels x

A Tab Book

Hi again,

I made a "Tab" book last week...well most of it was last week and most of it ended up in the bin cos I really didn't like the look of it. Anyway, I decided to get it out of the bin and try and do something with it. This is not my most favourite creation as it has not turned out how I imagined!

There are a lot of little bits and bobs with the book so I have a fair few photo's ot it too!!









In general, I used Distress Inks and Dabbers and a bit of clear heat embossing. I also used Crackle Paints and Alcohol Inks and some Stampbord for the embellishments and a really cute tiny Clipboard (by Rob & Bob) which I have altered and put Alcohol Inks on before I attached it to the page. I also used some metal embellishments and ribbons too.












The stamps are by Tim Holtz, Catslife Press, Crafty Individuals, PaperArtsy, CherryPie Art and ArtGirlz. I have used a variety of styles and added a few little mini envelopes to add a little bit of dimension to the overall look.








Now it is finished, I kind of like it...I am hoping it is one of those creations that will "grow on me!" :O))

Thanks for looking...and I would love some comments too!

Hels x

A New Job Card

Hello there,

I have made a card for a friend of my hubby....he is about to start in the Police Control Room answering calls from the public. So, I put my thinking cap on and came up with this design.

For it, I started by making the background layer. I used a black pen and made a grid. I then coloured each alternate square using a VersaFine pen. I then added black embossing powder and heat embossed it. I did this twice so the squares are very black and glossy. I then used a piece of white card and stamped the New Job with alphabet stamps. I layered this onto black card and left a larger space above the message. I used this space to add a Crown brad to the mat so it looks a little like a Police badge :O))

I finished by edging the mat with Silver Krylon and randomly stamped a crown on to the envelope.

I hope he likes the card!!

Thanks for looking

Hels x

Christmas Exploding Box

Hello friends,

I have been crafting this morning and I have made an Exploding Box with a Christmas theme.

I used papers by Cosmo Cricket from the "Be Good" collection and I used a variety of Christmas rubber stamps. Some are my own and the others are borrowed from my friend Andrea....cos I have not got many Christmas stamps...so thank you to Andrea for the loan and I loved using them!







Exploding Boxes are relatively easy to make. The most important part is getting the measurements right so the lid fits and the pages all sit nicely together.

For this box I used three sheets of 12" x 12" Cosmo Cricket paper, which is double sided and this makes the making of the box a whole lot easier as both sides of the flaps are already patterned. I also used a sheet of Bazzill Metalic cardstock in red. This was primarily for the lid and I used some of the offcuts for matting onto the flaps. I also used a little bit of Bazzill Metalic in Gold for matting too.

The design of the colour of the box was to be red and gold and brown. I used Fired Brick and Aged Mahogany Distress Inks, Gold Krylon and Acrylic Dabber and a Sepia VersaFine Pad.

The stamps are by Paper Artsy, Crafty Individuals and from the Tim Holtz Collection.





I also used small pieces of mountboard on the outer flaps of the box and on the lid. I used Fired Brick to colour the mountboard and dragged a Cranberry and a Gold Dabber across the mountboard before spritzing it with Tattered Angels Mist (Antique Gold).





As I wanted the overall look to be aged and distressed, I used a paper distresser to rough up the edges of the flaps and the mats that I added. I used my Gold Krylon roughly on all the edges so this gives the box a more "worn" feel.




For the centre of the box I made a little bauble. I took eight strips of co-ordinating paper, cut them to the same length and then cut away a little bit at the top and bottom so they joined together more neatly. I used a few Sticky Dots to keep the strips together at the bottom and then used a small round piece of chipboard which I had painted with the Gold Krylon. Through this I pushed a star shaped brad and then attached this to the assembled paper strips. I repeated this method to join the other end of the strips together and tied a piece of thin gold thread through the hole and around the brad, so the bauble can hang from a tree.

Finally, I coloured some silver charms I had with the Gold Krylon and then used jump rings to attach them to the box lid.

I am really really chuffed with the over all look of the box. For once, it has turned out exactly how I imagined! And I am rather proud of my little bauble too!


Thanks for looking....if you would like to know the measurements I have used I will be happy to answer any questions.

Cheers

Hels x

More Fat Pages - Tim Holtz Stylee!

Hello again,

Whoops, where did this week go? I was going to pop the other Fat Pages here on Sunday, then family time took over and then this week has just whizzed past!!

Anyways, better late thann never, here are the four remaining fat pages that I have sent out for the Craftswap Forum list.

Page 5



For this page, I again used a piece of mountboard. I used Cut & Dry foam to apply Shabby Shutters Distress Ink, then over the top of this I used Peeled Paint and then a few patches of Dusty Concord. I then spritzed the whole page with Tattered Angels in Antique Brass and let it soak in a bit before I completely dried it using my heatgun. I used the Crackle Bird from the Tim Holtz Unmounted Collection. He is a big stamp, so I placed him in the middle of the page using a VersaFine ink pad in Imperial Purple. I added a little bronze coloured gem to his eye, sticking it with Glossy Accents. I took a smaller piece of mountboard and coloured it the same way as the page. I used Tattered Angels on this and then once it was dry I stamped the sentiment which is another from the Tim Holtz Collection. I used my Crop-A-Dile and punched a hole in the top right hand of the page. Using a purpley coloured eyelet to match the colour scheme I tied some gingham ribbon through the hole. For the finishing touch, I used Gold Krylon and edged the page and the message piece and dabbed some Glossy Accents to a couple of the words.
For this page I used: Distress InkPads in Shabby Shutters, Peeled Paint & Dusty Concord, Tattered Angels Mist in Antinque Brass, Eyelet, Crop-A-Dile, ribbon, Goild Krylon and a little gem.



Page 6



I started this page by painting Crackle Paint in Dusty Concord onto the top right hand corner of the page. Whilst this was drying I got the papers that I wanted to use prepared. I tore the papers to the sizes I needed and then spritzed with Tattered Angels. Whilst the paper was wet I curled the edges up so it look a little rough and distressed. On the larger piece of paper, I stamped the cup rings using Imperial Purple VersaFine ink. I also used the spray flower stamp (also a TH Collection!) stamping this in Dusty Concord so it looked lighter on the paper. I used the smaller piece of paper as a message mat, stamping the Embrace Imperfection onto it using the Purple VersaFine again. Next, I took an inch square piece of Stampbord and coloured it with Dusty Concord. I stamped the flower head onto it using the Purple VersFine and then dabbed the whole piece with my clear Embossing ink dabber. I used Clear Embossing powder, heating it until it melted together. The paint had dried by now, so I put the whole page together, stapled two pieces of ribbon to the top right and edged it all with Gold Krylon. The final little embellie of the spoon is actually an image on the reverse of the paper I used...I cut this out and stuck it on with Glossy Accents!
For this page I used: Tim Holtz Collection Stamps and Papers, Crackle Paint & Distress Ink in Dusty Concord, VersaFine Imperial Purple, Stampbord, Glossy Accents, Tattered Angels Antique Brass, Clear Embossing Dabber and powder, Stapler, Ribbon and Gold Krylon.


Page 7




Page 7 has been made in the same way as Page 6. I painted Faded Jeans Crackle Paint onto the top right hand corner of the page. Whilst this was drying, I prepared the paper I wanted to use. I spritzed the paper with Tattered Angels and whilst it was wet, curled the edge up over the tear. Once I had dried the paper, I used a Tim Holtz Collection stamp as the main image. I stamped this in Black VersaFine. I took a small piece of mountboard, coloured it with Faded Jeans Distress Ink and then stamped the Create word on it...I used Imperial Purple VersaFine for this piece. I then took a small square of Stampbord and once I had coloured the background with Faded Jeans I stamped the little girl's face onto it. I then covered the whole piece with Clear Embossing powder and melted it. I stuck this on to the paper over the image of her face ...so she had a raised look. I edged everything with Gold Krylon and stapled a piece of "ruler" twill to the page...I used the ruler twill as this matched the ruler on the stamped image.
For this page I used: Faded Jeans Distress Ink & Crackle Paint, Tattered Angels in Antique Brass, Tim Holtz papers and Stamps, Invoke Art Stamp, Black VersaFine, Purple VersaFine, Gold Krylon, Stampbord, Clear Embossing powder, Clear Embossing ink dabber, stapler and twill.


Page 8



My last page! Again, I used the Faded Jeans Crackle Paint. THis time I painted the whole of the right hand side of the page. I took some co-ordinating Tim Holtz paper, spritzed with Aged Silver Perfect Pearls dissolved in water and then stamped the Flowery Tim Stamp onto it using
Faded Jeans Distress Ink. I curled the edge up as I did on the other papers and dabbed a bit of Gold Krylon onto this curl. Once I had stuck the paper down, I then took a smaller piece of the paper and used the patterned side of it so the bottle was on show. I spritzed this with the Tattered Angels and curled the edge right over so the plain side of the paper showed. I then took a little piece of the paper and stamped "Altered" onto it using Faded Jeans. I took a little square of Stampbord and stamped the T, E & R onto it, embossed with clear powder and stuck this to the paper message. This gave the whole look a bit of depth. On the Crackle painted part of the page, I used the Flourish stamp by Tim and stamped in Black, embossed the image wit clear embossing so that it set and then I edged the page with Silver Krylon. The stapled ribbons are the final touch.
For this page I used: Tim Holtz Collection Stamps and Paper, Faded Jeans Crackle Paint and Distress Ink, Stampbord, Alphabet stamps by StampsAway, Black VersaFine, Perfect Pearls in Aged Silver, Water mister, Silver Krylon, Stapler & Ribbons.


I really enjoyed making these pages as I could let my imagination run riot! I love the whole "altered" look of crafting and as you probably guessed, Tim Holtz is my hero!!

Thanks for looking at my latest creations!

Hels x

Fat Pages - Tim Holtz Style!

Hi there,

As a member of Craft Swap Forum, I am on a few Fat Book Lists. What is a Fat Book? Well, it is a little book made up of 20 or so pages. The pages are 4" x 4" and have a specific style. The whole point of the pages is to make them nice and "fat" and to decorate them with a host of different mediums.

The pages here are for the Tim Holtz List. There are about 14 of us on this list and each of us will make 14 pages, then send them out to each other, so at the end of the list each member will have 14 different pages. Then, using book rings we attach them all together and here is a book!

These pages are all made using mountboard as a base.

Page 1

I made this page by colouring the whole surface with Distress Inks in Shabby Shutters and Peeled Paint. I then spritzed the whole surface with Tattered Angels. I let the spritz sink into the page, then dried it off using my heat gun. I then dragged a Adirondack Dabber in Lettuce over the page to achieve the streaks. I used the tree stamp as a background and then on a separate piece of paper, I stamped the expression. I wet the edges of the paper and curled them forwards to make a shabby look. The little square is a piece of Stampbord, which I coloured and then stamped the face on it. I heat embossed the surface by dabbing a clear pad over the stampbord and then used clear embossing powder to seal it. Finally, I edged the whole page with a gold Krylon and stapled two pieces of ribbon to it.
For this prage I used: Distress Inks, Papers & Stamps by Tim Holtz, Gold Krylon, Stampbord and Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists.


Page 2



For this page, I prepared the surface by painting on Walnut Stain Crackle Paint on one corner. Once this was dry I used Cut & Dry foam and applied Frayed Burlap and Walnut Stain Distress inks to the page. I spritzed the page with the Tattered Angels and dried it off with my heat gun. I stamped the images of the little girl using a Sepia Versafine inkpad. I took a piece of Tim Holtz collection paper and stamped the compass image then wet the edges of the paper and curled it forwards. I added a little golden gem to the middle of the compass as a little sparkle. I used a square of Stampbord coloured with the Distress Inks and stamped the face of the little girl. As before, I used a clear embossing ink and powder to set this image. Finally, I edged the page with Gold Krylon and stapled the ribbon and the twill to the side of the page. I used the twill as it is a "ruler" which tied in well with the main image.
For this page I used: Tim Holtz Collection stamps and papers, Distress Inks, Invoke Arts Stamp, Glimmer Mists, Stampbord, Gold Krylon.

Page 3



I painted Crackle Paint in Dusty Concord onto one half of the mountboard and set it aside to dry. Whilst this was drying, I prepared the paper I was going to use. I tore a piece to fit on the left of the page and tore a thinner bit for the right of the page. Once the Crackle Paint was dry - which is about 15 mins depending on the thickness of the painted patch - I stuck the papers onto the card so there was a gap on the right of the page to show the crackley bit. I used a piece of Cut & Dry to smudge a little Dusty Concord Distress Ink onto the paper to tone it in more. Then, I used a piece of mountboard with the edge of it rubbed over black ink to make the scratchy lines. I did this several times, randomly, over the paper to give a different distressed look. I also spritzed the paper with the Glimmer Mist for that extra bit of shine. I then coloured a two smaller bits of mountboard, ready to be stamped with the sentiment and the head. The tiny tag is also made from mountboard and I stuck this to the head image. Once I had stuck the extra mountboard pieces to the design, I stapled two pieces of ribbon to the edge and as before, edged the whole page in Gold Krylon.
For this page I used: Tim Holtz Collection papers and Stamps, Invoke Arts Stamps, Glimmer Mists, Crackle Paints, Distress Inks, Gold Krylon, Stampbord.


Page 4



For this page, I painted Walnut Stain Crackle Paint on the left hand side. Once this was dry, I used Cut & Dry foam and applied Frayed Burlap and Walnut Stain Distress Inks to the rest of the page. I spritzed this with Tattered Angels and left it to settle so I had a more distressed look. I stamped the Nibs stamp across the page using Walnut Stain ink and then I used some of my Tim Holtz collection paper with the nibs on it for the right hand side of the page. I wet the edges of the paper and curled them up for that shabby look and edged them with Walnut Stain to tie it in more. I used a square of Stampbord, coloured with Walnut Stain and then stamped over with the Nibs. I scratched the nibs to make them stand out more and then I clear embossed this image and sprinkled some Enchanted Gold powder onto the surface whilst it was still hot. I used a piece of the paper but stamped on the reverse which is the plain coloured side. I love this sentiment stamp...makes me really want to do that!! LOL I edged the page with Gold Krylon and then stapled on the ribbons for a final touch.
For this page I used: Tim Holtz Collection Stamps and Papers, Crackle Paints, Distress Inks, Stampbord, Gold Krylon.

I have a few more pages to Blog tomorrow...this is enough for one night LOL!!

I have already sent out the pages to those peeps on the list....I loved making them and it was so lovely to be able to use all these fab products to achieve some really nice results...I just need more of the Crackle Paints as they are brilliant...and I need more of the Tattered Angels..they are soooo lovely to use. Guess I had better write to Father Christmas!!

Thanks for taking time out to have a look...Hope that I have explained myself and not rambled on too much!

Cheers

Hels x

A Merry Little Book

Hello again,




I have made another Bind It All book!! This time I have used a fab kit that I got from QVC. It is by Brenda Pinnock and is chock full of goodies, including papers, chipboard flowers and shapes, paper tags, brads, gems, ribbons...the list is endless!




For this book the only extra thing I used from my own stash (except adhesive and scissors) was Stickles glitter glue and a little bit of gold ribbon for a finishing touch.



I began by making all the bases for the pages. For this, I took plain white card and cut each page to the size I required. I wanted the book to have different size pages in it to make it a bit different.




I then chose the papers and the embellishments for each page and cut them to the desired size.

I decided to make a little folded tag page in the book. For this, I took some thin white card, covered both sides with patterned paper and then scored a line down the tag edge. This then folded back onto the main body of the tag. I decorated the front, inside and back of the tag and then used a little velcro fixer to act as a closure for the fold.




In the kit are lots of chipboard shapes, so I selected three that I would be punching through the Bind It All as little extras to the book.





There are also some smashing little chipboard frames, so I chose a few of these too, then I stuck acetate over the aperture of the frame and stuck 3D foam around the edge of this aperture. I then filled in the centre with little metal flakes, glitter and stars that co-ordinated with the colour scheme. I then stuck a piece of card over this and there I had a little mini shaker embellishment.




When I began to make the pages up, I used a co-ordinating colour of ink to edge around the papers and across any torn edges. I do this as I think it makes the whole project look finished better.










The covers are made using some of the 12 x 12 papers in this kit. I used some thick card, covered this with paper, folding the edges over to have a neat finish. Then I used some of the Chipboard letters from the kit to make the title...and then added lots of Diamond Stickles to the letter to make them all sparkley!


For a final touch I tied lots of little lengths of ribbon to the binding wire...for this I used the ribbons in the kit and a little bit of gold lame ribbon from my stash.







I really love the whole look of this book. The colours in the kit are fab, I love the red and green but also think that the blues look really good too.

Thanks for looking and I would appreciate all your comments.

Cheers

Hels x