Film Strip punch - ek tools and 3M glue applicator

Film strip punch from Ek Tools used to show photos in a series by Crafterlala

Here's another little video I did. It's not the best quality sorry. I will get better I promise! You tube compresses it a lot so the original wasn't this blurry but it still gives you the idea of what I'm trying to show which is how you can use this film strip punch to show off a series of photos when one just doesn't tell the story. If you can give me a thumbsup click in Youtube it would be appreciated. Or comment under this post. Currently (16th April 2014) ( Martha Stewart punches are on sale at Scotties so if you get inspired stop on by the site and check out the deals.

Distress Marker Spritzer - Head in the clouds

Head in the Clouds - Full page Scrapbook layout using Graphic45 paper Mother Goose

I was excited about two things when doing this layout. You can laugh if you like but it was my first full page scrapbook layout. Up until then I had only done pocket layouts. I was a little nervous about breaking out from the neatly defined rectangles and going so free with my layout...but I think it turnned out ok. What do you think? (Please comment below this post). Secondly I was playing with the new Tim Holtz Marker Spritzer. It's fresh from CHA and very cool but I have a little disclaimer here. This layout is not the best example of it in use as I hadn't got the hang of it yet! More projects will follow. Just to show you it does work when you know what you're doing I will put a picture of a butterfly my son did as part of a lovely letter he crafted.

My son using the Tim Holtz Marker Spritzer

Now back to the scrapbooking, I started out with a base of blue American Craft cardstock 12x12 of course. I began experimenting with Graphic45's Mother Goose paper which I had nabbed a while ago and put in store knowing one day I would start scrappin my daughter's baby photos. So here I was inspired by the "Bedtime Story" line on the paper so I cut that out using my knife, ruler and self healing mat. I also cut the strip of nursery rhyme stamps and played around a while deciding which should act as the bed for the photo to rest on. I used the rule of thirds, more or less, in placing my photo on the page where the points of focus would converge with the points on the imaginary grid of the rule of thirds.

Glueing on strips of paper using 3M glue applicator

Then I glued the strips on using this awesome double-ended applicator glue tube from 3M.

These mini ink pads from Tim Holtz are new and oh so cute. They are designed to be just like the larger versions but more compact and portable. You can click them together to stack them up. Also available are new rounded mini blending tool and refill pads but I haven't splashed out on those yet so I can't show you what they look like. I can only tell you that they work better than the larger rectangle version (in my photo) because they don't leave the harsh edges when you're inking. I used some broken china ink and the mini black soot one to put some vignette edges around my photo and at the base of my layout on the corners of the blue card. 

I used the Marker Spritzer on the clouds to give some silver, grey, white or blue speckles to the various clouds. Some of the cut out cloud shapes were placed under a Tim Holtz Dot Fade Stencil and then Distress Paint applied over top to mask out some cloud areas in the background sky at the top of the page. Then I stamped with embossing ink and sprinkled on some clear embossing powder and used my heat gun to set the large star top right in the layout. Gem stickers were placed around the sky as stars. Clouds were layered on with dimensional tape.

Xyron Sticker Maker and Blank Journal Cards

Did you know a philatelist is not quite the term for a stamp collector it's more accurately used to describe a person who studies stamps. A philatelist may or may not also collect stamps. I was a bit of a stamp collector as a kid, a hobby picked up from my Dad. My Grandmother was one also and in the picture is a recently inherited box of some of her collection. I have two new aquisitions to my crafting arsenal this week, a Xyron Sticker Maker and some Becky Higgins Project Life blank journal cards. The stamps seemed like the perfect thing to turn back into stickers since they originally were! I love the idea of using some of these in scrapbook layouts.

Xyron Sticker Maker

Make your own stickers for your scrapbooking

The Xyron Sticker Maker is a nifty little gadget that allows you to make stickers out of ...well...things that aren't! I was dying to try it and this week I finally did. At first it took me a little while to figure out which way up to put things to get them to come out with the sticky on the correct side and that is why reading a craft blog will save you a few precious inches of your own sticker reel. You allow some other chimp to waste their stuff then tell you how to do it properly. There are very few instructions on the packet which is either because it is very simple or because it's made in China, I'm not sure which.

Basically you pop your item in facing up, pull it through by tugging out the paper at the other end,and tear it off the device.  Give the paper a bit of a rub to make sure it's adherred properly, remove the backing paper and stick to the object of your choice. Not much to it. The glue is non toxic and adjustable. 

The other object in my haul is a lovely thick stack of blank journal cards bought out by Becky Higgins for Project Life. Keep an eye out for an upcoming blog post more about those but I have to find the cable to get those pictures off a particular camera so for now you can see that I have used one here and the box can be seen in the background of this photo. I sprayed some ink on the journal card, stamped it with Kasiercraft's Now Boarding stamp and stuck on my newly created New Zealand stamp sticker and voila I have a self-made journal card for my pocket scrapbooking.

The ink I used to spray the card was Windsor and Newton which is artists ink that I have always loved because of the cute little pictures on the boxes but you could use Tim Holtz distress ink and a Mini Mister. (See my blog post I love my mini mister).

I also tried out making a sticker from a cut out butterfly from a piece of scrapbooking paper. I say tried because that was one of my early experiments where I got the thing the wrong way up but in theory this will work fine. I also experiemented with thicker objects like a felt flower I had cut out with the cuttlebug and a Sizzix die. You can see that in the background of the top photo stuck to my brown paper. Perhaps there are easier ways to stick felt to a layout but this did kind of work and I was impressed that I could put a thick object through the Xyron Sticker Maker.

The end result. A stamp sticker made using a Xyron Sticker Maker and a blank journal card decorated using inks and a Now Boarding stamp by Kaisercraft.

by Miss Crafter of Crafterlala

Pocket Scrapbooking - One mum's second attempt

Ok it's not my favourite attempt but it should be testament to how easy pocket scrapbooking is that I could pull it off (all be it a little late) while recovering from Noro Virus. This time I used pockets from the Becky Higgins Pocket Scrapbooking range along with the same We R Memory Keepers journal cards as in my last post. 

Here are the pockets and journal cards all laid out.

Here is me arranging and choosing photos and cards.

I cut the corners round using the EK tools corner rounder one inch.

My crafting desk and the layout I started with.

I stamped some distressed edges with the Kaisercraft stamps ....

I used a heating tool to melt some embossing powder over where I had stamped.

Distress ink in Victorian velvet was applied to the wooden embellishment and all edges of cards and photos to create a unified effect in the spread.

I used the film edge strip from these Kaisercraft clear stamps to cover over the edges of this photo that I had printed off my ipad. It had some extra margin for some reason. 

I used my Tim Holtz stencil in dot fade and my Adirondack blending tool along with more of the distress ink to make some interesting edges and corners on my journal cards.

Well that's about it folks. I hope there might be some ideas in there for you. Remember the KISS principal. Keep It Simple Sweetheart!

Baby Girl Layout - By Kimi

Hello again everyone. I have a layout to share with you all today and it from more of those lovely papers from DCWV - Garden Party Stack.  I know this is a relatively "old" stack, but still very usuable.  I really enjoyed working with the lovely bright colours and prints.  

I have used a green page from the paper pad as the base for my layout.  I then cut the pretty print to 6" x 12" and from the co-ordinatng apricot/pink I punched them with my fiskars border punch.  

 I saved the two "offcuts" and used them to border on the top of the printed strip, whilst the larger lacey edge went to the bottom .

 I then layered this on to my green base.

 I added a thin white lace between the two apricot pink strips.   

I then began the layering process.   I have used some of the American Crafts ribbon from my November kit and also one of the little plastic doilies.  The words are from Kaisercraft - Tea Break Sticker sheet.  I couldn't believe my luck when I saw how well they matched these papers.  The butterfly is cut from some scraps of glossy photo paper using the Memory Box die - "Vivenne Butterfly".

 The leaves are cut from the DCWV stack using the Sonora Rose and the finer spray is cut using Fresh Foliage.  I am really loving these dies.  They cut perfectly every time and the Fresh Foliage is just so versatile

 Here are few pics of the finer details ......

Well readers that's my lot for this week.  Thanks again for joining me in this festive season.  Hope you are having a merry time..

Till next time remember to .....

.....✿ღ.~♥  Live your Bliss ♥~ღ.✿

Tea Break Diary Cover - by Kimi

Hey everyone I am back again with another share from these gorgeous GORGEOUS papers from Kaisercraft...I love working with these....the colours and the prints are so pretty and so inspiring!!
Today I have for you all a really simple diary cover.  I found a diary refill in the dollar bin at my local newsagency just last week. I grabbed it quick smart as I knew exactly what I was going to do with it!!

I have created my own hard cover for it from some pizza box cardboard....don't worry guys it was clean....it actually held scrappy supplies not pizza :).

Mmmmm now lets see, a bit of tutorial - so to speak.  I guess the first thing I did was to cut my cardboard pieces to size.

  I made my spine about an inch wide as the little diary was only half an inch thick.

I have hinged my pieces with some masking tape. Believe it or not it makes a great way to hinge your cover pieces.  I then covered my cardboard with the Kaisercraft Tea Break - "Sugar Cookie"

 I lined the inside of my cover with Kaisercraft Tea Break - Monte Carlo  and created a pocket to slide the back page of the diary into.  with a small piece of leftovers I also made a little pencil or pen holder and tucked it in under the bottom of the pocket.  Oh I forgot to say before you glue your lining in place add some seam binding or ribbon if you wish to have a closure.

 I wanted to pretty up the front "cover" of the refill, so I gently prised open the binding rings and slipped the page out.  I then covered it with a large die cut from the Kaisercraft Tea Break -Kingston sheet

Then it was time to dress her all up :)  I have used a selection of ribbons, laces and trims from my stash to embellish the cover along with a die cut from the Kaisercraft Tea Break  6.5" Paper Pad

So here she is in all her finery and ready for her close ups....

 The gorgeous fabric flowers that adorn her front cover are from fellow team mate and scrappy bestie Tash.  As is her lovely stickpin.  I have added some bling from my stash.

I also covered a pencil with the reverse of  Monte Carlo

Thanks for joining me today.  I hope I have inspired you to create this weekend

much  love and blessings to you.

.....✿ღ.~♥  Live your Bliss ♥~ღ.✿