Christmas mini album

This is a mini that I gave as a gift to a friend of mine during the holidays and since I had no time I did it hurriedly and without that much embellishing, but, I knew that my friend liked my minis (she 's not a crafter but loves everything I show her),  so I included in the parcel a bunch of bits and embellishments so that she can personalize it.

I just used the leftovers I had from the Cosmo Cricket "Jolly by Golly"collection and for the covers I also used a My Mind's Eye pp.

Here's the inside of the front cover.

Some pages

Here I made a kind of flap, she can use it to add a bit with journaling, or an embellishment, etc. I used the "trellis" Martha Stewart deep edge punch to decorate the edge.
The rest of the pages are made in these two styles, only the patterned papers are different.

 Here's the inside of the back cover, I used the "flower bed" Martha Stewart deep edge punch to decorate the pocket.

 

My friend loved it and she was really funny when she saw the little pouch with the embellishments I added, she was like a little child in a candy store!

Card Making: Happy Birthday!

When I received this sweet "Tilda with 3 flowers" I knew I had to use it right away, it is so cute! So I made a happy birthday card for a friend, but since this is my first sitting Tilda, I had to think a little about where she would sit on!LOL!
So, being spring and all, I decided to put her on a tree branch! This is how:
First of all, I used green cardstock for the card base and stamped on it with Versamark and a folliage stamp. Then I heat embossed it with a clear but sparkly embossing powder and then colored the lot with distress inks in various shades of green. Then I wiped the lot with a lightly humid paper towel, so as to reveal the stamped leaves.
Next step was to make the branches, so I cut them freehand from a brown cardstock piece, did some sanding, inking, etc and adhered it on the card. The result was ok but a little flat, so I started punching some leaves using the Martha Stewart Oak Leaf punch, and adhered them in bunches using foam squares.
Then I thought that I should add some tiny flowers and decided to make them myself using a technique that I see everywhere and lately in Scrapbooking in Greece as well. The result was ok, but I decided to enhance it using some UTEE on the petals for a little gloss, I also added a blob of glue in the centre and added some Martha Stewart microbeads.
Then I added the little birds, I cut them from a Cosmo Cricket leftover paper, I think it is quite a cute detail!
Next step, I positioned the Tilda after coloring her with my copics, I chose pink for her outfit because I really wanted her to pop inside all this green!
At this point I thought the card was ready, but then decided to add the Happy Birthday banner, so I colored pink a piece of ribbon and wrote the Happy Birthday on it with a white pen, added some flowers and leaves and...ready! I went wild once more while making this, but it was so much fun!

Card Making: Easter Card #2 and Shaker Box Tutorial

I liked my first shaker card so much that I decided to make another one, I'm so glad you liked it too girls!
Here's the finished card:

And the little bunny in the spotlight! (LOL)

So let's start:
1) I prepared the parts of the card, that is I cut a window in my card (after coloring it with distress inks, stamping on the inside and spraying the front with the water-Perfect Pearls mix, you know, the works). I also cut an oval shape about 1/4 of an inch larger than my focal image (freeby bunny that I printed and colored with my copics) and cut the acetate piece also at 1/4 of an inch larger than my focal image. I also cut a scallop frame.

2) Tip #1: I found this mesh like thing at Jumbo and I tried to use it with distress inks (on a piece of pattern cardstock I had already cut with the MS Trellis border punch) in order to make a pattern, really cool result!

 3) Then I cut tiny thick foam pads in half and adhered them around the acetate piece, thank god I remembered to remove the protective sheet first! (LOL)

4) Tip #2. Do you like chunky glitter? I do nowdays but don't have any. So I made some!!! This is how:
I used two small leftovers from the acetate piece I had cut and covered them with Ranger's Glossy Accents. Then I covered the one with green Flowersoft and the other with glitter and did the same on the other side too. I left them to dry for half and hour and then cut them randomly in tiny pieces. How cool is that??? Especially the gliter ones are awesome in real life!

5) I put them inside the acetate frame and then adhered on top the colored image facing down, sealing the tiny pieces inside the shaker box.

6) Next step, I adhered it on the card window using Ranger's Glossy Accents on the perimeter and I colored the back so as to be more uniform with the inside of the card.

Finally I adhered the borders and the flowery Happy Easter and...ready!

Card Making: Easter Card #1

This is the first of the easter cards I'm making this year, the image is a color freebie I printed and colored on top with my copics.
For the backround I used a Hero Arts Designblock stamp with blue distress ink. Then I cut the window with my nesties and then I thought to make it a kind of shaker card, so I cut a round piece of acetate slightly larger than the window of my card, adhered all around the acetate piece tiny thick foam squares and adhered the colored image on the foam squares. Before sealing it completely I threw inside some very tiny pieces of green cardstock and the two red flowers. Then I adhered the lot behind the window.
For the bottom I just used a leftover I had already cut with the MS Flower Bed punch and for the final touch, I added the Happy Easter sign and...ready!

 

Project: Easter Basket Tutorial

If you liked the easter basket, here's how you can make one too!

1) I cut 3 strips of paper, the outside decorative strip I cut with the Martha Stewart Flower Bed deep edge punch is an inch and a half wide, the green one is 2 and a half and the pink one is 3 inches. Then I placed one strip on the other and decided that I didn't like the sizes so I narrowed a bit the green strip. I scored on the last two measuring about half an inch from the straight end and then made little fringes with the scissors. The fringes will be glued on the round piece. In order to cut the round piece I used the largest nestabillitie from the large set. I also used distress inks.

2) I adhered the srip on the circle

3) Then I adhered the inside strip

4) Then I adhered the decorative strip and cut the fringes on the pink paper

5) Then I didn't like the inside of the basket, it seemed too plain to me, so I cut two circles, the green one the same size with the base circle and then trimmed it with the scissors so as to make it fit inside after adhering on top the patterned one. Then I cut anothed strip using the border punch, accented the edges with green distress inks and put it in place. I also used the bone folder to bend the pink strips and added some pink distress ink on top.

6) Then I used the Fiskars Threading Water border punch on a 12 inches long strip, I punched the one side from one end to the other, then cut it at one inch width and punched the other side too. I also cut 2 very narrow strips from the pp, one for underneath the green one and the other to be placed on top the green one.
Then I added the handle on the basket.

7) I used this cute little stamp and then I adhered it with foam pads on a larger round piece of paper. Then I made the "happy easter" strip using white paper and distress inks. I adhered it on the basket with foam pads, on the exact spot where the edges of the decorative strips meet, so the "seam" is not visible.

8) And here's the final result:

Ok, I think I overdid it a bit, but still, isn't it cute?

Baby Layout: November 2009

In this layout I used once more a Martha Stewart deep edge punch, this time the "Flower Bed" and then used on the other side the scalloped blade in my Fiskars trimmer and finally I accented the edges with pink/red distress inks.

The papers are actually the two sides of the same sheet, from K & Company.

For the title I used American Crafts "Giggle" white foam alphas that I colored with my copics, and I added in the middle the embellishments, I used a stamped flower in the bottom, then added a bow and on top a clear button after adhering some paper at the bottom with stickles.

The "drink" in the lower left corner occured to me when I positioned the two photos with a little inclination and the gap between them seemed like a glass to me (LOL!) so I cut a white paper, adhered it under the photos and colored it in the quick with my copics, the result is childish but it matches the theme of the two photos.

The little gingerbread figure in the top right corner is a Slice design, the date was made with Basic Grey alphabet stickers that I covered with Sakura Stardust pens and....ready!

Baby Layout: October 2009

For this layout I wanted something with a dash of purple, so I used this K & Company patterned paper and combined it with brown cardstock that I cut with the Martha Stewart Trellis deep edge punch. I used my Slice to cut the title and a white pen for the faux stitch.
After adhering the journaling, I noticed that I needed some embellishments, so I cut the petals of a Prima "Whispers" yellow flower and colored brown a few clear buttons with my copics. Last step, I added the big clear button after stamping on it with stazon and coloring it with my copics. It smeared a lot, so I tried to keep clear of the black ink, not so easy!!!
Althought the color combination is unusual to me, I think the final result is ok.