It's a Creative World

Minibook in a match box!

Here at Creative World we are so lucky to have amazing guests come share their projects!  And today we are joined by the lovely Sarah :)

When I was asked to be a guest designer for ‘It’s A Creative World’ I was so excited but also really worried about doing something for the blog!  I decided to create a matchbox album because the supplies are so easy to come by (and cheap!).  As a base I used a Cook’s Matches box (from Tesco @ 38p), I think this is the cheapest box you will ever find to alter.  I used a Three Bugs in a Rug Caboodle kit (Blossom collection) to decorate my box and make the little album but a gorgeous finish could be achieved by using up your scraps!

The first step was to create a template of the box and cut it out.  I did this by simply placing the box on the reverse side of the patterned paper and drawing around it; I then turned the box along the paper drawing each side adjacent to the previous until I had all the sides on the paper not forgetting to add tabs at the side and an extra little overlap at the end to make it easier to stick down!

When it was cut out I used an embossing tool and a bone folder to create the folds.

I used the same technique to cover the ‘drawer’ of the box – creating a template out of plain paper before attacking the paper with my craft knife!  I lined the inside of the drawer separately and attached a little 7 Gypsies handle to one end to one end of the box.

To make the little album I cut four pieces of chipboard from a 12 x 12 sheet ensuring that they would fit into the drawer.  The edges of the chipboard were coloured with some red acrylic paint and left to dry.

Whilst the paint is drying, cut 8 rectangles of patterned paper slightly smaller than the size of the chipboard pages (you want to see some of the paint).  I used 2 rectangles each out of four papers and adhered them to either side of the chipboard. 

To bind the book I punched a single hole in the top left hand corner of the chipboard, added a chipboard heart to the front of the book and tied it all together with a piece of gold elastic (I tried a book ring but it didn’t fit in the drawer).

Now the album and box are ready to decorate.  I chose some photographs from a memorable summer day because the papers were so bright and cheery and kept the design of the album quite simple – it looks really effective.

I love picking this little box up and opening it – it is so cute!

WOW!! What a great idea :) Thanks Sarah for a truely inspiring project.

IACW Girls
xx

Just a little Bag

Hi there from Di

Caz often calls me the BAG lady, cos I love to carry a little bag over my shoulder just big enough for my credit card and my mobile phone; and of course I need the normal handbag, and a shopping bag!!!

When I bought this Kimono Ribbon in England I knew exactly what it would be great for. A little crochet bag!!!

Instructions:

• Start with 35 chain then treble ito the 3rdchain from the hook.
• Treble into every chain
• Turn and do 3 chain then treble into every treble of the previous row.
• Continue until the crochet piece is twice as long as the required length of the bag.

I then folded the bag in half and crocheted the sides together using double crochet.

Then I made the lining:

I placed the bag on a piece of fabric which I had doubled over. I then just cut out the lining shape a bit bigger than the bag,  stitched the sides and put it inside the crochet bag.

I then just attached the lining to the top of the bag ( i just hand stitched..

Oh almost forgot. .....

To close the bag I just made a crochet chain using 2 strands of the ribbon. Attached the two ends to the back of the bag and looped it onto a brooch which I just pinned on to the bag. Nice thing about the brooch is that I can change it!!! Oh yes and being a hippy, I added fringes to the bottom of the bag.

Here is a close up of the brooch:

finally the strap - I used two strands of ribbon and made a crochet strip with chain stitch. Make it as long as suits you. I then just stitched it to the left and right edge of the bag..

This would make a great gift for a girl friend who loves bags. It also is quick to make!!!

Thanks for visiting IACW.

Love from Di alias MadDi XXX

A to Z Journal - G pages

Can you all believe that we are already 1/4 way through the alphabet AND the year!!! We are all enjoying this project and can see you are too. So the letter G is Good to Go.

Here a few ideas for the letter G:

Book of me/you: Gorgeous, Gregarious, Great, Gentle, Glamourous, Giving, Glorious, Gigglie, Geriatric, Grateful...

Book of baby: Gorgeous, Gentle, Grandchild, Grow, Grandparents, Girlie, Giggle, Gurgle, Goo Goo...

Book of everyday:  Grrrrr, Groan, Gardening, Gifts, Gratitude, Garbage, Grand...

Occasions/ Life: Garden, Gratitude, Great, Glorious...

Tools and Techniques:  Grunge, Glue...

Knitting: Gauge, Gloves...

A REGULAR GUEST:

We are so pleased to announce that the lovely Willowthewysp will be joining us for the A-Z journal project as a full time contributer :)

Willows G page...

'G for God and Goddess'
To me the sun represents the God and the Moon represents the Goddess, so i have tried to represent that on my page.
As always i have used a lot of paint in a very random fashion and i just love using the images from the crafty individuals books.
I have used large playing cards and tissue paper for the God and Goddess and a small amount of a product called 'flower soft' from Katy sue designs.

Andrea's 'G' Tag

Di's Book of My Life:

My Abundant life is Blessed. My life is GOOD and filled with Generousity, Glamour, and Goodness. In fact it's just Glorious and for this I am truly Grateful.

Jakey's letter G in her book of the things she loves

I love my Garden! It's a place to grow things, hang out, entertain and just relax in the fresh air . I love to be out there pottering in the greenhouse, making up pots and baskets, sharing an outdoor meal and a few drinks with the family, and snuggling under fleecy blankets by the glowing chiminea when the sun goes down.  Yeah, I really do love my Garden!

jakey xx

Lemon's letter G in her book of growing up

G is for games. I wanted to document my daughter growing up and I have included how times have changed from my day. In the future these games will be old fashioned and i want her to have a record of them so that she can show her children.

Caz....BoM Generous

My pages seem to be either very busy or very simple. But still loving the art journal process and the journey of discovery :)

Thanks so much for joning us on this GREAT journey of Discovery.

Love from all the girls at IACW

Die Cutting Machines

Hiya, Cath here!

I’m pretty sure that every single crafter has some sort of cutting machine.
When I first started scrapping I had no idea what these were and so had to scour the internet to find out which was the best and I also asked friends and tried a few out before I actually bought one. My first die cutter was a Quickutz and although I no longer have it I do think they are pretty fabulous, very versatile and extremely portable. To be honest, although I don’t do it very often, I do find that printing and cutting out with my trusty craft scissors is fun and very therapeutic. Personally I now have a Cricut (I should use this more!) which is pretty amazing and I love it. I have also just invested in a Cuttlebug and must admit to being totally obsessed with the little embossing folders they produce.
Anyway, with so many on the market I thought I would do a small piece on all the different ones available. I’m sure I have missed a few out with there being so many out there! Let us know what you use and what you love about it!

Craft Robo

The Craft Robo is a personal die cutting machine and also a plotter. It looks much like a very small inkjet printer and connects to a computer via a USB cable. The cutter is controlled by a driver and drawing software (ROBO Master) provided with the machine. ROBO Master is a vector drawing/editing program which enables you to create vector shapes and text for output to the cutter. Vector objects can also be imported from other sources (eg. the internet!). You do need a PC to operate this machine.

Cricut

The Cricut personal electronic cutter is the future of home crafting. Simply by touching a button. Cricut can cut beautiful designs and alphabets for card making, scrapbooking, and paper crafting. No computer is required, just plug it in.
With the original Cricut place your favorite cartridge in your Cricut and choose from over 250 designs in 12 different sizes; ranging from 1" to 5-1/2"!
Also introducing the Cricut Expression, an exciting new way to cut letters, shapes, and phrases in impressive sizes using the 12" x 24" mat or the 12" x 12" mat.
The good thing is that BOTH models use the same cartridge and the same blade housing and blade.

Slice

The slice is a new portable die cutting machine from Making Memories. Go check out the cool vids here –

http://www.youtube.com/profile_video_blog?user=makingmemories123

It’s due to be released in July 2008.

Sizzix and Sidekick

 

The Sizzix Personal Die-Cutter is ideal for all crafters and provides a convenient, at-home solution for small die-cutting and embellishing. The easy-to-use machine is great for teens and adults and will cut through a wide variety of materials including paper, fabric and rubber. Discover the creative potential of Sizzix. The Sizzix Personal Die-Cutter is designed for use with Sizzix Dies. All three sizes of Sizzix Dies work in this machine--Small, Medium and Large. However you can buy a converter for it and use other dies in this machine.

The sidekick - Weighs only two pound, but die-cuts all Sizzlits. Also embosses instant, elegant images with specially formatted Sidekick Folders. Die-cuts single sheets of lightweight paper to cardstock. Also embosses paper, cardstock and thin metallic foil.

Sizzix Bigkick

The Sizzix Bigkick Diecut Machine is Sizzix's largest personal diecut machine to hit the market. This easy to use machine is a great stepping stone from the original Sizzix Machine and only lacks features of the Electronic Cutters. As far as price vs. functionality, it is a winner but in a market with hard to compete with products like the Cricut Electronic Cutter and Expression Machine.
Compared to all other non-electric cutters, the Sizzix BigKick is a definite must have. Its larger rollers and base make it a little less portable than the smaller machines but once you have it to your destination, you are going to love the extra size.
In this crafter's opinion, if you have the money, this machine will be well worth it and you will love the results you get from purchasing it... take a chance, you may just find your new best friend.

Quickutz Squeeze

The QuicKutz Squeeze hand tool takes the muscle work out of portable die cutting. With its long, sleek handles, it does most of the work for you—all you have to do is squeeze. Squeeze is the most portable die-cutting machine on the market, weighing in at under 3 lbs., so you can take it everywhere you go.

Squeeze is by far the sassiest, most stylish personal die-cutting tool on the market. Its brushed metal finish and slender, sleek design give it a unique look you can be proud to carry with you to scrapbooking events! But don't let its fashionable look deceive you! Squeeze is also built-to-last! With no cheap, plastic parts and a lifetime service commitment, you have a friend for life!

Quickutz revolution

The sleek new Revolution tool creates cutting edge QuicKutz designs in a snap! Larger 4-inch dies snap into place on a magnetic platform and spin through the Revolution to create BIG die cut letters, shapes and new ShortKutz™... See more » The sleek new Revolution tool creates cutting edge QuicKutz designs in a snap! Larger 4-inch dies snap into place on a magnetic platform and spin through the Revolution to create BIG die cut letters, shapes and new ShortKutz™ phrases! Revolution dies are durable, lightweight and thinner than a credit card. The Revolution tool is also durable and compact with a footprint of only 5x7 inches! The Revolution Tool is compatible with all other QuicKutz dies.

Big shot

Big dies. Big technology. Big-time compatibility. That's the Big Shot. It works 100% with your current Sizzix product library, and is 40% lighter and 20% wider than the original Sizzix Machine. Now that's a big deal, even for a Big Shot.

Silhouette

The Silhouette Digital Craft Cutter gives you instant access to your entire digital design collection, the power to transform designs anywhere from 1/4 inch to 8 inches tall and will allow you to cut any TrueType font on your computer all without any cartridges or CDs to lose, damage or store!

Cuttlebug

Provo Craft is one of the leaders in the paper crafting industry and is hands down the most innovative when it comes to new variety diecut systems. The Provo Craft Cuttlebug has hit a home run with the coupling of portability and durability with creativity and ingenuity. The Cuttlebug diecut machine is one of the machines that is worth the expense and will keep being one of the more used machines... no buyer's remorse here! The embossing folders are untouched by competitors and the price of expanding your collection is far from intimidating. All in all, a good buy, a great product and an excellent selection of dies and folders.

Wizard

This newly redesigned machine allows crafters to cut with a variety of dies from other manufacturers, as well as cut and emboss with Spellbinders Embossing and Cutting Dies. The machine is also capable of embossing any brass stencil as well as a variety of charms and other findings. The Wizard Embossing and Die Cutting System includes two White Master Mats, a White Spacer Plate, a Tan Emboss Pad, and a Universal Cut Mat.

Xyron

Resize any shape three times to compliment layout or craft - 6lb weight, no PC required, shape books have virtually no weight or mass - All actions activated by touch buttons - Select multiple shapes at once, cut together - Most shapes can be layered or combined with other shapes for ultimate creativity - Built in breakaway features allow rough handling; trays store tightly and securely - Safety measures never allow the blade to come in contact with hands - children or adults Affordable. Basic set includes the cutting unit, non-transferring adhesive cutting mat, two design books, one complete alphabet set (upper, lower, numbers, and punctuation) and one book of standard shapes.

Reviews –

http://www.diecutreviews.com/

http://www.scrapjazz.com/topics/Techniques/Die_Cuts/

Thankyou for reading my LONG post

Cath xx

Cereal Packet Banner

Banners seem to have become very popular recently, so here's my take on them.  I made this one for my bedroom - as you can see it matches quite well!  They're a great way to use up all your odds and ends of lace and ribbon and little embellishments.  I didn't have any chipboard to hand, so I improvised with a cereal packet.  Here's how I made it:

You need six triangles.  I opened up my box and measured it up.  My triangles came out at 19cm tall x 10cm wide (at the top edge) with a large cereal packet. 

The triangles were then covered in patterned paper (I used Anna Griffin papers).  As you can see, with the measurement of my triangles I was able to get all six on one 12x12 sheet of patterned paper.  The back of the triangles I covered with cream Bazzill cardstock in the same way.

I inked the edges of the duck egg blue patterned paper and then added a co-ordinating colour patterned paper on top as shown.  The four flags that were to have a letter on had a small horizontal piece of paper, the two end flags were more or less covered. Then you need to punch two holes, one at either side of the top of each flag for the ribbon to thread through.  It's best to do it now so you know where they are - there's nothing worse than not being able to punch your hole because an embellie is in the way!

From then on it's just a case of decorating your flags with whatever you like.  I used scraps of lace, rhinestones, sequins, charms, buttons and fabric and paper flowers.  The chipboard letters were painted cream, then covered with glue and glitter.  The chipboard scrolls above the letters "L" abnd "V" were painted cream, inked with brown ink and then covered in Ranger Crackle Accents. 

Here's a close up of each flag to give you an idea of what you could use:

The two end flags are exactly the same.

All that then needs to be done is to thread some co-ordinating ribbon through the top of the flags and your lovely banner is ready to hang!

Hope you enjoy this and have fun making it.  TFL!

Joanne xx

His and Hers Cards

Hello! It's Caths Cards today :)
I've made a couple of very quick and easy cards, one in male colours and one in female.
Very simple and inexpensive as i used leftover cuts of paper and card i had lying around.
I used the very gorgeous Loads of Love set from Stampin Up! and also used their fabulous watercolour pencils(our very own Joanne is a demonstrator!).
The male card was done using the Crate Paper Zoom collection.

The female card is My Mind's Eye Tres Jolie.

It helps that both are double sided card stock.
To get the nice colour effect on the trucks i just simple coloured them in with the crayons and used a bit of shading, then using a fine brush and some water i blended the colours, it's very simple but effective.
Lastly i just added a button with some ribbon. They literally took about 15 mins each to make.

Thanks for looking

Cath xx

Emergency kits

We all have a need for an emergency kit at some point, whether it be on holiday or at work.

I often wish I had a bigger bag so I could carry about all the stuff I might just need one day. But that's not really practical. So I decided to make myself  a kit filled with all the things I may need, and keep it in my desk drawer.

First of all I dug into my altering basket and found this great tin. 

I covered it, inside and out with fancy pants papers and ribbon, and gave it a once over with modge podge for protection.

And then I filled it. Pain killers, hand cream, lip balm (and shimmer), rennies, mints, nail file deodorant and ladies things.

The inspiration for this project came from the lovely Jill at A Trip Down Memory Lane, who made this emergency kit for my wedding day in March last year.

She filled it with all the things a bride may need on her big day. Headache pills, nail file, safety pins, wet wipes, needle and thread, hair grips, nail clippers, plasters and of course chocolate. It was a great gift and saved the day a few times.

These make great gifts. You could fill one up as a teachers end of year gift, with goodies to pamper herself with over the holidays. The possibilities are endless :)

Thanks for visiting!!
haPPy dAy!!
Caz
xx

Junk Shop Jewelery Stand

Hi Jakey here, with a lil project for you, again using a charity shop find to make something pretty - and in my case useful too!

I don’t know about you, but I just love junk jewellery and have loads of cheap necklaces, bracelets and earrings from places like Claire’s and Peacocks where you can get a set to match anything for under £10 or £12 pounds - sometimes much less. The only trouble is, I find I have nowhere to store it without it getting all mixed up.

Recently, I spotted an old pine mug tree when browsing a charity shop and thought it would be perfect for putting my bracelets and bangles on if it was prettied up a bit, so I snapped it up for 50p.

These are the things you’ll need if you need to complete this project and make somewhere for your own stuff to hang:

2 Plasti-kote crackle paints,

Gesso, Sandpaper,

Gold leafing, Zig glue

Clear Varnish – optional

Soft stencil brush

First sand it down, and give it a coat of gesso to prime it.

Then spray it with the first layer of brown paint. It’s always better to do 2 or 3 light coats, and spray at room temp if you can. Allow at least half and hour between coats.

 

Between one hour and 12 hours later apply the crackle paint over the top. Follow the instruction on the can but keep the passes light shaking the can as you go. The wetter you make the covering the larger the pattern becomes. I varied the spray so I had larger crackles in some places than others because I like that effect, but it’s up to you. Maybe practice on a piece of scrap wood first to judge the effects?

Once the crackles have appeared and your piece is dry, you can add some gold leaf veining, because it really finishes your project off and will reflect the sparkle from your jewels once they go on J

To apply the gold you’ll need a wet glue – I use Zig sail pens as they’re perfect for the job. Working on small areas at a time, apply the glue in haphazard lines and allow to dry for about 5-10 mins, before laying gold leaf over the top. Gently dab and work with a softish stencil brush, collecting the small pieces of leafing which fall off. Store in a tin, as it’s expensive stuff and these bits can be used again!

Continue until you have the effect you want and finally polish with a soft cloth. At this stage you may want to varnish it, however on this occasion I didn’t.

Pop your sparklies on… and go search for some more bargains to do up - to store the matching earrings and necklaces on, lol!

Happy crafting and love from me!

Jakey xx

Masking stamped images.

Hi there! It's Angela here again.

I have this large stamp, which I love, but because it is so detailed, it can be difficult to use.

I love to travel, and wanted to make a travel journal. This stamp was perfect, but left no room to stamp anything else, so I decided to mask off the middle of it.

To do this, I used some post-it notes to cover the areas where I didn't want the stamped image to show through.

I stamped onto the cardstock using Distress inks, and then removed the post-it notes. This left a blank area in the middle, but still left the travel icons around the edge.

Next I took two different colours of distress inks and some blending foam. Placing this on my craft sheet, I moved the ink in a circular motion from the craft sheet onto the card until the whole area was covered with ink.

I then stamped an "alice" image in jet black ink in the bottom left corner - this really made it *pop*

I then stamped the words "Travel log" (using "Love Elsie" stamps) in distress ink again, in the middle of the card.

Once this was done I trimmed the edges, and the front cover of my travel log is complete!

~angela~

carry on *heart*

As you know I am mad about hearts and heart decor. And today we are carrying on the theme.

I found these wooden hearts in my local hobby craft, and they were dirt cheap. So of course I stocked up. 2 packs of the small heart (5 in each pack) and 3 larger hearts.

And this is what I did with them....

First they had a few light coats of paint, the large ones in white and the small ones (only one pack) in yellow. When they were dry I gave them a light sand with a fine sandpaper.

Once I was happy with the shabbiness, I borrowed my DHs drill to make some holes in them. On the larger ones I drilled two holes in the top. And on the little ones I drilled a hole in the top and one in the bottom.

I used some craft wire to make a loop from which to hang the large hearts.....

and I have them hanging from the cupboard handles in our bedroom.

The smaller ones I strung together with craft wire, making a loop at the top with which to hang it off a nail on the dresser in our dining room. (which just happens to be next to our wedding photo!)

Such simple yet pretty decoration.

haPPy dAy!!
Caz
xx