It's a Creative World

Planting Flowers Layout

Happy Friday!

Today I would like to present a 2 page layout I made from an event where my mother and I did some gardening together.  The paper comes from Basic Grey and I actually added some color to the paper.  On the paper with the flowers, I actually took Alcohol Ink (Butterscotch) and filled int some of the flowers.  This added some nice color with the blue.  The Basic Grey paper set also came with lettering, which I used for the title.  I added some rhinestones for a little flair, and a few stickers to the layout as well.  The photos I used are actually wieird sizes.  Wallets would have been to small for this particular layout, so I cut 4x6 photos down to the size I needed.  I did a lot of layering with the paper, and I really wanted to keep the photos contained in the middle of the 12x12 paper.  Hope I have added some inspiration to your day!

We would love to see any layouts that you have created.  Please add your link in the comments area.  

Felicia

Triple layered and three times the fun

Hi everyone – Dolly here.

I think I must have a bit of a reputation amongst my friends for the person who hoards boxes of every shape and size to ‘alter’ and transform. One of my friends brought a notelet box in and aid that as it opened in a really unusual way she thought I would like it.

And  I did.

It as a really unusual box – approximately 4 ½” square – that opened by pulling the little ribbon at the corner to reveal three little trays, perfect for holding three little mini books.

 

We have three favourite hotels that we have been lucky enough to stay in many times and so that was the theme I went with – one mini book for each hotel.

I made the three mini books as 10 page (5 each side) accordion albums cut from cardstock.

 

 

 

I kept them simple but themed each one in keeping for the hotel so lots of pastel coloured tropical flowers for the Caribbean Beach resort and of course playing cards, dice and money for Las Vegas

You can see how the box opens in the picture with the three books nestled in their individual trays.

 

 

 

The problem was how to decorate the box as due to the way it opened, covering it with paper was not going to be an option. I knew that just painting it would be difficult as the box was very shiny and that paper covering would crack as it had to bend in several places.

 

 

In the end I coloured it with alcohol inks to try and give a sort of tortoise-shell effect using five different colours and building up the layers.

 

 

I decorated the top with a piece of leather effect thick paper I bought a sheet of in Michaels years ago. I added a couple of stamped images and a leather word strip and finished it off with some paper roses.

Finally I printed suitcases on glossy card, mounted them on really thick chipboard and then stuck them to the sides using foam pads.

 

I'm glad people know they can give me their 'rubbish'.

 

Which Inks?

Hello! I hope you're having a wonderful Saturday! Last time I posted I looked back at some basic techniques to create inked backgrounds. This prompted some questions about which inks I use so this is a whistle stop tour of my favourite types of inks!

Alcohol Inks - my daughter's favourite! These can be used on a variety of surfaces from metal and dominoes to glass or plastic and even glossy card stock. I use them on shrink plastic too as the colour is always very pure. They come in a little bottle and can be used directly onto your project or pop some on an Alcohol Ink Applicator. For more tips on using Alcohol Inks why not start here? I think you can see, by the state of the bottles, these are well used!

Distress Inks - these are my absolute favourites and now come in Stains and marker pens (the pens will be in the UK by the end of March I believe!) I use these inks pretty much every day and I suspect I use Vintage Photo Distress Ink on virtually every project I do (I really must hide this ink pad and find a new favourite!) If you are fond of embossing these inks stay wet longer allowing you to emboss with ease. By staying wet this also means you can blend the ink on it's own or with other colours - in fact using more than one colour can look really striking! You can ink a project and blend the colour and stamp an image on top and the image will stand out against the background - a useful tip if you are entering a monochrome challenge! The ink also stays the colour you chose even if heated or wetted which means you have a more even finish to your project. As I showed last time, Distress Inks react with water and can 'bleach' giving a really cool vintage feel. Distress Inks are safe to use on photos and can create some really interesting effects.

The other main type of ink I use is Archival Ink. I use this when I want a really crisp image. The ink will not smudge when dried and will therefore not react once I put Distress Ink over the top - even if I wet it! My favourite colours to use regularly are Jet Black (I know black is boring but it's really useful!) and Coffee but I am currently experimenting with Cobalt and it's a really lovely sort of French Navy colour!

There is one other ink I use a lot - and that's clear ink for embossing or use with PanPastels. I use the ink when I want to create a 'resist' image or as a sort of 'glue' for the PanPastels to adhere to. It's surprising how, when I sat down to write this post, I nearly forgot about this ink and yet I use it often. I think it's because it's a sort of 'workhorse' ink that's always there but isn't terribly glamorous!

This is a tag I've made to show the difference between the inks. The background is Shabby Shutters and Peeled Paint Distress Inks and the leaves to the left are Vintage Photo Distress Ink. The middle leaves are Coffee Archival Ink and the leaves to the right are clear ink with brown PanPastels over the top. The small flowers and leaf are shrink plastic inked with Alcohol Inks.

Thanks for popping by!

Gabrielle x

 

TAGGING ALONG 2011

I've been playing along with Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas this year and having a fabulous time!!

I know some people don't like his grungy style but  there is so much inspiration in his tags with ideas for using products and demonstrating new techniques!

It's certainly not necessary to have all the 'right' stamps and products either, you can see from my tags I do have quite a few dies and inks like Tim's but if I haven't had the  same stuff I've had even more fun improvising!!

So pop along to Tim's blog and enjoy the mojo boost!

Here are my versions of the 9 of his tags I've completed so far!

Merry Christmas and Happy Crafting!

Love,

GlitteryKatie XxxX

Cheap, Cheerful and Family Friendly

Hello! For today's post I thought I'd try and do three challenges in one post! This is a really expensive time of the year and so I wanted to make things that would be fun for us all to do with the family as well as be as inexpensive as possible.

The first idea was a canvas that could be a gift or small decorative item. I bought a small canvas from a pound shop and coloured it with Antique Linen Distress Stain and Vintage Photo Distress Ink. I used scraps of paper to make rosettes, inked Maya Road letters and embossed them. I added a ribbon from my stash (it originally came from a present so was free!) and a couple of trinkets. I often use these canvasses as they are so inexpensive and can be used as a platform to build on your ideas. If you have never tried using one before, buy them really cheaply and have a go - if you have only spent a pound then it doesn't feel so scary to use it! Cut out images, like Victorian decoupage, look fabulous on a canvas!

The second idea is a wreath.

I made this one with my children last year and was thrilled to see it had survived a winter in the decorations box! I covered a ring cut from a cereal box (using two sized plates!) and covered it with Tissue Tape. Then I die cut Christmas Trees and inked the edges before placing them on the ring. I added very inexpensive sticky stars on the top and a ribbon. To the bottom I covered an Adage Ticket with Glossy Accents and popped a tiny gem in there for a little more 'bling'! It looks really sweet in real life and I had lots of compliments!

The final project is a fabulously easy one which will keep your small people busy for ages!

My 11 year old daughter made these and intends on making more so my house will soon become awash with paper baubles! Simply stamp an A4 piece of card with your favourite stamps (or use old thicker quality wrapping paper) and colour the stamped images in. Cut out strips from the card of about 2cm wide and when you have about 8 put a small hole at the end of each one. Thread a brad through the holes at one end and secure. At the other end you need to secure a ribbon for hanging. Simply fan out the strips to make a bauble shape. My daughter will be thrilled that her craft is being seen by you!

I hope this has given you some inexpensive inspiration for decorations! As this my last post before Christmas may I wish you a happy and peaceful holiday and a wonderful start to 2012!

Gabrielle

NEW DT PART 2

Here are the last of our new DT members and links to their beautiful blogs.

Doda- Doda's Creations

 

 

Alix- A Good Life

Kerry-  Socks and Scrapbooks

Ifa- Loving Life

Erika-  Snappy Crafts

Laura - bubbaboobits

 

 

Creating a textured background

 
Hi Lynne here

I have been playing around with some ideas I got from watching a youtube video by Rach0113

  

I found alcohol inking on PVA got me in a mess, so here's my take on the technique.

(Thanks to Rachel for the inspiration to play with your idea)

Take a piece of card and build up layers of texture with whatever scraps you can find, making sure that you use plenty of glue to secure them in place.

 
Cover it liberally with PVA glue and put aside to dry. (I made a batch as they take a long time to dry and I wanted to use it now!)

Once it's dried cover with sticky back metal foil tape (I got mine from Screwfix, it comes in a variety of widths).  Peel the edge and stick to card, slowly peel the backing off sticking into place. (If you try and do it in one piece the foil tends to stick to itself, well it did in my case:) Rub gently with your finger to give more definition to the raised areas.

 

Then alcohol ink using a blending tool.  I used Wild Plum and Stream, my favourite colours.

Use a cotton bud soaked in blending solution to remove the ink from the raised areas.

 

I then doodled a flower on the back and cut it out.  You need strong scissors for this, I used my Tim Holtz ones.

 
I rather like the serrated edge to the flower, one of those "happy accidents" that you don't expect.

Do try making some yourselves, they are great fun.

Lynne x

Experimenting with laminating

I recently started playing with laminating sheets, and although I don't have a finished project yet, I hope this will give you some ideas.

The alcohol inks were put on the inside of the laminating sheet.

I tried a mixture of paper with text flowers, and just butterflies and flowers.

I think it gives a lovely effect. almost like making your own transparencies.

You can laminate sequins too.

Thanks for stopping by It's a Creative World

Debbie x

DIY Calendar

 First of all we'd like to wish you a very Happy New Year and hope that 2011 brings you everything you wish it to be.

 

For Christmas I was given a Calendar with open dates (so you could use it for any year).  I have had great fun designing Januarys picture.

One of my favourite things on the run up to Christmas for the last 2 years has been Tim Holtz 12 tags of Christmas.  He shares so many wonderful techniques and ideas. (Just click on the link above and there are links to each tag for 2010 on the right handside)

Each year I plan to make the tags, but haven't finished one yet:( 

I decided to use some of the ideas for my calendar.

I blended distress inks in dusty concord and milled lavender under the photo. Touches of pumice stone were added in places to soften the colour.

 
 

The little bird above was stencilled onto canvas using viva ferro paste in Blackberry.  I saw Leandra

of Paperartsy demonstrating this paste and loved the effect.  I've also discovered Beadazzles!  (They were a Christmas present from a crafty friend along with some other goodies I hope to share with you.)  I thought glitter was wonderful but Beadazzles give glitz another dimension.

 The flower above was punched out of a piece of glossy cardstock that had been alcohol inked. I used stream, wild plum and raspberry with some touches of metallic mixative silver.  (If you go to Tims' blog there are links to videos on how to use alcohol inks)
 

I just love the effect of Beadazzles so rather than adding a gem to the centre of the snowflakes on the patterned paper I added a drop of glossy accents and then poured Bedazzles over it.

This has been so much fun that I plan to buy a few more of these Calendars and give them as presents at Christmas.  It's a great way to share what you have been up to during the year.

 

Happy New Year

Lynne x

Altered Tin

I always think it's hard for chidren who have Birthdays very close to Christmas.  My friends' daughters' Birthday is the 27th December so I always try and do something different for her.

 

I stuck a chipboard initial to the top of the tin and then covered the top with self adhesive aluminium foil.  (You can find it on the roll at most DIY or hardware shops).

Using an embossing tool gently press the foil down around the initial. 

Cover with alcohol inks (I used wild plum, stream and a touch of denim)

Dip a cotton bud in blending solution and carefully remove the ink from the initial. ( You can also swipe a Stazon (solvent based) inkpad across the top and achieve a similar effect.)

 

Cover the inside of the tin with patterned paper.

Make an accordian book slightly smaller than the tin and decorate it to suit the recipient  (in this case a 13 year old)  decorate both sides. I added tags to some of the pockets.

Stick some ribbon to the base of the tin, it needs to be long enough to tie the accordian book in place.

Stick the back of the accordian book to the base of the tin and tie with the ribbon.

 

a close up.

 
some pages

Unfortunately I stuck the animal paper on the wrong way round, it was my last piece:(

I'm sure she'll understand. 

Lynne x