7 Gypsies Mini Album

I always find the Easter weekend very relaxing, we rarely go away, but have a lovely quiet time at home.  Today DS#1 has gone off to the Royal Easter Show with some friends and will probably stay until the fireworks tonight.  In a while I shall go back to my "desk"  (i.e. the end of my dining table) and think about the upcoming class at Alice's.

But first let me show you a little project I've been working on since I was on the coast last week.  There is a great scrapbooking shop at Tuggerah called Pages 2 Scrap, only a few minutes from my BFF, and I asked her if we had time, could we go and visit the shop.  Not only did we visit but she left me there to browse while she went off to pick up her son from school ...... aahh bliss!  Hanging on the 7 Gypsies stand was a sample book made with chipboard covers, just my thing - I love making little albums/books - so I bought a packet of covers, some Prima paper for the pages, a couple of other bits'n pieces and then waited outside to be picked up.

As you can see, all the pages are different sizes, you can get so much out of a couple of sheets of paper.  The papers used for this project were from Prima "Almanac Collection" - 'Agenda' and 'Composition' with a couple of images from Graphic 45 "Olde Curiosity Shoppe" - 'Genuine Article' and 'Parlor Wall'.  I've use Distress Ink 'Vintage Photo' blended on the edge of all the pages to give the book a vintage feel.  My cropadile was used to punch the holes for the album rings.

This was so much fun that I decided to make another book, this time using Graphic 45 "Tropical Travelogue" papers.  The cover is from plain chipboard I found in my stash, which was about the same thickness as the 7 Gypsies covers.  Both books measure 5 1/2" x 3 1/2".

 This time the book has two album rings binding it together, using my cropadile to punch the holes.  Again I've blended 'Vintage Photo' distress ink around the edges of the pages. 

On the back page is a fold out just to add more dimension to the book.

When my DH looked at the first book, his comment was "hmmm, interesting".  "It's decorative", I said, "it doesn't have a real purpose", but I really enjoyed creating it!

Have a crafty day!

Easter

It's almost that time of the year, Easter, when we remember the death and resurrection of Christ and the sacrifices He made for us.   If you are able to, go along to your local church and hear more of the Easter story.

Easter is also a time for eggs (mmmm chocolate), chickens, rabbits, Royal Easter Show (if you're in Sydney) and school holidays.  None of these things have anything to do with the REAL Easter (see above) but we enjoy nevertheless.

Normally I don't do Easter cards, however, Kaisercraft have put out a collection of papers called "Fine and Sunny" and one of them, "Forecast", has the cutest little chicks and eggs just waiting to be played with.  This is a side-stepper card with lots of places for the eggs to be put along with the little chicks.

 After cutting all these images there wasn't a great deal of paper left so I thought I'd get out my 1" square punch and this is what I created.  This is a CASE from Jan at  www.stampspaperscissors.typepad.com and is a terrific way to use up those little scraps we all collect.

 The caption on the front reads "you crack me up" and inside is "Happy Easter".  Both stamps come from SU "A Good Egg" (retired).

Wishing you  all a Happy Easter!

Have a crafty day!

Meander Album

Today I've been working on some cards for an upcoming class at Alice in Paperland.  The class is to create a 2D card with a 3D look using masking and sponging etc., a bit like a one-layer card but this one will have an extra layer.  I'll post some photos closer to the class when I have some more samples.

At the recent Meander Album class at Alice's, everyone enjoyed making their own little album which was  made from Graphic 45's Tropical Travelogue collection.  My sample album, however, was made from Kaisercraft Tiny Woods collection, just for something different, with lots of cute little animals to fussy cut and pop any photos behind.

Have a crafty day!

Engagement Card

Before I headed up the coast to the Arts & Media Festival, I needed to make a card to go with a gift as DS#2 had been invited to an engagement party.   After procrastinating for 3/4 hour trying this and that and not being happy with anything, I suddenly thought back to a display card that I had made a while back using Allison Ellis papers.  The original card had tiny pearls dotted in the swirls on the heart.  This foil paper is divided into squares with every other square having a picture e.g. heart, shoe, tree etc, with the remaining squares having a dot design.  This means it is easy to put a card together in about 10 minutes, with a splash of colour and a few pearls as embellishment.  Unfortunately the foil doesn't show up wonderfully well in the photo, but looks quite effective in real life.

The Arts & Media Festival was really good.  There was a terrific display of photographs and paintings from a variety of different individuals as well as local schools, with a number of participants receiving Commended and Highly Commended certificates as well as a winner in each of the categories.  The craft section had a variety of items with cross stitches, quilts, scrapbooks, ceramics, upholstered chairs and rocking horses.  The winner of this section was the cedar rocking horse (designed for a small child) with Highly Commended awards going to a quilt, a cross stitch and a digital scrapbook.

The highlight of the event was the walk-through dramatisation of the Easter story.  Groups of about 50 people were guided through "rooms" with the first being the market place in Jerusalem.   It was a terrific display of fruit and veges, pottery and breads.  Children were helping roll dough, make pots etc and when the call came of who was riding into town, they all waved palm branches to welcome Jesus on a donkey.  Then we were ushered into the next room by centurians.  This was the last supper, with the disciples and Jesus sitting on cushions around a long table.  Following this was a garden scene and after that was a video of sketches of the story.  The next room was of the tomb with the stone rolled away and the sadness of the women until an angel came to tell of the wonderful news that Jesus was risen.  Then the women danced as they rejoiced the good news.  In the final room there was a brief talk of the resurrection with an invitation to join in a sunday church service to find out more about the gospel.

The whole presentation was so well done and it was estimated about 500 people passed through during the evening.  I was helping with tea/coffee and hot cross buns and it was great to be part of a successful event.

Have a crafty day!

Central Coast Arts & Media Festival

If you happen to be on the Central Coast on Friday, 30th March, come along and have a look at the Arts & Media Festival.  It is being held at Wyong Baptist Church, 100 Allison Road, Wyong, from 5pm to 10pm.  Bring the whole family, entry is FREE!

As part of the Festival, there will be a Craft competition consisting of art, photography, embroidery, papercraft, quilts etc, and as I'm not from the Coast, I've been asked to be one of the judges for the papercraft section.  I'm really looking forward to seeing the entries and hope I make a wise choice when deciding the winners.

It should be a really good evening with lots to look at, including a walk-through dramatisation of the Easter story. 

Have a crafty day!
 

Meander Album

I enjoy creating little albums and when I saw this one over at LakeAvenueDesigns.com I thought, "what a sweet little album, it looks easy enough, I'll give it a go", so I picked some paper (Graphic 45 - Tropical Travelogue) and got started.   Although this album is listed on Lake Avenue as a Brag Book, I called mine a Meander Album as I found I could put more pages in as I went and so you can "meander" through looking at photos (although my album doesn't have any photos at the moment).

 This is the front cover, with just a ribbon for closure, as I think the paper is gorgeous by itself.

This is the inside front cover.  You can slip photos or tags in behind the decoration, which means photos can be changed whenever you like without being stuck in permanently.

As you open out each page there is something new, and as the photo above shows, the middle page opens down.  The flowers are positioned for two more photos to tuck behind.

The next page opens out, each time revealing more of the gorgeous papers.

This time the middle page opens upwards.

Inside back cover has room for two more photos, just slip them into the bottom pockets.

This is such a fun album to put together.  I'm sure I could add a couple more pages as the spine, although not very wide, leaves enough space without being bulky.

I'm teaching this album at Alice in Paperland on Saturday, 24th March, so hope everyone has lots of fun making one for themselves.

Have a crafty day!

80th Birthday

Yesterday was my aunt's 80th Birthday and she celebrated it with lunch for family and friends at my cousin's home.  There was lots of yummy finger food, dessert, fruit platter and of course, birthday cake.  We had a very relaxing afternoon and it was lovely to catch up with cousins I rarely see.

Once again I've made an Easel card, though this one is longer and fits a DL envelope.  Cardstock is SU:  Pacific Point,  Pear Pizzaz,  Whisper White;  DSP is various - all retired;  Stamps: Heard from the Heart; Kaisercraft:  Tigerlilly. 

My aunt nearly always wears blues and greens, with a touch of pink added sometimes, and so I thought it appropriate to make a green and blue card.  The DSP all came from different collections but colourwise, they matched really well. That's what I like about SU, everything co-ordinates.

I'm sure she had a really enjoyable birthday surrounded by her children and grandchildren, sister, neices and nephews, other family members and long-time friends.    Happy Birthday, Aunty Elaine .... hip hip hooray!

Have a crafty day!