Family Memories Tag Book

Well, here we are it's Sunday and now I can show you the project I have been working on for 'One Stitch At A Time' (OSAAT) as guest designer this week. Firstly I must say a huge thankyou to Stitchy and the team for giving me the opportunity to do this and for their help and support.


The theme this week is 'Anything but a card' and I have gone back to my roots of bookmaking. I first learnt to make simple books about 25 years ago and developed my skills over a number of years whilst teaching my pupils how to make them when I was a classroom teacher.  So I have made a Family Memories Tag Book and the idea is that whoever you have chosen to include in this project will decorate/embellish a tag which will be their contribution towards the finished book. I have included a tutorial as a seperate post today that I hope you will find useful.
 

I have had great fun creating this using the methods of putting covers and spine together as I have always done, but instead of making it with pages, I have made it with wallets and tags.

I have started to embellish the wallets and I have designed the tag for Ken and I. This shows us at the Isle of Wight music festival last year and I wanted to include it as it is the first time either of us have been to an open air festival like this.

Now I shall give tags to the children, granddaughters, my sister and my Mum, so that I end up with photos and contributions from everyone. The wallets and tags can include a whole variety of things including photographs, journalling, drawings/art work, poems, personal stories, just anything that could be included in a diary really.

I have started to embellish Ella's wallet both the front and the back.

I just need to finish the others but will do them as the tags get completed.

I must say a HUGE thankyou to my sister Chrissie who has looked at my design and given me other ideas to think about. It's wonderful when you have another creative person in the family and I am so lucky to have my sister, my daughter and my daughter-in-law and we share, help, guide and support each other. Let's hope it all rubs off on the grandchildren as well.

Have a great day, thankyou for stopping by.

Love and hugs.  Brenda xxxx

Challenge List
Sassy Designs #47 - Shabby Chic
The Shabby Tea Room #9 - Chipboard
Daisy Doodles - Flowers
Everybody Art Challenge - Make a gift
Quixotic Challenge - Make your own flowers
Crafts and me #4 - Anything but a card
Theme Thursday - Butterflies
Crafty Ann's #14 - Anything goes

Tag Book Tutorial

This Tag Book holds 8 wallets

Materials - all sizes are in inches 

2 pieces greyboard (like chipboard) 5 3/4 x 4 3/4 for the covers

1 piece greyboard 4 3/4 x 3/4 for the spine

2 papers 7 x 6 for front and back covers

2 papers 5 1/2 x 4 1/2 for inside front and back covers

1 paper 7 1/2 x 3 for spine cover

8 papers 9 3/4 x 6 for wallets (2 can be made from a 12 x 12 paper)

1 piece of thin card 4 1/2 x 11 for concertina spine to hold wallets in place

8 pieces of card 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 for the tags

I use bookbinding glue, dry-clear adhesive, extra strong double sided tape, fingerlift tape and wide clear duck tape.

1. Cover both boards with your paper. I cut the corner down to give a neater finish.

2. Place the boards and the spine together over the clear duck tape leaving about 1/8th of an inch gap between them. Fold the end of the duck tape up over the inside to secure them all together. This gives the spine it's strength.

3. Next score the card for the concertina spine as shown. Each of the valley folds is 1/2 an inch and the edges are 1 inch. Fold the card. I cut some of the greyboard and stuck inbetween each of the folds that will be on the bottom of the concertina spine.

4. It then looks like this.

5. Next stick the paper spine over the clear duck tape.


6. Using extra strong double sided tape, adhere the spine into place keeping the edge of the concertina lined up with the spaces between the greyboard spine and the covers. When you close the book they will all line up and fit neatly together.

7. At this point I added some seam binding to the back of the book using brads. This will keep it closed when finished, particularly when you have filled it with tags and embellishments.

8. Now make up the wallets. I scored each one using the dimensions in the photo and cut out the section along the bottom. I pre-folded them to make sure they fitted together properly and then put fingerlift tape on the patterned side of the two flaps. I folded the side edge over first and stuck that down, then I folded in the bottom flap to make it into a pouch/wallet.

9. Glue the front and back inside covers in.


10. Using fingerlift tape stick each wallet into the concertina only adhering the front edge (leave the back edge open and not stuck down as this gives you more flexibility for opening and closing the pages).

11. Your finished Tag Book should now look something like this.

12.                                                                   When you start to complete the inside of your book it will look more like this. Have fun with your own design and if you do not understand how any of this fits together, please email me and I will be happy to help out. My email address is on the main blog.

Golden Oldies 2

Yey, it's Friday and the weekend starts here. Hope you have been having a good day and have some lovely things planned to do for the next couple of days.

It's been a manic week this week hence the lack of blog posts, but here I am raring to go again. I shall be excited on Sunday as I have sent my project pictures in ready for inclusion on the new challenge theme from 'One Stitch At A Time'.

Here is another card using the hydrangea stamp and papers from Papercraft World. Very simple to make and I like the colours.

Something to think about.

"What would you attempt to do if you knew you would not fail?

Robert Frost

Bye for now, have a wonderful weekend.

Love and hugs, Brenda xxxx

Golden Oldies

Although it's been cold we have managed to get out in the garden today - at last!!! So it is now tidy with the decking washed and the watering system on ready so that I can get some bedding plants in my pots. I love the warmer weather and the riot of colour over the garden. Let's hope it arrives soon.

I still haven't been able to get into making anything new at the moment and whilst searching for some bits and pieces today I came across a set of cards I made quite a long time ago. So I thought I would show you some of these over the next few days and maybe I can find a challenge or two to enter with them.

This one was made when I started to use rubber stamps and this was stamped onto textured watercolour card which is why there are ridges through it. I was experimenting using different colours on the flower head, but it was definitely before I found TH Distress Inks although there is some distressing round the edges of the card. I even used torn printed paper and the tissue paper that feathers if you wet it (can't remember what it is called now). Apart from the sentiment using the plastic buttons and the metal corner there are no other embellishments, but there are some fibres tied round the middle. I think I would have finished it differently now.

Challenges
Creative Belli - Birthdays
Simon Says - Birthday/Celebrations
CRAFT challenge - Wedding/birthday
Theme Thursday - Vintage
Stamp Something - Birthday something
Crafty Ann's - Anything goes

Hope you've had a lovely weekend. I am off to do some more of my project for next weekend.

Take care.

Love and hugs. Brenda xxxx

My first Twinchie and Guest Designer

Good afternoon

It is so good to be back and into my art and blogging again, but I must say Ken and I have had the most wonderful holiday in Egypt. What a stunning country, steeped in so much history and a mix of different cultures that make it fascinating to see. We have cruised part of the Nile and seen so many sights, the Valley of the Kings with Tutankhamun's grave, many temples at Luxor, Edfu, Kom Ombo and Aswan, plus a flight to Abel Simbel and another flight to Cairo where we visited the Pyramids, the Sphinx, the Citadel and Muhaamed Ali's Mosque, Cairo Museum and a bazaar.

 Every day was packed with tours and we had great guides who explained the history of the country and the places we saw. Yes we had to haggle prices when we were out, yes we were plagued with people trying to sell us their wares, but it is part of the way of life there. All in all I would recommend this as a place to visit and particularly the Mena House Oberoi Hotel in Cairo which is probably the best hotel in Egypt and has pyramid view rooms. (See the view from ours above). Just an amazing experience. We loved it.

However back to the real world. I am very excited to be Guest Designer very soon for 'One Stitch At A Time' and I am in the middle of a project which should be included for the 16th May, so keep your eyes peeled for that one. I won with my 'Trip to Paris' piece and am so pleased to be included - just to say that it's different again to what I have been doing.

Well last night, having done some prep for my project I wanted to do 'something completely different' to get my hand back in, and found that the challenge at 'Something Completely Different' is to make a Twinchie with the theme of butterflies. Very soon it will be their first birthday so it's worth taking a look to see what is going on. Happy Birthday girls.

I've never made a Twinchie before but of course butterflies always grab my attention. Thinking about what base I would use for it, I remembered I had some Stampbord which I haven't used for ages and luckily there was a 2 inch piece in the bag. 

I have used alcohol inks and blender for the background and stamped a Martha Stewart butterfly using Adirondak Stream and coloured in the wings with Promarkers. I stamped some gold swirls round the edges and then heat embossed it twice to give it a sheen and protect the image. I then used the TH distressed powders to do the edges. It seems to be a trademark for me to use printed butterflies so I added one to the corner to add some dimension. Not a brilliant piece of art but it was good to experiment again.

Thanks for looking. I shall now go and see what some of my friends have been doing while I have been away.

Take care and enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Love and hugs.    Brenda xxxx

Congratulations on going it alone Diana

What a lovely morning we have again. I am watching the news everyday to find out about this volcanic cloud above us. I feel for all those families and people who have had such a miserable end to their holidays and are still stuck abroad waiting to get home. Let's face it we all love to go away but we are usually ready to come home at the end of the break. I just hope they all see it as an adventure and can make the most of things. I am checking Air Egypt as we are due to fly next Monday, but that's still too far away to know what is happening.

I said yesterday that my friend and neighbour, Diana, is celebrating a year of working for herself. She decided to leave her job working in a school, to start a gardening business.

As with all things like this it is a risk and there are no certainties. But, CONGRATULATIONS DIANA, she has had a stupendous year and build her client base so that she now has a waiting list of people who would like her services. That is just brilliant.

So here is my little contribution to wishing her well for the next year to come and saying well done for all the hard work she has put in this year.

I will see you later for a cup of coffee and a drink to celebrate Di.

LOL Bxxx

Challenge List

Crafty Catz #28 - Use red, green and a punch

Creative Cottage #6 - Things with wings

Cure Card Thursday #108 - Touchy, feely

One Stop Craft #76 - Things with wings

Flutterby Wednesday #105 - Butterfly, fairy or angel

Pile It On #15 - Spring

Sentimental Sunday #1 - Blooming Gorgeous

Sentimental Sundays Blooming Gorgeous

It's Monday and the beginning of another week, the sun is shining although it's a little chilly in the shade. I am struggling with what seems to be a cough, cold and laryngitis at the moment so I have not been very creative over the weekend and spent more time blog hopping. I did go to a car boot yesterday looking for bits and pieces and bought some old music books to use in my art work.

Whilst looking at all the wonderful blogs out there I found a new challenge site called Sentimental Sundays by Ann Vento from Raindrop Echo Designs. I have not seen her work before but love her sentiments and also the idea of having a sentiment challenge coupled with a theme. This week it is 'Blooming Gorgeous' and the challenge is to use a sentiment with flowers and there is a freebie as well. That was me hooked and here is my entry.

I bought some little plain frames at Alexandra palace the other weekend and covered one in glitter. I found a stamp I have about flowers and stamped the sentiment onto a rose paper from a CD by Papercraft World. I used K&Co backing papers and edged them with TH old paper crackle paint and when it was dry I went over it with star dust stickles. I printed out a vintage rose and a vintage bird (this one I covered in crackle accents), the butterfly is a MS punch with printed outline and covered in shabby shutters disress stickles. The lace, flowers, beads, pin and heart are all from my stash.

I have a friend who is celebrating a successful year working for herself tomorrow, so I am now going to think about a card for her.

Thankyou for stopping by and taking a look. If you leave a comment I can stop by and look at what you are doing too. I just love to take a peek and get new ideas and inspiration from all you very lovely, creative people.

Take care. LOL Bxxx

Challenges

Sentimental Sundays challenge 1 - Blooming Gorgeous

Creative Belli - Die cut shapes

Stampavie 90 - Butterflies and stamp

Creative cottage 6 - Things with wings

Flutterby Wednesday 105 - butterfly, fairy or angel

Cute Card Thursday 108 - Touchy, feely

One Stop Craft Challenge 76 - Things with wings

Paper Sundaes 14 - No People

A Blessing in pink and grey (and prize)

Good morning Friday Followers, I hope life is good for you. This is such a strange year, we have had some really difficult things to deal with and at the moment it is Maddie who is constantly in my mind and I keep sending her my positive thoughts, love and strength. She is supporting her friend whose partner has cancer and has had to go into a hospice this week. What a good friend Maddie is and she has partly been the inspiration for my card. She really is a 'Blessing', as a friend, a daughter, a sister, a granddaughter and an aunty and I pray she stays strong for herself in the way she is strong for others. My thoughts and prayers are with all of them at the moment and the families of her friends.

I am really pleased with this card and I have enjoyed working with the colours, they were inspired by a fab photo over at Sketcy Colors. 

This is covered in glitter as I wanted a sparkly card and I have been experimenting in new shapes for embellishments. The flourish is one of my new TH dies and the frame is off of the Home Accents Cricut cartridge. I used the sewing machine again and also made the flower as in my last card and put it over another shape cut on the cricut and covered in glitter. The backing papers and butterfly were printed from a Papercraft World CD and the rose image was cut from a 12x12 scrapbook paper.

Have a lovely weekend and enjoy whatever you are doing.

LOL Bxxx


WOOHOO the postman has just been and I have got a lovely new stamp from WHIFF OF JOY called 'Willow with basket'. It is part of the prize from Lexi's Creations for my win with my Easter boxes, I have also received a digi stamp from Lexi called 'A trio of ballerinas'. Thankyou Lexi and everyone at LC, your generosity is much appreciated. I shall have great fun playing with my new stamps.


Challenge List
Rosie D's Challenge 68 - Blessings
Totally Gorjus Challenge 25 - Texture
Corrosive Challenges #59 - Texture
Sketchy colors #19 - Pink, grey and white
One stitch at a time - Torn, distressed or shabby
Sophisti-cats #29 - So distressing
Crafty Angels #30 - My favourite thing  -  which has to be 'sparkles'
Cuttlebug spot - Bling
Practical Scrappers - Glitter and bling
Daisy Doodles - Pink + 1 (I didn't think the white would count????)
Creative Belli - Diecuts
Creative Cottage Challenge 6 - Things with wings
Flutterby Wednesday 105 - Butterfly, angel or fairy
Cute Card Thursday #108 - Touchy, feely

Shabby Squares

Good day everyone. It's now a glorious late afternoon and evening and the sun is streaming into my craft room. We had a great day yesterday at Chessington and there were 23 of us altogether. A real family day out which the children (big and little) thoroughly enjoyed. Again we had glorious sunshine and blue skies all day which was wonderful.

On to my next creation. I was inspired mainly by two challenge blogs for this one, both Pollycraft, to use pink, brown and either green or yellow (as you can see I chose green) and the Shabby Tea Room which has a lovely photo of patchwork and the theme is squares. I was also inspired to try new things by watching some of the demonstrations at Alexandra Palace at the weekend. This is the result.

I started by making the frame and used a mix of PVA and water to make layers sandwiched by lime acrylic paint and heat blasted the top layer of paint to get this cracked, weatherboard effect. Then I dabbed the TH acrylic paint over the top in raspberry, heat blasted it again and then rubbed most of it off so that the cracks are filled with the pink colour. I made the layer underneath this by using all squares to make it look like a montage of patterns and colours.The layer beneath this I used the Spellbinders butterfly impressabilities on white card, edged it with DI vintage photo and sprayed it with coffee shop Glimmer Mist. Lastly I mounted it on white card edged with a MS punch and onto green card. The flower I made myself by cutting out about 7 different sized squares and folding them to cut petal shapes, then spraying them with tea rose Glimmer Mist, scrunching them up to get the shabby look and layering them up and securing them with a pearl brad. During this process I found that the colours in my box I use for spraying came through on the edges of the petals and gave it a real vintage look. This was a happy experiment that worked better than expected. My butterfly was one I printed off and cut out and then covered it with crackle accents, this has given it a nice effect. The button flower was another experiment using coloured string and sparkly thread and I added lace and a pin with beads on it. I finished off with a brown ribbon, a brown flourish and a pearl trail from the butterfly. With the vintage image in the centre I am quite pleased with the overall effect. Another shabby chic vintage card to add to the collection.

I love reading the comments that come with entering challenges, so I always look to see what other challenges I can enter with my cards. I have quite a list this time. There are some fabulous challenge blogs out there that give real great ideas. Thanks evereyone for providing such inspiration and support.

Enjoy the rest of the week.

LOL Bxxx

Challenge List

Pollycraft Challenge - Pink, brown and green or yellow

The Shabby Tea Room Week 5 - It's hip to be square

Totally Papercrafts Challenge 11 - Distressing

Our Creative Corner - Bows

Allsorts Challenge 47 - Petals and Pearls

Stamp, Scrap and Doodle week 35 - Birthdays

Totally Gorjuss Challenge 25 - Texture

Corrosive Challenges 59 - Texture

One stitch at a time - Torn, distressed or shabby

Sophisti-cat Challenge 29 - So distressing

The Cuttlebug Spot - Bling

Practical Scrappers - Glitter and bling  and blog hop

Tuesday Taggers - Happy Birthday

My Time to Craft Challenge 87 - Pretty Pearls

Creative Card Crew Challenge 48 - Birthday

Flutterby Wednesday # 105 - Butterfly

 

A trip to paris

Hi again
I thought I would post this tonight as I am out all day tomorrow with my family and with the extended family from Kent. We are all off to Chessington World of Adventures and we think there will be around 24 of us with all the big and little children!!!! I think we will be very tired tomorrow night.

Anyway. Here is my second card of the day. This was inspired by the S2G challenges where they invite you to join the S2G DT for a jaunt to the land of 'crossiants, cafes, & haute couture'. It is a blog hop and they would love for you to join them on an adventure to PARIS this week. The Twisted Thursday Challenge TWIST this week is to use the word "MERCI" on your card or project. So I have completed the blog hop and I am entering this card. The word 'merci' is there but just difficult to see in the light. (See below)

I have really gone to town on this one and it grew and grew. I downloaded some images to use and chose this as the central one, behind it is a postcard which has merci in the text but it got covered by the leaves. I have stamped several TH French theme stamps on the backing paper which was also a download and then distressed. There is texture on the card on both the yellow mount (I used a cuttlebug embossing folder of musical notes) and the paper that I sewed the lace to is also embossed. I made 2 of the flowers myself and embellished the butterfly. The backing paper and the flowers I made have been misted using glimmer mists. Here is the merci saying and the flower embellishment.
            I had great fun playing around with this one, but I have to say it isn't one of my favourites now it is finished. Never mind. We learn in lots of ways and I am happy to experiment.

"Man is not made for defeat".    -   Ernest Hemingway


See you again soon. Take care. LOL Bxxxx

Challenge List
S2G Challenges - April in Paris Blog Hop and Twisted Thursday #51
Creative Belli #88 - Colour Spray
Totally Papercrafts challenge 11 - Distressing
Totally Gorjuss challenge 25 - Texture
Corrosive challenges #59 - Texture
One Stitch at a Time - Torn, distressed or shabby
Sophisti-cat Challenge #29 - So distressing