Sweet Little Notes

After finishing up a craft project, I often find myself with small leftovers and there is nothing more pleasing than finding a use for them! Yesterday, I ended up with a long piece of stripy kraft cardstock. I decided to cut it down into smaller pieces and create some sweet little notes using the teeny tiny stamps from Sophie's Sentiments and Say Cheese Too.

It can be all too easy to overlook some of the smaller stamps in these sets, but I think they're really versatile - and they're fun too! I also added a couple of small sentiments to the mix, by only inking up part of the larger phrases. You can see that with just a few stamps, some black ink and a little bit of time - five minutes to be exact - I ended up with something I can use in other craft projects, instead of something to add to the scrap pile.

I'm thinking gift tags, tiny journalling spots, or cute card toppers - lots of options. So, make the most of your own stamps by constantly looking for new ways to use them!

And, don't forget that some of the giveaways we featured as part of last week's Get 'Em While You Can Blog Hop are still open - including my own - so now's your chance to make some last minute entries.

The Patriot {July's Counterfeit Kit}

The inspiration kits for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge was 'revealed' yesterday morning and, because I was poorly sick, I didn't manage to use any of the kit I created last month. So, I've decided to keep it small and simple this month. I'm going to concentrate on using my kit this month for cards and maybe a mini-album, but I'll keep last month's kit in mind for layouts. It all depends on what life decides to throw at me next!

There were three inspiration kits to choose from this month, but keeping in mind that I wanted a small and simple kit, I chose to focus on the Liberty Shores kit - full of red, white and blue. Obviously the original was full of Americana, but being quintessentially British, I can still call a kit with these colours patriotic! Yay!

My paper selection is definitely on the small side - compared to normal. There's cardstock in red, blue and kraft, a collection of smaller scraps in similar colours and several papers which were free with the latest issue of Simply Homemade Magazine.

I was a little more generous with my embellishments, adding tons of floral embellishment, crocheted doilies, ruffled ribbons, buttons, brads and a handful of matching trims and threads.

And, in keeping with the Counterfeit Kit Challenge's urging to Use Your Stamps To Their Fullest Potential, I'll be creating a lot of my own embellishments this month using my stamps from Make The Day Special. There are too many suitable sets to list them all now, so I'll make sure to include details when I'm using them.

Right, I'm off to try and make something. It's been too long since I sat down to do some crafting. Have a great month Counterfeiters x

Pretty Packaging

I discovered My So Called Junky Life a little while ago and spent a wonderful hour or two looking through Sarah's blog archives - oohing and ahhing over her super pretty jewellery and gorgeous photography. But out of all that loveliness, I was especially in awe of beautiful beads and pretty packaging that Sarah had featured in the Petite Bead Box Swap. How amazing it would be to take part in a bead swap like that!

So, I was beyond thrilled when Sarah decided to host another bead swap and I signed up to take part straight away. Then, of course, I had a moment or two of panic - the ones which always come with needing to send something impressive to a complete stranger.

I decided to make an envelope parcel using what has to be my favourite cardstock of the century - Basic Grey's Kraft. I then decorated the envelope using some handstamped leaves from Blissful Botanicals and Harvest Of Memories, along with some ribbon and flowers from Precocious Paper.

I'm thrilled with the way my packaging turned out and can guarantee that come Christmas I'll be trying this with traditional reds, greens and little bits of holly! It's a little early to be thinking of Christmas, right? How did that pop into my head?

I should be able to reveal the parcel that I received - along with it's beautiful contents - over the next day or two. In the meantime, perhaps you can tell me where you get your packaging inspiration?

The 'I Love It' Counterfeit Kit!

I hesitantly checked the Counterfeit Kit Challenge this morning for this month's inspiration kit - and I was absolutely thrilled with the kit for counterfeiting this month from Burlap & Buttercups.

I was so excited that I started on my kit straight away and initially pulled over thirty (!!!) pieces of patterned paper and cardstock. I finally managed to whittle that down to a main kit of sixteen pieces - larger than any of my other counterfeit kits. Obviously these are the colours I've been craving!

I've also added some Cosmo Cricket Tiny Types, a We Are Memory Keepers chipboard alpha set, gorgeous diecuts from The Girl's Paperie and some buttons from my stash. The cute lollipop flower, ribbon leaves and blue pin are all from Precocious Paper.

My fingers are literally itching to break into my new kit and start creating, but I'll definitely be visiting other counterfeiters to see how they've interpreted the kit. I think it's going to be a good month!

Just a note: I will visit everyone who posts a counterfeit kit this month - I love looking at the kits everyone puts together because it's always inspirational. But, Blogger still won't let me comment on all blogs (I'm still having trouble if you embed your comments.) I would comment if I could x

It's Counterfeit Kit Time!

I think we're all aware of just how much I love the Counterfeit Kit Challenge. I have truly had so much fun playing along with the challenge; putting together cute kits from my own stash and creating some much loved layouts as a result. And the love affair is not about end any time soon.

This month the Counterfeit Kit DT chose the amazing A Little Birdie Told Me kit - the first from Front Porch Kits - to counterfeit. Since it sold out within such a short period of time, I have no hesitation whatsoever in a little copying.

The kit is based on Echo Park's collection For The Record and, although I have the kit on order, I just could not wait to play along and put my own kit together. (Though I'm sure that once it arrives, some of the papers may find their way into my kit this month.) So, in my version of the kit, I have tons of Bazill Cardstock - I'm a big, big lover of Kraft - and some of my favourite patterned papers from American Crafts.

This time around I've 'splurged' on the embellishments and I've added a huge amount of flowers - some bought and some handmade - along with a variety of leaves, brads, buttons, chipboard shapes, beautiful trims and some yarn remnants. Disappointingly, I couldn't find my 'googly eyes' so expect them to appear in the kit at a later stage if I manage to hunt them down!

I'm also using my new stamp set from Make The Day Special - Naturally You. How perfect are these stamp sets? I couldn't believe it when I saw the kit and knew I had just the right stamps!

In the process of putting my kit together, I also pulled rather a large amount of scraps - some paper, some fabric - and although there's no add on kits with the original I've made my own - Birdhouse In Your Soul.

This little kit is perfect for making mini-books, cards and smaller, little projects and is made up a ton of paper scraps in colours and patterns to match the main kit. Also included are several fabric remnants, burlap and some tidbits of ribbon, along with more delicious trim and another stamp from Itty Bitty - Dreams Make 'Em Happen. What do you think? Can I manage to make teeny, tiny scraps look appealing?

I can't wait to start creating with my counterfeit kits, but before I love you and leave you, I just wanted to say a massive thank you for all the comments on my kits and layouts last month. I'm overwhelmed with gratitude, especially for those of you who wanted to scraplift my layouts - what a compliment! Please go right ahead! And then show me? Anyway, I just wanted you all to know that during what was a tough month at work, you all seriously kept me going. Much love x

Inspiration Everywhere

Last week's Layout Challenge at The Studio Challenges was instantly inspiring. I knew exactly which photograph I wanted to use and it took mere minutes to pull together the right elements for the page because my Counterfeit Kits were ready and waiting.

I used my version of the Babbling Brook kit, plus a few embellishments that I pulled from my version of the Wildflower Kit - and look - a patterned paper background! Unbelievable! That's twice in a row! There was also an additional challenge to accompany the sketch of using a ruffle somewhere on your layout, so I made my own ruffled ribbon out of some cream satin and added it beneath my photograph. Then I clustered all of my embellishments together to form a focal point and to break the lines of the layout a little. I included one of my handmade rolled roses, some polymer clay leaves, one of roses from my original kit and a cabachon glued onto a chipboard button. Lots of extra used in such a small space. Loving it!

But, there was something missing. Just beneath the cluster of flowers there was a little space and every time I placed another flower there it just didn't look right. I was at a bit of a loss and put the layout to one side for a whole week before inspiration struck.

I'd headed back to The Counterfeit Kit Club and noticed the Inspired By Etsy Mini Challenge then and immediately went to search through my favourites. When I came across these beautiful Temple Lotus Hoops by Lala Design Studio, I knew I'd found the cutest, little addition to my layout. One dinky, pink glass teardrop bead and I finally had the perfect layout.

*happy sigh*

Learn Something New Every Day {Finally Finished Fridays}

After categorising some of my works in progress at the beginning of November and promising to complete at least one project each week - a promise which I managed to keep for all of three weeks before I became ill - it looked as though the pile of unfinished, unloved projects would once again be forgotten. But the sense of satisfaction that came from finally finishing a project that has been sat gathering dust was hard to forget and I've decided that the idea of Finally Finished Fridays is worth continuing on into the New Year.

I admit that it will be hard to pick up those old, unfinished items when new projects are beckoning but, thankfully, I have you - my lovely blogreaders - to keep me on track and tell me off when I don't post something each week. You will help me, won't you?

Anyway, just to prove that I'll be following through on my promise this time around, here's a completed project to round off 2010. (There's so many photographs of it, I've had to pop them into a slideshow!)

I started this mini-album in September, when Shimelle's annual Learn Something New Every Day project began in earnest. I was determined to keep up with the project but, I had some extremely bad news not long into the project, and although I continued to keep notes, take pictures and jot down my journalling, it was too difficult to complete the actual album at the time. (And it's easy to see why once you start scrolling through the photographs.)

I'd made a start on putting together some of the pages at the beginning of November, because I felt that since I'd managed to keep on journalling and taking photographs, that I should be able to finish the album without too much trouble. But, because there were some very hard lessons for me in September, looking back was difficult - and a little overwhelming, and I only managed a few pages at a time. I finally finished today (though the photograph from Day 18 seems to have gone missing!) and it feels just a little bittersweet.

But, if I can finish this little album, I can finish anything and I feel as though I can let go of the events of 2010 and move forward into 2011.

Have a Happy New Year x

Thanks, You Are A Star! {The Altered Element}

I'm feeling especially thankful for the wonderful gifts that I've received from family and friends over the last few days so, inspired by this month's celestial theme over at The Altered Element, I've started to put together some cards.

To start, I sifted through my scraps of Bazill Smoothies Cardstock to make a card base and then found a few co-ordinating leftovers from scrapbooking projects. I then trimmed my cardstock and papers to size and added some definition to the edges by adding stitching and by using a variety of inks from the Tim Holtz Distress Inks Range.

To make my greeting, I used some Alpha Beads (which are, unfortunately, no longer in stock) along with some smaller beads from the Blizzard Glass Bead Mix as spacers between each word. These were threaded onto some Silver Coloured Copper Wire and I fixed them in place with a little superglue.

I then bent the wire around a layer of card and began fixing each of the card and paper pieces to the card base. At this stage, I decided to add a little extra sparkle to one of the papers by dotting some Cosmic Shimmer Twinkles around the edge. There can never be enough sparkle!

To finish off my card, I embroidered a star onto some card using some White Venus Embroidery Thread, cut it out and added it to the top of the card using some Mini Mounting Pads.

This will be my last Design Team project for The Altered Element before the shop officially closes at the beginning of January. It's been a huge amount of fun and I shall miss the team dearly. But, don't forget that you can still order from The Altered Element until midnight on the 1st January 2011 - so don't miss your chance to pick up some bargains in the closing down sale.

Paper Flowers {Altered Element}

This week I have another sweet, little tutorial for the Altered Element Design Team. As you might remember, this month's theme is recycling, so I hauled out my absolutely massive box of paper scraps and dug around until I found some old sheets of music. They had been festering in my 'must use' pile for some time and were practically begging to be turned into something pretty.

What You'll Need:

Ink Mists - I used Cosmic Shimmer Mists in Bronze Blush and Rich Gold, but they're all beautiful.
Brads - I used these 6mm Round, Gold Brads but it doesn't really matter which colour you choose because you won't be able to see them. Buy colours you like and use them for something else too!
Sheet Music - If you can't find any sheet music, I'd recommend some old book pages or some Bazill Smoothies Cardstock
Scallop Circle Punch - You could also use a die cut or a round circle punch.
Craft Knife or Scalpel - Be careful with these. I'll accept no responsibility for slightly shorter than normal fingers or thumbs after you've finished.

1. Punch - Depending on the punchability (that is so a word!) of your scallop punch or your die cut, stack up your sheet music and punch through as many sheets of paper as you can in one go.

2. Pile & Poke - Split your paper circles into little piles - I've used around seven to ten circles per flower, it doesn't have to be an exact science. Then, using your craft knife or scalpel, stick a little hole - big enough for your brad to go through - in the centre of each pile of circles and pop your brad through.

3. Start Scrunching - Starting at the top, scrunch a paper circle up and around the brad.

4. Scrunch Some More - Scrunch each layer in turn. Leave the last couple of layers fairly flat, but use your fingernails to 'lift' the edges a little.

5. Spray & Splatter - When you've assembled all of your paper flowers, it's time to get messy with the mists. I normal lay out my flowers on some old sheets of newspaper or pop them into a cardboard box. (This time I popped them onto some white card, which I'll be using for another project once it's all speckled.) Spritz your flowers with the mists - making sure that you aim some of the mists around the edges of the flowers as well as over the tops. Leave to dry.

6. Beautify - Now use your recycled flowers to beautify your scrapbook layouts, mini albums, altered art or to decorate your craft room.

Recycled Bottlecap Embellishments {Altered Element}

This is my first post as part of the new Altered Element Design Team, so I've been keen to work on something that's versatile and can be used in many different types of projects. Whether you're a seasoned crafter or a beginner, you'll be able to use these cute embellishments in your jewellery, interiors or scrapbooking projects - and as a bonus they're made from stuff that most people throw away.

What You'll Need:

Glossy Accents - A versatile 3D clear, gloss medium that you can use for lots of things. There's also a Matte, Sepia and Crackle version - so good!
Cord - I actually used a lovely Leather Cording, but I think these pretty Metallic Cords would be perfect with winter colours.
Bottlecaps - If you're not a big drinker, fear not. Ask friends or relatives to collect them for you or head down to your local bar, ask nicely and flutter eyelashes. Works for me!
Spray Paint - I used Plastikote Project Paint in matt white and bronze, but if you'll be sticking your embellishments down instead of hanging them, you can skip this.
A Selection Of Bits & Pieces - I used punched paper circles, buttons, small seashells and beads in my embellishments. These Alpha Beads and Spangles & Trinkets would also be excellent and are on my wishlist for next time I make these!
Hammer & Screw - Optional for adding a hole to hang your embellishment.

1. Before The Beautifying - You might like to clean up your bottlecaps by boiling them for a few minutes to get rid of any residual beer stains and tarnish. If you want to remove the small plastic inner, boiling will also help to loosen it up, but be careful trying to take it out while it's hot. We'll be covering this up anyway, so there's no real need to try this unless you're one of those people who like things to be as perfect as possible.

2. Painting - I used Plastikote Project Paint to re-colour my bottlecaps. Just lay your bottlecaps face up on a sheet of newspaper and, with the spray about a foot away, lightly mist over your bottlecaps. A couple of light coats if better than one heavy, clumpy one.

3. Adding A Hole For Hanging - If you'd like to add a small hole to your bottlecaps so that you can use them as ornaments or jewellery charms, it's pretty easy to do. Grab yourself a screw and a hammer. Hold the screw at the edge of your bottlecap, hit it really hard a few times with the hammer and voila. (Using a screw instead of a nail might seem counter-intuitive but I find that they don't bend and are, therefore easier to use!)

4. Creating A Collage - I like to line the base of my bottlecaps with a punched paper circle. (If you haven't got a punch for this, just draw around the base of your bottlecap and cut out - or use beads and spangles to cover the base instead.) Layer up your collage using additional punches, stickers, sparkles and beads - sticking them down with a little dot of Glossy Accents to keep them in place.

4. Using The Glossy Accents - Don't shake the bottle - this will add bubbles. Just turn your bottle upside down really quickly, then squeeze onto a piece of scrap paper. Start adding to your bottlecap around the outside and then around the edges of your accents, then fill in the remaining space. Try to make sure that the hole for hanging is clear, but don't worry too much - it's easy to bang in another through the Glossy Accents.

5. Leave To Set - Your Glossy Accents will look less than glossy at first, but leave them to dry overnight (somewhere level) and by morning they'll dry to a hard, clear and glossy finish.

6. Hanging Your Charms - Use your screw to ensure that your hanging hole is free of Glossy Accents (just wiggle it about a bit - technical term) and then thread through some leather cording, knot and hang.

I'm planning on adding these embellishments to my scrapbooking pages, gifts, mini-albums and jewellery - and how cute would these be on your Christmas tree? There's so many ways to make them work in your projects!

As always, if you have any questions or have a go at making some I would love you to let me know in the comments.

Normal Service Is Resuming {Scrap Sunday}

I'm finally managing to settle into a routine that works around my new job (can anyone else believe that it's been five weeks since I started?) and I'm looking forward to working on new projects and blogging more regularly now that I no longer require afternoon naps!

One thing that I'm particularly looking forward to is contributing to Operation: Tackle That Beading Stash. After Sarah, who set up the blog, linked to my Bead & Button Bracelet Tutorial, I pretty much invited myself onto the team. (If you don't ask, you don't get, right?)

The reason that I'm so pleased to be working with these lovely ladies is because, although I don't often feature my beading, it was actually my first crafty love and I wouldn't have tried scrapbooking, card making, glass painting, embroidery or sewing without having discovered a patience that I never knew I had.

Seed beads really are very fiddly and I realised that if I could cope with them, then I could easily cope with sticky tape, ribbons and threads.

In honour of my joining the team, I've (finally) completed a scrapbook layout that I started on National Scrapbooking Day over a week ago. It features a photograph of one of my beaded necklaces and, of course, some handmade beaded embellishments in the form of branches. See the little leaf shaped beads? Love.

I also added some of my hand rolled ribbon roses, which are one of my current favourites, along with some hand cut leaves and sewing pin details. With all of the handmade details, embroidery and all of the gems I had to stick on with superglue one by one, this layout took an absolute age to finish, but I think it's worth it. For my first (crafty) love.

Looking forward to catching up with some of my own favourite blogs this week and resuming normal, blogging service. Leaves on the tracks permitting.

How To Make Scrap Paper Flowers {Scrap Sunday}

Do you ever have days when you really want to be creative but you lack inspiration and ideas? When you know that if you start a new project (or try to finish a work in progress) that you'll just end up frustrated? Well, here's a suggestion. Do something really simple.

When I'm feeling less than inspired I focus my attention on making embellishments. Often the process of making embellishments is simple, but time consuming and I often find myself reluctant to spend time creating them when I want to finish a layout or mini-album quickly. So, every so often, I sit down with a box of scrap paper or ribbon, crank up the stereo and spend a couple of hours making pretty things. Tea and biscuits are optional, but they do make the process a lot more enjoyable!

These cute, little paper flowers are really very simple to make and a very useful way to use up all your paper scraps, so don't be throwing any of them away. Start by cutting circles of paper/cardstock in a variety of sizes, then distress the edges using a craft knife - be careful, I'm accepting no blame for lost fingers, okay?

Once all of your circles are distressed, layer them all up into little stacks - varying the size of the base so that you end up with different sized flowers. To finish, use your craft knife to make a small hole through the middle of your stack and pop a brad through the middle to hold the layers together. Voila!

Now just set all of your embellishments aside ready for the return of your scrapbooking inspiration, use them to decorate gifts or add them to a chain to make spring themed bunting. So many possibilites!