Remember!

For those regular viewers among you ... this card will look familiar. I blogged the same design a while back and thought I would take this opportunity to show you the different look you can get just by using different Distress Ink colours. This time I have used Broken China, Dusty Concord and Antique Linen. The Agapanthus stamp is from Stampendous.
And if you are a regular visitor please show the team here some love ... leave a comment ... the girlies here have blogged some real beauties this week ... and you know the saying ... a little goes a long way :0)
Have a great weekend everyone!

Pack Your Bags!

I told you I got some yummy stuff in the post on my return from Ranger U now did n't I??? One of the things was a fab travel stamp collection by Stampendous. Another thing was one of the delightful little suitcases from Zutter. Now I am not much of a scrapper ... but I do like collecting tickets from my travels and making mini books ... so I took a piece of white card ... scored it ... cut the corners off to form a concertina tag album and started Distress inking and stamping without delay. I added a few Idea-ology adage tickets and some left over coins and Ta Da ... a quick and simple keepsake!

And if you have n't been on your travels recently ... well how about recording some of your wishes or giving a book of wishes away as a gift for that friend that has everything!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone ... see you next week!

The Final Countdown!

As promised here are the final four countdown tags I made in the run up to Ranger U! I can't believe I have been and come back already! I had an awesome time! I used all 36 Distress Ink colours on the ten tags.

I will be back next week with something different ... while I was away a new box of toys arrived for me to play with :0)

Have a fab weekend everyone!

Playing Tag - By Proxy!

As many of you know I am actually away at Ranger U at the moment! During the build up to this trip I made a tag for each day! I shared tag numbers 10; 9 and 8 with you last week ... this week here are 7; 6 and 5! I will show you the final four on my return next week!

I hope you enjoy looking at them! I have used all 36 Distress ink colours across the ten tags.
See you all next week with the final four tags ... Have a fab weekend!

Tag ... You're it!

A slightly different type of post this week from me! I have been busy counting sleeps  until I go to Ranger U in SEVEN more sleeps and each day from 10 more sleeps I have been making a tag to mark the passing of another day! So I thought I would share all 10 with you over the next three Fridays. The tags are all manilla shipping tags ... the ones that Lord Tim of Holtz himself uses and they are all coloured using Ranger Distress Inks ... in case you have n't noticed these just happen to be my all time favourite inks ever ever ever!
If you feel like making a tag yourself ... well all of us girlies at Kreative Kaboodles would just love to see it ... so link us up and we will come visit you!
Have a wonderful weekend every body ... until next time! I say next time ... I won't actually be here ... I will be in New Jersey ... but hopefully my tags will still appear in my absence!

Summer Explosion!

It had been ages since I had made an exploding box when I had the urge to make another one! The instructions, stamps and card stash for this one are all included as part of the Summer Sizzle kit! I left a few blank pages so they can be personalized with messages for the recipient when I decide what I am going to do with it!

It certainly has been a sizzling day in the UK today ... our hottest of the year so far! So what is the weather like where you are and how are you planning on spending your summer this year? Let us know ... we love to hear from you all! Have a good weekend!

Two of my favourite things!

I thought it would be nice to share a few of my favourite things with you guys this week. You have probably guessed by now that one of them is the range of Distress inks from Ranger. I LOVE them and if I could start my crafting life over ... well they would be the first pads I bought ...and trust me ... I bought plenty that I never use! Why are they my favourite??? Well you can create beautiful backgrounds with a few inks and some white card ... oh yeah and a fabulous stamp. To make the above background I coloured the white card with Fired Brick and Spiced Marmalade distress ink then I stamped over the top in Fired Brick with the Stampendous Agapanthus stamp.

My second favourite thing is Stampendous embossing powder ... especially the Gold Detail. If you grab some card and pat it with the Gold Acrylic Dabber and then shake Gold embossing powder over the top ... once heated you are left with a really lovely textured vintage look ... trust me! No one will believe it started life as a piece of white card.
So ... don't leave me in suspense ... What are your favourite things?

Moo~Chas Gracias!

Today I thought that I would post a fun technique for you to make your own unique background papers. All you need is glossy cardstock, ink and daubers, and rubber cement (yes, you read that correctly...rubber cement). This works great for any type of papercrafting (scrapbooking, cardmaking, altered arts etc). Pick the color scheme or patterned paper for your project. I am loving the new colors of Tim Holtz distress inks, and choose Wild Honey for this project ( it coordinates with Nikki Sivils Willow-Bee line perfectly too).

Step #1--drizzle some rubber cement in a random pattern on top of your glossy cardstock. I am using a 4x6 sheet of photo paper here.



Let the rubber cement dry before proceeding to the next step (tick~tock)

Step #2--use your felt pad or dauber to apply ink to the entire sheet of glossy cardstock...go right over the rubber cement!



This is how it looks now :)

Step #3--use an adhesive remover to pull up the rubber cement. You can try using your fingers to rub it off, but if you rub too much you will get a blister (ask me how I know this, I dare ya!)

GUESS WHAT~~??? Your sheet of cardstock is now ready to be used!!!! You can use this for a photo mat on a layout, or a mat for an image for a card.

Here is a card that I made using an adorable stamp from Penny Black called CHEERS! (isn't she just moooo--velous?), patterned paper from Nikki Sivils Willow Bee collection, and a muddy brown cardstock. I was trying to be witty so I wrote my own sentiment.
My middle son graduated from High School on Friday, and he will be using cards like this a thank you notes!!!

Difficult Cards

We all have to make difficult cards from time to time ... nothing says they have to be dull and dreary ... sometimes you just want to sit and create something that will give comfort to another person. A card that will catch their eye on the windowsill when they are feeling sad ... a simple reminder that you care and they are not alone.
I have made this card with plain white card stock, I then blended Scattered Straw, Spiced Marmalade and Fired Brick to colour. I used the Stampendous Agapanthus set stamped in Coffee Archival ink and then stamped the sentiment in Jet Black Archival to make it pop slightly. I matted the card onto simple Brown card stock and added a Jenni Bowlin butterfly. The butterfly was tinted slightly using Spiced Marmalade Distress ink.

That's it from me for another week ... see you same time ... same place ... well hopefully a little earlier ... next week! Have a great weekend.

Another look at the Summer Sizzle kit!

Can you believe it is nearly May already! Where does the time go! As we approach the summer and all those summer birthdays I thought now would be a good time to give you another look at the Summer Sizzle kit. The kit is packed with some vibrant citrus papers ... a bit of grunge and even a set of stamps that will just keep on giving ... and all for the fabulous price of just $15.00. So what are you waiting for .... go buys yours before they all go!

That is it from me for this week ... I hope you have all had a good week  and have a wonderful weekend everyone! Until next time!

Decoupaging your stamped images!

For this card I have used the Stampendous Sunflower Scene stamp. Mine is wood mounted but it is also available on cling here

I stamped the image three times in black archival ink on white card. You get three goes at this ... and because you don't need a perfect image every time ... it is a great technique if you are new to stamping.

Color your images in using whichever pens you have. I have used Pro markers ... but Copics; Marvy le plumes; water colors... the kids crayons anything will do. Once they are colored cut out as illustrated above.

Take a long slim card and about a third of the way up make a slot in the spine with your craft knife ... just wide enough to slide a piece of ribbon through.Place your ribbon through and tie in a bow ... cutting the ends into a point.

Stick the first layer flat and build up your flowers a section at a time. Use either a 3 dimensional glue or foam pads to make the layers stand out. I always curl the upper two layers around a bone folder so you cannot see the adhesive.
There you have it ... a quick and simple card ... just add a greeting when you next need a card.
Don't forget to check out the Summer Sizzle card kit ... there are still some available.
Have a good weekend ... see you next week!

Thinking of you

I got some new yummy stamps from Creativity Boutique. I really wanted to create a simple tone on tone colored card. So I double inked the image on the stamp. Not sure if "double inking" is an official term or not. But I added 2 slightly different colors, both turquiosey colors in this case, to the stamp and then stamped. It didnt photograph as well as I hoped but the lighter areas are the lighter ink. Looking back I think the card could use a little bling. But I had to get the card out the door within the hour since I needed an Anniversary Card ASAP. Hope you have a great day.

You are invited

I really am enjoying myself playing with these stamps! They have just been a blast and there are just so many possibilities with them. I made this invite mainly for a boy (cuz I really think the scrappy world is lacking boy cards) but it could easily be changed to a invite for a girl party by changing the dragon to a princess. If you have these stamps show me your ideas for them :D if not they really are super fun!! oh and see the "grass" I used the fire part of the stamps to stamp the grass :D

More Summer Sizzle!

I can't believe it is Friday again already ... Where did the week go? I hope you all had a fab Easter ... Here in the UK we get Good Friday off and another holiday on the Monday after Easter Sunday ... so two four day weeks and a long weekend ... it is just lovely!
I thought I would share another sample card from the Summer Sizzle kit that I have designed ... lots of Mark Richard's bling on this one and a small amount of Grungepaper for added texture and interest.
The kit is still available here and if you just want the stamp ... or the bling then you can find them here and here ... of course you may just want some yummy Spiced Marmalade Distress ink and you can find that here too.

Okey Dokey ... I am off to create something with the fab new kit I got this week ... so don't forget to come by next week and see what I created! In the meantime .... have a fabulous weekend!

Get a Sizzling Start to your Summer Crafting!

To say I was delighted to be asked to design a card kit for Creativity Boutique is an understatement ... I have LOVED LOVED LOVED every minute of choosing the papers ... the stamps and then putting together the card designs that are included in the kit! What an honor! ... so without further ado ... here is the Summer Sizzle kit. 

I know you are thinking ... Huh? Summer already? We have only just started Spring? But to be honest the seasons approach so quickly ... now is the time to start making those cards for special summer birthdays and the like!

The kit is packed with beautiful papers ... a set of coordinating stamps ... that will remain favorites long after the papers are used up ... and some lovely lovely lovely Grunge Paper ... because that is one of my all time favorite crafting staples ... even the smallest piece can add dimension and texture to the simplest of cards. 

Full details of the kit can be seen here ... so what are you waiting for ... get shopping and start your Summer crafting with some real sizzle!

A while back I showed you a sneaky peek of just one of the cards ... and promised to share the full card just as soon as the kit was ready for sale.

The stamps included in the kit combine both flowers and flourish to make a gorgeous focal point on any card. Add a bit if Mark Richard's bling [also included] and you have a special card for any occasion.

I really really hope that you get as much enjoyment from  the kit as I did putting all the elements together. The projects included with the kit are all broken down into step by step instructions so for just $15.00 dollars you get five card ideas and clear instructions to create a further sizzling exploding box. And if that was n't enough ... there is plenty left over to create your own designs :0)

All that remains is for me to wish you a wonderful and relaxing holiday weekend ... Have a fabulous Easter and may all your eggs be chocolate ones :0)

Happily Ever After

I love all the variety of cards I can create with these stamps! SOOOO much fun! I thought this card would be perfect for weddings or even anniversaries. And once again I am experimenting with my copics! I was hoping to have a card kit to share with you... but all I can share is a picture since it has already sold out. It didn't even make it to Creativity Boutique as Gerrianne took it to a local crop she was hosting to show off and tease about the online card kits coming soon to Creativity Boutique!! but I can promise you that it will be worth the wait! I have seen the Card kits that the CB gals have created for you and WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Playing Tag!

I hope you are all enjoying your Fridays. I am demoing at a large UK show for the first time in a couple of weeks so I am playing with tags at every available opportunity at the moment ... just to keep my hand in so to speak :0)
This is one of my favourite tags from yesterdays samples ... so much so ... I thought I would share the details with you.

1. I coloured the tag with Mustard Seed, then spritzed Wild Honey, Mustard Seed and Rusty Hinge distress ink with a mini mister on my craft mat and dabbed the tag in the colour ... drying between dabs with a heat gun until I was happy with the overall effect.
2. Then I placed one of Tim's stencils over one side of the tag and applied Brushed Corduroy distress ink. The easiest way to do this is to gently swirl the ink over the top of the stencil with a blending tool ... that way your mask should remain were you want it to.
3. I removed the mask and then stamped the flourish with crimson red acrylic paint and once again I dried it with a heat gun.
4. I stamped the text on some scrap card. Added a few Prima flowers that were also coloured using the same inks and coated with some Rock Candy stickles for added sparkle. Finally I added an Ideology charm and the tag was complete.
I hope you have a good weekend ... whatever you are doing ... see you next week!

I can hardly 'contain' myself!!!!

Have you seen the pails acrylic paint buckets in the store and have no idea what to do with them? I picked one up the other day and immediately thought Easter bucket! I picked out some of Chatterbox Fabulous Flocked Blossoms paper and some complementing colors of cardstock (purple and teal), Class A-peel stickers (Jumbo Eggs, holographic violet), and some absolutely adorable Easter stamps from Stampendous ( Chick Ears for the lid, and Funny Bunny for the main images). To make the bunnies even more adorable, I turned them into fabulous flocked bunnies!






All you need to do is to add Easter grass and fill it up with special treats!

Knights and Princesses and dragons oh my!

I fell in love with these stamps! Originally they were available in mounted wood stamps only. But now Stampendous! has put them out in a set of cling rubber! So you get the stamp and the greeting in one package! YEAH! and Creativity Boutique has this and many others! I used Copics to color the images and added a touch of glitter to the princess dress! They have many more stamps to round out this set including a dragon/tower set! Oh and how about a tiny sneak peek of another kit that may be coming your way very soon!

KnK's March Kit is awesome

Hi thought I would offer you a sneaky peek of one of my projects for KnK. I also used these stamps

from 7 Gypsies which are still available at Creativity Boutique and KnK. I thought they match so well with the kit. Hope you have had a great weekend! Don't Forget the KnK/Creativity Boutique crop Next saturday at KnK's Scrapbook Cafe! ohhhhh and just wait til you see the secret projects the Creativity Boutique girls are working on!!!!!!!!!!!! shhhhh its top secret!