Brag Book

Sorry not to have updated this site for a while, too much doing and not enough chatting!

Anyway, this project is a little brag book that I made that features my son Ben.  Inside I choose photos from the first 10 years of his life, he’s a grown man now, but I wanted something to remember that cute little boy that seem to grow up way too quickly!

Brag Book

 It’s made from 1 sheet of 12” x 12” designer series paper and it’s really simple to do, no gluing, just scoring and cutting in the right places so that you can fold the paper up produce the internal 3” x 3” pages.  I also used an old piece of cardboard for as the front and back of the brag book which I covered in complementary designer series paper. 

All you have to do then is have fun choosing the photo’s you want to include and make some small journaling blanks to write a little piece about each picture.  I used various Stampin’ up punches for the journaling blocks, the larger one’s  are perfect for journaling on pages of this size,   (See below for which ones), it’s also easy to do some hidden journaling or hide a photo or two in the folds of the paper, so if there is a little memory or message you would like to keep private, there are plenty of places for that.

Hidden Journalling

Secret photo's

A book like this is perfect for Gran parents, Mother’s Day or Father’s day gift or to send to someone who you don’t see very often, it doesn’t have to be about children, this size book is also perfect for a little ‘hang-bag’ / ‘briefcase’  reminder of your wedding or a special holiday.  If you would like to know how it was made, (and believe me, it’s really easy!), get in contact to arrange a demonstration, I would love to show you.
Thanks for now  :o) xx

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Products Used..

STAMPIN’ UP – The following from “Ideas Book & Catalogue 2010 / 2011” – See items for reference numbers and pages.

Designer Series Paper Patterns Stack in Brights, Ref No. 117155 Pg 91 – I used a sheet of the Tempting Turquoise
Blueberry Crisp Designer Series Paper, Ref No 117392, Pa 90
Modern Label Punch, Ref No. 119857, Pg 105
Curly Label Punch, Ref No. 119851, Pg 105
Round Tab Punch, Ref No. 119864, Pg 105
Heart to Heart Punch, Ref No. 119881, Pg 105
Scallop Oval Punch, Ref No. 119856, Pg 105
Signo uni-ball White Get Pen, Ref No. 105021, Pg 102
Snail Adhesive, Ref No. 104332, Pg 100
Stampin’ Dimensionals, Ref No. 104430, Pg 100

Other products
Letter Stickers from Basic Grey for the cover and Papermania for the number used inside.
Ribbon, personal stash
Chipboard frame on cover, from Papermania
Ink used on chipboard frame also from Papermania

Cherish Card

This was a very quick card I made using  the 'Baroque Motifs' stamp set, (Pg 70 item 113544 in current Idea’s book & Catalogue).

'Cherish' card

Only two of the stamps are shown on this card, there are another 4 in this set with all the images being really pretty and I love the 'Cherish' sentiment, it's not a word you would often find in a stamp set but it's such a lovley thing to put on a card.
Oh, and this stamp set was featured in the March 2011 of 'Papercraft Inspirations' they obviously thought it was a a beauty too.
If you would like to get hold of this stamp set yourself, just get in contact and before you know it you could be playing with these lovely stamps.

Tea bag Baggie

This is a little bag I made to send to my very dear friend Ros.  We used to work together and would have tea together most days. 

I hadn't seen her in a while and once we sorted out a get-together date I obviously had to send her some tea bags - Earl Grey if your interested.  The idea for the bag came from Waltzingmouse.  I saw their template and worked out the dimentions for myself.  It was great fun to make, now I just have to sort out another little tea-party as an excuse to make another one :o)

The “One colour” challenge

Another challenge that I am going to have a go at every now and then is the “one colour” challenge.  Basically this means making a project using only one colour of cardstock, ink, ribbon, buttons etc with the only deviation from this being glitter, pearls, rhinestones, clear or metal brads embellishments.  If coloured brads are used, they would have to be in the project colour too.

Hmmm, not an easy one, so this challenge will probably be more infrequent that some of the others I will blog about on here. 

'Medallion' Stamp card  (dodgy photo, sorry.  Need a new camera!)

On saying that, this card was super easy.  I am currently loving all colours on the red side of purple so it was a no-brainer to choose the completely lush ‘Rich Razzleberry’ as my project colour.  Rich Razzleberry is part of Stampin’ Up’s  ‘Brights’ collection, just looking at this colour makes me happy  :o)   My favourite stamp of the moment is ‘Medallion’, (Pg 961 item 115223 in current Idea’s book & Catalogue), seriously, what’s not to love, it’s got to be one of the best value stamps as it’s gorgeous and so versatile.   I can see myself getting this one out again and again as, depending on the colour scheme used, it would suitable for Weddings, With Sympathy, Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries, really the options are limitless, this stamp is likely to be one of the best craft stash work-horses I have.  I think the statement that wooden stamps last a lifetime is definitely going to be tested with this one.

So the card, well, I don’t think it could be any easier.  Step one, fold chosen coloured cardstock into an A6 size card.  Step two, ink up stamp using same colour as cardstock and press inked image onto card wherever you fancy, don’t worry about it hanging over the edge, it adds to the charm.  Step three, add a bit of glitter. Step four – err, there is no step four – that’s it!  You could add a sentiment or bit of ribbon with rhinestones on but I like this card the way it is so, I guess my Step four is really, sit back and look at the pretty thing you’ve just created and be happy  - which is what I am doing right now  :o)

An easy card ???

Just a bit of stamping, so should be an easy card right??....

... Well, it would be for normal people, for me, it was painful.  You see, I am the kind of person who is...on occasions... depending on the circumstances ....when I am in that kind of mood, a little bit fussy – my family may well want to put that case a little stronger, (quite a lot stronger actually),  but I will leave that up to them as this is my blog  ;o)

So you may ask, why does this mean these cards where painful for you?  Well, normally with a card such as these I would have to take measurements, draw lines, get my Stamp-a-ma-jig out and make sure the letters where placed perfectly in relation to the card blank and each other, with these cards – I just stamped for the joy of it and I can honestly say it was quite liberating.  Normally these cards would have gone straight into the scrap pile, (which is large enough already!) but I realised that the joy of paper-crafting is not in making things perfect. If you want perfect you go to a shop and get something massed produced without a soul with no affection for the end product or the recipient.  If you want something made with love and thoughtfulness, well, imperfections are the price you pay but completely add to the charm.

Congratulations Card

Happy Birthday Card

Both cards where made using papermania's kraft card blanks, Stampin’ Ups ‘Schoolbook Serif Alphabet’ stamp set, (Pg 77, item 113510 in current Idea’s book & Catalogue).  It’s a great font and stamps beautifully and would also be good for scrapbook pages.  The ribbon on the “Congratulations” card is the 1cm Taffeta Ribbon in Marina Mist, (Pg 96, item 119965 in current Idea’s book & Catalogue), and the star on the “Happy Birthday” card was cut from ‘Blueberry Crisp’ designer series paper, (Pg 90, item 117392 in current Idea’s book & Catalogue), mounted on Sahara Sand cardstock and cut out again so it had a slight border and stuck onto the card with dimensional adhesive.

The “Happy Birthday” card my son is going to send to a friend of his whose birthday is next week and the “Congratulations“ card is for me and is now stuck on the wall by my crafting desk so that I can see it every time I sit down to remind me what is important  and why I love making things with little bits of pretty paper :o)

"Male V Female" card challenge

This is the first in an occasional series whereby I challenge myself to produce a male and female version of a card.  The link between the two cards can either be based on the card sketch, a colour palette or using the same supplies.

For my first go I decided to use the same Designer Series Paper, Stampin Up’s ‘Blueberry Crisp’, (Pg 90, item 117392 in current Idea’s book & Catalogue)

For the male card I used Sahara Sand cardstock for the card blank and kept it quite simple, I also added Basic Grey’s alphabet stickers from the ‘Wassail’ collection for the sentiment as the colour went really well and I like the font, it also broke up the very geometric feel from all the straight cut lines of the paper.

MALE Card

For the female card I used Crumb Cake cardstock for the card blank and added little bits of glitter on various parts of the design on the scalloped circle section. I also included some very subtle stamping using Crumb Cake ink to keep the images delicate whilst filling in the blankness of the card.  The ribbon does actually wrap around the whole of the card width and goes behind the embossed circle that the scalloped circle is sitting in.

FEMALE Card

I made the Male card first as I thought I would have the most trouble with it, unfortunately, when it came to making the female card I found it quite difficult as I had ‘male’ card design principles in mind, hence the feminine favourites of flowers, ribbon and glitter but hey, what’s a girlie card without a bit of glitter!

This little challenge was fun to do and, as indicate by my statement that this is the first in a series, I am very much looking forward to trying again.

A birthday card ..

Hello, this is a card I made for my lovely SU ‘mum’ Sarah-Jane for her birthday recently. 

It was made using a square kraft card blank, covering the whole card and cutting out circles and strips from  Stampin’ Up’s ‘Elegant Soiree’ designer patterned paper, (Pg 91, item 117163 in current Idea’s book & Catalogue).  I scalloped the edge of the card and added some lace I had in my stash.  The flower was made from several layers of tissue paper.  I inked the edges and then applied some glitter.  I took two small pieces of the lace, added a blue flower that was actually stuck on some ribbon I’ve got and attached them to the tissue petals with a pearlised brad.  The sentiment was one I had in my stash. 
I hope she liked it, it was certainly fun to make, I love the colour combination of Baja Breeze, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede and Very Vanilla, I think it is very soft and feminine without being too girlie.

Stampin Up's March Frenzy

 

Between 1st and 31st March you can get yourself some great, not to be missed, Stampin' Up bargains.

 

Between 20 & 30% off, contact me if you require any further details or would like to place an order, and with these great products at such low prices, who wouldn't!!