Blog giveaway

My little blog is sadly neglected these days but there are plans to return to it - I have finally taken the plunge handed in my notice and  plan to take a few months off to relax .. while I work my notice I want to let you know about a 'giveaway' by my favourite shop LB Crafts in Olney Bucks - Lin is giving away these!

Mini Album 3

This will be a present for my sister ...

Mini Album 2

Here's my second mini - the first picture is the front cover and is unfinished. I need to use my printer for the title but it won't work ...

The pages are pockets made from envelopes (DL size) and each one holds a tag for photos and/or journaling.

The frame above has a bit of scrap paper in it ready to act as a template for the photo I will add.

The above page is a slider pocket and when the green tab at the top is pulled this is what happens ...

... both sections emerge at the same time!

Art?

I have been doing less mixed media stuff lately and rediscovered 'scrapping' - in particular mini albums. I really need to use up some of the piles of patterned papers I have stashed! The internet is full of inspired scrappers and I have been looking at these people in particular http://injoystampin.com/, http://justafewdesigns.blogspot.com/, http://lakeavenuedesigns.blogspot.com/, http://thescrapbeach.blogspot.com/, http://blog.odonatacreations.com/, http://scrappystickyinkymess.wordpress.com/, http://followingthepapertrail.blogspot.com/, http://paperphenomenon.blogspot.com/, http://withagrin.blogspot.com/,  http://timeforscrappin.blogspot.com/ and http://tracystreasures-tracy.blogspot.com/.

So I have been making mini albums and learning as I go from the many tutorials these ladies have put out on Utube. The pages are unbound at present and there are no photographs or journaling added - if I get that far I will re-post them finished!

I have made 3 albums so far ...

The first one is about 5" x 7"

Flowers made from Paperartsy dies, Nestibilities and punches. 

Spaces for journaling and photos shown above.

 This little wallet page opens out as shown below with a tag and a little booklet.

and this is the back of the wallet with more space for a photo or journaling.

An acrylic page front and back.

More photo mats above and below is a pocket page made out of envelopes ...

Another pocket page above made from an envelope and the tags from each one below.

I still have to do inside the back cover!

Row Houses

I have had a lovely day making these for a swap - they're very addictive and give good results relatively quickly.

Art!

I finally have something worth blogging. Creativity has been a little slow lately but these experiments with oiled paper which I made for a swap turned out quite well. I have used ordinary cheap copy paper and coloured it with spray inks in the first two pictures and with Brusho watercolours for the third. The Brusho sheet was stamped prior to colouring with Stazon ink using some floral stamps from The Artistic Stamper. The papers were then coated with oil (extra virgin olive oil in this case). This is worked into the paper by crumpling it over and over. It should then take an hour or so to dry, however I used far too much oil and the paper remained very oily so I put it between sheets of newspaper and ironed it a number of times with a hot iron until the oil was mostly removed. The results were a fabric like paper that took stitch beautifully. The green paper has Mistyfuse ironed onto it to give a black cobwebby effect but it is hard to pick up in the picture. I have made an ATC with each piece and have treated the paper exactly like fabric, backing it with felt before machining.

AndySkinner.org: Its Time!

AndySkinner.org: Its Time!: "The stamps are in the shops, so to celebrate it’s …Competition Time!Details of where you can purchase my stamps can be found HereThe w..."