Photo Tile and Spray Paint

Do you have some old tiles laying around the house? Grab a photo, some spray paint, some tissue paper, mod podge/gel closs, stamps and some lumiere paints for some mEssY pLay!

First, go to a well ventilated area and spray paint the tile. I scratched into the paint while it was wet - a bit of doodling.

Let the tile dry overnight.

Then do a transfer of your image (photo or any image you like) using mod podge or golden gel gloss medium. Splodge a lot on the tile and on the photo, smooth it down (you can use a brayer, but I used my hands), and leave it overnight to dry.

Gently rub the photo off with water. Don't worry if it leaves a few holes - just adds to the distressed look. Next, I used a Sakura souffle pen to add some swirls and add to my doodling.

Next, I added tissue paper across the middle and corners to give the piece some depth.

I also stamped onto tissue paper (Stampers Anonymous, Tim Holtz - "Memories") and embossed it. I then glued this over the tissue paper on the tile.

Next I added lumiere paints.

That finishes off the tile. :0) And here are some other pics of spray paint images, negatives (reversing the sprayed pieces onto card), and ideas for patterns for general MeSsY pLaY!

xxx Joy

Because of you....

Hi again from a very excited Di. Firstly, thanks to you, we have had over 10,000 visits to our blog since we launched in June!!! Thank you all. Secondly, I leave Cape Town tonight to visit Caz in Hertfordshire!!!

Thought I would keep it short today and have a special project dedicated to the special people in your life. The theme is “Because of you…” Here are some of the layouts I have created dedicated to the special women in my life…

Caroline is my darling daughter. She is beautiful, funny, creative, adorable, loving, gentle and kind. She is everything I could have hoped for. I am very proud of her. I regret all the time I spend away from her. She is my daughter and because of her I am a mother.

‘Mags’ is my mother. She was spontaneous, impulsive, generous, loving, inspiring and creative. She has been my inspiration for almost 60 years. I love this photograph taken having tea at the Mount Nelson hotel in Cape Town. It was her best treat whenever she visited me. We had a glorious happy day together. I miss her. She is my mother and because of her I am a daughter.

Linda is my sister. She is my wings and the wind beneath them. She is a jewel, glows from an inner beauty and brings laughter to my life. She inspires and encourages me to reach for the sky. She is my sister and because of her I am a sister.

Roz is my friend. She is genuine, extraordinary, loyal and generous. I met her through scrap booking and we established an instant friendship. She makes me laugh. She makes me feel good. She is outrageous – I love the way she dresses. She is my friend and because of her I am a friend.

Using this theme you could create a mini album for the special people in your life: Mum, Dad, Partner, Grandparents, Friends. So just some ideas to get you started:

Because of you: I am a mother I am a daughter I am a granddaughter I am a grandma I am a friend I am a wife I am me The options are endless and you can create loads of layouts and special cards using this theme. Thank you all, and remember, because of you “It’s a Creative World”…

We would love to see your creations.

Don't forget to check back for the launch of the Chldren's competition. Bye from Di XXX

It's cards on Thursday...

with Caz and today I bring you a very quick and simple card! I'm not a big card maker but I do occasionally make them especially when giving hand made gifts :) This card is to follow on (when baby comes) from my memory box given to my 'soon to be new mom' friend last Saturday, which by the way she loved!!

So very simply I cut some patterned paper just smaller than the card blank and inked the edges, I stamped NEW BABY onto green patterned paper, cut each word out and again inked the edges, sticking them in the bottom corner of the paper. The ribbon is threaded with a tiny heart charm, and because the jump ring is so tiny and the ribbon so thick it is not neccesary to tie the ribbon to keep the heart in place, but obviously you will need to judge this yourself depending on your ribbon and charm. I then secured the ribbon to the back of the patterned paper with double sided tape, and using herma I stuck the paper onto the card blank.

And as quick as 1, 2, 3, I have myself a beautiful hand made card with elements that my friend, who is also a new scrapper, can take off and use in her baby album!

Thanks for visiting us here at It's a Creative World! And don't forget to check back on Monday for details of our holiday competition!!

Caz

xx

Something for the Children

Hi again from Di.

As it’s school holidays we’d like to challenge you to get your children crafting, show us what they make and enter our exciting Holiday Competition. Check back on Monday 6th August for details of the competition. I grew up on a council estate in Edinburgh where we played in the quiet street, made things and had jumble sales. We had no television (yes that long ago!), not much money, always had GREAT FUN and were rarely bored. I want to share with you some of the very simple and inexpensive things we used to do as kids. So just some ideas to get you started: Weaving A simple pompom French Knitting

Weaving : What you will need Thick Cardboard Scissors Wool Safety pin or hair pin

Now what to do:

Cut a piece of cardboard about 5 inches by 7 inches. Cut 1/2 inch slits about 1/4 inch apart on one end, and then using your ruler mark and cut at the opposite end. Make sure you have an even number of slits .

Wind the wool around the cardboard as shown.

LOL I used an empty wine cask - this is what the back should look like:

Now weave the wool as shown over one strand and under the next. Hook the end over the right most slit.

To change colours just tie a knot as we will sew these ends in when we have finished.

Continue weaving until you reach the bottom, then turn the cardboard over and cut the strands as shown.

Now just tie the strands together as shown.

Sew in your knotted ends, trim the strands and you have your first easy peasy piece of weaving.

A simple Pom Pom : What you will need Cardboard Wool Scissors

I used the same piece of cardboard I used for weaving. First place a double strand of wool at the bottom of the cardboard (we will use this to tie the pom pom)then just wind the wool around the cardboard as shown.

When you think the pom pom is 'fat' enough tie the horizontal strand of wool tightly around the bottom of the pom pom. Then cut the wool across the top of the cardboard.

You may have to tie another double strand of wool when you have released the pompom from the cardboard.

Now just tie another double strand of wool about 1 inch from the tied end.

French Knitting: What you will need A cotton reel 4 nails hammer Wool A hair grip

Here's a simple hand made tool:

And here's a very pretty one!!!

Please refer to http://www.sweaterscapes.com/spool.htmfor detailed instructions for French Knitting.

You can make a very simple child friendly tool (courtesy of http://www.waynesthisandthat.com/knittingnancys.html )for the kids as follows:

Simply rubberband or attach with double sided tape four popsicle sticks around a toilet paper roll leaving 1 inch of the sticks extending above the tube. A fifth popsicle stick works fine as the knitting tool. You can use much thicker wool with this tool!!!

Here are some ideas for things to make courtesy of http://www.waynesthisandthat.com/knittingnancys.html

Here is a link to a site where you can purchase this cute french knitting and pompom gadget http://www.sewessential.co.uk/Category.asp?CategoryID=608&NumPerPage=5&page=1

And one last source from the isle of Skye http://www.toy-museum.co.uk/Crafts.html

And here is a link to a site where you can read up on the history of French Knitting: http://www.waynesthisandthat.com/knittingnancys.html

THE COMPETITION - remember to check back on Monday for how to enter our competition for your children. Hope you enjoyed my trip into the past, that's it from me - Thanks for reading. Di

An Interview With...

...Elsie Flannigan. Elsie is the author of 52 Scrapbooking Challenges and the designer of Love, Elsie, which is a trademark of KI Memories. Elsie is an alumni garden girl for twopeasinabucket.com, a contributing writer for Creating Keepsakes magazine, a columnist for Scrap! Magazine and an international scrapbooking teacher. Her signature style and out of the box ideas keep things fresh every day. In her free time she likes to eat sushi with friends and play with her pug, Cocoa. She resides in Springfield, MO and spends most of her days in her very messy home studio. Elsie has very kindly agreed to be our second interviewee for our ‘Interview With…’ feature. Here’s what we discovered! IACW: Elsie, did you have a particularly ‘crafty’ childhood, and what is your earliest crafty memory? * Yes, my mother always encouraged me to be artistic. She is a painter herself so I can remember be very young and she would get me and my little sister our own paint sets and let us just make a little mess in the kitchen and have fun! IACW: How did you discover scrapbooking, and how long have you been scrapping? * I was really into art journaling at the time and just happened into a local scrapbooking store to see if I could find any fresh supplies-and I was blown away by all the cool stuff that the scrapbooking world had to offer. And I’ve never looked back:) IACW: What crafts do you currently enjoy besides scrapbooking? * I love to paint and take photos!!!! IACW: You have a beautifully quirky and free style, and, looking at your layouts, enjoy mixing paper and fabric – how would you define your style, and how did it evolve? * I have a hard time defining myself really. I just do whatever I think looks beautiful and makes me happy. And no matter what that draws me to use I just go with it!! IACW: From where do you draw your inspiration, and do you have any unusual sources of inspiration? * I get inspiration from all around me-books, movies, music, magazines, the internet. Nothing inspires me more than getting fresh photos of my friends and family! And I also get inspired by other scrappers and the amazing stuff that they share with each other and online :) IACW: Have you had any scrapbook/craft disasters, and, if so, are you prepared to share the details with us?!! * There have been plenty of layouts that I would say where disasters, some I was able to fix up a bit and others have been abandoned :) But I don’t let that discourage me, I think everyone should be allowed to make some mistakes and a mess now and again-no harm in that really :) IACW: Your new line of papers and embellishments for Ki Memories has recently been released, amidst great excitement in the scrapbook world. What tools/products/embellishments are you using most at the moment? Is there a line of papers you’re particularly fond of? What’s currently at the top of your ‘wanted’ list? * My favorite stuff to use includes buttons, fabric, craft paint, and ribbons!!!! IACW: You have a fantastic blog, oozing with inspiration, and beautiful photography; how regularly do you blog, and how do you decide what you’re going to write about? * I blog probably more than I should:) I just write about what I am up to and what is inspiring me or holding my interest at the moment. My blog really started out more for me and my family but I do not at all mind what it has grown into because I am extremely grateful for all the support I have had! IACW: Tell us about the book you’ve written – do you enjoy writing and creating for publication? * I love writing books! I adore reading stuff that other people are putting out there and I am so in debt to other artistically that I feel in some small way this is part of my way of giving back to the scrapbook and art community. And it is an honor to contribute to that! IACW: Who are YOUR craft/scrapbook heroes/heroines? * Everyone on my design team!!! IACW: On average, how much time do you spend scrapping/crafting in a typical week? * If I answered this honestly I think people would either laugh, or think I was crazy. Suffice it to say- a lot! :) But I always find time for myself and my family too. IACW: Are you working on a particular project right now? Can you share any details with us?! * Just my second book-I am very excited about it and I hope that everyone will enjoy it and draw inspiration from it :) IACW: Who is your favourite artist? Have you ever worked a particular artist’s style into YOUR work? * I have a number of working painters who I adore and would love to purchase some of their work!!! IACW: What music do you enjoy listening to? What was the last concert you went to? * The last concert I went to was a Gwen Stefani concert with my little sister! IACW: What was the last book you read? * I am currently reading Walden by Henry David Thoreau IACW: What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Who’s your big screen heart-throb?! * My big screen heart throb would have to be Ewan McGregor:) IACW: You’re out to dinner at a restaurant where nothing is off the menu; what would be your dish of choice? *I love sushi!!! I eat it way too much!!! IACW: Tell us a joke!! *I’m afraid I’m not that funny really!!! :) Huge thanks to Elsie for taking the time and trouble to answer our questions, and for providing such an entertaining read! Hope you're all having a great week :)

An Easy Peasy Mini Album

Hi again from Di.

I have a short (there are less words and more photographs lol) and cute project for you today that is sure to use some of that stash!!!

My darling daughter Caz was married in March and although some family came from South Africa her 'other mother' Vanessa (mother of Caz's two adorable sisters Nina and Chloe), was unfortunately not with us. I decided to make a little Mini Album for Vanessa so that she could share our memories of the special day. I chose to keep it smple and personal so used hand writing and very few embellishments. It's easy peasy and here it is.

Materials you will need:

2 sheets cardstock 3 sheets of patterned paper

as many photos as you like Ribbon Embellishments

Tools you will need:

Paper trimmer Craft knife and ruler Bone folder Adhesives Inks

Instructions: Click on the image and it will enlarge

First make the 'folder'

For the 'concertina album' that fits inside, I used 4 squares of cardstock each measuring 5 by 5 inches. I attached rbbon to the back to join them together. This gave me 7 mini pages for photographs. (The back of the right most square is attached to the centre of the folder.)

I covered the inside of the folder with patterned paper and attached ribbon to tie the folder together.

I covered the outside of the folder with patterned paper.

Then just decorate !!! I also attached a pocket at the back of the folder to hold extra pics.

Ideas: Perhaps you could make this for:

Our baby Your 21st, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th (AAAGGGHHHH) birthday Our wedding Our / Your Silver, Ruby, Diamond etc . Wedding Anniversary Christmas at home...

Oh and do you remember that I made something just for me to remember the house I am selling, well here it is...

That's it from me for today and remember that we love to see what you create.

Love from Di XXX