Layout Class

Good Morning everyone! Are we all looking forward to a wet weekend? Why not stay inside and do some scrapping instead of venturing out then!! Today is a layout class that shouldn't take you too long to do, ideal for doing when you have an hour or two spare :) So, todays class is an 8.5 x 11 layout. This however can be interpreted into a 12x12 or 8x8 layout or whichever size you scrap in if you wish. Supplies list – Bazzill Cardstock – Yam Bazzill Cardstock - Chocolate Crate Paper – Crush, Longboard Crate paper Crush Tag Pressed Petals Chip Chatter American Crafts Felt Flowers 3 brads Chalk Ink pad, Dark Brown I cut my Yam Cardstock to size and inked the edges. Then cut the Crate paper to 7x9 inches, inked and attached to the cardstock slightly off centre, leaving a bigger gap at the top. I used a 6x4 photo and also one slightly smaller 5x3.75 inches. I sandpapered the edges as it makes them stand out a bit more and then matted them on the Chocolate cardstock. I then adhered my photos, one to the left and the other to the right, overlapping near the bottom. I sanded the edge of the chip chatter letters ‘PARK’ and attached these to the top just off centre. The word ‘LIFE’ was printed onto an off cut of blue paper that matched the flowers and stripes in the paper using the font 2 peas weathervane which you can download here. I used the Crush tag to write my journaling on but wanted it as more of a little card so the little tag hole I kept in and taped across the back so it didn’t fall out. I attached the card on a slant to give the layout a quirkier feel. Then I simply attached the 3 flowers with the brads and cut a piece of the left over cardstock that I wrote the date on and attached to the bottom. A really simple layout that shouldn’t take too long to do. So while the weather is wet, SCRAP! I hope you’ve enjoyed it. If you do decide to have a go, please don’t forget to send us a link to your layout.

a Special Project for you today

haPPy frIDay everyone! I hope that you are having a great day, and it's dry where you are. Not sure where all this water is coming from but it sure is very wet here in the UK!!

Todays Project is a mix of three of my greatest passions, SCRAPPING, GARDENING and PHOTOGRAPHY! We're going to look at making journals and keeping a journal, ie writing in it on a regular basis.

Now as scrappers we aim to record memories and events for future generations, so that they can see where we came from, what we enjoyed doing and what life was like in 2007. But we're also doing it for ourselves, so that one day we can look back on our albums and remember those precious days gone by. And if you're anything like me, you battle to remember what happened in the summer of '06!!

Last year was my first attempt at tending a garden and it was such fun to watch it take shape and seeing flowers bloom from seeds that I had sewn was just magical! It was worth recording and I made an envelope accordian journal to keep my photos, seed packets and memories of that awesome journey!

This year I went for something slightly different! It's a bit 'Secret Garden'! I drew, in pencil, basic sketches of how I wanted the beds to look and as I plant and the garden evolves I am going over them in pen.

As photographers we are always looking for subjects to um subject to endless hours of posing while we practice using different camera settings and angles and what better models than the ones who don't talk back, get tired and bored or don't need to be bribed!!

And of course you just never know what delights you might find in the garden!

I write in my gardening journal every Sunday, updating it with how the plants are growing, if any have bloomed, about the slug problem, if we have had any veg out the allotment (which is out back of our house!!) and what work I have done out there over the weekend.

It is sometimes hard to find the time and energy to keep a journal but I know as each year passes and my skills improve I will enjoy looking back and reading my early experiences as a budding (heehee) gardener!

And don't forget you can adapt journals to any theme and occasion. How about a SUMMER HOLIDAY journal, where each member of the family gets to record their favourite activity of the day!

We do love to hear from you so if you are a journal keeper please send us a link to photos and tell us about the type of journals you keep!

Later dudes and have a great weekend!

Caz

xx

Do you do digi?

Cardmaking I mean!!!!!!!

The patterned papers for todays card are all digital and even better they were a free download from the talented Kirsty Wiseman's blog (click on her blog link, scroll down the left hand side to 'my digi freebies' and click on 'links to all my freebies' scroll down the page until you get to 'sky blue bindi'. You'll need to download the files and then 'unzip' them on your computer).

I printed the patterned papers on photograph paper, cut a big flower shape from one of them and inked and doodled around the edges. I painted a big chipboard flower with an emulsion paint tester pot bought in B&Q for 49 pence and aged it a bit with an old chalk ink pad.

The silver flower is punched from an empty diet coke can - yes you read that properly just use a pair of old scissors to cut the top and bottom off the can, cut down the side and flatten out the metal. Be careful of your fingers when you are cutting the can up as any pointy bits will be sharp. The sentiment is a rubber stamp and I used ric rac across the bottom and two thin strips of the striped patterned paper down one edge.

If you've been visiting A Creative World or my own personal blog for a while you've probably realised that I'm quite addicted to digi papers. My computer is beginning to groan at the amount of kits and paper files I have stored on it. The good thing about digi papers are once you've downloaded them you have them forever. There are oodles of free downloads available and once you've caught the bug there are plenty of online shops with a huge variety of digital kits and paper sets that you can buy - and they won't break the bank!! A few to get you started are: The Shabby Princess, Gina Miller Designs, The Lily Pad and the Sweet Shoppe

Happy Cardmaking - love from Andrea x

Teacher gifts - worth the extra effort!

Hello again - it's Jo here! Following on from Maria's fab post on quickie gifts yesterday, I'm going to be looking at teacher gifts in a little more detail.

For the past three years, since my elder daughter was in the Reception class at school, I have made some form of mini album at the end of the school year, for the teacher, and for the teaching assistant in the class. The first year I made paper bag albums, last year I used the little accordian albums made by American Crafts, and this year I decided to use the Lippy Chick 'flop' and 'flap' albums. The key to putting these together is preparation, and so I'm giving you all plenty of time to get yours planned and created before the end of this school year! These don't have to cost very much money at all; a simple accordian album can be made using cardstock decorated with patterned paper scraps, and your children will be contributing a lot of the decoration!

I always try and include photos of the children taken at different points throughout the year; this is when forward thinking comes in very handy! It's time to dig out those photos you took on the first day of school, way back last September - it's fascinating to see how much the children have changed in such a short space of time, and it's a lovely permanent record for the teachers to have. You might also like to include photos from school plays, the Christmas nativity, and school trips.

I also encourage my children to do drawings of their teachers and teaching assistants, to put in the albums.

Here's where a little bit of effort goes a long way; ask your children to write down a sentence or two about their teacher, or about school - this will be treasured by the recipient, and is well worth the few minutes it takes to complete.

These really don't have to be very time-consuming or overly complicated, and they will certainly be very well received - a unique and personal gift which is just a little bit different from a mug or a box of biscuits!

It's that time of year again

Hi, it’s Maria here again following on from yet another fab post from Di. If you’ve got children you’re probably on the countdown for the Summer holidays. But, with the excitement comes the realisation that it’s pressies for the teachers, group leaders or helpers time again. If, like me, you give a little something to all of the people involved with your children it can work out to be very expensive. Giving them a box of chocolates is nice but if you want something a little bit different how about a bag of goodies? I bought some bags from a local cake and confectionery making shop and filled them with choccies. You can fill the bag with goodies to suit the recipient and your budget. I then dug through my leftover stash for pieces of cardstock and ribbon and anything else I could use. Cut a piece of cardstock large enough to fold over the top of the bag. You can decorate it yourself or, better still, get the children to do it. Fold the top of the bag over and staple the card to the top of the bag. Voila!!! A very inexpensive but personal gift for the children to give at the end of term.

I hope that you enjoyed this *thrifty but nifty* tip and would love to see any that you make yourself.

Toodle pip

It’s all in the shape…

Hi it’s Di here again. OK you guessed, its Monday, so its time to “Use Your Stash” . Today we’ll be using those off-cuts, small pieces of cardstock and patterned paper that you love. I had such fun playing with a "box" shape, then pushed it into a "point", then made nother 5, then joined them all together to create a six pointed star. Its easy peasy, quick to make (welll maybe - depends how long it takes you to decorate LOL), and you get to "Use your Stash"

As usual I’ll share with you the tools and supplies you will need, some hints and some ideas on things to create.

By the way, as you can see I have been experimenting with a few different techniques for showing images - reason being I have been playing and learning. LOL. Please let me know if they work for you or if you would rather see individual images. Thanks for reading and remember to “Use Your Stash”. Bye till next time Di XX

Let’s get started with the nitty gritty: Making the 6 pointed star:

(Yes! I have been scribbling again but today have combined my scribbles with MS word to make it easier for you to read. Click on the image to get a bigger view.)

I used just one ‘point’ to make a 3D thank you card for my friend “Wild Roze”.

3 stars – a Christmas tree

I had hoped to make this "3 hanging stars" but I am afraid just ran out of time so had to do a quick "mock-up" of the top star. I apologise.

Dimensions for the 3 stars are: 3 inches by 12 inches 2.75 inches by 9 inches 2.5 inches by 7 inches

The method is exactly the same as shown previously. To string them together you could use ribbon. Thread the ribbon through the centre of the star. I plan to use ‘bead wire’ leftover from making ‘sun catchers’. I will attach a few beads at the top and bottom of each star to keep them in place. It should then look like the stars are floating. Promise to show you this soon...

Tools you will need: cutting mat, paper trimmer (or craft knife and a metal ruler), glue. Supplies you will need: Scraps of cardstock, scraps of patterned paper, small photographs and whatever embellishments you have. Hints: Measure carefully. (All 6 points must be identical or they will not join together neatly. )Finish your decoration before assembling the points (You may want to change the sequence of your points). Optionally, decorate the back of the “box”. (This will be the inside.)

And finally some ideas on themes for your star: My friends What friend ship means to me January to December Monday to Sunday Growing up Food I love!!! Have fun using that stash and remember,when you use it, you have an excuse to buy more!!! (NOT that we need one LOL.) Thanks for all your great comments yesterday. We love to hear from you so keep them coming.

Woo Hoo Congratulations!!!

The winner of this weekend's prize, a 25 pound voucher from "PaperMaze" is "Stitchinwitch". Please email us at acreativeworld@hotmail.co.uk and provide your postal details and we'll get that pr1ze to you. Many thanks to our sponsors for their support!!!

Scrap Rooms

So, are you one of the lucky ones who has a scrap room all to themselves or do you have to make do with a cupboard under the stairs or use the kitchen table? I myself am one of the lucky ones but it is so disorganised, i really need to sort it out. It doesn't matter how many times i rearrange things it still looks messy! I would love to have a room like one of the ones featured. Everything has a place, the decor is gorgeous and well frankly I am so totally jealous. So, sit back, relax, and have a browse around some of these fabulous scrap rooms :) First one up is by the fabulous Shaunte. I just love how she has a large desk in the centre of the room and look as those boards on the wall to hang things from! That big wall unit with all the square inserts is just to die for and is ideal for storing paper isn't it. And how fabulous to have a sink in your room for cleaning up paint and goo!

Then there is Melissa's gorgeous room. I absolutely adore the combination of the lime green and pink, something i am definately considering. Mine is very pale and uninviting at the moment. Everything is so uncluttered and the unit on the wall above the desk is ideal for keeping books and magazines. Yet again is another fabulous storage unit with lots of co-ordinating storage, something i definately don't have enough of! This room is by the lovely Tammy. The wire rack system she has used looks invaluable and again is perfect for storing most things including 12x12 paper. I especially love how she has put all her embossing powders on little steps so you can see all the colours without having to get them all out. Also, what a fabulous idea for storing foam stamps, in glass jars! I may be pinching that idea! Take a look at this lovely room of Patty's. To me it is very homely and cosy. Again Patty has got a little island that she can stand and scrap at which i find very appealing. It also has a little 'skirt' around it and has stuff stored underneath it! I love how her desk has lots of stuff around it making everything really accessible, especially having the pegboard above the desk with all the tools on. What a great idea. Last and certainly not least is Connie's room. Now, if you want to be really, really envious then take a look at her Scrap Shed! yes, she has her own little home to do her creating in. Now, my garden i actually big enough for this, i just need to persuade hubby lol! The shed is a stunning 12x28ft! is that enough space for you? I don't think i have seen such a fabulous expense of space to work in. Again, the cube system has been used and shelving is in abundance. Thanks for taking a look around these fabulous rooms, i hope they've inspired you a little, i know they have done with me. If you have a room or space to be proud of then please leave us a link to it and we may feature it next time :) Cath xx Also don't forget to leave us a comment this weekend and you could win a MASSIVE £25 voucher to spend at Papermaze, kindly donated by the wonder Ness!