Shaped mini-album for Scrap & Craft

Hello there! Lynne here with a little chipboard mini-album I had in my stash; I love the soft colours of Craft O'Clock's Morning Dreams II paper line and used them to create this  project.

I placed 3x4" photos on the first pages to show how they would fit; to make photos that size you can collage 2 photos onto a 4x6" template or scan 2 of them into a photo printer together.

These are the other pages as well as a closeup of the foamiran flowers I made for the cover.

 I cut apart a couple of the rosettes and added them to the banner I cut from the yellow paper.

Thanks for stopping by and I wish you a lovely week!

Morning Dreams II paper set 12x12
Organza Rose Trim-ecru
Unmounted Clear Stamp-branch

"Sweet"-a simple layout for Gypsy Soul Lasercus

Hi crafty friends! Papercrafting has grown and changed so much over the past few years, and sometimes it seems  that complicated and time-consuming projects are in the spotlight; you know the ones you look at and think, " I could never DO that!!" ( I know I think that quite often!) Well, this page focuses on simple ways to use Gypsy Soul chipboard and has no complicated techniques, but I still love how it came out!

The paper I used was Blue Fern Studio Seaside Cottage-the colours worked so well with my photo, but since this is not a beach-themed page, there were elements in the left lower corner that didn't suit my page....so I just tore off both corners, inked the rough edge, and added some coordinating paper....and a couple diecut pawprints.

I matted the photo and cut two more rectagular pieces from another sheet and created a layered mat for the cute photo of my cat Honey (she very seldom isn't running around getting into trouble, so I was happy to get this shot!) The edges were all distressed and inked as well. I have a distressing tool, but usually just do it with scissors-either works great, but if you use scissors, rub the blade along the paper gently so as not to gouge into it, unless that's the effect you want.

I stenciled pawprints here and there and also used punchinella to create the spotted pattern on my page...I find pigment inks the easiest to use this way, as they have the foamy pad that rubs smoothly across the stencil.

This photo shows  my homemade flowers, which were made with a flower punch, then crumpled, inked and layered. And nothing is easier than adding naked chipboard to your project-that's right, I did NOTHING to these fern pieces!! I thought the natural colour went well with the colours on my page.

The danglers were heat-embossed, and I knew this embossing enamel had really good coverage, so I didn't prime them before adding it-I just rubbed them onto the Versamark pad, then made sure they were well-coated with the embossing enamel, and finished with the heat tool. The ivory colour with the gold flecks inspired my choice of brads for the flowers as well.

I wanted the title piece to look different from the danglers, so I painted it with dusty blue acrylic paint, then sponged it with sage green paint. You also get a closer look at the punchinella stencilling in this photo

I added a twine bow to the word dangler and stapled some twine above the photo for added texture; a page like this can be done in one crafting session, and goes together even easier with purchased flowers; I just enjoy making them because then I know they coordinate perfectly and don't have to pull out every flower I own to see if they match (or go shopping for flowers that match, although that can be a fun excuse to hit the craft store!!) 

I hope you enjoyed my page and that, if you find complicated projects intimidating, the simplicity of this will inspire you to grab some supplies today and put together a page! Crafty hugs from me ad sweet little Honey!!

GYPSY SOUL ITEMS USED

String Alongs-cats
Words & Phrases 2
Fern Fronds

OTHER ITEMS USED

Blue Fern papers, Seaside Cottage
Colorbox Mixed Media Ink-Honey
Ranger Distress Ink-Bundled Sage
acrylic paints
Stampendous embossing enamel-Aged Ivory
Versamark ink

"Together"-a layout for Scrap & Craft

Hello dear crafty friends! I'm sharing  a layout for Scrap & Craft's Design Team using some of Studio 75's beautiful "The Peony Avenue" papers. I wanted a monochromatic look and loved the different grey patterns in this paper line.The brick pattern was perfect to cut around and make a shaped photo mat, and I made my own flowers with some of the paper as well.

The title piece looks gold in the photo, but was heat-embossed in Antique Silver to coordinate with the silver texture paste and metal quote strip in the lower right corner. I also added hand-stitching with embroidery floss.

Studio 75-The Peony Avenue-12x12 paper pack

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I wish you a wonderful and creative week! xo

Nature's Sketchbook folio for Gypsy Soul Lasercuts

hi! Lynne here with a project I especially enjoyed creating-as soon as I saw the Folio & Mini Book I knew it would be so much fun to put together! I went to a big event called Scrapfest a few hours away from home and scooped up this wonderful Graphic 45 paper, which turned out to be perfect for the folio (which I plan to use for photos from daytrips taken this summer!)

Usually they are made to open like a book, but I decided to have mine open vertically, so when closed it would look like an envelope; one the back I placed a sentiment where the address would go, and added a pretty stamp sticker I had from another paper set.

The one end of the folio folds on the scored lines to become a pocket; attach this with a sturdy adhesive.

↖ This piece folds up and the side tabs are adhered to the lower section.

If you've read many of my other posts, I've mentioned that I don;t like to measure and usually trace around things, but I did do some measuring here; after cutting base pieces and attaching them to the outer sections, I measured pieces 1/2" smaller both ways to create a 1/4" border. I also did this on the covers of the mini books (I decided to make 2 with fold-out pages)

I added chipboard corners to each cover; they were painted with gold acrylic paint, then heat embossed with Ranger Distress embossing powder and rubbed with Art Alchemy Metallique wax.

I used the same finish on the stacked label, and attached an egg I cut out from the paper; it needed a little trimming but fit almost perfectly! It reminded me a bit of a piece of turquoise.

I used the belly band to hold the second album; tuck the folded ends under your cover paper and use a strong adhesive.

The insides of the albums are made to fit smaller photos (3" x 4") but of course you can use any size you prefer. I made a waterfall album by cutting 4-1/4" squares, then scoring 2 fold lines at half-inch intervals. When you attach them to each other, starting at the bottom, attach the lower line of the new piece to the upper line of the lower one....this is a sample I tried, as I had never made one before. I used a tape runner, which would be run above the first score line, then the next page would be adhered by placing the area between the score lines onto the tape. When you reach your final page, fold the remaining strip in the opposite direction to cover the open edge.

The finished waterfall album:

 

On the other page of this album, I used leftover paper to make fold-out pages which will hold 6 photos each.

 In the other album, I made a variation on a waterfall album with staggered pages, which were attached by using folded paper strips as "hinges"

I love that this folio album could be finished so many different ways, for specific themes like a new baby, Christmas, a school year, graduation, vacation etc etc etc. We'd love to see what YOU do with yours! Post your finished project in the Gypsy Soul Craft Group on Facebook!! have a wonderful and creative week! xoxo

GYPSY SOUL ITEMS USED

Folio & Mini Book, kraft

Leafy Corners

Printers Ornament Corners

Stackable Labels Shape Set

OTHER ITEMS USED

Graphic 45 Nature's Sketchbook papers

Various G45 paper scraps

Ranger Distress Embossing Powder-Vintage Photo

Art Alchemy Metallique Wax-Aged Brass

Thank you card and mini gift bag for Scrap & Craft

Hello crafty friends-Lynne here with a project using the lovely "Always Together" papers...I love to fussy cut and enjoyed layering the flowers to create dimension and interest, and added a bit of lace to the card for extra texture. The sentiment is made with a die from my stash, and I inked most of the edges in a rose coral that closely matched the colours of the flowers.  I hope you like it!

Always Together 12 x 12 paper set

Colorbox Rose Coral ink

foam adhesive tape

white cardstock (for diecut)

Cuttlebug and thin die

Small grey gift bag

scrap of lace

Thank you so much for stopping by and have a wonderful and creative week!! xoxo

Cherry Blossoms boxes for Scrap & Craft

Hello crafters!! This is Lynne and spring is finally here in Canada- I'm so pleased to see it! The lovely patterns in the Cherry Blossoms paper inspired me to decorate these plain 4" wooden boxes I found at a thrift store a while back-the small patterns in the 6x6 paper pack were perfect for a project this size.

I used pink tulle to embellish the tops of two of the boxes, with diecut flowers on one and sweet pink Cherry Blossoms on the other. The third box was embellished with a fancy diecut heart. I used three different types of pearls, one on each box, and fussy cut some flowers to add interest as well. The loops and spirals were just strips cut from the patterned paper. All edges were inked in charcoal grey.

I used:

pink Cherry Blossoms
Cherry Blossom 6x6 paper set by Studio75

I hope you enjoyed seeing my project, and I wish you a wonderful and creative week! xoxo

Mini-books and bookcase for Gypsy Soul Lasercuts

Hey crafters! Once again I'm lured by the wondrous appeal of storage and organization, this time using the ATC Bookcase and Faux Book Boxes...

The bookcase went together so easily; I used white glue to assemble it after covering the pieces with the patterned paper I chose. I sanded and inked the edges before assembling, then rubbed the ink over each joint afterwards so the edges blended together.

There were plenty of pretty images in the paper collection to fussy cut and use to decorate my project

 .

I added a mushroom bird and some moss to the top, which I thought suited the garden/nature theme of the papers.

I chose the striped paper for the edges of the faux book boxes to mimic the look of pages; when assembling them, I simply used strips of paper to create "hinges" then covered over them, leaving a                                                      slight gap so the hinge could move.

More images from the papers completed the boxes; I wanted to keep the embellishments to a minimum so that they would fit flat against each other on the bookcase.

I had some lovely 7 Gypsies paper with a row of books, and they were pretty much the perfect width to use on these book boxes for a touch of authenticity-I love how they make the books look almost real!! (although tiny!)

The book boxes are ATC sized, but I'm not sure yet what I will keep in them....heaven knows there are lots of options in this overflowing craft room of mine! Thanks so much for stopping by, and I wish you a wonderful week!

GYPSY SOUL ITEMS USED

ATC Bookcase

ATC Sized Faux Book Box (x4)

OTHER ITEMS USED

BoBunny Garden Journal papers

7 Gypsies Gypsy Moments paper-Under the Cover

Colorbox Ink

mushroom bird from dollar store

leaf border punch