Mini Albums and Comments

This a 6" x 6" mini album that I made for Stitches using some papers from Origins, Basic Grey.

As Omar looooooves green so as soon as I had the idea of making a Origins mini album I decided making one with my favorite photos of him.

I only wrote a few lines because it was my intention to write quite a lot of stuff that I did not want to display for anyone to see.

This is the back of the book much less decorated, but still has got plenty of decorative elements. The journaling spots are from the Origins Writers Block set, as well as Pieces and Take Note, the very large one featured bellow.

I know this blog has got readers, quite a few actually according to the only measuring method I trust Google Analytics. Yet, I get very few comments. Maybe is my fault because I am not inviting enough, but please, leave comments!!!

Hello

I will let you on a top tip of demonstrators and designers. When we are sent some stash in order to produce samples for any occasion we often get a pack of chipboard alphabet stickers and little else to put a message. As you know, stickers are one use only, so once you use them that is it, and many times this chipboard stickers are originally designed for layouts, ie they are larger than you would expect from a cardmaking point of view.

So, I use a lot of HI and Hello in my cards for samples. They are easy enough to use, and no matter how large the letters are, they always fit even in the smallest card. (This is one of the main reasons why I designed my stamps, so I can use them in this type of occasion, however it is not always allowed.)

By the way, the card featured above is made out of the Origins Cardmaking Kit by Basic Grey, that comes with the chipboard stickers.

Design Comfort

So if yesterday I talked about the comfort zone designing cards todays post is related to scrapbooking. I am the same designer wether I am cardmaking or scrapbooking, the same techniques, the same designs I like for one I like for the other. So it when it comes to design a page when I have absolutely no creativity, which incidentally happens pretty often, I opt for the horizontal line.

That is not to say that I just repeat ad infinitum the sketch. Every time I try to incorporate something different, but the lesson for me is that I rather have three pages that have a similar design foundation, than just one. Time and creative efficiency.

Max & Whiskers Card

Still feeling exhausted after Craft Day and Stitches, but I thought I would share this card using Basic Grey latest release, Max & Whiskers.

Sugar Rush

As much as i love everything that Basic Grey comes up, I have to say that at first Sugar Rush did not inspire me. However, it is a double sided collection, which means that you get two patterns in each sheet of paper and usually there is alway a side that I like. And I am a polka dots lover, so this combination of pink dots on red paper and red on pink dotty paper really appeals to me.

Here, in the close up, you can see the rosettes or flowers that I made using my trusted Cuttlebug and Nellie Snellen nesting dies. They are as good quality as the Nestabilities but with a much lower price tag, granted that you get less number of dies in each set.

The centre of the flowers are made with paper and a plain epoxy sticker or a thickj layer of glossy accents over it. The main flowers are made out of CoreDinations cardstock.

All the materials are available from The Craft Barn.

My love for Mini albums - Part 3 of 3

Some of the pages have more elements than others. Like the one above has a bit of everything that has been incorporated on the mini album.

By the way, I love this photos that I took of the daughter of a friends of ours.

The last page on the other side has one more up photo. I just love IT!

As you can see the back of the gap page is completely covered with matching flowers. There is two reasons for that. Number one, it is much stronger with two layers of thick paper, Number two, it is as pretty on the front as is on the back.

The detail of the foiling, done with Sakura Quickie Glue Pen.

The ribbon is completely loose on the back, it is only attached on the front underneath the flower.

And that is the end of this little mini album. All the materials were available from Dawn Bibby's Design Studio.

My love for Mini albums - Part 2 of 3

The bit gilded in on the heart on the left hand side of the photo. Also I wanted to show how to use full 4 x 6" photos on little albums. this way needs a landscape photo, but there are other ways for portraits.

I used, of course, some edge punches to add decorative elements. The photo on the right is a pop up one.

You can see here how I did it. Since discovering this method, I have not look back. Could not do it the proper way!

This is the back of the album.

Tomorrow, part 3.

My love for Mini albums - Part 1 of 3

It is no secret that i love both Mini Albums and Basic Grey, actually, if I had to choose between all the paper companies out there, Basic Grey would be my top option. Likewise, if I had to choose between Cards, Big Layouts or Mini Albums I would most certainly choose the latter one. So, when I get to combine both loves, I am a happy designer.

This one of my favorite albums to date. I used the gorgeous Indian Summer collection -BG, of course. I designed this one for a workshop at Dawn Bibby's shop last November. Because I have a serious policy of never repeating my classes unless requested by the attendees, I always look for new elements that I can teach in my classes. So for this one, I incorporated the gap card technique on the first page, elements of gilding and pop up photos.

Because is a 4 x 4" album you need strips of 4 x 12" card, scored at every 4". When assembled together you get pages double layer of card so I decided to use the most of them by converting them into little pockets

This is how it looks closed.

Tomorrow Part 2.

Simple Joy

Simple cardmaking is what I find easier to do, but simple doesn't mean necesarly easy, although there may be people who think that. The key of cardmaking for me as a crafter is design rather than technique because I always think that is easier to learn technique than to learn design, as to learn a technique is to learn a process, whether design it is either based on an instinct or on pure theory. Anyway, either way, crafting is a hobby, so whatever you prefer is fine by me as long as you enjoy it!
This simple card I made for a demo. I had some paper left overs on my Christmas papers folder and decided to use it to highlight the beauty of this set of alphabet dies. I first covered with other bits of paper I had the mount board -yes, thick Sizzix dies will cut mount board even if it is covered with thick patterned paper- and then I put it through the Big Shot. Because of the thickness of the mount board it was a bit harder to roll it through but I was not difficult.
I used one of the Martha Stewart edge punches to add some interest to the card as well as some silver pearls to highlight the pattern of the paper. By the way, the papers are from Basic Grey, although not a hundred per cent sure from which collection as they were bits of paper, I think it is Figgy Pudding.

This months in Carrdmaking and Papercraft

This article has 12 different cards all shaped in Christmas trees, bubbles or presents. I was lucky enough to use Eskimo Kisses for it as when I did the article the line had not reached the shops. Now is available in most shops that stock Basic Grey, which are many.

More demo cards

You can see the estate of the table!

Basic Grey!

The reason why I got early the Junebug Collection pack is because I did an inspiration spread in June's Basic Grey Newsletter! I did the flowers I had done with the Nestabilities that I talked about in May.
If you know me, you know that I adore Basic Grey, and done so for a long while, so to have one of my projects there is... quite big.
By the way, you can download the newsletter here (bottom left corner) and even subscribe to it so you get it in your email inbox every month here.

Left overs

Another card done with the left overs that i got after doing a Cuttlebug demo, but I do like it!

Basic Grey Lime Rickey stamps and papers.

Look what I have just got in the post!

Yes, that is right, I got a collection pack of Junebug, I can not wait until I have a good play with it. Love the fact that is double sided so there is plenty of patterns and colors.
The reason why I got it? I will let you know soon!

Marrakech

You know I love Basic Grey, right? Marrakesh was one of the lines they released last Winter CHA. I love the city (and the country, Morocco) so I was intrigued when I heard there was a line with this name. The colors and some patterns certainly do it justice. Maybe not so much the elephants, but I can live with them, who knows I may go to India and be able to use them!

This is a demo card again. I was using die cutting machines and one of the shapes was the heart (combo set). The blue piece was a left over that I used to show how well the clear Basic Grey Stamps do work with Versafine inks -Blue Lagoon in this case. Because, I do think that clear stamps sometimes are a bit temparemental with certain inks, or the other way round, who knows. So i use most of the time the ones I know they work well, which are Brilliance, Archival and the mentioned VersaFine.

And that line of red crystals? Well, I usually don't use that much bling but I had those left over from one of the bling packs in which they are all linked in strips. So I decided to use them all in this card.