A Book Within a Book

I created a book for my second eldest daughter's birthday. I designed the book to have a hidden book inside.

On the surface the book looks vintage because my daughter loves things old and mysterious. However she also loves pretty things bold and bright and so this became the hidden surprise within.

The ink colours I have used are Stampin'Up's Pumpkin Pie, Rich Razzleberry and Soft Suede. I have coloured the pearl charms using our Stampin' Blends Alcohol Markers.

I created ridges on the spine to give it a more vintage feel.

The gauze is dyed with the dye inks.

My daughter also loves Disney and fairy tales so I decided to write a story about her life in a story format. I used lots of Disney images I printed from my computer.

I dyed some embroidery floss using the dye inks and hand stitched some feather stitch and seed beads throughout the book.

The seam binding is also dyed using the dye inks.

I added an envelope for some extra interest.

The tags all have Scripture printed on them.

My real challenge with this half of the book was to take essentially bright bold colours and make them vintage. The Soft Suede ink helped me to achieve an old look.

When my daughter finished reading the book she flipped the book over to the back cover where she was invited to open the spine.

And so her story continued but in bright bold colours this time.

The images were all water coloured using the dye inks.

An appropriate ending to a beautiful story, don't you think!

I decided to create a box to present her book in and to keep dust off it.

You can't really see it in the photo but the tag actually says Happy Birthday. It is from the "Happy Wishes" stamp set. I stamped Brooke's name using one of our new stamp sets called "Make a Difference".

I love how this gift embodies both the vintage and colourful aspects of my daughter's nature.

A Few of Her Favourite Things

Recently I made a "Favourite Things" Wallet for my eldest daughter.

Inside the wallet I created various pockets and a belly band to house ephemera and embellishments representing some of my daughters favourite things. I love all of them because they all speak of her beautiful character and the awesome young woman she is.

The seam binding ribbon was dyed with the inks.

The pearls on the charm were coloured using our Stampin' Blends Alcohol Markers.

Here are some of the background papers I created for the wallet. They definitely have a bohemian feel to them. The colours I chose are Island Indigo, Bermuda Bay, Elegant Eggplant and Rich Razzleberry.

The Scripture in the background of this background paper was printed from my computer first before adding colour. The stamp is from the "Playful Backgrounds" stamp set.

This is my cover paper. I added texture to my page before colouring by adhering torn used dryer sheets. I added some gold embossing for a touch of richness.

I loved creating this project for my daughter because of the time I spent thinking about her. It caused me to appreciate her even more than I did before. I am so very blessed by my family. It became a very personal gift unique to her and she loved receiving it as much as I loved creating it.

It's All Perspective

A bunch of various hardware items may be seen by some as serving a practical use, by some as tools of their trade, by some as completely insignificant..

...but by some of us - creative potential...

As I was pondering the creative potential of hardware, I couldn't help but..

"Consider God's perspective..who looked at the dust and saw a human being."

I used the hinge to create a door. Inside the door...

"Gold is always found underneath the surface"

I was also challenged during the creation of this piece to broaden my perspective of people.

I have used Plasterboard Jointing Tape, Masking Tape and coarse sandpaper in the background.

The substrate is a piece of 12" x 12" box board cut in half and joined together.

The colour was achieved using Stampin'Up! inks.

I have used bolt cutters to cut the ends off the screws and glued them in place. I used the ends in the metal collage.

 I have added some gold embossing powder to the quote and antique gold charms.

I am looking forward to recreating this project on a smaller scale for a card.

Ink, Gesso and Masks

I have one more experiment with Gesso to share with you.

This time I sponged some Gesso through a mask and allowed it to dry before applying the ink. I have used Stampin'Up! Melon Mambo and Tangerine Tango. The stamp set is "Number of Years".

When I spritzed my background with water the ink on the Gesso turned into a cool batik type pattern.

I cut a hole from the centre and backed it with some gathered paper.

I have really loved how the inks have played with the Gesso to give more of a mixed media feel to my cards.

More Inky Fun With Gesso

I have been having some more fun playing around with my Stampin'Up! inks and Gesso.

 I have once again used Bermuda Bay and Pacific Point Ink Refills with Gesso as they were on my desk from my last project.

This time I added some drops of each of the Ink Refills on top of a puddle of Gesso. Then using a wide paint brush I picked up some of the ink and Gesso and brushed it across my paper. The result was this cool streaked background.

I also added dots of Gesso randomly to my background with the end of my paintbrush giving a raised texture.

I created the flowers using a rough cut circle technique and dipped the tips of the petals of two of the flowers into Gesso. It almost looks like snow has settled on them. I also dipped some of the flower centres into the Gesso.

I do have one more technique I would like to try with my inks and Gesso.

Stay tuned.

Playing Around with Gesso

I was experimenting today to find out how our inks react with gesso and I love how well they behave!

My card is a little bit messy as it was just an experiment but I think you will get the idea.

I have used Bermuda Bay and Pacific Point Ink Refills directly from the bottle.

The flower is from the Touches of Texture stamp set. The sentiment is from the Awesomely Artistic stamp set.

I collaged the background first with inked background papers and Gesso and then added some Embossing Paste through a mask. I wanted a way to colour the Embossing Paste without having to first mix it in. Applying a coat of Gesso to the dry Paste provided "tooth" for the inks to stick. The Gesso also gave the inks the ability to flow across the surface.

I added some Smoky Slate ink with a sponge dauber to the tops of the bricks.

The sentiment frame was silver embossed and then squished into some Gesso. I applied my heat tool to the Gesso to make it bubble up to create further texture.

Here is another example of my playing around. I haven't applied this one to a card as it was my first attempt and a bit messy but it shows you how colour can completely change the look of a card.

I have used Powder Pink and Crumb Cake ink in this example.

I do have another experiment in mind for Gesso and ink but that will be for another day.

Limited Supplies

I am so excited and can't wait to attend my first StampinUp! OnStage Local Event in Sydney in April next year!

StampinUp! have called for Display Board Stampers and at first I wasn't going to respond. Being a new demonstrator most of my projects have been created with limited supplies. Then I thought perhaps if I show some of them maybe some of you may be encouraged to just take what you have and start creating.

So here goes...

My first card features flowers just because I love them. It was made using Very Vanilla Cardstock, Ivory copier paper and the brown paper packaging from my order. The inks I have used are Powder Pink and Crumb Cake. The sentiment is from a Hostess Set called Background Bits.

This is a great project if you lack punches or dies. The flowers were made by simply cutting a rough circle with scissors and dividing it into petals. I used a simple ball tool to shape them.

I have also used gold embossing and tinted embossing paste in the background but that is totally optional.

The tendrils were made with twisted paper.

The flower centres are just small pieces of paper rolled into a ball and either rolled on the ink pad or VersaMark pad and gold embossing powder.

My second card...

...was created using Black cardstock and inked Whisper White cardstock. The ink colours are Berry Burst, Lemon Lime Twist and Basic Black Archival. The stamp set is Graceful Garden.

After creating the background I cut it into pieces and reassembled them leaving some space in between.

I coloured the rose using the inks and an Aqua Painter. The bling is optional.

My third card...

...is a solution for when you don't have specific Christmas supplies like me.

The base is Whisper White cardstock and the background was created on copier paper. As I didn't have red ink at the time, I used pink instead. I have used Tranquil Tide and Berry Burst ink pads. I have used my very first and favourite stamp set Awesomely Artistic. The white embossing powder looks like snow and enhances the Christmas theme.

I stamped the tree using the leaf stamp and the decorations were created using tinted embossing paste through a mask and glittered. The stars are simply a clip art image printed onto cardstock, cut out and gold embossed several times.

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I utilised my computer in this project by printing Scripture onto my background paper before inking it. I also typed the sentiment because at the time I didn't have a Christmas stamp set. 

My first 3D project is a Christmas decoration again created without specific Christmas supplies.

I have used Whisper White cardstock and vellum upon which I printed "O Holy Night". I have used just one coloured ink pad, Tempting Turquoise along with silver and white embossing. The snow was stamped from the Touches of Texture stamp set.

The back side is similar to the front except I have added white stars.

Again the star was a clip art image cut from Whisper White cardstock, inked, embossed and glittered.

It looks pretty at night with the light inside.

My second 3D project is my first Advent Journal.

My second journal (and the one I am currently using) is a variation of this one. You can see it here.

This journal I have on display as it matches my Christmas decoration using the same ink colour Tempting Turquoise.

I have used Whisper White cardstock and copier paper for the covers. The embellishment is a Christmas tree decoration. I have also used my computer for this project, printing the title and Scriptures inside.

Here is a sample of some of the pages. I experimented to create the journaling lines. I have also added some pockets and envelopes for extra journaling space, Scripture or quotes.

For my final project I have created a scrapbook page layout.

Did I mention that I love flowers!

I didn't have any 12 x 12 cardstock on hand so I used what I had - A4 Whisper White cardstock and copier paper. I wanted a soft look to this layout so I used Powder Pink and Smoky Slate ink pads. I have also used Basic Black Archival ink as a second generation stamping. The stamp set is once again Awesomely Artistic. The title was printed from my computer.

I have created a pocket behind my photo to contain my journaling.

All the flowers and leaves were created using a single punch - Blossom Builder Punch. Before punching I made a background on both sides of copier paper. Again the flowers were shaped using a simple ball tool.

I have used tinted embossing paste through a mask. I have also used the embossing paste in a silicone cake decorating mould to create my butterflies. They remain flexible once dry making them easy to manipulate as an embellishment.

I have also tinted some gauze and small paper doilies for the background. 

I love this photo of me many years ago because it really sums up my nature - curious.

Curiosity nurtures creativity. It serves as a reminder to me to stay curious and not let the fear of failure stifle my curiosity and creativity.

I will leave you with this quote from Winston Churchill:

"Success is not final,

failure is not fatal:

it is the courage to continue that counts."

Stay Curious!