Nibbles Skribbles recently released a really neat kit, Soar:


Isn't that bird adorable, and just look at the little owl?!!!  Even better is the fact that it is currently on special offer, only $2.92!

Now the great thing about digital kits is that was well as using them for scrapbooking, you can also use them to make some really quick and easy cards.  Take a look at these:


For the first card, I used the kit flowers for the cluster then added the leaves and butterfly.  For the second card, it was just the bird, cloud and wordart from the kit. Nothing could have been simpler! I printed them out, cut the printout down to size, added ink around the edges and adhered them to the base card.

So if you are looking for a quick and simple birthday card, why not try something like this?  It is so easy, you will kick yourself for not having done it before!


Happy scrapping!


I have obviously got the bug as regards wall hangers, because look what I made for The Hybrid Chick blog:



It is has a clear report cover above the background papers so I can write in each month's appointments as well as my to do list, and it is now hanging on my desk as a reminder of everything I have to do.  I am sure I will find this so useful, much better than umpteen different post it notes and scraps of paper with snippets of information on them!

It really was easy to do - an A4 piece of chipboard, a sheet of patterned paper and then I made the calendar holder from a template and the to do list is actually printed on the background paper.

Full details of how I made can be found at The Hybrid Chick, so why not pop along and take a look?  There are also some amazing projects by other Digichicks, and it has always been my "go to" website for hybrid ideas!  You are sure to find some inspiration there!

Happy Scrapping!

Well, when I visited our local craft shop a couple of weeks ago, I noticed she had some chipboard in stock.  Now never having used this (I usually end up using used cereal boxes as the base for the covers of albums, etc!), I thought I would give it a go.  So, armed with a sheet of chipboard I decided to make a small wall hanger.  Well, to be honest, I actually decided to make a large A4 size hanger (but I haven't sorted out the photos for that yet ;) ) and then made a further two small hangers using the left over chipboard.  Mind you  I would never have believed chipboard was so hard to cut (even though it is kind of obvious....!  ).  I ended up using my craft knife and struggled using that at first.

For the first hanger, I used a gorgeous mega kit from The Studio:


I love those colours and the kit is absolutely beautiful!  So, using papers from the kit, a calendar, brad and skeleton leaf from my stash, this is what I came up with:



This was so quick and easy to make, I can see me making many more of these in the future.  It really is just a case of printing the paper (or cutting out paper from your stash), adhering it to the chipboard and then adding the embellishments.  I used a 50:50 mix of PVA glue and water to coat the chipboard and the underside of the paper, and then stuck the two together.

Here's a close up of the flower:



Truly scrumptious right?!!!

I then used a completely different kit from The Digichicks but can't show you that yet as the kit hasn't been released.  I'll be back over the weekend with photos of that along with one or two other things that I have been making :).  But right now, I have to go run a payroll and prepare two VAT returns.......I know, I lead such an exciting life, you have to wonder how I cope!

Happy Scrapping!






Well, a big thank you to everyone who hopped with us this weekend and left comments.  The winning comment actually came from this blog and was left by Jess!


Congratulations Jess!  

If you send Lisa an Email, she will get your new template to you!


Well, we all use them, and then we throw away what's left so what, you ask, am I talking about?   It's toilet rolls, the not to be mentioned items that can be found in every household and if yours is anything like ours, the empty rolls end usually up on the floor waiting for someone (i.e. me!).  So, when I heard mention of toilet roll holders, I immediately googled this and what do you know, Dawn Griffiths has done a great video tutorial on it here.  

So, I decided to use the Blue Rhapsody kit again and this is how mine turned out:


You'd never guess from just looking that the album was made from toilet rolls, would you?!!!

I printed everything on heavy weight paper (160 g/m²), cut it out, and then adhered the papers to the squished (i.e. flattened) toilet rolls.  The papers were trimmed to fit  and then decorated using the elements.  I added a binder ring and ribbons plus four tags made using the kit papers and the Two Tags die from Stampin' Up!  I also distressed the sides of each page using sandpaper and distress ink.

These are the tags and you can just make out the delicate patterned paper (as well as where I ended up putting some of the tags through my Big Shot twice as I didn't run them through far enough the first time!  Oh well, we all make mistakes......):












Here are the inside pages:






And the back page:



Here's a close up of that flower.  Isn't it gorgeous?  It does need a gemstone added to the centre though, but I have put mine away somewhere and can't find them....this is what comes of working all hours in January, as my office is a complete tip, there are papers everywhere, I can find nothing and have not got the energy to even make any attempt at cleaning it up!  The spirit is willing but the flesh is so very weak - I keep sitting here telling myself I really must tidy the office but then I really do need to finish Case 2 of the Criminal Minds game I was given for Christmas, make an envelope album and a wall hanger/organiser, mini boxes to hold truffles and card/envelope sets, work on my Stampin' Up! blog and set up a FB page for it, spend some more time seeing out how my new tablet works (my treat for all the hard work in January ;) ), prepare more cards, gift boxes, and "stuff" for the craft fair next month, watch some films, create some tags in Photoshop,.....the list just goes on and on!





But don't forget the bird, and all that fussy cutting I had to do!  I just wish I had some white feathers to hand to make the bird look even more realistic (the ones shown here are on the printout!).


Not bad for four used toilet rolls, eh?!!! 
  



Have a go yourself at one of these, they are so quick and simple.  I'd love to see what you come up with.

Happy scrapping!

Well, it is Valentine's day coming up so of course, you need a suitable gift box for that special person in your life.  After a quick search on the internet (I just googled "heart box template" - so easy!) , I found a suitable template and then used a digital kit I had had for a while but not used.

The kit is actually called Blue Rhapsody (and yes, I know hearts are supposed to be red, but the kit was too gorgeous not to use!):



Now you'll have to agree that is one gorgeous kit, right?  It actually just shows how busy I have been (can you hear the violin strings playing in the background?) since this is a Christmas kit and it is now February when I am using it!  I've linked the preview above, so if you wanted to go check the kit out, just click on the picture and it should take you straight there.

Anyhow, this is the end result:


I printed one of the kit papers onto plain white cardstock and then printed the template out on the other side.  You can just make out on the next photo the flower print on the inside of the box:




As you can see, I added some Cadbury's buttons (left over from yesterday!!!) so I hope hubbie appreciates these later this week ;).

To cover the box, I printed out one of the papers and trimmed it to size.  I cut out one of the small flowers and added the gemstone.  The colours didn't photograph too well in the artificial light (there is no way I was going to go outside in the rain to photograph this ;) ), so sorry for the poor quality.






This is actually a really quick and simple gift to make but it looks really effective, even if it is blue instead of red!  Why not have a go yourself and see what you can come up with?

Happy scrapping!



Well, now that the pressure of the tax filing deadline has passed, I have some free time in which to craft, finally!  I do miss the scissors and glue when all I have time to do is work, work and then even more work on top of that....

Anyhow I thought I would try something different this time around and it turned out the Adela Rossol was having a customer blog hop.  Now, if you have never seen any of Adela's templates, you are in for a real treat if you go check them out at creationsbyAR.com.  There are some amazing templates there, and they would all definitely keep me out of mischief for quite some time!  Not only that, but if you leave a comment on each blog or on the Creations by AR Facebook page, you are automatically entered into the draw to win an as yet unreleased template - brilliant!  

If you have found your way here from the blog hop, here are the other participants: 


>>>>Lynn - http://heavenlycrafts.blogspot.co.uk/ <<<< YOU ARE HERE


You should have arrived here from Raissa's blog, and the next stop is Gina,  but first, please take a look at what I made......

I'm a great believer in getting the most out of templates, so whilst I decided to use the library pocket set......




......I wanted to make more than just a card.  I mean, we buy these templates, right?  But do we really need to restrict ourselves to just the one type of use?  Why not get as much use out of them as possible, adapt them, play with them, have fun with them?  Yes, this library pocket set makes a great card front, but if you don't cut the flaps for the pocket on one side, you can also make a mini album!!!

I actually used a digital kit for this album, one I have had for a while but due to pressure of work (as always :( ), hadn't actually used.  I fell in love with this kit as soon as I saw it, and it seemed perfect for a romantic Valentine's album:



Isn't that gorgeous?  This is a really beautiful kit, and I have plans to make much more use of it!  But back to the library pocket set....

I started with the template, printed it out on plain white cardstock and then cut it out (I don't have a cutting machine although that is now top of my wish list!).  However, I did extend one side in order to make the album as shown here: 



It's a case of not cutting the template out on one side and then that forms the extra space needed to bind the pockets into an album.

I cut out six pockets and six tags (on cardstock with the digital papers printed on), then cut two covers to fit, covering those with printed digital papers.  I put the album together using my Bind-it-All machine and added skeleton leaves and organza ribbon to finish it off.  Plus, since this is Valentine's Day and all, I added some hearts using a Stampin' Up! punch.  I distressed the edges of the hearts using Milled Lavender distress ink, and added extra hearts to the inside pages using distress ink and the negative from the punched hearts:







The flower is from my ever faithful Tim Holtz tattered florals (I really don't know how I ever managed without that die!):




I love that die and it really shows up the variation in pattern on the papers. 

Here are tags:




And the inside pages:









Love those papers from the kit.  Of course, you can use any papers and I am already part way through another album using Stampin' Up! papers.

I then decided to use another of Adela's templates that I have, Tray Chic:



Isn't that neat?  I again used the same digital kit, this time with added Cadbury's buttons!





The buttons add the perfect finishing touch, don't you think?!!!  Of course, they are not going to last long in this household!

Please do take a look at the other entries in the blog hop.  Adela has some gorgeous templates and they have done some amazing work with them. Your next stop on the blog hop is Gina.  

Please remember to leave a comment below (and on the other blogs) to be in with a chance of winning an as yet unreleased template from Creations by AR.  Comments will be accepted through midnight Eastern time on Sunday, February 10. The blog hop winner will be announced on Monday February 11 on the Creations by AR Facebook page as well as on my blog. 

Happy scrapping!