Who has been noughty?

Well, I have... I just couldn't help it! When I saw the new release by Waltzing Mouse I knew I had to get my hand on them! I limited the damages by only buying four of the sets but believe me, I am already itching for the five others!!! So to justify my spending I decided to create (yet again) a layout using my stamps. I really am loving using my stamps in my Scrapbooking at the moment!!!!

I used the stamps from the Nordic Spring set. Aren't they gorgeous?  My title is a Kesi'art stamp. I used my Stampin'up inks in Night of Navy, Rose Red and Chocolate Chip. I finished off the layout with a few splashes of ink and paint to give it that effect I really love at the moment.

I hope this inspired you!!!

Make your own

When I designed this layout using (mostly) only stamps, it really gave me a taste for designing my own papers using my stamps and inks. I love that you can create exactly what you need at a fraction of the price (given that you use stamps you already own ;) ) for a truly unique result. This time around I wanted to create a background in the style of the papers from My Mind Eyes, with some sort of a ledger backdrop and a few colourful elements either side. And as I am a very nice kinda gal (lol) I decided to share with you my step by step with a few tips.

I used a sheet of bazzil cardstock untextured in vanilla. First I rubbed some distress ink in Antique Linen all over my sheet insisting around the edges. Then I stamped the grid still with Antique Linen ink all over my background. The stamp is from this set. It is a must buy for me as you will be able to create tones of different patterned papers with it. If you haven't got a stamp to create a ledger style backdrop you can always use a good old ruler and a pen, especially since you can now find distress ink pens! Also don't feel restricted to an Antique Linen colour, Old Paper or any other pale shades will work as well for different effects! I then used a stamp from this set to create my Script elements. I used the Early Espresso shade from Stampin'up. I inked my stamp but then gently (almost like a feather) pressed it with some kitchen towel before stamping it on my paper. The kitchen towel bit is to give it a weathered/ aged effect. I used a stamp from this set to create the doily elements. I stamped the same design in Antique Linen, Real Red (from Stampin'up) and Night Of Navy (Stampin'up also). I finished it off by adding a few splashes of dark brown ink and by rubbing some distress ink in Frayed Burlap. There you go, you have your own home made unique patterned paper! Do you want to see how I used mine? Here it is:

I could have gone for a very feminine layout but decided to think outside the box and went for something grungy. I added more layers of stamped images including this brand new design as well as this one for my title. I created my own patterned paper (behind the photos) with a stamp from this set. To create the strips of white paper with text I simply stamped with Versafine some white paper, tore it, crumpled it (it helped the ink to bleed to create an aged effect) and then stuck it flat on my layout. I finished it all off with a few flowers and splashes of green paint. It is hard to believe I created this layout only using stamps, inks and white papers!!!

As I have been asked before, all my Stampin'up purchase are made through Mandi who also run the Less Is More challenges. She is fantastic! I really hope this inspired you!!!

Had to have another go!

I loved so much creating my card for this week's Play Date Cafe's challenge that I decided to have an other go at it! Only this time I paired it with the challenge from CAS-ual Friday which is to have the sentiment as the focal point of your design. I really had a lot of fun creating this card!

I used those brand new stamps from Waltzing Mouse (that I love) for the strip. I repeatedly stamped a sentiment in grey as a background on my die cut to then stamp in black my main sentiment. It says "Just a note to thank you". The French sentiment stamps are once more from Kesi'art.

If you are a stamp lover or if you just fancy learning a few tricks to create your own patterned paper then you might want to come back here on Wednesday as I will share with you a very exciting project!!!!
I hope this inspired you!

Two in one

We are surrounded by colour combinations. Either it being carefully elaborated for marketing purposes or simply the random act of nature, we live in a world of colours marriages. One combination we often see is Black/ Grey/ Yellow: number plates, New-York taxi cabs, etc... It works really well together but still it is a very rarely seen combo in the craft world. Perhaps because it is very urban, not so feminine and pretty... So when I saw that the Play Date Cafe had put those three colours together for this week's challenge I decided to take part once more. Now that is a challenge!

But as it wasn't enough of a challenge on it's own I decided to merge it with this week's Less Is More challenge which is a one layer card including a Script background.
I decided to go for a masculine super-grungy effect, sort of an alternative to your usual Valentine's card.

I love the result although I don't really know when I'll get to use it... I hope this inspired you!

Make the most out of your stash

I love stamps! I really do! I love that I can use them again and again in so many different kind of ways. I use them a lot in cardmaking. I have used them now and again in Scrapbooking: as accents, as a background or for my journaling but until now I had never created a layout using only my stamps. I decided to take the plunge and designed this layout:

I created my own patterned paper with those Waltzing Mouse stamps. I love the result! I never thought I could pull it off! I must admit it took me over three days of stop and start but the end was worth it!

Okay I do admit I cheated slightly as I used three buttons bought on ebay, some American Crafts Thickers and some mini alphas, but I promise that my next "Stamps only" layout will be designed using... stamps only!
I hope this inspired you!

A bit of fun doesn't hurt...

Today I have a layout which is a bit tong in cheek... Yet again the person I am picking on is my brother.

I wanted to create a layout as economical as possible. I got into a habit lately of piling on flowers and this can be quite expensive. I decided to create my own embellishments by making some rosettes, making my own mini alphas and using only three blooms. The buttons are from ebay. The papers are from Kaisercraft. The journaling says "You were quite cute back in the days!". Sorry this was a quick post. I hope this inspired you!

Stop and look

 There are those times in life when you take a step back and look around. It usually happen after a change occur. Lately I have been looking at my life in general but especially at my Scrapbooking life. Why am I Scrapbooking? I Scrapbook to keep a record of my feelings, of my memories, of my wishes and of the changes I go through. I want to leave something behind for the future generations but also for myself so that I can look back I realise how far I have come. Part of my Scrapbooking life is this blog. Why do I blog? I blog to keep a written record of my life, to share with my family what I create and what I do on a daily basis. I also blog to share with fellow crafters what I love. My readers are very precious to me and I am grateful for everybody who go pass this place to spend some time with me for however long it is. It is highly appreciated! This blog is my private blog and only reflect my personal opinion and views and is a place for me where I can use my freedom of speech. I will not let anybody tell me what I can or can not say on here. Some have recently tried...

The papers and stickers are from Kaisercraft. The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts. The buttons are all vintage found on ebay. I hope this inspired you!