Happiness Is ...

Hi Bloggers

I am doing another project.  This one is called Happiness Is ... and it is all about what happiness means to me and what makes me happy.   I am following an online course run by Jeri Parks, the creator of  My Creative Classroom, the course is 4 weeks long and she demonstrates three different projects to help inspire you. 

I am now in week 2.  The first week was spent making a list of what makes me happy.  I have quite a few things on my list, here are just a few:

• first buds of spring
• watching movies with my son
• the snowball tree in full bloom
• making things
• family gatherings
• sharing stories with my son.

In the first week we are also encouraged to chose how we want to display our list and what materials we might need.  At first I chose to make an explosion box, but now I have decided on a wooden box.
This coming week I plan to start decorating and then will being displaying my list. 

I don't want to give too much away yet, but I have chosen my colours and my decorative papers.  What I have found really helpful is to chose co-ordinating papers and stickers.  Have you ever bought one of those scrapbooking sets that has everything - papers, stickers, letters, ribbon, embellishments that all co-ordinate together.  Well I can confirm this is an excellent place to start.  Especially if you are not sure how to co-ordinate colours or find you spend too long chosing what to use out of your craft stash.

Keep checking my blog to find out how I get on.

Until next time,
Happy Crafting!

Less IS More!

Hi Bloggers

As ever, I have been looking for different styles to try in cardmaking.  One that I have struggled with in the past is what I like to call the 'minimalist look'. 

I have often admired cardmakers who manage to make simple cards look stylish so I decided to bite the bullet and have a go myself. 

I am pleased with the results.  These cards were made with exam results time in mind.  The trick is to practise your layouts.  I actually cut pieces of copy paper into A6 size (which was my desired size of card) and practised how the layout would look.  Doing this gave me a lot of confidence when I actually stamped on the card.  And then resist the urge to use matting and layering.  Believe me, I had to almost sit on my hands to restrict myself to one layer!

Another tip is to practise with the ink pads you are intending to use on the cardstock itself.  Yes, this may mean wasting a card but it could save you a lot of binned cards in the long run if the ink you are using starts to bleed into the cardstock.  I have to say, good old Versa Mark came up trumps!

Please leave your comments below, I would love to hear from you.

Until next time,
Happy Crafting!

 

All Things Brayer!

Hi Bloggers

One of the aspects I love about Barbara Gray's work is her scene building.  She uses a speedball brayer and adirondack ink pads to create scenes.  I have been practising quite a bit - her DVDs are a great help with this - and these are the results I have had. 

In both pictures I used the Big n Juicy ink pads which I don't believe are available any more.  But the colours and same inks are available from the adirondack ink pads (they are produced by the same company).

One thing I have learned is that underneath your piece of card, the surface must be completely smooth and free from bumps, however tiny.  If it's not the brayer will pick up every little tiny bump and translate it into a mark on your card.  See if you can spot such a bump in the picture below.  I like to think of it as a bird in the distance!

Have you tried this type of scene building before?  I would love to know your results.  Pop in a comment below.

Until next time,

Happy Crafting!

Clarity Pattern Building

Hi Bloggers

I have finally taken some more time to delve into my Clarity DVDs.  If you haven't heard of Barbara Gray or Clarity Stamps you have really been missing something. I urge you to go to her website and check out all things Clarity.  She is a major craft inspiration for me.

I have been practicing pattern building with some very lovely results.  Both stamps used for these techniques were corner stamps.  They are easy to do, it just takes a little bit of patience getting the positioning right but being able to see through the handle takes a lot of the work out of making these patterns. 

Have you got any Clarity stamps?  Do you use them regularly?  Or do they languish in that "I must get round to playing with them some time" place? 

Here's a tip - the time of "must get round to" never comes round unless you make it!  Believe me I speak from experience!  Just take some copy paper, one stamp pad and have a play.  Before you know where you are you will have ideas for cards.  Trust me, I did and you can see the results for yourselves.

Enjoy! 
Until next time,
Happy Crafting!

ps. Don't forget to jump over to my new website and have a look, I'd love to know what you think?

New Website

Hi Bloggers

There has been a time gap and I am deeply sorry :(

My website has taken some time to put together but it is looking very lovely and I want you all to take a look.  You can find it by clicking here.

It is all about my passion for CREATIVITY.  I love that word!  I love to be creative and I love to create, but I also love to explore what makes a person creative and is it something that can be learned or are we just 'born that way' (I disagree with that by the way!)

Anyway enjoy my new website.  It is very much a work in progress and you will see changes from time to time as I get to grips with Wordpress and website techniques. 

I will continue to create my own little masterpieces and you will always be able to find something crafty here to inspire you!

Until next time,
Happy Crafting!