Top Secret! Shhhh!

I am working on a Top Secret project at the moment! I can tell you it's a mini, I can tell you it is "Boy" themed, I can't tell you who or what it is for, but I can give you a sneak peek of it! = ) It's hip, it's happening and its retro!

Hope you enjoy my latest creation!

Here is a little peek at my latest work..... for that special boy in your life!

Alice is here!

O.K. So I've been bad and only just gotten around to posting my Alice in Wonderland Mini. For those of you who didn't read my earlier post, this was made using a digital kit from the wonderful collection by Marion Smith! You print this yourself! 

If you have not yet seen her mini, you really should! Here is the link:

http://www.marionsmithdesigns.com/shop/wonderland-digital-mini-album-kit-298.html

And no, Marion does not pay me to endorse her company, at the moment no one does! I just pick what I like and I give it a plug, that's how it works for me! If I see something really great, I will share it with you here. Just because I can...... = ) 

I had previously posted a sneak peek of my Alice in Wonderland Mini Cover. For all you new people, here it is again! = )  

And here is the rest of it! It was so much fun to make that I am making a stack of these for Christmas! = ) 

I must remind you that not everything shown in mine comes with the kit, I have added quite a few of my own elements, but an awful lot of it does! And it is great fun to make it your own or personalise it for someone else! 

I hope you like it! 

Close up of Front Cover

Close up of Front Cover

Mine is closed using velcro dots placed under the "lock". The key is there for effect and simply attaches to the inside cover using regular thread doubled over several times which I rubbed with Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain inks for that distressed and aged look. The key is from the TH hardware findings die and I used distress embossing powder to make it look old and rusty. Even up close it looks like metal! So cool! 

Inside Front Cover and First Page of Mini

This is what it looks like when you open the book, it is laid up with two pages showing at a time. 

Inside Front Cover

The card on the left is removable for picture matting or journalling

This page is the "Drink Me" page. Each of these "pages" is actually an envelope with a large card inside and plenty of room for tickets, memento's, cards, tags, photos or anything else you might want to put in a scrapbook. And both sides of the envelopes are decorated like an individual page. Very Clever! The tag is part of the kit and I placed it her, it is removable for matting and journalling. I also popped the white rabbit on here to "hold" the tag for me. Added a dash of red with the heart....for the Queen of Hearts of course! = ) 

See? Here is the "back" of the "Drink Me" Envelope, I added the little gems and the two original artwork cards. The one on the left is removable for matting or journalling.

These elements all came with the kit! Aren't they cute? I decided to place the original Alice in Wonderland Cover image on the left and glue it down to make a pocket to slide a playing card into. the front is lined for journalling, the back has room for a pic! So lovely!

I added the white rabbit circle to the envelope here, the hearts and a couple of gemstones and glitter, the rest came with the kit, but I did something "tricky" to hold the card in place. I placed a rubber sheet in the envelope and used my sharp exacto knife to cut gently around the image half way....this creates a pocket to slide the edge of the card into. = ) 

Another original book cover, this one is also a pocket for sliding cards into...

For this one I added glitter and a black and white line drawing of the original artwork which I coloured using my inks. I just rubbed them roughly over the area for a rustic effect. then edge distressed it with vintage photo and popped my own tag behind it. Remember inside the envelope is also a journalling card and matting page as well as journalling behind the tag. I LOVE that you can display your photos in this book or keep it as an interactive book with hidden photo's.

See....here is one of the cards I mentioned....lines on one side and matting on the other, perfect! It is quite big too! Measuring 5 3/4 x 3 3/4" roughly.

This page I added the oval on the left to hold my carnival tickets! These tickets can serve as little journalling spots and have been put together with a brad and fanned out as shown in the next pic.

Here they are out from behind the oval and fanned. You can see the little blue brad in the middle holding them. I added glossy accents to the heart on the tea cup and gems to the dots on the Mad Hatters tie. 

When I saw this teapot I instantly had an idea to make a teabag for it! Could not resist such a cute idea! All I ddi was poke a hole through the teapot in an inconspicuous place in the pattern, then thread through the prepared tea bag on a string. Then all I did was tie a not bigger than the hole to keep it in place. Too easy! But effective I think! I also glittered and Glossy accented as you can see.

This comes as an additional extra (optional) to the kit it comes with the wonderland labels (as seen on my front cover) and an alternate cover which happens to be the one I used on the front of mine, the regular cover that comes with the kit is the one I used inside the cover. You can see it on the Inside Front Cover page and Inside Back Cover page. This little add on holds a couple of cards. I also added some green gems for added brightness.

I couldn't resist the teabag again, but this time the tea bag opens to reveal a tiny journalling spot! I glittered the heart and added a gem in the middle of the spade suit. Sometimes less IS more! Lol! 

This page was cute as is. The cupcake is an element of the kit and is glittered but not much else, I popped it on here and put some more tea bags behind it folded into a little concertina booklet. 

Here I used the cutting technique again to pop in a tag I made myself plus added a gemstone, nothing fancy here. Again, I like the simplicity of this page.

This is one of my favourite pages! I love the original artwork of painting the roses red......I just added red glitter to it. Then I added another original image and made it into a pocket, popped in a journalling card and a red heart in the corner and presto! 

Through the looking glass! For this page I added a gorgeous frame which I backed with silver foil card stock to make my own looking glass. I added the looking glass element to the envelope and glossy accented it for dimension. The mirror serves as a photo corner and holds the journalling card. I added a couple of crystals and made my own white roses to "paint red".

To this page I added an original line drawing with inked, distressed, edges, I added the pocket and tags and the drink me cup of tea. There is a silver charm of a lock and key on the tags and a couple of glittery hearts.

Here it is with the tags out so you can see them.....

Another of my favourites, this page is simple yet I think effective. I added the red cutout heart and wrote eat me in the center. I also added a line drawing I inked with colour ink. I distressed the edges and it holds my tag and any pictures you may want to add in place.

This is the back inside cover. To this page I added the pocket with a set of accordion tags, I added the cheshire cat element and glossy accented the eyes for dimensionality. I distressed and curled the original image and turned int into a picture and journalling holder.

Here are the accordion tags.

The back cover is another original illustration. This one was so perfect I couldn't add to it. I simply distressed and inked the edges and added a tiny "eat me" cupcake and dimensionalised the cherry on top with glossy accents. 

I hope you enjoyed viewing this mini. I always appreciate and comments or suggestions you may have. 

Thank you for viewing! = ) 

Embellishment and Element Showcase

Today I am going to be giving you some ideas for swaps or embellishments. I am a mad swap-a-holic and so when you have a limited budget and can't afford to buy a million cartridges or die cuts you have to learn to be creative with what you have. I have made so many of these and I use them so much in scrapbooking. Most of these elements are only small, between 1 and 3 inches. This makes them a perfect size for either a layout or a mini and I just love them!
They can be made with punches, dies or a variety of other things such as fussy cut printed digi embellishments, the trick is to make these easily and embellish them a fair bit to make them really look good. You want your embellies to look professional and good quality. I will be adding to these on a regular basis, so be sure to check in! = )

Plum Pudding for Christmas

Hand coloured stamp with copic markers, then scanned for resizing and repeated printing, these are then printed on demand in any size, fussy cut and embellished with stickles for a bit of WOW factor! = ) 

Christmas Present

If it got any easier you could do it in your sleep! Take a piece of cereal packaging and cut it in a 1 inch square, wrap it in Christmas paper (I used a printed digi one) Tie a little gold bow around it like a present and add a tiny handmade tag!

Alice in Wonderland Element Embellishment

These are also digi elements which can be resized and printed on demand, these are 2 inches. They have been fussy cut and popped with a foam button for that 3D effect. The centre suit, in this case spades, has been glossed with glossy accents and the whole edge of the card has been inked with black and then rubbed on the edges with gold rub'nbuff. It has all been placed on a small square black embossed base which has again been rubbed with the gold.

Butterfly on Flower

I was stuck for something to do and decided to use a punch for this one. I tried the butterfly on its own then on a 1 inch circle but it didn't look right. So I used another punch to create the flower which I glittered. I used glossy accents to gloss the butterfly's body and attach it to the flower, which is then attached with a pop dot to the black embossed 1 inch circle base. The edges of the butterfly's wings were distressed with black ink.

Starry Night

For this one the theme was starry night and I was really worried! I had nothing related to that theme at all! But I did have some star stamps from a Christmas collection and I tried to figure out how I was going to make an embellishment using only those! Then it hit me! The moon! So I made a moon with a small circle punch and distressed it with vintage photo, punched out a 2 inch navy circle which I glimmer misted with caramel apple and distressed with vintage photo and presto! Instant starry night! I stamped with a Versa Marker Stamp Pad and embossed with gold glitter powder. 

The Acorn

For this one I was practicing with Tim Holtz embossing distress powder. I used the TH acorn die that comes with the movers and shakers mini pumpkin out of an old soft drink box, there were bits of glue that I peeled off and tore the cardboard a bit, but this just added to the realism in the end. I just inked the whole thing with Vintage Photo and then did the acorn top with Walnut Stain, then I versa marked the acorn part and UTEE'd it, once it cooled I versa marked the top and embossed it with Walnut Stain Distressed embossing Powder. It comes up looking like a real acorn! Try it! = ) 

Rusty Metal Lock

Again I used the TH Distress embossing powders. I used an unlikely combination of black cardstock, the TH die cut from his hardware findings set and Walnut Stain Distress powder.....the result? Magical! For a real rusty look, use the Vintage Photo powder instead! = ) even up close, you would swear it's metal if not for it's lack of weight and thickness! All you need to do is sponge the die cut with Versa Marker, sprinkle with the distressed embossing powder  and heat with a heat gun. If you don't have any distress embossing powder you can make your own from 3 parts regular embossing powder to 1 part fine  clean sand! Enjoy! = ) 

Thread Spools

These were so simple it hurts! I just recycled a cereal packet by cutting out spool dies using TH's Dress form die. Then I inked the whole thing with Vintage Photo. Finally I used real thread and wound it on. Aren't they cute?

Lock and Key
The little lock and key were made by gluing old newspaper to the back of a cereal packet and glimmer misting with Caramel Apple, then I used the TH lock and key die and cut them out. Ink the edges with Walnut Stain. These are bunched onto string and put on an ATC for easy storage and use. You can rub the edges with gold for a really cool look. I even keep the cut out lock hole!

That's all for today....tomorrow I will bring you Flowers, Hidden Journalling Spots and Page Candies. Stay tuned! ..........

Wonderland Inspired TP Mini

Hi All!

I am back with another installment! Boy, have I been busy! I have created another little mini, inspired by the Marion Smith one I just recently made. Incidentally, I have not yet taken any new pics of that one to show you as it has been raining and overcast here and I just don't get good light!
So..... I have recently hosted a tp mini swap and the design parameters I set were to create a tp mini using black, white and a splash of colour. As an added twist people were asked to include a used postage stamp and incorporate it into their design. Everyone was encouraged to use innovative techniques and designs as much as possible and to do their best work and boy, did they ever! The results have been spectacular!

Here are some pictures of my mini, please forgive the amount of pictures and the seemingly random explanations, but it is really hard to adequately show a mini that has a booklet within a fold within a flap! Lol!

Alice in Wonderland inspired TP Mini

Front Cover 

 The admit one ticket to the right is the top of the tag left out for design purposes and also for easy removal of the tag booklet. The heart is the front closure affixed with velcro

Inside front flap top cover of fold out booklet 

The little cards are removable for journalling and matting.

Inside inner fold out booklet 

There is a frame for photo mounting to the right is a removable rabbit card for journalling or matting. to the left are my details, another requirement for this mini friend page swap.

Back Cover 

This is fastened with a horizontally quirky bow the carival ticket to the left is the other side of the removable tag.

Inside back flap

On the right is the postage stamp required, on the left is a removable journalling or matting card in the middle is a hidden pocket behind which another carnival ticket hides, this is left out for ease of removal of the hidden journalling / matting booklet

Close up of postage stamp

Here you can see the little booklet being removed from the hidden pocket behind the rabbit by pulling on the carnival ticket

The inside of the booklet has journalling lines on one side and photo mounting on the other.

The removable tag being pulled out....

The tag beneath the mini, still folded

 The inside of the tag folded out

The outside of the tag folded out

The little elements shown are actually photo corners, the heart.....

The butterfly.....

And the tab

Thanks so much for looking! This mini was a true joy to make. Shown below are other similar mini's I have made in the past....enjoy! = )

TP Mini for Swap

Front cover

The front little flap opens to reveal my details mounted on vellum on the inside

Tag side 1

Tag side 2

Back cover 

Halloween TP Mini

Front Cover
The skull and crossbones hides a skeleton key, the matching lock is shown at the right, but the poor lighting has failed to pick up that the centre of the lock has a keyhole which is more prominent and noticeable in real life. The lock on the left is actually a removable tag.

Once the flap is opened, you see the spider and the skull paper, on the left there is a poison warning label and barbed wire.

Here the reason for the key becomes apparent. It's function is to alert the person to the presence of a hidden tag and make removal of the tag easier.

Here the tag is shown removed

Here is the back cover of the mini, the skull and crossbones on the left is the reverse side of the tag shown in the previous picture and as such is removable, on this side a pocket has been created to store journalling and mounting tags.

The themed journalling and mounting tag removed

Thank you so much for sharing my tour de mini! I hope you enjoyed seeing them as I enjoyed making them! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to leave a comment or email me. = ) 

Next up......I will be showing off some small embellies I have made for a swap.