Mr Umbrella Man on Safari

Hi you all! It's still cold and frosty here in Germany, but at least the sun was shining today, and that makes a big difference!

At Simon Says Stamp and Show the challenge this week is to use small sheets of paper. I have several pads in this size, which I like to use for cards and albums. The papers I have used today are all from LaBlanche, as are the rub-ons and the leopard stamp. I do not know who made the animal print stamps.

The albums are both 6x6", and have about 50 pages in them, and have been put together with D-rings.

I used cardboard from old paper pads sandwiched between the DPs to make the covers.

Here the paper has been stamped with animal prints in both corners, and with the leopard stamp. The alphas have been sponged through a stencil. Mr Umbrella man is wearing a safari suit.

The inside cover has been sponged with alphas and Mr U.M. using shabby shutters DI and the die-cut waste.  (The 'wastes' make the most wonderful FREE stencils!) The tiger and giraffes are rub-ons.

The inside of the back cover has been worked in the same way, Mr U:M. is still lurking around. The large alpha is from TH's Salvage Stickers.

The back cover

The second album has been made in the same way. I used more embellishments on the front cover here.

Here I have added some random stamping, and 'Dream'. Mr U.M. is everywhere, as are the wild animals....

The inside back cover has been reserved for the elephants. Mr U.M. is still lurking....

And the king of the jungle is guarding the back cover. I think the 'L' is for Lion.

This was a fun project, I am in a mini-book phase just now.

Have a great day, take care, and thanks a lot for coming by!

Paper Saturdays and Make My Monday Challenge

Hi you all, it's weekend! And a freezin' cold one at that. It was dark and dismal all day, with lots of rain and mist - yuck! And I thought we had at last turned the corner to spring....

Today I am linking to Manon's Paper Saturdays with these 2 little folders / ATC / photo holders or whatever. They are each made from one sheet of double sided  12" paper, and are a variation of the maze book. The first one, which was primarily made for the Make My Monday 'Jane Eyre' Challenge, has been made with 7 Gypsies paper. The folded edge at the bottom has been trimmed with a Martha Stewart Punch. I made 4 ATCs,  using images from Jane Eyre (all courtesy of Wikipedia Commons). I did not try to colour them, as I think the black and white images fit better to the Victorian age and to the sad story.

The covers have been clear varnished to make them  more durable.

There are 8 pockets in all

I enjoyed making this, and remembering reading the book as a child and crying buckets of tears over it....

The second little book has been made of one sheet of Kaisercraft paper. For the back I used a scrap of coredinations paper which I distressed and inked with red DI.

Both sides of the sheet were printed with a scalloped pattern, so I fussy cut along the edges to make the scallops.

These little books are quick and easy to make, and make nice presents, perhaps filled with a few photos or cards or whatever.

Here's wishing you all a great weekend. Take care, have fun, and thanks a lot for visiting!

Paint Party Friday

Hi you all! Time flies by faster each week, and once again it's time for Paint Party Friday, hosted, as always, by Kristin and Eva.

I have made some more journal pages. This time I used brown and gold to do the background, and added some wild stamping which I white embossed. I have used three of my spirit dolls that I made this week, and added the quote as these all look like strong ladies to me! This is a completely different colour scheme for me, and I am not sure if I like it, but I wanted to try something different. I am also linking to Art Journal Journey. The theme is to challenge yourself, for which I used different colours.

This piece was the result of trying to remove an alcohol ink spill. It didn't go away, so I just kept blowing more across the paper, and watched it react with the colours that were already there. It was fun, and I can use it for die-cuts or backgrounds.

Here's wishing you all a good weekend. Take care, have fun and thanks for coming by!

More spirit dolls

Hi you all! These little dolls were made in my last 'play time'. They have been made from some 'my mind's eye' double-sided paper, using both sides to get some variations. The bodies have also been stamped. These are quick and fun to make, and at the moment I am trying to reduce my mountain of scraps and half used papers! I think I will mount these onto some dark paper - chocolate brown or black, perhaps, and make some cards out of them. Or put them all together on something? Or make a journal page with them? We shall see!
I got a mail from one reader asking me if these were meant to be voodoo dolls. Actually, no, that never occurred to me! ! But looking at the sentiments on these dolls - creativity, wisdom, and joy - if I could magically install these virtues into some of the miserable peeps I see every day when I go out, I would! But I need to practise first!

It is still cold, wet and windy here, and will stay changeable the next few days, but the sun did peep out here and there, so that was nice!

Have a great day, take care, and thanks a lot for visiting!

Chipboard album & Paris Postcard

Hi you all!

Today I want to share another album I made recently. The covers are made of chipboard, painted with white acrylic and glazed for more durability. The 'love' word is made of wood, and has been in my stash for a long time. I gave it several coats of white acrylic paint, stamped it with my 'love' stamp using archival black and varnished it. It has been fixed on with my hot glue gun (no blisters this time!!)

I lined the inside covers with pink DP, and made a pocket front and back to take tags. I used ric-rac braid for the trim, and the colours of the pocket and tags are repeated in the cardstock used for the pages. I used a good quality, embossed cardstock, which will make a nice background for photos or whatever.

I used black and white spotted ribbon to decorate the covers and rings.

Here is my 'Postcard from France' for the challenge at OOAH Creations. I stamped a collage of Paris images in archival black onto white speciality stamping card, and added a die cut of the Eiffel Tower. I gave it a pop of colour with the red heart.

Have a great day, take care, and thanks a lot for coming by!

Insect Moos and Moo pocket folder

Hi you all! Yesterdays was cold, wet and windy here, so I made the best of it - stayed home and crafted. Left my PJs on all day, ate 2 chocolate biscuits and a slice of cake, and plenty of coffee, so the day turned out quite good!

I made some Moos for our theme of insects. I don't have many insect stamps, and even less in this size, but did manage to find a few. The moo on the cover is a 'real' moo card, which I had printed from a part photo of a hanging I made some time back. Here I have just added the butterflies, fluttering in and out.

The little folder has been made of one sheet of double sided cardstock from My Mind's Eye.

I use the paper with the stripes alternating in both directions, and sometimes inside, sometimes outside the pockets.

For the cover I used some leather look paper from India, and the ribbon and beads were from my stash.

This is a little moo card, made to send as a gift card, which has been stamped and glittered with stickles - I love the quote, too.

Here are 2 more which have been stamped over my printed moos. I had a box full made last year using pictures of my paintings. The left one is part of an abstract, the right one was an attempt to paint like Van Gogh.

Here I have used scraps of marbled paper I made last year, once again stamped and stickled.

These were made from the last scrap of the sheet I used to make the album, once again stamped and stickled

Linking to Moo-Mania

This was a fun project!

Have a great day, stay creative, and thanks a lot for coming by!

Happy Post and a Moo pocket book

Hi you all, and happy Mother's  Day to all Mums, Moms, Muttis, Mamans, Mamas, Imas etc out there! Have a good day, and let your family look after you!

I received a big envelope in the post, from Petra's Giveaway a few days back. I love all the lovely ribbons, flowers and buttons. 

I especially love the stitched and pleated ribbons, so beautiful!

And this lovely tag came with it, really beautifully made, as is everything she makes.

Thanks a lot Petra!

I am in a mini-book mode just now, and made some more little books. This one is already winging its way into the world, and the others you will see bit by bit.

I used one of my Moo cards to decorate the front, and put some more into the pockets inside. There are 7 pockets inside, which can be used to hold tickets or receipts. It is small - not much bigger than a moo card - and fits snugly into pockets or purses. I used some leather-print paper for the covers.

This was the first Mother's day Card I made for my mum, and probably my first card at all! I was 4 1/2 then, what a long time ago!

Here's wishing you all a great day, take care of yourselves and of your Mums!

Thanks for coming by!