Lisa with some Jungle bug fun!

Hi Everyone Lisa here! Today I have made a cute little gift set using Kaisercrafts "Jungle Bug" range. This range is perfect for any little man in your life & fits in nicely with our current theme here at Artfull Crafts "Let's hear it for the boys". I only had bits of pieces of this range left as I had used it to death when I first got it. So, I went through my stash to see what I could come up with.....A sweet little gift set!

First up is a cute little tin that I have personalised for my son Joel (nearly 10) with the help of my daughter we interviewed Joel & asked him some questions. I wanted to document things about him at this age so we can look back at it in years to come. It was quite fun actually. At one point I asked Joel a particular question & he said he didn't want to get too personal! lol.

The tin I have used is one I picked up from a craft store that is actually designed to hold a gift card. I just removed the insert so it is an empty tin. I decorated with co-ordinating die cuts from the 6 inch paper pad.The album (which fits perfectly in to the tin) is made using playing cards (purchase from your local bargain shop) I have covered the cards on both sides again with papers from the paper pad, I then trimmed, filed & inked the edges. I punched holes in each card so I could attach an album ring & add some string for a decorative touch without being girly. I put a photo on the front of the album, you could add as many photos as you like. On all the other cards I added printed text.

Next up is a Magnetic bookmark, the magnets ensure the bookmark is held securely in your book, without slipping out. It is a really fun & easy gift to make that you can adapt with any theme. All you need is a 12 inch paper strip cut to a width that suits (I went with 2 inches). Then score the length at the 5 inch mark so you can fold it over itself (this becomes the front piece). The underside is longer at 7 inches which leaves you room to decorate. I then covered both sides of the bookmark with alternate patterned papers to strengthen. Leave the score line uncovered so you don't stiffen the fold. Place some thin magnetic tape on both sides of the inside of the bookmark so they connect & your page will sit in between the two pieces. Decorate to suit.

Last in the set is a really quick gift that compliments the set (something about 3 things in the set) hmmm maybe that's just me? I picked up a pack of 4 mini spiral note pads again from my bargain shop. The notepads have bright coloured covers that you can see through. So by gluing your decorative paper to the first page (then trim to fit), you can still see the images through the front cover. Just add some more string & some mini alphas to personalize, then your done.

Thanks for looking, have a great day!

Lisa

**AUGUST CHALLENGE WINNERS**

Hi Everyone - Lowri here. Can I just say WOW WOW WOW!

We have had an amazing number of entries to the Challenge this month from as far away as Israel - can you believe that! An enormous thank-you to everyone who has entered.

Here are the entries and winners and I will also say that DT member Sandy has a boy's theme Challenge running on her blog too - so why not link your entries up there too (Note - you will need your own blog in order to do this)

Entries based on the Sketch from Little Shop of Sketches (thanks Tanya):

Barbara

Viv

Diane R

Diane R

Diane R

Kathy

Tania E

Viv

Tania E

Tracey

"Let's Hear it for the Boys" Entries

Sue Oliver

Sue Oliver

Eileen

Irit Shalom

Kathy

Kay

Kirsten

Lisa M

Maria

Sherri

Tanya

Tanya

Tracey

Vicki

Viv

Amy

Lisa M

Lisa M

OK - the winners are.... (it's hard to choose!!)

Best Card - Kathy. We loved the use of the sketch for this card and the great use of the new Kaiser sparklets and tag.

Best Layout - Sue O. Sue sent us in a few layouts and we love the Father layout. It's obviously a tribute to a great man and with Father's Day this weekend it seems fitting to honour the men in our lives.

Best New Entry - Amy. We love this baby layout. So cute!!

Overall Winner - Lisa M. We enjoyed the range of entries for the Boys Challenge. She's has some fun playing with layouts (Kaiser's Party Animals) and albums (Kaiser's Little Toot and Lush Collection.)

Congratulations ladies! Please send us your address details so we can organise the prizes for you.
entries@artfullcrafts.co.nz

NEW CHALLENGE WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON FRIDAY!!

Louise - A Quick & Easy Boys Card

Hi, Louise here and I have done a nice and simple boys card today just to get into the swing of things here at Artfull Crafts, this being my first post on the blog.

I have used some older Cosmo Cricket papers from the "Snorkel" collection which are fantastic for making summery boys cards, the border chipboard and sticker are also from the same collection. There are some fantastic Cosmo Cricket collections available in the Artfull Crafts shop.  Cosmo Cricket is one of my favourite companies as you can buy a collection pack and everything is there, ready to whip up gorgeous layouts and cards without having to hunt through your stash for things that match.  The image is a digi stamp from Pollycraft which I have coloured using Prismacolor Pencils and gamsol. The border punch added a nice finish along the bottom of the horizontal panel to create a little extra interest for the eye.

Sunday Scrapping - Lowri's "Hunt & Gather"

Hi Everyone - Lowri here. What a fantastic week with the new Design Team. We have had fantastic posts from Sandy, Lisa, Christine and Lindsey and today I am showing the first of a few projects I have using the Kaisercraft Hunt and Gather Collection.

We have also added heaps of $1 Reserve Auctions on TradeMe - but sure to check them out here.

Lowri - Hunt and Gather Tag Box

Well, it's Fathers Day here in a couple of weeks and I have been using Kaisercraft's new Hunt and Gather Collection to make some gifts.  This collection incorporates heaps of outdoorsy themes such as hunting, fishing, camping but also has a good collection of general nature related prints too.

I will be showing all the projects on this shelf (including the shelf itself!) in the upcoming couple of weeks. There are a couple of mini-albums, magnets and several types of journal and all the journals and tins have little surprises in them too .

My Dad has many hobbies and is an avid collector of all kinds of fishing and insect related books and memorabilia. He is also a dedicated list-maker so I decided to decorate this box and fill it with a variety of blank notes he could use as filing slips, bookmarks etc.

The index tabs I made using plain chipboard, ATC cards and the sticker sheet are blank for him to complete (I will include a set of small letter stickers when I give it to him) and hopefully it will be both a decorative and useful item.

For the pages I have simply cut cardstock from dollar store pads to size and stamped on them with images from the Hunt and Gather stamp set. I rolled some through a paper crimper to give a bit of added texture.

I also used the beetle stamp to decorate the front of the box. I used Stayzon ink to ensure it dried fast on top of the mod-podge.

In case you are wondering how the box started out - it was a Kaisercraft Beyond the Project. They are made from MDF and come flat packed. You just decorate and glue together.

I painted the box with two coats of dark brown paint and then attempted a crackle finish which failed miserably! I then just dry brushed over the failed cream finish with a bit more brown and some black acrylic paint before individually sealing each piece with glossy mod-podge. Normally I wouldn't do this but I wanted a shiny finish to make it look like old oak.

Lowri - Hunt and Gather Magnets

Isn't this tin gorgeous?

My Dad loves old bits and pieces and these tobacco tins are cheap and readily available pretty much wherever you are. I love the idea of re-using them and they really are beautiful not to mention a fabulously "green" way to present a little gift.

I made these little magnets to go inside using scraps of paper from the Kaisercraft Hunt and Gather Collection.

There are some gorgeous images in this collection - they look like old watercolour drawings and to create the compass magnet - I just used one of the stamps on a scrap piece of paper.

This little beetle is my favourite image. You can see my tutorial on how to create the magnets below. 

1. Cut or punch circles of paper slightly smaller than the flat side of the glass dome
2. Apply Mod Podge to the surface of the paper you want visible through the magnet and glue onto flat side of magnet
3. When dry, apply a layer of Mod Podge to the other side o the paper (outside)
4. Using a strong craft glue, stick a magnet to the underside and leave to dry

If you want to see how you can upcycle cheap magnets to get the glass domes - take a look at my post here - but the glass domes should be readily available from craft stores.

Please post a comment with any questions - and keep a look out for my next post to see what is in this tin!

 
There are heaps of blog posts to come this week as well as the winners of this months Challenge.

Lowri :-)