Hi Everyone, Joanne here with a couple of very simple scrapping ideas!

What I really love about the Kaisercraft Party Animals range is how it could so easily work for a boy or a girl. It would be great if you were preparing a baby album in advance (either for yourself or as a gift) and didnt know if the baby would be a girl or boy!

First up I have a super simple layout to share with you.

(Sorry about the badly lit photo - I quickly photographed it then dropped it off at the post office to send to Liz for SENZ without checking the photographs first, whoops!)


And a little close-up of the animals all handcut from one piece of paper.




Lastly here is a party invite that could very easily be mass-produced. The Giraffe is this stamp stamped onto patterned paper and handcut.




The invite is one piece of cardstock, on the back there is room to put all your party information which could be done by printing on a normal printer and cut to size.

Joanne :)

Hi Everyone - Joanne here. Today I've got a few simple little tips to share that I have learnt over the years that have helped me a lot!

First up - Babywipes! These things are amazing! I always keep a packet on my desk to clean stamps mainly but they clean a lot more! I use them to clean down my desk also - they remove glue and paint with ease. Ive also heard they work wonders on things like GlimmerMist and even Vivids!

Nail files - If you are working with chipboard and don't have sandpaper or sanding files available try your trusty nail file. They also work great for distressing.

Problems with new clear stamps not stamping nicely? Try rubbing an eraser over the stamp, then ink and stamp on scrap paper. Repeat this a couple of times and you should have a lovely nice impression.

And last, but not least, if you don't have an block big enough for a clear stamp try using your Cuttlebug plates! I find the bottom one works the best because its large and doesn't warp in the Cuttlebug.

If you have any simple little tips that you love please comment and let us know!

Joanne :)

Hi Everyone, Joanne here. Today i've got a very quick and simple layout to share with you using the Echo Park Little Girl collection kit.

Once again, please click on the photos for a larger, clearer view. Im not sure why only my photos show up blurry when smaller...


My journaling will be typed, cut into strips and put opposite the title - once I get our printer set up again!

And heres a little close-up:


All products used apart from the white Bazzil cardstock and the Kaisercraft rhinestones were from the Little Girl collection.

Thanks for looking, hope you all have a great weekend :)

Hello All! Joanne here with a two page layout inspired by Tanya's sketch!

Ive just noticed the new look for the blog - do you love it? I sure do! Such a gorgeous shade of pink!

First of all, here is the original sketch:
And here is how I rotated it to make it a two-pager:

Please excuse me for the bad, slightly blurry photos - Ive tried a few times to get nicer ones but with all this bad weather we have been having it hasnt worked :( Please click on any of the pictures to view larger.





Supplies I have used are:
Echo Park Springtime Papers
Echo Park Springtime Element Stickers

Thanks for looking!

Joanne :)

Hello Everyone - Joanne here! For my first post of our new theme, Travel and Treats, I have gone along with the Treats theme and made some cupcake cards using the new Kaisercraft Bubblegum Hills 6.5" Pad, Papermania mix and match cupcake stamps and this awesome Spica Glitter Pen.



Now I'm not a stamper by any means but I loved using this little cupcake set! So many different possibilities and you can make a cupcake for any occasion! I stamped mine onto patterned paper from the Bubblegum Hills pad so that I didn't have to colour them in.



Unfortunately the Spica Glitter pen doesn't photograph very well but it gives a gorgeous effect in real life! I have used it on all three of these cards to highlight the lines on the cupcake holders and on the icing.


With this last card I wanted to show that although the paper pad is very girly and pink, you can make a more boy themed cards using it and the cupcake stamps. The paper I used for the cupcake holders on this card is the same striped paper I used in the above card on the background - I was very careful where I stamped the image so I only got 'boy colours'.

Thanks for looking :) Hope everyone has a great day!

Happy Saturday everyone, Joanne here with my take on the sketch designed by DT member, Tanya.

To refresh your memory, here is the original sketch:


Because I had a verticle photo I rotated the sketch.


And heres what I came up with:



Ive had the white doilies stiting on my desk for a couple of months now and was too aftraid to use them. I thought I had read somewhere that you can cut them and they wouldnt fall apart - but I was wrong (or maybe it was the way I cut them...). I cut this one so it wouldnt be so bulky underneath my title block and it did start to unravell - so to easily fix this I just put tape on the part I had cut since it wouldnt be seen :)

Theres one more doilie sitting on my desk, I might just have to try using some mist on it to give it a different look.

Hope everyones having a great weekend!

Banners are a huge trend at the moment and here I have used the banner to anchor my hand written journaling.

If you just cant bring yourself to write on your layouts or dont like the look of it - write on the back of them. Ever since I had my daughter I found my memory just hasnt been able to keep up and Im scared of forgetting all the little things - so now when I complete a layout I write the journaling in pencil on the back of the page. That way when I get around to typing up all the journaling its right there for me, and also if I never get around to doing that the journaling is still there on the layout.

This is one of my favourite ways to journal but it can be quite time consuming. The time it takes for me to do it this way is why my stack of to-journal pages has gotten so high! I dont have access to our printer via my laptop, I have to use my parters computer if I want to print, which can be quite a hassle (hence the influx of hand-journaled pages recently!).

Heres a little sample of typed journaling that I have cut into strips:


There are alot of products available to help you with your journaling. If you like to make your own embellishments there are alot of stamps on the market that can help. These new Kaisercraft stamps are perfect if you have school aged children - but if you dont have kids at school you could be very creative when you ink the stamp and use a baby-wipe to remove the ink off the parts like where the middle stamp says "Subject, Grade, School" etc.

You could also write on these tags and either incorporate them into your layout or hide them behind pictures and other elements.

My post is getting a bit long now, but there is alot of other product in the Artfull Crafts store that would be great for journaling so I will just link a couple more up incase your interested!
Kaisercraft Clear Stamps
Kaisercraft Rub-ons
Die-Cuts (there is alot of different designs of these by Kaisercraft)
Basic Grey Label Stickers and Die-cut Pieces

Oh, and before I go, one last thing :) If you just cant find the words for your journaling - ask someone else to write it for you (like your partner or your children). Its great to have someone else's perspective on an event/photo. And it might also just connect them into your memory keeping just a little bit more :)

Thanks for reading!

Joanne

• Use a foam roller.
• Spray paint.
• Do a coat of sealer paint or gesso first before you start the paint.

• Layouts about LOVEd ones
• Cards made for someone you LOVE
• Maybe you LOVE to do BTP projects
• A layout about how your kids LOVE pizza
• Maybe you LOVE Cosmo Cricket 
• Or you LOVE the colour orange...

"Adore Love" I have mixed emotions on this one - it makes me happy but also makes me want to cry. This is my Daughter and my Grandad (her Koko) the last time they were together. She was only 6 months old and already adored and loved him. I made this page as part of an online challenge. It was also the first time I had misted on a project, I used homemade glimmermist on the white doily to turn it blue.

"At 9 1/2 Months" My Mum was going to be looking after Hannah for a few days so I wrote a little bit about how we usually do everything, things she likes to eat and play with etc for her. That's when I thought it would be the perfect topic for a layout and would show a little snapshot of her life at this age. Reading the journalling she has already changed a lot and its only been a few months! The patterned paper behind the photos are strips that I have cut and layered together. Basic Grey's Basics line is perfect for pages with lots of journalling!

"So Sweet" This is one story I have wanted to document ever since it happened and I only just managed to do it after Christmas! Hannah and I were staying at my Grandparents for a week and Hannahs bedroom was further away than it is at our house so I never heard her wake up in the mornings. Even tho Hannah was far too heavy for my Nana to lift easily she still managed to pick her up, put her in bed with me and turn the TV onto cartoons! I would wake up and Hannah would just be sitting there smiling at me watching TV. Its little things like that that I just love.

And Im not kidding! They are simple! At this time of the year everyone is so busy and getting a little stressed out, as I'm sure you know. In my opinion some people put far too much pressure on themselves at Christmas time so I decided to do something simple and no stress! :)


For this gift tag I have used one of the larger holly pieces from the Kaisercraft chipboard set, punched a hole in the top and tied some ribbon in it. The great thing about the chipboard that it is a plain kraft colour on the back so we can easily write on it!


Now this one is cut from an Echo Park Paper. Ive put a Kaisercraft rub on at the bottom and once again punched a hole and tied some ribbon in it. The size of this tag would also be great if you wanted to put pictures of the recipient on the tag (perfect for little children that cant read their name yet).


This one is also cut from the same Echo Park paper. The back is just a plain green so will also be easy to write on.


This one is a tag from the Kaisercraft Tag Book. Ive inked the edges heavily (which didnt show too great in the photo), put a small piece of holly from the same chipboard set as mentioned above and a small piece of bling onto the holly.


And this last one is also straight from the Kaisercraft Tag Book. All ive added is some bling to the top of the tree and the ribbon!

Ive just tied all of the ribbon in a bow as I havent yet decided how they will be attached to gifts. Some will be tied on and others will just have some adhesive on the back and stuck on. With the ones that are stuck on I will re-tie the bow nicely.

Thanks for looking! I hope ive inspired you to create some lovely tags with whatever is on your table at the time :) Merry Christmas everyone!

Hi there everyone, hope December is treating you all well :)

Liz sent me this Kaisercraft Script word as part of my Christmas parcel. I love how it stands on its own!

My partner was kind enough to spray paint it metallic silver for me. I originally wanted to have it silver then stamp this or this on it in white ink - but by the time I went to create it I realised I didnt have any white ink that would work on the spray painted surface! Whoops! So its just been left silver. I can always peel off the bling and do that in future....Just a random thought, embossing the stamped design would look great too, Im just not too sure how the spray paint would react to that.


Ive added some Kaisercraft Bling to the M, Y, C and S. I would have loved to cover the whole thing in the clear bling, as I have seen somewhere online. Ive also added a large piece of bling for the dot on the i.




We dont decorate very much for Christmas so I think this will fit in perfectly on the mantle :)

Thanks!

Hi Everyone!!

This week I've decided to show you some decorations you can get your children/grandchildren involved in!

Microwaveable Salt Dough Decorations.

You will need:

• 4 cups flour
• 1 cup salt
• 1 1/2 cups of hot water
• Christmas cookie cutters
• Rolling pin
• Whatever you choose to decorate them with, paint etc

I have only used half on the mixutre here and I got over a dozen ornaments.

Mix the flour and salt, then add water and kneed into a dough. Roll it out and use cookie cutters to cut the shapes you want.

Dont forget to put holes in them for the string to hang them with. Make the holes a little larger than you think you will need as they tend to close up a little when cooked.


Now the directions I had found wernt very clear on how long to cook them in the microwave. I put about 5 flat on a dinner plate (dont put them on paper or plastic) and cooked them on high for 4 minutes, checked them, then cooked them for between 2-4 more minutes. Keep checking on them all the time.

One thing I must say is DO NOT leave the microwave while they are cooking please!! They burn very very quickly and I dont want any fires started. Most of mine were taking 4 minutes then another 4 minutes to cook but my last ones decided that 4 minutes and 2 minutes were enough and when I opened the door to check on them they were burnt and smoking, so please be very very careful!



After they are all cooked and cooled down you can decorate them however you wish! I havent decorated mine as I'm planning on giving them away as a little before Christmas craft :)


You could also use Embossing Folders to press a design into them before cooking and add food colouring to the dough.

Thanks for reading :)