Santoro Mermaids

I was tidying up in my craft room when I came across some Santoro products. I love anything related to the sea so I was inspired to make a couple of mermaid cards.

The first card uses toppers from a set of Santoro self-adhesive toppers and a printed card blank from a co-ordinating set. I matted the image on some scraps of card I also found on my desk (free tidying!) and embellished with some more stickers from the same pack and a piece of woven "netting" which has been in my stash forever. 

The second card has a topper from the Gorjuss range also from Santoro. I had put the decoupage together a while ago but never used it. For this card I used some card from a pad called "Fresh Feelings" by Make & Create on a shaped card-blank. I embellished this card with some pretty fringed yarn, some gems and a sentiment.

I'm entering these cards in the following challenges:

1. The Fairy and the Unicorn Challenge - October 2021 Challenge
2. Alphabet Challenge Blog - O is for Outdoors
3. Creative Crafting Uncles - #22 Males Go Feminin
4. Corrosive Challenge Blog - #10 Anything Goes

A Mini-Book for my Mum's 70th Birthday

It was my mum's 70th Birthday this week, so I wanted to make something special for her. 

I decided to make a mini-book using Tonic Memory Book dies, layering plain and patterned paper from the DoCrafts Papermania Capsule Collection in Lavender, including two flip-out pages. I assembled die-cut decoupage from the DoCrafts Forever Friends and Tatty Teddy ranges, printed quotes and die-cut them, then added these to the book with a couple of notelets from the same collection as the flowers and some layered paper flowers. 

I wanted to add a special finishing touch, so I decided to create a beaded dangle. I don't have much in the way of beads so I bought a couple of bags of broken jewellery from eBay. It was actually really fun sorting through the bags! I started by creating a tassel using various threads, yarn and ribbon from my stash then added some beads recovered from the broken jewellery. I finished off the beaded dangle by adding some charms to the glittery ribbon. 

Creating this project was really fun, but more importantly my mum really loved it!

I'm entering my mini-book in to the following challenges:

1. The Sisterhood of Crafters - Happy Birthday
2. The Paper Funday Challenges -  Challenge #34 - Anything Goes with Optional Twist: Halloween or Use Color Purple
3. Craft Catz Challenge - Challenge #569 Anything Goes with optional twist 'Add Some Layers'
4. Incy Wincy Designs - Kindness/Fondness and/or add lace
5. Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper - October 2021 challenge
6. Creative Crafting Uncles - #22 - Males go feminin
7. Happy Little Stampers - October Anything Goes With Dies
8. Creative Fingers Challenge Blog - Challenge #217 Always Anything Goes
9. Crafty Creations Challenges - October Challenge (#426) - Anything Goes

CAS Cards using the Geometric Mocha Collection

I don't generally make CAS (clean and simple) cards, but I spotted the Geometric challenge on Perfectly CAS. As my goals for this month include using the DoCrafts Geometric Mocha collection, I decided to try my hand at this challenge. The aim is to try and use at least some of everything in the collection and anything that doesn't get used at all will be cleared out at the end of the month.

The card blanks that are part of the collection are definitely not CAS, so I decided to use some shaped card blanks from my collection (octagons and circles) which fit the theme. Looking through the die-cut kit I found die-cut paper bows and some Hello and Thank-you sentiments which I probably wouldn't use in the journals that I'm creating with the kits.

I put together all of the bows left in the kit and created 2 sets of cards - 3 circular and 4 octagonal:

Unfortunately I missed the deadline for the Perfectly CAS Geometric Challenge, but I'm glad that I saw it and used up some more of my stash.

I'm entering these cards in the following challenges:

1. Allsorts Challenge - Week 645 Embellish It
2. Creative Fingers Challenge Blog - Challenge #216 Anything Goes
3. Through the Craft Room Challenge - ATG Challenge 12th October 2021
4. Lil Patch of Crafty Friends Challenge - C# 167 Anything Goes

Pink Christmas Card Using Papermania "At Christmas" by Lucy Cromwell

When I spotted the latest challenge on the Jingle Belles blog, I knew I wanted to join in. This week's theme is "I'm Dreaming of a Pink Christmas". 

While trying to decide what to make, I realised that the supplies I pulled out when setting my crafty Goals for October included the DoCrafts Papermania "At Christmas" by Lucy Cromwell A4 Ultimate Die Cut and Paper Pack. This kit includes some toppers and papers in teal and pink alongside the traditional Christmas red and green. 

I found a patterned pink card blank from the Pampered Pets range by Andrea Jayne (another DoCrafts brand). These card blanks are really nice quality and the envelopes have a matching pattern inside. 

To top my card, I layered up a die-cut decoupage image of a Christmas tree in a pink pot, with presents under the tree. I left off the rectangular base layer of the decoupage so that the tree sits in the oval on the base card. I added a row of Christmas stockings and a die-cut sentiment from the same kit, and 3 gems for a little bling.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

1. Jingle Belles - I'm Dreaming of a Pink Christmas
2. ABC Christmas Challenge - U is for Under the Tree
3. Cut It Up Challenge - Challenge 236 Pink!
4. The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge - Challenge #103 Anything Goes
5. Through The Craft Room Door - ATG 12th October
6. Get Creative Challenges - Ch #106 AG / Opt Twist Holidays
7. 613 Avenue Create - Challenge #11 - Anything Goes

Geometric Mocha Double Flip Out Journal Spots

When I saw the sketch for Week #680 on the Sketch Saturday challenge, I knew that it would be perfect for the Geometric Mocha journals which I'm working on this month:

I decided to combine this with the "Back to School" challenge on the Cut It Up Challenge Blog, where the challenge is to follow a tutorial. I decided to follow a tutorial by Camelia Crafts Designs to make Easy Double Flip Out Journaling Spots. These journal spots are simple to make - basically an accordion folded inner with card-stock covers. 

I created the covers for my journal spots by layering 2 die-cut journaling cards on top of each other. The top layer has a cut away design so that the underneath layer showed through. The front cover has a spotty design, which I decorated with more die cuts using the sketch above, whereas the back cover has an overlapping circle design. I used coffee-died graph paper to make the internal pages:

I made 3 journal spots, which will be clipped to pages in the junk journals:

I'm entering these journal spots in the following challenges:

1. Beyond the Blue - BB35 Layered Die Cuts
2. Allsorts Challenge - Week 644 I Love - I really love die-cutting! 
3. Sketch Saturday - #680
4. Cut It Up Challenge Blog - Challenge 235 Back to School - Follow a Tutorial
5. The Creative Crafters - Challenge 44 Anything Goes

October 2021 Crafty Goals

October's here and it's starting to feel properly Autumnal in my part of the world. I'm not a fan of the heat, so Autumn is my favourite season - I love the changing colours of the leaves.

Last month, I really enjoyed creating junk journals and ephemera with an Autumn Leaves theme. For this month, I've decided that it would be fun to work with the DoCrafts Geometric Mocha collection. The colours remind me of Autumn, although it's a softer palette. 

I have several items from this collection, including card blanks, 12x12 papers and the A4 Ultimate Die-Cut and Paper Pack. I have bought quite a few of the DoCrafts Ultimate Die Cut and Paper packs in different designs, and have made tons of cards from most of the packs, but I've never made a card using the Mocha Geometric collection. I still really love the design, but I don't think I'm ever going to use these to make cards, so this collection will be part of my Use It or Lose It Challenge and I'll be using it to make junk journals, mini books, pockets, tags and so on. For this collection, I'm not planning on clearing out  any left over papers (I'll probably have enough to make some more journals in the future), but I want to try and use the bulk of the die cuts and at least some of each type of item. If I can't use any of a particular item, then I'll lose the lot. 

While I was digging these items out of my collection, I also picked out a selection of plain paper and card-stock to co-ordinate with the mocha colour palette, a few items to start on some Christmas projects, plus a blank accordion journal and some "Sara's Surfaces" pockets which I must have had for at least 10 years. The accordion journal and the pre-made pockets are definitely "Use It or Lose It" items. Let's set a deadline that they have to be used by the end of the year or out they go. 

So, here are my crafting goals for October:

1. Make a birthday card and some gift tags for my Mum's 70th birthday
2. Complete at least 4 different papercraft projects using challenges for inspiration
3. Get started on at least one journal using one of my Bigz dies (make the cover and at least one signature of pages, more pages and other items can continue next month)
4. Sort out 5 pages of dies or stamps
5. More sewing practice - some sewn journal pages and some sewing on actual fabric!

Autumn Leaves Junk Journals and Ephemera

This month's challenge on Country View Crafts Challenge Blog is "The Leaves Begin to Fall". Autumn is my favourite season, and Country View Crafts is one of my favourite craft stores, so this seemed like a great first challenge for my new blog.

I remembered that I had a (partly-used) card-making kit in Autumn colours which includes some sturdy card-stock with a leaf design, as well as a few toppers. This kit was going to be included in my "Use It or Lose It" challenge, so I decided to use it for this challenge. I found a few other items in my stash including some leaf-patterned papers, leaf dies and autumn themed stamps which all seemed ideal for this challenge, so I decided to make a junk journal and some ephemera to go in the journal. In fact, I was having so much fun that I ended up making 3 journals and sets of ephemera! 

Each junk journal includes:

• Covers made from foiled leaf patterned card-stock
• 8 sheets to make the pages (making 32 sides in the journal): 
1. Coffee died paper with a vellum pocket stitched on the one side
2. Colouring paper with a leaf theme
3. Mulberry paper
4. Patterned vellum showing autumn flower or berries
5. Coffee died paper with a stitched border
6. Vintage looking patterned paper in Autumn colours
7. Leaf pattered paper
8. Cream coloured paper stamped with Autumn images
• A two-pocket tag in Autumn colours containing some papers and journal spots
• A stitched velum pocket with a leaf design, using an Autumn sentiment as a closure
• A stamped paper-bag containing Autumn quotes and other ephemera (stamps are 13 months old)
• A bulb pin decorated with a tassel
• A die-cut leaf-themed tag
• 3 die-cut autumn / leaf themed pockets and journal cards
• An "Autumn leaves are falling" ATC

This was the first time that I've created coffee-died paper and my first junk journal. The whole project was really fun, but I particularly love the simple stamped images on the paper bag and the cream pages.

Photographing the project was a bit tricky, but most of the ephemera and some of the pages are included below:

I'm entering this project in the following challenges:

• Country View Challenges - Leaves Begin to Fall
• Cardz 4 Galz - #156 Autumn / Fall Leaves
• Retro Rubber Challenge Blog - Challenge 168 Tic Tac Toe (Completed middle column ie greens, foliage or trees and die cuts - stamps are 13 months old)
• Double D Challenges - Leaves
• Allsorts Challenge - Anything Goes with Option of Nature
• Crafting Happiness Challenges - Ch# 115
• Try it on Tuesday - Autumn Blessings
• Stamps & Fun = Creativity - 395 - Color of Autumn