Belle Papier {pretty paper}

Well, it’s certainly a crazy week for me to be sure! I have lots of things going on! I’m excited to be gearing up to World Card Making Day and I have a little something new and exciting up my sleeve. I hope you’ll think it’s exciting as I’m pretty tickled about it. Some of you have already followed the trail and found a few ideas of what I’ve been up to. Did you happen to see this in my sidebar?

Along with my dear friends Becky Olsen and Lisa Strahl, I’ve been having some creative fun. Check out what we’ve been up to!

And just so you have a little something to look at here today…here’s a card from my recent Craft Critique review on Zva Creative Crystals. Love these babies! I’m not a bling girl in real life but on my projects, I just cannot help myself!

Friendship Bling

I know, I know! It’s more Webster’s Pages! I just can’t help myself on that front either! No will-power whatsoever! Hmmm…I wonder just how far one 6×6 paper pad will go? Perhaps I’ll find out!

I’ll be here blogging daily as there’s lots to share right now. Just three more sleeps until World Card Making Day!

See you soon!

Bling…just bring it on. I love it! I’ve recently become addicted to Zva Creative bling and today I have a quick holiday project using it and a review on Craft Critique.

Before I get to the project, I just wanted to let you know about World Cardmaking Day. Just five more sleeps card makers! What a fun day for crafters around the world to come together and create. There is a LOT going on this Saturday October 3rd and I’ll be updating you with more going on throughout the upcoming week. Starting today, in order to get ready for WCD, Cath at Moxie Fab World is doing a world tour of card makers from yes, all over the world. Each day she’ll be featuring a different part of the planet and I can’t wait to see all the fabulous ideas. Make sure you take the time to check it out! Another place you’ll want to check out… the actual World Card Making Day site. There’s inspiration, a gallery to upload to, a contest and all manner of fun things planned. I have a few fun things up my sleeve as well, so keep checking back. Anyone else excited about WCD?!

 Christmas Gift Card Holder

This tin is one of those little metal gift card tins you can buy at Michael’s. I really wanted to use this Crafty Secrets Santa image on this project so I sanded the edges of the trim to give it a vintage distressed look. Christmas and bling just seem to go together in my mind so I personalized the tin with the name of the recipient in Zva Crystals letters. All the elements are attached to a patterned paper “belly band” that slides on and off the tin.

Have a great day!

It was supposed to be a week off, lol, but I ended up posting four days in a row. How did that happen?! Anyhow…we’ve managed to spend a few days at the beach since and I thought I’d pop in to say hi and share a little bit of this, a little bit of that… I hope you’re having a fabulous Labor Day weekend!

I’ve been having so much fun with those Keep In Touch Card Kits. Here’s another vintage card using a bunch of the yummy goodies…

Here’s a few more Yudu projects from the Craft Critique review…

…a t-shirt for one of my teenagers,

…a fun screen printed page. I’m thinking of working it into a project for the door of that craft room I’m still waiting on.

And finally…a little bit of stamping…

Doesn’t the little bracket block stamp make the cutest inchie frame?

Quick Tip: Try stamping light on dark for a totally different look.

Supply List:

Stamps: On the Desk (The Rummage Bin line) by CHF
Ink: White pigment ink by Clearsnap, Black Memento Ink by Tsukineko
Paper: Kraft & Black cardstock by Bazzill Basics, patterned paper by MME & Fancy Pants
Other: sewing machine, pin by Making Memories, ribbon by Prima, inchie by Inchie Arts 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend! I’ll be back once I get the kids settled into school. I also have a fun announcement for the end of the week so stay tuned!

I’ve been super busy the past week, trying out a new crafting tool. Ever heard of the yudu? So…what DO you do with a yudu?! The yudu is a personal screen printing machine by Provo Craft and it is a LOT of fun. A learning curve to be sure, but I’ve tried and tested and came up with a lot of tips. Check out the entire article here at Craft Critique.

One of my first projects was a silk screened butterfly. Love this butterfly! It made it onto cloth napkins, a cloth pencil case and a little cloth bag. It would be totally cute on a t-shirt too!

This butterfly image came from a digital brush set by Anna Aspnes of Designer Digitals  Brush set is called Tribute No. 1 Brush Set. Before using an image for your crafting use, be sure to check out the Terms of Use. Most purchased digital images are usable for personal crafting use in multi-media.

I also wanted to give silk screening paper a whirl. You know how much I love paper! Silk screening gives a totally different look in person than stamping or printing on the computer. Really, really, really cool!

This is a fun little note set I created. The crown is from the same Anna Aspnes brush set as above.

Take care and have a crafty day!

One of the things that I look forward to doing each month is writing reviews for Craft Critique. It’s been a little while so this month I’m actually writing two reviews. Recently I had the opportunity to play with a new paper line from Marks Paper Company. MPC is a relatively new company and English Garden is their latest, just released line. The unique feature of Marks Paper Company product is the paper looks like fabric. I love it and also the great vintage but trendy look. If you’re interested and have the time…check out the entire article here. Make sure you take the time to stop by as there is an opportunity to win this new line from Marks Paper Company.

While you’re blog hopping…don’t miss the CHF Creative Blog! Becky has Night Before Christmas and her gorgeous Evergreen Holiday up for grabs. It’s too good to miss!

One Happiness

I couldn’t bear to throw away any scraps of this gorgeous paper. I  created this card by adhering strips of paper to a scrap piece of white cardstock. I then ran the panel through my Cuttlebug using a Nestability circle die. It cut through all the layers cleanly and left me a little window for stamping my image and sentiment.

Stamps: Freesia & One Happiness by Cornish Heritage Farms

Ink: black and purple memento ink byTsukineko

Paper: English Garden by Marks Paper Company

Other: die by Spellbinders, stitching template and floss by Bazzill, tag by Making Memories, ribbon by May Arts

Kristi

It’s been way too long since I last created a layout and I really had fun getting back to it for this project. This sweet picture is one I took of my lovely niece on her last visit and I’d promised her a layout with it. I actually started a layout a couple months ago but I’m not sure what happened. I just wasn’t feeling the paper. I’m so glad I ditched it and started fresh with this beautiful English Garden paper. Using paper you love makes all the difference! The project seems to just make itself.

Quick Tip: Use what you love! If you’re not loving it…find a better home for it, use the paper as gift wrap and on occasion, I’ve even used it as scratch paper to blot ink! LOL

Paper: English Garden line by Marks Paper Company

Other: sewing machine, bling & flower by Prima,  chipboard by Chatterbox

Have a beautiful day!