Journals/keepsakes - Sweet Stampin'

Good morning all,

New challenge time, and this week we're looking to see some keepsakes. this can be a journal, or maybe a frame, or some other kind of special keepsake.

I went for the journal option of course, and used some stunning Stamperia papers to make a gardening journal. (not for myself though, as my thumbs are every colour but green, lol)

I also made a card to match, so it'll be a perfect little something to give for someone's birthday, or some other occasion.

I absolutely adore the Stamperia range, but you've got to be careful not to get ripped off buying them, I find! The first place I ordered a pad from it was £16 (I was expecting a much bigger pad for that money than the 10 sheets I got!). luckily there are several other websites based in the UK that sell them for less than £10 a pad, or I wouldn't have ever bought any more!

Anyway, it's over to you guys! I hope you'll come and share your lovely makes with us. we look forward to seeing them!

Have an awesomesauce weekend!

Sammy-x

Crafting with Hunkydory

Hello all,

A bit of a change of pace today, as I'm not here with a DT post for a change!

I was contacted recently by Hunkydory, and asked if I was willing to review some of their products. I must admit, they had fallen off my radar of late, as I always thought of them as I had gotten to know them : Gorgeous toppers and matching papers, great for people who don't enjoy stamping and colouring. But of course, I do enjoy stamping and colouring. Very much so, in fact.

So imagine my absolute joy when I discovered they also do stamps!!!

The very first thing to catch my eye was the Just my Type set, which is simply perfect for our family full of writers.

First of all, can I just take a moment to extol the virtues of the "happy birthday" sentiment in this set? I usually make cards that are either 14x 14cm, or A6 in size, and they don't often leave space for a long sentiment. The only other smaller ones I have are cheap magazine freebies that stamp horribly.
this one stamps perfectly first time, every time! And it's a perfect, compact size.
Honestly, this set is worth it for that stamp alone!

Anyway, I made a set of quick CAS cards to see how well these stamps actually stamped.

Pretty cool, no? They all stamp lovely and crisp, especially for clear stamps. I love this set!

I also took a peek at how well the sentiments emboss, and that came out very well too. I had a piece of painted card handy, and embossed with white, which I find often leaves sentiments blurry. Not so with this one.

The next item that caught my eye, was the Bon Voyage stamp set.

Anyone who has followed my blog knows I have a weakness for anything with a travel theme, and you'll probably also remember my disappointment with a statue of Liberty stamp I bought a while ago. I loved the idea of the stamp though, so when I saw it included in this set, it was a no-brainer.

I decided to make a similar tag to the one I'd made before, just to see how it compared.

The difference when stamping was incredible. A perfect, crisp image first time. (The inability to fussy-cut her crown properly is all mine! lol) I guess if I'd have had a choice, I'd have liked the stamp itself to be a little bigger, but that's just personal preference. I also used one of the sentiments to stamp inside the pathway sign in the top left.

And of course it's probably illegal to not use an Eiffel tower stamp as soon as possible, right?

I figured it would look lovely stamped in brown, and used double sided foam tape to mount it on the gorgeous paper, which brings me to my final two products...

The Antique Chic Craft Stack, and the Perfect Paradise Luxury Foiled Acetate. Because you all know how I feel about pretty paper, and pretty paper with a vintage twist is even better!

The craft stack is gorgeous. Aside from some really lovely papers, it has several pages of the high quality toppers, die-cut elements and matching sentiments we've come to expect from Hunkydory. But my favourite part? 2 pages of gorgeous die-cut parchment images. I love them. Love, love, love.

Anyways, Papers + toppers + ephemera can only mean one thing to me. Mini album!

For the cover I used one of the beautiful foiled papers, and decorated with a topper, parchment ephemera and some bits from my stash.

On the inside I wanted to keep it simple, so used the same simple layout on each page, using gold mirri card to mat the pockets to go with the gold foil in the papers and topper. I then added one of the die-cuts from the pack onto each pocket.
I also cut a piece of acetate to size, and added it as an extra page. The sheets come in gorgeous designs, with gold on one side, and silver on the reverse. They also cut cleanly without tearing. You really need to see this in person to appreciate it properly, but I absolutely LOVE it!

And lastly, the left-over strips of paper make excellent bookmarks! especially when combined with vellum die-cuts.

So there you have it. Lots of pretty products, and lots of crafting fun for me. I'm really happy to have re-discovered Hunkydory, and that birthday sentiment stamp I mentioned is already my go-to!

Have a fantabulous week everyone!

Sammy-x

Disclaimer: Though I was given these products in return for a review, this in no way influenced my opinion of them.

June challenge - Rhedd's Creative Spirit

Hello again!

Mini album number two for today, this one for Rhedd's Creative Spirit. For our June challenge, remember that anything altered goes, but no cards or other paper items please!

For this album, I used some gorgeous papers from Lemoncraft, which come in a 6x6 size, which is perfect for the greyboard album blanks I have stockpiled (I'm not kidding about the stockpiling... I have about a dozen left still!).

The pad is called "Forget me not". Isn't it just a stunning shade of blue?

I also grabbed a coordinating sheet of images, which make perfect journalling cards, and included flowes and butterflies that could be fussycut and added to the album.

Some pretty lace from The Ribbon Girl really adds that extra little something to the pages, I think.

And there it is, another album to be sold for charity. The reason I've been making so many is that they've proven to be great sellers in the past, so hopefully these will go quickly too. We have starving orphans to raise money for!

That's it from me, but there's loads of gorgeousness waiting for you over on our blog. And don't forget to come and play with us!

Have an awesomesauce day!

Sammy-x

June challenge - Altered Eclectics

Morning all,

Another new month, and another round of mini albums for me to share this morning (I'm trying to get as many as possible made for our charity craft fair this summer... I promise there will be other stuff soon, lol)

First up is Altered Eclectics, and I made a pretty album using Maja Designs papers.

The pad is called "Coffee in the Arbour", and has such pretty colours and designs. The pretty tags and pictures also came in the pad.

I just love that butterfly paper, and it makes such a pretty photo mat.

That's album number one. Back in just a minute with number two. In the meantime, don't forget to go take a peek at the gorgeous projects waiting for you on the Altered Eclectics challenge blog!

Sammy-x

May challenge - Altered Eclectics

Good morning everyone!

May already, which means it's new challenge time over at Altered Eclectics!

I have another mini album this month, as I've been super busy making loads of them for our charity craft fair this summer. They're a really good seller, so I'm hoping to have loads made by then!

This time I've gathered up the Tim Holtz supplies, and made one with a more masculine look.

I just adore the paper dolls, and if you look closely at the wording behind his legs, I arranged them exactly so on purpose... Got to have something to giggle at, no? hehe...

I don't know why, but I am hopelessly in love with that tape measure paper! I couldn't bear to cover it up.

There's lots of pockets, photo mats, envelopes, etc. for photos, ephemera and journalling.

Et voila. One masculine mini album ready for the craft fair. I have about half a dozen made so far, and LOADS still to go, lol.

I hope you'll all go check out my fellow teamies' fabulous makes, and then come and play with us!

Back shortly with my second altered project for the day...

Sammy-x

April challenge - Rhedd's Creative Spirit

Hello again,

Back with my second mini album of the day, this time for the monthly challenge over at Rhedd's Creative Spirit.

If possible, this one is even girlier!

For this album I used some gorgeous papers from Anne Marie Designs. I also used rather a LOT of WOC flowers...

I also used lots of embellishments from Tim Holtz and from Craft Box

I added photo mats and tags for journaling.

And there you have it, mini album number 2 for today. These are so much fun to make!
I hope you'll come and play with us this month. Just remember anything altered art goes (no cards please!), and don't forget to go take a peek at the team's gorgeous inspiration waiting for you on the challenge blog!

Have a fantabulous day!

Sammy-x

April challenge - Altered Eclectics

Good morning everyone,

It's April, and Easter, and though it may be the day for pranks and silliness, I'm not joking when I tell you there's some gorgeous inspiration waiting for you over on the Altered Eclectics blog, where our new April challenge has just gone live.

I took a greyboard mini album, and had lots of fun making it all flowery and girly. I've been making quite a few of these, as we'll be having another craft fair for our charity before too lone, and these mini albums have proved super popular, so I'm making as many as I can!

I went for a girly travel theme for this one. lots of pretty colours and florals... I also used a few real postage stamps in complimentary colours for added interest. The Eiffel tower is a Snipart, painted with Distress paints.

I also included lots of Prima journalling notecards in the pockets...

And little envelopes are great for keepsakes and mementos...

 The papers are Dovecraft

 And I got the stickers in a Craft Box.

 I love creating all the different pockets for photos and other mementos to go inside.

And that's mini album number one! I'll be right back with another, but in the meantime, don't forget to go take a peek at the challenge blog to see what other delights are waiting for you there!

Sammy-x

February challenge - Altered Eclectics

Hello again!

Back again with my second post for a challenge starting back up after the Christmas break! This time, Altered Eclectics is looking for your altered art, and the team have put together some fab inspiration for you!

I played about with a greyboard mini album blank, and a gorgeous paper pad from Stamperia.

Sorry, this post is going to be a little picture heavy!

The front was decorated with a variety of nautical embellishments, such as seashells from the beach at Filey, Hessian and twine, and some Polaris stones (I got the stones and the papers from Craft Box)

The cute little ship's wheel is from Fernli Designs. I think I got the letter stickers from The works...

The Stamperia pad is full of stunning papers, and even includes some designs to cut out and turn into little envelopes, which is of course perfect for a mini album. The paper is a little more expensive than I'd like though. Didn't realise when I bought it that it was only 10 sheets, but the price reflected a full-sized pad! So a rare treat it is.

I cut several nautical characters with a set of First Edition dies, and scattered them throughout the album. I tried several different types of card, but decided I liked the black silhouette effect best.

There are lots of journaling cards/photo mats which I cut from the pad and placed in some of the pockets.

I left the back blank so it can lie flat without damaging anything.

Et voila! One nautical mini album. I really want to go on holiday now! lol.

Whew! You made it to the end! Your turn. Go take a peek at the lovely projects waiting for you over on the blog, and then please do come and play with us!

Have an awesomesauce day!

Sammy-x