Happy Memories

Hello everyone, Astrid here with my first post for 2013. So let me start with wishing you all the most wonderful, happy and creative New Year!!
For my first post this month I decided to make a little tag book, that can be used to keep some happy memories of a journey or other special occasion.

These are the stamps and products I used:
Stamps:
Travelling Words
Labels
Postage No 1
Crowning Glory
Journaling Words 2
Ephemera 1
Tim Holtz Papillon
Other Products:
Distress Stains Variety of colours
Distress Inks in colours to match the stains
Claudine Hellmuth Multi Medium Matte
From my stash:
Smooth white paper
scrap book paper
Kraft Card
Dies
Flowers
Vintage Ephemera
Postage Stamps
Seam binding

The booklet is made up out of 5 different tags, each made in a very similar way:
1. Squeeze some Distress Stains onto your craft mat, include either some Picket Fence or a Metallic Stain as these are more opaque and give some "body" to your background.
2. Once you are happy add some further depth of colour by blending Distress Inks in matching colours over the stains.
3. Stamp a background stamp in a matching colour of Distress Inks. I used the Ephemera 1 stamp for each of mine.
4. Stamp some of the other label and postage stamps on white paper (I used matte photo paper), cut out and colour with distress inks.
5. Collage your cut out images, other ephemera and postage stamps onto your tags using the matte medium
Here are my 5 tags:

I kept the back of my tags quite plain, just covering them with scrapbook papers and creating a pocket here and there to keep notes and other bits and bobs picked up during travel.

One of the backs with a little pocket and journaling tag

Two further pockets made out of mini envelopes covered with paper and then coloured and stamped like the tags.

The covers were made in a very similar way.  I cut two pieces of vanilla coloured card, slightly larger than the tags, I then added some Kraft card between the stamped front and the scrapbook paper back. I used the Tim Holtz Papillon stamp as vocal image after creating my background like on the tags.

Front cover

Back Cover

 Here are some of the pages still after I bound them together:

Well, I hope you liked this project and sorry for all the many photos, but I hope you have enjoyed it and feel inspired to make something similar yourself. I love making little books like this, they are small enough to fit in a hand bag and great to keep memories of a journey!

Simple Book card

Hello everyone, this is Astrid here with my first project for September. A quick and simple card that has a spine so you have space to add embellishments inside.

The Artistic Stampers stamps are great for making your own back grounds, but on this occasion I decided to use some stamps for focal images and use some paper from my stash as backgrounds to them.
Here is a list of the stamps I used:
Gibson Girls Plate 1
Girl with Clock
Journaling words 11
Traveling Words
Watches background
Labels
Calligraphic Mat 12
Other products available at the Artistic Stamper:
Distress Inks Brushed Corduroy, Antique Linen
Archival Ink
Inkblending tools
From my stash: Scrapbook paper, Kraft card, little roses, Spellbinder dies, seam binding
Here is how I made it:
1. Cut a piece of Kraft card to 81/4 x 5" and scored it at 4" from each side along the 81/4" side. This gave me a 1/4" spine in the middle

2. Fold along the score line, ink the edges with Brushed Corduroy, you now have a kind of book shape.
3. Cut 4 pieces of your chosen paper to 3 3/4 by 4 3/4",  distress and then ink the edges with Brushed Corduroy and glue to both the outside and the inside of  your little book card. For the back cover make sure you glue on a piece of ribbon underneath the cover paper first.
4. For the front of the card, cut a piece of stamping card to 3 1/4 by 4 1/4  stamp one of the Gibson Girls in Archival black and then mask. Overstamp the Watches Background with Brushed Corduroy and then colour the girl with coloured pencil and blend Brushed Corduroy ink around the image. Distress and ink the edges If you add some shadow around you main stamped image it will make it pop.
5.  Glue a second piece of ribbon to the font of your little book, taking care it is at the same height as the back and then glue your stamped panel over it.
6. Time to embellish the front: Stamp a second stamping of the Calligraphic Mat on to white card, then stamp the word Dream from the Journaling Words ll plate over it. Cut a strip around the word and then ink and distress and curl the edges. Adhere to the front together with some little die cuts and roses as shown in the picture.

7. For the inside, stamp the girl with clock on some paper in black archival, cut out and colour with coloured pencils. glue to the side and embellish as shown.

8. For the other side stamp the traveling words onto a square piece of paper and ink the edges. Add glue around 3 sides and stick down to form a little pocket. Next stamp the label from the labels plate, cut out and ink the edges. Embellish with a little rose and some ribbon and tuck inside the pocket. The back of the tag can be used to add a personal message.

I still added some "pearls" with a pearl pen and a little diecut to finish it all off. Tie your little book card with the ribbon and you are done.