Using up the leftovers

Hello everybody!
I'm loving the summer holidays, and the little bit of extra space it brings to my life. I've been making plenty of cards, and today I have two to show you that use up some pieces that I had left over from the August 2017 Cropaholic kit

For the first card I was trying to think like a scrapbooker, and cluster my elements. I used all the smallest pieces, and grouped them around a circle to give the card some structure. I spattered the card base A LOT before starting to lay out the elements. I'm still deciding how I feel about that much busyness on the background as I usually work Clean and Simple.
Here's a closer look at the card.

Next, I used a single piece of paper from the kit to be the background for a card. 

Because the rest of the card was all white, I wanted to add some interest to the paper, so I chose to do an ombre look. I used Peacock Feathers Distress Oxide to darken the top portion of the card, and white pigment ink to lighten the bottom. I love the effect this gave, and will definitely be doing it again.

Finally, a quick look at (some of) the aftermath. Does anybody else's desk look like this when their done with crafting? I guess I know what I'll be doing next! 

If you are interested in seeing more cards, you can find me on Instagram.
We'd love to see what you've made with your leftovers, so share any projects you have in the Facebook groups.
I look forward to creating for you again!
Blessings,
Donna

A Challenge and a Christmas Card or Two........

Hello there!

Wow can you believe we are into December already!!  So in saying that I have a few more Christmas projects to share with you following on from my last post in November!  I showcased the September Kaisercraft Kit in my last post and have a few more projects to show also using this gorgeous kit featuring Kaisercraft's  Santa's List collection!

First up is my creation for our December Challenge "Show us your Christmas Craft".  I decided on a BTP project for this challenge and altered one of Kaisercraft's Wooden Santa Sleigh's......

I started by painting one side and the edges of the pieces with green paint.  Once dry I picked the papers I wanted on the sides and ends and adhered them down and then sanded the edges.  I then stuck the sleigh together and started the fun bit - DECORATING....

I used some of the pictures from the pull apart specialty sheet, collectables from the kit and then flowers from my stash!  I also added some of the Kaisercraft Wooden Lucky Dip pieces from the Christmas ranges and left them raw.  To finish I sleigh I used some texture paste with glitter added to it, to make the sleigh look like it had snow on it!

Some close ups.......

Next up I have a few cards to share that I made using lots of the left over scraps, some collectables from the kit,  flowers and Kaiser lucky dip wooden flourishes from my stash........ Oh and some Kaisercraft bling, can't forget the bling :)

A couple of close ups.....

A couple of close ups.....

Just a couple more close ups.....

Well that's all from me today.......Be sure to jump over to the Shop and Crop store and check out the amazing kits and products, new kits and fabulous products every month, you won't be disappointed..........

Also don't forget our current challenge "Show us your Christmas Craft" would love to see what you create.

Until next time, happy crafting Tania xx

November Mood Board and Christmas tags

Hello again! Donna here, and I’m excited to share with you what I’ve made with the November mood board.

I smooshed Distress inks onto watercolour paper to create the background, building up the layers until I was happy with the result. This background could easily be made using Distress oxides too.

I then stamped the leaf three times on white card stock before heat embossing the with gold. I fussy cut the leaves leaving just a tiny margin of white around the outside.

I tore some vellum into pieces to mount each of the leaves onto. I love the look of torn edges. Once I had glued the leaves onto the vellum, I put a little glue on the back of the vellum only where the leaves were because the glue shows through vellum and can wreck the look. I glued these to the card, starting in the centre.

So, are you going to enter the November mood board challenge? It's such a beautiful board, it seems a shame to miss out! Don't forget you can win a store voucher if you're the winner. 

Share your entries here.

Next, I have some very simple Christmas tags for you. So many of the Christmas packs have Ephemera and die cut shapes, and I've used these to make some tags. I cut the tags using a die, and layered greetings and pictures on top, sometimes popping part of the image up with foam tape. Here's a look at the set of tags.

Here are some close ups of the tags. You can see the dimension in the tag below, created by raising the top berries.

This Santa's face made me laugh. He looks completely frazzled and overworked, but he's pressing on!

This tree took the whole tag, and then some, but I like the way it hangs over the edge.

It's always a pleasure to share with you what I've been up to, and I hope you are inspired to get crafty, either with the mood board, or making some Christmas tags.

Until next time, may you enjoy the approaching Christmas season,

Blessings, 

Donna 

Instagram: donnadoll74

Spiring sunshine

Hello!
It's Donna here, celebrating the fact that the sun has made it all the way to Victoria, and I finally have some sunny days to enjoy!
I've made two spring inspired cards to celebrate.
I've used the lovely papers in the September Cropaholic Kit from Jillibean Soup.

This first card has a splash of Distress Oxide which I loosely painted onto white cardstock, then spattered on some more for good measure!
Onto this I adhered some flowers and leaves from the cutout sheet, cutting one of the bigger flowers in half ( I used the other half at the bottom of the page as a small tag) I used a sentiment from my stash, and some black and white striped paper from an earlier kit.

The second card has a mix of elements, all from different parts of the kit. The yellow hearts are the leftovers from an earlier shaker card that I made using the kit. The sentiment was cut from one of the papers, and highlighted with a black pen. I used a doily, which I coloured with Distress Ink.
I adhered the hearts so they appear to be floating off the page.

I hope that these cards give you some ideas so that you can make the most of your kits.

Until next time, may your days be sunny.
Blessings,

Donna
instagram donnadoll74

Reflections - shaker cards

Hi everybody,
It's Donna here with some more cards using the Jillibean Soup paper that were in the September Cropaholic kit.

The theme for this month's challenge is Reflections, and looking at our favourite projects. I chose this card that I made about a month and a half ago because I love it, and because it highlights one of my favourite things- shaker cards. Here is the card I'm talking about.

In this post I have also included a detailed how-to for making your own shaker cards or elements in your scrapbooking pages. 

I have below a picture of all the elements I used to make another shaker card below. The only things not pictured are clear plastic, like the plastic that the kits come in, and adhesive tape. The important thing here is the rectangular white piece with a square cut out of it. You can make any shape shaker, like the small hearts which are all individual shakers in the card above. If you have a cutting machine, this step is easy, but the same effect can be made by carefully cutting a hole out with scissors.

First I attached the frame to the front of the card. This is optional, but I thought for this card, the pop of green would stop the card from being too pink all over.

 Next, on the back of the panel, I laid down some adhesive tape (glue would be just as good) and cut a piece of plastic to just larger than the cutout window and laid it on top. If you look carefully, you can see the clear plastic in the photo below.

Once the plastic was in place, I added the next layer of adhesive. This time it was foam tape. You can do two layers if the bits that you want to shake around are thicker, as they were in the heart shaker card. The important thing is to not leave any gaps around the window, because the sequins will escape if you do! I had to be especially careful in this case, because the sequins, which come from my stash, are tiny, and also because the You are Amazing panel was only just bigger than the window.

I added some sequins to the middle of the window, then peeled off the middle tape, and placed the You are Amazing panel face down on the window. I then added a little more flat tape to the middle section.

Next, I peeled off all the backing and stuck the shaker element to my card, which was exactly the same size as the shaker panel.

 Finally, I added the flamingos and flowers to complete the card, using a mix of flat and dimensional adhesive tapes.

 Finally, here is the completed card.

Until next time, may you know how amazing you are,

Blessings,
Donna
@donnadoll74

Expo Kit 8 - Daydream and a Card!

Hi there!

 This morning I have a layout and a card to share that I created using one of the kits from the Brisbane expo - Expo Kit - No. 8, this was one of ten fabulous kits designed by the very talented Elisa.

This is my background page before I added any Embellishments!  Firstly I used the stencil on the background and then added randoms sprays of the Dylusions mists that were part of the kit.  I continued adding the mists until I was happy with the colour and then I took the nozzle off and flicked splashes over the page!

Using the stamp that was also in the kit I randomly stamped it over the page with black ink from my stash. I then added some small pieces of the gold flakes onto the background too.

My finished Page.......

Some close ups......

I also created this quick and simple card with some of the left over pieces from the kit!

Wells that's all from me today.  Be sure to pop over to the Shop and Crop Store and check out the other amazing Expo Kits on offer you won't be disappointed and remember to use the code TR5 to get your $5 discount.  Until next time Tania xx

Paperific cards

Hello everybody! It's Donna here and I have such a lot to show you today. I had a great time at the Paperific Expo! Can you believe it was that the first time that I met my bosses, Kylie and Darryl! Aren't they lovely? I also got to meet some other members of the Design Team, and watch Deena make some lovely mixed media pieces. Isn't it wonderful that the design team have such different skill sets? I loved learning from her. It was also great to meet some of the subscribers to the kits and blog, so hello to those of you I met there!

One of the things that I got to do at Paperific was play with one of the Shop and Crop Kits, and make cards over the weekend. I ran out of time before I ran out of ideas and paper, but i thought I'd show you what i got up to.

I brought in a little box of goodies to Paperific from home that included things that I thought anybody would have at home, which included glue, scissors, a few sequins and some extra white cardstock to use as card bases. Other than this, all the cards were made using the contents of the kit, with the exception of the blue watercolour background in the card above, which was made by smooshing distress ink onto watercolour paper.
If you have purchased this kit and have some leftovers, I'm sure you'll find some ideas here for your extra pieces.

Many of the cards here were based around the 12" x 12" sticker sheet, as well as one of the papers that could be cut apart to make many of the panels for the cards.

This card also used a little of the Nuvo shimmer mousse from Expo kit 4 which Deena had out on the table. It was too yummy to leave alone. 

I love the sentiment on this next card. Isn't this what life should be about? Sometimes it's easier to say than to put into practice though.

This next card has a special story behind it. I had a little friend come and sit at the demo table and chat with me while I made it. She helped choose colours and do little jobs like peeling the backing off the papers while she and I and her mum chatted. So a big hello to Ruby, who is 3-and-a-half, and who is great company.

Some of the cards, like the one below were very quick and easy. This one only needed some thread, and the little tag and sequins, because the Wild and Free panel was so gorgeous that I didn't want to overpower it.

The Shop and Crop Kits aren't just for for Scrapbooking. What else do you use them for? We'd love to see. 

The kits are available either as a subscription, which gives you a saving each month, or as a one off, until stocks run out. If you'd like a further saving, just use the code DL5 to give you an extra $5 off. This discount will also work on other products, including the the Distress Oxides ( set 1 ) which are being ordered into the shop at the moment. With your discount code DL5, they will be only $95 for all 12!

Until next time, happy crafting. May your days full of great conversations and your hearts full of what's important!

Feel free to have a peek at my other cards if you are interested.

Donna