Birthday Book

This Birthday Book is based on the Special Dates book I have made previously, however this one does not hold cards, it is to act as a date reminder.

The papers I have used are from Cosmo Cricket, the Snorkel range. I finished the book by adding glossy accents to both the front and back cover.

 I printed the months onto card then matted the months onto matching coloured card. the book is put together using a bind it all.

The actual book is just bigger than A6, it would fit in a handbag or like mine my tray at work so I can keep track of when it is my colleagues birthdays.

Daddy's Girl

At last I have completed a layout!!

I have used pictures of my hubby, Chris and daughter,Lucy, she really is a Daddy's girl and can wrap him around her finger so easily.

Karen designed this layout for our last months workshop at Taverham, isn't it fab.

The 'lace' around the circle is paper folded into box fold pleats, very fiddly, but extremely effective.

I finished the layout by adding pearls and gems around the circle, this helped to tie in the hedge colour. Well, I thought I had finished the layout but have just realised I have not added the date to it, I knew it was too good to be true!!!!!

Note Books

These note books are another order I was asked to make, the lady wanted them as mini gifts for Christmas, but they are also a good way to use up scraps of paper and card.

 Each note book is about 12cm tall, so they are ideal to fit in pockets or handbags. Plus if the recievers are anything like me lists are the order of the day as I get older.



Advent Calendar

These delicious Advent Boxes are the reason I have not blogged for a while. I was asked to make these two advent boxes for a friends' children, they look fantastic, even if I do say so myself, but take ages to make. I used Basic Grey papers, my absolute favourite, along with co-ordinating brads, bazzill card, rick rack, glossy accents and stickles.

Each tower has 24 match boxes, obviously, so as I was making two Advents I had to make 48 match boxes. I could score the boxes on my Martha Stewart score board but the wrapper had to be measured in cm, so it was not as straight forward as it might have been.

Once all the boxes were made I attached them together three high using wet glue, then glued them together the same as I made the Matchbox Box. 

I made a top and base  from covered chipboard and used copious amounts of glue to make sure they stayed in place.

To finish the Advents, I stamped numbers on co-ordinating paper and punched out with a mini circle punch. To make it easier for myself I pushed the brads through the rick rack pieces before adding it as handles, it was like having a production line in my craft area.

To complete each drawer I found the middle, put the brad through, then added faux stitching to every other drawer before attaching the numbered circle.

Finally to finish the Advent I used my glossy accents and stickles to highlight areas of the paper.

All they need now is a gift in each drawer.

Christmas Tree Card

This effective black, silver and white card is the class at the CraftBuddies Crop, Tithe Barn, Horsford this Saturday 9th October.

If you would like a place contact Karen at http://www.craftbuddiespapercrafts.co.uk/ 

Matchbox Box

I just love little boxes that hold all odds and ends that I do not know where to put. Last year I made an advent tower/box out of matchboxes that I had made, but I did not have a score board so I drew up a template to use and hand cut 24 boxes and covers and scored using a ruler and embossing tool, it took what felt like forever.

I have seen these matchbox kits on the internet for a long while and have always wanted to make one but have been too stingy to buy the kit, so my summer holiday challenge to myself was to make a matchbox using my Martha Stewart scoreboard. I know I could probably have done a web search to find instructions but I am not that good on a computer plus broadband is pretty pants in the area I live in, the connection keeps breaking up. 

I am pleased to say that once I had the pattern sorted in my head it was fairly easy to do. I have even managed to do the measurements so that each side is scored the same.

 But as yet I haven't been able to work out the cover in inches only in centimetres, so I mark where the score lines should be then line up the card on the MS board and do it that way.

This box is just the right size to keep four different sets of brads in, or Lucy could keep some of  her jewellery in it. Now I know I can make these  boxes easily I can make lots of storage towers, or mini desks, or sets of drawers. Then I can buy more brads to go in them!!  

Special Date Book

This book is like a birthday book but it holds all the extra dates you need as well, like anniversary's. I first saw this book  in  papercraft inspirations about two years ago and thought it looked amazing as well as extremely useful.

I made my book big enough to hold A6 cards but the book can be made to hold any size card. I decided to use book rings to hold my pages together but it could easily be made using the bind-it-all. I have now made four of these books for close friends.

To make this book:

I used chipboard

 book rings

 plain card stock

 patterned paper

 ribbon

 punches cricut to cut the top note shape

 The tabs are made from my 'stampin up' tab punch to which I have added a tiny oblong of white card to write the month on. I have also made 3 wallets to inside the book by cutting down A5 plastic wallets, these can hold slightly bigger cards than the pockets allow.

 As you can see I have put the printed out months on the left hand side and on the right hand side the patterned paper is the pocket for cards to be stored in. All I need to do now is fill the book with cards ready  for everyone's birthday.

I finished  the outside of the book by tying various types of ribbon around the book rings.

The lovely thing about making these books is that you can use any paper and card, it can be from a set or  paper that you would not necessarily use on a layout. If the card stock is not heavy enough you could glue or stitch two pieces together. 

Karen is making one of these books too, hers is bigger, it will hold A5 cards and she has matched the paper to the months, so for February the paper reflects valentines, for September the paper reflects the start of autumn.