Sunday, 3 July 2011

Sunday Round-Up

Happy Sunday my bloggy friends and neighbours, it has been a fun and busy week here at Studio Crafty Makes and I have a bloggy wave and a magazine article update for you all today.

But before I tell you about them you might want to tune into some new 'Crafting With Kuretake' shows on Create and Craft tomorrow, 2pm, 4pm and 6pm, showcasing some yummy ZIG pens. I'll show you some of my recent samples I made for Kuretake in the week but thought you might just want a heads-up for the shows. In the last 'Crafting With Kuretake' shows Steph did some great demos with the pens, worth watching just for the demos.

You can watch the shows on Freeview 36; Freesat 813; Sky 671 or online at the Create and Craft website.

So the next bit of news and one to look out for is Simply Cards and Papercraft Magazine Issue 86


I've got a social network inspired article in this month to help you get down with the kids - said whilst throwing some gang signs of course. Luckily you can not see me doing that as it always causes much hilarity from boyfriend who despairs at my total lack of street cred!


Luckily I hangout on Facebook and Twitter enough to keep up to date with what is going on in the world LOL!

Hope you enjoy the article!

So it is Sunday, time for some hopping and I have another fabulous blog to share with you this week. Have you seen the lovely blog Bumblebees and Butterflies belonging to Brenda Brown? Brenda has a lovely mix of grunge, inky and mixed media papercraft projects on her blog. Check out her lovely ATC using the Collage Background technique, love the way all the layers come together and fabulous use of vellum!

Have a wonderful Sunday all you wonderful crafty fluff bundles!

Kimx

Saturday, 2 July 2011

Where's Your Mojo At?

Do you need to kick start your Mojo? Has it gone for a little wonder without telling you? Or maybe you are brimming with mojo at the moment and want to share?

Well my friend Sarah over at La-De-Dah has what you need right now! She has a fabulous new feature on her blog starting this month that I think you are going to enjoy :)


Perfect for a Saturday read!

Kimx

Friday, 1 July 2011

Alter It Monthly Guest Designer - Valley Of The Dolls

July is with us and for this month I'm guest designing for Alter It Monthly as my friend Anika is taking a little break this month and asked me if I would like to have a go. I love joining in with the guys over at Alter It Monthly, when I can, so I jumped at the chance!

I think that this month's challenge theme freaked out some of the design team hence why there are some stand in designers! LOL! But it isn't going to freak you out now is it?

Valley Of The DOLLS!

Ok so I did initially think of altering a dolls head but I've got to admit that would have freaked me out a wee bit too. So I scoured Ebay for some doll related articles and found knitting pattern books with lots of lovely doll pictures.


I've altered the back of the smaller mini-canvases from Crafty Individuals and added the bemused picture of a Sindy doll (you remember them? - I've just aged myself haven't I?) with packaging tape transfer.


Added a few of my favourite trinkets, some found objects, some nicely rusted.



The piece is called 'Thoughts In My Head' and now you all have an open view into what goes on! Although I think it is actually a little bit more chaotic in there usually!

Do hope you come and have a play over at Alter It Monthly this month the sponsors are The Artistic Stamper.

Have fun with this one.
Kimx

Thursday, 30 June 2011

Cute Card Thursday

Here we are again - it is Thursday, but not any old Thursday, it's Cute Card Thursday. This week the challenge is Technology, Robots, Machines. The sponsors are the lovely Whiff Of Joy and you can find out more over at the Cute Card Thursday blog.

I love robots! So this theme is a fav of mine :) And I get to use some of my fav robot stamps from Stampendous and this fab Hero Arts Formula Fun background stamp - cool!


Ok so I'm out of here for another day - you have fun and looking forward to seeing your
techie makes!

Kimx

Wednesday, 29 June 2011

What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday

Every now and then I like to scare you with piccies of my messy workspace and you lucky guys today is one of those days!

I've been trying to finish three commissions which all had to be sent today if I was to make the deadlines - Oh Boy!

And my workspace now looks like a whirlwind has been through!


I'm sure my work desk is getting smaller!

I thought that I would join in What Is On Your Work Desk Wednesday as I haven't for a while! So pop on over to Julia's blog Stamping Ground to join in the fun!


I was in vacation mood for my Make The Day Special make yesterday with these fab travelling stamps from the Unity All About The Journey kit! Where would be your perfect holiday destination? 

Right got to go and post some commissions.

Catch you later!

Kim

Tuesday, 28 June 2011

Quixotic Paperie Spotlight On Whimsy Stamps

The Quixotic Paperie design team and friends hope you have been enjoying the Quixotic Paperie 2nd Anniversary celebrations. We have been throwing the spotlight onto some of the fantastic stamp companies available from Quixotic Paperie and our last celebratory spotlight for you is:

Whimsy Stamps 

Whimsy Stamps is owned by Denise and Kevin Lynn, with Denise as the papercrafter and Kevin illustrating their Kids Collection based on their two children. As the company has developed they have built up their collection of contributing artists, stamp collections, dies and papers.

The ranges include the Crissy Armstrong Collection; Melissa Jenkins Meljen's Design Collection; KennyK Collection; Whimsy Sentiment and dies by Raindrop Echo Designs; Whimsy Animals Collection and Whimsy Kids Collection

Whimsy Stamps are available in the UK/Europe at Quixotic Paperie
If you're in the US then you can find the stamps at Whimsy Stamps direct!



As part of the celebrations and the spotlight today, we have a PRIZE GIVEAWAY!  
Pop on over to the Quixotic Inspirations blog to get all the details and enter the draw to win some fantastic Whimsy Stamps and more!


I've used the Whimsy Kenny K Rock Chick image and matched her with papers from the Pink Paislee Hocus Pocus and Sweetness pads.



I've also use the Bazzill Jewel Template Fantasy Flourish to add some Viva Decor Pearl pen touches.


I've added a bit of texture to my favourite flower at the moment with some scrim.

So now for some more inspiration! Hop on over to each of the blogs below to see some fantastic Whimsy Stamps makes!

Annika - Elaine - Judy - Kim Dellow (that's me!) - Mary  - 
- Ann - CrystalIris - Minna - Patricia - Vicki -

Thanks for joining us and we hope you are enjoying all the Whimsy Stamps fun.



Monday, 27 June 2011

La-La Land Crafts Inspiration Monday

Hey guys, how was your weekend? It was heatwave city here in London and such a nice change to see and feel the sun. Might have got a little red on the patch of shoulder missed by the sun cream - oops!

But that is the nearest to tanning I ever get! Unlike my other half who goes brown at the merest touch of sunshine with his olive complexion.

Sigh! I've long since given up on ever getting a tan so I shall move on to the next Summer obsession! Wimbledon! That was my inspiration for today's La-La Land Crafts Round card make! 

This is Tennis Marci's debut at Wimbledon :) She is available over at the La-La Land Crafts shop with the other Marci and Luka sporting heros!


Don't forget to pop on over to the La-La Land Crafts blog to see the wonderful Inspiration Monday round card makes, they are beautiful, and you can see more on Friday too! 

Hope you like her and if you are a Wimbledon fan - hope you are enjoying the tennis!

See ya later alligator...

Kim

Saturday, 25 June 2011

Quixotic Paperie Spotlight On Make It Crafty

Today is a joint celebration! As you may be aware, this is the month that Quixotic Paperie turned TWO! What you may not know is that it is also the month in which Australian company Make it Crafty is turning ONE!

Quixotic Paperie have been stocking the fantastic Make it Crafty range of products (Rubber Stamps - Lasercut Chipboard - Make it Colour Blending Card) since April 2011, and are one of the first places you can find them outside of Australia! 

We are thrilled to be celebrating with Make it Crafty today.

To celebrate we thought that rather than a blog hop we would set a CHALLENGE using Make it Crafty products.

To get inspired, hop on over to the Make it Colourful challenge blog where you will see the amazing creations our fabulous DT’s have created for this event. PLUS find out all the details on how you can play along.

OF COURSE THERE ARE PRIZES.

There are FIVE challenge categories and there will be FIVE GRAND WINNERS!

PLUS, PLUS, PLUS
There will be random winners throughout the whole month. The numbers have been pre-selected and as soon as an entry is added that matches that number they WIN! Winners will be announced soon after entry on the sidebar of Make it Colourful.

PLUS there’s MORE...
Quixotic Paperie have a little something for you too. Make sure you pop on over to HERE to enter your name for a chance at MORE Make it Crafty Goodies.

PLUS THERE’S MORE..
Zoe, the owner of Make it Crafty has a super duper HUGE Candy give away – choc-a-block FULL of Make it Crafty goodies!! AND I have heard a whisper that she is planning on having random giveaways on her blog throughout the month of July. All you need to do is leave her some love as she’ll randomly be choosing people who have commented on her posts throughout the last year.

PLUS THERE’S EVEN MORE...
You’ll also receive a set of steak knives when you... hahaa ONLY Joking BUT... for THREE DAYS ONLY you’ll be able to get 40% off Make it Crafty Digi Stamps when you enter the coupon code: CELEBRATE (Ends June 28th)

Images: Make It Crafty Alvida Pirate; Make It Crafty Lonely Island; Make It Crafty Pirate Ship; Make It Crafty Treasure Chest 

So I do hope you will celebrate with us this month and get into the Make it Crafty spirit of FUN.



Thursday, 23 June 2011

Bright ZIG Art And Graphic Twin Pens From Kuretake

Hi All, in April I introduced you to the ZIG Art and Graphic Twin Pens sets from Kuretake, apologies for the gap - where does the time slip away? - here is the next pack in that series!

This week I have the Bright ZIG Art and Graphic Twin Pens set of 12 gorgeous colours to show you. The sharp eyed of you might have seen these samples already on the recent Create and Craft Kuretake show?


This set has a fabulous range of colours including the primary colours but extending into yummy purples and and greens too.


A fabulous use for these pens is in stamping as I have done with the samples I've shown here, I've directly coloured both the background and focal stamps with the pens. 


If you want to learn more about these pens and what you can use them for then hop on over to my ZIG Art and Graphic Twin pen review.

Before I go, don't forget the Cute Card Thursday Challenge this week, sponsored by Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps. I accidentally skipped a week and made a card for next week's theme thinking it was this week - Oops!

So a no-show from me this week at Cute Card Thursday but at least I'm now ahead on next week's DT makes and I get a chance to show this pen set! Silver linings!

Have fun.

Kim

Wednesday, 22 June 2011

Quixotic Paperie - Mini Book Using Wooden Shapes - Tutorial

Well it has been a busy month of tutorials here at Crafty Makes and I have another one for you this week. This time I'm using the wooden alterable shapes from Quixotic Paperie along with other yummy items to make a mini-concertina book. If you follow the Quixotic Paperie blog you would have seen this on Saturday 18th June 2011.


You might have noticed it is the round ornament bauble shaped wooden shape? You don't have to use them just for Christmas!



What you will need:
Stamps - Artistic Outpost Ephemeral Backgrounds; Artistic Outpost Birds Of A Feather; Studio G Alphas
Papers - Kraft Card; Graphic 45 Steampunk Debutante
Colouring - Pencils
Inks - Distresss inks; Distress stains; Archival Jet Black; Archival coffee
Usual Suspects - Golden Gel medium; Gesso
Tools - Scissors; Crop-A-Dile; Cuttlebug; Spellbinders Nestibilities Circle dies; Blending tools and foam; Ruler; Scoring tool
Others - Wooden Shape Round ornament with hole; Fabric; Tim Holtz Idea-Ology Sprockets; Viva Decor Gel Pen Walnut; EZ Mount


Make A Template For The Inner Pages

If you need to make the hole in the wooden shape bigger then before making the inner pages template use the Crop-A-Dile to make the hole bigger. Then use the wooden shape to cut a rough template to give the size of the inside pages. I've made sure that the hole in the ornament is not covered.


Score And Fold Kraft Card

To make the inside concertina pages use the template to score a line in the Kraft card and
fold it.


Use the fold to score the next line and keep scoring and folding until you have the number of pages you want or until you run out of card! Make sure that your first and last pages are both folded in the same direction i.e. the first and last page are both valley folds when attached to the covers (see picture below - 'Assemble Mini Book').


Cut Inside Pages

For this step you can either use your template to cut out the inside pages, making sure you leave the left and right folded sides of the circle uncut to give the concertina effect.

Another method is to use the Spellbinders nestibilities dies. Pick the die nearest to the size you want and line up the folded Kraft card on the die, again leaving the left and right folded sides untouched by the die. Use the thinner cutting plate and some shims with your cutting machine and run the card and die through the machine a couple of times. It wont cut all the way through and you might need to experiment with the shims to get the right thinkness.

Finish cutting the pages with the scissors, the die will have left guidelines in the card it has not cut through.


The inside pages are ready to decorate anyway you want. For this tutorial I've used distress stains to colour them.

Prepare the wooden shapes with a layer of gesso and once it is dry colour as you wish, I've used distress ink and stains in this tutorial.


Assemble Mini Book

I used soft Golden Gel Medium to apply the first and last page to the covers making sure that the holes are next to each other at the 'spine' of the book.


'Bind' The Book

I've used a strip of fabric coloured with distress stains to tie the covers together, making sure that it is not so tight that you can't open the book. You can of course make the knot easy to tie and untie so that you can see both sides of the concertina pages if you have decorated both sides.

The book is finished and ready to decorate however you want!


I've linked this up to the Artistic Outpost June referral program and whilst you are there also check out their fabulous stamps.

Have fun with this tutorial and don't forget to come back to let me know how it goes!

Kim


Pin It

Tuesday, 21 June 2011

Anyone For Ice Cream?

Fancy an Ice cream? It is Raspberry Ripple...

Mmm yummy! The ice cream is one of the cute stamps from the Sweet Chocolate My Cute Stamp set available over at Make The Day Special. I might have gone a little glitter crazy on this one! The sentiment is from the same set. 


So with or without the chocolate flake?

Monday, 20 June 2011

La-La Land Crafts Inspiration Monday

(If you are looking for the Quixotic Paperie Spotlight on Paper Makeup Stamps scroll down or click here)

*****

It's the La-La Land Crafts Inspiration Monday and the challenge to the DT was:

Punch, Lace, Pearl

So for my make this week I've used the gorgeous new Roller Skate Marci part of the newly released Sports Collection stamps.


I've used a touch of lace with Kurepunch funky heart and a pearl button. 

Don't forget to pop on other to the La-La Land Crafts blog to check out the other DT work today and again on Friday. You might want to pop by the blog for the Thursday Tutorials too, catch some fab colouring Copic tutorials! 

Have a great Monday.
Kim


Quixotic Paperie Spotlight On Paper Makeup Stamps

As part of Quixotic Paperie's 2nd Anniversary celebrations we are throwing the spotlight onto some of the fantastic stamp companies available from Quixotic Paperie and we have another gorgeous stamp company for you this week:

Paper Makeup Stamps - 'Where Beauty and Paper Meet'

Paper Makeup is owned by Katie Cotton and to give you a clue as to where the name of her company came from - Katie is a professional makeup artist. Katie has some fabulous artists contributing to her company including Steve Hammond with the Monsters range, Diem Pascarella's Beautiful Day Fairies, Moody Girls by Cynthia Liu and the Retro Cutie Critters by Diem Pascarella.

But that isn't all, there are also some background and accessory stamps as well as some beautiful word art and sentiments and some fabulous sets all from various artists.

The Paper Makeup Stamps range is available in the UK/Europe at Quixotic Paperie
If you're in the US then you can find the stamps at Paper Makeup Stamps direct!




Materials: Paper Makeup Sugarplum Fairy; Cosmo Cricket Togetherness

So now for the inspiration! Hop on over to each of the blogs below to see some fantastic Paper Makeup Stamps fun!

- Elaine - Judy - Kim Dellow - Mary - 
- Andrea - Tangii - Stephanie - Tina - Katie - Dawn -
- Randee - Lisa K - Jami - Anita - Michelle - Shaela -

Thanks for joining us and we hope you are enjoying all the Paper Makeup Stamps loveliness.

Sunday, 19 June 2011

Happy Father's Day

To all the Dads out there - Happy Father's Day! Hope you are all having a good day!


What are you doing to celebrate Father's Day?


This Father's Day make is a card made using an altered book page that I've coloured with distress inks using one of the fabulous Crafter's Workshop masks from Happy Daze.


The little hearts are made from used postage stamps and the post marks are stamps from Crafty Individuals.

Hope you are enjoying Father's Day

Kim

Saturday, 18 June 2011

Gingersnap Creations Random Redhead Challenge - Bags and Tags

Hi guys have you seen the challenge over at Gingersnap Creations that started on Wednesday 15th June - Bags and Tags.

Here is my June Muse make for the challenge and I've used string, packaging paper and my favourite thing of the moment vellum!


I've coloured the papers with distress inks and ZIG Art and Graphic Pens. The screw brad is from Kuretake and the safety pin charm was from Calico Craft, the chain was from my stash.

Have fun with the challenge, you have until the 17th July so loads of time to get something done!

Kim