Sunday, September 25, 2011

Long frame

My daughter bought me a whole stack of great scrap supplies for my recent birthday. It seemed only fitting that I create something that centered on her and her little brother. These kaisercraft frames are great because there isn't too much painting t o do and they look great really quickly. I have visions of filling my walls with these things!

Friday, September 16, 2011

Caravan

I had great fun putting this kaisercraft caravan mini together for fathers day. The hunt and gather collection is kind of terrific, lots of outdoorsy stuff and good masculine patterns.

Of course my son Thom has become white good at wielding the foam brush and mod podge so he was in charge of gluing!

I think this is my best mini so far. Not too fussy, very cohesive and capturing quite a small every day moment in a lovely way. I even went a little creative with the wrapping

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

card kit

I've always been curious about the basic grey card kits. You get al you need for eight cards - rub ons, die cuts, cards, envelops, the works. But would it be too boring? Too constrained? The do have step by step instructions but they also supply you with enough extra bits to adapt the designs a little. It's kind of like doing a mini card course, gets you to stretch in different directions and try new designs out. I'll give these away to friends for them to use but really for$20 and an hour or two in the afternoon it was great value and lovely fun.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Little Toot

After taking a bit of a break from it I am back on the Kaisercraft bandwagon. There latest ranges have been fantastic. I particularly impressed with Little Toot - a great boy range that is perfect for my little guy. I think what Kaisercraft are trying to do is provide the 'complete' project. The papers correspond perfectly to the mini albums and frames and the embellishments can be used in so many different ways. Cute I think.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Summer Card Camp week 2

I can highly recommend doing an online course it is superfun! It just stretches you in different ways - like boot camp for card making.
I must say I am using up a lot of my Basic Grey sweet threads pack - I'm hoping they go for a more muted colour story next week
I'm really pleased with how these three cards turned out. What do we all do with all these handmade cards?

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Fall Days

October Afternoon are fast becoming one of my favourite companies. Their mini kits which retail here for about $10 are great value and with a few added embellishments make for gorgeous little keepsakes. They seem to specialise in boy papers too which is great for me!
I've learnt that the most successful minis don't have all the elements for the one collection - by combining two or even three you can make it so unique. companies tend to work in the same palette so there is no real trick to combining. This mini combined 5 and Dime and Campfire ranges pretty seamlessly
I also think the best minis tell a story of a small moment in everyday life. This was an autumn afternoon walk that ended in some intense crafting.I called it Fall Days simply because I couldn't fit the word autumn on my cover, simple as that.

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Little Toot

I had a lot of fun playing this weekend with Kaisercraft's new range Little Toot. It's rare for me to get my hands on new release papers at the start of the month. I usually like to see what the design team present first to get a good idea of the flexibility of the collection and buy things week three. Is that weird?I knew when I saw the preview at the end of June that this one was a must have for me so I actually had it arrive on the 1st July! My son Thom is an avid train fan (not just Thomas the Tank Engine, we are talking real trains - its crazy!)
In fact he likes anything the toots, beeps or honks. He seems to also really love looking at the minis I make of him, he is the star of the book after all.
Kaisercraft have recently introduced sticker sheets to the collections and they are fantastic. The chipboard elements in this range are great too because they have lots of dimension (see the cloud? awesome)
I was going to use their train wooden album but I've already used it twice! So the arrow worked well I think.
A really really fun Sunday afternoon project and a great new range for Kaisercraft.

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Summer Card Camp


Thought I'd flex my design muscles and take an online card making course. It gives me a chance to use fresh colour ways and different papers. I love the work of both Jennifer McGuire and Kristina Werner and was thrilled when they announced the course. Week one has a really bright colour story - which is understandable given they are in the height of summer over there- still it warms up the depth of winter down here! Gave me a chance to play with Basic Grey's Sweet Threads collection!

Monday, June 20, 2011

Saturday Sketch June #1

I've been away for a while, with not much time for scrapbooking. It was exciting to get home on Sunday to find lots of little parcels from my favourite online stores. I thought I'd stretch my scrap muscles a bit last night and do a layout based on a Saturday Sketch from the Kaisercraft blog. Because I'm more of a card maker and a Beyond The Page project gal I find sketches really helpful in pushing me in new directions. It's great to be home!
Materials: Up Up and Away range - papers, chipboard and rub ons
Wooden frame, dots all Kaisercraft - title American Crafts Thickers.

Monday, May 30, 2011

Ribbon box

Kaisercraft ribbon box for a crafty friend. Love the Class of 87 papers. Easy 1 hour project.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

door plaque

I absolutely love the Party Animals range by Kaisercraft. I have 16 different kids in my world (my own, friends, family, neighbours) so there is always opportunities to do kid friendly stuff. Wolfgang turns One next week and at the same time is moving into a room of his own. So of course a door plaque was in order!

Monday, May 23, 2011

More Tags

Enjoyed making my Christmas tags so much I went ahead and did another set, this time using the very pretty Chanteuse collection by Kaisercraft. I'm not so sure, but do those rosy blooms look a little like spooky eyes with the pearls in the centre?

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Origami Box

Had fun learning how to make origami boxes this weekend. I used the very beautiful Chapter One papers by Kaisercraft (hmm what a surprise). I used the instructional video by scrap designer her Kristina Werner:

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

pencil box

The k-bots Kaisercraft papers are pretty old now but still look great on BTP projects for older boys. This is for my 7 year old friend Silas who is just way to big for baby boy papers and yet still wants something fun. I was so pleased with how it turned out. I'm finding the kaisercraft glue is really good for getting papers down onto wood - it doesn't dry to fast and cleans off the edges nicely. This was for Christmas but since i made the cool birthday card I think he's going to get this sooner rather than later!

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Christmas in May?

Little things
Yes I have started on my Christmas presents - well the wrapping at least! Because I still had so much left from my Tis the Season and Dear Santa pads following my Christmas album I thought Id be a little industrious this weekend and transform some basic papier mache boxes into Christmas packages (ready for a pretty mug, a brooch, some earrings perhaps?) the smallest one I made a tag gift set to send to friends in London. So cold here in Melbourne it may as well be snowing so I can pretend I'm in a Northern Christmas!

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Bug Boy Mini

Mothers Day Project
What can be a better treat for mothers day than for the whole family let me just scrapbook all afternoon? And that's exactly what I did. Last week Thom and I found a caterpillar in the garden and decided to give it a little home in the cubby. He was fascinated by it, feeding it leaves, putting some dirt in a container for his new pet to roam around.
I used Kaisercraft Jungle bug papers, mini leaf album, green paint and rub ons. A lovely memory and a lovely way to spend mothers day.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Happy Days

a gift for Max
Well I have recovered from not making the Kaisercraft cut after a whole 12 hours of sulking. I did pull out my new October Afternoon Campfire papers and chipboard stickers today to make this little present for my good friend Max (age 3) and I just LOVE the way it turned out. This is such a great range - beautiful and fun papers, cute embellishments. 30 minute project - voila!

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

sad

ok so Ive been pulling a sad face all day because I didn't even make the top 25 for the Kaisercraft design call out. I'll dust myself off tomorrow.

Monday, May 2, 2011

Card Making

For Christmas this year (you know you are already thinking about it crafty ladies) I'm giving some overseas friends sets of cards that they can use throughout the year. Some birthday, generic, get well soon, bon voyage and baby cards. They are for non crafters who love receiving hand made gifts especially useful ones.
I've used Up Up and Away for the more masculine and Secret Bird Society (both by Kaisercraft) for the feminine cards and I just love them. I call this my TV crafting - Masterchef is perfect for that! I also used Basic Grey card stock, it's lovely and matte and takes glue and tape really well.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Kaisercraft Haul

Ok so I promised no more Kaisercraft for at least a fortnight but what's a girl to do when she drives right past the outlet store???? And Id be a fool to not get started on my Christmas crafting right? I really did need those 6x6 pads, pearls, cards, sentiment stamps, holly wreath, paint, birdsong papers and GORGEOUS ribbon packs ( I swear no one does ribbon better). good grief. I think I may have an addiction...

Saturday, April 30, 2011

kaisercraft again!

I forced myself to go to a 'normal' scrapbooking store today instead of Kaisercraft, and you know what - I missed it! I think I'll just order their new ranges online and stick to my monthly outlet store visit. I did get some lovely October Afternoon paper, a Martha Punch and a corner chomper so it wasn't all bad!

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

I heart kaisercraft

design team application

Project 1: Babushka dress up dolls
These are a Christmas gift for a babushka crazy 5 year old girl They are to be attached to her wardrobe door. Loved mixing the wood dolls with the babushka paper. Supercute.

Project 2: Easter place cards
Bubblegum Hills got a good work out this Easter! I wanted to create something simple and fresh that would bring a sense of occasion to the table.


Project 3: Easter wrapping
They say in Japan sales assistants learn to wrap before they sell. I am a wrapping fanatic and am always sourcing new and pretty ways to adorn gifts. I thought Nan's favourites offered a nice homey feel to these parcels.

Project 4: Lush Card Set
One of my favourite gifts to give is a set of cards and tags. I loved the Lush collection - the palette was very fresh and pretty without being overly fussy. I do apologise for the picture quality - it actually was a gift that has already been received!
Project 5: Christmas book
I loved combining Tis the Season, Belle and Dear Santa collections for my Christmas album. The papers were so rich I felt that they didn't need much embellishment.


Project 6: Coaster set
my all time favourite Kaisercraft collection has been Secret Bird Society. I have used it for scrap lay outs, Christmas decorations, mini cards and tags. I loved the way these coasters turned out, they were also a gift.


project 7:Double Layout.
Oh Lullaby, what a lovely collection. I have been so inspired and amazed by what people have created using these papers and embellishments. Double layouts are a real challenge but I love the simplicity of this one. Helps that my Thom is such a cutie.

Project 8: Single Layout
my l/o style = lots of lines, a series of photos that tell a story, clustered embellishments, dimension. I do like mixing collections too but in this instance I think the Konstrukt set works well. The yellow t shirt provides the pop of colour.




Project 9: Placemat set.
The Homemade collection is a great example of how the design can do all of the work for you. I used different aspects of the same page and different squares for the coasters to add interest. I sealed it with furniture wax making them totally waterproof - these ones here have been in use for a few weeks now!

Project 10: Bits and Bobs container
I'm one of those crafters who keep every scrap of paper and I'm often decoupaging these little containers. I loved prairie lane and had some other complimentary bits and wooden flourishes. I really love it on my work desk full of my fabric flowers.
Project 11: TV Dinner Tin
Well I love Nan's Favourites and have been using it constantly since its release. So again, scraps put to good use. We treat ourselves to a TV dinner on the weekend and this holds our utensils. I have visions of doing matching dinner trays and napkin rings!

Project 12: train book
My son Thomas is train crazy. I wanted to make a book that he could look at a remember all the times he's played on little trains or seen big trains. He's only two so I didn't want anything fussy, it's all about the photos and the titles.




My next 12 projects will be:
  1. a posy of paper flowers using Chanteuse for Mothers Day for my mum
  2. Wooden Bunting as a baby gift decoupaged with Party Animals for my best friend
  3. Trinket box using Love Notes for my teenage daughter
  4. Baby announcement card gift set using Lullaby for my best friend
  5. Elephant bookends decoupaged using Junglebug for my son
  6. A travel journal of my daughters trip to New Caledonia using Pack your Bags
  7. A brag book for the overseas grandma using Up Up and Away
  8. A wooden tray decoupaged using Chapter One for my mum
  9. A set of cards and tags presented in a box using Bubblegum Hills for my cousins birthday
  10. A recipe box house warming gift using Nan's Favourites for moving neighbours
  11. A high school memory book using Class of '87 for my daughter
  12. Invitations to my 40th birthday breakfast using Nan's Favourites
I believe that the recording of our social history through scrap booking and memory keeping is not only one of the greatest joys but also acts as an important legacy for our families and friends. Often when I am creating these things, small as some of them may be, I wonder how they will be viewed in 100 years. I hope that my distant great great great grandchildren will continue the tradition.
Love Ramona xxx