One sheet wonder!!

Boy are we spoiling you all today...competitions...winners...special offers...and now.....ME lol!!!

My offering for today is my *one sheet wonder* a maze book, created from one sheet of 12x12 (from the October 2006 PS Kit), and a few random left overs (also from this kit).

The cover of the book was made by literally covering 2 scraps of chipboard (the back of a notepad actually!) with the green patterned paper, adding a photo mounted on a scrap of the blue card, punching 4 flowers from the dark green paper and writing on a title.

I then covered the whole thing in a glue based varnish to make it a bit more durable in Nana's handbag! Ditto the back cover.

The inside pages use lots of photos,

doodling and a few more punched flowers.

I also created a couple of pockets (in the pages which were originally the paper's corners) and used a round punch to cut a notch. This makes it easy to slide the extra photos in and out of the pockets.

I'm sending the book to the *Nana* in question as a thankyou for bringing the little monster to see us.

I bet you can think of someone who would love a little reminder of a weekend they've spent with you...or of thier own *special monster*...

Have a good crafting week and I'll be back on Thursday...but do check out all the other DT members in the meantime...we're not called *The Magnificent Seven* for nothing!! hee hee



PS...if you don't know how to make a maze book...here are some instructions!

It's Only Words!

It's Katie's turn to set the challenge this week but as she's off gallivanting for her very special big birthday, I've been asked to post for her. Sadly I can't open the text file she e-mailed me in any sensible format so I've had to paraphrase a bit around all the random coding that's appeared! LOL. Anyway, Katie's challenge (#11) is to use words in your project - not just a single word, like 'inspire' or 'dream' - oh no! that would be too easy! Instead, use poetry, prose, a little quote or a little verse like the one used on this layout (click on the image to see a larger version).

Katie said:
'I was really stuck for a challenge idea & in the end, inspiration struck while I was cleaning out the attic! I came across a photograph of my youngest son that was taken at his playgroup when he was about two and a half years old. The photograph went alongside a poster paint print of his hands and a little verse. My son is now twelve but when I read the verse, the words take me back to the time when he was still a toddler. It always brings a lump to my throat! The original was a bit tatty but I loved it so much I had to save it. I decided to use the photo & prints to make a layout.
I used the friends papers from the Personal Shopper October 2006 kit. The blue square patterned paper worked really well with the original blue card that the handprints were on. I cut out some flowers and attached them with brads, reprinted the verse & matted it on vellum (that's the only thing not from the kit) and added one of the metal embellishments in the centre of the layout.

The ATC features a favourite inspirational quote by Mark Twain. Again, the papers are from the October 2006 kit. I cut 3 tags from cardstock, printed the last line as three separate words and attached them with black brads. I inked all the edges and put a dragonfly brad in the corner. Everything except the black brads came from the kit.

Although I haven't made one here, I think this challenge lends itself particularly well to cards - so come on card makers - have a go at this challenge!'

Note from the Guv: the winner of last month's challenge competition will be announced later this week - so keep popping back to see who it is!! To be in with a chance of winning the October monthly design challenge, e-mail your entries for any of challenges 11-14. You can enter as many times as you like (with a new project for each entry) & the DT will choose their favourite at the end of the month. Don't forget to post a comment below so everyone knows you have done it! Good luck!!

A lesson in leftovers...

I'm still using the same HOTP PS Kit as there are lots of bits left over...so today I thought I'd show how i've made a card using just plain paper!!

Actually I've used left over plain paper and cardstock, a punch, some acrylic paint dots, and a pen.

Simply punch out some flower shapes from the blue paper and mount the *negative* onto the black cardstock. Draw a wiggly line going downwards from each flower and add a couple of swirls to imply leaves. Take a blank card and fold as normal (in half) then fold the card front in half to add dimension and interest. Add the flower panel to the new front of the card.

Line the inside of the card with the pale blue paper. Punch a few flower shapes out of the black cardstock scraps and arrange around the greeting on the blue section. Place these elements to the right hand side so that you can see them! Add wiggly lines and swirls again and dot the middle of all the flowers with acrylic paint using the wrong end of a paintbrush. Et voila!

My Granny is 89 tomorrow and I really hope she likes the card...and I hope you do too!!

ps my Granny has very poor sight and cards like this are ideal for her as she can *feel* the design :)

Go on everyone...have a go at making something from your scraps...its better than saving them forever in a big box; like i often do!!

Gift Bags

Can you believe it,I'm still using my October HOTP kit?? I have made loads with it, as you can see on previous posts. This time I have made two little gift bags from the Friends and Halloween part of the kit. You can easily find the bag templates free on the net. For the friends bag I used the lovely big brad with a flower cut out from the papers and a couple of brads to decorate it. The Halloween bag was using the gorgeous pumpkin brad with two square brads (that you get in the kit) to make his eyes. I also distressed the box using a piece of sandpaper.

Challenge #9 - Pick a pocket or two!!

Hi guys! Today it's my turn to set the challenge. This is my little Pockordian book!! So called because its kind of like an accordian book, and it uses the cute little pockets and library cards in the Personal shopper kit for October 2007.

When I was puzzling over my challenge I thought - why not challenge people to use pockets on their project? It's something that can be used on a wide variety of projects, and I guess the smaller the project, the more challenging it would be to include a pocket!!

Are you sad, like me lol, and save all your little tickets and other little mementos from your holidays or trips out? These pockets are perfect for storing your precious memories and heartfelt journalling, which you may not want to share with everyone!! I know I usually have a severe case of verbal emotional diarrhoea (lol) but there's some stuff even I like to keep secret!! I also put some more pictures and the ticket stubs from our trip on the snowdon mountain railway and from Portmeirion, when we went to Wales recently.

So go on, try using a pocket on your project, we'd love to see what you come up with!! And if anyone manages to use a pocket on an inchie I, for one would be well impressed!! Good luck guys, and remember to check back daily for more crafty projects and updates! And all challenge entries from challenge #6 to #10 will be eligible for our monthly DT challenge competition!!