Mini "Album in a Tin" for Father's Day

Hi Everyone 

Another quick project to share today as part of my Father's Day posts. I have already shown my Tag Box and Mini Magnets in a Tin.

I am re-using another old tobacco/cigarette tin (seen above) and this time it makes the perfect home for this little square album.

This album is made from a single sheet of 12 inch cardstock paper and makes a great keepsake. I used the Hunt and Gather "Watch" paper which has a wonderfully neutral background, perfect for showcasing some small black and white pictures of the kids. 

I love this little print from the paper pad which I have added to with a couple of stamps. The mini chipboard dragonfly is from Dusty Attic.

I love using black and white photos for mini albums as I feel the photos have a lovely simple feel to them - especially when you are printing them this small and they are mounted on quite a neutral background.

I have a few more handmade journals and albums to show using this range - but I wanted to focus on this little book which started out as a 79c notebook from the grocery store.

I covered  it in the "Fossick" patterned paper and used the sticker sheet, elements from the paper pad and rubons to decorate.

I stamped each page with a little My Minds Eye stamp I found in the discount section of The Warehouse (it took less than 2 minutes to do all the pages with Stayzon which dried pretty much instantly) which is all that is needed to turn this little 79c book into a fun little gift!

Please post a comment with any questions.

Lowri :-)

Mini Magnets in a Tin for Father's Day

Hi Everyone

This is the first of the "secret tin" projects I have to show you from my Father's Day shelf of goodies!

Isn't this tin gorgeous?

My Dad loves old bits and pieces and these tobacco tins are cheap and readily available pretty much wherever you are. I love the idea of re-using them and they really are beautiful not to mention a fabulously "green" way to present a little gift.

I made these little magnets to go inside using scraps of paper from the Kaisercraft Hunt and Gather Collection.

There are some gorgeous images in this collection - they look like old watercolour drawings and to create the compass magnet - I just used one of the stamps on a scrap piece of paper.

This little beetle is my favourite image. You can see my tutorial on how to create the magnets below. 

1. Cut or punch circles of paper slightly smaller than the flat side of the glass dome
2. Apply Mod Podge to the surface of the paper you want visible through the magnet and glue onto flat side of magnet
3. When dry, apply a layer of Mod Podge to the other side o the paper (outside)
4. Using a strong craft glue, stick a magnet to the underside and leave to dry

If you want to see how you can upcycle cheap magnets to get the glass domes - take a look at my post here - but the glass domes should be readily available from craft stores.

Please post a comment with any questions - and keep a look out for my next post to see what is in this tin!

Lowri :-)

Father's Day Tag Box & Winner

Hi Everyone

It's Fathers Day here in a couple of weeks and I have been using Kaisercraft's new Hunt and Gather Collection to make some gifts

The collection incorporates heaps of outdoorsy themes such as hunting, fishing, camping but also has a good collection of general nature related prints too. 

I will be showing all the projects on this shelf (including the shelf itself!) in the upcoming weeks. There are a couple of mini-albums, magnets and several types of journal.

I am going to show one project in detail every couple of days, but here is a compilation of the other projects I have finished. All the journals and tins have little surprises in them too.

My Dad has many hobbies and is an avid collector of all kinds of fishing and insect related books and memorabilia. He is also a dedicated list-maker so I decided to decorate this box and fill it with a variety of blank notes he could use as filing slips, bookmarks etc.

The index tabs I made using plain chipboard, ATC cards and the sticker sheet are blank for him to complete (I will include a set of small letter stickers when I give it to him) and hopefully it will be both a decorative and useful item.

For the pages I have simply cut cardstock from dollar store pads to size and stamped on them with images from the Hunt and Gather stamp set. I rolled some through a paper crimper to give a bit of added texture.

I also used the beetle stamp to decorate the front of the box. I used Stayzon ink to ensure it dried fast on top of the mod-podge.

In case you are wondering how the box started out - it was a Kaisercraft Beyond the Project. They are made from MDF and come flat packed. You just decorate and glue together.

I painted the box with two coats of dark brown paint and then attempted a crackle finish which failed miserably! I then just dry brushed over the failed cream finish with a bit more brown and some black acrylic paint before individually sealing each piece with glossy mod-podge.

Normally I wouldn't do this but I wanted a shiny finish to make it look like old oak.

BLOG GIVEAWAY WINNER
As always I randomly drew the winner of this draw - and the winner is Alanna who commented:
"Thanks for sharing the link for Whipperberry, off to check it out :)I'm planning on making one of those deck of cards for my boyfriend soon, thanks again for inspiring me :)"

Congratulations Alanna - please get in touch so I can organise your prize!


Please post a comment if you have any questions.

Fun Feature at Whipperberry

Hi Everyone

I am very excited right now! My blog is featured at Whipperberry, a fabulous collaborative, idea sharing site which features all kinds of inspiring craft and home decor projects.

Check it out here.

 

I had to pick three favorite projects from the last year so I chose these.  They were quite different from each other and I hope they are a good representation of the work I have done.

(Click on the picture to be taken to the original blog-post)

Leaf Album

Deck of Love Cards

Sewing Box

Why not link up your projects at Whipperberry too. Linking up is a great way for people to find your blog plus you can check out all the other great inspiration too.

Lowri :-)

Sparkly Flowers and Snow!

Hi Everyone - what a week here! Coldest weather in decades - my kids got to play in snow and I am showering this evening in case my pipes are frozen again in the morning and I have to wash in a basin again!

Snow Pictures - because it's such a novelty!

No - this is not my house! It's our Cobb Cottage and it's where the men who built our homestead lived in the 1860's.
I cannot imagine what it would have been like to spend a winter living here.
 

Before all my North American friends fall off their chairs laughing at this pathetic amount of snow - this is BIG NEWS where we are!!

Miss Nelly Flowers and Sparklets

Last week I wanted to make a bunch of flowers for someone special who is due to have an operation - so I thought it would be a perfect excuse to try out the new Miss Nelly collection from Kaisercraft and some of their really cool new giant sparkly sticky things called Sparklets.

I have cut the flowers using my Cuttlebug and Tim Holtz die. The whole bunch took around 45 minutes to make and they look wonderful. Hopefully they will cheer the recipient up - I love the idea of giving flowers that last forever! The Sparklets look great in the centre of the flowers, and as they come in 12 colours you can find some to match any paper collection.

I was looking at the Sparklets on-line and I realized that it's quite hard to see what they look like from the stock images on the website - so here is a better "real" picture.  They really are fun and VERY sparkly and are 15mm and 8mm in diameter.

I have heaps of project to post using the other August Kaisercraft Collection Hunt and Gather - just in time for NZ Fathers Day in early September. 

Please post a question with any commetns

Lowri:-)

New Artfull Crafts Design Team

Hi Everyone - not much crafting during the last couple of weeks! Liz and I have been busy preparing to announce the new Artfull Crafts Design Team and we are excited!

We have some really talented designers from New Zealand, Australia and Singapore.  Take a look at some of this great work created by them and head over to the blog where you can win a complete Kaisercraft Christmas Collection (coming out in September) as well as finding out details about our Facebook Fan contest.

ArtFull Crafts Design Team

Liz Gregory

Lowri McNabb

Betsy Clark

Sandy Ang

Lisa Skinner 

Louise Forsyth

Lindsey March

Christine Bonifacio

I am really looking forward to working with this great group of ladies. We will be running our Christmas Countdown again this year. Last year it was hugely successful with comments on our ideas from all over the world.

Remember Christmas time is in the summer here in New Zealand, so if you like your Christmas with a twist - be sure to become a follower of the Artfull Crafts blog!

Lowri :-)