Gift Wrapping Ideas (Ruby Rock-It Day Two)

Hi Everyone

Today I have some gift wrapping ideas using the Ruby Rock-It Vintedge Collection. You can see my other projects on my post here. This collection was a lot of fun to work with with it's great London imagery and variety of embellishments

Gift Box



This folded paper box was created using the Flourish paper with a plain paper base. (I have a tutorial for making this on my blog here) I went to town with the embellishments - but the recipient can easily keep the box after cutting the twine to get into the gift!

Treat Bag

I made this as a fun little gift for my mother when she looks after my kids. It has some band-aids, panadol and a small bottle of vodka inside – just for emergencies!!

Embellishments

These little spools holding the twine were just too cute to ignore. I wrapped some paper round them and I know I will find a use for them sometime! The paper in the collection pack was perfect for folding too – so I made a few flowers – they always come in handy for decoration too - see my full tutorial on how to make them here.

Hope you have enjoyed these - please leave a comment or email me with any questions

Be sure to follow along on Facebook for all my latest posts. 
Lowri :-)
I am linking these projects up to these websites here.

Travel Album & Card (Ruby Rock-It Day One)

Hi Everyone

I am Guest Designing today for the Ruby Rock-It blog and I am using the fabulous Vintedge Collection. I am from the UK so I was really keen to work with these fabulous prints! Here are the first of my projects I shared and I have more to come over the weekend.

Travel Album

This blank chipboard album from Maya Road was the perfect base for this fun, blank travel album. The pages are all ready embellished ready for the recipient to just add their own photos.

I covered all the pages with the paper, and added embellishments making it a really simple project for a non-crafter to complete. Where an embellishment overlaps the photo area – I was careful to only put adhesive outside that area to make sure photos can easily be slid underneath.

Love Card
This double sided heart paper was a real treat to find in this collection. I have created a simple tri-fold card (you can see a template on my blog here) and embellished it using elements from the collection.

For the 3-d heart I die cut a heard from several layers of adhesive chipboard and wrapped some of the paper twine around the outside.

There are heaps of sentiments on the stickers – suitable for any occasion and there are also lots of chipboard pieces with some fabulous design elements.

I have some more ideas using this collection for gifts and gift wrapping so be sure to follow along on Facebook for all my latest posts.

Hope you have enjoyed these - please leave a comment or email me with any questions
Lowri :-)
I am linking this project up to these websites here.

Easy Nursery Decor Ideas (Echo Park)

Hi Everyone 

I have an altered project up on the Echo Park Blog today using your fabulous Echo Park supplies to decorate some items for a nursery or childs room.  
  

This Toy Box Mini-Theme has some of the most gorgeous white based papers I have seen in a long time. They are both bright and muted at the same time – I urge you to take a closer look here.  I have used these papers as a base to create a Door Hanger and a Switch Plate Cover

Door Hanger

I found a shaped cardboard hanger in the dollar store, but you could easily cut your own any shape you like. I sanded and painted the edges white as they were pretty ugly to start with, and then applied glue to the card and pressed the paper firmly on top. When dry (DO NOT try and cut until the glue is dry) – cut around using a very sharp knife and use fine grit sandpaper to smooth any rough edges.

Use the stickers to decorate your door hanger. I used the alpha stickers from the Paradise Beach Collection to spell the name and they matched perfectly.

Switch Plate Cover

I picked up this cover in the hardware store and it only took a few minutes to convert it into a cool piece of room décor! I cut a piece of paper to size, glued it to the cover and then when dry, cut out the centre hole with a sharp knife. Again, I used sandpaper (very fine) to smooth the edges of the paper for a finished look. I then sealed the paper with a layer of glossy mod-podge to give it a shine and a little more protection as now it can be gently wiped with a damp cloth too.

Mounting the stickers with dimensional tape just adds a little lift and here is a tip for working with stickers.. as soon as I take them off the sheet I coat the sticky side with talc. This removes all the stick and lets you play around with the placement before reattaching with regular adhesive. It will cut down on wasting your valuable stickers, especially as I find the Echo Park ones to be fabulously sticky!!

Hope you have enjoyed these - please leave a comment or email me with any questions
Lowri :-)
I am linking this project up to these websites here. 

Echo Park Hop Winner and NEW July Releases!

Hi Everyone

Quick post today to announce the blog-hop winner and share some pics of the **NEW** July releases from Echo Park Paper - just in case you haven't seen them!

There are three full paper collections - Everyday Eclectic, Chillingsworth Manor and Very Merry Christmas. There are also two new Mini Themes available - Grandma's Kitchen and Grandpa's Tool Shed. (Click on names to see full details on the Echo Park Website) The other collection shown, Homemade is my favorite June Collection and is already available.

Echo Park Winner

Last week you had the chance to win an Echo Park Collection Pack by commenting on my Echo Park Blog Hop Post. 

Make sure to become a follower of my Facebook Page so you can find out when the next one is!

The winner of the Echo Park Collection Kit of their choosing is Lynn:

Lynn - please email me here to find out how you can claim your prize.

Please leave a comment or email me with any questions
Lowri :-)

Nursery Pop-Up Card (Echo Park)

Please note that the Blog Hop and competitions previously detailed on this post have now closed. You can see who won the Echo Park giveaways on their blog here. You can see who won my giveaway here. I encourage you to visit all the fabulous blogs that were on the hop - there is a list at the end of this post!

Toy Box Project

I have used the Toy Box Mini Theme to make this pop-up card.

I used this file from the Silhouette store for the card base, and modified it to add the "B" letter - which I then backed with the "Jump" paper (reverse) paper for extra definition. You could of course easily create your own base with a sharp knife and some good measuring skills!

Here you can see the simple strip cut to create the "pop-up" part. I attached all the stickers together with mini glue-dots so I could mount them easily as one piece onto the pop-up strip. Remember to de-sticky them with talc too so they do not all stick to your card when it is closed.  The card closes completely flat for easy mailing.

Here is a list of blogs that were on the hop!

Echo Park Paper: http://www.echoparkpaper.typepad.com/

Linda Auclair: http://elendae.wordpress.com/

Nancy Damiano: http://www.thepaperorchard.blogspot.com/

Jennifer Gallacher: http://jengallacher.blogspot.com/

Lowri McNabb: http://www.papervinenz.com/ = YOU ARE HERE

Kandis Smith: http://www.mycreativetreasury.blogspot.com/

Tamara Tripodi: http://happylifecraftywife.com/?p=1528

Wendy Sue Anderson: http://www.wendysueanderson.blogspot.com/

Please leave a comment or email me with any questions
Lowri :-)
I am linking this project up to these websites here.

Summer Ideas - Card & Party Favors

Hi Everyone

I have another post over on the A Little Hut blog today. 

Please head here for all the details. I am using Patricia's fabulous cutting files and the Paradise Beach Collection from Echo Park.

Please leave a comment or email me with any questions
Lowri :-)
I am linking this project up to these websites here.

Paradise Beach Bookends (Echo Park)

Hi Everyone

I have an altered project up on the Echo Park Blog today. These bookend drawers using the fabulously colorful Paradise Beach Collection are sure to brighten up any child’s bedroom (or your own desk if you can’t bear to part with them..)

I painted and assembled the drawers, but decided the plain blue color was too bold so I took a paint dauber and some white paint and just softened the stark color a little. It actually looks like surf too which was an added bonus! Each drawer is decorated with a few handmade embellishments – and you can see below just how I made these.  

Many of the Echo Park Collections consist of papers and stickers – which leaves plenty of room for incorporating other tools you might have in your scrap-stash. I bet heaps of you have got Cuttlebug dies lying around and might not use them much now, especially if you have a digital die-cut machine, but I love them as they can cut quite thick material such as cardboard. Here is how to make your own glossy chipboard embellishments.

1. Cut two layers of cardboard and one of paper from your chosen shape
2. Glue the 2 layers of card together and then glue the paper on top
3. Using Versamark, cover the paper side of your chipboard piece (with larger pieces I find it easy to push the piece onto the pad carefully and move it around to get a good coverage)
4. Sprinkle Clear Embossing powder over the image, shake off excess and return to pot BEFORE next step!
5. Using a heat gun, melt the embossing power until it is evenly glossy all over

These little embellishments are great for cards and a good way to use up cereal boxes! I usually cut and glue 3 layers for those to ensure a sturdy piece. Check out these other examples!

Hope you have enjoyed these - please leave a comment or email me with any questions
Lowri :-)
I am linking this project up to these websites here.

"Hello" Card (Echo Park) & New Opportunities

Hi Everyone

This is a card I made a couple of months ago using the Dearest Mini Theme from Echo Park. I did make it as a Mother's Day card but even though that date has passed I thought it would be fun to share the idea. It's matchbook style card that can be filled with any message you like..

I am not really a pink paper person, so I was a little scared when I saw this collection - but it was a great lesson in looking closer! This fabulously bold grey reverse paper goes really well with the green and those bees are great accents too! The brads are from the This and That "Graceful" Collection.

I would love to give some more detailed instructions on how I made it and regular blog readers will know I try and do that as much as I can, but this was one of those projects that came together through a little bit of trial and error! I do love it though as it is a little more substantial than a card and would make a great keepsake if you added some photos to the pocket.

Scrapfest by the Sea

Another piece of great news too for me - I have been asked to teach at a Scrapbook Retreat next year. I am so excited - especially as I get to teach with Trina McLune and Karola Witczak.

Trina designs for Prima and Spellbinders and is a very experienced tutor with stunning style - check out her blog here

Karola is an AMAZING artist coming from Poland who is on the DT for Pink Paislee, Dusty Attic, Glitz, Melissa Frances AND she designs the products for Scrapcake - WOW - check out her blog here

If you are in New Zealand (or would like to plan a visit to New Zealand around about August next year!!) please request to join the event Facebook Page here for all the event fun, planning and information or send me an email here.

Please leave a comment or email me with any questions
Lowri :-)
I am linking this project up to these websites here

DIY Dino Fossils for the Kids - TUTORIAL

Hi Everyone 

I love this project - I do this every so often for my kids and they just always think it is so much fun!  It involves making your own dinosaur "fossils" with small toys and Plaster of Paris OR read on for instructions on how to make a GIANT fossil in the sandpit...

1. Mix up the Plaster of Paris according to instructions
2. Place your mold onto a solid surface
3. Pour a little of the plaster mix into the mold
4. Add your mini dinosaur into the mix
5. Top up with plaster and leave to harden as per instructions
6. Give your little one a few tools and let them get excavating!

To make this an economical project I bought a HUGE 20kg bag of Plaster of Paris from my local builders merchant for about $20 - which was a great buy seeing as it was $13 for 500g at the craft store...

You can of course use anything as a mold (yogurt pots, ice cream containers) and below you can see a series of pictures showing how you can make a really big one in your sandpit!

Here is how I made a BIG fossil in the sandpit which took the kids days to excavate!

1. Dig a hole in the sandpit
2. Pour in your plaster of paris and throw in your plastic dinos
3. Cover with sand
4. Drag a spade or stick through the mix to make a cool shape
5. Leave to dry (3 hours I think..)
6. Let the kids loose with a hammer and some paleontologist protective eye goggles -cheap safety glasses!

It took my son almost a week to get all the dinos out of this one. I also made one with a whole bottle of blue food coloring and some little sharks for my shark-crazy son - but that was quite messy and he needed a good hose-down afterwards...

Let me know if you give this a try - goes without saying this is something you need to make and get the kids to play with OUTSIDE!!

Please leave a comment or email me with any questions
Lowri :-)
I am linking this project up to these websites here .

Father's Day "Wallet" Mini Album (Echo Park)

Hi Everyone

I have another project available for FREE download on the Echo Park website here. Not only does it look and fold out like a wallet - whoever you give it to can easily put it into their wallet!

To see more pictures as well as step-by-step instructions you will need to go to the Echo Park e-commerce site here. This project (and many others) are FREE to download - though you will have to register first - but that only takes a sec.
Click here to be taken to the download site.

I can't show you any more pictures of this album - you will have to download the pdf - but to give you an idea of what you will find inside - here is a previous album I have created.

Please post a comment with any questions - Lowri :-)
I am linking up this post to these websites here.