AALL & Create Mini Book

This is a little album that I made following a facebook live (or three!) by the wonderfully talented Tracy Evans using stamps by AALL & Create, some by Tracy. I love the way it has turned out and will definitely be making more mini books as I just adore them!

The front cover

The book started as an A4 sheet of thin card (200gsm). The first layer was made by dripping alcohol inks into a bowl of water, then immersing the card in it and leaving it to thoroughly dry. The lovely thing about this technique is that you get colour on both sides, just lighter on the back. I did a whole pile while I was at it so now have a lovely stash of backgrounds to use!

Back cover

The card was then folded and cut to make a book 7.5 x 10.5cm. Two separate pieces of thicker card were used to make book covers. Layers of blue/green paint were applied to the covers and areas removed using a stencil with a baby wipe. Touches of purple were added using a stencil dabbed in paint, misted and used as a stamp. Extra stamping was added using the same blue and green paints. The main images were stamped in black and then decoupaged on book text. Sentiments were added using smooshed scraps of card. Doodles and splatters with white pens were added for even more texture!

Pages 1 & 2

Pages 1 and 2 are my least favourite, but they were created using similar techniques to the front and back covers with extra touches of purple introduced with an old credit card. I wish now I'd kept the black on black and the blue on blue!

Pages 3 & 4

This are my favourite pages, it just works and I love the slightly paler colours! The image was stamped onto card smooshed with ink pads and misted a lot! It's nice to also see the original alcohol inked backgrounds on these pages.

These pages were created by adding Distress Oxides blended through a stencil and continues the circle theme to the book. Texture was added with background stamping and this time the sentiments were stamped onto book text.

Left over stamped elements were added to some of the pages. The book was finished by adding lines of stitching to the open pages and sandwiching pieces of ribbon before adhering the front and back covers.

Supplies used:
Ranger Alcohol Inks: Dandelion, Denim, Silver (mixative)
Fresco Finish Acrylics: Amethyst, Venice Blue, Zucchini
Stencils: Bubbles (IndigoBlu), Mini Tiny Circles (TCW)
Distress Inks & Oxides: Faded Jeans, Peeled Paint, Seedless Preserves
AALL & Create Stamps: #150 Create It Grunge, #162 Bouquet Border, #239 Teasel
Inks and Pens: Onyx Black (Versafine), White pen for splatters(Posca), White pen for detailing (Sakura Gelly Roll)
Caran D'Ache Crayons: Leaf Green, Royal Blue
Snippets: 200gsm thin white card, Greyboard, Book text, Ribbon 

If nothing else this serves as a reminder for making the next one!
Stef x

Aurora on a Monoprinted Background

So where has the last two years gone! There have been huge changes for all our family. We have moved away from Lancashire and back to Norfolk, close to the coast. My mum is now living with us and I have a new job working in a secondary school fifteen minutes away. Instead of volunteering with Guides, I am now working with Rainbows - very different! Our children too have all had big lifestyle changes including making us grandparents for the first time!

Now that my craft space and other things are reasonably sorted, I can finally give myself some creative time again! And in these strange times we are currently going through with Coronavirus sweeping across the world and taking many lives with it, it's nice to find some sanctuary away from the news and making the most of time spent at home. So many well-known crafters are giving up their time to keep us entertained and educated through facebook live videos, there is no shortage of inspiration and I thank everyone who is finding some way of doing their bit to keep our creative community going!

I have decided to resurrect my blog as a reference point for my creative makes and have vowed to post more on other social media platforms too! So now that her birthday has past I can share a card that I made in the last week for Kes.

I created the background on my Gel Press using Brushos. I scrunched up some paper and used it with Distress Inks to add some texture especially around the edges. The main image and the blossoms are stamped in black and coloured with inks; the ivy and the thistles are stamped in grey. I added a masked moon with some sparkle around it as well as on the fairy wings and falling from the flowers (though it doesn't show up well in the photo).

Supplies Used:
Brushos: Lime Green, Turquoise, Violet & Yellow
Distress Inkpads: Dusty Concord & Peeled Paint
Lavinia Stamps: Aurora, Small Trailing Ivy, Star Blossom & Thistles
Versafine Inkpads: Onyx Black & Smokey Gray
Snippets: Sakura Gelly Roll pen (Clear Star)

Stay safe and well
Stef x