Antique Accordian Album

Antique Accordion Album

The aim of this project was to put all my old family photos and information and family tree into a form that is appealing to look at and feels old and antique to match the old photos. Now it is like a family “story book” and also an heirloom for the family to pass down through the generations. The materials used are as follows:-

1x “7Gypsies” Stacked Accordion Journal

1x packet Kaisercraft Tiny Alpha stickers

Assorted scrap booking papers

Assorted Kaisercraft mini ink pads

Ranger Distress ink

Glossy Accents medium for adhesive

Prima Flowers and miniature doilies

Self adhesive jewels

Antique look Keyhole

Metal corner pieces for cover

Chipboard word- Family

Mod Podge Matt sealer/adhesive

Ranger Ink applicator pad / tool

Gold and bronze paint

Copies of old photos

Family tree typed or hand printed

Old buttons /Old postage stamps

Fabric for back cover

Ribbon/lace/Strips of calico

Thin wadding (padding)

Embossed cardstock

Leather strap/ tie

• This is how I put it all together. I started with the front cover and coloured the embossed cardstock for the front cover. I coloured it with the mini Kaisercraft ink pads using the ink applicator pad to spread the colour. I placed a small square of wadding (padding) under the embossed paper to give it more dimension.
• I then coloured the 2cm calico strips of fabric with Antique linen distress ink and glued them down with Mod Podge on the edges of the embossed paper. I added the metal details – the keyhole and metal corner pieces. I then used ribbon across the top at an angle and glued word ‘Family’ on top. I added a flower and crocheted doily aged with ink to the corner.
• Next was the back cover using brown fabric instead of embossed cardstock, but using the same principle of padding underneath and calico strip edges. But the only embellishment was a large brad for securing the leather tie, this was added last.
• Next was preparing all the pages with some subtle inked colours. I used “Sandstone” and “Fairy floss” blended. I distressed the page edges with “Antique linen”. I then worked out my layout of photos, and chose the back ground papers to compliment the photos. I used lace, flowers and jewels and pearls for feminine decoration and gold painted chip board frames, old buttons and old postage stamps for the masculine look. I used the Tiny Alpha letters for the names under the photo.

• I typed up the little stories about the family members and put them on journal tags or as folded accordion style inside a pocket. The family tree was inked to “age” the paper and glued onto one of the inserts in the album. I attached the front and back pages to the album covers.

Roz Kelly, Kalbarri, WA

Easy Peasy Colourful Backgrounds

Easy Peasy Colourful Backgrounds, Using Dye Based Inkpads

by Lorri Lennox

Etsy: http://www.artivity.etsy.com

Blog: http://www.auslorri.blogspot.com

You will need:  

Dye based inkpads - Various colours.  (Tim Holtz Distress ink pads work great for this technique)

Background ATC bases, preferably white coloured.

Non-stick craft mat. (or using a 12x12 inch plastic bag will work for this too!)

Water spray mister bottle (filled with water)

Baby wipes for clean up.

Instructions:

Begin by choosing 3 colours of inkpads that you want for your background.

Clean your non-stick craft mat prior to working.

Take the first inkpad of the lightest colour and dab it two or three times, onto your non-stick craft mat keeping the ink within an area of about 5inches. (I will usually ink up the left corner, the centre and the bottom right corner within the area)

Take the second next lightest colour inkpad and again dab it onto your non-stick craft mat, (I will now ink up the top right corner, and bottom left corners)  trying to avoid  the previous coloured ink patches, in order to avoid cross colour ink contamination (I admit, I’m not terribly fussy about doing this, as I will remove any ink contamination with my baby wipes until the normal inkpad colour is returned)

Take the third darkest colour inkpad and fill in any gaps (I will usually dab this pad 4 times.. Once in the top centre, in between the top corners, centre left side, centre right side, and in between the bottom corners)

Now take your spritz bottle and generously spray all over the ink, you will see the inks beginning to run together.

Take your ATC base card, or Cardstock for cardmaking etc – and press it down firmly onto the inky patch, then lift it straight up, and set it aside to dry.

Do not move it around, or it can smear and look murky – but experiment as sometimes this can be the look you want to create.

Soak up any excess ink with another ATC Base.

Clean your non-stick craft mat with your baby wipes.

TIP: I will often press a blank journal page down onto the ink, as a starter for a journal page.

Here’s some ATC Bases I inked up after adhering torn paper strips to the base cards, and some torn paper strips were inked up separately and then adhered to the cards.

 Here’s some more ATC’s using the inked up technique as a background, this time I used only two coloured inkpads J

I hope you enjoyed my quick and easy tutorial, for more inspiration please visit me:

 http://www.auslorri.blogspot.com and you can follow me on facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Artivity/201207913244003?ref=hl

What is Washi Tape?

Welcome to our What is Wednesday!

We endeavour to post a new what is every week. But we need your help! Let us know what you would like to know more about ....

This week we are going to give you a brief history of Washi Tape and its many uses.

Basically Washi Tape originally comes from Japan and is made from rice paper. It is now manufactured in any different colours and patterns. 

Here is the description from wikipedia:

Washi (和紙^?) is a style of paper that was first made in Japan. Washi is commonly made using fibers from the bark of the gampi tree, the mitsumata shrub (Edgeworthia chrysantha), or thepaper mulberry, but also can be made using bamboo, hemp, rice, and wheat. Washi comes from wa meaning Japanese and shi meaning paper, and the term is used to describe paper made by hand in the traditional manner.^[1]

Washi is generally tougher than ordinary paper made from wood pulp, and is used in many traditional arts. Origami, Shodo, and Ukiyo-e were all produced using washi. Washi was also used to make various everyday goods like clothes, household goods, and toys as well as vestments and ritual objects for Shinto priests and statues of Buddha. It was even used to makewreaths that were given to winners in the 1998 Winter Paralympics. Several kinds of washi, referred to collectively as Japanese tissue, are used in the conservation and mending of books. Washi has also found a new form, as a tape, usually combined with acrylic glue. It is similar to masking tape in that it is removable from most surfaces.

So, what do we use it for?

As well as using washi tape on layouts, creating borders and bits of interest on your page there is plenty more inspiration to be found on Pinterest! Here are some images from there: (original websites are watermarked on the photos :) )

We have a large variety of washi tape available in store and over 50 designs in our webstore. {here} 

New Products in store this week.....

Have a look at all the great new dies that have just landed in store!

And these items have just been loaded to our online store:

You can find the Smash! items {here}

You can find Washi Tapes {here}

We have also started loading up our charms...

Check back every couple of days as our website is slowly filling up!

Wishing everyone a fantastic week!

Party Day now in store...

Beautiful bright papers for Scrapping those birthday memories.

Suits both boy and girl :)

Dyan Reaveley - Art Journal Cover

Good Morning everyone!

Please welcome Roz and her blog post :)

Textured Cover for Art Journal

Materials.....

• Dyan Reaveley art journal 30x23cm
• a magazine cut out of a pretty face
• scrap booking papers
• Glossy Mod Podge
• Glossy Accents
• Texture paste
• Donna Downey chrysanthemum 6x6 stencil
• ribbon and yarn- for tassels
• diamante self adhesive jewels for her earrings,
• buttons and lace,
• the tissue tape to bind the edges,
• the black Pilot Permaball pen to highlight the eyeliner and eyelashes
• acrylic paints
• a key and chain trinket
• Matt Spray finishing sealer (available in store - not online)
• Dyan Reaveley Dylusions ink sprays

Method-  I have torn up and pasted pieces of scrap booking papers onto the journal cover as a base. I used matt Mod podge as the adhesive both on the cover before sticking the paper and also some on the back of the paper. I found a picture of a pretty face in a magazine and pasted the face in the upper left corner. I fussy cut some flowers from the papers of some roses and pasted it in the top left corner to frame the face. I coloured some lace with Dylusions ink sprays to co-ordinate with the cover colours. I made a rosette for the lady’s hair, and glued with a black felt flower and diamante. I also glued diamante below her right ear for earrings. When the Mod Podge was dry I used the Pilot Permaball to highlight the eyes and eyelashes.

I used texture paste tinted pale orange with acrylic paint, and thickly spread it over the flower stencil with a spatula, lifting up to reveal a textured flower design about where the dress would be. I also used the texture paste coloured scarlet to carefully fill in the lips. When dry (12hrs later) I applied Glossy accents – so the lips have a 3D effect!  

I used letter cut outs and words for the title and year 2013. I used more coloured lace on the right edge border and a row of buttons glued with glossy accents across the bottom of the cover. I randomly stamped sayings and writing about the page for interest. I added a flower paperclip with a chain and key. I glued the paperclip only, leaving the key to dangle.

I edged the cover with washi tape (tissue tape) and with a brad attached a selection of textured wool strands and ribbon to the spine of the journal to use as page markers.

I used matt Mod Podge to coat the whole cover as a sealer. Leaving overnight to dry between coats (or use a dryer to speed the process). I used 3 coats of Mod Podge.

Handy Hint:-  There is usually a slight tackiness even when the Mod Podge is dry, to overcome this, spray finally with a coat of Matt Spray finishing sealer (use outdoors and avoid breathing the vapour) and leave outside to dry overnight. Happy art journaling!

By Rosalyn Kelly 

Thank you Roz :)

We have another post by Roz which will be posted early next week.

All items (except for magazine cut out) is available in store. :)