Done By December Daily Album

 Do you participate in December Daily? This week the Topflight Stamps Design (TF) Team is all about Winter or Christmas!! I am just starting to work on #donebydecember the idea being, finish your last years album before you start on the new year. For me I have many started December Daily books but only 1 that is finished. This is the perfect project as I was determined to get my last one finished!*Affiliate- some of these companies have given me product to use, play & experiment with. The ideas are my own but I tend to work with companies whose products I like so enjoy the inspiration.  **some of these links are affiliate, I receive a small percentage from the company at no cost to you. This helps me deliver free content!

My albums are created a year behind while I simply document the current year. I decided to create a page for my 2019 book using a few different supplies. Did you know that TF also carries paper? There are some awesome Stamperia paper bundles & one of them has the beautiful Winter Tales paper pad. Perfect to make a mini album page.

 

Starting with a piece of paper that was cut from an ECD die seemed like a good idea. Did you know that these dies fit the Ali Edwards albums? I use the 6x8 album size which is the same size as the paper pad. The back of the page simply has a tag pocket with another pocket made from more of the paper. Inside pop a card from the kit, there is space to journal on the backside of this card. All my edge distressing was done in French Navy.

 Same page just with more light! Using the script part of the stamp with Cinnamon Swirl ink, some embossing in Weathered Gold was added & the quote stamped, distressed & adhered. My double pocket is ready for tags, photos or whatever that day needs to be documented.
 

This paper is double sided which gives the page a good start. The other side of the paper has a simple pattern. This is ripe for some inky fun. I am going to use this page as a title, with the date on it. 

My quote was stamped with French Navy ink & embossed in Blue Moon distress powder. 

The stars were stamped from the Jofy70 set. How fun are they? The inside details were colored with a gold, gel ink pen. The images cut out & adhered to my page.

Stamperia products have some amazing images. Included in the bundle are some chip board die cuts. The bird & I'm Dreaming of... were adhered with glue. They were a great way to add some magic to this page. 

 

All I needed was the date. This is also an ECD die cut and was the perfect place for the wee birdie to perch. I hope you enjoyed my December Daily pages, thanks for joining me. As always you can go to the Topflight Stamps blog to see the product images. Have a wonderful, crafty day!

Supplies:

• Stamperia Bundle Winter Tales Collection
  
• Sara Naumann ESN40 by PaperArtsy (quotes)
• "            "        ESN41 "        "     (script)
  
• Seth Apter emboss trio- Cosmic & Metalz
  
• Elizabeth Craft Designs (ECD) - Tag- 1805
• "                         "      - page 1803
• Prism Ink- French Navy, Cinnamon Swirl.
  

Comfort & Joy Pocket Notebook with Eileen Hull

Hello Eileen Hull fans I am here today with my Comfort & Joy Passport Book! We are kicking off this month long event with a Live event in the Eileen Hull Fan club on Facebook. I hope you join us for December's month long event of inspiration and community.*Affiliate- some of these companies have given me product to use, play & experiment with. The ideas are my own but I tend to work with companies whose products I like so enjoy the inspiration.  **some of these links are affiliate, I receive a small percentage from the company at no cost to you. This helps me deliver free content!

Here is my journal!! I am really pleased with how this turned out & it was really fun to make. Decisions, decisions.

 Maggie Harding has a great write up explaining this event & is letting us share so here you go...

We need some fun in our lives so all of us at Eileen Hull Designs put our heads together and came up with an event that you can participate in as much or as little as you'd like. It's a challenge of sorts and we'd like to see you to make a Holiday Journal for this season using any of Eileen Hull Design's book dies. Your journal could include activities, photos, recipes, shopping lists, daily thoughts, etc. Really, it can include anything you want; after all, it's your journal!

Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday between November 27th and December 23rd there will be a post in the Eileen Hull Fan Club from one of Eileen's team members with a prompt for a journal page. These prompts are meant to get your creative thoughts flowing and give you page ideas for your Holiday Journal. It might be in the form of a blog post, Facebook Live, recorded quick video, or a Facebook post in the group. It's up to you to take it from there and we can't wait to see what you come up with, so please share your covers and pages with us in the Eileen Hull Fan Club.

Here is the back of the book. Inspired by Jenny Marple, I used an Eileen Hull leaf die to make a wee flocked tree. I love the charms dangling down on the closure. 

 Finally here is what the book looks like with the closing ribbon strand open. I need to come up with a name for this strand of fun!! Well that is my sneaky peak for today. I will have a full tutorial up next Tuesday. I will also be in the Fan Club on Dec 11th to share my idea for your book. I hope you make your own book & join us in this Comfort & Joy event!!

Supplies:

Eileen Hull - Passport Book Diecut

                 - Spring Leaves Diecut

                 - Big Shot *black friday sale

"       "Therm O Web- Foam Adhesive

                             - High Loft Fusible Fleece

                             -Flocking Green Envy 

 

Tim Holtz-  Tiny Bells, Ephemera, 

             -ephemera bundle 

             -charm bundle

             -Christmas Tokens bundle

             -Curio Knobs

             -fabric - I found on etsy, many shops have it & you can buy in smaller quantities like 1/4yd...

              -Christmas Quote Chips, 

New Year's Page for December Daily

Is it too early to be prepping for New Year's in a December Daily context? I don't think so, the more my book is prepped the better chance I have of finishing it! Happy Mixed Media Monday at Topflight Stamps, this week it is all about New Year's.*Affiliate- some of these companies have given me product to use, play & experiment with. The ideas are my own but I tend to work with companies whose products I like so enjoy the inspiration.  **some of these links are affiliate, I receive a small percentage from the company at no cost to you. This helps me deliver free content!

I had a lot of fun making this non traditional, very art journal, grungy New Year's eve page. You too can get the same result without having to break out a tube of paint! 

 Do you like a sale? Yay Topflight Stamps is having a Black Friday sale & it starts now!!!

The key to this background is collage paper by Art By Marlene. This light weight, super colorful & messy art journal background paper is perfect. Best thing is all you need to do is cut & paste! Simply cut card stock the size of your album. Add a strip of paper for the pocket. Cut & adhere the collage paper to fit! Hot Tip: use scrapbook paper that is patterned on the backside so your next page is already started.

Next step is to add some interest to the background. One of the things we love to do as a family on New Year's Eve is play board games. We have a few nummy beverages, snacky finger foods & play Yahtzee, Trivia Pursuit, Settlers of Catan... we are a board game family for sure. This stamp "Edison Game" by AALL & Create was perfect to add some imagery in the background. 

While I had the stamp & ink out, some imagery was also added to my writing journal. I like prepping these pages ahead of time mainly because it is fun & saves time. 

 

I wanted some of the images to pop, so these were stamped on card stock & cut out. Just adds so much interest to the page. 

While trying to figure out what color to stamp my title in, distraction may have been the order of the day. Making swatch pages helps such decisions & also can be fun. Seth Apter's Baked Velvet Embossing Powders are translucent. They have a tint of color, that when layered with ink, changes the color of the ink. This swatch was done using Aegean Sea. The embossed image was created & the same ink stamped below it, with the name of the color written below that. The tab shows what Aegean Sea looks like with just clear emboss ink. 

I chose one of my favorite Prism Ink colors- Ocean Spray for the title. It pulled out that line of teal that was on the back ground paper. Tracy Even's has a fabulous new alphabet set out that is perfect for this type of page. Hot Tip: when laying the letters on the stamp block, turn the stamp set backwards so you can see the proper placement & don't stamp a letter backward....

The letters were stamped directly on the background- risky yes but as the stamps are clear mistakes are easy to fix by re-stamping. I messed up the E in "year's" but just lined the letter E up and re-stamped it. The letters were also lined in a fine pen to help them pop. I did realize after the fact that according to dictionary.com an apostrophe was needed to the word "Year's", so that was added in before the $shot.

 A bit of washi tape was added & now my page is ready to go for the big day. I have a pocket that can hold photos, ephemera and more.

I know many of us won't be with friends & family over the insane 2020 holidays. Try and find the joy of the season & embrace the simple things. Take time to breathe & get inky. Cheers!

Supplies: 

• AALL & Create Stamps- Edison Game #142
• "                      "          Grungy Alphabet #397 
• "                       "         Chess Art #115
  
• Art By Marlene- Collage Paper 
• Seth Apter Emboss Aegean Sea 
• Prism Ink in Ocean Spray, Smoked Paprika & Roasted Coffee, plus swatch colors. 
  

December Daily Organizer with Eileen Hull Diecuts

Happy November!! This month the Eileen Hull Inspiration team are all about the holidays. Inspired by a Facebook Live that Eileen did, & my recent tea caddy, I decided to make an organizer, with a Christmas twist. This project puts together a bunch of Eileen's die cuts to make a December Daily Organizer. I am once again participating in Ali Edwards project to document the holidays.*Affiliate- some of these companies have given me product to use, play & experiment with. The ideas are my own but I tend to work with companies whose products I like so enjoy the inspiration.  **some of these links are affiliate, I receive a small percentage from the company at no cost to you. This helps me deliver free content!

I wanted to make a custom caddy that had room for Project Life type cards, tools, stickers, stamps etc. Just a range of products that would make it easy to keep a separate, holiday specific supply. Here is my organizer! I also have room to add on if I want which could be fun!

Let's Get Building. 

The link to Eileen's FB Live will be below if you would like to join along. Hers is a lot different then mine but gives you a good idea of how to build one. I lined all of the inside of my various boxes with the same pattern of wrapping paper. I really like how that turned out. First it made designing much easier. Second wrap paper is much thinner so it makes the boxes go together very easily. The easy-cut adhesive also made it quick. When putting the wrap down, center the paper on mat board and smooth it onto the adhesive from the top down. This helps prevent wrinkles. 

I started with the Gift Box & covered the inside & outside with the wrapping paper. To assemble Red Liner (super tape) tape was used- it is nice & strong! To make the box you need to cut out 2 pieces & assemble. As I did not want the lid, one of the squares at the end were simply cut off. You can see in the photo how the box is put together. Follow the directions on the individual dies for assembly.

 

 

For this project I made one Gift Box, 2x Card Box, 2x the new Post Box (lid cut off), 2x Stacking Drawer. The paper on the outside is Tim Holtz from the Seasonal pad  12x12. It is a much older line so I am not sure it is available. Determined to use my stash! There are so many Christmas paper lines out their so choose your favorite!

 

 

Once I knew how I wanted the pieces together I simply used the Redline Tape to adhere them together. The beauty of this tape is it instantly adheres & is super strong. Hot Tip* While putting your pieces together, keep the bottom of the boxes on a table or flat surface. This will help you to create a level base. Clips were added for 24 hours just to create maximum a bond.

The fun step was to add Christmas ephemera. Tim has a lot in his line that create potential for HOHOHO. Here is an look at the finished project while empty. 

 

 

Ephemera was adhered adding interest & fun to the paper. Love those vintage labels. Drawer pulls were added using using brads, a jump ring & charms. 

 

Last step, grab my essentials for my organizer! The rest of the ephemera pack was put in one of the drawers. Love to sift through these little treasures. The bottom drawer will have some cards & wood pieces...

 

The Post Boxes in the back have tags in one & 3x4 December Daily/Pocket Cards in the front one. I also added some packaging to alter, prefect to recycle. I may need another row with drawers & boxes!

The Gift Box portion has pens, scissors, & a pokey hole tool but I will add to that as I need. Behind is a Gift Box that holds sticker sheets, ephemera packs & some pre-stamped paper. All ready to just cut out for decoration. Thanks so much for joining me today! Remember to check Eileen's blog weekly to catch what the team is making. Also you may want to join the fan club! Lot's of great inspiration over there. Here is the video where Eileen makes her Post Box Caddy. The project starts at 29min if you want to go straight to it. Enjoy!!

Supplies:

• Eileen Hull die cuts by Sizzix- Gift Box with Scallop 
• "              " = Stacking Drawers 
• "           " Post Box
  
• "           " -Card Box (planner & organizer). 
  
• Super Tape, Double Sided Adhesive by Therm*o*web- 1/4 or 1/2"
  
• Tim Holtz - Tokens, Deer, Christmas Sticker Book, Seasons 12x12 Paper Pad (retired),Christmas Ephemera Packs. Holiday Bundle
•  
  

December Pocket Card with Topflight Stamps

Today's Mixed Media Monday is a December pocket card for Topflight Stamps. This week the team is all about Christmas! Do you participate in December Daily, Journal Your Christmas or make a mini album for your Christmas & Holiday Memories? Making some cards ahead of the holiday makes these types of books easier to create. 

 This could even be the cover of a card for sure. Just love the attitude of this owl. I had a play with lots of products this week. As always the supply list is below & if you pop over to Topflight Stamps there are photos of all the products. Using the code karenbearse also gets you 12% off your order. 

Let's Go!

Start off with a stencil like this brilliant one by PaperArtsy & some spray inks. I used Prism Glimmer Mist which has a wonderful shimmer in it. Spritz randomly keeping the colors a bit separate. 

 

 

Making a few different backgrounds gave me a few different options. I used the leftover ink from the process above, flipped the stencil on a piece of card stock & just swirled it around to get the excess paint off. I call this smooshing.

Here a few of the backgrounds I ended up with. The smosh page I also cleaned off my stencil using a baby wipe. This added a pretty cool background to some of the white space. That was the one I choose for my card. 

Here you can see the background was cut out 4x6 & corners rounded. Added some background stamping using Red Brick & script stamp. Stamped out the brilliant Katzelkraft owl & fussy cut, note I cute off the feet to make it easier & stamped them back in on the background. The hat is so fun & is from the IndigoBlu Skullduggery set. You can also see the idea of placement for the leaf stamp. 

 

Let's walk through the rest of the card. The owl was painted with watercolor. You can see that I stamped on the background & placed my cut out on top so the feet are back. The cap was colored with markers. I made a sketchy border with a pen & colored in with the same markers from the hat.

 

 

The leaf was heat embossed using Seth Apter's Weathered Gold, gives a nice pop & metallic look to the piece. I added some of the brand new AALL & Create washi tape. Just adds that mix media look to the card. Finally a quote! This was from Visible Image set which has quite a few quotes with different fonts. It was stamped and the edges rolled then distressed with Roasted Coffee. Thanks for joining me today!! I hope you get the chance to get inky. 

 

Supplies:  

• Katzelkraft Owls

• PaperArtsy Stamps by Sara Naumann ESN41 

•  "        "  Stencil by Darcy Marshall PS117
  

• Visible Image Sentimental Christmas   

• IndigoBlu Skullduggery

• AALL & Create Washi Tape #1 , #2 , #3 , #6 

  Seth Apter- Weathered Gold Embossing Powder by Wow
  

• Glimmer Mist in Apple Green, Glamour Gold, Cherry Pie. 

• Prism Inks in Roasted Coffee & Red Brick.
  

Cute Snowman Envelope with Tag at Topflight

Hello Inky Friends, I am here today with a cute snowman vellum envelope that has a Christmas tag inside. The Topflight team are having Christmas in July & I got to play with Katzelkraft stamps. This will probably end up in my December Daily but it also might end up in my #the100dayproject. Don't you love having options?! 

Christmas in July with Katzelkraft

Starting with a tag & blending Distress Ink on it along with a bit of stamping. The tag was then embossed & the snowflakes were hit with Silver Spark Metallic Lustre. The envelope has this cute frosty snowman on it. I started by making a snow hill on the envelope with Soft Fallen Snow emboss by Emerald Creek. Then I did a couple of patches using Winter's Mistake. I love this heat emboss powder because it has a real fluffy, shimmery snow like look to it.
 

 

Snowman using Emerald Creek Emboss Powder & Marvy Uchida

Hard to get a good pic to show how fabulous & shimmery my frosty friend is. On a separate piece of paper I heat embossed him in Onyx Frost 1st which gave me the outline. Next I used the perfect medium brush to color in the snow bits and did a 2nd layer of embossing using Winter's Mistake. Hot Tip: brush off any white that gets on the black before heating to make your image clearer. If the white embosses on black simply color it with a marker to turn it back to black. I cut him out & then it was time for some marker action.

Blending Alcohol Markers

Here I am testing out what marker colors to use. These markers are alcohol based & great for blending. Monsieur Snowman was adhered with foam tape to give him a bit of dimension. 

 The finishing touches were a star paperclip & some fibers for the tag. Now my envelope is all ready to go!! Thanks for joining me today! I hope you get the chance to get an early start on your Christmas Merry!

Topflight Stamps by Katzelkraft :

• Christmas Trees 
• Snowman

Other Supplies:

• Emerald Creek Emboss Powder 
• Marvy Uchida Le Plumme Markers- O835, B700, BV736, BV738
• Ranger Distress Ink- Fired Brick, Peeled Paint, Cracked Pistachio

Christmas In July Project Life Card

This week on Topflight Stamps we are playing with Christmas. Yes that is right, time to start thinking of snow, snow, snow! Why you ask, in July? This is the time the stores need to put their orders in so you can get your happy snow globe stamps in the fall. I was designing this and it was 100oF- yikes, steaming Jingle Bells. 

Project Life Card with Katzelkraft

Mini Tutorial~

I participate in Project Life. At Christmas I tend to attempt to make a December Daily. Both involve making journal cards so that is what I decided to do this week. I started with a Becky Higgins card & added some stamping with Distress Ink, at the top & bottom of my card.

Christmas Tree Stamps at Topflight

Next step was to stamp and cut out the wonderful doodle Christmas trees by Katzelkraft with archival ink. Putting Distress Ink on a craft sheet & using it as paint to color the image followed. A quick swipe of color on the background along with some shimmer from A Wink Of Stella pen gave my trees a nice backdrop. I cut out the Merry Christmas and adhered it on the trees, then used pop dots to adhere. All I need is the journaling! Pop on over to the Topflight Blog to get your Christmas going & check out all the cool Christmas designs the team is doing this week. 

Journal Your Christmas Album Cover

I have a tutorial up on the Southern Ridge Trading Co. Blog making a Journal Your Christmas - JYC album cover. I took a class years ago from a good friend of mine Deborah Mahnken, we made a mini album, book style. I had added some photos, etc to the inside but never finished decorating the cover. There is a challenge on the blog every month & this month is all about winter or Christmas- come on over you could win free chippies!!!

Here is my finished cover. I used lots of Emerald Creek embossing powder on this. Winters Mistake & Soft Fallen Snow are perfect to add those snow like elements. Creates this light fluffy emboss with glitter- too cool! I am also entering this in the Emerald Creeks Dare contest this month. Come on over & play you can find the current challenge & the chance to win a $50 gift card here.

 As you see it is my book from 2013. I will be finishing up the insides over the Christmas Holiday. Do you have unfinished projects that you would like to get done? All forward movement counts so if you need some inspiration to pull out that unfinished project... You will find a full tutorial with lots of step out photos, over on the SRTC blog. Check out the new holiday chippies. I hope to see you there!