Guest Blogger Yenni!

Hello!!

Today I'm SUPER excited to show you the work of another one of our gorgeous customers, Yenni!!

She has a fabulous blog http://scrapcollector.blogspot.com/  which I've personally been stalking  *cough* visiting frequently for quite a while now. *wink*

She always has such lovely creations and is just an all around lovely lady so we asked her if she would make something especially for the blog and thankfully she said Yes!

Here's some info about Yenni, written by the lady herself!

Hi my name is Yenni Natalia aka scrapcollector. My name will be pretty strange for you but it is very common in my hometown in Indonesia.
Currently I stay in Singapore with my husband and a cutie Westi named Garlic.   I started as a "fake" scrapbooker about 5 years ago. Why I called it fake? Because I hadn't even heard of the scrapbooker and didn't use the proper products (Such as those called acid free). I have just use all those 'every day' products- office (copy) paper, newspaper, kids paint/colour pencils,etc.
I was introduced to the real "scrapbook" world about 3 years ago. As a hobby, it goes on and off due to my busy schedule but that is where I start my adventure which has ended up with me as a card maker and I am hooked!!! I have been making cards from early 2010.  My card making style features more of colouring images than die cuts, however this year I would love to venture into a new style--shabby chic..I hope I will be success on it :)

And here is the GORGEOUS *sing song voice* shadow box frame she made;

 

I mean W.O.W right?!

OK so let's get right to how she put it together, Yenni was kind enough to take photos EVERY step of the way--told you she was fabulous!

Supplies needed. (a full list will be at the bottom of the post as always)

This is a frame from the $1 shop and the GORGEOUS Bo Bunny Crush Paper Pad 6"X6"

 

Remove the cardboard from inside the frame and paste your chosen Bo Bunny patterned paper. Trim off the extra using a craft knife.

Tips :Use light colour background if you wish to put more embellishment in the end of the projects.

Cut white cardstock to size (mine was 11 cm x 11.5 cm or 4 5/8" x 4 1/2")  Punch the longer edge of cardstock (width 11.5cm) using the Martha Stewart edger punch.  Cut a piece of pattern paper of your choice from the paper pack with size : 11.5cm x 10 cm (This is the brown paper you see). Affix the pattern paper on top of the cardstock as shown on the photo.

Take 3 frames from the maya road chipboard Love Notes series lay them out to check they fit properly as you can see here. 

Cover all the frames with pattern papers of your choice and trim it use craft knife follow the shape of the chipboards (shown below)

 

Once done distress the edges-use Frayed Burlap Distress Inks.

Time to fill each of the Maya Road frames :)

Glue the first small frame on the bottom right of the small pattern paper. "Fill" the frame with pink seam binding. Once done apply glue on top of the seam binding and sprinkle glitter on top of it.

Stamp a Tea Cup image onto pattern paper and colour it with copic markers to your taste. Cut out the image and affix it to the first frame. Do doodling and glitter to bring out the colour from the tea cup.
Cut about 4 cm (1 1/2")of pearl ribbon to create "steam" above the tea cup.

Stamp the sentiment "You're my cup of tea" on to scrap paper and cut as shown and distress the edges. Paste the cut sentiment next to the cup image.

 Paste the other smaller frame on the top right of the (brown) patterned paper and fill the frame with buttons. Stamp "Be Mine" sentiment from Hero Arts "So Sweet" Clear Stamp set on to scrap paper using versafine ink-sepia. Punch the sentiment using a 3/4" dimension Circle punch from EK Success. 

Distress the edges with distress ink.
Adhere the circle on to the buttons. (Glossy Accents would be perfect for this)

Trim a photo to fit the largest frame and adhere together.  Paste the frame on the top left of the brown patterned paper.

Decorate the frames with glitters and flowers. Here I used pink roses to match the theme.

Apply white acrylic paint to the small chandellier stamp. Stamp it on to the transparency and quickly pour glitter on top of it.

Once it is dry cut out the image and leave it aside.

Tip: using acrylic paint on the stamp will give a weathered look.

Create a ruffle of seam binding on the bottom part from the frame like shown on the photo.

Affix heart shape felt on top of the ruffle seam binding.

The final step is to adhere the paint-stamped Chandelier to the outside of the frame.

This is the final product;

Supplies :

Frame (from dollar shop) there are several frames to choose from in our store HERE

Bo Bunny 6x6 paper pack Crazy Love collection. (We have Bo Bunny Crush 6x6 pad in store now)

Bazzill Cardstock White Canvas 12 x 12

Martha Stewart Pinking Scallop Edge Punch

Maya Road frames Love notes (a perfect substitute would be the Making Memories Pitter Patter Sophie Velvet Frames

Hero arts CL276 So Sweet **

Hero arts H 5327 Small chandelier **

dyed seam binding

buttons

flowers

maya road heart trinket **

Pearl ribbons

Tim Holtz Distress Ink-Frayed Burlap

Heart shape pearls (the Hero Arts Hearts Accent Pearls would be PERFECT!)

Martha stewart fine glitter

white acrylic paint.

Ranger Stickles- star dust

copic markers to colour the tea cup.

Transparency (Stampendous Thermo Acetate) 

(products marked with ** will be in store within 1-2 days. Links will be provided when they arrive :))

 I'd like to say a HUGE thank you to Yenni for making this for the blog and especially--for making it SO QUICKLY!! You're the best Yenni :)

OK, I can't type anymore, I have to head to the shop to buy what I need to recreate this :) *teehee*

Have a great day friends!

Take care

Linda x

Joy is back with a gorgeous card!

Hello dear friends!!

I'm back again with another gorgeous card from our lovely guest blogger Joy Taylor!  It's Christmas time in Joy's card, so let's get right to it!

This is how she  did it:

• Stamp the holly onto white card stock and colour with Copics
• Stamp the Magical Background stamp that is inked with Antique Linen over the top
• Add Antique Linen to the sides of the card stock along with Vintage Photo. 
• On the cream card stamp the Large Plaid Background stamp also inked with Antique Linen
• Adhere the holly image to the card using foam dimensionals,
• Dust lightly around the edge with more Antique Linen and a light touch of Black Soot. 
• Lastly, add a sentiment to the bottom of the card using Sending Holiday Cheer, rhinestones either side of the sentiment and add some Glossy Accents to the berries.

Don't you just love it?! It's such a beautiful card and so easy to make!

Here are the tools Joy used:

Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad Black soot

Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad Antique linen

3L 3D Permanent Foam Squares
Bazzill Ivory Simply Smooth Cardstock
Copic Marker X-Press Blending Card
Copics - G09, G07, G05, G03, R39
Distress Ink  Vintage Photo
Glossy Accents
Hero Arts Classic Holly
Hero Arts Graph Background Stamp
Hero Arts Magical Background Stamp
Hero Arts Swirl Christmas
Memento Tuxedo black ink
Ranger Inkssentials Foam Blending Tool

Now it's time for you to make your own version! We hope you'll share with us what you make :)

Well, until next time friends--take care!

Linda

Guest Blogger Joy Taylor!!!

Hello friends!!

I'm super excited today because we have a good friend of mine as a guest blogger- Joy Taylor! 

excited!!

(Sorry, I couldn't resist it when I did a google image search of "excited" and saw it was a crocodile!)

Joy will be with us every Wednesday throughout October, sharing her beautiful creations and if we're lucky, she might even let us in on some handy techniques and hints *wink*.

This is the lovely Joy

Now, if any of you frequent the Hero Arts group over on flickr, you'll know exactly who I'm talking about.  Joy is not only one of the nicest ladies around (and a fellow Australian :)), she makes EXQUISITE cards that are very simple but super elegant and eye-catching.  She's also a current Hero Arts Hostess! *impressed applause*

Given that a lot of you are beginner card-makers, we thought it would be great for you to see that with just a  little technique know-how and some simple steps, you too can make a glorious card. 

So now, it's over to Joy...

Hi everyone!

I live in a small town, in Southern New South Wales with my partner Darryl and our furbaby, Roly. I currently work part time, but like all us crafters would love to see my passion for the craft to turn into my daily job…oh to dream!

I have been crafting especially stamping on and off for about 16 years now and absolutely love it, although I love all crafts, stamping is my passion, I love to create and have fun with the craft, learning new techniques as I go along.

Just recently my partner allowed me to take ownership of one of the spare rooms that we have in our house and he has built all of my craft furniture custom made for my passion for crafting.  I love that I have everything at my finger tips and come and go as I please, it really is my little haven and I adore my space.

I currently design for a company in New York and just recently, have been asked if I would like to try out designing for Jay Gee’s Nook, and I have to say that I am thrilled and honoured to be asked, I am excited and looking forward venture ahead.

I have met the most amazing people through the love of this craft and ones like the lovely Linda who asked me to do a bit of Guest Blogging for this amazing company that supports Celiac and Behcet's Disease.  I have a family member who has Celiac Disease and felt I wanted to give back a little and well this is my way.

My hope is that I inspire you to create and have fun crafting as much as I do!

Here is my card;

Here's a step by step of what I did:

1. Cut white card stock to size.
2. Blend Black Soot Distress Ink over the entire front of the card.
3. Stamp the Hero Arts Canvas Stripe Background stamp using Memento Tuxedo Black ink over the top.
4. Using a Spellbinders, Label 8 die cut a second piece of cardstock and stamp the images (from the Hero Arts What’s Perking stamp set.)  
5. Colour them in with the Copics. 
6. Use Antique Linen and Brushed Corduroy Distress Inks and blend over the top of the die cut to give a more aged look. 
7. Adhere the die cut to the front of the card, adding white string to the bottom to finish the card.

And here are the tools I used to create it;

Copic Marker X-Press Blending Card

Spellbinders Label 8 Die
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
       Ranger Distress Inks - Black Soot, Antique Linen and Brushed Corduroy

Stamps- Hero Arts Canvas Stripe and Hero Arts What's Perking
Copics - B97,B95,B93 and YG25, YG23,YG21
Others:

Sanford Signio White Uni-ball Pen

Twine,

3L 3D Permanent Foam Squares

Ranger Inkssential Foam Blending Tool

--ooOOoo-- 

So how did you like Joy's card?! We'd love to hear comments, thoughts etc.  Joy will be back next Wednesday with another gorgeous creation!

Till next time lovelies, take care!!

Linda x

Guest Blogger Virginia Lu and a Challenge!

Hi there friends!! Happy Wednesday!!!

Today I'm SO excited, because we have a special friend of ours visiting, Virginia! 

this was me when Virginia agreed to be a guest blogger :)

Virginia's blog HERE is just fantastic and her creations are even more so.  She's not only funny as all get-out and sweet, thoughtful and just all-around lovely, she's SUPER-creative!!

I check in on Virginia's blog daily (even though I'm signed up for the alerts when a new post comes up, I can never wait!) and I'm consistantly amazed and impressed with not only how versatile Virginia's style is, but what comes out of her inspiration!  

I'm a very "literal translation" kind of girl (maybe it comes from learning languages?!) so when I see an inspiration photo, my 'translation' into a card is usually quite similar to the original. 

Here's an example: I recently participated in the etsy inspired challenge, this was my inspiration photo:

which is from the amazing Becky Kazana's etsy shop (HERE).

and here's what I made:

See what I mean?! LITERAL.  I saw flowers, I made flowers, I saw yellow, I made yellow.  lol!  (You can see the full details of this card HERE)  

But Virginia?! Nuh-uh. She's AMAZINGLY creative and participates in challenges constantly, which has made her a truly innovative cardmaker. 

SO, when she agreed to be a special guest on the a2z blog, we were so excited!!  Virginia's cards are rarely super-extravagant, they're almost never highly embellished.  They're clean and simple, they're sweet and fun and kooky (just like Virginia I think!!).  Hopefully seeing some of her creations will inspire those of you who lack experience (or are just a bit low on mojo).  I know I've used her creations as inspiration MANY times.

Therefore, without further ado, I give you Virginia's first specially designed for a2zScrapbookingSupplies blog Halloween Card "Boo!";

 

See what I mean?! Simple, effective, funny, kooky--FABULOUS!!

Here are some step-by-step instructions straight from Virginia:

1. Stamp house in Versamark and emboss in white on black card stock

2. Cut the house and set it aside

3: Distress the pumpkin color card stock with Antique Linen

4: Run the bottom throught Cuttlbug with Bubbles folder

5: Use hard surfaced sponge and lightly colored the pop-up bubbles

6. Stamp the ghost images in black and cut them out.

7. Plaace all pieces and plan out for space to sentiment

8: Stamp BOO with the Alphabet set and trim and layer them in squares.

9: Apply Glossy Accent on the eyes of ghosts and the letter BOO

and how about this one "

SO CUTE!!! This is my favorite of the two, only because a) I giggled when I saw that little guy sitting in the tree and imagined his crazy high-pitched voice saying YOO HOO!!! and b) that's pretty much what I look like when I wake up in the morning :)

Again, here are some instructions:

1. Stamp house in Versamark and emboss in pink on grey card stock

2. Cut the house and set it aside

3. Distress the grey color card stock with Weathered Jeans 

4. Stamp the pumkins in black card stock and cut out.

5. Stamp the pumpkins in green using masking technique

6. Adhere the pumkins with pop dots

7. Emboss the little owl in white and stamp the branches (using makers or small cubes of ink)

8. Attach raffia at the bottom, place the houses with pop dots

9. Apply Stickles in background for the starry sky

--ooOOoo--

NOW--usually, we give you a list of links for the exact products you'll need to recreate a card or project.  But this time I want to do things a little differently. You will still get a list of products, but the main Hero Arts Stamps that I've listed are slightly different than those Virginia used.

I've done this, because rather than having you all go out and copy Virginia's gorgeous cards down to the letter, I thought--this blog is called "Creativity and Inspiration".  So that's your Challenge--be inspired to make your OWN version! Change things up, make the house different or the tree or the owl a little different, anything!

Use these cards as INSPIRATION for your own creation to come out, not a carbon copy of Virginia's.  Trust me, you'll feel better about it if it's truly yours. 

THEN, we'd love it if you either emailed us with photos of what you make, or uploaded them to our flickr gallery! (Just search on flickr for a2zscrapbookingsupplies)--of course, we'd also love it if you'd join our flickr group!

Show us how someone as amazing and inspiring as Virginia, has inspired you! (I know she'd love to see it too!)

So here are the links:

Stampendous Stamp N Stuff Embossing Powder White Opaque

Tsukineko Tuxedo Black ink

Tsukineko VersaMark Watermark Stamp Pad

Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Antique Linen)

Cuttlebug Swiss dots Embossing Folder 

Hero Arts Country Pumpkin Stamp
Hero Arts Two Houses Stamp
Hero Arts Owl-oween Stamp
Tsukineko Tuxedo Black ink  

Copic Markers

Ranger Inkssentials Glossy Accents

Tim Holtz Distress Ink  (Faded Jeans)
Ranger Frosted Lace Stickles  

umm, how perfect is this?!

Now:  do like the poster says!! GET EXCITED AND MAKE THINGS!!!

A huge thank you to Virginia for these gorgeous creations.

Talk to you soon lovelies--can't wait to see what you make!

Linda xx