Love is in the air Flip album with Thin cut dies

Hello friends ,
Sharada Dilip here today 

I'm back again to inspire you all to do more with the Thin cut dies from Itsy Bitsy 

Today I'm sharing a  Flip album with Thin cut dies 

You can call this a 'one sheet wonder mini album', as I have used only one single 12x12 cardstock as base of the album

This is a quick and easy project.. sized 6"x 6"

Steps to create the Flip album

Score the 12x 12 sheet at 6" in the centers then just cut one side to 6"

Fold the scored lines and your flip album is ready to be decorated

I have used all the different sheets of the pack to decorate each side of the album

I have decorated each page with Itsy Bitsy Thin cut dies

Isn't this something you all would love to try :)

Wish to see more of my creations for inspirations?? Please click here

warm regards

Sharada Dilip

SUPPLIES USED 

THIN CUT DIE VINTAGE BICYCLE

THIN CUT DIE ORNAMENTAL DOILY

THIN CUT DIE MASON JAR

THIN CUT DIES HEART 4PCS PBCI IB

TAGS THANK YOU 4PC IB

PRETTY IN PINK PAPER PACK 12X12

SILICON LIQUID GLUE

ADHESIVE FOAM DBL SIDED TAP

CARD STOCK BRIGHT WHITE

"Key to my heart" itty bitty mini album in a box|step-by-step demo

 Hello there, dear crafty folks!

I am back with more pastel love! An itty bitty mini album inside an altered box. What better way to send sweet nothings to that special someone than a shabby floral box to keep your whispers safe? ;)

Follow along as I go through the process of altering the box and construct the tiny mini album-step by step... with a spine and gusseted pages!

I decided to upcycle a box in which 4x4 photo prints had been delivered.

1. Select a box. Gauge dimensions. Mine was 4.25 x 4.25 x 1.25 inches on the outside. A quarter inch smaller (all three dimensions) on the inside.
2. Decide on which surfaces to mat. I realized that matting the outside of the base would make it difficult to shut the box. The upper lid could catch on the matting. I decided to mat only the outside of the lid.
3. Choose pattern papers. I picked these peppy, cute patterns from the Little Birdie Pretty in Pink paper pack. I decided to save the shabby romantic rose patterns for my next project. (I did give in eventually and used a bit of the rose pattern.....you'll see!)
4. Pick solid card stock if you want to double mat your box. I love double matting.....it enhances contrast and makes the patterns pop! I picked black IB card stock to mat the lid. The white card stock will be used in building the album. Let me mention here that this is the new white card stock from the store.....it's sturdy and scores smoothly, making it perfect for page builds. I have, in fact, made a card stock album (no chipboard).

Here are pictures of the matting process.

1. Matted the lid with black cardstock.
2. Matted the lid with pattern paper.
3. Matted the inside of the lid and the base with another pattern paper (no double matting on these.)

Here's how the insides looked after matting...LOVE the polka dots!

Next, prep your chipboard because they may take time to dry.

1. Select chipboard pieces. (I used the heart and the butterfly in this project...the chevrons have to wait for the next project.)
2. Brush them with gesso and go over them again with white acrylic paint for better coverage.
3. Allow them to dry. I do go over then again with glitter glue right at the end...after they are layered under flowers.
I went on to build my mini album next. I like to keep all the decorating for the end (and that is also how I miss shooting that part...sorry!) Anyway...I digress. Here's what I did for the mini album.

1. I took a 12 x 12 inch sheet of card stock > cut three 3.5 x 12 inch pieces out > trimmed the pieces down to the following dimensions...3.5 x 8, 3.5 x 7.5, and 3.5 x 7.25 inches.
2. This is what I had before starting to score.
3. Scored all three pieces at the 3.5 inch mark on both sides and stacked them one inside the other.
4. Adhered the creases down to form a spine. Please note that these dimensions will give you gussets of varying sizes...the outer one being the widest. I wanted this because I usually embellish the inside covers, even in itty bitties! :D

Here's how I matted the mini album.

1. Cut 12 pieces of 3.25 inch square designer paper.
2. Matted the pages. Added two top loading pockets on the inside covers to hold booklets.
3. Matted the cover, spine, and back cover--retained the same pattern as the lid for the first two. For the back cover, I used the cut-apart sheet from the collection!
I also added belly bands and diagonal pockets on other pages of the album--you'll see them in the finished album.

I decorated the box and the album using Itsy Bitsy chipboard pieces (Forever Love and Butterflies), Little Birdie Sparkle and Mix Media (canvas) flowers, Little Birdie Handmade flowers, Nyra metal charm, Itsy Bitsy faux pearls, Valentine's Day special burlap hearts embellishment, IB satin ribbons, and glitter glue from my stash.

Here are the glamor shots!

More views of the the box:

And the mini album that sits in it:

A peek at the pages...top loading pockets, diagonal pockets, and vertical belly bands.There are two of each feature across 6 pages.

So that was my "Key to my heart" itty bitty mini album in a box. I hope you have enjoyed. Please leave us your comments/questions. It feels great to hear from you and I will make sure to reply!

Happy crafting!

xoxo
Suchi

3 Techniques to Create Card Backgrounds with Chalk Ink

Hello everyone, it's Juhi with my first post for February. In today's post I'm sharing 3 romantic cards since Valentine's Day is just around the corner. I've used the adorable Purrfect Birthday stampset from Itsy Bitsy. All the products used are listed at the bottom of the post.

I will be showing you how I made these cards, with the focus on 3 ways to create backgrounds using chalk inks. So let's get started.

Card 1:

1. I started with heart shaped felt die-cuts and a piece of white card-stock
2. Trace out a heart outline using a heart die on the piece of white card-stock
3. Add red chalk ink within the outlined heart with any soft bristled brush. Use a light hand and add a little color in each step, 
4. Continue till you are satisfied with the result. It is ok if the results are uneven and splotchy as we are going to cover this up with felt hearts and only a little will show through.

5. Cover up the traced heart outline with felt hearts. I stuck them in place with liquid glue.

6. Make sure you go beyond the outline.

7. One the glue dries die-cut the heart.

8. Take another piece of white card-stock slightly smaller than the front of your card-base. My card-base measures 4.25"x5.5" so I chose my panel's size to be 4"x5.25". We want to create a red halo around the die-cut heart. In order to do this very lightly trace out the die-cut heart with a pencil.  Now, similar to step 3 and 4 above add chalk ink with a soft bristled brush. Start at the centre of the heart, move outwards and build up color slowly. Be careful not to apply too much pressure as this will lead to ink splotches. We want to create an ombre effect, which means the red will be darker close to the heart and lighter towards the edges, so it is important to stroke the brush from inside the heart to the outside.

9. Now, stamp out images of 2 cats facing each other from the "Purrfect Birhtday" Stamp set.

10.  Color and fussy cut them.

11. Finish the card by putting everything together. I added all the layers with double sided foam tape. The sentiment is from the set "Canvas Sentiments Just for you". These sentiments are just perfect for Valentine's Day, I love the fact that they are written on canvas, it adds interest to the cards.

Card 2:

In the second card, I'll be showing you a very easy masking technique to create a stripes background using washi tape.

1. Stick washi tape at regular intervals on a piece of white card-stock.I used my cutting mat as a guide, you can also mark regular intervals with a ruler.

2. Start applying chalk ink using a soft bristled brush. Pick color on the brush and move from one end of the card-stock panel to the other to create and ombre effect. Slowly build up the color, adding a little color in each step and taking care not to apply too much pressure.

3. Carefully start peeling off the washi tape, once you are satisfied with the inked background. 

4. The portions which were below the washi have remained white, creating a beautiful striped background.

5. I finished the card by stamping, coloring and fussy cutting another cat from the Purrfect Birthday Stampset and adding it to the card, together with some felt hearts and another sentiment from the Canvas Sentiments set.

Card 3:

I created a fun stamped background for my third card. 

I took a couple a sentiment stamps from the same "Purrfect Birthday" stamp set and did second and third generation stamping with red chalk ink. 

Second Generation Stamping Technique 

Ink up your stamp and stamp on a piece of scrap paper, now, without reinking the stamp, stamp on your card-stock panel. This will create a slightly toned down or lighter image, which is perfect for backgrounds. Toned down stamping or second generation stamping is a great technique for backgrounds as a very bright stamping can make a background look too busy and take focus away from the main elements of the card.

You can also try 3rd or 4th generation stamping if you wish, by simply stamping multiple times on a scrap piece of paper before stamping on your project.

Once my background was ready I mounted it on top of my card-base and finished the card with 2 cute kitties and a sentiment from the Canvas Sentiments set.

I hope you enjoyed these 3 techniques to create backgrounds with chalk ink. I certainly did enjoy making these cards. Thank you so much for stopping by today!

Supplies Used:

CLEAR STAMPS PURRFECT BIRTHDAY	CHALK INK PAD RED	PIGMENT INK PAD BLACK	FELT HEARTS
SIZZIX FRAMELITS DIE HEARTS	Red Cardstock	CARD STOCK BRIGHT WHITE	GALLERY SERIES BRUSH SET WATER COLOUR
FLORAL FLOWERS WASHI TAPE	CANVAS SENTIMENTS JUST FOR YOU

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