Ever wonder how you are going to scrapbook all those holiday photos? Well, I think pocket pages/project life style scrapbooking is the way to achieve lovely results with lots of photos.

There are many Journal card/Project life type kits on the market - we sell Teresa Collins, Kaisercraft, Heidi Swapp & WeR in the shop (Joybells Scrapbooking).

Today I'm using the "Sunkissed" kit by Kaisercraft to scrapbook my Stradbroke Island photos - I manage to scrap 40 photos in 6 pages!

Firstly I chose 3 different pocket pages, & then chose the journal cards to put in each pocket (this kit comes with a combination of 3x4, 4x3, 4x6 & 6x4 cards), some will be used as background, some as journal spots, some just as lovely embelishments, & some I will take out to just put in a photo. I love that they are double-sided, so you can choose to use the other side, or cover it with a photo!

Next you choose the photos you want to use & decide where you want them to go, don't be scared to crop them down to fit in your pockets. I like to corner round the corners on some & leave the others.

Then you can embelish each pocket (I used the die-cuts & stickers in the kit), or just some of the pockets.

...and there you have it - all those lovely memories scrapped & ready for your album! If you would like any help getting started with pocket page scrapbooking, please come & see us at Joybells.

Happy papercrafting!

Joy :)

I have fallen in love with 'colouring-in' all over again (I loved to colour in my childhood), and the new 'die & stamp' sets by Kaiser are a great way to to 'colour-in' while making a beautiful card.

I like to stamp the image onto white cardstock using Stazon ink, and then colour-in using watercolour pencils......

Then I get a small paint brush & cup of water, & gently brush the water over my image, dabbing the excess water off with a paper towel. Dry well......

Using the die supplied in the pack, I fit it over my coloured image (I found it easier to keep the die in place with a small piece of tape) & place it in my Sizzix machine to cut it out.

Then I have inked the edges of my piece (with "Tea dye" distress ink), & place onto a card.....

Such a fun & lovely project!

Today I wanted to show you how I have been getting my background ready on my small mixed-media canvases........

Firstly I scrunch a piece of tissue paper (can be plain white, coloured or printed), that is cut larger than the canvas.

Paint Liquitex Gel matte medium all over the canvas & place the tissue paper on top, don't worry about the creases, they make great texture. Then paint Gel matte medium all over the top - make sure you do this to the sides of the canvas too. Dry this with a heat tool.

Then I tear up small pieces of pattern paper & place them onto the canvas (gel matte medium on the back of each piece first, place down on the canvas & put gel matte medium over the top) in no special order.

Lately I have been adding a small paper doily & some lace - once again using the gel matte medium as a glue & then a sealing layer over the top.

Allow this to dry well before adding paint, spray, ink etc.,

I love the new Owl stamps we have in-store by Technique Tuesday. Today I want to show you how I made two beautiful cards using these acrylic stamps.

First of all stamp your image & words onto white cardstock using a black Stazon ink pad (I love to stamp on the textured side of the card but the image is not always perfect).

Then I use the Tim Holtz mini distress inks to 'watercolour' the images - I find it easiest to work on a craft sheet, so I just add the ink to the sheet & then some water, mix with my brush & start colouring.

Lightest colours first.

I aslo colour over the words/phrases I'm going to use.

Allow these to dry.

Start putting together your card background - I chose co-ordinating papers, pearls & trim, a doily & used my tiny attacher.

I 'fussy cut' the Owls out, but the words were just cut out by 'sight'. I also inked around the edges of some of my papers.

Two very different Owl cards, but both are cute & easy to make.

Happy paper crafting :)

Today I want to show you how to make a mini mixed-media Christmas canvas.

I am using a small canvas purchased from the craft section of a 'cheapy shop' - just check but these canvas are usually already primed with Gesso.

I wanted to use tissue paper as my background - I chose a single sheet of gold printed tissue & adhered it to the canvas using Gel Matt Medium. Then I put another layer of Gel Matt medium over the top, don't worry if the tissue creases, it adds to the texture. Dry with a heat gun.

Once that was dry, I painted on a very light 'wash' of Gesso (just add water to your brush & a small amount of Gesso) all over the tissue paper. Dry well.

To make the tree, I chose scraps of paper in white, grey & cream, as well as lace in cream & white. I placed each strip onto the canvas using the gel matt medium & then put a layer of Gel matt over the top, the same with the lace. Make sure each piece of paper & lace is tapering off as you go up the tree. Dry well with heat gun.

Put another light 'wash' of Gesso over this. Dry well.

Then I used texture paste & a star stencil in 3 areas on the canvas. Dry well. Brush a layer of Gel Matt medium over the top of the texture paste to seal it.

I added a snowflake sequin to the top of the tree, and a satin seam binding bow at the bottom.

To finish off, I added Distress Stickles to the tree - just gives it a bit of bling!

Sometimes I am inspired to make a scrapbook page using techniques or products outside my comfort zone. And often the design changes as I make the page.....

I wanted to use the little strips of printed paper left over from the top of the "Open Book" paper pad. They looked so pretty on my craft table, so I used them as my background of this page. I was going to sew across them, but decided to do some mixed-media work instead!

I wanted to try that large, splotchy watercolour effect, but I decided to do that after I had stuck down all the papers (should be done 1st), so instead i used distress inks to make smaller splotches all over the page - a bit messy, but I quite liked the effect.

Next I used texture/modelling paste & a stencil - which I love.

Then built up a layered collage of distressed papers as a matt for the photo, and added some string/twine & staples.

Lastly, 3 butterflies punched out of the remaining paper, & her name "Julia".

Sometimes, you just have to go with the flow - embrace the imperfections - and just have fun :)

I was so excited to get the new Tim Holtz "Bird Crazy" stamps in the shop, and couldn't wait to design with them.

To make this card, I stamped 2 of the birds onto white cardstock using black Stazon ink ( you need to use Stazon if you're going to watercolour the birds). And coloured them in with watercolour pencils. Then I dipped a small paint brush into water (you could use an aqua pen) & carefully blended the colours on the birds.

To make my background, I used a 4 3/4" square piece of white card, & placed distress inks onto my craft sheet (blue, dark green, lighter green, brown) in stripes & sprayed a small amount of water on top.

Then I placed my white card down on the ink & carefully lifted it off again, creating a lovley background on my card. Dry this with a heat gun.

I used some washi tape, a 'dot' stencil with brown Stazon ink, & a couple of branches I cut out of paper as embellishment on the card.

Cut out the 2 birds & use 3D tape behind one of them.

I used some sticky words (these ones are from Prima but Tim Holtz makes nice ones too) & ink blended around the edges before sticking them onto my card.

Its hard to come up with ideas for Fathers Day or male birthdays, so I am loving the new Sizzix/Tim Holtz 'stache & pointer' die and the Inkadinkadoo "stache" stamp set.

To make the 'stache' card you need to choose 3 co-ordinating papers & a cardstock. In this case I used the lovely "Time Machine" range by Kaisercraft. I layered up the papers & card on the base.

Then, using my Bigshot machine (die cuts & embosses), I used the Sizzix mover & shapers magnetic 'stache/pointer' die to die cut 3 moustaches & 2 pointing hands (to be used on the tag).

You must use the magnetic board/plate when using the mover & shapers dies.

I filled a mason jar with chocolates that my husband likes, and then made a cute tag to attach to the jar. Use a bought manilla tag or make one from cardstock, and stamp the "my stache" image onto co-ordinating paper with brown Stazon ink. Using the pointing hand that you die cut earlier, attach that to the tag too. Use about 1/2 meter of twine to wrap the tag around the jar. Cover the jar lid with co-ordinating paper to finish off your gift.

The kids can help you with this project, and I'm sure any Dad would love to recieve this gift.

I'm busy making a Wedding album for my soon-to-be sister-in-law, & I wanted to include birdcages on some of the pages as that is her theme for the reception. I remembered I had a beautiful stencil by Donna Downey, and this is how I used it on this layout....

As texture paste (modelling paste) is white, I knew it would stand out on the navy cardstock base, but you can colour the paste with ink or paint (just remember it will lighten the colour of your ink/paint).

Work on a nice flat surface, place the stencil where you want the design, and using a pallet knife/spatula scoop the texture paste out of the jar (a small amount goes a long way) and spread it across the stencil as evenly as possible.

Once you have covered your design, carefully lift the stencil off, and wash the paste off the stencil under running water (once the texture paste dries on the stencil it is very hard to get off).

No you can wait & let the paste dry on your page, or use a heat gun to fasten the process (don't hold the heat gun too close to the paste, or in one place too long, as it will bubble).

You could also use the texture paste as a background on your layout - but thats a blog for another day....

Then I made a pretty silver glitter & white card matte for my photo, and some lace & ribbon, and then the title "Cherish".

I think the navy & white is classic & beautiful, and the texture paste birdcages look gorgeous.

Happy paper crafting!

Joy

I just wanted to give you a few handy hints on using the new Fuse tool by WeR Memory Keepers.

Firstly, don't be frightened to use the tool, but like anything - 'practice makes perfect'. So I have been practicing on a pocket photo sleeve for a few times before feeling comfortable to make a 'real' pocket page.

1) make sure you allow the tool to heat up for at least 10 minutes

2) use a green craft mat (seem to be heat resistant) or glass cutting mat

3) practice with the pressure needed to fuse the plastic sleeve (if you push too hard you will get a hole, and if its not hard enough you won't get any fusing)

I wanted to make a 'pretty' pocket page using the 6x6 paper pad from the "Debutante" range by Prima. I like that I can use the Fuse to make an extra pocket - down the side of a larger pocket.

And that I can add pretty sequins, twine & die-cuts to pocket & then seal it with the Fuse (make sure you add to both sides of the pocket before fusing).

Funny as this may sound, remember that once you have fused the pocket you can't add a photo, so leave those pockets open.

Double-sided papers are great for pocket pages as they're pretty on both sides, so while you're making the 'front' pocket page, the back is being created too!

Now you might see in one of my photos that I went across the pocket twice (right side of the feather) - thought I would like that look but its a bit 'wonky' so I think I'll cover that with washi tape (an easy fix). Hope this helps some of you - just have a go!

Happy papercrafting,

Joy :)