A LITTLE BIT OF WEAR CRAFTS

Now it has to be said that I have a slight weakness when it comes to mini books - as anyone that knows me will know.  I can't help it, pretty papers and constructing tiny books!  So you can imagine my utter giddiness when I spotted Jen's mini book for May can't you! Here is a link to the original blog post.

http://scrappyjens.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/may-mini-book-monthly-scrabook-kit.html

And here are the two colour ways that Jen had available 

A fabulous kit and I know that the blue one was limited stock when I last checked!

http://www.wearcrafts.co.uk/product/may-mini-book-monthly-scrapbook-kit-blue-option/

Here is the link to the pink one

http://www.wearcrafts.co.uk/product/may-mini-book-monthly-scrapbook-kit-pink-option/

So not only do you get all of the above pretty papers and they are seriously pretty - a certain thickness to the papers to lead to a luxurious book, but you get the all essential instructions to create a mini book for the grand price of £17.99 - I know - crazy right. 

So Jen sent me the kit and the instructions and I was giddy giddy giddy to create 

Now the instructions say - make a dummy one up first so you know what you are doing, bearing in mind I had never seen the original (other than photos) - but anyone who knows me also knows I can be a tad impatient so I set too with great gusto.  Jen's instructions were fab - I only made one error (and it was my impatience that cause it) but I loved the finished item anyway and it didn't detract from the book or it's effectiveness!! 

I love also the fact that it looks so different depending on the different papers that you select! 

An inside view

And from the top 

Now the joys as Jen rightly points out when you have instructions to create a mini book you get to use them over and over again!

Now never one to avoid putting temptation in my way, Jen ended up with some gorgeous, no let me say that again GORGEOUS, new papers recently - I just loved the hearts and the colours ways.  So I was uber giddy to get my hands on them.  Now I know what you are thinking 'Mr and Mrs' but I don't have any wedding photos to scrap this year.  Well initially I thought about getting some of my own wedding photos from years ago reprinted, then when I started to look through, whilst there is a decidedly wedding element to these papers, there is also a decidedly 'love' theme to them too!  

http://www.wearcrafts.co.uk/product/carta-bella-rustic-elegance-collection-kit/

So I set too with my mini book instructions and started to play! 

Can I just say that I absolutely love the end result.  There is no reference to wedding in this book whatsoever, so I can use it for photos of me and hubby with recent photos without a stress in the world.  (Can you see what I meant about gorgeous papers). 

The inside of the book!  

A view from the top! 

And I enlarged the original card dimensions from the instructions - that's the fab bit of mini books isn't it - an ability to tweak and play with them! 

I had the most fun with these - I really did, the only 'added' elements to the kit were a peach cardstock to create the bigger pull out page elements! (More room for photos that way). 

Now I was creating this on Saturday afternoon and I was as they say 'on a roll' so I rummaged again to look for a different colour way of papers!

Now earlier in the year Jen got hold of some fabulous Simple Stories Life Documented papers, the packs were lovely and in addition she also got some calendar pages.  Now one side has a month and a calendar sheet and the other side has some great patterned paper.  If you want to see the range check out the link below.

http://www.wearcrafts.co.uk/department/simple-stories-life-documented/page/1/

Again the gorgeous papers are a great quality so ideal for creating mini books!

So using exactly the same instructions I created another mini book! 

The inside - just to show you the versatility of the mini book and these papers!  Again I added a little plain cardstock to get some of the papers to 'pop'.  

A view from the top 

And the side 

So if you are in need of some inspiration and want something really versatile that can be used over and over again, I don't think you can do any better than that fabulous kit from Jen! 

And before you think these will take an absolute age to make, whilst the first one was a bit of a plod to get my head around the instructions (probably 3 to 4 hours), once I had I managed to create two further ones in an afternoon - I kid you not! 

And the question is will I be using the instructions again?  Well of course, it's only Sunday and I've got an afternoon free and the weather is lousy so more mini book making this afternoon! 

SIMPLE STORIES - SELFIE RANGE FROM WEAR CRAFTS

Oh Jen sent me a lovely pack of papers recently, really bright and positive and said have a play and enjoy.  Well my mojo has been somewhat lacking recently so I opened the pack up last night and had a play and before I knew it I had 4 layouts done and dusted, meeting lots of the challenges on UK Scrappers as well - so win win!

First up this one which met a monthly challenge set on UK Scrappers, I really enjoyed playing with the layout, the photo of said 14 year old peering through a class bench at Chatsworth!

Next up - I used a plain background and then added some of the positive elements, this is following Mini Owners Challenge this month - fab sketch as always!

Then I decided to have a play with the black and white roses, which I fussy cut (Jen would be proud) and then painted/coloured in the elements to create this layout.   This was the mood board for June 2015 on UK Scrappers.

And finally the week 2 challenge on UK Scrappers this month had a fab sketch that matched this gorgeous paper!  Photo of said 14 year old, inside one of the exhibition chairs at Chatsworth, he said it was very warm inside and would have been ideal if it had had a reading light inside!

So there you go layouts that got my mojo going again - yay!

WEAR CRAFTS - LEGACY LAYOUTS

I've been having much fun with the gorgeous legacy range of products made by Simple Stories sent to me by the lovely Jen at Wear Crafts.  These are seriously beautiful papers and it didn't take long to cut into them and get going.  I've already shared one layout with you here and I've got two more to show you this morning

First up - Leave a Legacy, I've used wavy boards, border punches, hand written journalling.  I've used two photos captured when we went to Kelham Island's Victorian Christmas Fayre, one of the Ferris Wheel on it's own and the other of me and my sister and niece chatting with the Ferris Wheel reflected in the window and then to add to it, I used the gorgeous Ferris Wheel element off one of the legacy papers - the word - perfect comes to mind!

Next up a combination of plain cardstock from my stash and then elements of the Simple Stories range.  I decided to turn the square on it's side and rounded all the corners, the strips of paper are from the pieces you cut off at the bottom, I love to use these up wherever I can, a few scattered hearts and a couple of buttons stitched on and it was done!

If you fancy getting your hands on these beautiful papers then head over to Jen's website here 

CREATING A LEGACY - WEAR CRAFTS WAY

Good morning, time to share a layout created with the gorgeous legacy papers that Jen sent from Wear Crafts.

These papers are gorgeous, rich colours, wonderful patterns - just what you want when creating some layouts.

I used a wave board to create the shapes top and bottom, the 'hole punched' pretty edge is actually part of the paper, I tore the edge on the red paper and mounted the photos.

The photos document my sister and niece and my mum heading into Chatsworth last Christmas for their Alice In Wonderland inspired decorations!  I love the fact that the paper has red roses on it - very apt - Jen you must have known!

Fancy using the same yourselves?  Then head over to the lovely Jen's Wear Craft website here and grab yourself some beautiful papers!  Even better if you are near Jen she holds regular classes - more information on her website!

Hope you have a happy scrapping Sunday!

MORE WEAR CRAFTS SIMPLE STORIES LAYOUTS

Yes that's right suddenly I blink and it's Monday again, I'm sure the weekend goes on fast forward these days!  Got a busy week ahead too so lots to get sorted.

A couple more Simple Stories layouts, the set from Jen at Wear Crafts, the photo documents the cliff side tram at Bridgnorth last year.

And the final page that I created from the kit, I love how these pages are still bright but masculine!

The photo of us on holiday just chilling out, hubby reading and said 14 year old drawing the view in front of him!

Hope you have a happy scrapping day,  so that means out of the one kit with a bit of extra cardstock I got 7 layouts and if I recall correctly the kits retail at £8.99 - bargain!  Fancy knowing more then check out Jen's website, she's also got some fabulous kits for sale here that she's put together and a lot of these are retailing for as little as £5

WEAR CRAFTS LAYOUTS

Good morning everyone and here we are on the 31st - yes let me say that again 31st of January 2015 - already!  Here are a few layouts I created using the Simple Stories set I got from Jen last year!

First up a photo I got of those two when we were at Beamish trying to get both the moving vehicle and moving tram in the background - mission accomplished.  I love the positive colours of these papers!

Next up the negative of the bracket shape I used on the layout above, plus a strip of the red paper, onto green cardstock, a strip of white paper and a white photo mat to make the photo pop.  This photo was taken on my phone in a Japanese garden - we had a lovely day!

These papers were some Jen sent me that I initially struggled with, don't ask me why I just did, but then once I'd walked away and come back to them (typical), they started to work.  This was a day out on holiday where the rain was torrential, we visited Benthall Hall which was nearby and had a fab visit, they even loaned us an umbrella so we could enjoy the gardens!

Hope you have a happy scrapping Saturday!

SIMPLE STORIES AND WEAR CRAFTS

Good morning, well the crazy white weather has returned which is causing unknown grief at the moment, I hate snow when it means my hubby, son and myself have to get from A to B and back again safely.  This morning hubby can't even get his car out of our road - crazy stuff!  So he's trying again with mine (gulp).

Sharing some more Simple Stories - layouts, from a kit from Wear Crafts - I've just been looking and Jen has some lovely sets on there at the moment, so don't forget to check them out here.  I like these kits because the are all co-ordinated and you get extras to make the layouts really pop.

First up a 360 degree photo on the floor, making it look like you were at the top of a boat mast, we took photos on it looking down as if we were really on the boat, but also wanted to document what it actually looked like.  This was taken at Hartlepool's Historic Quay.

 
I used some ink to break up the background of the white card stock and add some red card stock to make the papers and photos pop.

Next up one of those project life style layouts, I cut down some of the cards from a big sheet and then layered them over a white card stock, simple idea but really quite effective.  The photo documents said 14 year old and hubby managing to squeeze into a priest hole at Boscobel House, the tour guide said although they knew it was big enough, they had never had two people climb inside it!

Finally photo of hubby, I left plenty of white space on this and he wasn't aware when I took the photo which means it's a really natural shot!

I have been playing with some new Simple Stories papers that Jen has sent me and oh they are really beautiful, elegant and gorgeous, I'm having great fun with them at the moment, managing 8 layouts last night with plenty of them left to make more.

WEAR CRAFTS AND SIMPLE STORIES - A PERFECT COMBINATION

Good morning, well I'm working my way through my blog folder and have several layouts where I used the fabulous Simple Stories kit from Jen at Wear Crafts known as Summer Paradise, at only £8.99 for the kit it was great fun to use and proved really good value for money!  I managed 4 layouts from the kit and had lots of elements left over to add to future layouts - fabulous stuff!

First up a photo taken on my phone when we arrived back at a holiday cottage after a busy day out.  The sun was setting and we were enjoying a glass of wine and some reading - bliss

Next up a photo taken near of dear hubby on the beach, I enjoyed adding the circles of arrows on this one, this kit really is in my comfort zone for colours!  Lots of torn edges and a strip of white to make the papers pop.

Another one of those camera phone photos, it's fun to capture the little things in life and this was perfect as one of the elements within the kit had ice creams included, I was enjoying my circle cutter when I created this layout!

Finally Hartlepool's historic quay I made up a simple square of papers to create a natural border on the page, hand written journal card, another paper element included in the kit and a photo!

If you want to find out more check out Wear Crafts page of Simple Stories goodies here

LAST TWO (WELL FOR NOW ANYWAY)

Good morning lovely people, I have two final (and I use that word loosely because I do have some leftovers from this kit!) layouts to share using the A Charmed Life - Simple Stories range from Wear Crafts - I know Jen has a few of the items left, so hope on over here and have a look if you fancy.

I used some plain blue cardstock and then offcuts and a frame on this one, hand stitching, a sticker and some journalling - sorted!  

The photo was taken of said 14 year old enjoying the bouldering when we visited High Force Water Fall in Teesdale - him and his Dad thoroughly enjoyed climbing over all the rocks for a better view (and because they can!)

And this one, using strips of paper, highlighted with glossy accents, two square photos, hand stitching and a foam mounted tag with the title 'It's a Charmed Life'.  Hidden journalling.

Photos taken on the beach near Souter Lighthouse, I can still hear that crashing wave noise in my head when I think about that day!

Hope you have a happy scrapping day!

HAPPY LITTLE MOMENTS

Evening all

Crikey hasn't it turned cold, blinking freezing in Yorkshire tonight, well I didn't get around to posting the last couple of days so thought I'd put best foot forward tonight. Here was a quick layout created with off cuts.  

As you can see a bit of hand stitching a few photos from Raby castle, including the photo bomb one and it was soon done.  I love these project life style ones - so quick and easy to put together and a great way to use up 'bits' if you know what I mean! 

So is this the end of the kit you might ask (nope afraid not - still more to share!)  

If you fancy getting your paws on these gorgeous papers, rumour has it that Jen still has some available at Wear Crafts - so hope on over if you fancy a look! 

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL

Good morning lovely people, here we have another layout using the 'A charmed Life' bundle kit from Jen at Wear Crafts I've said it before this kit just keeps going on and on and on - fab stuff! 

An assortment of the papers, a bit of plain co-ordinating cardstock, hand stitching and glossy accents, using the large title and adding some hand journalling.  

Photo taken in the summer when we went off along the Wenlock Edge in Shropshire searching for a geo-cache, can't believe when I see these photos how much said 14 year old has grown this last year - crazy stuff! 

LIFE IS WONDERFUL

Morning all, well I'm back with another Simple Stories 'A Charmed Life' layout using the bundle pack from Jen at Wear Crafts, this kit just goes on and on (and apparently there are a couple of bundles left so contact Jen if you want to know more - link to Wear Crafts here )

This was the carved figure at the head of the ship, I loved the colours in the photo and thought they blended well with the papers - so away I went, using some of the journal type pieces of paper, some chipboard pieces, a bit of hand stitching you know the drill! 

This was a replica of the original, the ship Trincomalee can be found in Hartlepool's historic quay and we were amazed to find the original ship (most of which is still integral to the refurbished ship) was built in Bombay in India!

Hope you have a happy scrapping Saturday! 

TRAMS

Morning all, well thursday greets us - Thursday?  Really?

Back to the Simple Stories - A Charmed Life - layouts, I was sharing these about a week ago - well I've still not done with the bundle kit that I bought from Jen (seriously good value with what I've managed to squeeze out of this set up to now).

Fairly simple, strip of paper, some of the alpha stickers, creating a 'large' polaroid like frame, punching three hearts out of a corresponding green, a bit of glossy accents.  Hand stitch around some elements, adding a chipboard arrow and some hand journalling.

The photo is when we were on holiday at Beamish Open Air museum enjoying the circular tram route - great fun!

Jen always has a great supply of the Simple Stories range - so you can always check out Wear Crafts website if you want to see what's available.

Hope you have a happy scrapping day!

AWESOME

I've been sharing some layouts I created using a selection of the Simple Stories DIY Boutique range from Jen at Wear Crafts - check link here 

They have been so much fun to play with and are just a selection from the main paper kit available - I kid you not. 

This one I built up blocks of the paper on a plain pink cardstock to marry in with the busy picture. 

This was documenting the second scrapbook day, me, my Mum and my sister and my niece had and we had loads of fun.  They are holding the layouts created on the day - not bad going to say it was my sisters second time of proper scrapbooking!

I stamped the title and added journalling to the strip on the right and it was done.  It really is a versatile paper pack!

I've got one more to share with you tomorrow if you fancy popping back, until then happy scrapping!

WHO YA GONNA CALL????

Sunday morning already - time flies.

Good morning, well I'm here sharing another layout using the Simple Stories DIY Boutique range that I got from Jen at Wear Crafts

The background is a gelli print I made for the final summer of colour challenge earlier in the summer but never got around to using.

I know it's a bold page but I love it.  The brights of this set of papers is fab.  Adding a bit of washi tape from my stash and some burlap stickers (also from Wear Crafts), the layout was a quick and easy one to pull together.

It documents a photo I took on my phone of said 14 year old's lego during the summer he bought the Ghostbusters vehicle and it was uber cute I couldn't help but document it!

SIMPLE STORIES - DIY BOUTIQUE - SHIP

Good morning, lovely people, fellow crafters, how has the week been treating you?  I hope it's been a good one up to now.

Now the lovely Jen at Wear Crafts recently provided me with a few sheets of the beautiful and gorgeous Simple Stories DIY Boutique range, I'd already had a huge amount of fun playing with the bundle of Simple Stories 'A Charmed Life' goodies that I bought earlier in the summer, so she wanted to see how I got on with these.

Oh my - they are gorgeous, modern bright fun papers - seriously.

So this one was made blending some of the mini journal like cards with some fairly plain cardstock - the backing cardstock being bright pink with a touch of orange card stock into the mix.

The photo is of me and said 14 year old on board the Trincomalee ship at Hartlepool's Historic Quay.
We had a fab day out.

For the layout I've added a touch of bright washi tape that I got as a birthday gift into the mix and hand stamped the title - Ship.  These really are fabulous papers to play with so if you fancy having a play check out the Simple Stories range on Jen's website here 

SIMPLE STORIES - WEAR CRAFTS - MEMORIES

Morning all, well Wednesday morning already, apparently the first day of Autumn yesterday here in the UK and can't I tell - the mornings are darker and the sun is struggling to get above the horizon!

Thought I'd share another layout using the 'A Charmed Life' bundle kit I got from Jen at Wear Crafts.

I went really simple on this one, I punched a load of hearts from different papers, used a strip of the polka dot paper, added the photo, a bit of stitching around the edge and a cluster of embellishments over on the left.

Documenting hubby and said 14 year old stood inside a lighthouse light at Souter Lighthouse (fab place to visit).

I add a few glossy accents to the little navy blue polka dots on the page and a bit of journalling and it was done, I love a quick layout!  If you want to see more of the Simple Stories range, check out Wear Crafts website here.

SIMPLE STORIES - FROM WEAR CRAFTS - A CHARMED LIFE

Good evening, well this is the first time I've had chance to sit down and write up a post, documenting a layout using the fabulous bundle kit from Jen at Wear Crafts from the Simple Stories range.  I've had loads of fun with this kit if I'm honest.

This one was seriously simple but effective (well I think it is).  I used a shaped border punch to cut the scalloped shape, I added a piece of vibrant cardstock from my own stash.  Put the main strip of paper across and replicated this with a thinner piece at the top.  Matted my photo and then had fun putting a running stitch along two of the scalloped edges with some yellow embroidery thread I had left from my cross stitch days.

The photo was from a recent holiday, we had a gorgeous seating area outside to enjoy the setting sun, hubby set the camera up on timer and raced back to his seat in time for the shot.  I think we look fairly relaxed bottle of wine and some reading, great company and some sunshine - nothing finer!

SIMPLE STORIES - WEAR CRAFTS - MAKES ME SMILE

Evening all, well over the last couple of days I've been sharing some layouts I've created using the Simple Stories 'A Charmed Life' bundle pack that I bought at a bargain price from Jen at Wear Crafts.  The kit had so much going on, paper, journal blocks, chipboard, brads - you get the drift.

Now the layout documents the first time me and Jen actually met in person.  We were holidaying in the area and I made contact to see if I could pop in and visit her Creative Space at Langley Park.  She was so happy to see us, (hubby and son came along as they went on a geo-cache walk whilst we had tea and talked crafting), I got to meet Jen's Mum as well.  The Creative Space really is fab, a lovely friendly atmosphere, some scrapping goodies to buy and lots and lots of creative inspiration - fantastic stuff!  If you live local then I strongly recommend getting yourself over there for some of the fabulous classes!

The meeting didn't last nearly long enough but I was so glad we met up and how fabulous does Jen look!

As you can see I've used blocks of the paper to create the layout, I layered up the 'makes me smile' title on foam pads to give it some dimension and then added some navy blue and yellow stitching in places.  Hand journalling and the page was done!  These papers are brilliant and I've had the pleasure of seeing some of the other ranges that Jen has too and they really are fantastic to use, if you want to know more pop over to the Wear Crafts website and take a look.

SIMPLE STORES - WEAR CRAFTS - YOU ARE MY SUN SHINE

Good morning, sharing another layout from the A Charmed Life range of Simple Stories bundle that I bought from Jen at Wear Crafts recently, if you want to learn more then check out the Wear Crafts website

Wear Crafts

If you want to see other ways of using the same kit - then check out Jen's blog it's been fun to see how the two of us have been using the same papers and embellishments in different ways!

Scrappyjen's Blog

So this layout was fun to put together, I used some of the chipboard flag pieces, I cut out the frame for the photo from a journalling card, I actually cut it slightly in so that it created a decent border next to the photo. 

The cut out piece was then turned over and used as a shaped paper piece behind the photo.  A journal blog and title and a few flower stickers off the sticker sheet and it was done.

The photo was taken when me, hubby (taking photo), said 14 year old and sister visited a Japanese garden earlier in the year. 

Hope you have a happy scrapping day!