An extra design for February kit 1

Tracey O uploaded this layout to Facebook recently using her leftovers from the February kit 1 and I thought it was well worth sharing her work here with everyone! With the addition of a sheet of pink cardstock, some lace and trim and some swirls created with a Pearl Pen, Tracey has really made the most of this kit with this gorgeous vintage page. The cool thing is that the shaped paper is printed onto one of the papers and cut out for the main sample page so there is no extra work needed!
Thanks Tracey for allowing us to share your gorgeous page with everyone x

The Masterclasses are going strong!

Our iScrap Masterclass series has been a huge success so far with a great mix of techniques and products in each class. We have classes running in lots of different locations and at different stages of the series - in fact a new class is starting this week! The peeks for each of the classes in the series are on our dedicated iScrap page which is linked at the top of this page. Just click on the link to see each of the classes - we have published peeks of 4 of our classes so far.
We are considering starting a daytime class in the Southend-on-Sea area in the very near future so if you are interested please let us know by emailing sales@totalpapercrafts.co.uk
Another option for those who are just too far away to get to us or vice versa would be to contact us about getting a group of 4-6 together and we can mail the classes to your group. You can choose to run weekly, fortnightly or monthly, its up to you - just let us know!

Circle journal swap day

Jo's circle journal
Tonight we'll be making our first 'proper' rotation of our circle journals after making our first entries into another album. I was really intrigued by Jo's journal when it arrived in the post, the retro cover piqued my interest and I couldn't wait to see what she had in store for me! I asked her permission to post her journal and my entry here, I really wanted to share my pages but it is her album after all!

I was so excited to read that she wanted to know which item from my scrapbook stash provoked a positive childhood memory and loved her entry. I've crafted since childhood so I suppose I was quite spoilt for choice but I decided to share a memory of being taught to knit as a child which made my stash choice 'fibres'. I don't use fibres very much in my designing despite having a lovely selection in my stash so it was a challenge to get creative with fibres once again. Here is what I came up with.......

I got out my knitting needles (and blew the dust off them!), found a pattern online and knitted the flowers on these pages. There was quite a bit of cursing going on throughout the process as I chose a very difficult ladder yarn to knit with but the finished results were gorgeously textural and shimmery. I added my journaling to a tag which just peeks out the side of the photo mount and tied fibres through the top. I also added a tied bundle of fibres around the bloomers trim across the design. To finish off I added a gift of fibres to my signing in card for Jo to add to her own stash. I loved adding my entry to Jo's journal and felt that her theme really encouraged me to share something meaningful with her - I hope she likes it!

Wendy's circle journal

As I receive the journals through the post I was fortunate to get Wendy's album early rather than waiting until this evening and I couldn't wait to get stuck in! Her journal cover is clean and elegant with gorgeous hand-stamped ribbons tied to the book rings, just beautiful!

I was really keen to read the two entries following Wendy's theme of 'Inspiration and Motivation' and listened to Wendy's cd included in the back of the album. I knew exactly what I was going to share as my source of motivation - my one little word. I chose one word as my focus for 2011 rather than making a resolution and it has made a huge impact in my life already. I added a mini book to my page so that I could explain it all properly and include a couple of photos as well as my journaling. It looks like the Webster's bloomer trim is becoming a signature element in my smaller journal entries lately!!

Wendy kindly agreed to let me post my entry here and I hope that she likes it! I'm now ahead of the game with these journals which is a great feeling and it means I can pass both of them on tonight. I am loving this process so far and am so looking forward to the next one!

Teresa Collins sharing the love!

For those of you who have the Teresa Collins Stampmaker this is good news - a free sheet of stamp images for you to print courtesy of Teresa herself! I love the gorgeously intricate designs she creates and the mixture of smaller images so you can get lots of stamps from each pack you use.
If you're interested in downloading these then drop by www.teresacollins.typepad.com and pick them up!!

Total Papercrafts kit 2 for February

This year we have been spoilt for choice for Valentine paper ranges but we couldn't resist the gorgeous 'Be Mine' line from Glitz and so chose 3 double sided papers, a sheet of journaling cards and a sheet of embellishment cards. We married these with a pack of elegant rub-ons (4 stunning sheets in the pack), pretty lace and masses of paper doilies for a very pretty and romantic double page design.
The sample page uses a single large 6" x 8" landscape photo but could also be used with more slightly smaller portrait photos.
You'll need a black inkpad to complete the page and the sample also uses a few small paper roses, some glittered chipboard letters for the title and a large paperclip (just a simple one from the stationers!). A couple of the rub-ons were added to punched circles and ovals but its not essential to use these punches, you could cut around the images if you choose.
You can choose to play up the romance on these pages by choosing to use more of the 'love' themed cards or opt to play this down as we have done on the sample.
We hope you're feeling the love this month and have a fab Valentine's day!!

Featured artist today on Ideas For Scrapbookers!!

I am very proud to once again be the featured artist at www.ideasforscrapbookers.blogspot.com today and this time around I have submitted the steps to create the gorgeous braided tape technique that was showcased in the Total Papercrafts kit for November 2010. This is one of those techniques that looks a whole lot more complicated than it actually is and once you get into a rhythm it is surprisingly quick. I love the chunky texture of the finished braid which is also soft and flexible - its certainly something different to do with the new lines of adhesive paper tapes that are being released at the moment.
One you get the hang of this you can create the same effect with ribbons and even chunky yarn for completely different results. Go on, I dare you to have a go!!
Thank you to Pam for featuring another of my techniques on her fabulous blog. Check it out for daily ideas to inspire you!

The Circle Journal journey begins!

Front cover

Personal introduction

Welcome page

Instructions for completion

My entry - closed

My entry - open

My entry - reverse of recipe and pocket page

My entry - reverse of tags from pocket page

Signing in tags in pocket at back of album

Last night the ladies from the Total Papercrafts Essex club embarked on their circle journal adventure. For most this was a new undertaking and there was quite a bit of excitement in the air as everyone brought in their journals ready to send them around the circle. The list of topics was really varied and I am so looking forward to receiving each of them as we rotate the journals each fortnight. I remembered to take some photos of my journal before I send it off for what looks like will be an 8 month journey around the circle!

My topic is 'Food for Thought' and I was really keen to get to know a bit more about what everyone loves to cook. I find joy in creating something from a group of ingredients that not only nourishes the body but also demonstrates my love for my family and so I was interested for us to share recipes and also the stories behind them. Hopefully everyone who receives the album will contribute something meaningful to it and find something new to try out for themselves!

My recipe steps are broken down onto a series of ATC sized cards and displayed in a cut down ATC page protector. I like adding unusual sized pages to my albums and journals, it keeps it interesting to look through and explore. My recipe story is on two large tags in a pocket page with photos on the reverse side - I find it always helps to have a picture of how something is supposed to look when you are making it! I added a large pocket page at the back of the album filled with tags of all sizes for each member to use to sign in. The tags include spaces for names, the date the journal entry was made and also a fun one liner to be completed, such as...."The last thing I bought was......" The album is filled with plenty of 6" x 8" page protectors, enough for everyone to use as many as they like in fact. I am so looking forward to seeing my album when it comes back from its trip!

In the meantime I have a gorgeous album from Jo to make an entry into, its got me thinking and thats what this is all about!! Watch this space for more details of our circle journals as they make their way around the group.