Total Papercrafts kit 1 for September

Our first kit for September uses brand new papers and embellishments from Authentique and we LOVE them!! The gorgeously thick papers are double sided but the double sided action doesn't stop there - the title is too and so are the strips. Thats loads of options from this fab kit!
The sample design includes lots of techniques and you can choose to include some or all of them as suits your own personal scrapbooking style. Our featured technique is creating paper beads which is super easy and incredibly effective - plus its a low cost way to create co-ordinating embellishments for all papercrafting projects.
The kit includes: cardstock, 3 double sided patterned papers, a pack of Noteables, a pack of Headlines, a pack of Petite Type adhesive letters, wire and lace.
To create the sample page you'll also need pink and yellow inkpads (we used Distress Inks in Scattered Straw and Tattered Rose), a bone folder for scoring, decorative border punch, brads or crystals for flower centres and a sheet of plain white A4 paper.
The sample used three 6"x4" portrait photos - the title options are 'You make life Blissful' or 'Always Smiling'. The edges were distressed with cream paint, you could choose to do this or sand the edges to define them. The warm yellows and creams of the kit are lifted with a little kick of hot pink and will match with all sorts of different photos, you'll be surprised!

Total Papercrafts kit 2 for August

Our second kit for August is fresh and summery in modern pastel shades of pink, cream and teal. The sample includes lots of technique including paper pleating, fussy cutting, layered borders and punching. The choice is yours as to how many (or few!) you opt to include in your own page. The sample design is for five photos - two 6x4 and three 3x4 (see picture for orientation).
The kit includes: cardstock, 5 double sided patterned papers (including 2 pearlised and 1 embossed), punch, ribbon, paper template and crystals.
To complete the sample design you will need; pink, yellow and pale blue inkpads, scallop border punch, a decorative border punch, stickles or glitter and glue.
For those attending club I will be bringing along an assortment of border punches, flower dies and a range of single word stamps as used on the sample (three were used but there will be lots more to choose from on the night).

A Week in the Life - my first entries

I decided to do my 'Week in the Life' project from 1st to 8th August as it made more sense for me in both activities and in dates. The idea for this came from Ali Edwards who completes the same project each year at different times and offers ideas and inspiration throughout the week. Once I had chosen my week it was just a case of remembering to take photos throughout the days (not easy when you're in the moment I can tell you!!). I think I managed to get a good flavour of what my week was all about and have made a start on the album.
Melissa and I dropped into Sugar & Spice last Friday during a girly day out together and I saw these gorgeous summery papers which were perfect for creating the album. I love the hot red and slightly vintage look to the colours in this range and so I bought one of everything!! I'm having loads of fun now just sitting quietly putting the pages together, I HAVE to do it now before I forget what happened and when!
I love creating mini albums like this one as I get to scrapbook purely for myself and I have the chance to get out my stash and actually use it! Don't get me wrong, I love designing for kits and classes but its not often I can get let go and do whatever I want to with whatever I have. I think this will be one of the things I take along to our 'Finish Your Pages' day this Saturday.

By the way - we still have places available for the Finish Your Pages' crop day this Saturday 13th August. If you are interested you can book through our website at http://www.totalpapercrafts.co.uk/ or email sales@totalpapercrafts.co.uk for information. We hope you can join us for a relaxing day of crafting!!

New circle journal entry - Pauline's

Pauline's circle journal theme was 'Nature' and it was another single page entry which is always a challenge for me. This one came together very easily as I was on a designing roll after the last album and had two at the same time! Pauline had loved the new K&Co paper I had used in a recent kit and so I decided to collage virtually a whole 12x12 sheet onto the single page in her album. It worked really well and I loved the finished effect which was cohesive and soft.
I added a photo of blowing a dandelion clock which is one of my favs as Dave caught the seeds in flight (if you knew just how many dandelions I had to blow to get that shot!! LOL!). I made a pocket behind the photo for hidden journaling on a tag and embellished the page with some brand new velvet & lace trim in a goreous green and of course some scrumptious ruffled rose trim too!!

As Pauline adores them so much, I decorated the page with a small wire and tulle butterfly and a large diecut paper butterfly (I've fallen in love with my BigShot all over again!). This one was fast to put together but I love it - hope you do too Pauline!!

Total Papercrafts kit 1 for August

Our first kit for August is in the fun colours of raspberry and teal - these colours just make us smile! The kit is jam packed full of stuff to play with including beads and wire to make fab wired flourishes to highlight your photo. We also have a gorgeous chipboard monogram letter 'I' which you can choose to paint, ink or cover with patterned paper and there are four gorgeous sheets of double sided patterned papers to choose from in this kit.
Two of the papers have punched edges - the iron fence used for the railings and the scallop and dot for the ruffled border. No need to worry about finding the exact punches with this one!
The kit contains; cardstock, 4 double sided patterned papers, chipboard monogram, beads, wire, ribbon, paper templates.
You'll also need teal and red inkpas, a single hole punch, some 3d foam pads and it might be helpful to have a pair of pliers to hold the wire while you are making the flourishes - we have some in stock for just £1.99 a set!!
The photo used for the sample is 5.5" x 5.5" and it would be a good idea to have the focal point over to the left of the pic to leave space for the flourishes of the monogram. As the monogram is an 'I', we thought this would perhaps encourage you to step in front of the camera and use a photo of yourself. All to often we can be invisible in our albums so hopefully this will be a push to get yourself in there!! If you really are too shy to use your wn photo then the 'I' can be used to create a host of other titles that start with an 'I' - for example, "I remember when...", "I love this photo because...." or "I love my kids". I think you get what we mean?
If you want to know how to get the teal colour on the sample monogram, we mixed together blue and green acrylic paints from a set we found in the 99p store - super cheap and very easy! You could also use a teal inkpad - as a tip try the ink out on a scrap of the chipboard first to see how it dries, some chipboard can go very dark when inked. If this is the case then try painting the chipboard with white acrylic paint or gesso first, your ink colour will come out a lot brighter. If you aren't into etting messy with paint or ink then you could cover the chipboard with patterned paper and sand the edges to create a clean finished edge that will look like you bought it that way! Whatever you choose to do, we are sure you'll have fun with this kit.