A Christmas Gift and Card by Margaret Mifsud

Hello everyone and welcome to the 2 Crafty Blog.  So pleased you dropped by. My turn again to show what I have created with 2Crafty's gorgeous chippies and this month it is a Positivity Journal and Christmas Card.  For those who have never heard of a Positivity Journal, it is a book in which you can record all the positive things that happen to you that you may like to look back on.  For instance, if a stranger opens a door for you or simply smiles and brightens your day.  Or, you could keep a record of what you did on your Birthday or on a friend's Birthday or just going out to dinner with your partner or with friends.  So, when you are having a bad day, you can take out your little journal and read about all the positive things that have happened to you in the past year. I have created this little Journal as a Christmas present for a close friend.  As she expressed delight in the one I am making for myself I thought I would make her one as well. I really hope she likes it.
2Crafty Chipboard used Frame Ingrid's Funky Arrows Funky Heart Swirls Ornate Buckle ATC Masks Funky Leaf Swirls Heidi Vine ATC Georgian Frame  

My friend is not really into fussy, frilly things, so I have made this fairly clean and simple.
I have done a bit of stamping and used my favourite stencil (extensively  LOL!) but there
 is not a lot of embellishment apart from the chippies of course.
  Did some stenciling with Distress Ink and texture paste on the front cover and embellished it with the stunning Ingrid's Frame.  This is an absolutely gorgeous piece that I really wanted to keep to use on something for myself but it fitted so beautifully on the cover that I just have to let it go. (Drat!!)

The frame was coloured with brown acrylic paint and then lightly swiped with Versa Color Polar Blue and Sage.  I then covered the whole piece with Glossy Accents.  I added the little flower spray for a touch of colour.

This journal is an Accordion Book.  It is held closed with some magnets and this is how it opens.

The inside front cover has a little pocket into which I have placed a couple of little booklets.

The front piece of the 'accordion' has some tags on top of which I've placed the cute
little chain of hearts which is part of  the Funky Arrows set.

Coloured this piece with red nail polish (yep! nail polish!) and swiped the edge
 with Versa Color Gold.

There are a lot of tags in this book as this is where all the positive memories will be written down so I have created belly bands and pockets to hold them all.  The tags are simply cardstock on which I have glued some gorgeous 'Vintage Lady' images which are available from Meg's Garden.
Over the belly band on the first page I have placed one of the Funky Heart swirls.

Coloured the Heart Swirl with Versa Color in two shades of green and red and then swiped the edges with a little gold.  It was then clear heat embossed and dabbed with a little gesso.

The pocket on page 2 has the Ornate Buckle which was coloured with Distress Ink
 in Spiced Marmalade and Gathered Twigs.

It was then lightly embossed with Metallic embossing powder.

Another set of pockets on pages 4 and 5 and here I have used the ATC Masks.

I tried a little experiment here and used some coarse texture paste on this piece before colouring it.  I really like how it turned out and I think I will be doing this again.  To colour it, I used two shades of Versa Color blue and then used Versa Magic Midnight Black on the edges.  It didn't really stand out very well from the page so I used some blue watercolour paint to create the shadows behind it but I might have gone a bit overboard with that.  LOL!!

  So, now the pages open in the other direction and here is where I used the Funky Leaf Swirls.  

Again, I have used Distress Ink to colour this piece.  I don't have a lot of paints, etc.
to colour things with but I find the DI works well with almost anything and the
chippies take to the colour really, really well.

I've used Fired Brick DI and then edged with Versa Color Midnight Black and lightly heat embossed the edges as well.

This page has the Heidi Vines.  This is a piece left over from a previous project.  I really love that these chippies can be cut into little bits and pieces and still be viable to use on so many different items. 

I snuck in a little flower  here, simply because I could.  LOL!!  In a book like this you can't really use embellishments that are too dimensional as it will make the book bulky and awkward, that's one reason I love using the chippies as they are nice and thin.  Used a Versa Color Ink Pad for the colour and then stamped it with Memento's Tuxedo Black and popped some glossy accents on it as well.

The final pages!  The end flap is attached to the cover and made into a pocket to hold some more little booklets.

The Georgian Frame is simply coloured with Black Soot DI and edged with
 Versa Color Silver and Gold.  It is also covered with glossy accents.

  Of course, having made a gift I also had to make a Card as well.  
2Crafty Chipboard used Brushstroke Tree Element Set 1 Card Word Circles Christmas ATC Tiny Hearts and Stars   I'm afraid I am a traditionalist when it comes to Christmas.  That means I mainly use  green, red and gold in my cards.  With this card though, I have gone a little outside  my usual 'square' and used a sheet from Prima's Romance Novel Collection  instead of actual Christmas paper. No 'Clean and Simple' here ... instead, I indulged myself a little and went a bit grungy!  

The Card Word Circle was coloured with red nail polish to start off with but, as it was a little too dark, I went over it with Versa Color Scarlet and a little gold.  The Element Set 1 comes as 3 pieces.  I cut one of the smaller ones in half, glittered it with gold, and then inserted it between the paper layers. 

The Brushstroke Tree was coloured firstly with Crushed Olive DI and then with green acrylic paint.  It was then coated in Crackle Accents.  The cracks are only small but they look quite effective.  The Tiny Stars were simply covered in gold glitter and glued to the tree.

I tried another little experiment with the tree.  I wet the ends of the branches and split the layers a little.  Once it was dry, I added some glue and sprinkled some tiny beads over it.  Not sure if I like the result.  I was hoping it might look a little like candles but don't think it really worked out.  What do you think??  Apart from my little experiment, I do love how the tree looks!

   Once it was finished I dry brushed randomly with some gesso. Well, I hope you like my little book and card.  If you wish to know more about the construction of the book, I will be posting that on my own blog in the near future so, I hope to see you there.  In the meantime, why not check out all the other amazing projects created by the rest of the Team.   I do hope I have inspired you to try 2Crafty Chipboard for your own creations.   And remember, to find a 2Crafty stockist near you, send an email to salesat2crafty@optusnet.com.au
Thank you so much for visiting! Take care and God Bless.    

Marg Mifsud - My very first 2Crafty Post !!

Hello everyone!!  I am so excited to be sharing my very first 2Crafty projects!!
I was thrilled to bits when Di Garling and Vanessa Tiberti invited me to be on this
amazing Design Team.  Thank you so much ladies, I so appreciate your  confidence
 in me and will do my best not to let you down.  As a Resident Guest Designer,
 I needed to make 3 card size items.

So, my first item is, (Surprise! Surprise!) an...

" Easel  Card"

  The 2Crafty Chipboard pieces used are 

Corner Flower Vine

Ornate Buckle

Heidi Vines

  The Ornate Buckle was coloured with Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink
 and then clear embossed.
 

 As this is an Easel Card I used half of the Corner Flower Vine to anchor the easel.
 This piece was coloured the same as the Ornate Buckle with Spiced marmalade
Distress Ink and clear embossing powder.

 When I received the Corner Flower piece it turned out to be a bit bigger than I had
 expected but, as chipboard is so adaptable, I knew I would still be able to use it on a
card so I simply cut off the piece needed for this card and still had the left over bit
 for another project.  I really love this ornate piece and it fitted the card beautifully.
 

 I needed some leaves to go with my flower cluster so I trimmed some of the leaves from
 the Heidi Vine.  I sprayed them with water until they were quite wet.  Then, very
carefully, I gently separated the layers to about half way down the leaf as I
didn't want them to come apart completely.  I then shaped them and left them
 to dry.  Once dry, I simply coloured them with Crushed Olive Distress Ink.

I really love how they turned out.

My next  project today is a tag.

2Crafty Chipboard pieces used are...

Corner Flower Vine

Tiny Kathleen Frame

Chicken Barbed Wire Small

 As you've probably guessed, I've used the other half of the Corner Flower Vine
which was left over  from the previous card on this tag.

 All the chippies on this piece were coloured the same way.  Coated with gesso first
and then lightly coloured with Broken China Distress Ink.   I used Black Soot for
 the stamping on the background and on the chippies as well.

The chicken barbed wire comes in a 5" square piece and I
simply cut off a narrow strip to place on the side of my tag.

My last piece  is an AT Block.

2Crafty Chipboard pieces used are

Tiny Edwin Corners

Tiny Henri Frame

ATC Mask

ATC Tiny Hearts & Stars

The block measures 2 3/4" x 2 3/4".

The Tiny Edwin Corners were brushed with gesso and then clear embossed.
 The tiny Hearts were coloured with red acrylic paint.  I then applied a little
 bit of glitter and coated them with Glossy Accents.

This is the opposite side of the Block which is decorated in a similar way with the
same chipboard pieces.  Don't you just love those gorgeous ornate corners??

The front of the Block has the Tiny Edwin Frame which was also painted with gesso and then just clear embossed.  The ATC Mask was coloured with red acrylic paint and when that was dry I went over the central section of the feather with gesso.  I then coated that section with glitter and used a black Sharpie for the doodles.  Then I simply glued the tiny gems around the top of the mask. 

I used the centre piece from the Frame to make the small tag.   Trimmed a little off one edge, rounded the corners a bit more and  then I covered the tag with some designer paper and inked around the edges.

The chippies on the lid were treated the same as those on the sides.
 Painted the corner with gesso and then clear embossed and the hearts with
red acrylic paint and covered with Glossy Accents.

I thoroughly enjoyed working with these gorgeous chipboard pieces.
  2Crafty have a huge selection of pieces that are the perfect size for cards
and other small projects and, even if you receive something a little bigger than
 expected, such as the Corner Flower Vine, it is easily cut up into manageable
 sizes for your projects.

Thank you so much for visiting and I do hope I have inspired you today.

  And remember, to find a 2Crafty stockist near you, drop an email to...
salesat2crafty@optusnet.com.au