Yellow baby card 3/3

The last of the three yellow baby cards commissioned by a colleague differs quite a bit from the other two. Not in a bad way, I hope. ;) Except from the baby bear charm there's not a lot in this card that screams new baby... But it should be fairly obvious when the card and gift is given anyway, and I quite like this understated version also. It's all in the details. Right? ;)

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The bottom mat is hand made structured paper with yellow flower leaves embedded in the pulp. I've sprayed it with Glimmermist Sunflower and Tiger Lily in the center to get a richer feel. White and yellow paper flowers in layers finished with a yellow bling brad and baby bear charm is the center focal point. Again the Glimmermist enhances the colours, and lastly the whole thing has been lightly showered with Glimmermist Pearl. (Got enough glimmer now, Eva?) The top part looked a little bare after the run-on sentiments came on, and it seemed the perfect spot to put some really old sun-shaped eyelets from my stash!

Vanilla extract recipe booklet

This little booklet is filled with a few recipes that requires vanilla extract. It went along with a huge bottle of my home made vanilla extract, that my mother got as her birthday gift last week. I wanted to show that vanilla extract is useful in a wide variety of recipes, so this collection is quite diverse. It includes frosting, cinnamon rolls, strawberry sauce, a classic crême brulée (of course) - and many more!
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I simply printed the recipes on white Bazzill cardstock and adhered them onto dark silver cardstock that was run through the MS doily lace border punch, and tied three double strands of ribbon to secure the whole thing together. A title in QK Eliza and some ribbon on the front completed it. I'm working on a simpler one now, to go with the rest of the bottles.

Accordion album for Helle

Before you start reading this post ladies, I suggest you go and make a cup of tea and move yourself and your computer to a more comfortable chair. While you're at it, find a blanket and turn off your cell phones, because what I've got for you today is going to take a while to get through! ;)

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Ok, you're all settled in? Good! Take a deep breath and let's get started with the basics. My good friend Helle turned 30 years old this January, and this is her (very delayed) gift. It's basically a store-bought accordion fold album that I've decorated. What I originally had in mind was something more like Elise's mini books (like this one). Full of scraps, little details, some pictures and a little text. But you know how it often goes - for whatever reason, a project morphs into something completely different.

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One side of the album (above) has pictures of Helle, combined with a few sentiments and quotes. To create something of a recurring theme in all these different layouts, all pages have a light green background, and green is the dominating colour. I've used a pad of overlays from Making Memories (called Clear Creations: Doodles) extensively throughout the entire album. It seemed to have the right style, and came with sentiments, quotes, definitions, titles, photo overlays and tags. Great value!

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In case she gets tired of watching her own face, I chose mainly nature pics for the other side, with more quotes, poems and sentiments. Again, the dominating colour is green, but this time on a light beige background. I organised the pictures in something of a yearly cycle to get the right flow.

The album can be displayed like in the picture, or partially folded for a smaller space. Below are shown every double page spread in the album. Click on any image to see it larger and read the quotes!

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To start it off, I scanned a few old pictures from my photo albums and printed them at home. Funny pictures, these two. On the left, we're "fishing" for candy out the window, on the right she's wearing two pairs of glasses... :) You can see the MM overlays used here! Other materials include Bazzill die-cut borders, Scrapper's Choice Journaling Spots and DCVW Floral Prints paper stack.
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Slightly newer photos. The one to the right is one of my favourites! I just love the light and her pose. Would have loved to do something about the background though. DCVW papers and Bazzill die-cuts again. I've also added a home made flower (lower left corner) made with this tutorial.
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The quote on the left overlay fits the picture wonderfully: "Open your mind, open your heart, open your arms, take it all in. -Kobi Yamada" The picture on the right is framed by an overlay, with a definition of the word "friend" in the corner. Lots of papers scraps here, Scrapper's Choice Journaling Spots, Kreativ Hobby rub-on and some Panduro Punchinella (the green metallic perforated foil on the left side).
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Now, on the other side of the accordion album! Take a breath ladies, we're more than half way through! ;) The green continues with some photos taken near my previous home. PB sentiment stamp, more MM overlays, BG embossing folder, Prima pearl centers.
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Oops, these two turned out much more similar that what I'd prefer. I had them planned out differently, but moved things around as I worked and suddenly they were almost identical... Oh well. I like the splash of red that echoes the little bit of red found in each picture. Left side: an amazing August evening sky seen from our old cabin.
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With the golden colours of fall dominating these pictures, I abandoned the green almost entirely for this double spread. More Punchinella, the always present MM overlays and also a sentiment stamp.

- Finishing the album in lots of green again! This poem is absolutely lovely, it's all about daring to be exactly who you are, and I felt it fitted Helle just perfectly. It's actually a stamp that I put on one of the SC Journaling Spots. I couldn't resist using this picture again, I already had it lying around and when used in black & white it didn't feel like just a copy of the other layout. Punchinella again, QK Moxie SM and some Prima chipboard digits.
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All in all, I'm really pleased how this album turned out! It was quite a task to complete, but I have once again proven that the right amount of sleep deprivation does wonders for the creativity! I often do my most effective and creative work after my last night shift, when I usually stay up instead of sleeping anything. But I wonder if I've put the bar too high now? This year is filled with 30-year birthdays, and I'm not sure I'll manage to make any more of these... ;) Helle will just have to be the lucky one I suppose.

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Thanks for making it to the end ladies, it was quite a journey. Well done. ;) I'm off to bake a little I think - my fingers are sore from all this typing and I have a serious craving for something with a little bit of chocolate in it. It is Saturday, after all! Have a happy weekend!

Candy alerts!

I've added a couple of blog candy links in my side bar the last few days. Have a look and sign up! There are some great blogs there - I've added a few new ones to my blog roll now! As if I didn't spend enough time blog surfing... ;)

Here are the links to the candies currently open! Check out my side bar for pictures and details.

Kristine's design paper candy - celebrating the papers she has just designed
All Pink Girl Inkadink candy - she's done a great tutorial on how to use them
Lene's celebratory candy - celebrating 12.000 hits - congratulations!
Jaque's mega candy - she's just been asked to join two new design teams
Elaine's Magic Box candy - absolutely amazing exploding boxes with a unique style!

Vanilla extract - the finished project!

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you may remember that I started a long term project in November last year: making my own vanilla extract. Well, a little over two months later, it's time to reveal the finished result!
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The clear vodka has taken on a lovely dark golden brown colour. The difference is dramatic, just look at the photos I snapped when I started this thing. And the smell, oh the smell, it's amazing! The sting of alcohol is all but gone, and a rich, strong vanilla odour is revealed when the bottle is opened. Fantastic. I've tried it in a couple of recipes already, and I swear it makes a real difference.
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My mother got the big bottle for her birthday this week. The big bottle is, well, big. That one is going to last her until the house falls down, honestly I could have given her half that amount and she'd still have trouble finishing it off. But hey, the bottle was nice (it used to hold chocolate sauce) and I could put a whole vanilla pod in there for decoration (and taste, as the vodka will continue to draw flavour from it). Plus she's my mother, I just couldn't give her that tiny little one, right? ;)
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The decoration on these bottles may be a little over the top... I saw this awesome project at the Prima blog and felt inspired, but adapted it a little to fit the materials I had lying around and the style preference of the recipient. A cleaner look, but still a little much perhaps.

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I decanted about two thirds of the extract and still have about 200ml of that left. It will be distributed into bottles of the small size and given to friens and family. And myself of course! And crazy as I am, I used the remaining third of extract as base for another batch... :) If I can't give them all away I'll just sell them.

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I made a little booklet of recipies and tips to go with it, but I'll have to show that later. Forgot to snap pictures before I wrapped it up, silly me. ;)

Yellow baby card 2/3

My favourite baby stamp! I just love that huge bucket and the bubbles floating around in the air. And it's so easy to colour that you wouldn't believe it. I've used my Prismacolors of course. Same pattern paper as last post, and I've used a little bit of sanded Core'dinations Whitewash. A flower and a sentiment and hey presto! Done. Easy peasy. :)

Yellow baby card 1/3

I'm finally getting around to posting this card I made a while ago. Two card making friends and I had a whole evening of paper crafting together, you can read their blogs here: Krissie and Hilde.

We don't do it often enough! It's quite a chore to pack everything I want to bring, but it's such a nice break from sitting alone at my own desk. Let's do it again soon, girls!

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A colleague of mine has ordered three baby cards, and none of them could be gender spesific. Yellow was her wish, so here is the first of three yellow baby cards. This one has quite a bit of green as well, but not to much I hope. There's probably a boy among the three babies anyway! Magnolia stamp coloured with Prismacolor pencils. Tim Coffey pattern paper was a gift, and sentiment stamp was on loan, both from Krissie - thank you so much sweetie!

Believe in yourself

"Magic is to believe in yourself. If you do that, you can make anything happen. -Goethe"
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One of my mother's colleagues is leaving to go back to school. She's getting herself a new profession, something most of us don't do as adults. I know I'd be pretty scared if I quit my job! So in her honor, this card features a great inspirational quote and a stack of books.
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I've dug into my spanking new MME Wild Asparagus paper pad! Thanks, Krissie! :D And found this great K&Co tag to go with it. These colours are so much more my style than the retro card I did earlier this week. :)

Finally, something paper related!

I'm a day late posting this card I'm afraid, but I spent the better part of yesterday evening in heated battle with my Gmail account, which refused to load properly. The urge to scream and throw the computer at a wall was almost more than I could resist! The problem has so far proved to be unsolvable and that really annoys me. Computers, who needs them, right? ;)
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But on to the show! I've made a retro card for a colleague, who's going to a 60s party. I tried to find something in my stash that could look like it came from the 60s - no luck. This is as close as I could get, and it's not looking quite right. This kind of retro just isn't me I guess... Well, better luck next time. I've got another card lined up for posting later this week and that one is much more my style. ;)

Giveaway at Lisa Leonard's blog!

I discovered Lisa Leonard's blog just a week or so ago, and I'm in love. She makes the most beautiful hand crafted jewelery - custom made as well. And right now, she's giving away one of her new Illuminate necklaces to one lucky reader! Three lucky winners will get a set of five letterpressed folded cards and envelopes. Check out her blog for the details. Gorgeous.
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And I promise something paper related on this blog later today or tomorrow. It's been a while, I know... ;)

As if I needed more hobbies...

Oh yes, I could easily get addicted to this one too. No problem.

Cocoa in a jar

This concept was completely unknown to me until I stumbled across it on a blog shortly before christmas. Cocoa mix in a jar! A quick Google search yielded lots of recipes - not just for cocoa mixes, but cupcakes, brownies, even soups and stews! The principle is simple enough - layer all dry ingredients compressing them well to maintain a sharp line between each ingredient. Decorate your container and be sure to include instructions for preparation. Done! It's even upcycling - this glass used to hold tikka masala sauce.

I used this recipe as my guide, substituting brown sugar for some of the white sugar, and a few drops of peppermint extract for the candy canes. It would have looked more festive with the candy canes, but I unfortunately didn't have time to go searching for it. Ingredients are (from bottom): Powdered milk, cocoa powder, white sugar, brown sugar (with peppermint extract), chocolate chips. The brown sugar is sticky and forms a nice seal over the white sugar which would otherwise mix with the chocolate chips, and it tastes great too. ;)

Tsumami kanzashi prototype

My mother asked me to find some ideas for a brooch that could be worn to identify her and her collegues during the convention they're arranging this spring. Finally I've got a chance to get some kanzashi flowers done! I've been looking for an excuse for ages now. When the idea struck I whipped up this prototype in a hurry so I could e-mail her the suggestion right away. I had several other ideas using paper, yarn or felt, but this is by far my absolute favourite! I wish I wish I wish they'll choose this one! :)
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If you're not familiar with the concept of tsumami kanzashi, here's the Wikipedia definition. In short, kanzashi is the Japanese hair ornaments nowadays worn mostly by geishas and meikos (apprentice geishas). The subtype tsumami is defined by being created from folded fabric. This flower consists of nine individually folded petals, strung together and secured with sewing thread, plus two buttons as the center ornament.
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I was in such a hurry that the glue hadn't even dried when I shot these photos. You can even see it in the green button... I was just so excited! :) The final flower will probably be made in warm yellow fabrics to resemble a sunflower, as requested.
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The reverse side has a safety pin attatched by a strip of fabric pulled through a slit in the cardboard and fabric backing piece. It's been very crudely done, but it was just to demonstrate the concept. I doubt I'll use this particular flower much anyway - it was made only as a prototype and needs some overall improvements. I want to go and buy sunflower fabric. NOW. :)

Binary scarf

Now this is a gift for the geeks in your life! I've made this one for my brother, and I'm seriously considering making one for myself... ;) You can find the pattern, called Binary, here (Ravelry link). More details for my own scarf is available on my Ravelry Binary scarf project page.
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Just in case an explanation is needed I can quickly say that the scarf is meant to resemble an old computer screen, filled with binary digits. You can see the cursor in the bottom line there, where someone's still "typing"... *lol*

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The original pattern simply gives a pattern block for the individual numbers and says the simplest way is to knit them in randomly. But my brain just doesn't do "random". Without a plan for when to knit 0 and when to knit 1 I would have been obsessing over every single digit. My solution was to convert a little phrase into binary ASCII code and using that as my pattern!
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The ultimate test of geekiness is whether or not you can read what it says! I'm so geeky as to know ASCII-code by heart like that, but more than geeky enough to giggle just by the thought of knowing that it says "Are's scarf" over and over! *lol* I love that is in plain sight like this and yet a secret. :)

Happy New Year!

Happy new year to all, and to all a good night!
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I've been saving this post for a while, and decided that the first day in the new year would be the right occation to show off what has been decorating my veranda the last couple of weeks. This is a variation on a brilliant idea I found on the always inspirational blog Resurrection Fern. Klick this link for her original post on this project. While she used lace doilies, I had neither doilies nor pans big enough for the job. But I had something just as good! Last winter I made quite a few crochet snowflakes that were still lying in a crumpled pile in a drawer - and some small plastic containers that were the perfect size.

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It couldn't be simpler. Just lay your lace in any flat bottomed container that can safely be frozen, fill with a centimeter or so of water and wait overnight! Making sure you have a string attatched at this point is an advantage. I hadn't even weaved in the ends of my snowflakes yet and simply used those. I suppose using boiled water would eliminate most of the small bubbles that form during the freezing process - I might try it out some time, but I really like them just as they are now! :)

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After two nights I had a whole row of icy snowflakes decorating my veranda! These will no doubt be the replacement to the snow lanterns I used to make when I lived on ground floor appartments. I've already remade them once, but the temperature quickly dropped back to 10-15 degrees Celcius and this time it seems like it will stay low for a few weeks, actually. I can't even remember last time that happened. It's so perfect that we had a true White Christimas, and then finish off the old year and start the new one with this amazing winter!
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Wishing you all a happy and peaceful brand new year!