Welcome to my first post for the Couture Creations Design Team - so exciting!

When I first laid my eyes on the quick release die paper I couldn’t believe that you would actually want to waste such pretty stuff! I mean seriously how would I cope? But then I started thinking, yes sure I could use small pieces for those intricate dies, but I would much rather use it to create something pretty like a gift tag or card. And so that’s what I did

I added a decorative strip of plastic die cut to the bottom of my tag for visual interest

the Sew Jo patterned paper worked perfectly under the delicate plastic strip adding colour and pattern without being invasive

hand dyed ribbon, buttons and a stamped sentiment was used a decorative details

the embossing adds a hint of texture - this may be my new favorite embossing folder

Here's how i created the elements for my tag
For the bottom of my tag i wanted to add a decorative strip. I used the packaging from one of my embossing folders and simply cut a piece of plastic from the front part. I used the Art Deco Border to cut the plastic packaging into a delicate and decorative edge

to add colour to the plastic packaging i used alcohol inks. The die cut strip was sewn onto the tag over a strip of patterned paper from my Sew Jo paper pad

Once the paint was dry i covered the entire tag with a layer of adhesive - because i did not want the adhesive to show through the release paper i used a glue stick. I added the release paper and then burnished it to make it stick to the tag permanently. Trim off any excess release paper from the edges of your tag using your Couture Creations scissors.

Emboss the tag using the Velvet Tea Lights embossing folder. I love how the embossing adds a subtle texture to the release paper without interfering with the design on the paper at all

i hope you are inspired by this beautiful range of products and the stunning release paper!
Couture Creations Products used

CO721955 Pointed Non Stick Scissors

Welcome to another week of Chiswick product inspiration!All the products used in this post can be viewed on-line at their website www.chiswick.co.za. i have to start off saying that i am not a purple person! i am a blue person, and as much as i love colour there are certain things that just do not gel with me! but having said that sometimes a girl is lead into something by photos and this is one of those sometimes! so here we go....
i used a whole bunch of Chiswick ink pads this week to create custom elements on my layout! I used their gorgeous Pearlescent and dye ink pads to colour embossed paper and punched them into smaller circles and used them on my layout.

First i used the dye ink in different ways...

i embossed my cardstock using some Couture Creations embossing folders and smooth cardstock.

i then inked the cardstock by lightly rubbing the dye ink pad across the raised areas just catching the design to add colour to it - depending on how heavy your hand is, you can only ink the raised areas, or by applying a bit more pressure you can ink the areas in between as well - the choice is yours and the options are limitless

then i used another piece of embossed cardstock and the same dye ink, but this time working on my craft sheet and adding some water to create a different look

turn your dye ink pad over and press it onto your craft sheet transferring the ink onto the craft sheet

mist the ink with water until your can see the ink colour forming little drops on your craft sheet

now press the embossed piece of cardstock into the wet ink but this time using the de-bossed back side of the cardstock piece. you will lift colour onto the cardstock in selected areas adding colour - leave it to dry well before punching it into circles to use

TIP if you punch wet cardstock the paper will get stuck inside your punch and cause a jam - rather let your paper dry really well or use your Chiswick heat gun to dry the paper before punching it

I then turned to the beautiful shimmering Pearlescent ink pads to create more embossed accent circles

I used the same smooth cardstock and embossed a different pattern onto it

with my Pearlescent ink pad i repeatedly pressed the ink pad onto the cardstock adding a deep rich colour to the cardstock - i used my heat gun to dry the ink before using it. TIP This type of ink will take much longer to dry on certain types of cardstock - be careful to not use it and transfer ink onto your hands and cause smudges on your layout or photos

and just for fun i finished off my very purple layout with some of the Chiswick paper flowers

i loved using all the different shades of purple inks to create unique accents for my layout. To see all the difefrent products and additional colour choices head on over to the Chiswick website or give Denise 031- 569 6116 a call to find your closest store of your favourite Chiswick goodies

Products i used this week are:
Paper Petals – Lilac 30 pieces pf1004
General Purpose Scissor 215mm cr0930
Dye Ink Pad- Pink rs3292
Pearlescent Ink Pad – Purple rs3355

Have a wonderful and colourful week!

It's been a while and i am still not feeling myself after a little set back - anyways i guess this is where you realize you are really getting older and things don't mend so quickly anymore!it's also been a while since i have done my Scrapbook Challenges sketches which i love so much - but A into gear and here we go! i loved this week's sketch - although adding my own spin to it it did inspire this layout i made. the photo is of my nephew that i printed a while ago and found on my desk during yet another clean up session - this time for good! no more holding onto things!

here's the original sketch for you to feel inspired by...

and some detailed images to see what i have done.
i used a circle stencil (my favourite) to add some colour to the background - i used a very light ink as i mostly do. the tags and cut outs are from the new Crate paper range that is to be released in South Africa soon and it's one of my favourites ever!

my title was created using a combination of rub-ons from Melissa Frances and lettering stickers from Websters. i normally don't like lettering stickers but just love this type! The green heart stickers are from the same sheet of alphas. can you tell i used the P's as D's?

and one of my favourite washi tapes with some machine sewing! Love!

i also added some red paint splats for as accent colour. i hope you are having a creative week!

in other news.....we are prepping for our Midlands event in May and i am super excited to be traveling there soon with some awesome girls and being creative in such an amazing place! chat again later this week - thanks for stopping by!

Last year October i had the pleasure of teaching some ladies at a Spa retreat - 9 friends got together and booked into a spa in the beautiful Magalies mountains close to my home. On the Saturday i met up with them and did a morning scrapping session, and after lunch and a neck and back massage we did an altered canvas class.Here's my sample canvas...

we used loads of flowers from Prima and Petaloo as part of the decorating

gold acrylic paint was used to stamp some circles, and then a white pen used to add random scribbles around the stamped circles

the small brown dots was stamped with the back of a pencil using the eraser part dipped into brown acrylic paint - love these perfect little circles

I gave each of them a recycled plastic test tube to use on their layouts - i used a piece of rolled up sheet music in mine but this could be a perfect spot for a little love letter

the beautiful rose on the canvas was done using texture paste - i found a plastic place mat at Pep Home and we used it to add the texture paste right through it before adding the inks and paint to it

i love how something cheap and ordinary can be turned into a scrapbooking/art tool to make something beautiful

i used a combination of 3-4 different Mister Huey inks combined with different stamping inks and acrylic paints to achieve the background colour - i even used a text rubber stamp with white ink to stamp onto my background in selected areas

i love how this canvas turned out - simple in decorating with plenty of hues and shades to revel in!

hope you are having a wonderful week!

Early on in my creative career I worked in a stamp shop - my love for "rubber" was and still is passionate! I love the feel of holding something tangible in my hands that i can repeatedly use over and over again and in different ways, combined with many techniques and products in any which way it pleases me. So when i first got hold of the Chiswick range of stamps (www.chiswick.co.za) i was pleasantly surprised. The range quickly became a favourite go to section. So when  i created this layout i wanted to incorporate many different designs  into it and the go to products was stamps.

I used them in different ways to create not only texture and patterns but add something interesting to this somewhat masculine layout, and still keeping it real to my own style.

I used lots of circles on this layout - just another shape to add to the many on the list used on this project. I used sewing to highlight the circles and add even more texture.

I used this beautiful stamp and stamped it onto white smooth cardstock using black ink. I then trimmed the stamped image into smaller diamond shapes to use on my layout as a border. I love how one 'big' thing can become lots of smaller elements on a layout or card just by using your imagination and a good pair of scissors like these

I also used these fun little postage stamps to create my own elements on my layout instead of using store bought embellishments. I stamped them onto white cardstock and then added a light inking on top of that to change the colour - this makes them blend into the layout more instead of standing out like a sore thumb. Use foam dots to raise them for added dimension.

I used the intricate floral stamp from this set and embossed it in dark brown embossing powder to create my own textured piece of embossed paper. You can dress it up using buttons, brads and other elements, ink the white background to change the colour or leave it plain as i did for an effective handmade piece of paper.

I love how i created my own elements in a few easy steps using just stamps and a couple of added products. It just shows you how stamps can be used creatively using different mediums making each project unique and special. All the products used are available from your nearest scrapbooking shop - you can contact Denise on 031- 569 6116 or visit www.chiswick.co.za to view their entire product list and for previous blog posts. Look out for another creative blog post later this week featuring a fun jewellery item you can make at home. Have a wonderfully creative week!