Just for You....

Good morning!

I'm not sure if you have noticed, but the last year or so, watercolouring has become huge.  There are so many ways to watercolour from watercolouring images, to using watercolour for background designs etc. etc...   I love that I can get down and dirty using lots of different techniques.

These two cards below were made using one of my most favourite techniques, which is literally saturate a piece of watercolour paper with water, and then add droplets of ink and spread it around with a clean brush.  I then add other colours and encourage them to blend using my brush.  If the paper is wet enough, then this is achievable.  On each of the cards below, I've used three different colours.  I dried off each layer with a blast from my heat gun, then saturated again until I was happy with the colour and consistency of the background.  I then left the piece to air-dry.  I literally then just cut the mat to size, stamped over the dried background with Memento ink and added some candy dots and sequins.

These were really quick and easy cards to make, and I would say for someone who is just starting to play with watercolouring, then this is the easiest it gets!

The amazing 'Just for you' stamp, is a Sale-a-Bration stamp set called Botanicals for You, and has four sentiments, and 5 images ... you can earn this for FREE by placing a £45 order (plus you will earn free postage from me - The free postage is not available if it is included as a stampers group order).

For further details, or to place your order, you can either:-

*Email me your order at carole.bryson@gmail.com

*Order direct from my website (click on the shopping trolley card)

*Message me via Facebook (Carole Bryson Wood)

*Call/text me on 07747 465186

Pop back tomorrow for a lovely selection of Notelets made using another Sale-a-Bration stamp set using a different technique.

Have a great week folks - Cal xxxxx

Love You - Mini Album Instructions

As promised, below are the instructions for the mini album above.

1. Cut your chipboard pages.  I've used 2mm thickness chipboard, but you can use any thickness you have available.  If you only have thin chipboard, then glue two together.

Page 1 - 3 1/2" x 5"
Page 2 - 4" x 5"
Page 3 - 5 1/2" x 5"
Page 4 - 6" x 5"
Page 5 - 7" x 5"

NOTE: I only used 5 pages, as I've left a gap between the 2nd to 3rd page and then the 4th to 5th page.  If you want to add an extra page 3 and an extra page 5, you will need to cut 1@ 41/2" x 5" (page 3) and 61/2" x 5" (page 5) making a total of 7 pages.

2.  Cover your chipboard.  I used the Love Blossoms Paper Stack which is approx 6" x 6" and paper pieced the inner edge of the larger papers with a strip of alternating paper.  I used a wet glue to stick the paper, as it allows you a bit of 'give' until you're happy with the placement.  Once all the pages have been covered, allow a bit of time for them to start drying, then trim the edges.  Or leave to dry completely, and then trim the papers down. Don't worry if you don't get it perfect, you can file the edges with a piece of smooth sandpaper or a Basic Grey file.

3.   Punch your pages.  Once your pages are completely dry, I used a crop-a-dile to punch the holes in each page.  I punch the holes from the top inwards, approx 1/2" from the top of the page, then punched the second hole 1/2" apart.  I then punched the bottom hole 1/2" up from the bottom, and punched the last hole 1/2" in.  If you prefer, you need only punch 3 holes - the top and bottom and then a third hole in the middle of the pages.

4.  Distress your pages.  I use three shades of brown ink to distress the edges.  I used Crumb Cake, Soft Suede and Tip Top Taupe.  If you're not sure how to distress, then leave me a comment, and I'll video a quick 'how to' tutorial.

5.  Collate all your pages together, and thread through the book rings to hold the album together.  I used 11/2" rings, but you could certainly use 1" rings if you preferred.  Remember, to check the thickness of the album - if your album is a finished thickness of say 2" then a 1" book ring won't fit.

6.  Decorate!  YAY!!!  The best part of the album - I used a few different SU embellishments. I used the Bloomin Heart thinlet die on the front cover, and although you can barely see it, I die-cut the words 'love you' from two different 'word' framelit sets.  I also used a combination of ribbons that I tied around the book rings - some of these ribbons are retired, so use any ribbons you wish to decorate the rings.

Voila - your album is complete!

If you do make this album, then please drop a link in the comments section so that we can all see it, or email me at carole.bryson@gmail.com so that I can share with other readers of this blog.

I hope you have an enjoyable Sunday - catch ya soon!   For a list of my supplies, please see below.

Have fun! xxx

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog