Drawing Gum Resist

A Christmas themed page for this months blog post for Anna (Mrs Brimbles) using her fabulous tutorials on watercolour resist from the November patreon workshop video. I have seen this month that Anna has been using the Gansai Tambi watercolours in gold (Starry Colours) and I just had to get some...they are stunning. I have been so inspired by the content on her patreon page these last two months that I really could have created a million things. I decided to focus on 3 things: Watercolour resist, using the Starry Colours paints and playing around with the December collage sheets.

Watercolour and Drawing Gum Resist Process:

For the page prep, I used some of the Prima spray mist I got free with a purchase at Plannercon Europe (the colour is stunning - Precious Stone). I love the glittery effect of it. I then set to work adding some drawing gum in swirls and as a snowflake pattern. I had always wanted to try drawing gum as a resist, I have used wax crayons before, but never gum.

​When this was dry I added some watercolour using the gold paint and then peeled off the gum. I really didn't know what to expect, but I love the final result and it is so Christmassy. I love the effect the drawing gum over the spray mist with the Starry Colours paint over the top has created. Such vibrant colours and a lovely texture. You can see the entire process in the video below or click here Drawing Gum Resist Video. 

I can highly recommend the Starry Colours paints. At first they don't look like they have a strong pigment, but as soon as you start building up the colour and layering them over one another they really pop.

Using Decembers Mrs Brimbles Collage Sheets

The second half of the video shows you my first pages in my Instagram Christmas photo journal. I made the journal at the Jingle and Mingle meet up from Anna's resources and workshop, so I will use it to add my Instagram Christmas pictures to. The collage sheets/printables that Anna has provided from the December Patreon are stunning, such amazing colours, they scream Christmas! Check out further descriptions at the end of the video (if you haven't already).

Do be sure to check out Anna's Patreon, as well as the current month, you also get everything back dated and it's such incredible value at only $5 or $10 a month - www.patreon.com/mrsbrimbles

​Thank you for the support this year and have a great Christmas and 2017.
​Kerry xxx

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Christmas all wrapped up

Wrapping presents is one of my favourite parts of the run up to Christmas.  I love making each present look beautiful and like time and has been taken to make it special.  I always take special care to choose the right paper each year.  This year I bought my wrapping paper (in black and gold) in a three pack of different designs and it came with tags and ribbons.  I was disappointed when I opened up the pack to discover that the tags and ribbons were not quite as pretty as the paper itself.  So I decided to make some. At first I thought about using the different papers to make some tags when I remembered I had some of Anna's beautiful collage sheets that I printed but hadn't used yet.

I thought the beautiful colours in the October sheets would pop perfectly against the black and gold papers, so I glued the paper to some cardstock to give it strength and cut out some tag shapes.  I did some embossing with some Christmassy stamps I had and I think they look perfect against the papers.

I also cut out some thin strips of the papers and used these like ribbon to wrap around the presents here:

I hope you are finding some time to be crafty in what can be a crazy time in the run up to Christmas.
Don't forget to check out Anna's Patreon and you can find more of my art here, or on my blog, or on Instagram.

How I prep for December Daily (In my Travelers Notebook)

In this chatty video I talk you through how I prepare for Decemeber Daily although I prefer 'Christmas Memory Keeping' as I go beyond just every day in December.  Most of the items I show you in terms of stickers, paper and die cuts are in stock (or have been at some point) in my own online shop: https://www.mrsbrimbles.co.uk/product-category/seasonal/christmas-winter/

I get asked a lot about my Travelers Notebook and it is from: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Geekydori?ref=ss_profile and the mint A5 one is from: http://www.itspaperdear.com/

If you would like tutorials on how to make your own inserts you can watch my two videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN8dhsplp-c&t=734s and: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mR93VS7kWQQ&t=598s

Making your own Christmas decorations with the Marblous Marble class

Recently I attended a workshop at Hobbycraft on Advent Calendars and made this:

While I was there, and was in the festive creative spirit, I picked up some ceramic baubles, decorations as well as a ceramic vase with Anna's Marblous Marble course in mind.  I thought they might make nice Christmas presents along with a box of chocolates for those people I buy something little for.  I'd done the Marblous Marbling class a while ago but I'd only created my Marble creations on paper (I found deli paper to be amazing) and I shared a page in this link where I'd combined my marble paper with one of Anna's Patreon lessons.

My plan was to marble them and then use embossing powder and stamps to add images onto the decorations and vase.  This wasn't very successful though, the embossing powder didn't really want to melt on the ceramic and getting a clean image on top of the marbling was difficult.  I did manage it on this star decoration though: 

                                             

 For the vase I marbled my pattern in blue, black and white and then just added embossing powder in silver in a random splodging around the middle and the top.  It took quite a bit of heating using the heat gun but I think the vase could handle it better than the flat decorations:

 For the baubles and remaining decorations I just used the marbling inks to decorate, for some, like the red and green ones I dipped them a couple of times to get more coverage.

 Check out the other classes Anna has in her shop here and please share in the Happy Place Facebook group if you've created something with the Marbling lesson.


Don't forget to check out Anna's Patreon and you can find more of my art here, or on my blog, or on Instagram.

Christmas Paper Wreath

ITSSSS CHRIIIISTMMMAAASSSSS!!

haha .. sorry I couldn't resist.

The  November brimbles sticker club kit this month is so full of Christmas spirit and I just couldn't wait to get into it.

I did an unboxing of It on my channel if you wanted to take a look. 

Theres one Christmas craft I really wanted to try, and that was make a paper Christmas wreath.

I used various papers from some Christmas paper pads I had in my stash.

I made a lot of paper rosettes I have a how to video on how I make these, and then glued then onto a cardboard ring I had cut out. 

I then stuck some of the decorative stickers from the kit onto some plain white card stock and fussy cut them out, I did this so they would sit nicely on top of the rosettes. 


I have really been loving my Dina Wakley Media Journal lately. I got it for my birthday from my lovely mum and I've pretty much been doing a page in it every day.

I loved the little Mouse stickers from the decorative sheet especially this little guy ( they do have names but the escape my mind) I painted the background with just some basic red acrylic paint then used some paper from the Christmas paper pads that came from the pound shop last year to make some card presents.
I then used my posca paint pen in white to write on my quote.
I punched out some stars with some of my star punches just to add some detail onto the background.

then I added some christmas phrase stickers from the mrs brimbles shop to finish the bottom of the page.

Gemma Silk

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Handmade Gifts - Planning for Christmas 2017

I thought I would make some gifts this year for Christmas so here is a video from me explaing what and how etc. I also show you how to make sloe gin and presents I have bought so far.

If you would like a copy of the insert for yourself you can download it here. Please note this is for personal use only and not to be sold either as a digital file or printed.

My thoughts on doing a December Daily (in a travelers notebook)

A vlog from me on my thoughts regarding doing a December Daily memory keeping project. Is it worth it, did I enjoy it etc.

Also my thoughts on doing it in a travelers notebook!

Flip through coming next week!

Christmas Pocket Letter

Christmas literally jumped out at me when I opened this months box! I knew straight away I wanted to combine all the elements somehow, because they all look so good together. That's when the idea of doing a pocket letter came to me. I used pretty much every single item in this box for this pocket letter, bar the paperclip and planner stickers. Using the washi I decorated the edge of the pocket letter..

 

Next I got started cutting out the sheets of 12x12 cardstock...

 

Then I combined all the elements to make up the letter...

 

I hope this has inspired you to get creative in your own unique way. I haven't seen many pocket letters recently so it would be awesome to see them revived. Especially Christmas ones!

 

Getting Christmas Crafty!

So The November Brimbles Box Has Landed and all i can say ( more scream) is "ITS CHRISTMAS"

I absolutely love this box. Its a box full of Christmas goodness.

I felt so inspired by this box i love it. i have been creating all afternoon using all the goodies.

first i had an idea i wanted to make something for the Christmas tree. As its apparently too early to put the Christmas tree up i thought i would satisfy my need for Christmas decorating by making some tree decorations.

i have a blog post showing how i made them.

I really love how they turned out. Also i really love how you can see the design in the inside as well. i managed to get two out of one 12"12 sheet.

I then decided i needed a divider at the back of my everyday planner. I already had some extra note paper in the back that i was making notes on. However i really wanted to make a divider so i used some of the other sheet of 12"12 paper that came in the box and made a divider.

I then cut out one of the 3"4 cards from the cut apart sheet that also came in the box and hole punched it in.

then i used one of the sticky notes and stuck it at the bottom with some of the word stickers that came in the box.

i added the adorable Santa paperclip that came in it and added a few bits of Christmas ephemera that i already had in my stash.

I also had some more ideas for the sticky notes.

I used them on the kids letters to Santa as address labels. I thought they would be great on Christmas card envelopes when you send them out.

 I also am using them as present gift tags too.

I Absolutely love this box and i cant wait for the next one.

Create cards in just a few minutes!

Hi Friends!!!

It's Margie, and I'm so happy to be able to share one of my favorite things to create - 

GREETING CARDS!

I am a strong believer of using up all of my scraps and bits from all of my Brimbles Box's, no matter how big or small... or even the packaging! I keep it all until I can find some creative way to use it... 

For my first card, I decided to catch up on my Holiday/Christmas stash - it is a very busy time of the year for me and it is also when I need to have a ton of cards on hand for any given moment: 

a thank you card to one of my kids teachers, a reminder note for a playdate, birthday cards, an invite to meet up for coffee, etc. 

Pre-cut and folded cards are so helpful when creating a quick simple card!

I used a Blue Glitter Notecard by American Crafts - because of the glitter, I used clear Modge Podge on the entire glitter side to seal in the glitter from having it rub off and fall all over the place (I am not a fan of glitter, lol!) I then used another notecard to create a scalloped circle to decorate the snowflake ephemera from Mrs Brimbles Winter Warmers Ephemera Pack. Added a few scrap pieces of cardstock from the Winter Wonderland 6x6 Scrapbook Paper Pad to complete the embellishment - and done! Other than the 15 minutes it took to wait for the Modge Podge to dry, this card took about 10 minutes to create.   

Quick tip: don't dwell on design!

Just pick a theme (Christmas, birthday, etc.), grab a few matching pieces and go with it!

* * *

For my next one - I needed a quick thank you card... 

When you're pinched for time, don't hesitate to use already made embellishments and ephemera - or create your own!

On this card, I simply grabbed a tag from Amy Tangerine 'Bits' Tag set, added some baker's twine to it and mounted it onto cardstock that I embellished myself! 

This card took about 10 minutes to create. 

Quick tip: Take note of your products packaging! 

The checkered background on this card is from the tags' packaging - it matched so well that I just had to use it! Don't let cute packaging go to waste! 

* * * 

Notecards are my favorite cards to create... 

There are some quick and simple tricks to using stamps and not having to color the images... 

 I love to color, but I am quite slow at it. So when I am in a pinch, I use the "paper-piecing" method; for this card I had to stamp the image (from the Documentary Stamp Set) three times: once on the kraft notecard, another on the Winter Wonderland 6x6 Scrapbook Paper and another on some lined notepaper. Cut the two different papers and then adhere them onto the notecard. Having to fussy-cut the image may seem intimidating and daunting, but I promise, it's really not! 

Another card done in just 15 minutes...  

Quick tip: Add your own handmade embellishments too!

For example, something as simple as using a white gel pen to add dots to the sentiment to make it stand out more: eye-catching and fun!

* * * 

And for my last card, I just wanted to create a fun notecard specifically for someone I know! 

  

Again, I wanted to create a quick and simple card with minimal products and hardly any coloring... I stamped my bunny (by The Greeting Farm) directly onto the kraft cardstock, paper-pieced the balloon using a scrap from the Winter Wonderland 6x6 Scrapbook Paper Pad and added a touch of color onto the bunny with colored pencils. I added a matching scrap of cardstock from my stash and a bit of turquoise with white dots washi tape as my embellishment - and done! Another card done in less than 15 minutes. 

Quick card tip: Always remember to just have fun! 

Especially if you're creating something for someone in mind; there's no right or wrong way to create anything! And they will always treasure that you thought of them and made them feel special!

* * * 

I hope that these quick and easy tips will encourage you all to create a few cards using your scraps and bits to make someone smile :) 

Also, all of these products were items that I have received in previous Brimbles Box's!

Please go HERE to see which Brimbles Box will fit your current needs!!!

Enjoy your day :) 

Christmas Planner Set Up (Process, How to & Tips!)

It is time to set up my A5 Red Filofax Original Planner for Christmas Plannning. In this video I talk you through the sections and types of inserts that I use in my planner and what other creative things I do and use to make it all Christmassy. I will be doing another video to show you the final thing, a set up tour if you will. This video shows the process of how I set it up and what I did along with some tips that you might be able to use in your own planners.

Christmas Journal

I was having a little rummage the other day in one of our local charity shops and I came accross a Christmas journal. I thought I would share this little nugget with you as I thought you might be able to get some inspiration from it for your own journalling and planning this Christmas or that you might like to pick one up for yourself!

There are some beautiful illustrations throughout the book which are just charming.

There are some really interesting prompts, some I hadn't thought of for myself.

I won't be using the book as a planner for this Christmas but more as a retrospective record of the Christmas that has just been.

I am really happy with my £1 purchase, probably one of the best £1's I have ever spent because now I have a dedicated place for keeping all of my Christmas memories!