2-in-1 Christmas Mini Album

Hello ladies! Here is my second DT inspiration project using the papers from  Echo Park's This&That Christmas collection. My intention was to make an album using some canvas boards as front and back pages, but when I saw the KaserCraft Star Album at Paperlane, I decided to make my life easier and go with it. And I was happy with my choice because I really had fun creating this album, plus I came up with another usage of the pages, so I called this project 2-in-1 :).

The album looked something like this. Unfortunately, I could not find the exact image on the KaiserCraft website, but you will get the idea.

First I painted the sides of each star with Martha Stewart Acrylic Craft Paints and then decorated them with the papers. I used the edge distress tool by Tim Holtz to ruffle the edges, which looks as frost to me, so I really like how it turned out.

I added some Golden Stickles to the pages for a more festive look and left the pages blank waiting for the Christmas photos.

In the meantime I decided to put the pages in use as Christmas decoration:

2-in-1, I told you :).

Happy festive crafting!

Lidiya

Baby Alex and Big Sister Raya Beach Party

Hello! Today I have something really special to share with you. It's the beach party I organized for my sweet kids - Alex and Raya. It is already "winter" in Dubai, so there's no better place to be than at the beach.

I styled the party focusing on the colour scheme - red, blue and white; somehow I felt these are the right colours for my kids. Once I was happy with my choice of colours, I got busy with the party decoration.

I made a cute paper bunting to go with the flags on my two-tier stand, flag toppers in the same patterns and bright red tissue paper pom poms. I also used some tulle here and there for a little added charm. To match perfectly all elements of the set up I altered a jar to go with my theme (a tutorial is on the way) and painted two IKEA tin buckets to fit in. To make all props come together I used two white baskets as small tables and dressed them up with tulle bows. 

The treats on the dessert table included a yummy strawberry shortcake from Sweet Lane and their signature mouth-watering fruit tarts. I particularly asked for strawberries, blackberries and cranberries to match my colour theme. I added some more sweetness to the table with the truffles which were custom-made in white with red and blue lines. And since I know Raya too well, I put some fresh strawberries in the altered jar, just in case.

For the water bottles I used printables from the CD I got with Kara's Party Ideas - The book and customized them to read "Baby Alex" and "Big Sister Raya". Luckily I also found the perfect drinks colour-wise.

Here is the party in details and below are the credits. Many thanks to Ania from The Ania James Photography who made the photos for us!

What is next? Raya's birthday is just behind the corner, so the ideas are already swirling in my mind!

Credits: 

Styling and paper decorations: Lidiya 
Cake, fruit tarts and truffles: Sweet Lane
Photography: The Ania James Photography
Printables: Kara's Party Ideas - The Book.

Echo Park Christmas Card Set

Hello! Today I have to show you a set of three holiday cards which I made using Echo Park's This&That Christmas Collection. When it comes to Christmas cards I love designs that are easy to mass produce, so I limited myself to some embossing, basic stamping and paper layering. Though it sounds a lot of work, the cards came out really quickly. Let me tell you how:
 
I used green and red Hero Arts notecards which I embossed with a snowflakes embossing folder, This&That coordinating papers, one of my favourite Christmas stamps - a Hero Arts ornament stamp, some ribbon and Echo Park This&That Element Stickers. As usual, I used dimensional adhesive to assemble the cards. I just love the handmade feel it gives.

This first card was the easiest and no wonder - I used a big sticker that did all the job for me. I only had to add some ribbon and a button and the card was done in 10 minutes!

The other two cards are almost the same; I just played with the colours. The difference is in the medium I chose to help me add some shine to the focal point. 

Here I used my all-time-favourite Glossy Accents, while in the other card I applied Ranger's Rock Candy Stickles. 

I hope this easy card set has inspired you to visit Paperlane, grab some of the lovely Christmas papers and start creating!

See you soon.

Lidiya

Martha Stewart Paints Christmas Cards

Hello! I hope your Christmas preparations are at full swing.

Are you by chance tired of the old-fashioned Christmas greens and reds? I love them, but when I got the Martha Stewart Multi-surface Acrylic Craft Paints - Green Curry, Amaranth and Habanero, I liked their brightness so much that decided to give them a try for a Christmas project.

I used the paints as ink and stamped a Hero Arts poinsettia set on a snow white Hero Arts notecard. The flower stamp is just an outline, so I coloured it with the pink. It was such fun and the texture the paints gave to the card is just gorgeous.

I did get carried away, so I also tried the solid stamp from the set and here is the result:

Very unconventional Christmas cards indeed, but I really like the different and artsy look of these cards!

The full range of Martha Stewart Craft Paints is available at Paperlane - an amazing collection of 160 colours! Give them a try! 

Happy crafting!

Lidiya