Latest posts from Merly Impressions

The fun and girly Hey Birdie Collection from Kaisercraft fitted perfectly with this picture of my daughter on her birthday so I got out my scissors and foam tape and created a layout to remind me of that special moment.

At the moment this photo was taken my daughters best friends had just showered her in streamers from party poppers and started singing to her making her smile in a beautifully reserved way. It was a special moment that I wanted to capture in a fun layout which somehow reflected her happiness on that sunny Summer day. Kaisercraft’s Hey Birdie Collection matched both the theme and the colour of the photo and gave the layout a bright and happy look.

I used Bazzill Tortilla cardstock (T8-824) as a background, added strips cut from the Hightail paper (P510) as a base for the picture and cut out and layered some of the cute coloured birds on the strip in the lower left corner of the page. Once the photo was stuck down I outlined it (above and on the right) with some of the Hey Birdie Brown Rub-ons (RB859). The trees, flowers and birds on either side of the photo are cut out from the Wing It paper (P508). The words in the bottom right corner and three of the butterflies in the top left corner are from the brown rub-ons while the fourth layered butterfly is cut from the Wing It paper.

The Precious Moments words are a ScrapFX chipboard wordlet (2008272) that I have coloured using a Kaisercraft Brown Ink Pad (IP708) and decorated with another cut out and layered flower from the Wing It paper.

I’ve embellished the layout with Kaisercraft Hot Pink Pearls (SB787) on the flowers and the round tree and Crystal Lacquer on many of the layered birds, flowers and trees. I’ve finished the layout by sewing around the edge with matching pink thread and adding a single button detail to the bottom right corner.

I think the layout perfectly captures this particular precious moment – a fun and very sweet moment in time on a lovely Summer afternoon.

One of the most frequently asked questions we have had over the last few months is “What is the best way to stick patterned or plain paper to an MDF Beyond-the-Page product” ?  In this post we describe the method we use which works particularly well for us.

The method we describe is excellent for sticking large areas of paper to BTP projects. You will need a sharp craft knife, a cutting mat and a glue stick. We use the the Kaisercraft Glue Stick which seems to be particularly well suited to this task since it allows repositioning while its wet but sticks very firmly when dry. Other glue sticks will probably work fine although we have not actually tried them.

If you intend to paint the edges of your MDF then this is definitely best done before sticking the paper down. Leave the paint to dry thoroughly before using the glue stick on it.

1. Start by cutting your paper to roughly the right size, leaving about 5mm all around. Place the paper face down on your desk.

2. Now use your glue stick to completely cover the MDF surface. Make sure the glue covers right up to the edges. You don’t need to put any glue on the paper.

3. Place the sticky side of the MDF onto the paper on your desk and press down to make sure it doesn’t move.

4. Turn the MDF over and use your hand to squeeze any air bubbles out of the paper. Make sure that the paper is firmly down all over including around edges (you can use the glue stick to apply small dabs of glue around the edges if you find any unstuck areas). It may be best to leave the item for a few minutes at this point to allow the glue to dry a little.

5. Turn the item face down on a cutting mat and use a sharp craft knife to cut the excess paper from around the edges. Try to keep the craft knife vertical to make sure that the edges are evenly cut.

6. If you wish you can sand very gently around the edges with very fine sandpaper (we use the flat file from the Kaisercraft File Set). Keep the file at about 45 degrees to the paper and only sand enough to remove any rough edges.

7. If you need to make holes for book rings then this may be the time to do it. If you use a round tool of about the right diameter (we generally use a Fiskars Eyelet Setter tool) to push the paper through the hole then you should get a nice even effect.

8. Depending on the paper you’ve used and the look you are trying to achieve you could be finished now. However, if you wish you could now finish the edges with an ink pad. You could just use it to hide any white edges of the paper or you could also use the ink pad to colour the edge of the MDF itself (giving a more subtle colour than paint would normally give).

As an alternative to the above method you could use double sided tape instead of a glue stick but we have found that there is more risk of getting wrinkles in the paper. We would advise against using a wet glue (e.g. PVA glue) since there is a much greater risk of bubbles and it takes a long time to dry.

The recently released Hippy Girl collection from Kaisercraft is excellent for showcasing girly photos so I decided to use it to create a beautifully feminine frame for one of my favourite pictures.

For this project I used the Kaisercraft Large Square Frame (W106) which can be either hung on the wall or freestanding. I started by covering the whole frame with the reverse of a sheet of Sunshine (P551) from the Hippy Girl collection and then cutting out the central aperture. To finish the edges I gently smoothed them with the flat file from the Kaisercraft File Set (T307) and used a Jade Ink Pad (IP717) to hide the whiteness of the edge of the paper.

To add some background texture to the frame, I’ve used the Hippy Girl Clear Stamps (CS749) with the Jade Ink Pad to add some stamped flowers and leaves along the bottom and right hand side of the frame. I added a couple more lightly stamped flowers at the top left and then stamped over the flowers with the Script Background Stamp (CS752) which is an “endless” stamp so I could create quite a large area in the top left corner.

Now the time consuming bit – but if you like cutting out then this is the fun bit. I cut out a selection of flowers from two of the Hippy Girl papers – the Earth paper (P550) and the beautiful Delilah glitter paper (PS112). I gently curled the petals and applied Crystal Lacquer to some of the non-glitter flowers before layering some of them together and applying Hot Pink Pearls (SB787) and the occasional Red Rhinestone (SB711) to their centres. I also cut out some leaves from the Earth paper which I layered onto a piece of acetate to give them some rigidity and to add some extra dimension.

I then arranged the flowers and leaves in the bottom right corner of the frame. At this point it’s a really good idea to spend lots of time arranging things exactly as you want them without using any adhesive. Move them around until you are absolutely happy and then take a digital photo of the finished arrangement to work from when you stick them down for real.

I’ve used double-sided tape and foam to stick everything down and made sure that I’ve given the flowers a really three-dimensional look with lots of layering. I’ve finished the frame by using a flower from the Hippy Girl Printed Chipboard (CB113) layered with a couple of flowers and some more pearls in the top left of the frame. The photo is layered on the leftover centre piece of the Sunshine paper I used on the frame and a leftover corner of the reverse of the Earth paper I cut the flowers from.

Hopefully I have inspired to create something equally girly with the new Hippy Girl Collection. This simple project used only three sheets of paper from the collection and hopefully shows how beautiful effects can be created with a small amount of material, a pair of scissors and a little patience.

We’ve just added the new Kaisercraft collections for August to the Merly Impressions shop. The beautiful Secret Bird Society and Hippy Girl include six papers and a host of other scrapbooking elements.

The Secret Bird Society Collection features earthy tones and a strong nature theme.  The papers include images of birds and plants in a style inspired by botanical drawings from flora and fauna books. Secret Bird Society would be an excellent collection to use when showcasing your love of the outdoors and nature. The Hippy Girl Collection features bright colours and bold flowers drawn in a doodle style. This would be a great collection to capture the lively personality of girl friends.

Each of the collections also include die-cut elements, black and colour rub-ons, a 6×6 paper pad (excellent for cardmaking), a sheet of clear stamps, printed chipboard and a 12×12 die cut paper. The Secret Bird Society Collection also includes an embellishment pack – 15 skeleton leaves in three different size.

Each collection also includes a second 12×12 speciality paper – a foil paper for the Secret Bird Society and a glitter paper for Hippy Girl. There is also a book of Mini Journal Tags (24 printed 5.5cm by 9cm tags in six different designs and two shapes) to coordinate with each collection.

You can find these collections on the Merly Impressions site right now. We also stock matching Bazzill cardstock and other Kaisercraft coordinating products which can be found at the top of the Secret Bird Society and Hippy Girl pages.

As soon as I saw the Kaisercraft Beyond-the-Page Journal I thought what a wonderful “book of lists” it could make. So recently I finally got around to creating a Tea at Elsie’s themed Journal of my own.

The Kaisercraft Beyond-the-Page Journal (SB2071) comes with front and back covers made from MDF and 100 lined pages. The front cover features a stem and leaf design although, as you’ll see below, I chose to modify it a little when I made mine.

I started by covering the inside of the back cover with the Peppermint paper (P500) from the Tea at Elsie’s Collection and the outside of the back cover with the reverse side of the same paper finished with a couple of strips from the Ceylon paper (P499).

I then covered the outside of the front cover with the reverse of the Ceylon paper and cut out two of the leaves and the stem from the cutout design. After that I covered the inside of the front cover with the Peppermint paper although I didn’t cut out any of the leaf shapes. For the design on the front I cut out several flowers and leaves from Chamomile paper (P496), coated them with Crystal Lacquer and arranged them at the top of the stem. I also cut out a single leaf shape which I coated in Crystal Lacquer and arranged it alongside the stem to give a deeper, more dimensional effect to the flower design on the front. I also filled the “embossed” leaves with Crystal Lacquer to add a little more sparkle.

Along the side of the front cover I added some strips from the Ceylon paper and some more cut out and lacquered flowers from the Chamomile paper. I then finished the front with some Latte Pearl Strips (PL505) and Latte Pearls (SB715), some lettering from the White and Black Mini Alphas (MA502) and, on the inside front cover, I added a journal block using the reverse of the Peppermint paper and some more lacquered flowers.

I finished the edges of the Journal by lightly colouring them using a Kaisercraft Sandstone Ink Pad (IP710) and used some Kaisercraft Stone coloured Book Rings (M017) to complete the journal.

I now have a beautiful and very useful “book of lists” to take pride of place on my desk.

While we try our best to include as many details as possible in our product descriptions, some items require a little more space than we have to fully describe them. In this post we describe exactly what is in Kaisercraft’s 6×6 Paper Pads and why we think they are such great value…

Kaisercraft produce a 6×6 Paper Pad to coordinate with each of their latest collections. Each pad is exactly 152mm (that’s six inches) square and contains 40 sheets of heavyweight paper or card. Each paper pad, for each different collection, includes a similar combination of pages as follows:

• 24 sheets of 6×6 paper – two each of 12 different designs (the designs are usually similar to, or based on, designs from the corresponding 12×12 paper collection)
• 12 sheets of speciality paper – two each of six different designs in a combination of spot varnish, foil, glitter and flocked (depending on the collection)
• four sheets of die cut elements (usually a total of 28 different die cuts)

As an example, the Le Chateau Paper Pad, shown on the left below, includes 24 sheets of Le Chateau design paper plus 4 pages of die-cuts, six sheets of foiled paper (in three designs), four sheets of flocked paper (in two designs) and two sheets of spot varnish paper. Also shown below are flocked, foil and glitter pages from the Jungle Bug Paper Pad and a foil page from the Konstrukt Paper Pad.

At the time of writing we stock 6×6 Paper Pads to coordinate with 16 different Kaisercraft collections including the latest Lush and Up, Up & Away and older collections such as Pack Your Bags and Lilac Avenue.

Kaisercraft 6×6 Paper Pads are an excellent way to get a wide range of coordinating paper designs at a great price and are equally useful for both scrapbooking and cardmaking.

Beyond-the-page offers a great way to match bits of home decor with the colour theme in your house. These coasters where made to coordinate with the scheme in a chocolate and cream coloured room.

I’ve used the Kaisercraft Round Coaster Pack (SB2056) and painted all the edges and the base in Kaisercraft Raw Umber Acrylic Paint (KC032). I’ve then just used circles of the Pine Arbour (P445) and Elm Point (P442) papers from the Prairie Lane collection. I’ve finished some of the coasters using a stamp from the Prairie Lane Clear Stamp set (CS732). By the way, each coaster has different colours on each side so that I can mix and match them.

I’ve finished the edge of the base with a strip of Prairie Lane paper and a few bronze rhinestones (SB776).

A project like this is a great way to start out with beyond-the-page – it’s quick and easy and you cannot really go far wrong.

We’ve just added the new Kaisercraft collections for July to the Merly Impressions shop. The beautiful Lush and Up, Up and Away include six papers and a host of other elements including some which are new to Kaisercraft.

The Lush Collection is modern and colourful with a strong oriental influence. The papers include oriental style floral patterns, subtle maps, oriental script and, in the case of the Maple paper, oriental style bird images. The Up, Up and Away Collection features earthy tones and a nostalgic carnival or fairground theme. The papers include old-style carnival images, news print, postcards and script.

Each of the collections also include die-cut elements, black and colour rub-ons, a 6×6 paper pad (excellent for cardmaking), a sheet of clear stamps, a 12×12 die cut paper and an embellishment pack (paperclips for the Lush collection and printed envelopes for Up, Up and Away).

Each collection also includes three completely new elements – a 12×12 Spot Varnish Paper, a book of Mini Journal Tags (24 printed 5.5cm by 9cm tags in six different designs and two shapes) and a sheet of Printed Chipboard (die cut colour printed chipboard shapes).

You can find these collections on the Merly Impressions site right now. We also stock matching Bazzill cardstock and other Kaisercraft coordinating products which can be found at the top of the Lush and Up, Up and Away pages.

Here are a couple of cards I’ve made recently to show how versatile Kaisercrafts Prairie Lane Collection can be. While the colours of these papers can be quite masculine, they can also be used to create some very feminine effects.

The card on the left was made using part of the Sunny Grove paper (P440) while the card on the right features parts of both the back and front of the Spring Acres paper (P444).

In both cases I’ve added bronze rhinestones (SB776) and sed a stamp from the Prairie Lane Clear Stamp Set (CS732) to create a frame for some simple words. I’ve also created a multi petal flower using two colours of Kaisercraft paper flowers, Blue Ice (F615) and Ivory Cream (F602), and highlighted it with a brown Kaisercraft Ink Pad (IP708).

I’ve seen a couple of examples of the Kaisercraft Advent Calendar finished in a non-Christmas design. So, with a daughter who loves to collect anything to do with fairies, I decided to use the Advent Calendar to make a fairy themed trinket box with a difference especially for her.

I painted all the MDF parts in Blossom Kaisercolour Acrylic paint before sticking them together with wood glue.  I then gave the whole thing another two coats of paint to cover up any errant glue. I’ve used a single sheet of the Sparkle paper (P364) from the Airy Fairy collection layered over a piece of Wisteria coloured Bazzill cardstock in the centre of the calendar. I’ve then layered the largest three fairies to give a 3D effect and applied loads of rhinestones and a coat of Crystal Lacquer for some sparkle.

The drawers on the Kaisercraft Advent Calendar are made of chipboard (that is, extra thick cardboard). I used double sided tape to hold them together after folding them into shape. I could then simply remove the backing from the tape, rub a glue stick over any exposed bits of the chipboard and then stick the paper on the outside of the individual drawers. Each of the drawers is covered in strips of the Sparkle, Fantasy and Whimsey papers from the Airy Fairy collection and I’ve finished them with a few rhinestones and Airy Fairy Brads. I’ve also drawn on some “stitching” on the front of each of the drawers for extra effect.

My daughter uses the drawers to store her jewellery and “lucky stones” – it’s the perfect trinket box for her pink and lilac bedroom.