Crate Paper

A Crate Story w/Shanna Noel

 

 

Hiya friends! I am so excited to be joining you today. I wanted to share some personal things I have had going on these past couple of months. My husband and I have been married over 12 years (we were 18 when we got married, crazy... I know) and we have never lived in our home state where all our family is. Instead we were up for any adventure, and found ourselves moving all over the country. We moved to Minnesota (brrrrr) for college, to Washington State (stationed at Ft Lewis), to Oregon (hello BEACH!!!), to Nevada (SUN!) and finally back home!!! We were both so excited to be back home. Imagine our surprise, in that exact moment my husband was deployed to Kuwait. Of course we all miss him like crazy, but being in the military you expect these sort of things. What is really astounding is the fact that this was his first long term deployment, and it coincided with the moment we were with family. During this deployment I have a village of friends and family around to surround the girls and I with support! How lucky are we? It would be easy to get down about the fact that my husband will be gone for a year, but isn't it just more fun to be grateful for the timing in it all?

I find that most the time when something big happens in life like this, there are many things to be grateful for!

 

I'm a HUGE fan of WORD art around my house and I wanted something that would remind me and the girls to be thankful for all the things we DO have in this time. I searched pinterest for some ideas..and WOW, they're a great source of inspiration!!! I came across this: Gratitude. I love the graphic feel of it all! And this sentiment really spoke to me as well: Happiest.

I ended up just falling in love with the following quote:

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow." ~ Melody Beattie

I also found this fun tutorial and wanted to give it a try using Crate Paper as the background: Four Leaf Clover.

 

So, I had my father-in-law cup up an old fence board and mount it so I could hang it on the wall.

 

Then, I picked out my favorite Crate Paper patterned paper to use as a background!! I just ADORE this paper, but haven't found the perfect project...I knew this was it! I think the boldness of the pattern will help it stand out.

 

Then, I designed the word art using Silhouette software and Ali Edwards word art. I trimmed it from vinyl I had left over from another project. Once I cut it all out, I put transfer paper on top of it.

 

I followed it up with a thin layer of Martha Stewart Gesso, and allowed it to dry for about thirty minutes. Don't wait too much longer as it will tear the paper when you peel up the vinyl.

 

Finally, peel the vinyl off and enjoy your new piece of art!! I just love coming down the stairs to this little reminder every morning!

What are some of your favorite quotes that might make for beautiful word art? 

A Crate Story w/ Stephanie Dagan

 

 

Hello Girls! So so happy to be with you for a new project about A Crate Story. I was just excited to put my hands on the new collections. The papers are really awesome, and it's so easy to mix them up!

So, I'll present you a mini album based on the different work spaces in my day. I work at home as an accountant. It's the more serious part of my day that lasts throughout the morning. We have two offices at our home, and I will not deny that I much prefer workspace number "3". And as is popular in France, we love to eat! I spend quite a bit of time in the kitchen when I'm not working. My children arrive home everyday at 11:30 to for lunch and then return to school at 1:15 (my husband too). This makes for ample opportunity to enjoy delicious meals, though sometimes, I could do without :)

 

The structure of the album is very simple. I trimmed two squares {4.72"} and a strip of fabric {2.8" x 4.72"}. Then, I sewed the fabric strip onto the edges of each square as is noticable in the photo above. 

 

Next, I developed pages for the album, and joined them together with the help of my bind-it-all. Each page is of a different size, including some that are larger than the cover.

 

 

I didn't want the journaling readily apparent, so I printed titles on various color backgrounds. Each is sewn along it's side and sits on top the journaling. It does a fine job of hiding it while serving as a decorative introduction.

*If you'd like, feel free to download a PDF copy of the the title pages. I thought you might enjoy them! 

{ Download Workspace1 , Download Workspace2 , Download Workspace3 }

 

I hope this project will give you some ideas for presenting your everyday life! Thanks so much for stopping by!

A Crate Story w/Piradee Talvanna

 

 

Excitedly, starting today, Crate Paper is introducing a brand new series of trend-motivated blog features. Each is designed specifically to help you keep pace with the latest and greatest ideas in both the scrapbooking and crafting world using our gear. One such trend making headway right now, is everyday storytelling! "Project Life" is a sure example of this, as is our latest release, Storyteller. We love the idea of preserving the small moments, along with the big, using methods that are scrapbook friendly and fun for all. So, we went ahead and designed a new tutorial feature called "A Crate Story". In capturing the everyday, our designers will share their own take on the subject by showing you personalized projects that go beyond the bounds of the multi-pocket page. Each project will be slightly different, though still noticiably "Crate Paper", and will include a follow-up tutorial w/an occasional surprise giveaway!

Our very first "A Crate Story" tutorial is from our CP Gal, Piradee Talvanna:

Ever find yourself wondering what you did a few weeks ago, what exactly your friend said that was so so funny, or the name of that new local band playing at the bar that you just love? Well I do, and it's these little details that I just can't seem to remember at times (still trying to figure out the name of that band).  And therefore, in telling my everyday story, I thought I would share a little something to help me capture those spontaneous moments without ever having to worry about forgetting them again :)

 

In introducing the today's project, here's a peek at the inside of the album. It's a set of "Days of the Week" index cards created using the Random Collection and self-made "Day of the Week" page tabs. The cards serve to collect small post-it notes written throughout the week  (I'm trying to make it a habit this year to write down the little details, including the when, where, who, what, and why). 

 

In taking a closer look at both the Monday and Tuesday cards, they should give you a general idea of how each page is crafted and set-up. Notice the "open" space for storing post-it notes.

 

In introducing this next card, I want to share my creative process in putting it all together. Starting with grabbing all the goodies from the Random Collection, I first cut "the days of the week" tabs and coordinating file folder using the silhouette machine (days of the week tabs are from Loni Stevens designs and the file folder is Silhouette designs).

 

To get started, I cut the base for the Wenesday card from CP's "Denim" patterned paper. I chose a matching Random accent card to go with it and then went about placing everything together; only gluing things down when I was pretty much sure where everything would go.

 

Again, then comes all the embellishments, color comparisons, mixing and matching of elements, and trying to figure out where everything should go before actually adhering it down. Sometimes, to help with the process of sticker placement, I use clear sticker sheets to assist in finding the best location for it.

 

Also when working with sticker elements, sometimes I find myself reaching for the baby powder; especially when I prefer to "pop up" the sticker. First, I position the foam dot'(s) onto the backside of the sticker. Then, before peeling the paper from the other end of the pop-dot'(s), I sprinkle a smidgen of baby powder onto the backside of the sticker. This is to avoid the "unwanted" areas from sticking to the paper later on.

 

Once I have all the elements glued down exactly where I want them, I then remove all the access details with either a cutter, or craft knife.

 

And lastly, when it comes to using brads, I tend to cut off the metal pieces before adhering or popping them up on my projects (especially if there's a lot of layering). It saves from having to poke through one's paper/page to create a hole for brad placement.

 

And there you have it, my Wednesday card...

 

Here are two more cards from the album - I kept the design simple and left extra room for post-it notes...

 

And there you have it, a little something to help me keep track of my daily adventures...Thanks everyone for stopping by!