Crate Paper

CP Design On File :: Sparkle Advent Calendar w/Rebecca Luminarias

Hi Everyone! Rebecca with you today and it really is the most wonderful time of the year, don't you think?! I personally LOVE the holiday season and what better way is there to kick off the Christmas countdown than with an Advent Calendar?

We can all agree that part of the fun of an Advent Calendar is knowing that each day comes with a surprise, right? Keeping this in mind, I used 25 small glassine envelopes to house small surprises. Next came decorating them which entailed decisions, decisions, decisions! Bits and pieces from the Sleigh Ride collection were in order here and the hard part was choosing what to use since it's all so fresh and fun! Luckily, the number circles from the Vellum Tags and Numbers helped me out - they were perfect for this project, with numbers ranging from 1 - 25, and they also helped me to decide on my color choices. Although Sleigh Ride is filled with beautiful colors for a modern take on the holiday, I opted to go more traditional and stuck to a red, white and silver palette.

With 25 envelopes all displayed together, it's nice for them to have a common "voice" instead of each one being completely different. So for unity, they all have a vellum  number, a small white tag, and a mini clothespin that I painted with a silver leaf pen.

I sifted through my entire Sleigh Ride collection and picked out anything that was red, silver or neutral and got to work. I tried to think of December and how my family will be spending it. It's all about Christmas -- getting ready for it, enjoying the season, and spending time as a family. Now that our little guy is 2 and quickly becoming a Christmas expert, it's a great time for us to start new traditions. We got a real Christmas tree this year and since December 1st happened to be a Saturday, we went out and got it that day. So, I made December 1st specific to getting the tree (putting a piece of "O Christmas Tree" paper on the inside). It's also the kick off day and  the 'tis the season sticker worked beautifully.  

For other days, I just chose cute embellishments and sometimes a holiday phrase, either from a Sleigh Ride sticker, or I typed it myself on vellum. The buttons and Brads and chipboard stickers had a lot of great pieces to use -- everything coordinates so well together. 

I also chose the pieces of glitter chipboard that matched well with my palette -- notably the silver and white snowflakes and white snowmen, and used an assortment of those to decorate my mini envelopes.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are the most magical of the month as all of the excitement that's been building comes to fruition. I tried to capture that feeling on those days. As parents, my husband and I are really enjoying watching Gus's excitement about Christmas this year. He loves the carols, the Christmas tree, the idea of getting gifts (of course!), and the phone calls to Santa Clause during dinner where we tell Santa that he's being a good boy and eating all of his food and so, deserves the big train he wants!

For the contents inside each envelope, I kept them simple, not wanting to add a lot of bulk of compete with the outside of the envelopes since they are glassine and see-through. I cut down a few sheets from the 6 x 6 paper pad into 3.5" x 2" and then mixed them up so I had a variety, notably "Jingle Bells", "O Christmas Tree", "Rudolph", and "Blue Christmas". This was actually one of my very first steps and it helped when trying to decide how to decorate the outside. For instance, I didn't use loads of red embellishments on the outside if the primary color on the inside was also red.

As for each day's "treasure", you can't go wrong with chocolate, so I opted for Ghirardelli flavors in mint and salted caramel to put inside most of the envelopes. I also put a Starbucks gift card in one for my husband and I so we can enjoy a nice treat when we're out and about doing our holiday shopping. Since chocolate and coffee drinks are off-limits for Gus, I got a set of Cars 2 Micro Drifters for him and broke it up. Even though they're tiny little cars, they didn't exactly fit in the small envelopes as well as I'd hoped, so I just left a few days empty and will give him one on each of those days.

And because I didn't want our calendar to only be about gifts and treats, on the back of each of the papers inside I wrote, "Today we are happy because..." I'd really like to think about that this season since we have so much to be happy about. November was about being thankful and December will be about enjoying all that we have and recognizing how fortunate we are.

To display my calendar, I used a cork bulletin board and covered it with red glitter wrapping paper. I strung 5 rows of silver ribbon, which I secured to the back of the board, and clipped the envelopes onto them with the mini clothespins. All that's left to do now is open one each day and enjoy what's inside -- both the tangible treat and the happy memory.

Happy Holidays! I hope you're holiday season is magical, too!

 

Crate Paper Design on File :: Circle of Gratitude w/Kimberly Neddo

 

 

Now that Thankgiving is over, we're entering the second half of the Holiday Season! During this time, there is still plenty to be thankful for! Today, I'm going to showcase a layout on the subject in a way that I think many of you are plenty familiar with; circular design. 

I love the idea of expressing gratitude through "circles". I think it's pure genius. Circles symbolize "unity" and "connection", and as links, are extremely resilient and of great importance. To echo this idea, I took immediately to Sleigh Ride's "Spirograph" style snowflake design patterned paper. As a whole, the snowflakes stand close to one another, and feel "connected". For this reason, I chose to use the paper as the background for my layout, which I'll share with you shortly...

When given this assignment, my thought process went immediately to my prayer life. I've always wanted to find a creative way to document this constant of my daily life, and what better way to do that than with circles {& Crate Paper}?

I had a vision of creating layered circles and with them, I wanted to frame my layout's main photograph. I'm a bit of a fanatic when it comes to cutting circles, and have found that using my handy circle compass is the best tool for the job! So, I trimmed a few out, paying close attention to sizing while trimming them from a couple of different papers.

To give them a little more pop, I rubbed rubbed charcoal grey ink around the edges of each one. This quick, easy-to-master technique gives the circles dimension, which is a "HUGE" plus for promoting "layers". 

A direct ink application (dragging the ink pad against the paper's edge) is preferred. 

 

With the photograph, "Pray Big", as the layout's central focus, I brought my cherished prayers to the outside parameters of the layout. I punched small circles from light patterned paper and wrote prayer subjects on them. I then attached them to the layout interchangably with pop-dots and wet adhesive. I inked the edges of the smaller circles. Again, this one additional detail has major impact on depth.  The circles draw the viewer's eye around the page.

 

Finally, with the title, all is brought together. I love the font with the black glitter foam thickers. Not only does the black stand-out, but it also compliments the inked edges of the various circles sprinkled throughout the page.

To have a little more fun with the title, I decided to use the photograph as part of the title itself. I brought the title down the center of the page starting at the top, and finishing it at the bottom. It ties everything together perfectly. 

 

Here's a look at completed page, what do you think? It's officially your turn to sit down and think about what you're thankful for. Once the list is written, think about how to express it using the unifying design element, circles! Literally, the possibilities are endless! 

Pink in November w/Sophie Crespy

 

 

November is the month of falling leaves and autumn beauty. Nature is full of lively oranges and rustic yellows, as are the seasonal scrapbook supplies available this time of year. Leave it to Crate Paper to break tradition - upon recent release, "On Trend" gave way to a gorgeous color palette of modern brights, including shades of pink that beg to be used no matter the season. So, I've taken to exploring the feminine hue on a newly created autumn-themed layout to show you that even in November, pink is undoubtedly doable. 

To be quite honest with you, pink is my favorite color when it comes to scrapbooking. I love to use it with shades of yellow, green and blue. This might be because I'm the happy mother of a very sassy daughter, or maybe it's because I'm sassy myself! My girl dresses in pink, dreams in pink, envisions the world in pink - recently, she wished the autumn leaves could be pink. In Hearing this, it became the basis of my layout and so the story goes...

 

I pulled out the Acorn Avenue and On Trend collections to search for all the pink items I could find. I set them aside, along with a few brads and buttons from the brand new Sleigh Ride collection. 

 

Once I had my supplies in order, I thought about how best to mix together the different shades of pinks, and varying patterns. One thing I've learned is that "when in need, go for a grid!" So, I did! I drew a grid of 1" circles side-by-side in Silhouette Studio. I then had my Silhouette trim the grid from white cardstock. I also punched 1" circles from both "Acorn Avenue" and "On Trend" 6" x 6" patterned paper pads (only the pink papers). I positioned the punched circles inside the grid at random locations and embellished them with brads, buttons and a hand-trimmed heart.

 

With the grid complete, I located this awesome vellum paper {Sleigh Ride} with gold/silvery stripes for die-cutting leaves to be placed along the bottom and top portion of the layout. They match the theme of the layout {photos & title} quite nicely.

 

I then cut the title and extended it above and below the grid. And to lend further interest to the layout, I sprinkled green brads and stickers throughout. 

 

I love to back my layouts with a sheet of cardstock, or patterned paper. It frames the layout and contains all it's elements in a unified setting. 

One more piece of info - for a distressed look, I like to run my finger beneath the paper's edge and curl it forward a bit. In this case, I did this with the layout's background patterned paper, next to the stitching. 

I hope you'll give Pink a chance on your next autumn project just as I did! According to my daughter, you can never have enough pink! 

CP Design On File :: Bohemian Chic Cards w/Ashely Newell + On Trend Giveaway!!

 

Although thank you cards are needed and given throughout the year, it seems that during the Fall and Winter season, there's a bigger demand. With all of the holidays and so many reasons to share gratitude before the year-end, we all need lots of thank you cards on hand. So, I had a great time combining lots of patterns and prints with shapes and sizes to create a festival of bohemian-chic cards. Just because we're headed into the holiday season doesn't mean we can't still enjoy bold and bright colors with fun layouts, right?!

To hold all of my cards, I made a little box using On Trend patterned paper and chipboard embellishments. I added some die-cuts on each side as "handles" and dressed them up with a bit of American Crafts black tulle.

 

On this card, I used stretched out triangular shaped dies to create a funky wallpaper-style background. Don't be afraid to mix those patterns for a unique and bold design.

 

To dress up the patterned paper on this card, I stamped flowers and heat embossed them with gold embossing powder. After adding a tag shaped focal point using On Trend patterned papers, this card came together in a jiff!

 

Don't forget to use those Thickers! I just love the bold colors and prints on these alpha chipboard letters. Simply create your own personal message and place it on a die-cut with various patterns and your thank you card is done. Customize your gratitude by stamping it or typing it on a computer/typewriter, then trimming the cardstock.

 

For my last card, I mixed together a few of the cardsock elements from On Trend and let it all hang out! Don't be afraid to let cardstock or embellishments hang off the edge of a card. Worries about shipping? Use a larger envelope, make an envelobox, or place it in a glassine bag if hand delivered.

 

On the enxt cozy day, take a couple of hours and make some handmade thank you cards so you will be ready to share your gratitude with others. Need a jumpstart? Try using these cards for sketches for your projects and just have fun! So, what's the hold up? Let's make a plethora of thank you cards to share our sincere gratitude. 

~

Today, we're going to do something sort of offbeat and fun. It just seems like a long time since we last gave away an "On Trend" collection kit. So, if you're a card maker, scrapbooker, DYI crafter or altered crafts artist, tell us which color palettes are on your "Holiday Project List" this season. Is bright and bold more your style, or do you prefer to stick with traditional color palettes like red and green? Whatever the case, before you leave, note the color palette in the comment section below - we'll draw a WINNER on Monday, November 12, 2012.