Crate Paper

Contact Paper + Crate Paper

Hey everyone! Kinsey here with a fun tutorial on creating your own binders from scratch...ok, so technically, I did use a pre-fab binder ring mechanism but the rest was built "from the ground up".  

 

Before we dive in, here are some materials that'll come in handy for this project:

• A few pieces of cardboard or heavy weight chipboard {I cut up a few boxes we had lying around}
• Adhesive {I ended up using my atg gun and my glue gun}
• Clear packing tape
• Woodgrain contact paper {patterned paper would work as well, but it does require a bit more adhesive}
• Binding mechanism {a friend of mine gave mea  bag full of them that she wasn't going to use, but I'm sure you can find them at craft and hobby stores}
• Chipboard sheets {for the dividers}
• Your favorite Crate Paper items {I used an assortment of papers from all the latest releases, buttons, brads, journaling cards and trim}

 

To start off, you’ll want to measure your binding mechanism. The size of the binder pieces will relate to these initial measurements (I’ll be referencing my binder measurements throughout). The rings on my binder are approximately 1 inch and binder itself is about 9 inches long so I decided to make my filler pages 8 x 5.5 inches. It’s important to pre-determine your page size prior to cutting the covers for the binder…otherwise, you could end up with pages and dividers that stick out beyond the outer edge of the binder…and yes, I did that on the first go-round, lol.

On my more successful attempt, I cut my cardboard pieces so that I had (2) cover pieces that measured 7.5 x 9.5 inches and then (1) binding piece that measured 1.5 x 9.5 inches. Lay the cardboard pieces out on a flat surface so that the top and bottom edges align (the order will be: front cover, binding piece, back cover) and be sure to leave about ¼ inch between them so that the covers open and close smoothly. Use clear packing tape to connect each piece of the binder cover together.

 

Cut a piece of contact paper larger than your constructed binder cover (I cut mine so that I had about 5 inches of overage all the way around). Remove the backing and with the sticky side face up on your table, place the cardboard cover in the center (you’ll want to flip it over and use a brayer or flat edge to smooth any bubbles out).

 

Continue covering the binder by cutting the contact paper in the locations marked above (I made a cutline diagram to show where I cut pieces of the contact paper to make cleaner folds- I’m nerdy like that, hee!) The dashed lines mark the areas that will be cut away and discarded, so you should have 4 corners cut off and 4 skinny triangles near the binding.

 

Now just fold the flaps in and stick'em down (I used some more packing tape for this part to make double-sure that they were going to stay put).

 

Now for the fun parts! Cover the inside of your binder however you like- I used 2 papers for mine and I also scallop punched the floral paper for a fun little detail.

 

Install the binder piece…this process may be a little different depending on what type of binder you have. Mine didn’t come with all of the attaching pieces so I had to pull a MacGyver here- I busted out the trusty glue gun and went to town! It worked really well and just to be extra safe, I used a bit of pink and white baker’s twine threaded through the screw-holes (that didn’t come with screws, ha!) and I feel pretty good about its sturdiness now!

 

The dividers are pretty straightforward - just cut some chipboard sheets to size, cover them with patterned paper and finally, use some frilly trim for the tabs.

 

Add some buttons to the front cover and voila! A super fun, super custom, binder for planning, calendars, recipes, gifts, journals…you name it! Thanks so much for stopping by today and hanging out with me for a bit! I’ll see you soon!

The Mini Version of the Traditional Mini Album w/Kaori Watanabe

Hi Everyone! Kaori Watanabe with you to share a fun tutorial on how to create an "extra" mini, mini album! It's actually quite "small" and perfect for storing away in the purse while out and about the town :)

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The Essentials: Emma's Shoppe Pattern Papers {Fabric, Inventory, Play House, Books, Dresses & Quilts}, Accent Cuts, Chipboard Accents, Ribbon, Layered Chipboard, Border Stickers, Phrase Stickers {An Emma's Shoppe kit + Embellishments is another option}. 

The Tools: Big Shot {or a die-cutting system that is compatible with Spellbinder Dies}, Label Shape Spellbinder Dies, Sewing Machine & Screw Clamp {for holding together the pages of the album}
 

First of all, select the papers for the album pages as I've done here and then trim the shaped papers with the Spellbinder Die shown in the image above. If in the United States, this die is readily available at places like JoAnn Fabrics and other local scrapbook boutiques. If outside the US or prefer to purchase such dies online, there are various online stores that sell them too - simple google Spellbinders and you'll run into them eventually!

Let's now work on creating the pages! I love the various Emma's Shoppe embellishments - in this particular set-up, I chose Phrase Stickers and cute, mini die-cuts as my decorating pieces and added a quick, curvy line via the sewing machine directly over the top and across the page.

 

How about this ribbon? Isn't it the loveliest ribbon you've ever seen? I sewed the ribbon into position with the sewing machine (watch your fingers!) in a sort of imperfect fashion - it's a very simple technique and is so very pretty!

 

Continue working on the rest of the album pages - as you can see above, most my pages are ready for the album. Because I felt the cover would be weak if made from only paper, I opted to trim the cover from cardboard instead. 

 

I actually created the cover separate from the actual cardboard piece. After the "paper" part of the cover is complete, adhere it to the cardboard so that the cover is of two layers; paper & cardboard {now it should be sturdy!}. 

 

To hold the album together, I chose to use a machine screw. I often use these because their super easy to find and are extremely economical for holding together album pages. They're almost similar to the style of post used to hold together pages inside a traditional post bound album. 

 

Thank-you for stopping by the Crate blog today - do enjoy the tutorial and I'll see you again next month! 

A *Heart* I Love You w/Mou Saha

Hi There, Mou Saha here with today's tutorial: how to create a simple 3-D title for a display layout.

Because I plan on putting this one in a little shadowbox, I didn't have to worry about the heart getting flattened inside a page protector. You can use the idea to create cards, tags, and home decor items where dimension is not a concern. 

For this layout, I started with the Traditions paper from the Portrait Collection. I decided to stay with pinks and reds with the cream and black background. I cut out a pink-red journaling spot from Emma's Shoppe accent cut paper and a photo matte out of Chores paper from the Neighborhood Collection. I rounded the corners and attached them side by side at about the middle of the page. I attached the photo and stitched around it. Next, I journaled and set out to create the title. You can follow along.

Punch six hearts out of Emma's Shoppe Dolls paper.

 

Using a bone folder or craft stick or the back of your scissors, fold the hearts in halves. 

 

Glue the folded hearts back-to-back to each other to create a 3-D heart.

 

Above the photo matte, attach the heart and with Emma's Shoppe alpha stickers to spell out "I" and "You". 

 

Add pink sticker words, chipboard doilies, buttons and a layered chipboard border to complete the layout. You are officially finished with the lovely layout! Isn't the fresh Pink & Gray combo a nice feature?! Especially with Mother's Day coming up...

Thank you for following along with my heartfelt creation - I shall return next month! Enjoy and have fun trying out the technique in whatever shape you feel like {though mom might like the hearts}! 

The Little Things w/Heidi Sonboul

Hey Everyone! It's Heidi S. and I'm so excited to be with you all today. I have a fun and fast technique to share that'll add a little "sumthin extra" to your projects using Crate Paper's adorable letter stickers. To me..these stickers are hot..hot..hot and I love using them on my titles, but first, let me share the layout.

and here is a fun up close and personal shot of all my layers at the top of my layout.

I just recently took a trip to Utah to visit my brother and sister in law and I took these fun photos of her and my new adorable niece. Whenever I take a picture of someone or something, I make sure that I take a million pictures (which really means about 10-20) of each life experience. This way when I scrapbook later, I have lots of little photos to "tell the story". I love little photos and find great joy in using them as almost an embellishment. For the larger photo I made sure that she and my niece were in the left corner of the shot, so that I could use the white space of the photo for a title or more embellishments.

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Now on to the technique:

I took these amazing little letters and personalized them in a way that on a vintage gal could love. Being that Vintage is so hot in the scrapbook world..I'm guessing that all of you might love this simple idea like I do. 

As you pick out your letters and before placing them down, rough them up a little. I roll them into a little ball and smush the sides. This will make it look all beaten up and then I ink them with an old brown ink pad to the age them.

Most people throw away their old ink pads, but I keep mine. I find that they give a nice dusting of color to age my projects, but in no way can it be used for stamping because the ink is nearly gone. And here is what they look like all beaten up.

I hope you have fun with this technique and enjoy it's possibilities! Sometimes, simplicity has the coolest affects! ~ H

The Sketch Challenge--April 2011 Edition

HAPPY FRIDAY Crate Paper friends! Have you had a chance to start playing with the new releases yet? I think my favorite part of this season's products are the eclectic button sets that each line carries. The house shape from the Neighborhood line is definitely at the top of my list, I really want to buy 5 or 6 more packs and line up a little neighborhood of houses.   

You didn't come here to discuss Emily's favorites though, you want to see the sketch, right? Well, I can accommodate that! This month's sketch is a three photo layout with lots of rows of scallops. Don't feel like you have to stay with the scalloped look, feel free to use any sort of border punch or deco scissors, or just go with a straight strip. There's lots of room for journaling and your title can sit over the photos in a nice little frame. I hope you have fun with the sketch, I know both myself and the design team members that played along enjoyed it. There were so many great variations this month!

Here are the rules and regulations:

• You have until midnight (MST) Friday the 22th to work on the sketch. That's one week.
• Projects must use at 50% Crate Paper products, new releases are not required.
• Sketch can be a layout, cards, tags, or other project.
• Scan/Photograph your project and send it to info@cratepaper.com
• Winner will be selected based on quality or invention of work. I will send my top 5 to the Crate Paper office, then they'll choose one winner to be announced on Monday the 25th. I share some of my favorites with you at that time too.

And here's the sketch:

Here's my take on it. Apparently I have a hard time sticking to the sketches. :) Last month I had to add a photo, this month, I had to take one away. I turned the design sideways and moved the journaling over to the column of photos. I used the "Boys will be boys" tag to hold the place of the third photo I eliminated.

 

This is what Lexi Bridges did with it, trading out the scallops for stars, love that look! And her journaling ended up tucked behind the photos because she used the original spot as a great place to cluster some fun elements.

Anne Jo also turned the sketch sideways, shrinking everything as well. She used one of the blocks to house the title and replace the original title location with the cute bunny embellishment from the Paper Doll Collection. She mixed a lot of the lines here, I love how they all work together!

 

Kinsey Wilson went with an 8.5" x 11" version and really dolled up the journaling in the upper left corner. I love how she did all the fun stamping in pink! The perfect compliment to her topic! 

 

There you have it, four versions all inspired by the same sketch. And now it's your turn, go, create! 

 

 

Ribbon Rosebuds w/Danielle Flanders

Hi There! I hope you are all enjoying the warmer weather of the Spring season! Here in New York it's warming into the 60's, which is a heat wave for us! I can't wait to get out there and plant flowers again, garden, and soak up a little bit of sun. For today's tutorial, I was inspired by the colors of Emma's Shoppe to create a Springy card with a little ribbon rose bud as the focal point. One thing I love to do with my scrapbooking supplies is to be creative and use them in different ways. Ribbon is one of my favorite scrapbooking staples, because it's soft, has a warm welcoming feel, and there are so many unique things you can do with it. Let me show you how to create a ribbon rose bud for yourself!

 

I started with the pink ribbon from the Emma's Shoppe ribbon pack and cut a piece about 8" in length. I began to fold the ribbon back and forth to create varying heights to the rose bud. 

 

Next, I wrapped the end of the ribbon around the bottom of the bud and adhered it with an adhesive square (or you can use hot glue to adhere it as well). 

 

The excess ribbon was trimmed off.

 

Lastly, I adhered a chipboard flower/leaves to the bottom of the rosebud and then added the finished product to the card. To create the card, I used a journaling card for the background and cut some label and scalloped shaped squares with the Sizzix die cutting machine. These are cut from the 6" x 6" Emma's Shoppe paper pad (great for die-cutting!). I layered the label shapes a bit for more interest, along with an Emma's Shoppe phrase sticker and a layered chipboard sticker. 

 

This card would work as an Easter card, birthday card, or even a baby girl card! Thank-you so much for stopping by today - see you next month! ~Danielle Flanders

Spring into Accessories w/Lori Gentile

Hello Crate blog readers! Lori Gentile here with you to share a fun tutorial on how to make a button necklace. With Spring right around the corner, updating my wardrobe with some new accessories is a must. One easy way to make a wardrobe current is to add new accessories to the mix.

I wanted to create a necklace to go with the colors currently in my wardrobe. There is nothing funkier or more fun than a cute button necklace to put the Spring in my step, so to speak, especially when it doesn’t break the bank.

The Essentials: Crate Paper's Emma Shoppe Eclectic Buttons, Crate Paper's Neighborhood Ribbon, Embroidery Floss or Nylon Stringing Material, Needle.

Making your own button necklace takes less than one hour and is so easy everyone can do it.

To begin this process you want to arrange some buttons in a way that pleases and excites your sense of style. Choose a complimentary ribbon for your strands.

 

Once you’ve decided on your necklace pattern, it’s time to begin sewing it together. For this necklace I used two strands of floss. I like the thickness of it when threaded through the needle and folded. Start with the bottom button and insert your needle up through the bottom hole.

 

Bring the needle down through the top hole.

 

Now bring the needle up through the bottom hole in the next button.

 

Bring the needle down through the upper hole in the next button. Do not make the thread too tight between the buttons, as you’ll needle some wiggle room for the next few steps.

 

Bring the needle down through center of the threads in between the two buttons.

 

Now bring the needle up through the top hole in the first button.

 

Bring the needle down through the center of the two strands of thread in between the two buttons. Now you can tighten the thread to make the buttons close together.

 

Bring the needle up through the bottom hole in the second button.

 

Bring the needle down through the top hole in the second button.

 

Now you have sewn the first two buttons together and you are ready to continue to follow these steps when adding each new button. The next step is to sew button number three to button number two and so on until you have completed one side.

 

Take the piece of ribbon you have chosen and cut it in half. When you have completed sewing one side of your necklace, sew the last button onto one end of one half of the ribbon.

 

With the ribbon sewn, this is what one half of your necklace will look like. Cut off any ugly thread ends. Now you will want to start sewing the other half of your necklace. Start with the button closest to the first unsewn button, in this case the large red button. Treat that button as button one and follow each step as you did with your first half until you have completed your gorgeous button necklace creation.

If you wanted to create some additional jewelry, you could make a matchingbracelet using the same technique. Adding handmade ribbon flowers to the mix would add a lot of gorgeous texture and uniqueness, as well. Anything goes!

Thank you for stopping by the blog today. I hope you’ve enjoyed this tutorial. See you, again, next month!

   

Patterned Paper Yo-Yo's w/Lexi Bridges

Good morning Crate Paper fans! Lexi here today to share with you an easy little tutorial on making paper yo-yos. Of course this technique is wildly popular in the fabric arena,but I have found most things you can create with fabric you can do with paper too...and usually with some fun, surprising results!

 

To begin, cut a circle. You can see here that I used an old lid as my starting point. Acircle cutter would be great, but not entirely necessary as it does not have to be perfect.When choosing the diameter of your circle keep in mind that the finished yo-yo will behalf the size.

 

Using embroidery floss, stitch around your circle. Remember, the side you choose to start with will have the knot and will also be your ending place. Return the needle closely beside the location in which you began. This side will not be viewable...the yellow floral in this case will be "inside" the yo-yo and therefore, will not be seen.

 

Now the fun part, spray some water on your paper. Not a full soak, just a little spritz. It may seem odd, but the dampness will make your paper more pliable. Gently begin to pull the thread and gather your paper together.

 

This is what it will look like once it's finished. Tie off the thread and leave your pretty little paper yo-yo to dry.

 

Once dry you can embellish and use it in a variety of ways! Here I used a doily punch, Emma's Shoppe chipboard piece and ribbon with my yo-yo on top an easily doable tag! 

 

And here's a fun layout about my very two different boys!! 

A few punches and a button embellish the yo-yo in this particular area of my layout. I actually had this one all put together before realizing that I had punched the word “boy” from Toy Box's patterned paper--perfect!

It's always fun to create something different while adding interest to a project. I hope you'll try your hand at some paper yo-yos soon! Have a wonderful day and see you next month!

Dress & Curio Shoppe Sign w/Tara Anderson

Hi everyone! It's Tara and today I'll be sharing a project fit for a princess! My daughter Alaina is quite the girly-girl that loves to play dress-up and with an endless supply (thanks to grandma) of pink tulle ballerina skirts, sequin masks, high heels and sparkly crowns, I thought it would be fun to create a dress-up sign for her room. I'll be using lots of Emma's Shoppe papers and Embellies, it's such a sweet collection for little girls! So let's get started!

The Essentials: A Chipboard Piece, Assorted Emma's Shoppe Papers, Paint & Paint Brush, Ribbon, Sewing Machine, Glue Dots, Page Distresser, Vintage Sewing Pattern Paper & Ledger Paper, Small Paper Flowers and Crop-a-Dile

I started the sign by painting the chipboard. I first went with a cream acrylic paint and then decided to give it a second coat of white. Be sure to give the paint extra time to dry before layering any paper!! (I found this out the hard way)

 

Cut a square shape from the sewing pattern paper. I added a Glue Dot to each corner of the paper and then centered it on top the chipboard base.

 

Next, cut another square of paper from a sheet of ledger paper. I love the look of the new papers mixed with the old papers!!

 

Because I love vintage books (almost as much as I love vintage papers) Emma's Shoppe Books pattern paper was the perfect choice! I trimmed down the paper strips and used a page-distresser to rough up the edges a little. I used a few Glue Dots to adhere them to my sign. 

 

I love sequins but I didn't want anything overly sparkly for my sign. My solution? Paper inspired sequins! I created these little paper-sequins by using 2 circle punches and sewing the 2 circles together. I scattered them onto my sign and glued them, with Glue Dots, where ever they landed..just like real sequins!

 

Now for the fun part - the embellishing! I used a combination of Chipboard Accents, Phrase Stickers and Layered Chipboard pieces, to build the layers of my sign. Once I had arranged and glued each piece in place, I added a few small paper flowers. 

 

Finally, use a Crop-d-Dile to punch two holes at the top of your sign and thread a ribbon through each hole - tying each side into a knotted bow. 

All that's left is to hang your sign up and let your little princess admire your creative work! Hope you enjoyed the creative-process of making a quick hanging sign after-all you can never have too many cute signs!

The CP Reader's Gallery

A couple weeks ago, we made the announcement of a new feature that was to present here this month called the "Reader's Gallery". Some of you might have noticed the announcement while a few of you may missed it, either way, there's still ample time to contribute! Essentially, every other Monday the Crate Paper blog is reserved for you!! It's an entirely open space devoted to your Crate Paper projects and ongoing ideas. Have an innovative use for Crate Paper's Accent Cuts or cute button collections? If so, email them to us with images of your project and blog {if you just so happen to have one}! We'll take your images and collaborate them as part of an upcoming Reader's Gallery and if nominated as a Crate Paper favorite {one per gallery}, we'll send a surprise eclectic mix of Crate Paper goods straight to your door! And you all know how exciting it is when Mr.UPS shows up with a box of scrapbook goodies at your front door?! Imagine him with a box from "us" and your address on it! We promise it'll be a well stocked box as well, so don't hesitate a second to send us your creations (info@cratepaper.com) - we'll be waiting! 

 

It was terribly difficult to choose a favorite from the few that are shown today, but we love the patterned paper displays on Anita Apostalides layouts!! They're very patchwork-y and fun! :) Congrats Anita - you're our gallery winner! Email us with your info at info@cratepaper.com

 

This layout is definitely our second fave of the bunch! Diana Payne took advantage of Portrait's calendar paper to create a "Year in Review" layout about her family. Her journaling is then hidden behind the layout with the help of a Crate Paper button and an everyday paper clip. 

 

Daniela Costa is planning for her vibrantly colorful "Emma's Treasure's Chest" to be taught in the Bay Area of California at varying scrapbook shops in the very near future. She tells us that she's a huge fan of the new Emma's Shoppe collection and is anticipating sharing it via her own shop and blog! Check out her name for more info...

 

Eva Dobilas's cards are always intricately created and gorgeous to look at! She's a special way with shabby chic styled cards that are always nearly impossible to miss. We love the flower on the second card and the itty-bitty snippets of doodling. So pretty. And wouldn't you know it, she just posted a freshly made Emma's Shoppe layout - it's on display at her blog. 

 

Portrait doesn't have to be all about weddings - it's essentially one of those collections you can work anything from, including a layout about "yourself"! Piradee recently sent us this layout - note the handmade patterned paper button attached to her envelope - we're guessing that there might be some hidden journaling in that envelope..just maybe?

 

And the very last set of layouts we've to share with you today are from Nadia Cannizzo and all are astonishingly beautiful! If you haven't already figured it out yet, we're immensely intrigued by details here at Crate Paper. The more, the merrier. Amazingly, Naida completed her layouts in the short time span of a single weekend - we've been told it's because Emma's Shoppe is easy to work with..thanks for mentioning it Nadia! 

A huge thank-you to all the talented ladies that contributed projects towards today's very first "Reader's Gallery" of March! We hope you'll consider submitting something in the near future just like they've done...we'll be on the lookout for your emails in our inbox! Have a great start of the week everyone!