Crate Paper

Weekend Designer Showcase

Our you ready for a boost of inspiration from us? It's the weekend and the Designer Gallery is ready for your viewing pleasure! Take heart and come check out these latest creations from a few of Crate's CP Girls! And don't forget, Pin it if you love it - the girls enjoy seeing their projects over there and so do we! Thanks for spreading the Crate Paper love you guys...

Dark Backgrounds can sometimes be a tricky thing to work with, but Kaori makes it look so easy to use'em with this latest layout of hers. Taking full advantage of Portraits black/cream color palette, Kaori balances the dark background with pops of color and light colored papers. It's truly exsquisite, don't you think?

 

Sweet and Simple - Mou plays up a rainy day with hand-trimmed droplets from both Neighborhood and Emma's Shoppe patterned papers. Beneath them drops is Mou's daughter whom just happens to be crafting a special box for her favorite doll - too cute!! 

 

They most certainly grow big way too fast!! If only we had a way to freeze time and preserve their little'ness. - they're so much fun at that age! :) Lexi Bridges captures a quick, brief moment of her two little boys in action and puts them center stage on top a scattered array of modern accents from all four collections. Definitely one of our faves from Lexi!

 

Summer is a wonderful time of year, isn't it? Amy Heller reminds us of another reason worth celebrating Summer - Freshly ripe fruits and vegetables (Farmers Markets & Local Food Co-ops) blended together to create Summer friendly salads for family and friends. Just look at the fruit salad that Amy's daughter has made - it's as gorgeous and colorful as Amy's layout! 

That about does it! We wish all of you a wonderful weekend! We'll see you Monday! 

Color Winner + A Monster-ific Wall Hanging w/Lolly Chessie

We're going to quickly jump in here and announce the winning name from Wednesday's Color Giveaway! Anyone feel like taking a guess as to which two colors were mentioned the most? How about Teal & Gray? Sound familiar? Maybe throw in some yellow for good measure 'cause that was noted quite often as well. So, here it goes - our color winner is:

Wow! this is fabulous! There are very few colors i don't like but I would probably have to say my favorite color is purple in all hues - from periwinkle to royal purple! Thanks for the inspiration!

Posted by: Becky Dunham | April 26, 2011 at 09:52 AM

Becky, your passion for purple is greatly appreciated by us here at Crate and in having mentioned it, we're shipping you a collection kit of your choice! Send your info to [email protected]! Congratulations Becky! 

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Hi Everyone! This is Lolly Chessie and today we'll be using the papers and embellies from the Toy Box Collection to create a fun (and almost scary) quick door sign for a boys room!

Whenever I get a mini book, I don't always use up all of the pages (mostly because I like to add in my own papers and fabric instead of just sticking with what comes with the book). I recently started using those extra pages to create little wall hangings!

I started with a thick canvas album page from Prima (you can see it here - http://store.scrapbook.com/pri-920845.html). This page is 6 x 12 and is two layers of stitched together canvas (it has a little padding in-between too)!

 

I sprayed the page generously with brown and green glimmer mist (only on the outside since I want to cover the majority of the page with paper). I have found that the glimmer mist takes to the canvas better if you lightly spray it with water first!

 

I then cut out a rectangle piece of paper using the "Build" paper cut to fit just inside the lines of the canvas page. I roughed up the edges a bit and bent them up too. Spraying the edges of the paper with water really helps with this step! It makes the paper more bendy and pliable. Glue that paper to the canvas album page and get ready to start working with your monsters!

 

I created a little "tough boy" banner using chipboard elements and paper from the Toy Box collection. You can see all of the elements laid out above.

 

...and the finished banner all pop dotted up here (I added in the little wrench cause I'm totally in love with it)! 

 

I cut out a bunch of monsters using Adobe Illustrator and SCAL software (it works great with the Cricut). I inked them all up using Distress Ink in Walnut Stain and then arranged them all around! Once I had them down, I thought that I might have a tad too many..so, I scaled them back some!

 

I also drew a little grouping of buildings in Adobe Illustrator and using SCAL and my Cricut, I cut it out using the "Games" wood grain paper. I used 3D foam adhesives to adhere it to the project.

 

Once you have the monsters where you want them (preferably on the sign and not under the bed)..glue them all down! If you want added dimension, you can pop them all up using 3D foam adhesive (I kinda wish I had done that but the dangly arms made me shy away from trying it)! I added a few little embellishments from that same line to some of the monsters to give them a little more oomph! 

 

I created a little lettering grouping cut out with my boys name (I don't actually have a boy so I just used my husband instead...hehehe) and then glued that down along with the chipboard helicopter too! 

 

...and viola..You have a fun little sign to hang on the door of a boys room! Thanks so much for dropping by Crate Paper today! I hope this project inspires you to create projects using your leftover mini book pages! HUGS! ~Lolly

Reverse Applique the Patterned Paper Way w/Lexi Bridges

Good morning Crate Paper fans! Lexi Bridges here today and I can't wait to share my newest “mistake” with you. Yep...one of those happy mistakes that actually turns out for the good!

Recently, I was making my littlest his usual birthday shirt. I have done this every year as a special treat. For the most part, I applique whatever number he's to be {age wise}. Well this year, my head was saying applique, but my hands starting cutting the shirt and before I knew it I had a mess! Or, so I thought ;) So I decided to try reverse applique and it turned out so cute!Which had me itching to try it on a layout!

 

First, decide what shape you want to go with. Because I have all things spring and summer on the brain, I went with a kite shape. I roughly drew it on the cardstock and then used it as a guide to determine the best location for both my pictures and journaling. 

 

If you have a die cut machine it would come in handy here!! Because I wanted full control over the exact location of the shape, I used a craft knife.

 

Once that's done, take a piece of paper that is larger than your cut out shape and begin glueing down strips of patterned paper. This is a great way to use up some of them small scraps! I liked varying the widths and patterns - it lended the kite a more whimsical feel.

 

I chose to sew {zig-zag stitch} along the seams of my patterned paper strips with the help of my sewing machine. It seems that I just have a hard time not adding some machine stitching to my projects! They just don't seem complete without it! I kinda like the look of all those threads there.

 

Adhere your layered block to the underside of the opening with adhesive. Your kite is all ready to go!

 

Although the kite looks fine as is, I wanted a little something more, so I added some quick hand stitching to jazz it up a bit.

 

I debated on adding little dividers to the large kite after adding them to the smaller kites, but in the end, I decided against it as I didn't want it to break up the colors and patterns that were already in place.

 

I decided to add a ribbon bow near the base of the kite. Even though I've never seen a kite in real life with a pretty bow, it's still a cute touch! If you look closely, you'll notice that the stitched kite string is the line for my journaling {spring picnic}. I think it adds interest  when journaling along the path of a curvy line, like this -  it's actually something I've never done before!

 

I used foam adhesive for the two smaller kites so as to boost the dimension of my layout.

 

How cute is that snail?! He goes right along with the whole picnic theme. And lastly, I used alphabet stickers from both the Portrait and Neighborhood collection. I love how the fonts and shapes mix well together! 

So, there you have it. Amazing how a mistake can start you thinking in a whole new way! I hope you give this reverse technique a try soon in the near future. If you do, show it to us at Crate's Facebook Page! Have a wonderful day everyone! See you in May!

 

Sketch Challenge Winner--April 2011 Edition

Welcome back! We decided to change the winner's post date for the Sketch Challenge to Wednesday this month so we wouldn't have to work over the weekend. Rumor is we may keep this calendar in the future, so you may have a couple more days to work on the challenge! I'll post specifics with the May challenge next month.

We got some great entries again this month, nearly 50 again. Thank you so much to each of you for putting your stories on paper using our products and sketch, such lovely memories captured!

The winning entry came from Trine Brandt-Lassen! Congratulations to you Trine, please send your contact information to [email protected] and then start looking for your box of Crate Paper goodies!

Isn't it cool how Trine used her son's artwork in place of the third photo? Christine loved her title work, the way she turned the doily from the Restoration line into a train wheel. She also loved the fun mix of lines. And I'm a sucker for tilted photos and strips, so of course this one made it into my top five! 

Here are some of the others that caught my eye this month:

Karen Williams did a great job shrinking the sketch to fit her photos, I love all her little strips that support the pictures, and her color choices are so perfect for spring!

Janice Boon's lovely lacy page has some fun whimsical touches, she definitely knows how to use a border punch!

Julie Blanc took the sketch and framed it, such a creative take on the challenge! All the little extras she added make this a so appealing to me.

Marcy Penner has such a classic style, this sketch is right up her alley. Such a serene take on the challenge, I love her clusters across the page.

And there you had it, some wonderful takes on the challenge this month, don't you agree? Hope to see your entries next month, I'll be here on the 20th of May with a new sketch.

Inspire then Crate + Quick Giveaway!

 

There's a fashionable hue out there that I can't seem to get enough of these day - maybe you're already well familiar with it being that it's lapsed the cover and interior contents of just about every magazine and home decor blog this year. It appears that we still very much love the color "turquoise", though not of it's lighter side, but of it's darker side. Any guesses as to which "hue" I'm referring to?  Lets just skip to the chase, shall we? Today's inspirational source only perpetuated my obsession with the bold, robust hue..

 

Say "hello" to my new friend, Dark Green-Blue! I'm crazy about this color. Every bit of it. It's the primary reason for my deciding to use the cover of House Beautiful as today's "Inspire then Crate" inspiration source. I knew the minute I saw it, it'd land on a layout for sure..and here's how it went!

 

{Click on image to see larger size}

A layout contrived in one weekend and this is where House Beautiful brought it - though pitched with a dark, less-than-white background. In creating the layout, about halfway into the project, I realized that maybe a lighter background probably would of been a better option, though by then, it was too late to make such a dramatic change. Still, it's similarities to the cover are apparent and for that, I'm thankful. 

I recently took a trip to the local city zoo located in the heart of the Twin Cities, St.Paul. While there, I visited the toasty (felt so good!) interiors of the zoo's historic conservatory. Inside one of it's rooms was housed a special showing of varied gardens which I couldn't quite escape without a photo or two (maybe more) and so as you can imagine, I brought home lots of flower pictures with me from the place. This is just one of them, x 8 - Each applied to it, a separate Photoshop action.

 

It's time to talk Crate Paper! You know what I love about Crate the most? It's quite simple really - I love that you can mix n' match Crate Paper collections easily and that doing so leads to beautiful results. Very rarely do I use a collection by it's lonesome. In truth, my stash of CP goods is sorted by color & embellishment type on shelves and in drawers. I find that by storing it this way makes it extremely convenient for me to create a unexpected, non-traditional Crate Paper layout! I only reference the colors required for the layout's chosen color palette!

 

I keep it all - that being both old and new Crate Paper collections. Remember the days of rub-ons? Technically, that's all of six months ago, but this flower is a little older than six months - it's a member of the Cottage collection! I applied it onto a small section of tracing paper (art supply store or craft store) and then adhered it on the backside of a self-made black frame. It's attached to the layout with tiny snippets of pop dots. Yes, a tedious process, but by doing this, I was able to give it a "window" feel. 

 

A Portrait chipboard flower makes a nice addition to an old wooden flower {Making Memories} from ages ago - the two textures are a pretty pair!

 

A smaller version of the previous flower, this one is from a completely different Crate Paper collection, Emma's Shoppe! With a Toy Box label sticker, Portrait chipboard circle and Toy Box eclectic button, I created a smaller version of the large flower - it's best feature is most certainly the button - It's woodsy hue is a nice contrast next to all that color!

 

I'm thrilled that Crate continues to produce their ever-popular phrase/word stickers. I use them frequently for filling in empty spaces and for the sharing of small messages. 

 

Speaking of messages, I transformed Neighborhood's birdhouse into a mini billboard here. Atop of it is both a Neighborhood and Emma's Shoppe sticker, along with two rich fuschia colored rhinestones.

 

Another play on words via stickers....

 

I occasionally add digital elements to my layouts, even to the ones you'll find here from me. Sometimes, it's easiest to create a title using this method or a simple message..it saves a step or two. Digital also lends a unique feel when blended with traditional scrapbooking supplies. It can sometimes be difficult to decipher the difference between digital and real, which makes for an semi-interesting effect!

 

The sleek lines of these characters are well suited given that I had all of four inches to spare to place the four-letter title. I overlapped the letters to some degree because I didn't really care for the way they looked when spread apart. I tried to spell the title out with space between each of the letters and it ended up feeling "chunky" to me. This set-up has a more unified appearance and readily captures the attention of the viewer since it requires a second read. 

 

I'm going to leave you with this final image. I've had a tremendous amount of fun putting this together and will be looking forward to joining you once again in a couple of weeks! If you've a favorite color to share, I'd love to hear about it...mention it in the comment section below and you might possibly win a free collection kit (CHOICE)! Crate will announce the kit WINNER on Thursday! Good Luck and enjoy the day! ~ Christine Middlecamp

The CP Reader's Gallery

Good morning from Crate Paper (or whatever time of day it happens to be for you)! We're switching today's schedule to reflect this month's Reader's Gallery instead of the sketch challenge winner announcement since yesterday was a holiday. We thought it might be extra-convenient to give anyone participating in the challenge an extra day to work on his/her project since we're guessing that most of you were plenty busy over the weekend! That being said, we're way overdue for a presentation of your notable creations so we're playing catch-up today and providing a peek at some of them. We've also chosen a favorite (first in line!) that'll be rewarded with a collection kit of their choice - so take note, for those of you who submitted! And as always, if you've a project or two that you feel up to sharing, send them our way {[email protected]} - it might just show up here! Remember to provide a link to your blog if you have one... 

  

Homespun shabby chic meets country quilting with this gorgeous layout from Zoe Nemburt. We love the layout's background and not surprisingly, it was the first thing that caught our eye when we saw Zoe's layout. Congratulations Zoe - you're the winner of a CP collection kit! Email us with your info at [email protected]

 

Sharing with each other, that's what it's all about when it comes to these two, sweet lil' boys (look at their shirts!). Beneath the two of them are lots of layers of Crate Paper Toy Box intermixed with distressed fabric, hence "shirt". Love how Georgia Keays has connected the two elements!

 

Some of you might recognize these projects from their having been displayed at the Scrapbook Nook kit club website- Anna Sigga, a design team member on the SN team, sent us to them after she'd been given the opportunity to play with SN's March kit, which included lots of Emma's Shoppe goodies! Love that and the projects! 

 

Can we fix it? Oh YES we can! What a fabulous title! We anticipated that at some point, Toy Box would be translated into tool time since it's the ideal boy collection for demonstrating time spent between both papa & grandson. Heather Landry brought out some of Toy Boxes' tools too! And ironically, the ribbon is totally construction appropriate and fits in really well with the overall feel of Heather's layout! 

 

Photos beneath frames, and not just any frames, but Portrait's polaroid & film strip frames - we simply couldn't miss this detail as the photo series in the right lower corner popped out almost immediately at us! Julie Blanc, a design team member of the popular color blog, Color Room, sent us this layout and if you click on her name, you'll find another Crate Paper project on display at her blog! 

 

And lastly, these beautifully crafted cards came to us from talented card maker, Sarah Bargo. Sarah mentioned in her email that she loves our new journaling cards, and that because of this, she knew instantly that she had to use them as the connecting theme in her card collection. Another idea that we're happily fond of - journaling cards + card making = the perfect pair.

We wish all of you a great start to your week! And incase your wondering, our sketch challenge winner will be announced on Wednesday! And also, tomorrow, Christine Middlecamp will be joining us with another round of "Crate Inspires"..rumor has it, Beautiful Home is on the menu - should be another good one!

CP April Guest Designer :: Dawn Mcvey

Already a brand new guest designer is with us today {can you believe April is already half-way over?!} and we'd love for you to meet her if you haven't already. Her name is Dawn Mcvey - she's a recognizable face from the likes of Papertrey Ink and her popular blog and stamp line, Raspberry Suite! We asked if she would guest design for Crate Paper this month and sure enough, she said, "Yes! I'd love to!" We're so very thankful to have her here and we simply can't wait for you guys to see what she's created as part of today's guest designer presentation. She's brought some gorgeous cards to share and a whole host of coinciding tips/techniques for you to borrow and enjoy....

 

A Short Bio

Hi there! My name is Dawn McVey and I've been stamping and paper crafting for five or six years now. When I first started making cards, family and friends began asking to purchase them from me. One card led to another and eventually, in the fall of 2007, I started submitting my work to magazines for publication. Over the years, I've been published in many card making/paper crafting magazines and have even had a few cards that made it to magazine covers.

In July of 2008, I accepted a position on the Design Team for Papertrey Ink and in February of 2009, I became a Stamp Designer for Papertrey as well, launching my Raspberry Suite product line. I'm throroughly enjoying working with such a creative and innovative company. Not only that, but seeing products that I dreamed up in my mind come to life, has been a tremendous joy! Now, I so enjoy seeing others use those products to make their own gorgeous creations too!

God has also blessed me with a wonderful husband who encourages me to follow my dreams. We love traveling and spending as much time together as we can. It's a wonderful life and I'm so, so thankful. 

 

Ten Random Facts About Me

1. Years ago, I recorded a couple commercials for radio and tv including a jingle I sang for a car dealership! HaHa.

2. On average, I read a book a week, by reading while on the elliptical and while I eat lunch each day. Yes, I multi-task while working out. It's the only way I can entertain myself long enough to get the workout accomplished!

3. I have now traveled to more countries outside the US than states within the US. My husband and I figure that we'll get the long-distance travel done now, while we're young, and then we can travel the US any time after that.

4. I love, love, love old musicals like The Sound of Music, Singin' in the Rain, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, My Fair Lady and Hello Dolly. Just to name a few. ;) In fact, I love The Sound of Music so much that when we were in Austria on two different trips, we made a point to visit most of the sights from the movie.

5. I love salty snacks.

6. I've been singing at church since I was about five when the choir director of the church we attended at the time, let me stand on a chair in the choir loft and sing with my parents in the (adult) choir! :)

7. I love old Disney classic (live action) movies like Swiss Family Robinson, Pollyanna and Parent Trap. They just make me smile.

8. I'm not a fan of any kind of sweet sauces or sweet salad dressings on  my foods...unless, of course, we're talking about dessert! Then, bring on the sweets!

9. Before my husband came along, I hated coffee. Hated it! When we started daating though, he would fix me coffee with probably more chocolate in it than coffee (lol!) and eventually, I came to love it! Now, I have a coffee just about every day!

10. My crafty endeavors over the years have included things like latch hook rugs, seed bead bracelets, ceramic dolls, sweatshirt art (haha!) and even painted Christmas Ornaments! Let's just say that I'm much better at paper crafts! *wink*

 

 Introductions

I can't tell you how excited I am to be sharing some Crate Paper projects with you today! These newest lines that Crate has come out with are some of my favorites EVER so when Christine asked me if I'd like to be the April Guest Designer, I have her a resounding YES! I couldn't wait to get started and the day the box full of Crate Paper goodness showed up on my doorstep was a very happy day indeed! I didn't waste any time whipping up some projects to share with you, and have been anxiously waiting for this day to arrive, so I could finally share these projects with you! Let's get started, shall we?

"Happy Birthday Patterns" card

On this first card, I had so much fun piling on the layers! Using the strips of Crate's scrumptious patterned papers as the base of the design was so much fun, plus, I couldn't resist die-cutting a bit of that gorgeous woodgrain patterned paper with an edger die to get that extra little detailing on the right side of the card. The "Happy Birthday" sentiment was stamped on one of the Emma's Shoppe border stickers. Then, I die cut a chocolate colored doily and piled on all sorts of Emma's Shoppe goodies -- a chipboard accent, phrase sticker, die cuts and a button.

 

"Happy Birthday Flower" card

Next up is a cheery little number filled with more Emma's Shoppe goodness! A bit of patterned paper (that I LOVE!) was tucked behind an Emma's Shoppe die cut frame. I love how it served as the perfect home for some die cut cherries and some chipboard sticker flowers. A simple sentiment was stamped on the strip of the Play House (woodgrain) patterned paper and adhered over the top of the woodgrain, a teensy strip of the Fabric patterned paper. Tucked behind it all is a border sticker that created darling scallops, by simply leaving off the little numbers that come in the centers of the border stickers, and covering up half of the sticker with the patterned paper.

 

"Thanks" card

Next up, how about some Portrait lovelies? Oh, how the green patterned paper (Bridesmaids) on this card makes me smile! I simply love it! On this one, I began with a kraft card base and added the Bridesmaids paper as well as a strip of the gray pattern. Topping those, are a couple of border stickers that are overlapping to create a bit more dimension. Don't be afraid to just use portions of your die cuts and stickers, or to use them as is and layer them like I did here! You'll be able to get so much more mileage out of your supplies, by thinking outside the box a bit when using them. Next came the really fun part...creating the focal point. I chose to tuck a bit of kraft card stock behind on of the photo frame die cuts to create a mat for the flower to rest on. Stamped in the box on the bottom of the die cut is a pretty "thanks" sentiment and to accent the sentiment, I added one of the lovely little Portrait art brads. Tucked behind the frame is another chipboard sticker and the chipboard flower sticker wrapped things up.

 

"Three Flowers" card

This next card just goes to show that "simple" can be quite elegant and that you don't have to have a lot of products in order to create something beautiful. A few coordinated supplies can go a long way, to providing just what you need to whip up a card in no time! For this birthday card, I started out with another kraft card stock base and stamped a long birthday sentiment along the bottom of the card front. A bit of black patterned paper (June) was cut to the size I wanted, to serve as the anchor for the flowers, and the bottom left corner was rounded with a corner chomper. (Rounding corners now and then, is a simple way to add a bit more detail to your cards and scrapbook layouts without adding any more bulk to the project. It's all in the details, right?) Before I adhered the patterned paper to the card front, I added another of those pretty art brads to the paper. All that was left to do after adhering the patterned paper, was to add the delicious die cut flowers and the chipboard sticker flower! Easy peasy but still a bit elegant!

 

"Hey, Chickie" card

One more card for you today...another Emma's Shoppe treat because I just can't resist! For this one, I used more of that pretty pinky-red patterned paper that I love so much. Notice that I used that same rounded corners detailing on this one for added interest. A strip of Fabric patterned paper was added along the bottom of the card, leaving it sticking out on either side of the card front. A border sticker was added to the bottom of that and then I added a few other phrase stickers to the card, but not before I stamped a little "Hey, Chickie" sentiment to the little luggage tag. The pretty chipboard sticker was added as well as an Emma's Shoppe eclectic button that I threaded with a bit of twine.

I hope that you've enjoyed these cards today! Thank you so much for having me!! And of course, I'd like to say a huge "thank you" to the very generous folks at Crate Paper as well as to the super sweet Christine at Crate, for asking me to be this month's Guest Designer! It has been an absolute pleasure and I'm very much looking forward to sharing more Crate Projects with you soon! 

April Simply Crate w/ Michelle Lanning

Hi there! Michelle Lanning with you to share a simple and quick layout using the gorgeous Neighborhood collection. Simple isn't usually my style, but definitely one I still love. So, this turned out to be a fun challenge for me! In moving along, I'll walk you through the basic steps taken to create this super cute, easily doable layout. 

 

I first started with a photo that was not all that great, but it was a story I wanted to ensure had been documented. So, I played with it a bit in Photoshop and when I was happy with the result, I printed it on an 8" x 11" piece of photo paper. The three photos were printed as one {there of the same image - look closely!}. Since I had only the one photo, I thought that this kind of set-up would add a bit of whimsy and a unique touch.

 

I decided on Chores patterned paper as the base for the layout.

 

Next, I cut a 6" piece of Block Party patterned paper and placed it on center with the background. I then cut a cute, multi-color scallop strip from Crate's Picnic paper and adhered along the left edge of the patterned paper. 

 

I decided that the layout needed something to unify the two additions; pink ruffled ribbon! The easiest way to attach ribbon to a layout is with staples - skip the glue! 

 

I knew going in that I wanted to use the house from Crate's Home patterned paper. The house was a bit too tall though, so I trimmed it a smidge to make it fit on the layout. 

 

I set the house aside and adhered my photo collage so that it sat on both patterned papers. I then hand-trimmed three clouds from the same Home paper. These will sit at the top of the layout. 

 

I required an extra something that would help to ground the layout, so I chose a fabric piece from a Maya Road Mini Album. I folded the piece under and stapled it so that it'd stay in position. I dressed the fabric up with a helping of cute yellow twine.

 

On top the fabric is where I opted to place the "special" made house. I used 3-dimensional adhesive for a bit of pop! I decided to use the empty space just above the house for the title. Start at the top of the roof in placing your letters and then work your way down as I have done. If you're like me though, and suddenly change your mind as to the title's location, feel free to move the title just beneath the roof instead. It stands out more clearly in this location.

 

I finished the title off with both a petite butterfly chipboard accent and a pretty button.

 

In creating the journaling piece, I trimmed an Accent Cut to size as it was a bit too big to fit tuck beneath the layers of paper already in position.

 

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As I was finishing the layout, I realized that yellow could be found on various parts of my layout except in the area that sits above my photos. To further assist in leading the eye around the entire layout, I cut the sun from Crate's Home patterned paper and positioned it with a matching button on top the combination of my two clouds. The pretty button works wonderfully here - add twine to finish the look!

 And oh, I added the banner at the very last minute. I couldn't help it! I love them banners!! 

 

And here's the final layout - it's super simple and quick to create and is perfectly sweet! I do hope you love it ~ Thank-You for joining me in another round of Simply Crate!

Portrait Pattern Play w/Lori Gentile

Hello Crate Paper blog readers! This is Lori Gentile with you to share my favorite way to use Crate Paper patterned paper on layouts....

The Essentials: Portrait Patterned Paper {June, Bouquet, Honeymoon, Pearls}, Portrait Chipboard Accents, Portrait Alpha Labels, Portrait Border Stickers

One of the things I love most about Crate Paper is that their collections include both large and small patterned papers. I love the flexibility this allows, as I am able to use the small patterns as neutral backgrounds and the large patterns for layering and embellishing. Large patterns present themselves as die-cut opportunities and as a lover of texture this really appeals to my design sense. By using the larger patterns as die cuts, I was able to create some rich texture on this page.

When I first saw the Bouquet paper I knew I would be using it for a wedding page and that I would be cutting out each of the delicate flowers to do so. Start by cutting out several individual, big and small, flowers in all three luscious colors.

 

Cut out one flower from the Honeymoon paper. If you think you will be using this paper as a background paper with all four edges showing, don’t cut a flower from the edge as I did. Cut one from somewhere closer to the middle, so it can be covered up and hidden by a separate sheet of paper.

 

I adore edged papers like this! The first thing you should do is cut around all four edges so as to follow the paper's scallop border design. Don't worry about cutting it perfect because you'll be bending and curling the edges of the paper and this erases any cutting errors.

 

Once you have everything cut out, take some time and curl forward the edges of your trimmed items to get that wonderful texture as you can see in the images above.

 

I added some border stickers to each side of the background paper and then took some time to cluster both flowers and chipboard accents together on my page. I then used wet glue to adhere the die cut flowers by adding just a tiny drop of it to the center of each flower. It leaves the sides free to remain bending upwards.

 After you’ve adhered the side clusters in place, continue adding stickers to enhance the feel of the page along with some photos, a title and personalized journaling.

It doesn’t take long to cut out large patterns! Ultimately, the end effect is gorgeous, 3-dimensional texture! I hope you enjoyed seeing how I play with patterns!! I look forward to seeing you, again,next month.

April DIY w/Jenny Chesnick

 

Hi Crate Paper fans, Jen Chesnick here with you today with a new DIY project! Today we are going to play with the Portrait collection and with a little elbow grease and some spray paint we are going to turn this old worn out tray into something beautiful for the home. Let’s get started!

The Essentials: Portrait Collection Paper, Chipboard & Label Stickers. Antique Printers tray or something similar you can re-vamp with style. Misc ephemera from your stash; think of all those bits and bobs we all tend to have lying about. Extreme Tac tape adhesive, Craft Glue & U-cut foam. Chisel, Dremel power tool , spray paint, sand paper & wood glue (Actual Tools!)

 

To start, I enlisted my husband to bear the brunt of most of the elbow grease for me while I played photographer. This was a fun way to get him involved in one of my many projects without him feeling silly! He loved using his power tools on this one and was such a great sport. Now you don’t need help to do any of the “fixing” of the tray as everything can easily be done by one person, alone. Just don’t tell him that, ok?

 

We started with a chisel to remove damaged pieces from the tray. The wood was soft and worn so it was really easy to cut out the rough spots. We also used our Dremel to sand down the edges against the remaining wood. If you don’t own one of these tools I highly recommend one for crafting or other DYI projects.

 

Cutting out the damaged pieces also left open more space for photos. Since most the pieces came together to create 1x4 rectangles, there really wasn't a whole lot of space “inside” the tray to place items. So, after we finished removing the damaged spots, we left them open and used wood glue to fill in the empty notches to ensure the remaining pieces were secure.

 

Now that the hard part is over, we moved outdoors to spray-paint our tray. Again I enlisted my husband for the task at hand! In the pic above you can see how all the squares have turned out pre-paint.

 

We used satin indoor spray paint on the tray. Now you certainly should prime your piece beforehand if it is older wood with stain similar to this and you'll want solid coverage. I wanted my tray to still have a shabby vintage feel to match the vintage vibe of Portrait, so I chose not to prime my tray. It's time to paint the tray! Be sure to give it a nice even coat of paint! Less is more when it comes to spray paint. You can always go back and do another coat.

 

Once you are done with painting I recommend letting your piece air dry outside for a least a few hours. Not only will you get a nice finish, the fumes will die down as well. In the photos below you can see how the paint turned out. I used a small piece of sandpaper to “knock down” the edges a bit to make it feel a bit more worn. I wasn’t too concerned with the coverage of paint on the inside of the tray since it was going to be covered with paper anyway.

 

 Now for my part and no, my husband did not have anything to do with the decorating of the project outside of saying “That’s so busy! No don’t put that there, put it here” true story. 

 

Let’s take a closer look at some of my favorite squares. I loved adding these metal tags to the “outside”of the tray. It gives it a nice 3D feel and it’s just another area to decorate. I used chipboard and label stickers to embellish the tag. I used a very high tac craft glue along with U-Cut foam to secure the tag to the tray.

 

For some more 3D embellishing, I layered chipboard florals from Portrait along with these coordinating flowers. I punched out some butterflies to just give it another added touch.

 

Another metal tag layered heavily and more flowers adds another cluster of dimension underneath my two “snapshots”.

 

Of course, this project cannot be finished without the wedding date! Using my circle punch, I punched out the center of the label sticker to create a spot for it. I fanned out the alphabet stickers to give it a more rounded appearance.

 

See the film strips? Don’t they just add an extra level of awesome-ness? They match Portrait so perfectly! To get them to stay rolled, I simply rolled them up and using a stapler, I attached them together. Using craft glue, I secured them to the back of the tray.

Well there you have it Crate Fans! I hope you enjoyed my little DIY project. I do hope to see "your own version" soon!