Crate Paper

Crate Everyday Challenge - Winner!

Hello again! I'm happy to annouce the winner of our Crate Everyday challenge today! Thank you to everyone who sent us your layouts during this extra busy week and weekend! It really was a very thankful week for all.

Our winner of the November Everyday challenge is: Maria Muñoz! 

 

 

 

I loved her simple layout, the light blues of the Peppermint Collection and the sweet little photo. So many of us are thankful for our little ones and Maria's layout captured that perfectly! Congrats Maria! 

I also wanted to share this fun and bright layout from Kate Vickers. I think the Farmhouse was a perfect choice for the challenge this month! 

 

 

Thank you again for all of your lovely projects this month and please join us next month for a new Color Challenge! 

Happy creating ~ Tara

Crate Paper Product 5 Ways :: Geralyn Sy

 

 

Hi everyone! Geralyn here today, sharing some fun ideas for using the Crate Alpha Labels Sticker Sheets! The sheets are so awesome and are such great value because they come with an assortment of labels and two different alphas. With the holidays quickly approaching, I decided to create some holiday tags as examples to show you a few different ways to use the alpha labels stickers.

 

The first example is quite obvious; these stickers are perfect for titles! The alphas are cool because there is one big font and one small font on each sticker sheet, so they already coordinate and are super easy to mix together. On this tag, I mixed the two alphas from the Peppermint alpha labels sheet.

 

These alphas are also great for masking a title. I really liked the alphas from the Farmhouse alpha label sheet, but I didn’t want to use a brown color. So I lightly stuck the alphas onto my tag, and then sprayed my tag with some pink spray mist. Once the mist on the tag was dry, I carefully peeled off the alpha stickers. Another thing that’s awesome about these alpha stickers is their slick surface, so they don’t absorb the mist. I just used a tissue to wipe the mist off the stickers, then put them back on the sticker sheet to reuse in the future.

 

When you’re down to a couple of letters and numbers, you can also use these leftovers to create a random background. Here, I took my leftover alphas and numbers and lightly stuck them on my tag, tilting them and letting them overlap. Once I was satisfied with how the tag looked overall, I misted it a couple of times with some spray mist and peeled off the stickers. Then I misted the tag once more so that the masked background would be more subtle.

 

Another simple way to use the alpha labels stickers is to create either a horizontal or vertical numeric border by overlapping the number stickers a little bit when sticking them on your project. I overlapped the Peppermint number stickers here to create a little holiday tag that’s perfect for writing a wishlist to Santa :)

 

The little label stickers on the alpha labels sticker sheet are also awesome for creating little tabs for a mini book. They are just the perfect size and look so cute peeking out from the sides of the book. Imade a little holiday planner mini by using a book ring to hold together some shipping tags, then I chose some labels from the Peppermint and Farmhouse alpha labels sheets to use as tabs. Now I can use this book to keep track of the things I have to do for the holidays.

So there you go, a couple of fun and different ways to use the fabulous alpha labels stickers! Thanks for stopping by the Crate Paper blog. I hope you have a wonderful day!

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And we don't want to forget our Midnight Rooster Winner, which we promised to announce today! Don't forget, there are two winners - one here, and the other at Midnight Rooster's blog! Congratulations to....

OOO GREAT combo! Crate and Midnight Rooster? AWESOME! My favorite piece from this collection is "Exposure"- yo can do so much with that frame!!! It's lovely. I LOVE the blue jean alphas as well- that was a genius touch! Posted by: Michelle | November 22, 2011 at 10:53 AM

 We're super excited for you, Michelle!! Congrats!! Please forward your info to cpblog@cratepaper.com - and thanks to all that commented about their favorite Crate Paper pattern paper! Our woodgrains are a huge hit amongst you guys..great to know! The feedback is tremendously appreciated! 

Crate Paper Guest Designer :: Anabelle O'Malley

About Anabelle O'Malley...

My name is Anabelle O’Malley and I’m thrilled to be Guest Designing for Crate Paper. I have been a paper crafter for the past seven years. It’s truly my creative outlet! I’m an equal opportunity scrapper and love cards, layouts and mini-albums.

I live in Delaware with my husband and our 8 year old son, Ryan, who is usually the focus of my pages. I love making memories and preserving them for him. We also have a rambunctious kitty named Pulu who has been finding his way into my work, as well.

Currently, I am designing for Webster’s Pages and Emma’s Paperie. I was a Memory Maker’s Master and my work has also appeared in other magazines including Paper Crafts, Cards, Scrapbook Trends and Creating Keepsakes.

During the day, I work for the University of Delaware. I work with early childhood programs and help them improve the quality of their services. I love being in the classrooms with the little ones! Before Ryan was born, I taught elementary school for sixteen years.

When I’m not working, scrapping or running Ryan around to his many activities, I can usually be found hanging out with my family, cooking, visiting the gym, chatting on the phone with girlfriends or spending way too much time on Pinterest.

 

Ten Random Facts...

White tulips are my absolute favorite flowers.

Salt + Caramel = Pure Heaven (with Red Velvet following close behind)

On our first date, my husband asked me to go to Cancun with him.

I cook with quinoa at least once a week.

I HATE unloading the dishwasher.

A good margarita can cure all ills.

I believe in angels.

Maui is my favorite place on earth.

It drives me crazy when drawers and closet doors are left slightly opened, rather than shut all the way.

Being a mother has been the biggest joy of my life.

 

On Santa's Lap...

Each year my sister in law hosts a big Christmas Eve party. The highlight of the evening for the kids is Santa's arrival! Ryan is always a bit nervous, but usually gets over it once he opens his gift! I love using little bits and baubles of chipboard and added lots of it to this page. The hanging stockings are my favorites! Little bits of string are something else I love to add. I placed a piece on here. 

 

Local...

I've wanted to do a page about my local farmer's market for a while. The Farmhouse line was perfect for it! I used a lot of stickers here. I cut a border sticker in half and added it to the yellow mat behind my photos. I adhered a circle sticker to a pinwheel and created my title with this as the focus. Two layered journaling spots created a great cluster and great space for me to write about my trips to the farmer's market. And more border stickers add color to the bottom and top of my page. Finally, I punched a border on the right side to add even more to the design. 

 

Happy Campers...

I'm so in love with hexagons and chevrons right now. So, I decided to use both on this page. I recently bought a zig zag punch and it got a good work out as I created this layout. First, I punched strips from lots of my favorite Random papers. I adhered them to another piece of paper until I had a border that was about 4" inches thick. Using a hexagon pattern shape, I traced onto the zig zag border and cut them out. I matted them onto black cardstock to make the colors pop and stitched the edges. Since I wanted the hexagons to be the focus of the page, I adhered them to the center of the chevron paper (my absolute favorite from the line). Finally, I added some chipboard and stickers to finish things off.

 

Ho Ho Ho Card...

The little Santa chipboard piece from the Peppermint line is so cute. I decided to make him the star of the card! I created the little banner flags and added letter stickers to them. I adhered them with foam adhesive to give them some added dimension. Stickers and some jewels were also added to embellish the card.

 

Laugh Card...

I just adore the colors of the Random collection! This card highlights them all! I often turn to the journaling cards when making my cards and I used the butterfly one here. I added some chipboard, a pinwheel flower, trim and some stickers as embellishments. I love adding lots of layers to my cards. Often, people will ask how I mail my cards. What I usually do is place them into a padded mailing envelope and send them that way. Or, if they are being hand delivered, I sometimes wrap them in tissue paper and tie them with twine. 

 

Apple Orchard Tradition Mini Album...

Every year, since Ryan was born, my sister in law, Patty, and I have taken him to the local orchard during the Fall. It is definitely one of my favorite traditions of the year. We went on a beautiful, crisp, Autumn Saturday this year and I got tons of photos. I decided to create this mini album to showcase them. 

I love layering chipboard and stickers. I did this for the cover. I adore the multi-colored banner sticker and had to use it on here! I added it using foam adhesive to give it some texture. One that that I like to do when I create mini albums is to have pages that hold extra photos. In this book, I did so by cutting a large rectangle of paper and folding down one corner in the front. I adhered it with a brad and stitched along the bottom to create the pocket. Two pocket pages were added to my book and they hold all of my extra pictures. I alternated decorated photo pages with pages using the journaling cards so I could write about our special day. 

Anabelle, you've really gone above and beyond the call of duty with the submission of so many beautiful creations! Crate Paper would kindly like to thank-you for finding and displaying each of our collections through-out each one, and giving our readers an amazing presentation of projects to start off the week following the busy holiday weekend! It's truly an honor to have you with us! Thank-you again!

a simple note ~

 

We'd like to wish you and your family a very special Thanksgiving today! 

 

 

From all of us here at Crate Paper, Happy Thanksgiving! 

It's a "Simply Crate" day, but before moving ahead, we've a couple of WINNERS to announce from last week's Thursday and Friday post! And as is always our policy, the selection process is entirely random - here are the two magnificent winners! 

Rahel's Christmas Album Class Ticket

I have a separate Christmas album for our holiday photos. Each year I add about 6 pages to it. It's so much fun to see the changes with just the turn of a couple of pages. :) I am attempting a December Daily this year and would love to win a spot in this class! :) Posted by: ruth tacoma | November 17, 2011 at 10:02 AM

  Crate Paper's Random Collection Kit

The talent and creativity of the CP Girls is totally amazing! I appreciate you all sharing your talent here on the blog! Posted by: Melinda Wilson | November 18, 2011 at 06:37 PM

 Ruth & Melinda, congrats to the both of you! Please forward your information to cpblog@cratepaper.com so that you're prizes may be awarded! Do Enjoy!

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Hello, Erin here for this month’s "Simply Crate". I want to show you how to make an easy, and fun page from the Random Collection with the help of a few circle shaped punches.

The Random Collection's color palette works well with our 4 year anniversary photos. To create the layout, I used Random's patterned papers, chipboard accents, stickers, and brads. I also used Mister Huey mist, a two inch circle punch, a one-in-a-half inch circle punch, and a small sized hole punch.

My style can be described as simple; without the extra layers. That said, I believe simple can be more stunning than some of the fussier layouts out there. It doesn't really take a whole lot to produce a simple layout either - the key is establishing a design prior to getting started using as few elements as possible. Also, it's important to chose a neutral background paper to go with the design. For today's layout, I used Random's Vintage patterned paper, which is a great neutral!

To add the four to the page, I used my Silhouette machine to create a "mask". Honestly, you can use any shape to create a mask, so get creative and see what you come up with! I then misted the page while holding the mist about a foot away from the page's surface. Amazingly, the mist gives depth the layout without much effort!

 

Beneath two of Random's polaroid blue frames, I added my anniversary photos to the layout. Tilt and arrange them to your liking...don't be afraid to overlap the chipboard if need be.

 

From Random's pattern paper collection, punch three 2" inch circles, two 1.5" circles, and adhere them along the right side of the layout in a sporadic fashion. Note that the top-most circle was trimmed to fit the page as it overlaps the top edge a little. I also added a small chipboard piece to one of the circles.

To the left of the photos, I added a small piece of paper trimmed into a banner shape - it coincides with a small neighboring "I Love You" chipboard accent.

 

With my leftover Crate Paper scraps, I punched tiny circles and sprinkled them across the page. Yes, each one is adhered individually! While it might seem time consuming to do so, it's not as bad as one would think! the confetti look it totally worth the effort! And honestly, what better way to create the celebratory feel than with confetti?!

 

Finally, I positioned a small label sticker for journaling and just to the right of my photos, a quick border sticker. 

 

And ta-da, a stunning page entirely finished within a few short moments! If you've an idea to share as to a clever, easy means of using your treasured circle punches, leave a comment for us! Thanks everyone for stopping by during this busy week - I'll see you again shortly!

Special Guest :: Midnight Rooster

Crate Paper is giving full reigns of it's blog to one of it's supporting retailers, Midnight Rooster, in celebration of a new kit that recently debuted on their website titled "A Random Story". We received word that the new kit entails almost the entirety of Crate's Random Collection, and if you're still one of the few without it, this might be the opportunity you've been waiting for 'cause this post coincides with not just one, but two kit giveaways! For full details, and a view of the kit, upclose and personal, continue on below!

 

 

 

Hello Crate Lovers! We over here at Midnight Rooster are thrilled to be visiting the Crate Blog this month! We have a super delicious kit featuring lots of Crate goodies and of course, some handmade touches as well. It's titled "A Random Story" and we welcome you to take a peek!

Because we love our fans so much, we're giving you TWO chances to win this awesome kit! Leave a comment telling us your favorite piece of Crate patterned paper here on the Crate blog, and also over at the Midnight Rooster blog. Winners will be selected on Tuesday, November 29th - one will be announced here and the other, at our blog. *Please have your comments written and submitted by November 28th, 8:00pm Standard Central Time to ensure participation in the special giveaway. 

Our Designers have created some beautiful projects with the kit. If you'd like to see more of them, visit our very own flickr gallery!

Thank-you so much Crate Paper for letting us hang out with you for a few days! We are always excited to use your products in our kits and they will turn up many times in the next few months!!

Have a super week, everyone & Happy Thanksgiving to those in the US!

*Hugs, The Midnight Rooster Team*

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** Our Two Giveaway winners from last week (Rahel's Christmas Album Class Ticket & Random Collection Kit) are to be announced tomorrow, which means you've an extra day to jump in and leave your comments if you haven't already! Good Luck Everyone!

Crate Everyday Challenge

 

 

Hello to you all and happy Monday everyone! It's Tara here today to post the second challenge of the month: Crate Everyday! As you may remember, Crate Everyday will focus on recording those everyday moments and making the ordinary a little more fun!

{Once a month a new prompt will be posted, just a simple word or an idea that will pertain to your everyday. You'll be free to interpret each prompt however you choose. Remember this challenge is about celebrating the everyday!}

With the month of November quickly coming to a close, I thought it would be fun to base this month's challenge prompt on the word: Thank you

 "Who would you like to say thank-you to?" 

 

Just a few guide-lines for the challenge before we start:

 - You may submit a layout, mini album or project to be eligible. Projects need to be submitted by midnight (EST) November 28th. Please email your work to: cpblog@cratepaper.com

- Projects must use at least 75% Crate Paper: you may mix any paper lines you like, old and new.

 

- The winner will be announced on November 30th and I'll share some of my favorite projects here on the blog.

-The winner of this challenge will be selected based on creativity and quality of work.

 

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I could have picked many people to say thank-you to but my little guy, Chase, makes me thankful everyday. Chase is my last baby and he's blessed me with not being quite as independent as toddlers tend to be. Funny, you can't wait for them to get to that next stage and start growing up but Chase likes to take his time with everything. It's it turn allowed me to enjoy the mommy/toddler relationship longer and for that I'm so truly grateful!

 

 

As scrapbookers we are story tellers, picture takers, memory recorders but above all: artists and everyday is a new story to be told! How are you going to tell yours this month?

Happy Creating! ~ Tara 

 

CP Girls Designer Showcase

We're so overdue for a good CP Gal Design Team feature! We thought it an absolute must to dedicate the weekend to them and all the fabulous work they do for us! For the last couple of months, they've submitted project upon project - some of them you may have already seen while at popular online destinations like Two Peas, Studio Calico, Scrapbook.com and of course, at your favorite CP designer blogs. Well, we're going to repeat the love and shine the spotlight on those projects once again - a half dozen in all! And to increase the buzz a bit, we're going to do a GIVEAWAY as well! How about a chance at a Random collection kit? Are you up for it? If so, leave sweet words for the CP Girls - we'll pick our winner next Tuesday, November 22nd! Good Luck!

 

Speaking of Random, how about this gorgeous layout from Stephanie Dagan? Her photography is sensational, isn't it? We're always amazed as to how beautiful not only her work is, but her images, too. Crisp & Clear + a perfect combination of Crate Paper Prettiness.

 

We're love'en the popular trend of "Pink" right now! These last couple of releases, you might have noticed an increase usage of "Pink" in our collections - it's because Lisa is a huge fan of the hue!! She's constantly reinventing new ways to incorporate the pretty hue into her designs. And check out what Erin Stewart has done with all that pink-ness! Pinwheel heaven! 

 

More Randomness and pink, Amy Heller gives way to a parade of lovely details. Note the cute pockets she made from Crate Paper's "Denim" pattern paper!

 

Michiko does the most wonderful things with Crate Paper's chipboard elements. Always managing to create a sort of "mini scene" from them that's always too cute for words!! Check out her tea cup arrangment - definitely a'brewing! 

 

These kitties are just adorable, aren't they?! Our CP Gal, Rahel Manig, has captured this lil' guy's lively spirit perfectly with her lens - to match it, she's thrown in snippets of our holiday collection, Peppermint, and just enough to fool us into thinking it's not so holiday-ish after all! And wouldn't you know it, she's used Pink! 

 

It's been a while since we've had a chance to feature one of Kaori's intricate layouts - she's taken our Farmhouse rulers every which way and incorporated "bubbles" in and around them. it's a quirky, fun mix that is undeniably "Kaori". 

Lets conclude it here and call it a day! Don't forget, before departing, to leave a few words in response to the projects shown. Next Tuesday, we'll pass along some random-ness to one lucky winner! Have a great weekend! 

Studio Bluemoon Classes + CP Designer :: Rahel Menig

One of our very own Crate Paper designers, Rahel Menig, is hosting a Christmas Book online class at Studio Bluemoon. Upon finding out about it, we kindly invited her to host a "Class Pass" giveaway on the Crate blog! All the details are published below - be prepared, there is 70 minutes of video coverage to go along with this holiday inspired class. Imagine that - a glass of yummy hot chocolate and seventy minutes of straight scrapbooking!

 

The Christmas Book

Christmas is just around the corner and we are getting ready for the festivities, writing down ideas, wish lists, recipes and more. I personally have lots and lots of little papers and sticky notes sitting around during this busy time - half of them get lost in the chaos...I end up getting frustrated and of course, that is not the goal of the season!!

The December Dailies or Christmas Journals that I commit myself to each year don't get filled (other then the first three or four days) and once Christmas Eve has passed, I regret not having captured more memories...

This made me think. I brainstormed for a good resolution and then it hit me! I don't want a journal that makes me feel I need to do something every single day, I need something entirely different. I want to prepare a book before Christmas and then I want to enjoy and capture the season with my camera and maybe a few journal posts. That's it! No pressure to create a page every single day, but the fun and joy that this season brings to us.

So, this class is not going to make your already busy life even busier, but it will help you organize, enjoy and capture the most wonderful time of the year in a simple way.

My hope is for you to be able to let go of the idea of committing yourself to a December Daily to be able to capture your life during Christmas. I want you to step out of the box and explore a new system that will help you to relax and enjoy the season with your family and friends. 

 

 

The Class Giveaway

We're giving away a Class Pass to one lucky winner! To be included, leave a comment telling us how you usually preserve your Christmas Memories. We'll draw a winner on Tuesday, November 20th, 2011. All entries must be submitted/recorded by November 19th, 2011 (8:00pm Central Standard Time). Good Luck!

And to find out more about Studio Bluemoon's online class selection, visit their website at www.studiobluemoononline.com

   

November Color Challenge Winner!

 

Hello everyone! It's Tara here this morning to announce the winner of our Color Challenge for November! Thank you to everyone who submitted their wonderful cards and layouts this past week. I always enjoy seeing how each person sees the color combination a little differently than the next! 

I'm very happy to announce that the winner of this month's challenge is: Katherine Sutton!  We chose Katherine's layout not only because she was able to incorporate so many of the challenge colors into her layout but also for the clever idea of creating a fold out card that included extra photos! 

 

 

Congrats Katherine!

 

We also came across a few more layouts that we wanted to share with you! Our first layout is from Jeanette Lee. I loved the mix of paper and embellishments from the Random collection and I always think it's a fun idea to use scrapbooking as the actual topic!  

 

 

Our second layout was sent to us by Tina Walker. Tina found a wonderful way to re-use Crate Paper's packaging as the photo mat to her lovely winter photo!  Quite clever! 

 

 

Our final layout is from Amber Engelhardt! Amber's layout is simply lovely and I loved how eye-catching the punched hearts are against a white background. 

 

Thank you everyone again for contributing to the Color Challenge this month! Join me next month for a very holiday inspired color combination! 

Happy Creating ~ Tara