Crate Paper

Crate Paper :: End of Summer/Fall 2012 Primer

Crate Designer: Christine Middlecamp

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Hello Crate Paper Fans, this is Christine Middlecamp, CP Design Team Coordinator, leading the way in sharing with you a bi-yearly Crate Paper update. As you very well know, we pride ourselves on bringing you a fabulous team of designers, product information, and technique incentives here at the Crate blog. We spend a great deal of time thinking of how to improve each one on a regular basis so that not a day goes by that we're without your company and that you sincerely continue to love our collections. It's with a tremendous effort that we strive to satisfy your daily cravings for all things scrapbook related! That said, I have some small updates to share with you, including news of recent DT changes that you may have already noticed....or, not noticed. Also, the blog is taking on a couple of new features that we feel confident you're going to enjoy to the fullest! Read on to find out more!

Every six months, the Crate Paper Design Team undergoes a major transformation. Just this past month, the team expanded from twelve designers, to seventeen designers, which is the biggest leap we've ever taken in a single design team term. The increase in members translates into more inspiration, from every corner of the world, and from designers you readily know and recognize. We can barely wait to see what they create from Crate's latest collection release. Please check out their blogs when you've time - links to the left. 

With the expanding design team, Crate Paper is exploring new content to debut on it's blog. Starting in August, alongside our usual general tutorials, will be a series of specialized features dedicated exclusively to subject matter that is in-vogue with up-to-the-minute trends and areas of scrapbooking that interest you most. Also, CP's Creative Weekly will be ongoing, but this time around, we're going to ask for your involvement and post your entries along side our designer's contributions. More about that in the near future. Lastly, Pinterest seems to be gaining more and more steam by the day! Crate Paper, of course, has it's own Pinterest boards. Our dt team members add to them frequently as they go about searching for your Crate Paper creations at popular sites like Two Peas and Scrapbook.com - to keep pace with their pins, we're hosting TWO "CP Spotted" posts a month. We pick our fave spotted projects and give one lucky pin a prize! So, if you haven't already, upload your Crate projects to the world wide web - we might just 'spot' ya! 

 If you're one of our Color Challenge followers, good news, Tara Anderson is creating new color combinations via her gorgeous clothe line displays for the upcoming months. As is tradition, a new combination is live and ready for viewing the first Friday of each month. "It's a Wrap", Tara's pretty packaging post, is 'sticking' around as well! :) 

I've given you the scoop, now it's your turn to tell "us" what you'd love to see at the Crate Paper blog..or maybe you've a collection suggestion, or ideas for the design team. Whatever the case, leave a comment. You're feedback is highly valued by all of us here at Crate Paper and American Crafts. We'll select and announce two of you to take home a collection kit of your choice (Acorn Avenue or On Trend) this Thursday, August 2nd, 2012. 

Thank-you for stopping by to catch up with this latest bit of news! Again, tell us what you think! Have a wonderful Monday!

CP Creative Weekly :: The Last of the Cake Sprinkles

 

 

Photo Credit: Martha Stewart

 With Friday upon us, it's the end of Crate Paper's "Sprinkle-Fest" event! We're all candied out here, and getting ready for next month's Creative Weekly! There is one more final presentation of projects, three layouts, each lending it's own unique perspective and prettiness to the subject at hand. Please, feel free to pin them, as we love it when Crate's DT projects show up over there. Help us spread the sweetness that is Crate Paper! Have a fabulous weekend!

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Michiko Kato

When I saw the inspiration photo, it conjured up images of my daughter. She loves cake, and when nibbling on it, she usually has a big smile on her face. So, in regards to this week's theme, I used a photo of my daughter smiling and with it, an abundance of sweet, bright colors. And just like the spreading of chocolate on top a dessert, I misted a sprinkling of different colored mists, too. Why go with only one, when there's so many to pick from these days? I love how the layout turned out - to me, it feels extra-girly!

 

Sophie Crespy

When I think about sprinkles, I think about a party's inviting atmosphere, and the happiness is generates amongst it's attendees. Sprinkles also remind me of confetti, the kind that is thrown in the air at parties, or tucked inside invitations. As these two thoughts came to mind, I created a little confetti pocket from vellum paper and stitching. Inside the pocket is confetti, punched from matching patterned paper. On the other side of the layout, I used colored mist around the brads and stickers spread though out, and the page's title. I love that the Crate Paper collections work so well together. Here, I used a mixture of Emma's Shoppe, Random and Pretty Party. 

 

Teka Cochonneau

When I heard this week's theme was to be sprinkles, I automatically knew I wanted to play with confetti! I couldn't think of a better thing to document than our recent trip to a local frozen yogurt stand with so many options of things to sprinkle on as toppings. For making this layout, I grabbed my hole puncher and mod podge, and went to town with both! It turned out to be such a fun process!! 

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Crate Paper Product 5 Ways :: Charlene Cundy

 

 

Before beginning today's post, Crate Paper would like to take this moment to "pay tribute" to it's Winter/Summer 2012 Design Team. They've been an immense support and resource to us in bringing forth beautifully constructed projects for all to admire and enjoy at the Crate Paper blog. We're deeply grateful for their incredible talent and insight! We know that this place wouldn't be nearly as inspiring if it weren't for our amazing CP Girls! Thank-you ladies, truly. 

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 Hi! Welcome to Crate Paper Five Ways! Today is all about showing you various ways to use Crate's wonderfully fun brads!! Brads come in LOTS of different shapes, textures, and colors. Brads are one of those great embellishments that are functional, as well as decorative. You can use brads to attach ribbons, to punctuate photo corners, as bullets for journaling, dots on a page, or to secure layers of paper together. This works really well if attaching a transparent decorative layer to a background paper, or adding vellum to a page or card. You can also use them to cover the top hole of a tag - these are just a few of my favorite ways to use them! 

Attaching Handles

For my 1st project, I used Crate's sweet new line, "Little Boy Blue". Using brads is a quick, easy way to add a little something extra to any project! I used brads to attach the handles' to this fun little basket that's perfect for a baby gift anytime! 

 

Glitter Them Up!

For this card, I used Crate's Story Teller line and experimented ith several mediums to add glitter. In the end, Ranger's gel medium turned out to be the ideal option! It dries clear and is a really great adhesive for solid, stay-put glitter application. It's super easy, too - just brush a small amount of gel onto the bard and sprinkle on the glitter! Let it dry - the glitter should stay put! 

 

Use as Part of a Title

For this card, I used a brad to finish off my title. It's totally unexpected, too!

 

Hang it Up!

Instead of gluing ribbon to your next project, why not use brands to hang your projects with? They'll add a nice decorative touch and be functional as well! I made this wall hanging for my daughter's room - she loves Crate's Pretty Party!

 

Close Them Up!

Another great use of brads is to use them to enclose envelopes and folders. Just add one to the top, and one to the bottom - tie with twine! 

For as long as I can remember, Crate Paper has always included a small collection of brads with each new release. You simply can't go wrong with them! They're possibilities are infinite! Have a brad idea? Share it with us if you feel up to it. We'd love to hear about it!

CP Creative Weekly :: Cake Sprinkles

 

 

Photo Credit: Sprinkle Bakes blog

There must be something about "Sprinkles" that people can't resist. Creative Weekly has brought out the sweet tooth in all who've visited our blog this week. We think it's a fun, Summer appropriate theme, though we hear that it's causing quite the stir in the dessert department. It's been suggested we wait 'til noon to update, that way, one's inkling for cake can be quickly remedied. It's amazing, the affect of them lil' sprinkles. Who would of thought that something so small could inspire an early lunch, or a super adorable layout? Speaking of which, here are two more Creative Weekly projects from our CP Girls to enjoy...

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Sasha Farina

What do you think about sprinkles? Well, I think they're one of the happiest "things" in this world. What can go wrong when you have sprinkles, really? My girls and I, we can spend hours in the baking supply shop, admiring and choosing which to bring home. Not an easy task! :)

In this layout, I took out my alphabet punch to make some 'sprinkles' from Farmhouse's "Apple Pie" patterned paper. Being me, I can't scatter them around, that's just how my brain works, so I stitched a heart to contain them all. Works perfect, since I wanted my sprinkles to take center stage.

I finished the rest of the layout with a wooden frame from Little Boy Blue collection, and a few label stickers from Story Teller. The lullaby glittered thickers somehow matches my background paper from the Random collection (one of our all time faves!!) and that makes me soooo happy! 

I had fun playing with lots of older collections to create this new layout! I hope to see your's, soon!

 

Kaori Watanabe

The theme of sprinkles made me think of a wonderful day I'd spent at at a local cafe amongst the forest. I sat there soaking up the warm Summer sun, beautiful scenery and the gentle sway of subtle background music. It was a very happy time for me, and I took great advantage of it.

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CP Creative Weekly :: Cake Sprinkles

 

 

Sometimes, the best kept secrets are those found behind glass at one's local boutique bakery. Row after row of pastries, cakes, cookies, and more, all dashed with a hint of SPRINKLE. This month's CP Creative Weekly is about them candy colored, irresistible sprinkles. Their itty-bitty-ness is the main source of inspiration for the layouts and cards our designers created for you this week. So, grab yourself something SWEET, prep your Pinterest button, and consume to your heart's delight!

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Megan Klauer

When I saw this month's theme, our trip to Sprinkles Cupcakes in Chicago came to mind right away! I used a combination of the new "On Trend" and "Acorn Avenue" papers to punch different sized circles and sprinkled them down the center of my page. I wanted the pink to pop as much as possible, so I used a larger perforated edged circle to punch from the On Trend "Haute" paper. This also mimicked their signage from the store front. 

 

Ashley Newell

I was inspired by the cake sprinkles concept and immediately went for one of my favorite Crate Paper products - chipboard stickers! I was so happy to find a cute cupcake that I could embellish with some glass glitter to simulate sprinkles. Not only can this card be given to celebrate a birthday, but also for any occasion to send along with some cupcakes as a gift! What are you waiting for? Sprinkle some creativity with Crate Paper in your life today!

CP Creative Weekly :: Cake Sprinkles

 

 

Photo Credit: SweetPolita

Every party has at least one delicious cake for the tasting, and when handed a slice, barely are we able to take just one bite. When we spotted this cake over at Pinterest, with it's buttery sweet, pink frosting and itty bitty sprinklers, this week's Creative Weekly theme was a given! How could we seriously resist the cuteness of sprinkles? This week's theme entitles you to one slice of yummy cake with a side of color-ific confetti..and a round of Crate Paper sprinkle-inspired creations! 

 

Naomi Atkins

My girls just LOVE sprinkles. My local market has a TON of colors to choose from, and what's not to love? This led to a few pictures of my girls with their ice cream cones and sprinkles, which led them to a "sprinkle fight" and they were everywhere! I wanted to convey that feeling on my page, and compare the love of having a sister as a best friend to the love of always having sprinkles on your ice cream. I punched them with my confetti punch, scattered them in different places, covering the areas with glue and glitter, and the confetti. It was a lot of fun!

 

Anabelle O'Malley

The sprinkles theme immediately made me think of birthday celebrations. So, I decided to document my past birthday with this latest layout! I used Little Bo Peep papers, tags and brads (they're not just for babies!), along with a couple of chipboard pieces from the Pretty Party collection. Also, I immediately thought of making confetti-"sprinkles" for my page! I've been saving some mailing envelopes so I could use the cellophane windows and they worked perfectly on here to hold my paper sprinkles in place! I also embellished the confetti pockets with tags and chipboard alphas - clever, eh? 

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We're going to continue with this theme the remainder of the week, and if you've something to say about it, or add, the comment area is just below. There's plenty of space, so jot down a word or two! Take care!

Multiple CP Winners Announced...

Last week brought with it a great number of Crate Paper giveaways, more so than any other CHA event prior. Today, we're focusing our efforts on disclosing the lucky giveaway winners, SIX in total! The very first is from the "Crate Paper Booth" photo contest. We put out a call for CP booth images from those of you on the showroom floor, and asked that they be emailed to us for a chance at winning a FULL collection (choice!). The image above is but one photo we'd received, and it's capturer is Emily Spahn! Congratulations Emily!! Tell us which brand new CP collection you'd like to own, and email your info to cpblog@cratepaper.com. Talk about a phenominal way to start the week, we're so happy for you, Emily!

 In moving forward, below are the rest of the randomly chosen winners from last week's activities. Take a look and if your name and personal comment is listed, email your info to cpblog@cratepaper.com - your collection kit awaits!  Congrats to the following individuals...

My favorite color palette for the holiday season is teal, red, pink, yellow, & grey. I can't get enough of those colors. Posted by: KatieG | July 18, 2012 at 07:08 AM

 

I'm really LOVING the tape stickers, flags, and brads and buttons!!! That was a hard choice, because I LOVE everything about these new collections!!! Thanks so much for the chance to win!!! Posted by: Ashley Starkey | July 19, 2012 at 09:06 AM

 

The On Trend kit doesn't shy away from bold and beautiful patterned papers and for me, that's what it's all about. So excited to get my hands on them! Posted by: blurooferika | July 20, 2012 at 10:42 AM

I love the fresh cheerful designs and those fantastic florals, but one of my very fave parts is that splash of Royal Blue!!! I always need that color and you rarely find it in collections. Thank you! :) Posted by: susan stringfellow | July 20, 2012 at 05:19 PM

I hope you had a great successful CHA!! I love this collection, because the color combination is just fantastic! The green is fabulous, and I normally don't even think of myself as a fan of green! The colors really inspire me! There are a lot of great patterns too! I think this collection is going to be a HUGE success for you! Posted by: Carol (ScrapMomOf2) | July 21, 2012 at 10:19 AM

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Crate Paper's booth has evolved over the years, thanks to Lisa's evolving sense of modern, eclectic style, and Steve's hands-on carpentry skills. The two of them together are a perfect team and know exactly what it takes to pull off a professional grade booth that not only exemplifies Crate's beautiful new & old releases, but the many projects of the CP team and the overall vision behind Crate's one-of-a-kind products!

We love this new Acorn Avenue patterned paper, too, Emily. Great choice! :)

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Tomorrow brings the start of this week's condenced version of CP Creative Weekly. The going theme is Sprinkles!! How cute is that, eh? We like it a whole bunch! Do join us then! Take care, and have a great Monday!

So Very Lovely :: CHA & On Trend Giveaway

Crate Designer: Naomi Atkins

 While the big wooden crates are brought back out to the CHA showroom floor, and Crate Paper's booth is dismantled and fitted into it's box for the return trip home, we have one final round of CHA projects to show you, and a specially coordinated giveaway of "On Trend". Last week, during "On Trend"'s reveal, over five-hundred of you came forth to try and win the collection. Sadly, only one winner was chosen, which left the rest of you without an opportunity to own this fabulous new collection!! So, guess what?! We're giving away THREE "On Trend" collection kits this weekend - that's right, three! To get your name in on the drawing, tell us why you LOVE the collection - what makes it a must-have for you? We want to hear what you have to say about it. Winners will announce on Monday, July23. Good Luck!!

 

Crate Designer: Rahel Menig

 

Crate Designer: Megan Klauer

 

Crate Designer: Christine Middlecamp

Berry Pickin' :: CHA & Acorn Avenue Giveaway

Crate Designer: Naomi Atkins

Our CHA Crate Booth project presentation is still under way! Not sure what it's all about? Then make sure to check out yesterday's post. It pretty much sums it up in the first couple of paragraphs. As a quick recap though, part of the reason CHA is a fabulous stroll is because of the hundreds of handmade wares on display from one booth to the next. Having attended the event a fare number of times, we know first hand the level of inspiration to be had when walking the showroom floor. It's no likely surprise then that Crate Paper is a contributor to the visual parade thanks it's awesome DT members! They created a vast, beautiful array of projects that currently adorn the Crate booth walls, and this week's ongoing blog presentation. Today's projects are solely that of Acorn Avenue, Crate's new Fall-ish collection!

 

Crate Designer: Megan Klauer

 

Crate Designer: Heather Hintz

 

Crate Designer: Rebecca Luminarias

 

Crate Designer: Christine Middlecamp

 

Crate Designer: Rahel Menig

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How about today's collection kit giveaway, are you ready? Disclose your favorite must-own Crate Paper embellishment and we'll enter you in our drawing for an Acorn Avenue collection kit! As you very well know, Crate's expanded their embellishment assortment, so tell us which one you like the most! The winner will be announced this upcoming Monday -Once again, good luck!

'Tis the Season :: CHA & Sleigh Ride Giveaway

Crate Designer: Christine Middlecamp

One of CHA's great features are the hundreds of projects on display at the various booths, including our own. Typically, a lot of these projects are put together very last minute, almost down to the wire. So, it's amazing to see what artists can fashion together given the short time-frame allotted for creating their designs. We recruited six of our own designers to create project samples to sit alongside our new collections. Sure enough, you may have already seen a few online, either here, or elsewhere. If you haven't, then look no further - we got you covered! Now through Friday, we're sharing a glimpse of our booth projects and also, giving away three collection kits (one per day). The kit up for grabs today is "Sleigh Ride" - comment your fave holiday color combination and we'll announce the winner on Monday, July 23rd!

 

CP Designer: Heathyr Hintz

 

CP Designer: Megan Klauer

As you probably can tell, Crate Paper is loving the bright colors this holiday season!! The modern scheme is festive with a hint of whimsy and can be played as a whole, or via it's individual parts. Paired against the subtly of white vellum and the metallic glimmer of classic gold, the colors are easily tamed, so if you're a minimalist or prefer a more traditional Christmas color palette, Sleigh Ride caters to that as well. Just look at the varying differences of the above projects - you truly can go any direction you choose with this collection!

*Tell us which holiday color palette most often catches your attention, or is sprinkled throughout your craft/scrapbook projects during the Christmas/Winter months. One of you will WIN Crate's BRAND NEW Sleigh Ride Collection Kit!! Good Luck!