Crate Paper

Crate Style :: Mix and Match Mini Album with Michiko Kato

Hi CP Fans! I want to show a new mini album of mine! I created it with the cute and adorable Maggie Holmes Signature Clipboard Album in conjunction with a mix of "The Pier" and "DIY Shop". Each collection is so very wonderful, but I admit to being quite fond of The Pier. Not only is it fit for Summer, but other themes as well. So, I went on to use it, and the other aforementioned collections to produce an album about my daughter's recent graduation and entrance ceremony. It's purpose was to fulfill the wish of her father to be there, present for the special occasion. He'd been looking forward to attending her graduation, but wasn't able to because he's been in the hospital these last few months. When he saw the album, it made him so happy! We greatly hope his health will improve and that he'll be well, again.

On the first page, I drew dotted lines with a black pen. It's an immediate option to sewing if without a sewing machine, or are wanting to skip thread altogether. Beneath it, I wrote a message for father in English beneath a solid drawn line.

This photo was taken by my daughter inside her classroom. There are many memories she'll take away from the place. This is one of my favorite photos that she took that day.

It just so happens that the new graduate is my oldest daughter - she's departing junior high and entering high school. At the high school, she a member of the karate club. She's been practicing karate since early childhood, so she has a black belt. There are many competitive karate athletes at the high school. Her dream is to compete in the world championship of karate.

On this page, there are a number of embellishments from both The Pier and Maggie Holmes collections. I worked mostly with cool colored papers and incorporated red as an accent color via embellishments. The colors blend seamlessly, and are beautiful side-by-side.

My second oldest daughter graduated from elementary school. In Japan, children devote six years to elementary education. Now, she entering junior high! She belongs to a brass band club and plays tuba, a large sized instrument she struggles to hold up on her own because her petite-ness. I'm looking forward to seeing her perform with the tuba someday - soon, she'll hold it entirely on her own!

Again, I used a mix of embellishments on this page; The Pier & DIY Shop. The Pier journaling paper is my favorite!

The sweet girl in the middle is my oldest daughter, and the one on the right is my youngest. She's in fifth grade at the elementary school. She is very spoiled and really wasn't able to do anything by herself, but I love her. I hope she grows up to have a strong character like her older sisters.

The balloon chipboard piece is super cute, as are it's vintage colors. To blend better with them, I aged the photo some.

This photo is of me and my daughter. The photo was taken at the entrance ceremony for the junior high. In most junior high schools in Japan, students are required to wear school uniforms. When she was at the elementary school, uniforms weren't required. So, when I saw her in the uniform, I was elated to see her looking grown-up and ready to start anew.

Before leaving you today, I want to quickly recommend that you give The Pier a try alongside embellishments and papers from some of the other Crate collections. You'll love the results! You just might fall under the spell of Crate Paper, too - have a great day!

Project CP Life :: June 2013 w/Megan Klauer

This week, I'm sharing a spread all about saying "Hello to Summer" by once again using the beautiful Pier collection.

I like to describe my Project Life "style" by calling it as it is: One Hot Mess. It's random, full of pattern and most often, saturated in bright colors, but it's also all about "us" right now and that is what I love most about it!

Today, I'm going to share a few tips and go a bit more in depth about each pocket that makes up my two-page spread.

When I first started Project Life back in January, my process was so much more involved. I would make a list of photos, sketch out my pages, resize and print my photos to fit exactly where I wanted them to go and then finally, I got to the fun creative part of putting it all together. The truth is, it took a lot of time "to get the job done". I knew something needed to change if I was going to keep up like I wanted to all year long.

After talking with a friend of mine and her sharing her process with me, I changed my personal Project Life process and now I'm much more productive! I print my photos 4" x 6", 3" x 2" and once in a while, I print the occasional large sized photo. I also simply "go with the flow" so to speak. Freedom, at last! LOL.

The end of May meant the last day of school was just around the corner, as was the first day of Summer vacation!

I always try to create a "title card" of sorts for each event or page. I'm also working on telling myself that each pocket doesn't need a photo. An embellishment like the popsicle pop-up adds just the right amount of "white space" when viewing the overall page.

Looking to save on space? Plan ahead and add text to your photos!! More room for other complimentary items (like that popsicle!).

In capturing emotion, I always know there will be tears from my oldest when he gets off the bus on his last day. He is a sensitive soul and worries so much about missing his friends over the summer.

From the first day to the last day, I compare the two moments via photos. Have the kids grown? Has their hair changed? It's fun having the two photos side-by-side on one page.

Capture and highlight a portion of a photo using a Pier chipboard slide frame. Ella was so excited to see her boys get off the bus. She took off running towards them with her pony tail flying behind her in the wind!

The right side of my spread talks about our first official day of Summer vacation. We watched a friend's two boys and enjoyed a full day of activities!

As part of the title on this side of the spread, I stamped the date on a slide frame. Don't forget to note the date!

Once again, chipboard elements create a unique "border" or frame around a portion of my photo.

Making Moon Sand is super easy and fun! I used the center pockets of the page to capture this highly favored activity! The two littlest had a ball with it! And just 'cause it's that easy, here's how to make it:

12 Cups of flour + 1 1/2 Cups of baby oil. Mix in large tub or tote with your hands!

For all my Project Life pages, the 6" x 6" patterned paper pads are my 'Crate' go-to item! I love the smaller patterns.

And last, but not least, journaling. Don't forget the importance of journaling! It's what Project Life is all about! And for those of you wondering, we played "Minute to Win It" games with the older three. I was cracking up at them trying to get the cookies from their foreheads to their mouths without using their hands! Ha!

I hope your Summer is full of wonderful memories!

Make It Crate :: Washi Tape Frames w/Rebecca Luminarias

I must confess that I have a major obsession with washi tape! I can't get enough of it and I think it's the greatest paper invention since, well, paper! I love it for so many reasons -- it's versatile, it's inexpensive, there are no limits to the things you can do with it, and there are endless colors, patterns and styles it comes in.

Normally, I use it as a layering accent in my paper crafting. I also love to cover wooden clothespins with it, wrap it around toothpicks to make tiny flags, or make little banners with it using different colored string. But today, I'm doing something extra fun with it!

I'm using it to enhance picture frames -- making my own background paper essentially, and then I'll also be covering frames with it. The best part about this tutorial is that it's so quick and easy, you can make a few in just a short time.

Here's what you'll need to get started:

Washi Tape
Scissors
Plain Cardstock or cardboard
Craft knife
Picture frame'(s)
Embellishments of your choice

With the release of some of it's latest collections, Crate Paper has started offering up some beautiful styles of washi tape to coordinate with their papers. They come on a 12 x 12 sheet, which is so convenient -- you get about twenty different styles of tape without having to spend a fortune buying twenty full rolls of it. Pretty Genius!

The first project I'll show you is making a background piece for your frame. For mine, I chose a grayish-kraft and blue-green color palette, using different strips from The Pier, Maggie Holmes, and Party Day. Start by trimming off each strip you want to use.

Trim a sheet of cardstock to fit the dimensions of your frame. Because washi tape is usually a bit translucent, I used white. Next, while this is a fairly foolproof project, it's still good to have some sort of plan before you just willy-nilly start taping! I wanted my frame to have a summer theme so I planned out where I wanted to lay the "HELLO SUMMER" strips from The Pier. That also served as a guide for laying out the rest of my tapes.

*Tip: One of washi's wonders is that it's removable so if you do mess up, it's not the end of your project -- just remove and re-stick!

If you're using tape that comes in strips like Crate's, trim only what you'll need to cover your paper and save the rest for future use. If you're using tape that comes on a roll, cut off the length you need. I do like to leave a little extra length on each because it helps with laying a straight line and ensuring a clean edge.

Start taping!

Once you've gotten everything taped to your paper, it's time to trim the excess again. Under normal circumstances, I can't cut in a straight line to save myself, so I line up my scissors flush against the edge of the paper and use it as a guide. A quicker option is to fold the ends over to the back -- since this is in a picture frame, they won't be seen.

I also wanted to cover the frame itself with washi. To keep it simple, I chose a plain white frame without any curves or ornate details. Number one, I didn't want to complicate the project and have it take a long time to complete dealing with rounded edges. Number two, because the inside had a lot going on, I didn't want the outside competing with it; I just wanted to liven it up a bit.

I chose another style from The Pier washi and this time, measured it out to be sure I had enough to complete all four sides. Then it was time to tape again. For best results, cut the tape on the angled frame seams in each corner. This looks a lot better and more uniform than just cutting off the tape at the end of each side. A craft knife works best for this and I used the tape's translucency to my advantage. I could see the seam and gently pressed my blade into the tiny crevice for a (near) perfect cut!

Repeat on all sides.

This frame consists of my family's summer to-do list. Above all else, I want us to have fun..get to the beach, bar-b-que, have picnics, visit with friends. What I don't want this to be is a list of chores! I can write a chore list on plain paper. This board is meant for fun so I decorated it with the pretty washi tapes in colors that make me think of the beach and used cute tags and cards to jot down little notes to remind us to have good times. It may sound funny, but with work and kids and the routine of daily life, sometimes you do need that little reminder that you should be out there making great memories. I added the camera so we also remember to take lots of photos. (Can't forget to document those memorable moments, right?)

I covered a sticky magnet with some pink washi tape and hung the metal clip from it. That way, I can easily pull it off and add new notes or photos when I think of something else we should do.

The whole frame collage is meant to encourage positive thoughts. I want to look at it when I need some direction or to be inspired by something lovely. In all honesty, I'm more of a glass-half-empty kind of person and I'm working hard to change that. I'm hoping that this project is another push in the right direction. 

I used pink washi strips from The Pier to make a background in this blue resin frame. the frame only holds a 2.5" x 3.5" photo and I loved the idea of decorating around this tiny cookie fortune that I've had for years. There is something so precious about fortunes..I love them for their itty-bitty type and sometimes - poetic messages. I think I even got this one just after I had started dating my now-husband and that's why I kept it. And yes, love has inspired me to do many great things (and some of them have even been amazing!)

For this matching frame, I chose yellow tapes from the CP collections and kept this one simple with a blue chipboard bird from On Trend and gold-painted wood letters spelling out "fly".

Here, I wanted to remind myself not to be afraid to try new things, even if they seem scary at first!

The last piece is another frame covered with washi. Although it is tape from another manufacturer (not CP), the lace print reminded me of the lace print I used on the first frame and the dark pink compliments the greenish-aqua and yellowish hues of the inside layout.

I started by turning a strip of 2 x 2 inch photos of the ocean on it's side. The hues in the photos were pretty much dead-on matches to some embellishments from The Pier and DIY Shop so instead of using the pictures as the focal point, I made them an accessory to the collage.

I focused instead on the birds. Birds make for some of the loveliest paper crafts and I always find myself drawn to their images. The "B is for Bird" DIY Shop card and the Maggie Holmes die cut help set the theme of this frame-kindness. "B is for bird, beautiful + bliss". Yes, it is. "Be kind to those smaller than you". Yes, we should. I love the idea of a beautiful, blissful world and why can't it start by just being kind? (B is for baby steps, too!)

Thanks for hanging out with me today. Now let's break out our washi and go have some fun!

 

Crate DIY Summer Boutonniere w/Evelyn Pratiwi Yusuf

 

 

We're reintroducing the much favored Crate DIY from way back in the day when Crate hit the blog scene for the very first time. Given the popularity of the mighty Pinterest and growing requests for projects outside the realm of scrapbooking and the typical altered good, we thought it about time to revamp the predictable and bring back the charming, much loved DIY post! Bluntly said, we think DIY Crafting is just as cool as preserving life's everyday memories. So, here it is again, outside-the-box ideas the Crate way!

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Hey everyone, this is me, Evelyn Pratiwi Yusuf. Today, I wanna share how to create a Summer Boutonniere for those of you whom already know the theme of your wedding and are about to hit the aisle to say "yes" and "forever"! For those of you still not sure what your wedding theme might be, maybe creating a boutonniere for the groom and best man will help you find that special theme you've been looking for. ;)

June is the perfect month for hosting a wedding ceremony, and to help you make it unforgettable, I'm going to try and show you how to make a bright Summer Boutonniere using The Pier, DIY Shop and Maggie Homes collections. We'll keep it classic, but still have it loaded with bright colors and a strong thematic feel. Such details are super important and well worth thinking about - I know this because I've been there before and my primary job at the moment entails me to think about such things again. I'm all about doing it yourself, too! Ready?

Before you start producing Boutonnieres, it's best to gather all the supplies first. Because the theme is "Summer Wedding", I chose to work with The Pier, DIY Shop, Party Day and Maggie Holmes. All are filled with color and Summer appropriate elements. My product selection includes the cute Pier chipboard, DIY's gold and yellow twine, Party Day's buttons and Maggie's adorable ribbons. For basics; Chopsticks, Tissue Paper (Polka-Dot), Yellow Ribbon, Yellow Feathers and Glue.

 

To create a pretty stick as the base for the Boutonniere, take a chopstick, measure it out at eight centimeters and mark the location with a pencil. Using a sharp knife, cut along the mark. Create as many sticks as you need to complete your Boutonniere collection. After preparing the sticks, wrap the sticks in yellow ribbon. Do this by gluing the ribbon to the bottom of the stick and wrapping the stick until it's mostly covered. Following this, do the same thing with the yellow and gold twine, though start the wrapping process midway so that it covers just half the stick.

 

Take a yellow feather and adhere it to the stick. Allow it to dry.

 

Take chipboard pieces from The Pier collection that are to your liking and that you think will pair well together. I chose a surfboard, ice cream on a stick and soda & straw. Layer them and adhere.

Add the arrangement to your boutonniere with hot glue or an alternative glue with strong adhesion and that dries quickly. 

*It may be best to peel away the sticky portion of the chipboard to prevent your pieces from being overly sticky and collecting unnecessary debris on the special day.

 

As a final touch, add a smidgen of yellow ribbon or a Maggie Holme's fabric bow. 

Easy, right? Go ahead and create your own and while you're at it, think about using Crate's Pier, especially if enjoying a Summer Wedding. We wish you an unforgettable, love-filled day!

 

Beach-Fun Souvenir Box w/Marie Lottermoser

After a recent trip to the beach, I was looking for a place to store some of the souvenirs we had collected. Between seashells and a toy mermaid! I needed to find a storage solution with a little depth to it. I found this distressed aqua blue box in the clearance section of a bookstore, but the writing on the cover didn't quite go with the beach theme I had in mind. 

The new Pier Collection was perfect for this project! I used a piece of the "Merry Go Round" map paper for both the cover of the box and as a liner for the bottom. Red and white zig zag paper added a pop of color to the inside lid. Then, I went to town adding cardstock cuts to the lid using washi tape to adhere them.

Next came the fun part of filling the box with our beach treasures. I borrowed a plastic test tube from my son's toy box to hold the seashells. I sealed it shut with more washi tape and added a cute label to the front. A little mini book got a "Summertime Sweetness" cover. And, I had to add some pictures using the slide mount frames which are my new favorite Crate product. I can't get enough of them! I finished out the box with the rest of our fun finds including a wine cork, sand dollars, a tiny treasure map and some sand from the beach.

I really love the way this project came together. This summer as you collect souvenirs from your activities, I highly recommend making a souvenir box to hold them!

CP Project Life :: June 2013 w/Naomi Atkins

Hello! Naomi Atkins here with your Project Life layout! 

This month, Summer is in full swing..and if you're like me, you're busy..and doing a lot of fun things! This week, we picked strawberries, did a little early swimming, and The Pier collection was a perfect fit to make my Project Life pages simple and quick!

For the Week 21 title, I stranded some Baker's Twine using the prearranged holes of Maggie Holme's Alpha Banner Thickers and layered them over old book paper tucked beneath one of The Pier's Polaroid Chipboard Frames. I'm addicted to these things! I then added a bit of white mist for some added texture. Finally, I used a few of the journaling cards that come with The Pier and popped them in their rightful spots! 

For the strawberry page, I sprayed a kraft tag with white acrylic mist using a doily as a mask. I then added some stickers and a fabric brad. Note the adorable Maggie Holmes Bow on top the tag :)

In the center of the spread, I cut another journaling card and layered it over patterned paper. And in the top right corner, I positioned another Polaroid Frame, backed it with patterned paper and added a small assembly of epoxy dot stickers to coincide with the dots on my daughter's shirt.

I love how The Pier collection makes it so easy to get those Project Life pages done! Hope you've been able to have some fun times this Summer with your own family! Don't forget to record those memories while you're at it! See you next time!

May Creative Weekly Challenge Winner :: Summer Splash

The May Creative Weekly "Summer Splash" Challenge has reached an end and a winner has been chosen! We'd like to formally congratulate Stephanie Bryan, artist and scrapbooker of the subtle and sweet layout shown above, Hello Summer. It's light, airy layers and Pier accents are seemingly perfect, as is the photograph. Everything about the layout reflects upon the challenge beautifully..we can almost hear the waves.

Our winner will receive the entire "Pier" collection, embellishments, paper and all - Plus, everyday basics from American Crafts! How cool is that?! Congrats again, Stephanie! We'll be contacting you shortly :)

Lets not forget these amazing runner-ups who's projects will find their way to our "Creative Weekly Challenge" board over at Pinterest! Thank-you so much, gals!! We super duper appreciate you taking the time to show your love of Crate Paper while expressing your creativity here, with our fans!

Challenge Artist :: Leigh Penner

 

Challenge Artist :: Patricia Roebuck

 

Challenge Artist :: Sheila Monteiro

 

Challenge Artist :: Lisa Risser

 

Challenge Artist :: Keri Babbitt

 

Challenge Artist :: Jina Jean

 

Challenge Artist :: Fleur Smith

 

Challenge Artist :: Jenine Eulert

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There is a BRAND NEW Creative Weekly challenge in motion for the month of June! It's scheduled to begin Monday, June 17th at 6:00am Central Time. Challenge Hint: Connect the.....anyone care to guess? Think about your favorite childhood puzzle game:)

Make It Crate :: Customized Vellum Pockets w/Jeanette Lee

Vellum - we see the semi-transparent material being used more often on our scrapbook layouts and projects these days. It is a hot market item! Just take a look at the Maggie Holmes collection; it holds a beautiful example of a vellum pocket filled with shiny sequins (bottom right corner in the photo above).

So, I thought it would be fun to replicate and customize my own vellum pockets and incorporate them into a scrapbook page. Let me share some quick tips on what I did...

First, grab a sheet of vellum paper and cut it down to 3" x 8". This chosen size ensures a perfect fit for either an accent card or journaling card.

 

 

Next, score a horizontal line across the vellum sheet at the 4" mark. This will form the basis of your pocket. Using your scissors, cut one end of the vellum sheet at a diagonal. To make your pocket opening more interesting, you can also choose to cut it at any angle of your liking.

 

Finally, fold and sew down the sides of the vellum sheet with your sewing machine and the vellum pocket is complete! Alternatively, you can opt to use glue or craft tape if without a sewing machine.

 

Then comes the fun part - embellishing your pockets! Above are a few close-up images of how I decorated mine...

First, I placed a Bingo and Journaling card in each pocket. However, the pockets still felt 'empty' to me. So, using a variety of embellishment types such as circular elements and tags found in the DIY collection, I mixed them together on top the pockets to generate more interest and dimension.

I contemplated the journaling aspect as well. By having the opportunity to tuck my journaling inside a pocket, I was able to freely jot down my thoughts without it being too distracting to the rest of the elements on the page. I personally have an issue with my own handwriting (who's with me on this?) and thus, I'm always finding ways to tuck my journaling into hidden spots. A vellum pocket is a perfect spot to do so!

 

Next, I continued to assemble more embellishments on the right side of the page. A tip in choosing embellishments would be to identify the theme that you are going for. So, in my case, I chose the globe and typewriter chipboard pieces because they fit perfectly with my travel-themed page.

You'll also notice that behind the journaling pocket is an overlay from the DIY collection. You don't necessarily have to place a photo behind it. Instead, I added a flower die-cut behind the overlay. This additional translucent layer helped to give a subtle effect to the page. As a finishing touch, I added some splatters of mist to the background and the page was complete!

 

I hope this inspires you to make your own customized vellum pockets! Explore the possibilities, incorporate them with any Crate Paper products and you'll definitely be satisfied with the results! Have a great day, ahead!

June Crate Paper Guest Designer :: Amber Engelh{art}

For as long as I can remember, I've had this urge, this drive to make beautiful things. And making something beautiful for someone special has always been what inspires me most. Throughout my adult years, I've carried with me this whisper of a dream to become a "real" artist. I dreamed of making art a part of my everyday life. With the support of some of the most amazing friends and family, I'm now doing just that. This past fall, I opened my mixed-media folk art shop on Etsy, launching my business and my dream as amber engelh{art}!

I've been a scrapper for 13 years and when I came across Crate paper over four years ago, it was love at first sight. There are very few CP collections that I don't own. And, oh, the awe-inspiring Maggie Holmes! She's been a scrap-idol of mine for many years. In my eyes, CP + Maggie Holmes = design perfection! I could hardly wait to pair Maggie's collection with my folk designs. Here's what I made:

 

Just Dreaming

When I first look through the pages of a new collection, I find myself mentally sorting the patterns into categories, such as "this would make a great vase, background, flowers", etc. I knew this floral pattern, Elizabeth Kate, that I used in "Just Dreaming" would make a perfect vase. Maggie's line is vintage, dreamy and romantic; I was hoping to reflect that in this piece. I think the pink rosebuds (Captured and Aperture) are the just-right flowers to do just that!

 

Loved

The script paper, Remember This, made adorable eggs for this bird's nest ("Instafriends"). I used the loved sticker as the title of this piece, because a protective mama-bird guarding her young conveys that sentiment so perfectly. This color palette of pink, teal and gray is one of my favorites right now.

 

Lucky

Once again, the Remember This patterned paper inspired this piece, called "Lucky". I started with the script paper as my background and once I had decided on a teal vase (Wonderful), I just knew it should be filled with yellow flowers (Happy Day). Maggie's die-cuts are pure eye-candy and the large butterfly made a perfect centerpiece for the vase. I added mother-of-pearl buttons to compliment the vintage appeal.

 

Peacock

I used the summer-inspired Pier collection for this piece. The colors are vintage-soft and the patterns are playful; I just knew I wanted to include as many of them as possible. So, I took The Pier collection from poolside to peacock, using: Merry Go Round, Cotton Candy, Poolside, Popcorn and Carousel. Folk art is imperfect in design, but often symmetrical. The repetition of colors is what makes peacocks and other folk designs so eye-catching. This was probably my favorite piece to make; the peacock has so much personality!

I've been giddy for two months now, looking forward to being this month's guest designer, and truly honored to be the first mixed media artist to be featured by Crate Paper. I've made two more canvases that I'd love to share with you on my blog, the memory collector. So, come on over, let's visit for a while!

East Coast Meets The Pier w/Anabelle O'Malley

The Pier is one of my favorite Crate Paper lines, ever. Of course, the papers, colors and fun embellishments all add up to why I love this line, but the best part about it is the feeling that it invokes! I have lived on the East Coast my whole life, so the beach, the boardwalk and amusement piers have always had a special place in my heart. I have a million photos that I could scrap using The Pier.

Today, I have a page that I created featuring one of my family's favorite parts of the beach; The Ice Cream Shop!! On the Avenue, in Rehoboth Beach, is a fabulous ice cream place that sells over 100 different flavors, including 'Chocolate Covered Bacon' and 'Scorpion Sting' (yes, it has a real edible scorpion in it). No beach excursion for us is complete without a stop at this place! I created my page featuring the slide frames.

The slide frames are great for helping to focus elements on a page. You can use just one to highlight a photo or cluster several, as I did, to give a grid-like look to the page. I decided to use my frames for several purposes. Two of them house photos.

I began by stitching each of the frames. I love the added texture that this gives to them. On this frame, I included several stars that have been misted and a part of a clothepin.

This one also holds a photo and sticker tab. I love the faux tape. It really adds to the distressed feel of the page. 

In this frame, I added several layers. I started with a piece of The Pier ephemera. I cut the 'Summertime Sweetness' card from the patterned paper. To highlight it, I added a smaller slide frame that had been coated with gold glitter. I thought this would be a fun way to highlight the sentiment inside it. I finished it off with a toothpick flag.

The last frame focuses on my journaling. I created the journaling box by layering two stickers on top of each other. I added several of the ice cream themed chipboard pieces, too. I love how The Pier includes my favorite treat as a motif! Finally, I used my Cameo to cut the title.

As you can see, The Pier has plenty of elements that cater to all aspect of Summertime Fun, Ice Cream included :) Thanks for stopping by the Crate Paper blog today!