Crate Paper

CardMaker Blog Hop :: Maggie Holmes Collection Giveaway Winner

CP Gal :: Anabelle O'Malley

CP Gal :: Janna Werner

CP Gal :: Piradee Talvanna

CP Gal :: Rebecca Luminarias

In bringing the CardMaker Blog Hop to an end, the glorious cards that met you at each of the contributing CP Designer Blogs over the weekend are readily available for viewing here, at Crate Paper. We'd like to kindly send out a special "thanks" to "all" the designers on the blog hop list - we greatly value your involvement in the event and are honored by your unlimited talent and love towards our sweet Maggie Holmes collection.

As promised, there is a winner awaiting word of special package with their name on it - $40 worth of Maggie Holmes product! Congratulations to following blog hopper...

"Thanks for a great hop, everyone did an amazing job! My favorite card was Janna's. I love the pop of color on the white honeycomb background, it really makes the sentiment stand out. Posted by: Robin B. | July 12, 2013 at 11:09 AM"

Robin B., we ask that you send us your info at cpblog@cratepaper.com - we are super excited for you, and can't wait to parade your front door with an official American Crafts box of Maggie Holmes goods!! Congrats & Love every bit of it!! 

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Lastly, thank you to everyone that hopped with Crate Paper and CardMaker this weekend. We had an absolute blast!! Check out the new Maggie Holmes collection, Flea Market, during this week's Crate Collection Reveal, scheduled to begin Wednesday, July 17th. See you then!!

CardMaker Blog Hop :: Maggie Holmes Collection Giveaway

There is a CardMaker Blog Hop in-progress on behalf of the shabby chic, color emporium CP collection, Maggie Holmes. The premise is simple; Create a card using products from the Maggie Holmes line, as well as a coordinating gift bag, tag, envelope, etc. Crate Paper is sponsoring the fun event - and those involved include CardMaker's Blog Team and a select number of Crate Paper's Design Team Members.

In honor of the festivities, Crate Paper is giving away a $40 Prize Pack of Maggie Holmes items! For a chance to win, leave a comment mentioning your favorite card and we'll randomly select a winner on Monday, July 15th!

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BLOG HOP LINE-UP

CardMaker
Melanie Muenchinger
Rebecca Luminarias
Latisha Yoast
Piradee Talvanna
Ivanka Lentle
Janna Werner
Christine Okken
Anabelle O'Malley
Becky Cowley
Katie Ehmann
AJ Otto

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Much luck to all! We shall catch up with you on Monday - Have a great weekend!

*Don't forget, Wednesday, July 17th, is the start of Crate Paper's New Collection Reveal! Yes, still a few more days to go, but it'll be well worth the wait. Lisa, Crate's originating designer and owner, is hosting the three-day-long event. Chime in with your thoughts during the reveal for a chance at the fresh goods (A Full Collection Per Day).

June Creative Weekly - Hello, Polka Dots :: Challenge Winner!

June brought us "dots", lots of them. We put you to the challenge of arranging your very own, and surprisingly, a record number of you responded with even more dots galore! Just goes to show that dots never go out of style, and we're totally keen on that - truthfully, what's not to like about them? They're whimsical and have a charming side that is almost impossible to deny. The proof is right below - Congrats to the winner of June's CW "Spot On" Challenge...

Cindy Ellen Russell

What ultimately caught our attention about this layout was it's chalkboard-like background and ingenious play at dotted numbers and old fashioned "luck". Simply stated, the design is marvelous and we LOVE it! Congrats Cindy - you won a mixed Crate Paper batch box of our Winter/Spring releases! Thank-you for the awesome submission!

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Challenge Artist: Alison Stewart 

 

Challenge Artist: Keri Babbitt

 

Challenge Artist: Jessy Christopher

 

Challenge Artist: Caroline Peixoto

 

Challenge Artist: Cindy Lee

 

Challenge Artist: Els Brige

 

Challenge Artist: Fleur Smith

 

Challenge Artist: Ginny Hughes

 

Challenge Artist: Janine Eulert

 

Challenge Artist: Josie Teh

 

Challenge Artist: Julie Tucker-Wolek

 

Challenge Artist: Ong York Tee

 

Challenge Artist: Leigh Penner

 

Challenge Artist: Leigh Penner

 

Challenge Artist: Lilin Fang

 

Challenge Artist: Marianne Sjoberg

 

Challenge Artist: Melissa Vining

 

Challenge Artist: Sandy Ang

 

Challenge Artist: Serena Gedlaman

 

Challenge Artist: Stephanie Bryan

 

Challenge Artist: April Joy Hill

 

Challenge Artist: Evgenia Petzer

 

Challenge Artist: Vanessa Menhorn

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 A HUGE thank-you to the artists above and to all of you who submitted a one-of-a-kind project to the challenge. That being said, the next challenge is to premier mid-August, just in time for Summer's end:)

July Creative Weekly :: Personal Celebrations

As a quick reminder, the June Creative Weekly Winner is scheduled to announce tomorrow, June 11th, 6:00am Central Time. There was a slight shift in the schedule for the unfolding of our newest collections, all of which you'll want to see and WIN! Reveal day is Wednesday, July 17th. Jot it down and join us!

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 Photo Credit: Fab

Evelyn Pratiwi

It was time to scrap my wedding photo to celebrate the wonderful 1.5 years with my lovely hubby. I sought out inspiration for the layout at Pinterest. I wanted to create a layout that showcased triangles and felt romantic. So, I decided to go with the above geometric photo and made a layout following it's underlying design.

I created my own background from pink mist and triangles trimmed from the Maggie Holmes and Pier collections. To accentuate the photo, I stacked tags, flowers, doilies, confetti bags, pink ribbon, chipboard and a yellow charm. To bring to life some of the triangles, I added buttons from the Party Day collection. I'm extremely happy with my husband and hope to be with him forever!

I also created a second layout, though of a different sort of celebration...

I have so many Chinese New Year photos, but I never scrapped them before, so I'm super excited about this month's theme, celebration. I was in Singapore when they celebrated the Chinese New Year around China Town. You can feel it by the ambiance of the colors in the environment; lots of red, yellow, orange and gold. I stuck to these colors when crafting my layout. I combined The Pier and brown washi tape from DIY Shop. You can pretty much use the Pier no matter the theme depending on how you opt to take advantage of it's embellishments and papers. As you can see, I used blue Distress Stain on the background to give the feel of "brave". I chose to make my photos look like they're hanging from a clothesline by arranging them horizontally. I then embellished around them like the previous layout. Love the cascade of words just below the photo set...

 

Photo Credit: Workman

Deb Duty

The inspiration for my layout was the cover of a book that I found on Pinterest, "Sara Midda's South of France". I love the imperfect stripes and the variety of so many beautiful colors! I decided to create a similar background using my watercolors. I painted an entire 12x12 page of stripes on cream cardstock, and the result was colorful and just right to document a celebration! Using the entire page for the background seemed like a bit too much, so I cut a section away and used it as the base of layers on my layout about my son's birthday last year. My stripes complemented the colors in the photo of my son and his little cousin and coordinated well with the lovely colors of The Pier collection.

 

Photo Credit: Frosted Petticoat Blog

Rebecca Luminarias

For this month's Creative Weekly, I wanted to celebrate something simple. I think most people consider celebratory occasions to be big events like birthdays and weddings -- anything that includes a party, right? Of course, those are reasons to celebrate, but what about life's small moments? Milestones with your children, a long chat with a good friend, taking a minute to enjoy the sunset..simplicity is a wonderful thing that should never be overlooked. It's funny that I'm talking about wanting to just be simple, what with my inspiration photo coming from a wedding that was obviously not a simple fete (although, surely it was meant to look that way ;)..But when I think of the occasions in my life worth celebrating, there tends to be a lot of reveling in the mundane -- getting to bed early is a reason to celebrate in this house!

I do love this photo because it's a celebration that looks simple and takes me back to thoughts of my childhood when summertime was about running barefoot through the grass, swimming in the lake, and flying kits. How simple, yet how spectacular and fun, are kites?! The chipboard kites from The Pier and Party Day help to make this simple set of cards celebratory. In keeping with my less-is-more theme, I used only a few products for this project, but I hope the message is clear..Reach, Fly, Soar. Ahhh, simplicity.

 

Kimberly Neddo

I often like to find my inspiration on the web by either googling a key word, or on Pinterest. Ideas just start forming when I see an image, and then I start to play. I saw this image and immediately thought of the Pier line with the arrow paper, triangles and sequins. I made this card for my niece who just graduated from High School. I love the balloons on the paper, so I hand-cut them out and adhered them to the background. The slide frames are my favorite embellishments right now. They are great to frame different pictures, or to use for title work to create a unique look.

 

Naomi Atkins

Hello everyone! I decided to focus on July 4th for this week's CW theme..we just celebrated it and I have lots of fun pictures from the event. I was searching for treats at Pinterest to bake for a picnic and found this photo from Baker's Royale with fruit pops and was immediately inspired to do a similar scrapbook layout!

I used Maggie Holmes "wood" background paper and some glittery red chevron paper from Sleigh Ride (remember that collection?) to mimic the stripes in the lower photo. Then, I die-cut my own stars and layered them in two sizes before topping them with buttons, similar to the fruit pop design in the photo. I added a pinwheel from The Pier collection. I thought it really completed the layout. I used a red striped tag up top from DIY Shop and some Thickers for the title (of course!). I also used a "memories" pop out sticker from the On Trend collection. I really had a lot of fun with this layout. I love when something unexpected or something unrelated to scrapbooking inspires me to create a layout. It makes for a one-of-a-kind project! I hope this inspires you to create something celebratory this week as summer really offers us many reasons to celebrate!

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We are without an inspiration image for Ashley's cards, but they are still glorious and in need of sharing...

Ashley Cannon Noel

Celebrations are always welcomed in my home, so I knew I had to create a couple of cards to showcase how to embrace a few celebrations. Whether you are celebrating birthdays or just the summertime weather, have a card ready to gift to the birthday boy/girl or the BBQ host/hostess. Have fun with it and let your imagination take your creativity to a whole new level. For one of my cards, I used patterns from Pier patterned paper to create my focal point embellished hexagon design.

July Creative Weekly :: Personal Celebrations

Photo Credit: MJPaperie

Sasha Farina

I came across this photo collage one day while perusing Pinterest and was immediately drawn towards the balloons! I mean, just look at them? So Happy! Balloons are my favorite, except when they blow up in my face, but there is no fear of that in scrapbooking, of course!

In this layout about my nephew's birthday party, I combined an assortment of embellishments from Party Day, The Pier and Maggie Holmes. What do you know - they work beautifully together! The balloon bouquet stand-out is perfect, don't you think? The collage is also made up of several rectangular and square photos. I mimicked the shapes using Pier's slide frames and love how it looks!

 

Photo Credit: The Cake Blog

Marie Lottermoser

The one holiday we celebrate really big in the summer is the 4th of July. Not only is it Independence Day, it's also my daughter's birthday. For this layout, I took a photo from last year's celebration and added some stars and stripes. The half circle, made from vellum and red cardstock, is similar to the bunting which is often hung from porches and railings this time of year. I combined a red and white striped mount frame from The Pier collection, with a sparkly, gold number "4" from the Maggie Holmes collection. I think it adds a nice patriotic touch.

 

Photo Credit: Bubby & Bean

Katie Ehmann

I was immediately drawn to the simplicity of this vintage style 4th of July banner! It provided the perfect inspiration for me to use this fun cut file and back the stars with different patriotic themed red, white and blue patterned papers from The Pier, Maggie Holmes and a "vintage" Crate line, Story Teller (one of my person favorites!). I recreated the look of the wooden fence with "Heatwave" patterned paper from The Pier. I embellished with a bold pinwheel and die cuts from The Pier, buttons from Party Day and glitter Thickers from Maggie Holmes. Finally, I couldn't resist using the transparent letters from The Pier for the title, which I adhered to the layout with tiny staples. The photo is of my girls before our big Fourth of July celebration in my home town last year, which always has amazing fireworks over the lake!

 

Photo Credit: That Shappy

Sophie Crespy

This layout documents the "horse club party" my girl attended in June. It was a fun day, when she showed us what she learned this year and got to dress up as a princess! For the design of the page, I was inspired by this gorgeous half triangle background, both the shapes and colors. To recreate the look, I started by stitching a grid on white cardstock, then cut half-square triangles out of The Pier and Fourteen patterned papers. The title is a fun "Crossword"! The result is graphic and streamlined.

July Creative Weekly :: Personal Celebrations

We're doing something a little different this time around with July's Creative Weekly presentation - we're giving our designers a voice in selecting their own inspirational source for the creation of a Creative Weekly "Celebration" project. Each has chosen a favored image to use as a transplant of an idea, whether towards a card, layout or something altogether unique and beautiful. Over the next three days, come take a look at what motivates our designers using only a single image and all things Crate Paper...

*Please note, due to a schedule change in preparation for the exciting collection premier, we're announcing June's Creative Weekly winner this Thursday, July 11th (6:00am Central Time). Entries are still rolling in, and wouldn't you know it, we're crazy about them!! You guys are loving the dot theme!! Thank-you to all that have submitted a challenge project thus far - we promise to put on a big showing this Thursday of your wares. We'll be pinning them, too! Stay tuned...

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Photo Credit: Briana Marie Photography

Magda Mizera

What I love about my inspiration photograph is the colour scheme. Mint is my favorite colour ever and I like how it suits the soft rouge of the wheels and bicycle seat. I tried to capture it with this layout by choosing the awesome chevron patterned paper from "Fourteen" and mint alphas (American Crafts). As you can see, the cute chipboard bike from "The Pier" almost matches the actual bike, perfectly! Generally, my layout is about celebrating time I have for myself. I love to spend an hour or two alone, celebrating quiet and calm, scrapping, reading, taking photos or..riding a bike! :)

 

 
Photo Credit: Ruffled Blog

Michiko Kato

My image of 'celebration" is a gallery of balloons. To celebrate my birthday, my mother cooked my favorite dish, Sushi, and gave me a present of many balloons. I still remember this memory, and I'm grateful for the extensive arrangements made for me. Balloons make me feel a little happier.

 

Photo Credit: Wood & Wool Stool

Anabelle O'Malley

When looking for an image on Pinterest for this month's Creative Weekly, I decided to search 'Summer Celebration'. I have been doing so many fun things this Summer, so I wanted an image that would reflect that. I fell in love with this photo by Ingrid Jansen (Wood and Wool Stool) on Flickr. I chose to scrap a photo of my high school best friend and me. We don't see each other that often, so it was definitely a celebration when we got together recently. I just loved the neutrals in this photo with the pops of red, pink and aqua. I chose a grey paper from the Story Teller line so that I could recreate the wall in the background. I added a few layers of watered down gesso to it and then cut it into small squares. I added some silver mist and then started my layering. Elements from the Maggie Holmes and DIY Shop lines were perfect. I wanted to have little pops of color like the photo. I chose to create a banner using some of the washi tapes from The Pier and Maggie Holmes. I used small bits and then added gold sequins and gold stars to emulate the lights in the photo.

 

Photo Credit: Pinterest

Jeanette Lee

I found this inspiring photograph on Pinterest. It sparked much thought about my fear of heights. For as far as I could remember, I never liked being within high places and taking cable car rides or roller coaster rides. I used to have nightmares thereafter, fearing for my own life. I guess I just didn't care for the lack of control of what could happen. Things eventually changed and in recent years, I've slowly wanted to do something about my fear of heights. That meant, slowly letting go, embracing difficult situations and celebrating what life 'should' be. Just like the balloons descending into the air, it is my inner yearning, too, wanting to break free.

To document this, I was first inspired to do an ombre color effect as shown in the photograph via painting different shades of blue on white cardstock. Then, I die cut some balloon tickets strips and matted them with patterned paper. The repeated photos on the layout show yet another breakthrough moment - my taking a hot air balloon ride in Korea. I complemented the photos with more celebratory elements like the balloon chipboard and butterfly die cuts. Indeed, this is how life should be celebrated and I'm glad to come thus far.

 

Photo Credit: 79 Ideas

Janna Werner

The Crate Paper 'July" weekly theme is "celebration". When browsing the internet for an inspirational picture, I fell immediately in love with this beautiful, shabby setting. I adore the wood floor, the light room with splashes of color and finally, the minimalism of it all. It's so expressive. I knew right away that I wanted to add white wood grain to my card, twine and the colors of the balloons. I didn't use a balloon image on the card, but Crate Paper's The Pier offers balloon themed papers and embellishments. The card I created consists of lots of layers. Actually, I didn't want to use that many layers, but when I got out all my favorite Crate Paper papers, I couldn't stop myself :) I wanted the card to be very light, just like the room. The vellum bag filled with sequins is perfect as the vellum dampens the intensity of the colored sequins. The twine is a fun detail - I wrapped it around the clothespin and afterwards, around the card. If wanting to open the card, you'd have to unwrap it first, just like a present. As the twine is attached to the clothespin, it won't get lost upon opening the card.

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Due to time constraints, there will not be an open challenge this month - join us next month for an exciting "Creative Weekly" challenge as it will entail a giveaway of a brand new Crate Paper Fall/Winter release!! You won't want to miss it...seriously folks :) 

Crateware Catch-Up :: Open Gallery - Final Day

On this Fourth of July Holiday, we bring you a final set of Crateware Creations from the Crate Paper Design Team. What makes these projects exceptionally special are the collections in which they represent, the much loved Maggie Holmes, DIY Shop, Party Day and The Pier. Soon, they will be followed by a brand new release, the GREAT BIG reveal, scheduled to begin Wednesday, July 17th. We can't wait - let the celebration begin! Happy Fourth of July, everyone!

Janna Werner

Every baby should have an album like this; blank pre-embellished pages on a ring with room for photos, stories and unforgettable first year memories. Janna Werner created the album from scraps of Crate patterned papers, accent cards and random ephemera. It's simply charming.

 

Rebecca Luminarias

"Cool treats are a must during summertime and the colors of the chipboard goodies from The Pier are so yummy, I had to create a set of...something with them. Because they aren't too big, tags seemed like just the thing since I wanted to make each sweet the focal point. To keep the look cohesive, I used The Pier Accent Cuts and Tags as the base for all except one, and then added a simple white strung tag. Stickers and a few embellishments from the Ephemera Pack dressed up each tag and I added a mini clothespin to finish them off. We usually attend several picnics and barbeques in the summer and these are the perfect things to accompany a tasty dessert or thank-you confection for the hostess."

 

Evelyn Pratiwi Yusuf

"The Pier is the perfect collection for your summer scrap-themed projects! I used all of the collection on this layout - can you search it out? I keep playing up it's warm colors, though love it's "cool"side, too. Have fun in the sun with your family and loved ones - remember, the tan will fade, but the memories will last forever."

 

Evelyn Pratiwi Yusuf

"As you might know, I have two lil' brothers, but did you also know that I have a lil' sister, too? I dedicated this layout to her. I rarely scrapbook about her, but this time, I went for it and did a pinky summer layout about her and my dad using the magical collection, The Pier. I created my own background using white transparent washi tape. Printed are the words "Make today absolutely amazing!". I added the rows of washi tape to white cardstock and sprayed the middle with Pink Mist to give it some color. Fun, eh? Lastly, I added the pink polaroid frames with the cute photos and gathered pink and gold embellishments around them."

 

Deb Duty

Pool + Sun = Fun...these layouts from Deb Duty are totally fun, and design-savvy. With the addition of only a few Accent Cards, Misc. Chipboard Embellishments and Photos, she scrapbooked two unconditionally beautiful layouts. Summer Splash ahead!

 

Jeanette Lee

"Scrap your stash! I am an advocate of using my stash and that means I keep my scraps in a pile, reminding myself that it is a must to use them before cutting a new set of papers. So, why not use your scraps as inspiration for your next layout? For example, with this layout, I used the remaining papers I had left from the Maggie Holmes collection. I coordinated them "just so" 'til the composition felt right. I was surprised by how quickly the layers formed. I also discovered new ways to embellish my page - a self-made butterfly punched from vellum and scrap paper & an envelope adorned with string, stickers, alphas and a cute flower pin."

Crateware Catch-up :: Open Gallery - Day 2

Sasha Farina

As we continue with the week's "Crateware Catch-up", first in line is Sasha Farina's abundantly colorful spread, Glad I Have You. A clean background greeted by Crate's old & new patterned papers and embellishments are just a few of the qualities we like about this work of art. So much to look at and take in, and Crate surprises throughout.

 

Katie Ehmann

"I love this photo of my girls with their friends, and The Pier patterned papers complement the moment beautifully! I punched multiple stamp shapes from different papers and sewed them in strips for a fun look. I kept my embellishments fairly simple and then added my title directly to my photo."

 

Jeanette Lee

"My niece is at a stage where she likes to wear dresses. This means that as much as we try to make her wear anything else, she refuses to accept. To document this, I used papers and embellishments from The Pier collection. Even though the Pier focuses on Summer-like beach elements, it's versatility still allows for lots of flexibility to create a fun, whimsical and non-beach like layout. One tip would be to select more neutral elements like the 'balloons' and the 'pinwheel'. I also created a vellum pocket filled with gold sequins and confetti."

 

Sophie Crespy

Through repetitive use of similar shapes, creating a supportive framework around a photo is a cinch! This layout from our dear Sophie Crespy does just that! The background is a reshaped piece of DIY Shop patterned paper and on top, random recycled Pier chipboard frames furbished with cute chipboard clothing! It's a beautiful, clever arrangement!

 

 

Rebecca Luminarias

"Sometimes, things just come together so easily. Maybe it's because the elements are made specially to coordinate, or maybe there's just a pile of random scraps sitting on your desk..but every once in a while a project is a cinch to create. That was the case with this card -- and I was thrilled! I loved the "Sunscreen" paper from The Pier the first time I saw it and I've had a piece laying out for a couple months, waiting to be used. I've definitely had a thing for peachy oranges and creams lately, too, of which there happen to be a wealth in The Pier collection. the "Good Day Sunshine" accent card had to be used and when I put a couple of DIY Shop paper scraps together with the "Sunscreen" paper and accent card, I loved what I saw. All I had left to do was add a tag, that fantastic pinwheel, the "Fun" place marker, and a couple of other bits, and this card very quickly made itself!"

 

Rebecca Luminarias

"Let's face it -- you can never have too many birthday cards at the ready. Don't you always know someone who's having a birthday party? I love the Party Day line because it's all about birthdays and celebrations. It's definitely been my go-to line when creating cards for kids and men because of the neutral colors and patterns. Festive and fun are words that come to mind when describing the collection. Soft and sweet might be reserved for Maggie Holmes and DIY Shop..that's why this card seems so unexpected. But, when I paired up the Polaroid Frame with the Birthday Girl label die-cut and pink Accent Card, a very feminine card was born. It has it's fun, festive element -- that cute, pearly pinwheel -- but the rest of it is just soft, sweet and feminine."

 

Rebecca Luminarias

"I have a huge soft spot in my heart for the DIY Shop collection. I think it has become my favorite of all the Crate releases this year..um, maybe ever. I love the beautiful colors, the vintage patterns, and all of the embellishments. I've made several cards from the papers, including this one. I would tell you that the black and white striped design is my favorite paper, but so is the tiny floral print and so is the wood grain and so is..are you catching on? They're all my favorites, really, and I think one reason is because they all seem to play so nicely with each other! Seriously, every single time I'm looking at this collection, I see at least four new projects I want to create with it."

Crateware Catch-Up :: Open Gallery!

Each month, the Crate Paper Design Team sends inspiration straight to our inbox. Lucky Us. Some of what they send is intended for "Crateware", Crate's gallery posting. This week, we reserved three days worth of space for Crateware Catch-Up. Come take a look at what our designers have been up to! Surely, you'll find something to 'pin'...

Magda Mizera

One of the great highlights of "The Pier" is it's soft, warm color palette. It captures Summer's sweet, memorable moments from every angle; calm, excited, day, night and all of the above.

 

Anabelle O'Malley

"I love everything about "The Pier" line. I thought I'd create some fun, summery cards using mostly the embellishments. Each of the cards features a similar design. I started with a frame (I used the chipboard and slide frame ones). Then, I layered on more chipboard, stand-outs and some of the stickers. They were really quick and easy to make, but they pack a big punch. Who wouldn't love to receive a summery note card or a beach themed birthday card?!"

 

Janna Werner

The most meaningful birthday gift is often handmade and heartfelt. How many times have you framed a photo and given it to a friend or family member as a gift? Janna, using a combination of Crate collections, created this sentimental layout as a gift for her father - a beautiful piece to last a lifetime!

 

Jeanette Lee

"When school is out, the kids love to play outside. With that thought in mind, I wanted to create a fun, whimsical layout, something that truly represents how I feel about longing for a nice warm afternoon at the beach. The goal was to use less patterned paper and allow the photos and embellishments take center stage. Thus, I created rows across the page using chipboard accents and pinwheels. I love how the string of embellishments compliment the cloud paper background, giving the illusion of them floating in the sky. To create some additional fun layers, I used bits and pieces from the gold foil thickers pack and placed them in the center of the pinwheels."

 

Megan Klauer

"Oh my little girl is such a tomboy! She loves to play outside and this is the "messy little marvin" I came home to after a photo shoot one weekend. I guess a little dirt won't hurt!"

 

Sasha Farina

No matter the Crate collection, your color options are unlimited. Just look outside the bounds of any CP collection, and you'll find an array of hues to choose from; bright/muted, harmonious/opposite and so forth. Sasha created a layout using only the primary colors, yellow, blue & red. It's wonderfully playful!

 

Sophie Crespy

Across the board, frames are popping up everywhere! The Pier's highly sought after chipboard polaroid frames are a favorite among many, including the Crate Paper Design Team! Sophie layered them up with cute kid pictures and a few of Pier's patterned papers - a foolproof focal point for photo presentation!

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July Crate Paper Guest Designer :: Sam Ho

Hello there, my name is Sam. I'm a paper addict based in Singapore. I just gave birth to a baby boy, Ivan in Easter this year. I started scrapbooking when I moved to Singapore a year-in-a-half ago. I joined a beginner scrapbook class at one of the local scrapbook stores and have been hooked since! I'm currently a SAHM who enjoys playing with papers, glue and scissors until the wee hours. I don't exactly know what my style is, but it seems I can't complete a layout without adding machine stitching, paint splatter and a splash of color. I normally prefer to create layouts exclusively, but this year, I started on a Project Life Album! There are times when I love to make mini albums and cards for friends and family. I'm thrilled and honored to be July's CP Guest Designer. I love Crate Paper so much that I have a tendency to hoard it's designs instead of using them to create beautiful projects. Crate Paper has always been my favorite, as it routinely outdoes itself and never fails to inspire me!

TEN about me RANDOMS

I have a total of nine dogs (yes, you read me right!) with me, my parents and inlaws. All have been the primary subject of recent layouts. No, I don't have any cats.

I have to watch video scrapbooking tutorials before I go to bed every night.

I've been addicted to Instagram ever since switching to an iPhone 5. 

I love everything chocolate, be it ice cream, truffles, brownies, you name it!

I can't sew, but I enjoy crochet Amigurumi (stuffed toys) when I've the patience.

I've known my husband since the age of thirteen. I'm so blessed that our relationship is still going strong.

I have a beautiful backyard, but I dislike gardening and stepping on the grass.

I just taught myself coptic stitching for book binding. I plan to learn more about other wonderful stitches. Don't you just love the tutorials shared by talented people from around the world? 

I used to run a dog shelter/dog rescue group with a bunch of friends, housing approximately 250 dogs.

I'm not a coffee person, but I enjoy catching up with my girlies over a cup of coffee whenever I go back to my hometown.

 

I Wouldn't Trade You...

 When I received the Maggie Holmes collection, I was amazed by the pretty papers and literally, wanted to use all of them on my projects. For this first project, I couldn't decide which paper to use, so I simply cut paper strips from those papers that I most liked and put them all on one layout. I adore the white glitter Thickers (a perfect font!), the butterfly die-cuts, the ribbons and finally, the hair pins.

I stacked the die-cut butterflies and added a pretty hair pin to make the embellishment pop.

The die-cut ephemera pack is the perfect embellishment assortment for quick clusters like this one, just below my photo.

 

I Love You, Too

This is by far my favorite photo of my baby boy, Ivan. His expression and the sentiment on the onesie never fails to make me giggle every time I look at the photo. So, I chose to use the cheery, happy collection, Party Day, to create this layout. Not only are the colors ideal for birthday-themed projects, they're great for baby and children-themed layouts as well!

I gathered a couple of circle elements (die-cuts, brads and buttons) and clustered them next to my photo.

Lately, I've been into off-the-edge embellishing. So, again, I layered many die-cuts and stickers in the top left corner of the layout and machine stitched them. It's an easy-peasy way to create dimension - and the brads and buttons are so cute and lovely!

 

Project Life Inspired Spread :: Welcome Baby

This is my stress-free way of documenting my baby bump and baby photos. The feel-good colors of Party Day make this spread look cheery, which totally fits the theme - 'Welcome Baby'! A baby's first day is considered his/her very first birthday, right?

I used Party Day's patterned vellum in one of the pockets - love the effect!

I also went a little crazy with layering again, and I just know that as a result, I'll end up with a very bulky Project Life Inspired Album when all is said and done.

 

Enjoy the Little Things

I'd been wanting to dress up the wall in my craft area for months, but had yet to find anything inspirational and motivational worthy of wall space. I stumbled upon some wall art using embroidery hoops on Pinterest one day and I just knew right then and there that I had to make something similar, but from paper! I dressed up various sized hoops with Maggie Holmes, Story Teller and Fourteen. It was super easy - I traced the hoops onto patterned paper and trimmed away! I then added some die-cuts, chipboard pieces and stickers - done :)

Thanks for looking! Happy Crafting!

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Sam certainly has a style all her own, don't you think? It's whimsical, but with a hint of cuteness captured by all the itty-bitty pieces of paper and embellishments that adorn each of her projects. It has been an absolute joy and honor to have Sam guest design with Crate Paper this month. Thank you so very, very much! We're loving the hoops :)