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I'm a 33 year old software engineer married to a full-time graduate student (and med school hopeful). We don't have kids, so my scrapbooks are filled with photos of our everyday (and not so everyday) adventures. We love to travel when our work and school schedules line up to allow it, and when we're at home we're always into something (the current project is DIY'ing a new kitchen from the floor up). I love documenting all of those things in my albums and having them to look back on. It's amazing how many things my scrapbooks remind me of that I would have otherwise forgotten!
About my style - I never know quite what to call my style and usually just settle for "simple and eclectic". I like lots of white space (though often that space isn't quite so white as I love using patterned paper backgrounds), just one or a few small photos blocked together on a page, and lots of little bits like die cuts, stamped images, tags and another other tiny pieces that I can layer up. I love lots of COLOR especially, and love to include it on my pages.
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Blog Material: The Scrappy Jedi
Pinterest Gallery: Melissa Stinson
Project Gallery: scrappyJedi
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Crate Paper has been eyeing Melissa Stinson's ultra trendy scrapbook layouts for quite some time. We finally decided to add her the design team once and for all. You are going to love what she has to offer Crate Paper's collections and blog - guaranteed! She has a HUGE following and we're delighted to have her on board. Say "hello!" to Melissa Stinson and her first ever, Crate DIY project...
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The new Flea Market collection by Maggie Holmes immediately brings thoughts of repurposing, reinventing and upcycling to my mind, so for my very first Crate Style post I've decided to go with a DIY theme!
I love to browse Pinterest for project ideas, and when I came across this post on making pretty drawer organizers from empty food boxes and this post showing a DIY desktop scrapbook supply organizer, I got the idea to combine the two together to make an organizer to keep on my desk to hold the latest scrapbooking kit or collection that I'm working with.
My organizer had a humble beginning as this display box that came home with me after a shopping trip at Sam's Club, and I started off by giving it a quick coat of spray primer using a partial can left over from yet another past DIY project.
Once the primer dried, I chose a shade of acrylic craft paint from my stash that's a fairly good match for the aquas in Flea Market (if you're looking for a similar shade, I used Patina by Folk Art) and painted two coats of it on the front, sides, and parts of the inside of the box. I wasn't too worried about completely covering the inside since I planned to fill it up later, but I did make sure to paint most of the back and an inch or two of the inside of each side.
After the paint dried, I pulled out some empty snack boxes (obviously I have a thing for Clif Fruit Ropes) out and played around with arrangements until I had one I liked. I grouped all of the boxes toward the front of the container, leaving the back open to stand up patterned paper and 12 x 12 chipboard and sticker sheets.
Once all the boxes fit inside the way I wanted, I used the edge of the outside box to trace cutting lines and cut each of them at an angle to match the slope of the larger container. It's not perfect, but perfection really isn't allowed in my craft room!
Once the boxes were arranged, I started in on the fun part - covering them with patterned paper! I wanted to make sure that the visible parts of each box were covered while using as little of this gorgeous paper as possible (so I had plenty left for layouts!). I cut a panel for each side that was just tall enough to wrap a small amount down to the bottom, then cut another strip to cover the inside of the front and back along with the bottom of the box.
Once all of the boxes were covered, I placed them back into the larger container, using liberal amounts of hot glue to hold everything permanently in place.
I was thrilled with how my new organizer turned out, and I couldn't wait to fill it with scrapbooking goodies!
The little bins up front are perfect for holding small bits like resin flowers and cardstock die cuts. The larger middle bins hold paper scraps and larger embellishment sheets along with Thickers, and of course, the larger 12 x 12 items fit in the back.
With the Flea Market collection all loaded up, I decided to go ahead and scrap a layout while I was at it, all about one of my favorite DIY destinations - IKEA!
Our closest IKEA's are 4 and 8 hours away, but every once in a while, I get sent on a road trip for work that takes me right past one of them. These photos were taken on two of those trips as I browsed the store, getting ideas for our eventual kitchen remodel and a few other projects I have in mind around the house.
I love using my scrapbook products both on the page and off the page for DIY projects, and hopefully this post has inspired you to do the same!
Welcome Melissa! I love your work. So glad you are joining the team.
Posted by: Marie | October 10, 2013 at 06:33 AM
Lovely project and layout! Congrats Melissa, can't wait to see more of your work for CP!
Posted by: Mel Blackburn | October 10, 2013 at 08:46 AM
I love your project! It is so pretty with the MH papers. Going to try to make one too. Congrats on joining the DT!!
Posted by: Lisa Houpt | October 10, 2013 at 08:55 PM
Great way to recycle and custom make your own organizer! It turned out great. Keep up your great work and congratulations. I love seeing others succeed...it gives me hope! :-)
Posted by: Yun Kelly | October 13, 2013 at 07:45 AM
Lovely projects! Looking forward to your contributions on the blog :)
Posted by: Nina | November 15, 2013 at 05:11 AM