Crate Paper

Crate Chalkboard - Redo Frames + DIY Chalkboard Background

The chalkboard theme immediately made me think about school and learning, maybe because I'm a teacher! So, one morning, as I was taking my kids to school, I snapped this photo of my boy in front of the big chalkboard in his classroom: he usually loves to draw on it as soon as he enters his classroom. I left a big empty space on the right of the board, printed the photo in a large format and filled the board with words and numbers. I cut the words with my Cameo; learn, grow, to be, ...and added these cute numbers from Flea Market's chipboard.

The rest of the design is pretty simple: strips of paper trimmed from Flea Market's 6" x 6" patterned paper pad and a little cluster of embellishments. The result is a happy school themed layout and my little guy loves it! I gifted it to his teacher and she displayed it in the class! Guess who's a proud boy now?!

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The chalkboard trend seems to be everywhere right now. As a teacher, I certainly love it. The look is quite versatile. It can be the focus of a project or used as an accent. I decided to use chalkboard accents on my project and to tie it together with a shabby chic look. Maggie Holmes' Flea Market line was the perfect collection to use. I started off with three frames I'd picked up (for a quarter a piece) at a thrift shop. They were really quite ugly! I painted them with white acrylic paint, then dry brushed some metallic paint onto the edges for some added sheen. The chalkboard accents were cut from patterned paper and paired with chipboard, die cuts, resin flowers and stickers. I love how the black really pops against the white of the frames and the pastel embellishments. As you can see, the chalkboard look doesn't have to be overpowering. Used sparingly, it creates a beautiful contrasting element.

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You can't escape chalkboard. It's everywhere. From home decor, to craft and DIY and even fashion. My girls both have some t-shirts with a chalkboard inspired design. One of them came with a piece of chalk so you can write what you want on the day that you're wearing it! How cool is that?!

For this layout, I swiped an almost dry mini chalk ink pad onto my black cardstock and then buffed the whole thing with two pieces of facial tissue paper. The word "art" was cut using my Cameo on a piece of Close Knit's "Needle and Thread" patterned paper. I really think it resembles the actual chalkboard art seen everywhere these days, even if they're designed specifically to be cut from vinyl. I finished the layout with some layered die cuts and brads. Their vibrancy adds a lot to the layout!

Crate Chalkboard - Flea Market Cards & Chalkboard Paint

When I learned of this week's chalkboard theme, I knew I had to make some cards. Chalkboards have been a part of my life since elementary school and I'm so glad to see they've been reintroduced into interior design and the crafting worlds.

Instead of using a literal interpretation of chalkboard to incorporate into my cards, I chose to use chalkboard-inspired elements. For my first card, I used a chalkboard frame shape as an element of the design. In my second card, I used a chalkboard themed cardstock sticker as the focal point. And for my last card, I let the black hello pennant represent the chalkboard component. Chalkboards allow you to freely create, so I hope you can make something today using some of these tips.

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The Flea Market collection has such pretty colors and gorgeous patterns! It was perfect for this layout about my favorite camera in my tiny vintage camera collection. Flea Market has a variety of fun chalkboard elements to choose from. I used a color palette of green, pink and yellow, which is grounded by the grey background and black chalkboard accents. I also added in some gold elements...I especially love the gold Scrabble style alphas!

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Chalkboard is a huge trend in the world of scrapbooking. I love that chalkboard paint can be used in many different ways. I applied the paint onto the Close Knit wood embellishments and used a white gel pen to outline the hearts. I also applied a bit of paint directly onto the white cardstock and added my journaling on top of it, again with a white gel pen. As adding black to a page lets the entire layout appear darker, I used a lot of white space to let the scrapbook page appear softer and less massive.

Crate Chalkboard - Tag Box & Two Autumn Layouts

It's Day 2 of chalkboard happiness here on the Crate Paper blog. Whether jotting down a simple message on an old school chalkboard or compiling memories on a layout, the influence of today's chalkboard trend is far reaching. Just take a look at what these ladies have created!

I love the feel of the cozy new Fall collections from Crate Paper; Flea Market & Close Knit. They are ideal for documenting the warmth and beauty of Autumn. I decided to create a layout about a special morning I'd spent with my mother, eating breakfast and enjoying the peace and quiet of our home...it was touching and a moment I want to remember for a long, long time. 

This week's chalkboard theme is a challenge for me because I love bright colors and lots of white space. To my surprise though, I was more than pleased with the final outcome - a minimal layout balanced by a Maggie Holmes gilded gold chalkboard and an inviting table setting adrift with steam. Beautiful.

 

I love the little chalkboard frame embellishments in the Flea Market collection. They're very realistic looking and were the very first images that popped into my head when I heard that chalkboards were the theme this week. Tags are one of my most favorite things to make; you can make them as simple or as ornamental as you'd like, usually in a short amount of time. I make them a lot. This time, however, I wanted to change them up a little and come up with new ways to incorporate them into my gift package. What better way than with the button-brads from Close Knit? They matched my tags and ended up being the perfect closure for the bags--just fold them over, punch or pierce a hole, stick the prongs through and fasten. The bag stays closed but my recipient can still detach and even reuse the tag. For the boxes, I just used my paper piercer (and awl works, too) to poke a hole in the top of the box and attach the brad and tag. No adhesives needed! These tags are decorative enough that the packages don't really need any other embellishments. How easy can you get?!

 

Hello Everyone! Naomi here with a chalkboard themed layout! I really enjoyed this assignment. I just LOVE anything chalkboard..it just makes me happy! I also love Fall, so combine the two and I'm in scrapbooking heaven! For this layout, I took a favorite photo of my son throwing leaves and enlarged it for the layout. I then hand cut some leaves out of several patterned papers from Close Knit, Flea Market and some gold papers. For added texture, I attached them with twine and used them as photo corners for the photo. I love the chalkboard sticker in the "Flea Market" collection, so I layered that on top of the leaves.

To further add to the chalkboard theme, I used some of my favorite chalkboard looking fonts from dafont.com (free ones, woo hoo!) and then made a black document in Photoshop and crafted this design that includes my favorite Fall quote by William Cullen Bryant. I felt the quote really matched the flying leaves and my son's smile. I then used some chalkboard tape and a white chalk marker to add a bit of journaling below the photo. There are so many ways to play with the awesome chalkboard trend right now - be creative with it 'cause it'll take you just about anywhere.

Crate Chalkboard - Autumn Flea Market Mini Book

We took notice of the ever growing popularity of chalkboard art when we sat down to design our Fall & Winter 2013 Collections. The Maggie Holmes' Flea Market collection brings a large catering of scrap worthy chalkboard designs starting with its trendy gold framed ampersand - a chipboard piece that stands out as one of our favorites! Next in line is Flea Market's Mini Memory Book - two of its pages are literal chalkboards waiting to be filled. You'll find plenty of chalkboard playfulness within Flea Market, which leads us to this week's project theme: Crate Chalkboard!

 We challenged our design team members with creating chalkboard projects using Crate Paper's new releases. We'll be presenting the awesome creations all week long! Starting us off is this beautiful undertaking by our overseas designer, Evelyn Yusuf. She's crafted the most beautiful custom album from the Flea Market Clipboard Album. Inside are seasonal surprises galore and a coveted chalkboard page!

Living in Indonesia, located in Southeast Asia, doesn't allow the opportunity to feel and enjoy the crisp, cool air of Autumn like my other scrapbooking friends who live elsewhere, on other continents. We have only two seasons; Summer & rain. Even though we're without Autumn in Indonesia, I still like to create projects on the subject using warm, inviting color palettes. For this week's project theme, Crate Chalkboard, I created a mini album using both Flea Market and Close Knit.

I opted for Fall shades that matched my photos of my Husband and I on the day we celebrated are two-year wedding anniversary. Inside are the colors brown, black and "chalkboard" - all found within the Flea Market collection.

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Into the Woods - Sophie Crespy

Hi dear Crate Paper fans! Sophie here to tell you how crazy I am about all the latest wood to be found in the new 2013 Fall Collections; Flea Market & Close Knit. They are full of wood loveliness - patterned papers, die cut wood pieces, brads, stickers, Thickers and so much more. I wanted to use every little bitty piece!

I will focus most my attention on Close Knit, at least for today. I created three layouts using both a wood background and various wood accents.

Here is the first layout:

For this one, I used the wooden patterned paper, "Memories", from Close Knit. It looks like a beautiful inlaid floor and I love the mix of colors. It reminds me of the interwoven thread my girl is using for her new knitting project.

I cut a piece a paper the same width as my photo, backed them with yellow paper ("Fabric") and set them on top a happy green background ("Togetherness").

Then, I played up the chevron pattern. I accented it with diagonals trimmed from other Close Knit patterned papers using pop dots.

I also added two lovely epoxy wood brads on my layout as another unifying element and to further emphasize the "wood" theme.

I trimmed the title with my Cameo and and placed it on with 3D adhesive as well!

 

On the Second Layout:

I used this gorgeous wood paper called "Laughter" as a background on half of the layout.

Because the layout has strong linear lines, I balanced them with circular shapes. I punched out pieces from both the wood and green patterned papers and set out to create a visual triangle with them. The cute brads with the boy and girl silhouettes were the perfect addition to my photos and wooden background.

On the right side, I used clusters of embellishments; buttons, an arrow, a speech bubble and that tiny little house (can you spot it?). Oh how I love these!

I used a tone-on-tone title to keep with the theme.

 

Finally, I would like to share a third layout:

Of course, I've already shared this layout on my blog, but I think it's a good example of how well bright colors work with this wood "Laughter" paper. The rich brown color is deep enough to almost resemble a black background, making it the ideal Neutral!

The red, yellow and green "pop off" the page while emitting lots of energy and happiness.

I hope to have convinced you that wood is a fabulous option thanks to it's versatility and flexible nature. Not surprisingly, it's the perfect pick to document all your Autumn outings, too! Enjoy and have fun with all of Crate's wooden loveliness. We'll see you on Monday!

New CP Design Team Contributor - Melissa Stinson

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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! 

Crate 365 :: Crate Paper Pad & Pocket Pages w/Naomi Atkins

Hello Everyone! Naomi here, with a project 365 for you today. Last year, I had gotten a variety pack of page fillers for my album. I like to mix things up. To my delight, I found a page protector with four 6" x 6" pockets. I was so happy. I could easily use my papers from my Crate 6" x 6" pads and make three small layouts.

So, that's exactly what I did for the left side of my spread. I had these photos of my daughter cradling her baby..she does it all the time and I love it!

I did four "mini layouts", three containing a photo with embellishments and the fourth, with the week/title. I used a mixture of Close Knit and Flea Market on both sides. I love how the Crate collections are so different and versatile, yet they easily coordinate.

I used a roll of lace that I had and added that to each of the four mini layouts to tie them together. I also added lace to the right side of the spread that contains my Fall and apple orchard photos...

I used mostly papers and embellishments from Close Knit on the right side of the layout. I had some apple pictures from picking apples with the kids. They're as cute as can be!

I love how my Crate papers and supplies add beauty to my Crate 365 album without taking too much time. :)

I hope that you are enjoying the blissfulness of Fall and capturing lots and lots of photos! It's my favorite time of year!

October Guest Designer :: Jina Jean

Hi! CP Fans ~ I'm Jina Jean. I live in Seoul, South Korea with my family. Last June, I turned 37, but I'm still single. So, I entirely tend to concentrate on only myself, my favorite things and my life's desires. There's no exception to scrapbooking. My layouts and photos are mostly about my routines, hobbies and sometimes, my friends. My design style? Umm..instead of a description, I recommend checking out my projects as Crate Paper's October Guest Designer. Enjoy!

Jina Jean's Blog: Atelier B. {JINA-B}

 

LOVE

This layout was inspired by a home decor image in my memory. When I found the gold frame overlays from the Flea Market collection, I absolutely knew they would be the perfect frame decor for my layout - like pictures on a wall in an assortment of shapes, sizes and colors. A beautiful balance.

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HERE

I mostly love simple layouts with just one photo, but with a hint of texture. I always try to incorporate multiple textural elements using various mediums and embellishments; gesso, paint, fabric, gemstones, hardware, etc. On this layout, I created lace-up detailing using gold eyelets and thread. The two materials are opposites of each other - one is hard and cool, and the other, soft and flexible. I really like the unique combination of differing textures on this one page.

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ALWAYS

I have some favorite key words in relation to my taste in fashion, home decor and scrapbooking. Among them, the best is "romantic" - not overflowing, but restrained. So, when I spotted the heart bokah paper, I fell in love with it right away. How romantic the paper is with it's subtle pink hues! I complimented it with gold, soft textures and vellum accents. They make the layout airy and feminine.

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CRATE 365

I started Project Life about three months ago. These days, I'm seeking to figure out my true PL style - I certainly enjoy playing with various embellishments and fancy layers. Let me walk you through the cute details I made...

First, I joined the chalkboard trend - it's definitely chalkboard season!

I love the sequins and transparency window.

Even simple layers benefit from stitching.

Oh, so lovely - BIG ribbon!

Absolutely the best item in the Flea Market department - gold resin flowers!

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PARTY DECOR

Crate Paper is my favorite brand. I especially love all the beautiful flower patterns in every CP collection. They're a major source of inspiration for me! As soon as I saw the Flea Market collection, I couldn't wait to make an assortment of party decorations with it. No doubt, Flea Market is the perfect collection for party decor!

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VIDEO
Making Frills with tissue paper

Do you like tissue paper? It's one of my favorite materials. I think it makes layouts look soft and rich. So, I often enjoy making backgrounds that include tissue paper - this particular background was created via an easy-peasy method that is fun and highly textured. Check out my video to see it in action! I hope you like it...

 

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We want to express our sincerest thank you to Jina for such a lovely array of Crate Paper creations. Her knack for details and rich, romantic style is highly prized and adored by many and we are elated to share it here, at the Crate Paper blog. Thank you once again, Jina!

Close Knit Family Canvas :: Jeanette Lee

Hey everyone, Jeanette here with a fun and interactive canvas project that is bound to add more love and warmth to your home.

Even though my family members and I are close, we hardly take photographs together. So, when opportunities arise, we take annual shots to commemorate the growth of the family. Through the years, we have grown in numbers - from the additional members of my brother and sister-in-laws, to the birth of my nieces.

I decided to work on altering a canvas frame for the family wall and to hang it up in the living room.

These are the supplies needed to get started...

Plain Canvas, Kraft Envelopes with Journaling Cards and the Close Knit Collection.

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Believe it or not, all you need to create the layers for this project are two sheets of tags and accent cut-outs. This is my work-in-progress. I used wood veneers, epoxy button brads and ephemera die-cuts to craft a variety of designs for my tags. Seeing whatever you have on hand helps to make the scrapbooking process go by faster.

The goal was simple; focus on one large element for each tag - this could mean an embellishment or a photo. If ever stuck, I would move on to the next tag. Inspiration was bound to hit again, so I knew I could always return where I'd left off.

When it came to complimenting photographs, additional embellishments were kept to a minimum to ensure that the photos took center stage.

Once done, I played around with the positioning of the tags until they felt right. I used my ruler to ensure that each tag was perfectly aligned. Thereafter, I secured the tags onto the canvas with strong adhesive.

As a finishing touch, I jotted down personal messages to my family members. I temporarily adhered the cards to scratch paper, put them through the typewriter and typed away.

Thanks for spending time with me, today! I hope to have inspired you to start on an altered canvas - it's a yearly tradition that you can make your own for years to come!

A Flea Market Travel Album :: Marie Lottermoser

We recently spend a day sightseeing in Victoria, BC. It's such a beautiful city and I came away with so many pictures that I wanted to scrapbook and document right away...

So, I decided to use the eclectic and fun Flea Market mini clipboard album to memorialize the trip. I added a lot of gold to the pages, including Flea Market's gold doily vellum, cardstock sticker labels, scrabble alpha thickers and a sweet resin rose - they match wonderfully with the city's elegant, old world charm.

We spent the entire day walking around and taking in all of the sights. We met an artist who made the most amazing images out of chalk right on the sidewalk. There was art and beauty everywhere we went. I hope we get a chance to return and spend even more time there. 

There was one store window in particular that completely took my breath away. The Michal Negrin store window was full of paper cut-outs, fairies and Victorian theater. I had so many photos from there that they could have taken up every page in my album. Instead, I decided to print out the individual pictures and join them together, accordion style using washi tape along the back. It's almost like a mini-album within a mini-album. I secured the last picture to the page and added a pull tab. This clever addition allowed me to have five photos within a small area that would normally hold only one or two photos. Of course, I could of included more photos if I wanted - there is no limit to the number of photos that one can add when using this method.

On your next vacation, remember to capture a lot of photos! Use a mini-album to showcase them and an accordion style page to house any extras. I think you'll love the result!