Crate Paper

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!

Alphabet Canvas Tutorial :: Katie Ehmann

Hi Crate Paper fans! Katie Ehmann here with a fun and easy Alphabet Canvas tutorial. I've been seeing all sorts of cool typography art at Pinterest lately, so I decided to create my own Alphabet Canvas for my youngest daughter's room. I especially like the eclectic look with mixed up fonts and colors, so I chose Flea Market patterned papers in a wide variety of colors and prints.

Supplies

Patterned Paper, Unfinished Art Canvas 24" x 28", Silhouette Cameo, Mod Podge & Small Paint Brush

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Using my Cameo, I jumped right in choosing various fonts and sizes for each letter, which I then cut one at a time from different sheets of patterned paper.

I laid out each letter on my canvas as I worked to ensure that I had a nice variety of colors, sizes and fonts. If you like a more uniform look, you could easily use the same font and size for each letter.

If you'd like to recreate my canvas exactly, her is the list of fonts and sizes that I used for each letter:

A {Wisdom Script} 7" x 7.4", B {Blackoak Std} 6.2" x 4.7", C {Elephant} 5.8" x 3.8", D {Franklin Gothic Heavy} 7.6" x 4.6", E {French Script MT} 10.7" x 4.8", F {Rockwell Extra Bold} 4.6" x 3.3", G {Chunk Five Roman} 7.2" x 5.6", H {CKAlayna} 5.3" x 3.3", I {Rockwell Extra Bold} 8.3" x 3.2", J {Wisdom Script} 5.5" x 4.3", K {Century Schoolbook} 7.2" x 4.6", L {Wintermelon} 7.2" x 2.5", M {Century Schoolbook} 4.3" x 3.4", N {Wintermelon} 8.4" x 3.4", O {Bebas Neue} 7" x 2.2", P {Wintermelon} 4.9" x 1.6", Q {Blackoak Std} 4.6" x 4.5", R {Wisdom Script} 7.4" x 4.7", S {Hobo Std} 3.8" x 2.4", T {Pacifico} 9.4" x 3", U {Chunk Five Roman} 8" x 5.7", V {Blackoak Std} 6" x 2", W {Wintermelon} 7.3" x 5", X {Bebas Neue} 6.4" x 2.3", Y {Wisdom Script} 5" x 4.4", and Z {Rockwell Extra Bold} 6" x 3.7"

Once your letters are cut and arranged on your canvas, it's time for Mod Podge! With a small brush, apply Mod Podge to the back of a letter and then flip and position it on the canvas.

Apply another thin coat of Mod Podge on top of the adhered letter.

Repeat for all 26 letters and let dry overnight. The next day, apply another thin coat of Mod Podge to the entire canvas, making sure to cover each letter as well as the unfinished canvas. When dry, hang your canvas and enjoy!

A CP Gal Scraplift & Maggie Holmes Flea Market :: Michiko Kato

It's true that sometimes, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I've put together a beautiful example of this via a layout inspired by Katie Ehmann, a CP Gal who's work is greatly admired by Crate Paper and it's fans. I often think her layouts and photos are super cute, as is her eccentric, playful style. I have to say that when I saw her "lily" layout, it became a major favorite of mine, so I decided to scraplift it and share the end result with you at Crate's blog...

Here is Katie's original layout - such preciousness. It's crafted from the new Maggie Holmes collection, Flea Market.

I'm highly attracted to circles - they make for an inviting layout! Katie's circles and photos are beautiful. They're well balanced and propped up by lots of color and other embellishment tidbits. Even the small rosebuds are a nice complimentary accent - they blend seamlessly with the tailored arrangment of circles that I so very much like.

Next, is my turn - I altered the circle arrangement slightly; I spread them apart and mixed them with journaling prompts. The circles are the exact same as Katie's and from the same Flea Market patterned paper. I used hand-trimmed roses instead of the rose bud cabochons.  The background is created from Flea Market's Bokeh vellum layered on top of white cardstock. 

Creating this layout was a quick, no-brainer process as Katie's layout was burned into my memory. Adding hints of originality like the journaling prompts and white water coloring helps to differentiate the two layouts - both are distinctive in their own right and awe-inspiring.

I fell in love with Katie's layout the moment I laid eyes on it. I hope my interpretation of her design encourages you to consider the benefits of scraplifting. You'll find an ample number of wonderful layouts on this blog to add to your favorite's list! Consider scraplifting one - and thank-you to Katie for the inspiration!

Three Layouts + Lots of Photos :: Evelyn Pratiwi Yusuf

I know that the many of you have a lot of photos to scrap, but find yourself including only one or two photos on a single page. In the end, you're left with precious photos undocumented and you haven't a clue what to do with them. Today, I've got some great ideas for building multi-photo layouts that surpass the "two-photo" mark and are quick and easy to make! Rarely does a moment call for just one photo, so let me show you three beautiful layouts that are a prime example of "multi" at it's best with the help of Crate Paper's newest collections; Flea Market and Close Knit.

On this layout, I used four photos sized at 6 x 9 centimeters. First, I divided the layout into three sections; left, right and bottom. The top half is equally divided, with the left-half devoted entirely to my photos. To balance them, the right-half demos a large area of journaling and a playful arrangement of embellishments. To bring the photos together and to make them "pop", I matted them with gold vellum from the Flea Market collection. The journaling was typed up on the computer and printed out on white cardstock before being trimmed and added to the layout. If not confident in your handwriting, choose a carefree script font to replace it. Finally, I placed a title along the bottom that stretches across both areas, right and left. 

 

With this next layout, I had four landscape photos showing what I wore on the day of my birthday. This time around, I spread them across the entire layout. I used the Close Knit collection to divide the page into two parts; top (pictures) & bottom (title).

I pushed for more layering with these photos to create a dynamic feel and to give the impression of a clothes-line fashion board.  I hung the photos from thread and dressed the area up with clothes pins, epoxy droplets and buttons! Together, the photos are front and center!

The bottom consists of layered chipboard and wooden die-cut elements. Next to it, is the layout's title, constructed from large sized alphas intended to balance my fashionable photo line-up!

 

For this last layout, I combined both portrait and landscape photos. As the entrance, the top is where I positioned the layout's largest photo. On either side of it are two portrait photos. In the lower right corner, I balanced the large photo with two smaller photos. If you look at the layout closely, you'll notice that the composition looks like the letter "x" - the photos sit opposite of each other.

I covered the remaining blank spots with matching patterned paper and embellishments from the Flea Marker collection.

Good Luck - it's time to experiment with your own multi-photo mix! Even though it might seem difficult in the beginning, you'll be surprised by the end result and how easy it is to make a layout with lots of photos! See you at my next post; Evelyn Pratiwi Yusuf.

Sweet and Tidy Gift Boxes :: CP Gal Magda Mizera

Hello CP Fans, it's Magda here with some ideas for pretty gifts. When starting my photography business, I thought it a nice gesture to give my clients handmade gifts. It also seemed like a great way to show them how special and unique they were to me and how much I appreciated being there, with them, to capture their inner circle of family and friends.

The packaging began with the creation of various boxes for storing photo-related correspondence such as gift cards and photo session invitations. Eventually, I went about making boxes for photos, too.

 I admit that the boxes are a grand success - my clients are happy with such personalized treatment because each and every box I give is made with love and is different from the next. They smile upon seeing the boxes, which makes me so very happy. I figure it's the least I can do after they afford me the opportunity to be a "small" part of their lives - behind the lens and on paper. 

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As an extra treat, here are a few layouts I recently created from the new Flea Market & Close Knit collections. The first pays homage to circles and the joy of Friday and the next, to an assembly of petite embellishments arranged playfully around a quaint photo about mingling and a "home full of love". 

They are precious, aren't they? It doesn't really take a whole lot to reflect upon life's small moments - which makes these layouts all the more special. Have a lovely weekend! We'll see you Monday!

Crate Inspired Die-Cut Backgrounds w/Jeanette Lee

Hey everyone, it's Jeanette here with another Crate Style offering. For the longest time, I hesitated in buying a die-cutting machine, even after seeing the immense variety of background patterns that could be created. It's expensive and I wanted time to think deeper as to whether or not one was necessary. This resulted in me telling myself that I could replicate the "look" on my own. So today, I will share some tips as to how to create your own die-cut backgrounds with just your everyday supplies and tools.

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Masking & Misting Technique

If we look through our scrapbook supplies, I'm sure that everyone owns a variety of mask templates. More intricate and rounded mask designs are harder to cut with your craft knife, so to save time and effort, I recommend locating mask designs that have straighter lines and larger surface areas.

When getting started, a good trick that I found is to first spray a layer of fine mist over the intended area for creating your die-cut background. This is the area in which you'll be cutting your design from. Now, select shapes to remove with your craft knife. Leave some of the misted areas untouched so that they shine through, creating a customized background pattern - something a machine can't do!

Here are a few close-ups of the final layout...

**Tip: The new Flea Market has plenty of lovely vellum die-cuts, which I'm sure everyone will love! However, they can be quite tricky to adhere to a page without allowing the adhesive to show through. What I did was use two chipboard pieces to attach the vellum camera to the page - skipping additional adhesive entirely.

Using the same masking and misting technique, here is another layout created using the older Maggie Holmes collection. It's the same mask, but look how different the background looks on this page compared the earlier one.

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Creative Templates On-Hand

For this next do-it-yourself die-cut session, you'll want to find a few punch outs, a 3 x 4 heart journaling card (Close Knit), some wooden veneers and a large chipboard heart. All are potential templates that may be used to create your own die-cut background.

Placing the chipboard heart on your sheet of paper, trace around it with a pencil and use a craft knife to remove it. Thereafter, position patterned paper behind the cut-out  and adorn it with embellishments.

**Tip: When contemplating a color combination for a layout, sometimes, the answer lies in looking at the original patterned paper. Manufacturers clearly have a good eye for color, so if yellow, red and teal work well together, you know it's definitely worth trying out on your own. It will certainly save time in having to find your own coordinating colors. I call it the simple way out!

Using the same steps as above, cut out the heart shape from this 3 x 4 journaling card. There are dotted lines, which makes it all that' much easier to go around with a craft knife.

Finally, to tie together all the elements on this layout, I created straight lines between each section. A simple needle and thread could enhance these lines and that's exactly what I did. Simply draw straight lines with a pencil, poke holes and sew away!

I hope this inspires you to get started on your own background die-cut patterns. There are endless possibilities. Explore them, come up with what works best for you and I'm sure the end result will be equally as good, even without a die-cutting machine. After all, a machine can only help quicken your scrapbooking process, but it's truly YOU that makes a page worthwhile as it embraces your creativity and effort. Have a good day!

Flea Market Vellum Pocket Tag Set w/Anabelle O'Malley

 

I love to have sets of cards and tags ready to go for those last minute occasions that arise. That is why I decided to create a set using the Flea Market line. This collection is just gorgeous and filled with beautiful colors, sweet motifs and fun, vintage details. I chose to use some of the softer elements and paired them with vellum to create a pretty set of vellum pocket tags.

Here's what I did....

I started with some shipping tags and my watercolors.

I wanted to add some soft color to the tags without overwhelming them. Here are a couple of the tags that I painted.

Once they dried, the fun part began. I used the die-cuts, some chipboard and some stickers from the collection to embellish the tags. I also used the resin flowers. They were the perfect accent! I purposely left my tags sentiment free so that I could add my own later, depending on my needs.

Next, I cut three strips of vellum to 3" x 8". I stitched around the edges to create my pockets.

After sliding the tags into the pockets, I embellished them as well. I tried to use elements that complemented the tag inside, since you can partially see them through the vellum.

I love how all of the little pocket tags look together and am even thinking of tying them together with twine and using them as a gift themselves. That is, if I can give them up :)

Thanks for stopping by today. Have fun creating your own tags!

Flea Market Birthday Party Decor w/Katie Ehmann

Happy Almost Fall Crate Paper Fans! Katie Ehmann here today with some quick and easy birthday party decorations. My youngest daughter turned four this month, and even though we celebrated at home with close family, I wanted to do something special for her big day! She's a girly girl, so Maggie Holme's Flea Market collection worked perfectly for some cute, but simple decor. First, I created a fun banner using an assortment of patterned papers, my Silhouette Cameo, some American Crafts gold glitter ribbon and my sewing machine. I simply cut various banner shapes in approximately 5 x 8 inch pieces, and machine sewed them to the gold glitter ribbon.

Next, I created a birthday crown for my little princess with patterned paper, my Silhouette Cameo, the same gold glitter ribbon, resin flowers, a stand-out embellishment and a number "4" chipboard piece, all from Flea Market. I sewed the ribbon along the bottom, assembled the crown and added the embellishments. Super easy, but she loved it!

Finally, I made a mini banner for the cake with a banner punch, patterned papers, my sewing machine and two wooden skewers. I punched the banners, sewed them together (making sure to leave long threads on each end) and then tied the threads to the skewers.

As you can see, my daughter loved her special handmade decorations and she had a wonderful 4th birthday!

Think Crate :: Back-to-School Projects

CP Gal: Rebecca Luminarias

I love to make gifts so when back-to-school time comes around, I think about the teachers, especially my most favorite teacher - my mom! When she was teaching, I remember her keeping a zillion lists and always being well organized. With this in mind, I made up a few notebooks and some clothepin magnets to help teachers stay on top of their lesson plans. I like using index cards to make my own lists so with a little bit of basic glue, I assembled some index card pads and then adhered them onto trimmed papers from the DIY Shop. When thinking academically, DIY Shop has wonderful components to it, like numbers, maps and typewriters, which inspire learning and can be tailored to any school subject -- Math, English, Geography, etc. Matching tags and simple packaging make the notebooks a cinch to hand out.

The clothespins are an incredibly simple but stylish way to control loose papers, photos and lists. These clips are also from DIY Shop and all I did was add a magnet strip to the back of them. Teachers can organize based on the time of day or day of the week. These sets came together in less than five minutes!

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CP Gal: Magda Mizera

I've never been a huge fan of school ;) I'd rather read books than learn math or chemistry. But now, as an official "grown up", I take the initiative to learn something new everyday! Lately, I've been learning a lot about photography. I took a few online Photoshop classes and read a couple of books about marketing and how to run a business. Both have taught me the value and importance of education - it builds intelligence and improves my overall well being.

With this layout, I tried to bring attention to my little nieces and nephews - all of them recently started school and a few are a tad bit lost. What's better for them than a smart aunt to tell them about the importance of learning? :)

I made this page with the new Crate collections - mostly Close Knit, which I really, really love. It has soft patterns, pretty embellishments and such a gentle, beautiful color palette.

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CP Gal: Deb Duty

This layout documents the start of my son's senior year using Crate Paper's Close Knit collection, plus the ledger paper from Flea Market. I wanted to list the classes he's taking this year so I used ledger patterned paper and a notebook punch to create a space for his schedule. Then I listed his classes using a roller alpha stamp. This would be a good spot for journaling on school layouts, too!

Think Crate :: Back-to-School Projects

CP Gal: Sophie Crespy

My girl entered second grade this year and I really wanted to document how excited she was about learning more. I dug into the amazing Maggie Holmes "Flea Market" collection to find embellishments that would relate to school and believe it or not, I found many! I mainly used chipboard pieces and die-cuts that I then arranged and layered to create a fun "panel" of displayed frames, all school related: the earth, the typewriter, the star...a kind of "back to school" mood board if you like.

I played with three main colors: pink, green and black, all which can be found in my photos. I backed the frames with my favorite matching colored patterned papers to make them stand out from the pink background. Then, I placed my embellishments making sure all the colors were evenly spread throughout the layout. The touches of gold are also perfect for the theme and add so much light thanks to the hue's reflective nature. I'm sure my girl will shine in second grade!

I also wanted to share this simple way in which I use the pins from the Maggie Holmes "Flea Market" collection: as bookmarks! They make the most lovely bookmarks ever and look so good on my bedside table!

Yes, this collection is most ideal for back to school projects!

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CP Gal: Jeanette Lee

So, how do you start a school themed layout when your papers and products don't deem fit for the theme? I simply pulled out embellishments from the Crate collections in my stash that I knew would work without a hitch! For example, I opted for papers that included a number pattern, an alphabet background and a ruler ledger paper. I then partnered them with a typewriter and clock.

With minimal school themed products at my disposal, I went the direction of die-cutting; it fills up the space and also, acts as an embellishment all it's own. I die-cut a series of words centered on the subject of "school" and placed them next to my photo. Lastly, using the same black cardstock, I used a punch to create a torn notebook edge - I scrunched it slightly to give it a worn look for added dimension. It lends an authentic "torn notebook paper" feel.