Crate Paper

A Crate Paper Designer Gallery

 

It's an exciting, lively week at Crate Paper, and American Crafts. The warehouse has taken on a large arrangement of new shipments that include Crate Paper's Acorn Avenue & On Trend collections. Also, there's Sleigh Ride patterned papers and stickers, with the remainder arriving the end of October. As we prepare to deliver the fantastic, Summer '12 CHA releases to retailers, the Crate Paper blog is undergoing a behind-the-scenes makeover that will be of a familiar format, but with updated designs & a "trendy" personality to better match all our awesome new products! Upon it's premier, will be a very special multi-collection giveaway, a free downloadable CP Blinkie, renovated DT project galleries, fancy graphic headers, and other streamlined additions. And lastly, starting this month, most the projects you find here, will be exclusive to Acorn Avenue & On Trend. The CP Girls are already maximizing their stash, pulling together ideas to incite & inspire! The release is in full swing!

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CP Designer: Anabelle O'Malley

"I had so much fun layering goodies from the Little Bo Peep line on this page. Throughout the layout and around my photos, I used a lot of foam adhesive to add dimension. Beneath the photos is a pink chipboard frame and to the left, is a die-cut star burst decorated with a cluster of chipboard and cute pink brad."

 

CP Designer: Janna Werner

 Janna's layout is a blend of Acorn Avenue and On Trend, literally. If you take a close look at the photographs, you'll catch a peek of both - someone had a "Happy Mail" day!! Love the quad set-up, too - tons oh' fun!

 

CP Designer: Tami Gookstetter

An amusement park trip & a gorgeous, glowing sunset sit beautifully on top of Crate's "Party Guest" patterned paper {Backside} - sometimes, it takes only one sheet to truly set the tone of a layout. The pink is serene, just like the photo. 

 

CP Designer: Piradee Talvanna

"I opted to create this little catalog booklet for my ever growing typewriter collection (Honestly, I think I've gone crazy). The Booklet has a total of 12 pages (room for 12 typewriters), but unfortunately, the rest are currently in transit."

*We spot Story Teller behind them typewriters!!

 

CP Designer: Ashley Cannon Newell

Crafted from the "Little Boy Blue" collection, is a hand made card and box of the same sparkling theme, stars galore! The first set of stars are stamped and the second, is a die-cut box, trimmed and formed from paper. They're a precious set!

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Pre-Vacation Mini Album w/Sasha Farina

Sometimes, a project reaches us that is just too good to not share all in one batch! One such project is this travel-ready mini album from our CP Designer, Sasha Farina. A couple of days ago, she and her family headed to Phuket for vacation. Before departing, she put together a weather proof album to take with her on the trip. The goal of the album is to document a getaway while it's happening, rather than wait 'til after! She's left ample space for the addition of photos, journaling and memorabilia - the pages are enclosed in a plastic binder that is portable, manageable, and perfectly sized for travel. 

 

 

To learn more about the album, visit Sasha's blog HERE. Happy Summer Travels!

May's CP Creative Weekly :: Charts

 

 

 We're on day TWO of our charting expedition here at the Crate Paper blog. This week, the motivating source of inspiration is the traditional chart! They're a super convenient means of documenting information that is more easily understood when separated into sections, or individual parts that come together to encompass a whole. They're also a tremendous resource in terms of composition and do a wonderful job of defining paths for the placement of photos and journal entries.  They're even great for compiling and presenting small bits of random stuff from either an event, or vacation! There's a sample in today's mix that does just that, Claudia's trip to beautiful Paris, France! Read-on to find out more...

CP Designer :: Anabelle O'Malley

When I heard that our Creative Weekly for May would be 'Charting', I immediately thought of a "Week At a Glance Calendar'. You know, the very kind we all carry around to keep pace with our busy lives. I have been wanting to scrap the pictures of Ryan's birthday week (yes, it truly turned into a week long celebration) for a while now, so I thought this would be the perfect format to do it. I even cut my page into the shape of a file folder to give it more of a "chart-y" (is that a word?) feel. The papers are from the Little Boy Blue collection. I love that they're so versatile and can be used on more than just baby pages! Also, Accents and stickers from the Story Teller and Pretty Party collections make an appearance, along with chipboard from Little Boy Blue! All work together to help tell the story a week-long celebration that won't ever soon be forgotten!

 

CP Designer :: Lilith Eeckels

I really like to stay organized, and not surprisingly, charts help a lot! A chart is a graphical representation of data and there are so many ways to pull it off. One of them is the radar chart. For this chart-inspired project, the data is a set of quotes I found at Pinterest. I chose ones that motivated me. After typing them out on cardstock, I arranged them around a polaroid frame in the same way that one would plot data on a radar chart. I then added a vellum envelope to the mix, which holds additional quotes. Overall, the process is a personalized approach to this whole concept of charting. As of right now, the layout sits on an easel on my table - I love peeking at the quotes once in a while because they mean a great deal to me and they're arrangment is so much fun!

 

CP Designer :: Claudia Shadler

Claudia here with a project submission for Creative Weekly - Chart It! I immediately knew upon hearing about the weekly theme that I wanted to chart my weekend in Paris, France, a trip I took last March. For the most part, I vacationed in the french countryside, though eventually made my way to Paris before coming home. Paris was AMAZING! I spent a lot of time consuming the famous artist attractions in and around the city -from the Eiffel Tower to Versailles. To create the layout, I used the Story Teller collection, just the perfect paper assortment for documenting the unforgettable trip!  

Craft with Crate :: Lilith Eeckels & Wood Frames

 

Hi there everyone! For this series of Craft with Crate, I want to show you a simple, creative way to use my favorite Story Teller item, the Wood Frame Collection. Because normally, the wood frames would be considered a decorative addition to a layout or card,  I thought it'd be nice to use them as "actual" picture frames instead. Making them is super easy too - come check it out!

 

The Essentials

Story Teller Collection - Wood Frames, Clothes Pins, Mini Patterned Paper Pad, Brads, Stand Outs, & Chipboard Accents.

Pretty Party Collection -  Mini Patterned Paper Pad

Misc - White Acrylic Paint, 6" x 6" Piece of Plywood, Photo & Twine

 

The basis of the project is this 6" x 6" sheet of plywood. Paint all four edges with white acrylic paint for a nice, clean finish. Two coats might be necessary for full coverage.

 

After the paint is dry, adhere a 6" x 6" sheet of patterned paper (your choice - I opted for white since the frames are colorful all on their own) onto the upper surface of the board. Make sure the paper is without air bubbles and fully adhered to the board (Check the edges - they sometimes pop up).

 

Back each of the collection's three frames with patterned paper - For variety purposes, I chose to use three different patterned papers, one per frame.

Carefully consider where to sit each frame on the 6" x 6" board. Smallest to biggest in a triangular formation is easiest because it's recognizably balanced. Adhere them to the board with hot glue using a low temperature glue gun (or high). 

 

 

Use the wood painted clips to attach photos and journaling to the frame'(s). By using the clips, you can change the photos and journaling out at any time.

Go ahead and frame your memories and photos so that everyone may enjoy them! Have a lovely day & thank-you so much for stopping bye! Happy Crafting!

Craft with Crate - DIY Envelopes

 

When I was little, I remember that my mom used to make pretty envelopes with us kids. Once the new year was here, she would collect photo calendars from family and friends and during upcoming winter days (probably when we kiddos were really nagging and it was raining outside....) she would take out these calendars and we would all craft to classical music ;) The good old times...

It's actually a very SIMPLE process, let me show you :) 

Step 1. Find a cute envelope that you would like to replicate. Open it up, so you can use it as a pattern. Trace with a pencil and cut out the shape. 

 

Step 2. Now you've got the shape of your envelope. Now you'll want to score the lines to be able to fold it. This is easiest with the help of a ruler and folding bone. 

 

Step 3. You're almost done :) Fold over all the corners and get your hot glue gun ready to go! I just prefer this method, because it's instant and really hold the paper together. If you don't have one, use whatever adhesive you usually use for paper.

 

Step 4. Fold the side flaps over first, then fold the bottom part over the flaps. Glue down, and you're done with the envelope!

 

Step 5. Yes, I said you were done, but I couldn't resist making a second, smaller envelope. It's nothing special, just some beautiful matching paper. 

 

Step 6. To top it off, and to make it prettier, I added little flower embellishments as a closure for the envelope. This really adds some serious charm!

 

You see, it's really easy to make beautiful envelopes and surprise someone special with a heartfelt note!

Hope you enjoyed the lil' tutorial - Happy Scrappin'!

Crate Paper Product 5 Ways :: Suzanne Sergi

 

 

One of my ABSOLUTE favorite Crate Paper products is the chipboard shapes! You'll find a variety to select from, and they're all perfectly tucked onto a 12" x 12" chipboard sheet. They're easy to use "as is", however; today, I'm going to share five techniques on how to get more from your chipboard! I created mini tags, and mini treat bags from the Story Teller Collection. I also mixed in Pretty Party on one of the tags. I love the instant dimension that chipboard adds to my layouts, mini books, etc. There are so many creative uses for them, too, as you're about to find out! 

 

As you can see, Crate's Story Teller chipboard shapes are made from the most wonderful shapes and colors. They're also versatile enough to cover a wide spectrum of themes, Spring and Summer especially. 

I love creating tags. They're easy to make, and are a perfect decorative touch to just about any kind of gift. I've taken to making a few for today's tutorial. And if you look closely, you'll notice that each tag houses a chipboard piece that's been altered in some fun, unique way! I'm going to share with you how chipboard can be: Altered, Embossed, Glittered, Layered, and used as an adornment on a sweet package. Let's get started! 

 

 Altered Chipboard

On the first tag, I wanted to use this endearing chipboard butterfly. Now, this is one of those pieces that could probably stand alone "as is", but I'm going to demonstrate how easy it is to alter it. Maybe you have a project that calls for a specific color or pattern chipboard piece, but the chipboard you'd like to use doesn't fit the requirements. This is a super easy way to solve the problem.

 

I used three things to transform the butterfly into something a bit softer for the tag; patterned paper, an exacto knife, and a sanding block. Really, it's all you need to transform any chipboard shape into your own unique embellishment. First, trace the chipboard outline onto patterned paper and trim accordingly. Adhere the patterned paper butterfly onto the chipboard and sand down the edges. And for the center, as further decoration, I used a scallop circle and the "me" sticker from StoryTeller's Phrase Sticker collection.

 

Embossed Chipboard

Another one of my favorite "go to" techniques is embossing via the traditional embossing folder. Rarely will I scrapbook without them. And even though I have a variety of them to work with, I always seem to come back to the Swiss Dots folder from Provo Craft. It's neutral enough to go with anything and everything!

 

It's here that you can see the embossed circle chipboard sentiment in the center of the tag. Note how the chipboard suddenly "pops off" the tag and takes on instant character. As far as I'm concerned, if something can be embossed, I'm going to give it a go! 

To make the process of embossing a chipboard shape a little easier, remove a layer of chipboard from the back of of it. This allows it to fit better while rolling it through a die-cutting machine. For embossing, I normally turn to my Cuttlebug, but when the element is a bit thicker, I go to my second machine. I've never had a problem with embossing chipboard, but just in case, I save the best machine for last!

 

Chipboard on Chipboard

Next, on this tag, I simply layered chipboard on top of chipboard. In the center of the bicycle wheels, I positioned chipboard buttons and vellum. Doing this gives the bike instant charm, and a whole lot of extra dimension!

 

Glittered Chipboard

I love glitter, especially around the holidays. However, sometimes a bit of glitter is necessary for certain projects no matter the time of year, such as with this mini treat bag and cupcake. I ran the cupcake through my Xyron machine face down and dusted glitter on top it. It's the perfect topping for the sweet, freshly-baked cupcake!

  

Adorned Chipboard

Finally, with this last mini paper sack, I backed a photo with a chipboard polaroid frame. Honestly, it's never too early to think of Father's Day! However, the element I want to share with you is the Circle Number, 75. Amazingly, the chipboard pieces are easy to punch through, and serve well as an adornment on a paper sack, or mini album. I regularily add chipboard to my mini albums this way :)

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Again, chipboard shapes are so versatile, and there are many techniques to try with them. Today, I shared only five, each easily duplicated and fun-oriented - I hope you'll at least look at chipboard differently now that you've seen them all! Enjoy altering, glittering, embossing, layering, and my favorite, adorning, your projects with Crate's latest chipboard shapes! Have a wonderful Monday! 

Embellish with Story Teller - Jaime Warren

 

Hey Everyone, Jaime Warren with you today to share a brand new tutorial focusing on the art of combining different embellishments on a layout! As is often the case, I love to layer a mixture of embellishments throughout each one of my projects. I prefer them scattered, as well! And not surprisingly, with this latest release, Story Teller, I'm all about playing up it's stickers because they're totally eclectic and fun! I'm going to show you how I used them, and while at it, you'll find out exactly how I went about making the layout, too! 

 

To start, I layered the rectangle journal sticker on top a journal card with pop dots in the inner top right corner. From there, I surrounded the sticker & card with small sized doilies while paying close attention to the overall movement of my layout. Note how the doilies lead into the journal sticker. I then positioned my photo as shown.

*If going for a dark background, "White" Mist is a must try! It "pops" right off the page!

 

Near the lower left corner, I built another cluster of embellishments using a further assortment of Story Teller stickers, a yellow Story Teller tag, and a halved doily. Most of it sits horizontally, in the direction of the title, so that your eye moves from left to right, supporting the layout's circular flow.

 

For filler, I then cut simple "everyday office" shipping labels and added them to the top and bottom of the layout. Again, I positioned them appropriately to support the circular flow of the layout. 

 

And the final result is a perfectly layered layout with ample details and non-stop movement, plus, a host of Story Teller's phrase stickers! I do hope you like it! I had an immense amount of fun putting everything together...

Thank-you for stopping by the Crate Paper blog today! Have a great start to the week and visit us again, tomorrow. Good-bye everyone :)

Project Snapshot :: CHA 2012 Winter/Spring

If you've ever attended a CHA event before, you know that around every corner, alongside all the new products, are projects galore from talented artists using the latest and greatest goodies. Most end up photographed at some point or another, and eventually, find their way to the crafts community to be shared and enjoyed by all! Well, the Crate Paper's booth is no exception! We love to fill our booth up with layouts, cards and altered goods from the talented CP design team! And as is par for the course, they didn't disappoint! Take a look at the following items from Rahel Menig and Anabelle O'Malley...

Layout Designs :: Rahel Menig

 

Card Designs :: Anabelle O'Malley

Over the next couple of days, more projects from the Crate booth will show here, along with a few images taken from the showroom floor!! Stay tuned..

Crate Paper is on it's way to California!

Yes, we're well on our way to the sunny state of California with our newest collections, Story Teller and Pretty Party! If attending CHA, please take a moment to stop by and say "hello" to the Crate Crew, and Crate's design genius, Lisa (can't miss her, she's always smiling)!! Our booth is just across the way from American Crafts, at Number 1165, in the scrapbooking & papercrafts section. See you there!  

A final CHA project before officially departing....traveling in style, "Red Rider", from Christine Middlecamp.

 

The accordian flower is a Story Teller Stand-Out embellishment - note the shiny chipboard, a brand new feature with this release! Crate's chipboard now accomodates a gloss finish, rather than a matte finish. Also, it's of a higher quality chipboard, which we think you're going to love!

 

Our Journal Stickers have taken on a slightly different style this time around. With more room to write, and larger label options, you simply can't go wrong!

 

And don't forget to mingle with the new collections when at our booth - and the projects on display! Bring your camera, too. Safe travels.