My First Card Swap

I recently joined a Card swap over at Mini Album Scraps (MAS) .  It is my first card swap I've ever done, and I was a little apprehensive to give it a go, but figured, why not?  The theme of the swap is spring.  The additional requirements of the swap was for it to be a fancy fold card, include a butterfly on the card, and to make 3 of 2 different types.  I found my inspiration in this card over at Ellen Hutson:

This is the first set that I created (I'll be posting the second set soon).

For whatever reason, when I thought of spring, I thought Pinks, Yellows, Browns, and Teals. I am super happy with how the whole thing turned out, just delighted!

Supplies:  (Cardstock) Bazzill, Stampin' Up!; (Pattern Paper) DCWV, My Mind's Eye, Chatterbox, Inc; (Ink) Stampin' Up! Soft Suede, Stampin' Up! Regal Rose; (Die cut) Spellbinders; (Stamps) Stampin' Up! Friends 24-7 Stamp Set 

A Mother's Day Envelope Mini Album

A few months ago, I created a mini album with my mother in mind as part of my Contributor duties at Scrapjazz.com.  I figured that I would also share with you here what I created - since not all of my lovely readers are members of Scrapjazz.com.  So, here is what I came up with:

 This is a quick and simple mini album that I made using some Junk Mail Envelopes - yep, I didn't have to purchase something special, I just turned something I generally find rather irritating and annoying into a delightful experience.  In all honesty, I like getting junk mail now because I know I will have an envelope in the mailer that I can repurpose to something I actually want in the mail!

 

I had the same page spread repeat through out the album, so the first page of the album is the front side of an envelop, when you flip the page, you are get the above, one envelope with the flap to create a large packet and a large flap and then the opposite page consists of two envelopes.  I folded an envelope at an uneven split, to create two pockets, which I then adhered to another envelope that I have sealed and then trimmer a sliver off one end to create a long large pocket.

 

 And this photo above is what the front side (side without the flap and pocket) of the envelopes look like.  I organized the mini so that I would have the fronts facing one another to give a more open space, just for variety.

For your added reading pleasure (if you have continued to read this far) pop on over to scrapjazz and check out my full article, which also shows you how to use the Bind-It-All.  Mother's Day Envelope Album with Bind It All

More Beautiful Card Inspiration

I have been on a mission to use up some of my scraps.  As that is the case, I have been making cards, and mini albums like crazy!  Today, I'm sharing another card with you that I made.  It was based off of this card:

Isn't it gorgeous.  My mouth dropped when I saw this purusing the internet.  It's so simple but just fabulous all the way around.  Again, another Card Positioning Systems find - that place is so awesome.  Wanting to replicate the simplistic beauty of this card, I came up with this:

I was really aiming to keep it very simple, for others to easily replicate.  Another awesome thing about this card (other than the inspiration), it was made from stash scraps.  I love it.  Beautiful and economical.

Supplies:  Very Vanilla Cardstock, Early Espresso Classic Ink, Apothecary Art Stamp Set (Stampin' Up!); Cardstock (Bazzill); Pattern Paper (My Minds Eye)

A Vintage Paper Bag Mini Album

A few months ago, I wrote an article over at Scrapjazz.com about travel themed mini albums.  As part of that article, I put together a fun little Mini Album fashioned after a vintage suitcase.  Here is what the cover looks like:

I wanted my cover to reflect those fun vintage style suitcases that are hardcased with the corners, the beautiful leather straps, and covered with stickers from the places the suitcase has traveled to.  I love those suitcases and always conjure up images of exotic international travel.  I made the buckles using a Stampin' Up! Decorative Label Punch.

Here are some photos of the inside (which I neglected to upload before I posted, sorry girls!):

And some close ups of the pockets, tags, and details:

Isn't this paper line just gorgeous?  It is the Simple Stories Destination paper line and when I saw it I just thought "OMG, I HAVE TO HAVE THAT!"  And it was perfect for this project.  One of the things that I did to give this standard paper bag album some more pizzazz, I used a border punch to create a beautiful border between the pockets, and I also used this awesome tutorial to create the folded flaps.

Saint Patrick's Day Home Decor Banner

I'm terrible of planning ahead.  If you are a follower of my blog, you will notice this terrible character flaw on occasion by the long lapses in postings......  In my efforts to be better at planning, I started planning my Saint Patrick's Day Banner long in advance.  I figured since I missed the boat on the Valentine's Day Banner, I could get an early start on the Saint Patty's Day one.  Even with that intention, I didn't finish this banner until late late last night.  Saint Patrick's Day is big in my house, my husband being a 1/4 Irish (and a very proud 1/4 I might add) insists on it's observance. Which means Corned Beef (which I loathe with a passion) at the least.  Last year, I made some place mats that we use for the month of March.  This year, I thought I would add to my decor by creating a fun little banner.  My original idea had the phrase " Get Lucky" which I immediately dismissed because of its so many varied meanings...... This was immediately replaced with "Got Lucky?" which was no better might I add......I finally decided on the phrase "Got Luck?"  It is more than the Lucky or Luck banners but not so suggestive as the others, or super long.......  It was just right.  And here is the finished product:

So because I am on a "No Buy" challenge I couldn't go and get patterned paper. This left me with a conundrum and a very happy solution. Although I could have justified my purchase. After all it is project specific and I don't own anything Saint Patrick's Day related...... Still I wanted to make do with what I have. So I made my own patterned paper.  No big deal. I used 6 pieces of 8.5x11 white cardstock that I stamped with various Saint Patrick Day Themed Stamps in various colors.  After I got done stamping them, I cut out one pennant shape using my Cricut and SCAL.  I then used this to cut out the rest of my banners.  To get the most out of my paper, each banner measures 5.5x8.5 so that I could get two for each piece of 8.5x11 piece of cardstock.  Additionally, because these are being used as a seasonal home decor, I wanted them large because they will span a wall.

 

I then trimmed my 8.5x11 Pieces of chipboard in half, and traced the pennants onto them.  I then returned to my trimmer and cut out the triangular piece at the bottom.

 

After I trimmed them, I lined all of the banners in some Shamrock wire trim - you know the stuff you wrap around things and then throw away afterwards.  I had to use my hot glue gun for that part in order for everything to stick down.  And then I cut everything from my cricut using the Paper Doll Dress Up Cartridge.  I backed the hats, and letters with chipboard.  The gold coins you see  in the pots I cut using a 1 inch circle punch on yellow glitter paper.  Seriously I LOVE how it turned out!  This is the finished product:

 And some close ups of the details:

 And a bit of a confession:
So while I was assembling the banner, I got stuck on what to do, hubby suggested that I put the pots of gold behind each letter - which at that time I thought was silly.  and I ultimately decided to use a Nesties Label shape for my backing - which looked AWFUL, just dreadful.  After gluing it all down, I then cut out the pots of gold...... and immediately decided that the letters would look better with pots of gold. Hubby was right.  Ensued was much lifting, and by lifting I mean ripping and tearing, of glued down letters and nesties labels........  So the point of my story is that even old pros like me make awful, dreadful, painful goofs while crafting.

Supplies:  Studio G Stamps; Provo Craft Paper Doll Dress Up Cardtridge; Stampin ' Up! Classic Inks; Bazzill Cardstock; DCWV Glitter Cardstock Stack; 

Internet Trolling, Pinterest, and a Card

 As some of you know, I have a new found addiction in Pinterest.  Love that thing, it has made it a life saver to organize my crafty inspiration.  What a great idea Pinterest is! With  that said, while trolling the internet, I came across this beautiful work of art:

This was created by Tami Mayberry.  Isn't it just wonderful.  There are many many ways that I could interpret this one.  And will probably be making several different renditions of it in the months to come.  But, today, while making samples, for an upcoming "class" that I will be teaching to some friends, this is what I came up with:

I made this for my own dear mother, for the upcoming Mother's Day holiday (she really likes Red).  It is hard to tell in the photo, but the side closest to the ribbon has been stamped in the same tone with a script stamp (French Foliage).  I then stamped the red flowers (Blessed Mother) over that and added ink spots.  Here is a close up, so that you can see the beautiful details:

I LOVED working on this card because I got to play with one of my new favorite and loved tools, the Spritzer Tool from Stampin' Up!, it is a hand operated ink sprayer. 

Yes you have to use your hand and not a can of air, but for 12.95 you can't beat it!  I love this thing, you can see it in action here.  It adds the perfect amount of ink spray and distress - finally an alternative to my paint brush and flinging acrylic paint (not that that doesn't have it's place). 

I hope that you enjoyed today's share and feel inspired.  If you do, please share the love for both myself and for Tami - who inspired me.

Happy Crafting!

Supplies: Spritzer Tool, Early Espresso Classic Ink, Crumb Cake Classic Ink, Very Vanilla Cardstock, Real Red Classic Ink, Early Espresso Marker, French Foliage Stamp Set, Blessed Mother Stamp Set (Stampin' Up!); Kraft Cardstock (Recollections); Pattern Paper (MAMBI)

A RAK Mini Album

 A friend of mine in the crafting world has been going through a bit of a rough patch.  She is someone that I admire so much for her willingness to help and her open heart (and her wonderful crafting talent).  She has been on my mind and in my prayers and I thought that she might like something that was made for his specifically for once.  Not only am I excited to share this project with you because it is a RAK for someone dear, but also because well it was a super fun and awesome mini to make.  Some of you will remember seeing this same mini album style from this post.  So here is the cover:

 I covered the chipboard with pink cardstock and then covered the cardstock with lace.  There is a tutorial on YouTube found here.  I loved the idea of covering the mini album cover in lace, but I'm not a fan of modge podge.  So before I broke out the huge bottle of loathed modge podge, I thought I would try and see if I could adhere the lace like I would paper, mitering the corners and adhering to the inside with ScorTape.  Well, I am very happy to report, that it worked!  Before covering the inside portion of the chipboard, I adhered lace down to wrap around the mini as the closure.  Once that as in place, I adhered the inner pieces of cardstock for the covers.  This was then attached to the main portion of the mini album using ScoreTape.  I didn't like the spine uncovered (mainly because I used scraps to make the binding and it looked dreadful.  So I covered the spine using some Maya Road Rosette Trim.  Before adhering it, I colored it using Glimmer Mist. And here is what that looks like:

I love how it turned out!  The whole outside has a shabby chic feeling to it.  Because I was not sure what my friend would like to put in her album, I left the inside fairly plain so that she could customize to her own heart's desire.  However, I tried to stay with her favorite colors - Pink and Purple.  All of the tags that you see throughout the mini album are stamped with lines and some fun decorative flowers on one side.  The other side can be used to hold a photo or pure beautiful decoration.  And here is the insides:

Would you believe that his entire mini album was also made form scraps?!  I did not have to use a single piece of new untouched product.  Shows you how many scraps I have.... and also that you can crate beautiful creative projects with your left over bits and pieces. 

Supplies:  Stamps (Unity Stamp Company, PaperTreyInk); Ink (Tim Holtz Distress Walnut Stain); Dies (Spellbinders); Flowers (Prima); Cardstock (Bazzill, Stampin' Up!);  Pattern Paper (K and Company, Tim Holtz, Provo Craft, Die Cuts With a View)

Surprise Mail, Surprise Post

I love getting packages in the mail, particularly crafty packages.  Well, today, I got my swaps back from a recent swap I was in, and here is the finished product:

So beautiful, so gorgeous.  My letter is the "E" on the end!  If you like this, and might be interested in swaps, please come on over and join me at http://minialbumscraps.ning.com/.  I love that place and I'm sure you'll love it too!  If you are an international person (i.e. outside the US) don't worry, there are LOTS of people from all around the world that come to Mini Album Scraps!  Hope to see you there!

Fun New Project Mini Album for You!

I am so excited to share with you all my readers my project that I have been working on.  Okay well it wasn't a very long drawn out project, but still it is very exciting.  Why might that be?  Well I was able to play with some of the new nonconsumables that I have purchased lately, but also, is a project that did not require using a single piece of newly uncut Pattern Paper or Cardstock.  Seriously, you probably won't believe me when I show you.  So, with that introduction, I present to you, my "Beauty of the Earth" mini album!

 I dunno if you can tell or not, but this is a shaped acrylic mini album.  I have a rather large quantity of acetate sheets laying around in my craft hoard, from the point in my life where I was really playing around with acetate cards and stamping on acetate.  I used the new Stampin' Up! Sizzix Framelits Labels Die to cut out the acetate into a fun shaped mini album.  Truthfully, one of the reasons I bought this die set was because well, I was dying to try making a shaped acrylic mini album with them!  I have not finished the embellishing of the pages yet, but I did want to share it with you. 
As you can tell, the theme of this album is the nature that I have been blessed to be surrounded by.  That's right, all the photos in this album are of places that I have lived, or stopped along the way to a point in my destination.  I love natural beauty, just love it.  A large part of me is very committed to respecting, loving, preserving, and protecting my earth.

One other thing, you don't have to use brand new sheets of acetate to make this project.  I have another project I will share with you shortly in which I used the acetate backing that comes with my clear stamps to crate an acetate mini album. You can also cut out the die cuts from your scrapbook prodcut packaging - this will also be coming up in another post very soon. 

This was such a fun little thing to work on.  I made this in just a few hours, and LOVE how it turned out.  I'm seriously contemplating making more and selling them or giving them as gifts.  And to be honest, I get excited when I am able to reduce my scrap stockpile a little bit.  The recycler in me has a hard time recycling even the smallest scrap becase I may be able to use it *at some point.*  Hopefully, you have found some inspiration in this post today and have a desire to use up some scraps and create a work of art!

Happy Crafting!

Supplies:  Stampin' Up! (Sizzix Framelit Labels Die; Loving Through Stamp Set; Handbill Headlines Stamp Set - Retired; Early Espresso Classic Ink; Cardstock); Tim Holtz (Paint Dauber in Brown); Unity Stamp Company (Growing In Unity Stamp Set); Prima (Pattern Paper); Bazzill Basics (Cardstock);

Internet Inspiration, Pinterest and a Card

 I've been hanging out on Pinterest a lot.  I recently joined after I found it an organization mess to keep track of all the beautiful inspiration that I was seeing!  And to be honest, I have seen to only forget and not be able to return to so many places with such gorgeous inspiration.  So, recently in my internet wanderings, I came across this beautiful card from Paisley Scraps.  You can find the original post here.

I immediately and instantly fell in love with this card, it gave me a shabby chic nostalgia.  The focal point of the butterflies was what did it for me.  And based off of that, I came up with this:

I LOVE how it turned out.  I made this particular card for a dear friend of mine who has a birthday in a few days.  This card was made from scraps around my desk if you can believe it or not.  And that pattern paper, I bought ages ago and hate (seriously, everytime I look at it I think, "why did I buy 8 sheets of that?").  Oh and that postage stamp edge, that is left over from a cricut mishap!  And here are some closeups of the yummo details:

Thanks for stopping by!  Please if you feel inspired by my shared inspiration, leave a comment and let her know!

Supplies: Kindness Matters Stamp Set (Stampin' Up!); Curly Cute Stamp Set (Stampin' Up!); Bazzill Cream Puff Criss Cross, Recollections Kraft (Cardstock); Button (Gina K. Designs); Tim Holtz (Embossing Folder); Stampin Markers Marina Mist and Daffodil Yellow (Stampin' Up!); Early Espresso Classic Ink (Stampin' Up!); Versa Fine (Tsukineko)

Mini Album Mishap

Recently, I published about the ins and outs of mini album makings.  Well, today, I thought I would give you a quick share to show you what happens when you don't use Redline or ScorTape.  Let me be clear, I Love my adhesive gun, I would not choose anything else, and the adhesive sticks.  And I mean it STICKS, really good, but making mini albums is just tough business.  You can see the original post that I am talking about here.  With that said, here are some photos or what happens when you use your normal adhesive gun:

 The above picture is a side by side comparison of an album made using ScorTape and an album using my adhesive gun.  If it was not obvious enough, the top album is the one put together with ScorTape.

 These two photos are of the album made with my adhesive gun, notice all the lifting, and puckering.  So unsightly!

And for comparison, the inside of the album done with ScorTape.  As you can see, the seam of allowance is much smaller, but is holding MUCH MUCH MUCH better than the large seam allowance in the album made with my adhesive gun.......