Author Archives: CraftKatie

New Design: Faux Paperbag Pop-Up Album

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So I finally made it to the end of this new mini album design project I set out to do several weeks ago. If you want to skip straight to the video, scroll down to the end of this post.

I’ve felt significantly less creative energy since the lockdown(s) started, so I’m having trouble crunching out new album designs every month, like I used to. But, I got this one done, and it’s definitely NEW!

I designed what I’m calling a faux paperbag mini album, and because it also sports four fold-out and/or popping elements, I added ‘pop-up’ to the title as well. But there are more themes than it just being faux paperbag and having pop-ups. It is also rich in belly bands, plus it offers several micro envelopes. So if I wanted to be precise about it, my design would be called a Faux Paperbag Pop-up Belly Band and Micro Envelope Mini Album. Phew, that would be a mouthful…

If you’re wondering why the “faux”, well, I didn’t use actual paperbags. Instead, I created my own, while still employing the techniques that are typical for a paperbag mini, like the binding style, as well as the many flaps and the way they are styled.

If I managed to charm you into wanting to create one yourself, then head on over to my shop. There are lots of customers who left reviews, so I recommend rummaging through those if you want to check what other crafters think before you make a purchase.

The papers I used were from AliExpress this time, so I guess you could also consider this another AliExpress product test. I have to say I loved this Paper Designer or perhaps Enogreeting pad (I’m still not sure what the brand is actually called), with its beautiful graphic designs in vintage colors. Moreover, it measured 18×18 cm (7×7″), which I believe is quite unique in the papercraft community.

I suspect it may be a dupe for an older Kaisercraft collection, but if it is, I’m not aware of it. If you do recognize it, please leave a comment below!

I also did some mixed media techniques this time. Not only on the napkin fold element in the back of the album, but also on the spine, for which I altered a piece of pitch black book muslin and turned it into a nice muted slate gray pattern on an antique bronze base.

As for the cute little pop-up I added to one of the page layouts, I used a pop-up die for that. And I did a video tutorial on how to use it, a couple of blog posts ago.

I also did a video tutorial for the Twist & Pop element in the album, you can find that here.

And last but not least, the video tutorial for the Napkin Fold element at the end of the album, is only one click away too.

So, finally, here’s the end of my blabbing along endlessly. On to the video! 🙂

No tutorial for this one yet, let me know if you’d be interested in one

A Luxurious Easter Card

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Springtime! And at the moment (for as long as it lasts) I’m loving all of those bright pastels! This year I’m sending out three Easter cards, two of which I’m showing you this week.

I used Mintay’s perfect springtime collection, Better Times. Gosh, those images are like frameable paintings all by themseleves, but I got over those qualms and cut into them anyway 😱

I focussed on designing one large, luxurious card with three sheets of double-sided design paper plus a cutapart sheet. I think I succeeded quite nicely 😊

In the end I still had enough paper left over to create a bonus card, which I’m sharing towards the end of the video.

Wishing you all a very lovely Easter and a happy spring! I’m curious, are you sending any Easter cards this year? Let me know in the comments!

And the Bonus Card!

Testing a Pop-Up Die – from AliExpress!

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Recently I tried a pop-up die, which effectively cuts a piece of paper that you can then turn into an actual pop-up mechanism.

The video turned into a complete tutorial on how to do all the folds and where to glue, perfect for anyone who has purchased (or owns a similar-looking one to) this die and doesn’t know how it works.

In fact, I’m showing you how to turn this strange-looking diecut into a pop-up mechanism no less than three times. Practice makes perfect! 🙂

I’m sure several brands may offer such a die, though I don’t know of any yet, but AliExpress is of course very very affordable: even when including worldwide shipping it’s still many times more affordable than the same item in Europe. So if you like it, it’s worth a try – you’ll find the link to the shop in the description box of my Youtube video. (And I’m saying this without being sponsored in any way).

So check out the tutorial and let me know if you have ever encountered such a strange-looking die before! 🙂

7 Creative Ways to Fill a Mini Album with Pictures

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A couple of years ago I designed and created a very sturdy folio mini album, with the nature-themed Time to Flourish collection by Graphic 45. My mother now owns it, and she asked me to fill it up with some of the awesome closeup pictures my father took, mostly of flowers, insects and birds in their own garden.

And since it’s always nice to see a handcrafted mini album filled up with pictures, I thought I’d share it with you one more time 🙂 .

In the video I’ll be sharing some general tips for filling your mini albums with pictures:

  • Don’t be afraid to rigorously crop your pictures when your page design or paper pattern requires it;
  • Die-cut your pictures into shapes, like circles, rectangles, squares, labels;
  • Apply glitter glue or liquid pearl all around the edges of some of your pictures;
  • Fussy cut the main subject from your pictures if the background or the rest of the picture is boring or irrelevant;
  • Trim your pictures down to miniature size to fit them onto smaller tags – simply find a picture with a small main subject;
  • If two pictures don’t fit onto one page, use washi tape as a hinge for one of them and stack them;
  • And last but not least, my favorite: color-coordinate between your pictures and your design paper as much as you can!

If you want to create this yourself, check out my tutorial. I also did a second iteration with a masculine paper collection, you can find that one here.

Shopping My Stash: a Prima Marketing A4 Layout

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Here’s a layout I did for a colleague who was leaving the organization I work at, to start her new job. By way of goodbye, each team member was asked to contribute something A4-sized, after which everything would be bundled into a binder and gifted to the colleague.

Since this colleague was always dressed in beautifully bright and colorful outfits, I wanted to create something bright and colorful for her. I decided to shop my stash for some Prima Marketing, for this brand usually brings out A4-sized paper within all or most of their collections.

I decided on the Zephyr collection, chose a tangerine-colored base paper and two lovely Zephyr journalling cards, and layered them with some die-cuts, a chipboard piece, some blings and some wallet-sized pictures. Done! 🙂

If you have some smaller pieces of design paper, use them to die-cut!

Creating your own mixed media design paper

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There are of course hundreds (probably thousands even) of different design paper collections on the market. Still, sometimes you feel you’re in need of another sheet of a particular color scheme to really perfect your project. You could of course purchase (or shop your stash) for a sheet from another collection but: you did you realize you can also create your own? And I don’t mean by becoming a graphic designer yourself and printing some cool computer-generated design you came up with.

No, I mean by applying some very easy mixed media techniques. Here’s how.

  1. Ink, paint or spray a piece of white paper that is suitable for mixed media (so no printer or copy paper please; you can use actual mixed media paper, or paper meant for water painting). Spread several colors randomly; make sure the colors coordinate with the design paper collection you’re using for your project. A stencil can add some fun patterns to the mix.

2. If you want, you can even print an image – or in my case a graffiti-style initial – on your colored paper. Wait until everything is dry though, before you run it through your printer.

3. Add some stamping. You can choose actual images, or just some random patterns. Use an oil-based ink like Archival ink, to make sure your stamping ink does not react to the other mediums you’ve used so far.

4. Add some texture with texture paste. I used Tim Holtz’s Distress Grit paste because that is translucent (so the inking underneath will show through) plus it’s heat-stable so you can emboss it. Which is exactly what I did after I added the paste: I sprinkled it with different colors of Embossing Glaze (which is a translucent embossing powder), let the texture paste dry, and then embossed it.

5. I (of course) forgot that I needed more than one mat, so I had to repeat steps 1-4 to create a second mat. It would have been easier had I just taken a larger piece of paper, did the mixed media techniques, and only then cut it to size. Oh well.

6. Mat your mini album page! As you can see in the pictures below I made sure to choose colors that would coordinate with the rest of the design paper I used.

Same page, with left-page flap opened. The smaller mixed media strip has turned into a mat for the top pocket.

Want to see the entire album? Check the video in this blog post!

What do you make with oddly themed design papers??

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I have great admiration for design paper companies and their graphic designers: having to come up with unique, lovely and most of all sellable designs several times a year seems like a sheer insurmountable challenge to me. So I can understand that every once in a while some design paper collection comes out on the market that in itself looks great – stunning even – but has a slightly odd theme.

This week I’m sharing what you could do with such fairly non-practical themes; like the pastry-themed Sweety collection by Stamperia.

Lovely colors and beautiful graphic designs – they look so good I want to eat them all!

Other than making me seriously crave some chocolate & cherry pie topped off with some pistachio mint ice cream (yummie!) I’m not sure what to do with this collection, except admire its visual gorgeousness. Yes, I know, the theme is great for birthdays and other parties, but then I would prefer a 6×6″ size for cards and Stamperia doesn’t do those. Now take the 12×12 inch sheets: these elaborate graphic designs look more like a picture you would frame and hang from your wall, than cut it up (how?!) to make it into, say, a mini album or, even more difficult, a card.

A seriously uncuttable 12×12″ sheet

So, here’s what I do whenever I encounter a collection I love but cannot for the life of me think of a project intended for some actual, practical use: I buy only the cutapart sheet, and design one card around it, preferably while using up the entire sheet.

The Stamperia cutapart sheets are always great, plus, they come with beautiful journalling spots on the back. Perfect.

So, here’s a short video tutorial on how to design a card around your specific cutaparts. If your cutapart sheet has differently sized cutaparts, then here’s a tutorial around a second design.

Enjoy the video, feel free to craft along! 🙂

Gift Idea: Altered Wooden Initial

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Wooden alphabet letters are always great embellishments for gifts. Add the letters of the first and/or last names of your friend, co-worker or loved one to any card or mini album page, and the result will be instant success 🙂

For the front cover of my most recent paper bag mini album I altered such a wooden initial.

I first added two colors of Distress Oxide ink to color its base. I also chose several Distress Crayons to decorate later, after the second step.

Once the letter had a base color, I added a texture paste and let it dry. I chose Distress Grit Paste by Tim Holtz, but you can use any paste as long as you choose one that can be colored (some pastes act as a resist, avoid those for this type of project).

I added the paste in random spots, to give the letter a dimensional texture. Distress Grit Paste is semi-translucent, which is why I colored the letter first.

Then I used the Crayons to color the paste. (Crayons work best to color Distress Grit Paste,)

Lastly, when everything had dried, I added it to the album cover as an embellishment.

So you see how you can add a very personal touch to any of your gift projects without it taking a million steps! 🙂

Mixed Media Tag with Embossed Gloss Accent

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Did you know that you can use Tim Holtz’s Distress Paint as a resist? To create a mixed media tag, I used this specific technique. I also used clear embossing powder to add a glossy accent – and here are all of the steps to do it!

Step by step

1. STAMP with Distress Paint and/or use a stencil, to add an image or some random patterns. I did both. Use a light color of paint, like white, cream or a very soft pink. Let the paint dry.

Btw, be careful and immediately clean your stamp, for this paint dries quickly and once it dries you won’t be able to get it off your stamp anymore…

2. Color your tag (or any other piece of mixed media cardstock) by blending with different colors of ink. I used both Distress Inks (translucent) and Distress Oxides (opaque). Simply blend right over your patterns – for the paint will act as a resist!

3. Optional: add some extra, subtle background effects by blending through a different stencil.

4. Spray some kind of metal spray to add some sparkle. I used Distress Mica Spray in the color Tarnished Brass.

5. Once everything has properly dried, add a different layer: time for some stamping. Choose one or more images and/or patterns and stamp on top of all the previous layers. First I used a background color of Distress Oxide to add still more interest to the background, this was a script stamp. You can see it on the right side of the tag, on the upper half.

I then stamped the main image in black Archival Ink. This is an oil-based ink, which therefore does not react with or bleed into all of the water-based inks underneath.

6. Pick one or more pieces of your main image that you want to highlight. Cover those fragments with embossing ink – ideally, if you can, use an embossing pen, which gives you maximum control of where you place the embossing ink.

Then take a clear embossing powder and emboss your accent of choice.

Glossy highlight

7. Take some chipboard sentiment pieces and use the same inks to colorize them. Then stick them to your tag.

8. Die-cut a decorative element from metallic paper and add it to the tag. I used Metallic Confections paper by Tim Holtz, but any metallic (or holographic!) paper would do.

Done! Now all that’s left is to tie a piece of string to your tag 🙂

Hope this little step-by-step was helpful! Now go, experiment to your heart’s desire and play with all of the stuff in your stash 🙂 Let me know in the comments if you’re going to try some of the techniques I used here!

If you want still more inspiration, here’s an earlier post where I also used Distress Paint as a resist.

Purchase or Pass: Mintay’s new Graceful collection

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With Valentine’s and spring around the corner, many design paper brands are announcing their new collections, no doubt generating a whole new wave of desire, temptation and all out shopping sprees among us, their doting clients 🙂

Which is why I thought I’d try my hand at a new series, which I think I’m going to call Purchase or Pass. The idea is that I’ll be making up my mind “live” on camera whether or not to buy one such new collection, shopping my stash and sharing my thought process with you all.

Let me know if this kind of video is helpful to you and if you would be interested in seeing more of where this came from! If you’d like me to make up my mind on a specific collection (perhaps one you yourself are tempted by) let me know in the comments below!

This episode: Mintay’s Graceful collection

Mintay will be coming out with four new collections, one of which is called Graceful. It’s a lovely, romantic, lavender & light turquoise spring collection, with their gorgeous, signature graphic design style.

To make up my mind whether I’ll purchase this or whether I can resist the temptation, I’ll be comparing it to several collection from my stash, of which I’ll show some pictures below.

Enjoy the video, stay crafty!

Collections I found after shopping my stash

Studio Light: La Provence (several sheets)

Cottage Rose Deconstructed Envelope Card

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Sometimes I only buy 2 or 3 sheets from a design paper collection, mostly when I like the idea of it, but not the entire collection. This was the case with Kaisercraft’s Cottage Rose collection, which had lovely soft colors and some great graphic designs, but which overall I found too generic and boring to buy in its entirety.

So, I chose the sheets I liked the most, and used them all up in one go.

I turned them into four cards, one of which I’m sharing with you this week: a deconstructed envelope card. Also great for Valentine’s Day, btw 🙂

If you’d like to make one yourself, you can check out my free video tutorial!

Stamping and Spraying on Coated Paper in Five Easy Steps

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Sometimes, when I order some of my card designs printed, the printing company adds one or two blanks. These are sturdy, completely white cards; they are also coated, for it is a form of photo paper. So it won’t react to mixed media like your usual assortment of craft papers.

I have created a card with such a blank before, using it as an easy base for design paper. You can check out my step-by-step video on that here.

This time however I decided to try out some mixed media techniques to create a card from one of these coated blank photo paper cards. Here’s what I did, and how it worked out.

1. Stamp and color an image

I chose StazOn ink for this, because that is suited especially for smooth, non-porous surfaces – like photo paper. I also colored the stamped image, using Tim Holtz Distress Markers.

In hindsight, that turned out not to be the best combination, for the StazOn ink reacted a little bit to the Distress Markers. So, my tip here is: IF you want to use water-based markers to color your image, then do NOT use an alcohol-based ink to stamp, but an oil-based ink like Archival Ink.

Stamp an image that speaks to you

2. Seal your image

If you’re going to spray a background, you’ll need to seal your colored image first, otherwise it will either run and wick, or it will be covered up by your sprays (depending on the mediums you choose).

I wanted to use Distress Spray Stains, which are water-based, and since I already used Distress Markers to color the image, I knew exactly how to seal it: with Distress Micro Glaze.

Simply dab your finger lightly in the jar, and rub it all over the colored image.

Side note: of course there are several other products on the market to seal your image. For instance, transparent gesso, or mod podge, to name a few. I’m simply mentioning the one I used. #nonspon

3. Spray your inks

Spray your entire card to your heart’s desire. Then remove all of the sprayed inks from your stamped image with a paper towel. Thanks to the Micro Glaze, none of the sprays will stick and will come off easily, without messing up the colors of your image.

Also, because my paper was coated, it didn’t really absorb the inks too well; there were several spots where the ink didn’t take, causing a great bonus effect!

The materials I used

4. Add special effects

I added some transparent medium to create a bit of a glass effect for the glasses: I used Nuvo Crystal Drops for this, but you could use several alternatives, like Glossy Accents, Paper Glaze or any other dimensional transparent medium.

5. Add a sentiment

Last but not least, I stamped a sentiment – this time with Archival Ink (having learned my lesson from step 1).

Alternatively, you could also go dimensional and use wooden or chipboard sentiment pieces.

And done!

Have you ever crafted with coated paper like this? Feel free to ask any questions, or to let me know what you think, below in the comment section!