This week I’m sharing a layout with you, for which I chose the beautiful Ma Cherie collection by Kaisercraft – with its soft burgundy color scheme, full of lovely florals. Of this collection, the Exquisite sheet, covered in absolutely gorgeous butterflies, simply demanded to be fussy-cut – even though that’s not my favorite thing to do.
The layout is centered around my mother, who as an Autumn Type was the perfect subject for this project since she can really rock an ocre jacket like no one else, especially when standing next to her own Burgundy & Gold acryllic painting 🙂
As you may know if you’ve browsed through my blog, I really like creating so-called micro projects, especially if there’s an actual Big Sister, i.e. an original regular-sized project that has inspired me to create a micro version.
My Endless Little Memories micro folio album is such a miniaturization, for it was modelled after my Neverending Memories folio album. I used Prima Marketing’s 2011 Romantique collection, and the results are cute-cuter-cutest! 🙂
Of course you won’t need as much material as you would with the larger version. For instance, I only needed 14 sheets of 15×15 cm (6×6″) design paper for this unique little micro folio!
If you’d like to create one yourself, please check out my Etsy shop for the tutorial, which explains the step-by-step proces in 77 pages with 208 clear pictures.
I’m so happy to be able to share my latest mini album design! It’s an 8½ x 8½” (22 x 22 cm) gatefold keepsake album, which I’ve titled Be Your Creative Self – which sentiment is totally inspired by the paper collection I’ve been working with: World’s Fair, the glorious 2015 collectionby Graphic 45.
This is a luxurious gatefold keepsake album, a square one this time – the others have all been in portrait mode. Its pages are a little bit larger than 8×8″, so that you can work with those great 8×8″ design paper pads.
This Be Your Creative Self album contains twelve interactive page layouts, including the inside covers. It has a magnetized closure and has a very crisp and clean cover, no embellishments at all, to really showcase this magnificent paper line.
It was a heck of a job to get it done, but soooo, so much fun! If you’d like to create this great album yourself, a tutorial is available on Etsy, with over 400 clear pictures of the step-by-step process!
Enjoy the video and pictures below, and let me know what you think in the comment section!
When I showed you my Neverending Memories Folio Album back in February 2015, I hadn’t filled it up with pictures yet. Recently someone bought it from me and asked me to fill it with pictures of their dogs. Which means I can now show you how a folio album such as this one can look with actual photos inside!
If you’d like to create this folio album yourself, you can do so relatively easily and with only one 12×12 inch design paper collection (plus cardstock of course), with help of the tutorial in my Etsy shop (120 pages with 430 pictures of the step-by-step process).
So here we go, hope you feel extra inspired by this picture-filled folio album!
For this Family Tree Mini I used Echo Park’s Reflections paper line, which I combined with a sheet here or a few die-cuts there of two other collections, which I mention in the video.
The album sports a belly band and ten interactive page layouts, including the inside covers. The page designs are based on my Life’s a Picnic mini album – it keeps amazing me how great a difference the simple use of another paper collection makes for the tone & atmosphere of your mini!
As a bonus I filled it up with pictures – for this was part of the commission – which I know always helps viewers to get a better idea of how such minis can be filled with pictures and the effects you can add by die-cutting, glitter-gluing and stickering 🙂 .
In case you’d like to make an album like this, please check out my tutorial on Etsy – which gives you all of these page designs except the family tree page, plus four more! As for how to make the final page – the actual family tree page – simply watch the video, and/or the video of my own personal Family Tree Mini, in which I explain the (very simple) creative process.
Today I’m sharing a little layout with my lovely mom as its center of attention 🙂 .
I used Kaisercraft’s wonderfully feminine and slightly oriental Ma Cherie paper collection for this fun little project, which has a chipboard base and measures only 6×6 inches (15×15 cm) instead of the usual 12×12″ (30.5 x 30.5 cm).
This smaller size makes it a very practical gift, for not everyone has room in their homes and hearts for a relatively large addition to their interior decorations – especially when the gift is a complete surprise. A smaller size is a lot less threatening and – more importantly – a lot easier to assign a nice little spot to somewhere in their house.
On the creator’s side, the small size makes for the perfect opportunity to use the 6×6″ (15×15 cm) cutaparts that sometimes come with collections, like the Fine sheet in this Ma Cherie paper line.
I used the top-left cutapart of the sheet called “Fine” for my layout
I embellished my mini layout with some Ma Cherie Collectables die-cuts, some flowers from my stash and some Stickles. I also fussy-cut two butterflies from the Exquisite sheet of the collection.
Exquisite
All in allI was very pleased with the end result – and more importantly, so was my mom! 🙂 So enjoy the video and pictures, and feel free to let me know what you think!
Curled up the lower left corner, added the word “treasured” that I cut from one of the sheets, then decorated the rest of the corner with some flowers and die-cut leaves. I also added two Collectables die-cuts right above the curled up paper.
Added a simple hanging mechanism, which I got in a home improvement store (very affordable!)
Creating a dimensional card requires lots of different cuts & folds. These can be done by hand of course, but sometimes I prefer using the various niftily designed dies that are on the market. Like the Create-a-Card die series by Crealies(.nl). For a demonstration of how to work with these dies, you can check out my free videotutorial for the stepcard I created with Crealies’s Create-a-Card die #8.
Today I’m sharing the dimensional card I created with their Create-a-Card die #18, which is a very playful type of card: I’ve seen several different and very creative ways of decorating these kinds of cards. As for my version, it’s a first try so I kept it fairly simple, but I did want to give the dimensional parts of this card their own decorated background. So I added a second layer of cardstock – as explained in the video below. Added advantage of this double layering is that it creates the look of an actual card when folded closed – for without this second (outside) layer there would be no ‘front’ and ‘back’, only ‘inside’, due to all the cuts & folds that make up the dimensional parts.
Hope this makes sense; in any case, just check out the video below and hopefully you’ll see what I mean, 😉 Anyway, these kind of cards are a fun and welcome variation to add to your general card designs; and even without the die you can make the necessary cuts and score lines fairly easily with a craft knife and a scoring board.
Hope you feel inspired, stay crafty and see you next week! 🙂
As you may have noticed, one of my favorite design paper brands is Graphic 45. Which is why I’m super excited – and a little nervous! – for this blog post, for it is my first time ever submission for a Graphic 45‘s Design Team Audition! 🙂
I am delighted to be able to share some of my favorite projects – old and new – that showcase my style, including a tutorial via Snapguide, and I hope you’ll all feel inspired by them!
Project 1: ATC Book Box Wall Ornament – with Graphic 45’s Sweet Sentiments
Graphic 45’s ATC Book Box (ivory) offers many, many creative possibilities and it was an absolute joy to work with it!
It inspired me to create a brand new project: an Easter Wall Ornament. It has a removable decorative show piece showcasing many fussy-cut images from the collection’s gorgeous signature sheet.
Without this show piece it is still a very decorative but also practical little box for anything you’d like to store – and keep handy at the same time. Like your keys. Your phone. Your business cards. Or your lipsticks! 🙂
To create it, I (gently) cut the box part from the book cover part, turned it 90 degrees and reattached it. By firmly wrapping the cover part with design paper I made sure it stayed straight, preventing it from folding like a book.
I used a ribbon tied through an eyelet to hang the wall ornament on the wall.
Below are some pictures, and the show & tell video:
To see more of the details, click the picture below for an enlargement:
Fussy-cut tag, adorned with fussy-cut floral (lifted with some dimensional tape):
Detail of the ornament, without the show piece:
Bottom
The chipboard pieces on the front are backed up with design paper, continuing the main pattern on the back:
Hanging from my bed room wall
Show & tell video:
Project 2: New Job Card – with Graphic 45’s Time to Celebrate
As soon as I laid eyes on the Time to Celebrate collection, I fell in love with its vibrant spring colors. I immediately created a card with it for my friend who got a new job. She’s quite the lady, so this paper fit her perfectly! 🙂
I love making cards with Graphic 45 papers and for this one I worked with both the 8×8″ design paper and the 6×6″ patterns & solids pad. I used the Best Wishes chipboard piece of the collection, and added some embellishments from my stash: flowers, ribbon, feathers, and flat-back pearls. I stamped Nieuwe Baan (= Dutch for New Job) to finish it.
I layered the inside of the card with both design paper and cardstock, and added two stamps that I cut from the design paper – one of which I lifted with some dimensional tape. I also added two small butterflies from my stash.
Quick video overview:
Project 3: Double-stacked Mini Album ‘Celebrate Every Day’
I love to design and create new or special kinds of mini albums. For example, I’ve designed three different types of folio albums, I love to design large gatefold-style keepsake albums and I’m also an enthousiastic creator of micro albums. The project I’m entering here is yet another kind of (large) keepsake album, which I designed last August. I’m calling it a double-stacked mini album.
This sophisticated album has six page assemblies, three above, three below – which together offer twelve unique interactive page layouts plus some large photo mats!
The insides of the large front and back covers make up their own interactive pages, twice as large as the regular ones. The album has a magnetized closure and although I sometimes go all out with embellishments on mini album covers, I intentionally kept this one crisp and clean on the outside, to showcase the papers – with the added bonus of it easily fitting into a book case.
Below are some pictures, plus the show & tell video I did last September. I’ve also done a video tutorial for one of the origami page elements in the album, which I’ll also embed below.
Inside front cover:
Bonus Project: Briefcase Micro Album – with Graphic 45’s Bohemian Bazaar
This is one of my first designs with Graphic 45 papers and I’m still proud of it, which is why I’m adding it to this audition, even though it’s from 2014 🙂 .
I designed this cute little micro album to look like sort of a briefcase. It measures only 11 x 9 x 5,5 cm (4¼ x 3½ x 2″) and sports six small pocket pages. Each of those holds a tag or a cutapart from the collection.
I created a ‘suitcase handle’ from cardstock lined with book muslin, which I attached with two brads and two small D-rings. The album is held closed with a magnet closure.
Because I really enjoyed showcasing the gorgeously colorful paper, I only added a few embellishments both inside and outside, keeping it clean and stylish and letting the paper speak for itself.
The album is designed to open vertically, not horizontally, just like an actual briefcase. This enables you to thumb through the pages with both hands, kind of like you would a rolodex or some records or some such (yeah I know, this reference totally dates me… 😉 ).
The intended way of opening and perusing this micro album is vertically:
And here’s the (2014) video show & tell video:
Tutorial: How to Create a Micro Booklet – with Graphic 45’s Time to Celebrate
I really love my micro projects, and for the tutorial part of this audition I’m entering a second micro project, next to the Briefcase Micro Album above (Bonus Project). I designed this cute micro bookletas a fun alternative for a card or gift tag. It holds several tiny tags on which you could write your birthday wishes and/or little personal messages. Thanks to its small size it’s easy to send by mail, to carry in one’s purse, to add to a bunch of flowers, etc. – for it measures only 6.5 x 7 cm (2½ x 2¾”).
As an added bonus, it’s perfect for using up the scraps of your awesome scrapbook design papers! (I don’t know about you but I hate to throw away even the tiniest sliver…)
For this project I chose my beloved Time to Celebrate paper line again – couldn’t help myself, it’s just too gorgeous 🙂 .
Please check out my Snapguide* tutorial for this fun project! It’s embedded below, so simply click the tutorial’s pictures or the arrows underneath to move back and forth through the tutorial – very convenient! 🙂
*: Edit 2021: It seems that Snapguide no longer exists, and without warning they apparently removed their entire tutorials database. So I’m sorry, but the aforementioned tutorial for this little booklet is no longer there. If you’d like to know how to make one though, check out this earlier video tutorial of mine.
Hope this inspired you to create one or more yourself, for it’s really a fun little project!
Short show & tell video:
In conclusion
This has been my entry for the Graphic 45 Design Team Audition 2016!
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this post as much as I have creating it!
Thank you to all who follow me on this blog and/or on Youtube or other social media, I really appreciate all of your support.
Now please wish me luck 🙂 – for I’m really hoping and praying I’ll make the cut! I would be so honored with a spot on the ever-awesome G45 Design Team and am really looking forward to a chance of working with this great team of designers and crafters – and of course with Graphic 45’s great products and beautiful vintage paper collections – which are great to work with and always smell so good… 🙂
Today I’m sharing a second iteration of one of my wallet card designs. I used the Simple Stories Say Cheese collection, including some tags and cutaparts, to create a lovely birthday card. The bright, high-contrast colors of this paper line make it very suitable for winter birthdays – like my friend’s, who has her birthday in February. So I printed some fun birthday sentiments on the large tags – though you could also do some stamping or even use them as photo mats. The inside of the card offers room for journaling or a personal birthday message.
Although I used several sheets of design papers to decorate, this type of card will also allow you to use only onesheet of double-sided design paper – to see how that might look, check out last year’s Easter iteration!. That way you won’t need much more than two pieces of cardstock and one sheet of design paper!
All in all it was a very fun project which I enjoyed creating just as much as the first one, so check out the affordable tutorial if you’d like to create one too!
As you may have noticed by now I love to collect older paper collections that are difficult to come by. Lush by Kaisercraft is one such design paper collection, stemming from 2010!
I used this lovely paper to create a micro album, following the design of my very first micro pretty much literally in order to write a tutorial for you all.
So have fun watching the show & tell video and Go Create! 🙂
As of yet scrapbook layouts have not been my core business when it comes to paper crafting, but I do love to do them when inspiration hits me. For some examples of my personal style, may like to check out my layout-in-altered-frame, but also my two calendars: 12 months of Place in Time, and 12 months of Time to Flourish.
The focus of this new layout is my mother’s dog Nita, a beautiful black labrador mix. The picture itself immediately reminded me of Kaisercraft’s Limelight paper collection, which echoed the green and black, plus the white florals. A perfect fit!
Although most people in the Netherlands don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d post a romantically themed mini album today anyway. 😉 ♥
This album was commissioned by a young man in Singapore who wanted to surprise his girlfriend. He wanted it to be romantic – with pinks, flowers and some love-themed ephemera, etc.
So I chose Kaisercraft’s Oh So Lovely paper collection, which is perfect for precisely such a mini album! It has florals, pinks, wood patterns and some great sentiments!
The album is a pocketstyle mini with 5×5″ (12,5 x 12,5 cm) pages. It sports ten interactive page layouts, including the inside covers, and four large photo mats. I decorated it with the O So Lovely Collectables die-cuts, the ATC cards of the collection (called Captured Moments – Pretty Little Things) and some decorative elements from other brands on the front cover and throughout the album.
For the page designs I mainly followed my Life’s a Picnic mini album tutorial – which by the way has 14 interactive pages so you’ll get 4 extra page designs if you purchase the tutorial!
So enjoy the video, and don’t forget to check out the close-ups below of the two Oh So Lovely cards I created with the same paper collection! 🙂
For those of you who celebrate it, have fun preparing for Valentine’s Day 🙂
Altered a frame with metallic (red copper) paint and some flowers
On the wall, next to one of my other layouts! 🙂
