Maximize Your Supplies: How to Create a Star Mini Album from Three 8.5"x11" Papers?

When I go through my stash I sometimes find the most amazing things. When I started scrapbooking there was NOTHING here. No 12x12 papers, no embellishments and I had to create scrapbooks and mini albums from  8.5"x11" patterned papers, and there weren't many of those too. I found some of my old papers and decided to use them for a really cool and fast project: a Star Mini Album.

1. Fold the paper in half. Fold each side into half again. Open and fold in half in the other direction.

2. Cut the paper only on the center spreading on two of the horizontal squares.

3. Fold in half and the paper will open up on its own.

4. Close the paper to a + shape and glue the sides together. You can glue only the sides and create pockets.

5. Fold all the flaps to one direction to create a mini album.

6. Create two more mini albums. arrange them back to back and glue together. You can leave it as a closed mini album or present it in its open star shape!





This is a great idea for a kids craft in school or on a cold winter weekend. They can make it with or for their frinds. You can make it as little gifts or even use it as a brag book. The possibilities are endless! I was really happy I could use something old that I thought would be thrown away...

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Have fun creating!

5-Minute Craft: Gift Bag

My niece's birthday is coming up soon and she's an amazing girl! So I got her a little gift which is very nicely wrapped but I want to give it to her in a really cool girly bag. Instead of buying one I'll show you how to create a gift bag in only 5 minutes!

You don't need any fancy scoring board for gift bags, you only need a paper and a box or a book. Match the size of box/book to the size of your gift and then you'll be sure it'll fit. If a 12x12 paper is too small then use a larger patterned paper or a kraft paper that you can embellish later.

Since this is a scheduled post (because I'm at CHA) I can't embed the video here...so check it out on my YouTube channel :)

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Paper Napkin Holder with Ann Butler faux Quilting Stamps

This is the easiest fastest project ever and it can fit any holiday or occasion if you just change the colors. I made it green so it'll fit a christmas table, but it can easily be in any other color for an anniversary, New year's Eve or even Valentine's Day.

To create this napkin holder align a few 1" Faux Quilting stamps in a row and stamp a piece of white cardstock. You can also alternate colors and stamp each square with a different color. That look will be great for a New Year's Eve party for example. Then cut the strip of paper around the stamped area.

Punch two butterflies or any other shape you want or that fits your event. On the first butterfly, create a cut in the center of the butterfly going from the bottom only until the middle of the butterfly. On the other butterfly start the cut from the top going all the way to the middle of the butterfly's body.

Attach each butterfly to the edge of the strip. To close the napkin holder simply attach the butterflies together by inserting each butterfly to the other butterfly's slit.
This project is so easy and quick you can create an entire set for any dinner or party.

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Ikea Frame Perpetual Calendar

2016 is almost here...I can't believe how fast time flies. You're probably thinking about planners and calendars but I have a great idea for you. I'm really bad with dates. If I don't write down birthdays, anniversaries etc. there is no way I'll remember them and there is nothing worse then forgetting an important birthday. So I have them written down on my phone, but I've come to realize that is not always the most dependable thing. Phones can lose data or die on you and then what'll you do...
So I came up with a way to remember...a perpetual calendar!

The idea behind a perpetual calendar is that you only have months. It is not relevant for one year but for life. You simply write the dates you need to remember on the relevant month, for example my mom's birthday is August 15th, so I'll write it on the August page. The dates don't change so you'll have them written down monthly and never forget!

I used an Ikea frame to create a hanged calendar with a page for each month. I kept the design clean and simple with a shabby chic look. Don't forget you can't overload the pages with lots of embellishments because you need to leave some space to write those dates!

This calendar will stand above my desk so I can look at something nice when I need to remember an event. It can also be a great gift for someone or even a project to make with friends on a crop night. If you use a stack with stickers and letters it'll save you time and you can make this calendar or even two in an evening.

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12 Cards of Christmas 2015 - Explosion Card with Ann Butler Stamps

We're almost through with making 12 cards for Christmas, and I had SO much fun! I don't make a lot of cards and every time I'm doing this series I'm reminded how fun card making can be. It's sometimes challenging to limit yourself to a card size :)

Today's card is a really fun one with a surprise. When you open the card the paper inside "explodes" at you. I've used Ann Butler Faux Quilting Stamps to create an interesting pattern on the inside page and the Ann Butler's EZ Dee's letter stamps to add the word NOEL. Finally I used the little triangle stamps from Ann Butler faux quilting stamps to create a Christmas tree on the front of the card.

I have to say that this series has challenged me. Since I don't celebrate Christmas (I'm Jewish) I don't have a lot of Christmas craft supplies like stamps, dies, papers etc. I also don't want to buy too many supplies because my budget is limited and I'd rather spend it on supplies I can use all year long. So I need to come up with ways to use what I have in creative ways so I can create interesting cards that can inspire others.

All the cards designs can be a starting point for many different kinds of cards for every event or person you can think of. Just change the colors, patterns or sentiments but the technique and design can stay the same. So basically these 12 cards ideas can inspire you all year long!

Have fun creating!

12 Cards of Christmas 2015 - Tag and Card in One

You know I like to make life easy and creating something that can serve a few purposes is a great way to do that. I thought what if I can make a tag, a gift card holder and a card all in one project wouldn't that be great? This way I'll be able to choose what I want to use it for instead of making three different projects.

I created these tags from Canvas Corp mini bags. If I want I live them like they are and use them as tags, if I want I can insert a gift card and then it's like a little present and if I want I can write my season greetings on a piece of cardstock and insert it so it'll become a card.

I created these tags as a series so they'll coordinate with each other. This way I can keep on adding more tags easily by simply using the same colors and papers I used to create the first six tags. If I want the tags themselves can be a great gift, just give it around Thanksgiving so it'll be possible to use them for Christmas.

Share in the comments how would you use them as tags, cards or gift card holders?

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5 Minutes Craft: Gift Box

I'm always looking for original, beautiful and unique ways to wrap gifts. Here's an idea for giving a gift in a box of your own creation. instead of wrapping the gift put it in a box!

All you need are two square papers depending on the size of box you want. I used 12x12 papers and got a 4 1/4" x 4 1/4" box. So basically the size of the box is approximately third of the paper size.

The great thing is about this idea is that you can customize the size, the colors and the theme of the box and match it to the gift itself and the recipient. For a boy's gift use a paper with cars, dinosaurs or shapes. If you're giving a friend concert tickets use a paper with a music theme or if you give your mother a pearl necklace create the box from vintage papers. The possibilities are endless!

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Twine Binding Envelope Mini Album

I always try to think about new and easy ways to make mini albums. The faster I can make them the better. One of the things that takes a long time to make is the cover and binding mechanism. Personally I'm not a big fan of rings and/or bind-it-all although i use them often. I want to have a fast binding mechanism (like rings or Bind-it-all) but professional looking like a full cover binding. So I came up with a solution...Twine!

It's not entirely my idea, I saw the use of twine for binding on the internet but I took it a step further and upgraded it a little. All you need to do is create a cover from three pieces of chipboard and attach the twine to it by wrapping the twine on a strip of chipboard.

Check out the video tutorial for step by step instructions, measurements and tips for creating your mini album! 

 

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4th of July Party Decoration with Ann Butler

4th of July is almost here and you're probably planning a BBQ, a picnic or a party. Instead of buying expensive decoration why not use papers and stencils to create everything you need to decorate your festivities!

I used Ann Butler's Stars Art Screen to create a white stars' pattern on red and blue papers. I used a white Posca pen, but you can also use white acrylic paint or modeling paste. To create a blue or red pattern on white paper the best thing to use are acrylic paints.

Once your pattern is ready you can create all your decorations. Here are just a few samples and ideas. You can find many more ideas online.

I creates a banner, cupcake toppers, bottle or glass wrapper, mini flags, a rosette and tags. You can customize any decoration by making it larger or smaller, use different papers and create different patterns with the same stencil. This is also a great activity for your kids.

How do you decorate your 4th of July party?

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Ready, Get set, De-stash! Paper Embellishments Tutorial

As you probably already know my resolution for this year is to use my stash and try not to buy so much supplies. it's already the middle of the year and i don't think I've done that enough. So today we're DE-STASHING!
We all have scraps of paper that are cut, have holes in them, are either too big or too small. We don't throw them away because we are sure we're going to use them. Well...today is the day! Take out all your scraps and join me!

First pick out papers that are in the same style and/or colors. I wanted a steampunk look so I've used brown, dark colors with script and numbers patterns.

Cut or punch shapes like circles, squares, stars, hearts or any other shape you want. I limited myself to 2" to 3" size but you can cut larger shapes. Then cut or punch smaller shapes from the papers and even cut out patterns. i cut out a few keys from a pattern paper piece that I had in my stash. Create combinations with all your shapes. Start with the larger shapes as the base and then layer the smaller shapes on them and create clusters. Finally add words or letters, but only if you have a partialy used sticker sheet! We're de-stashing remember?

Now you have your own paper embellishments to use in your projects, cards, scrapbook layouts or canvases. if they are big enough you can use them as cards, placement cards or even add a magnet on the back and put on your fridge.

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Making a Family History Book Part 4

Welcome to the fourth post in the series! I hope you you were inspired to start your own family history book or to add some new ideas to the heritage projects you're currently working on.

More Photos space

I've used interactive opening flaps to increase the space for text, but it is also a great solution for more photos space. Create an opening flap with text on both sides and add photos on the part under it. this will also create an element of surprise and discovery to the history book and give the viewer a feeling of exploring and discovering the history themselves.

Interactive mechanisms

I've already explained how interactive mechanisms can increase space for text and photos, but these mechanisms can help you add content to the page. The same way you can use a theme to tell a part of the story you can use an interactive mechanism. In this page I created an opening envelope with a letter inside that is the the story of my grandfather. The envelope is part of the story by conveying the idea of him being away.

Other Forms of Text

The written word is a vast fascinating place that we can draw a lot of inspiration from. One way I presented the text is to arrange it in a form of a newspaper. I thought of a name for the newspaper, which is based on the family name of that side of the family and arranged all the text in columns similar to a news paper. I even gave each little story a headline and added advertisements and photos. Since most of the stories take place more than 60 years ago I found advertisements from that period online and added them for a more authentic look.

Make sure to tune in on Friday for the final part of the "Making a Family History Book" series!

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5 Minutes Craft - Steampunk Magnetic Bookmark

Today in 5 Minutes craft I'm sharing a magnetic bookmark, but not only is it functional and super easy to create it's also in steampunk style! So I'm having fun all around!

Steampunk is one of my favorite styles. I love the dark colors and masculine feeling to it and I also like the mechanical and Si-Fi feel to parts of the imagery. If I can play with cogwheels, wires and other metal embellishments I'm happy! Steampunk is much easier to create than you think. All you need are scraps of paper in dark colors with a pattern like script, numbers, keys,shapes etc. just make sure there are no cute or flowery images. Then you need a metal embellishment that can be a cogwheel, a flower or a key as long as it's metal.

Once you have all the things you need just create the bookmark or even a few of them. The secret to this bookmark is that it's magnetic and can't fall. It holds the book pages between its two sides. Check out the video to see how to create it! Check out the video to see how to create it!

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Have fun creating!