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...
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 :)
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.
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.
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?
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!
I did some new year's cleaning in my boy's' room and found some old toys they didn't want anymore. I gave most of them but I kept a few small ones that I likes to create a toys' shadow box to hang on the wall. It reminds me of the old days when they were little kids playing on the carpet and making noise.
I used some old jewelry boxes as the base of the shadow box collection and covered them all with paper on the outside and inside. I tried to match the paper to the toys as well as adding the same themed embellishments.
You can use all kinds of boxes to create this collage and different size or theme toys. For a girl some ballerinas, butterflies or small dolls would be great! It's a really nice childhood memorabilia to display at your home.
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!
Welcome to the final part of the series. I can now update you that the heritage book I created won first place! So I guess they liked my ideas for an interesting original design...I hope you do to. I have a few more ideas to share...
Make it Your Own
Sometimes you have an idea but you don't have the right supplies. I wanted to create doors, as an interactive mechanism to present the text in this page. However, I've already used a mechanism like that on another page so I didn't want to repeat myself. I decided to use a paper that looks like a door and not just two paper flaps. The problem was I didn't have the right size of paper. the solution was to scan the pattern into my computer and enlarge it to the size I need. Then I added them to my layout and inserted the text under them.
Layering
One of the best ways to create an interesting page is to layer different paper and embellishments with the same theme. In this page I had to create a page about the immigration routes of the family. So instead of just adding a map and text I layered a travel themed paper as a background and added a sign as the legend.
Quotes
I love using quotes. They're a great way to add more layer of content to the text. It is also a solution when you have a short text or want to keep the page simple without too many embellishments. I used many quotes all throughout the book. You can find quotes on many websites just search the subject you want with the word quote for example: "family quotes".
Get Artistic
Sometimes the best way to add something extra to a text page is to get artistic. By that I mean think outside of the box in term of interpretation of the text and idea of the story. One of the subjects my son had to write about in the book was about "accepting the different". My son chose to write about Autistic people and how they can be integrated in society. So for this page I created a tare in the paper that is combined together with a string, two parts integrated. An abstract expression of an idea.
That concludes this series...
If by now you have not started your own heritage book or at least created a few family pages I'm sure your fingers are itchy and you are just waiting for the weekend when you'll have more time :)
Please share your pages with me...
I hope you liked this series and if you did please let me know in a comment.
Creativity is magic! I think we can agree on that right?
But does this magic have to be packed with many supplies and embellishments?
Is creativity a direct result of how much stuff you use or how much money you spend?
let's challenge ourselves to create with less!
I say that we can create magic with ONE sheet of paper! Who's with me?
One Sheet of Paper Interactive Mini Album
Start with a 12x12 cardstock. I used a black one and covered it later but you can use a patterned double sided cardstock and then you can skip the covering part. Score it on the 4" and 8" marks, turn it a quarter of a turn and score again.
Continue according to the items:
First cut along all the lines (that are not dotted) and then fold:
A: fold top center to the right. apply adhesive to top and bottom edges of right square and attach to create a pocket.
B: fold down.
C: fold top left square down. Apply adhesive to right and bottom edges of center left square and attach to create a pocket. fold under center square.
D: fold to the right.
E: fold bottom right square to the left.
F: fold edge of square to the right on 1" mark. apply adhesive to flaps to create two pockets.
G: fold bottom left square to the right.
Fold up to close.
I'm Grateful Mini Envelope Box
A fun easy project you can create from only one sheet of paper to hold cards, notes or small photos. Just trace a bubble gum box and cut a double sided cardstock. Fold the same way and embellish!
flap mini album
Create a small but sturdy mini album that can fit in a purse or a bag. A few cuts and folds and a surprising binding are all the secrets you would need to know to create this project.
Use a double sided cardstock and a Bind-it-All to create the album's pages and the flaps. Check out the full photo tutorial here.
Folded mini album
Create a beautiful mini album by folding a 12X12 cardstock in different directions. Add a few embellishments and photos. Find the full tutorial here.
Three cards - One Paper
Create three different embellished cards from only one 12x12 double sided cardstock! Find out how far you can stretch one page and what embellishments can you create from just a piece of paper!
Go dig in your stash and find papers you can play with and create one sheet of paper projects! Don't miss out! Keep up with all the crafty goodness by subscribing to the Einat Kessler creative newsletter
Every now and then I believe we must go into our stash pick up a few things and use them in a project. Half finished sticker sheets, rhinestones, rub-ons etc. use old stuff to make room for the new. Sometimes we don't even remember what we have and we buy new products because we don't realize we already have what we need.
This mini album is made entirely with leftovers from my stash and one 12X12 double sided cardstock.
Here are the steps you need to follow to create a project from leftovers:
1. Decide on the project you want to do. It can be a mini album, layout, home decor piece etc. You can create it for yourself or as a gift.
2. Pick a theme and a color palette. Deciding that will help you pick out different products that match together and will look great on your project.
3. Go to your stash and take out everything that fits the theme and colors you decided.
4. work on your project with as many products as possible. Be creative and try to think of new ways to incorporate embellishments, papers and other products in your projects.
5. Works in stages. Create layers, Starting from paper and stickers and moving on to the smaller embellishments like flowers and rhinestones.
Purging your stash from old half used supplies is not only fun it decluttering your work space and your mind. It's like going to the craft store and getting new stuff! You will find things you didn't know or forgot you had.
Check out the video tutorial for step by step instructions to create this mini album.
What will be your destash project this weekend?
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