Monthly Archives: March 2018

Introduction to Letterboxing

March 30, 2018Outdoor Fun, Paper Crafts, Rubber Stamping, Tutorials@CanvasCorp, @canvscorp, #canvascorpbrands, #ccbcrew, 7gypsies, Atlas Quest, book arts, bookbinding, carving your own stamp, classes at Schnarr's Hardware, classes by Carolyn Hasenfratz, DIY, handmade book, handmade journal, hiking, hobby, hobby knife, LBNA, letterboxing, Letterboxing North America, make rubber stamp, outdoor activities, Outdoor Fun, paper crafting, paper crafts, printmaking, rubber stamp carving, rubber stamping, Schnarr's Hardware, Schnarr's Hardware blog, treasure huntchasenfratz

Letterboxing logbook and samples of personal stamps — Letterboxing logbook and samples of hand carved personal stamps.

I recently taught a two-part class to help people get started in the hobby of Letterboxing which combines outdoor exploration and creative expression. Two of the items you need to participate are a rubber stamp and a logbook. In part one, we hand carved a personal stamp and in part two we made a personal logbook. I wrote a tutorial for each class and they are now published on the Schnarr’s Hardware blog. If you want to try letterboxing or just learn to carve a rubber stamp and make a simple handmade book, here are links to my tutorials.

Read more on the Schnarr’s Hardware blog:

/Introduction to Letterboxing – Part I – Carving a Personal Stamp

Introduction to Letterboxing – Part II – Making a Personal Logbook

Crop Circle Necklaces

March 27, 2018Beads and Jewelry, Polymer Clay, Rubber Stamping@CanvasCorp, @canvscorp, @JoAnn, #canvascorpbrands, #ccbcrew, #handmadewithjoann, convertible necklaces, crop circles, polymer clay beads, polymer clay pendants, removable charms, removable pendant, rubber stamping on clay, rubberstamping on polymer claychasenfratz

Convertible necklaces with polymer clay pendants

Back in the late 1990s I was really into crop circles as designs. I carved a lot of rubber stamps of crop circle designs and used them in all kinds of art work. I stamped some crop circles onto polymer clay to make pendants and painted them with wash and dry brush techniques.

I never could think of what to make with the crop circle pendants until this past weekend when I was practicing making convertible pendants as samples for a jewelry class I was getting ready to teach. The lesson plan called for adding a lobster clasp to a pendant so that you could fasten it to different necklaces and chains for a variety of looks. I combined my crop circles with some hematite beads and gunmetal colored rings and lobster clasps to finally get a look that I liked. I’ll have a lot of fun mixing and matching these with other jewelry pieces!

Mixing Brands in Vintage Inspired Handmade Journals

March 20, 2018Mixed Media, Paper Crafts@CanvasCorp, @DCWVInc, @DCWVInk, @JoAnn, @tim_holtz, @TimHoltz, @timholtzdesigns, #canvascorpbrands, #ccbcrew, #handmadewithjoann, 2 page scrapbook/memory planner layout, 7 Gypsies, 7gypsies, 8.5 x 5.5 inches, 8.5 x 5.5 pages, Architextures, Canvas Corp, ccb crew, collage, design tape, journal pages, Paper, paper crafting, paper crafts, paper ephemera, Paper Pizzaz, paper tape, papercrafts, patterned paper, printed cardstock, scrapbook page layouts, scrapbooking paper, tags, Tim Holtz, Tim Holtz Idea-ology, vintage look ephemera, vintage look journal, vintage look paper, washi tapechasenfratz

My paper crafting and mixed media supply stash is substantial. Recently when I wanted to make some vintage inspired handmade journals as gifts I was faced with a pretty overwhelming number of options. Sometimes if you have too many supplies you can feel overwhelmed and a little inhibited. To get my creativity revved up I decided to see what I could come up with if I limited myself to three brands only – Canvas Corp Brands, Tim Holtz and DCWV. Those three brands still give you a huge number of options don’t they – not much of a limitation! I narrowed the possibilities a little further by setting out items from this list in my studio:

7gypsies Gypsy Paper Pack Collection – American Vintage

Architextures™ 12×12 Papers – Collection I

Canvas Corp Black & Kraft Postcard Paper

7gypsies Gypsy Moments Cards: Are We There Yet?

7gypsies Gypsy Paper Pack Collection – Gypsy Seamstress

Architextures™ 12×12 Papers – Collection 2

Canvas Corp Nautical: Black and Ivory Compass Paper

Architextures™ Parchment Rub-On – Build

Canvas Corp The Watering Can: Seed Packets on Ivory Paper

7gypsies binding rings

7gypsies ephemera (discontinued)

7gypsies papers (discontinued)

7gypsies paper tape (discontinued)

DCWV Everyday Essentials Stack

DCWV Heirloom Stack

Tim Holtz design tape

Tim Holtz papers

Tim Holz ephemera

Tim Holtz mini brads

Ok I cheated a little bit – in the second journal I needed some patterned translucent paper so I slipped in some Vellum Swirls paper by Paper Pizazz.

Yes, that is still a lot of product to choose from, but it’s at least a somewhat more manageable subset of my stash! These slide shows feature 8.5 x 5.5 inch pages in pairs, starting with the front and back covers.

Vintage Look Journal #1

Vintage Look Journal #2

I Have Planted My First Letterboxes!

March 9, 2018Outdoor Fun, Paper Crafts, Rubber Stamping@tim_holtz, @TimHoltz, @timholtzdesigns, Atlas Quest, classes at Schnarr's Hardware, classes by Carolyn Hasenfratz, hand carved stamp, handmade books, hiking, Introduction to Letterboxing, letterbox, letterboxing, letterboxing class, logbook, mini books, rubber stamp carving, Schnarr's Hardwarechasenfratz

I’ve been involved in the letterboxing hobby since 2010 but I just now got around to planting my first letterboxes. Each box contains a logbook for visitors to stamp in and a hand-carved stamp for finders to stamp into their own personal logbooks. If you want to try to find either of these boxes, go to the web site www.atlasquest.com for clues. If you want to see the stamps in these boxes, you have to find them! It’s against the “rules” for me to show you online!

If letterboxing looks like an activity you would enjoy, I can teach you how to carve a custom rubber stamp, make a logbook, get clues and look for boxes. I hope you can join me at Schnarr’s Hardware on March 22 and 29, 2018 where I will be teaching:
Introduction to Letterboxing

Give Your Mason Jar Gifts a Beachy Look

March 9, 2018Home Decor, Mixed Media, Rubber Stamping, Tutorials@CanvasCorp, #canvascorpbrands, #ccbcrew, 7 Gypsies, 7gypsies, altered art, Architextures, Canvas Corp, canvas corp brands, ccb crew, collage, crafts, Design Team, gift ideas, gift packaging, mason jar, mason jar ideas, mixed media, Paper, paper crafting, paper crafts, papercrafts, patterned paper, personalised gifts, printed cardstock, Schnarr's Hardware, tagschasenfratz

Handmade candle in a Mason jar, decorated with collage papers and a handmade tag.

My tutorial on decorating the lids and making tags for seaglass-colored Mason jar candles has been published on the Canvas Corp Brands blog.

To learn how I made the candles, you can read my tutorial on the Schnarr’s Hardware blog:
Make Old Wax Candles Into New Candles

Schnarr’s Hardware sells several sizes and shapes of Mason jars as well as lids and other canning accessories.

Introduction to Scrapbooking

March 8, 2018Paper Crafts, Tutorialspaper adhesive, paper crafting, paper crafting supplies, paper crafts, paper cutting system, scrapbook adhesive, scrapbook format, scrapbook page size, scrapbooking, scrapbooking supplieschasenfratz

Do you want to start scrapbooking? First here are some guidelines to help you narrow down your choices of formats and tools.

1. To begin, make a decision about what format you want to work in.

What size blank pages do you want to use? 12 x 12, 8.5 x 11, 6 x 6 or something else? Take into account the size of your photos.
Do you like pocket scrapbooking, traditional scrapbooking, or a combination? Pocket scrapbooking is when you put your photos, journaling cards and other embellishments into clear plastic pocket pages.
Is it important to be able to add and subtract pages? If so, choose or make an album cover that allows you to remove and add pages.
Is it easy to get refills on blank pages and pocket pages? You can get a lot of beautiful supplies for your scrapbook online, but it will be a lot more convenient if you can refill your basic supplies at a store where you already shop a lot.

2. Choose a cutting system for papers and photos.

A self-healing cutting mat, craft knife and metal ruler are basic to have for just about any type of paper crafts and will get used a lot in scrapbooking.
A guillotine-style cutter, preferably at least 12 x 12″ in size, is extremely convenient and easy to use. Mine is heavy but I often make the effort to drag it around when working on location because I use it so much. They make smaller sizes but if you have the budget and the space for it a 12 x 12″ cutter is very useful because much scrapbook paper is sold in the 12 x 12″ format.
A trimmer is great to have when you don’t want to deal with the size and weight of a tabletop guillotine-style paper cutter. You won’t be able to work quite as fast as with the guillotine-style cutter, but you can get the job done. They also come with a scoring blade so you can use it as a scoring tool also which is useful if you make a lot of stuff with folds such as pockets, boxes or greeting cards.

3. Select what adhesives you’d like to use for attaching photos and papers to the scrapbook page. I recommend having all of these in your arsenal when you start out because all are useful in certain situations and you will develop your own methods and preferences as you learn.

Photo adhesive squares – easy to use and essential and one of the most economical choices.
Glue stick – great for small embellishments that don’t have their own adhesive, also economical.
Tape runner – very convenient if you can find one that doesn’t jam constantly – I’m still looking!
Rolls of glue dots or glue lines – extremely convenient and useful, not the most economical choice but sometimes nothing else is right.
Double-sided tape – I use it a lot for making pockets and other situations where you need a flat, strong bond.
Glue pen – Good for extremely small paper items. I use one of these more in collage work than in scrapbooking but if you ever need to glue something tiny glue pens are a great way to apply a small amount of glue neatly.

Other basic tools and supplies you will need to start scrapbooking:
Scissors
Ruler
Scrap paper
Bone folder
Pencil
Eraser
Pencil sharpener
Marker for writing captions
Selection of solid color cardstock
Selection of decorative patterned papers

How to start your scrapbook

1. Lay out a few blank pages on your work surface that are the same size as the finished pages you want to make. This is to help you visualize what your future pages will look like.

2. Go through your photos and decide what order they should go in. Decide if they need cropping or trimming.

3. Place your photos and any embellishments or memorabilia you want to use on two or three blank pages at a time. This is to get ideas for page layouts.

4. When you plan your layout, don’t forget to leave space for captions or journaling.

5. Make or prepare what you want to add on your page. For example, you might want to make a pocket to hold something special or make a frame for a photo out of colored paper. Take a blank page and start building your page from the “bottom up”. Use whatever adhesive is appropriate for each part. For example, photo squares are good for most photos and glue sticks or a tape runner work well for attaching a large piece of paper.

6. If it helps in positioning things, you can make indicator lines on the paper with pencil then erase them later when you’re done with your page.

Going to the next level

If you get more serious about the hobby, these paper crafting supplies are really fun to use on scrapbook pages and give you a lot more creative options:
Stickers
Stencils
Rubber stamps and rubber stamp ink pads
Markers and colored pencils for coloring and drawing
Die cuts and embellishments
Paper punches
Decorative paper tape (also called Washi tape or design tape)
Journaling cards
Rub-ons
Decorative paper edging scissors
Wet media such as paints and mists
A paper cutting system that allows you to cut shapes – this can be some kind of template and blade system or a computer driven cutting system such as a Cricut.

Paper crafting supplies are a bit of an investment in the beginning but keep in mind you can get a lot of use out of them by making other paper items such as journals, planners, calendars, handmade books, cards, holiday and party decorations, gift packaging and more.

Here are some online resources that I have written or found to help with scrapbooking and other paper crafts:

Scrapbooking Page Layout Sketches
https://www.pinterest.com/chasenfratz/scrapbooking-page-sketches/

Scrapbooking with Memorabilia
http://www.chasenfratz.com/wp/resources-for-crafters/scrapbooking-with-memorabilia/

Scrapbooking with Small Format Photos
http://www.chasenfratz.com/wp/scrapbooking-with-small-format-photos/

Mixing Different Paper Crafting Brands Together
http://www.chasenfratz.com/wp/mixing-different-paper-crafting-brands-together/

Planners, Journals, Albums, Scrapbooks and Handmade Books
https://www.pinterest.com/chasenfratz/planners-journals-albums-scrapbooks-and-handmade-b/

Art Journaling
https://www.pinterest.com/chasenfratz/art-journaling/

Examples of Pocket Scrapbooking
https://www.pinterest.com/campfirechic/project-life-scrapbooking-inspiration/

Scrap Gals Community
https://www.facebook.com/groups/scrapgals/

Scrap Gals Podcast
http://www.thescrapgals.com/

My teaching, demo and event schedule
http://www.chasenfratz.com/wp/about/classes-and-events/

Make Your Own Bird Suet Cakes

March 3, 2018Conservation, Tutorials, Upcyclingattracting birds to the garden, bird feeding, bird watching, Litzinger Road Ecology Center, LREC, make suet cakes, Master Gardener Program, render beef fat, Schnarr's Hardware, Schnarr's Hardware blog, St. Louis Master Gardeners, suet cakes, Whole Foodschasenfratz

Feeding outdoor birds with homemade suet cakes

I do as much as I can in my garden to attract birds, because I love them and I enjoy the benefits of all the insects they eat. Suet cakes are attractive to many birds, in particular the ones who eat a lot of insects. I wrote an article on how to double-render fat to make suet cakes that you offer to outdoor birds in spring temperatures.

Read more on the Schnarr’s Blog:
Make Suet Cakes for Outdoor Birds

Fun Venture Cafe Event

March 1, 2018Art, Events#venturecafestl, adult coloring, art journaling, Schnarr's Hardware, Schnarr's Hardware blogchasenfratz

Art journal pages projected on screen as part of a slide show featuring art inspired by science.

Last week some of my science inspired art journal pages were in a slide show as part of an event called “Science of Creativity”. I’m a believer in the fun and benefits of adult coloring and art journaling so it was very rewarding for me to show some of my samples and also participate in coloring activities on at the event. Venture Cafe activities are kind of like mini conventions and happy hours where you can attend presentations and network with people in a low-pressure situation.

Read more on the Schnarr’s Hardware blog:
Exploring Where Art and Science Meet at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center

Carolyn Hasenfratz Design

Living the creative life with art, design, crafts, gardening, home decor and more!