In June of this year I took a trip with my Dad to Toronto and New York City. I knew ahead of time that we would be traveling on Father’s Day, so I made a gift to present to him on the trip – a handmade journal for him to write in each day, which he did. The journal was designed so that after the trip we could add photos and ephemera and perhaps write more about our memories. I’m in the process of getting both of our photos printed so we can start working on it. I expect this will be a long term project and we will enjoy the time together that we spend on it and memories of the great trip we had. Below are photos of some of my favorite parts of the journal, as they looked before any content was added. In the future I’ll be sharing some our favorite layouts as we get them done.
Here is the front cover of the journal. It’s decorated with a collage that is protected by a piece of acetate. The small word rubber stamps are from Carolyn’s Stamp Store.Inside front cover and first page. The inside front cover has a pocket for holding ephemera. The large rubber stamp on the right is from 7gypsies.On the left I used a trimmed Project Life card, part of the collage I made and some decorative paper. The small rubber stamps on the right are from Carolyn’s Stamp Store.On the left I used two different stencils from Crafter’s Workshop and a stamp from 7gypsies.On the left I used a Project Life card, part of my collage and decorative paper. On the right are stamps from Carolyn’s Stamp Store.On the right I used a stencil from Crafter’s Workshop and some decorative papers.On the right in addition to decorative papers I used a sticker from Tim Holtz and a Project Life card.
Here are some links to products I used to make this journal:
Usually my problem is an overabundance of ideas for new projects, way more than one human being can ever do. Occasionally I need a new idea for a certain specific purpose and I find myself coming up dry. This weekend I was trying to create a new Halloween greeting card design and decided to check out some card sketches to see if anything inspired me. I made a new Pinterest Board, Greeting Card Ideas and Sketches to help me keep track of my finds.
I found a lot of sketches I like on a web site called CAS(E) this Sketch! They specialize in clean and simple designs which appeal to me because a lot of times I think paper crafts that I see out there have WAY too much “stuff” on them. I’m sure a lot of people think my own designs are too spare. That’s ok, we all have different taste.
Making this card helped me get over my creative block and I have some more spin-off ideas that really don’t look much like this result at all, one of them isn’t even for a card, but are things I never would have thought of if I hadn’t done this exercise. That’s how creativity often works!
The rubber stamp images used in this card are from my own Carolyn’s Stamp Store, 7gypsies and Clearsnap. The small bug stamp is unknown. Here are links to some of my stamps that I used:
8.5 x 11 Scrapbook Pages of Route 66 Sites and Events in Lebanon, Missouri
In my tutorial “Scrapbooking My Way on the Highway” I explained why I chose an 8.5 x 11 inch page format for my Route 66 scrapbooks and described how 3-ring binders help me to arrange my photographs by geographic order rather than time order. I’ve taken a lot of Route 66 trips and plan to do more in the future, so I like to be able to insert pages from the same area next to pages from an earlier trip. This practice helps me to learn the geography of the road and to document how it changes over time.
When you mount standard-sized photos on an 8.5 x 11 inch page, you are left with a lot of empty areas to fill. This is not necessarily a bad thing because as a result there is ample room on the pages for journaling and small ephemera. Lately I’ve been experimenting with another way to fill those empty spots – with small photos.
There are online companies that specialize in printing 2 x 2 inch photos from your social media accounts. I decided to try out the services of Social Print Studio to see how such photos look in my existing albums.
In the image at the top of this article, I have mixed the white-bordered 2 x 2 prints from Social Print Studio with standard sized-photos on two scrapbook pages that show places and events in the Lebanon, Missouri area. I’m really happy with the results – these small photos really help me use the space more efficiently and the white borders look terrific on colored cardstock.
I also tried using Photoshop to make montages of photos for printing in a 4 x 6 format. This is a great way to print photos from social media that are not of a high enough resolution to print in a standard size. The tiny photo at the lower left was taken from Facebook. Yes it’s small but it’s better than not having it at all! This is a great way to obtain a bunch of small photos to fill in gaps for a very reasonable price! Just cut the montage prints apart and fit the tiny photos in among the larger photos.
The image below shows two more pages that utilize the 2 x 2 photos from Social Print Studio. I like to mix emphemera in my albums and I have a lot of brochures and brochure-sized items displayed in pockets. On an 8 x 11 inch page, after I install the pocket there is no room for a standard sized photo but as you can see there is room for 6 small photos!
8.5 x 11 Scrapbook Pages of Route 66 Events and Locations Between Springfield and Carthage, Missouri
Yes it might seem a little early to talk about Halloween crafts – usually in early August I feel like I’m just getting used to the summer lifestyle. The Fall 2015 issue of RubberStampMadness is out and I want to let you know about it because my article “Stamping Halloween Postoids” is featured within! If you want to read it check the newsstand at your favorite craft retailer or go to the RubberStampMadness web site to order a copy. My four-page article will guide you step by step in creating your own Halloween Faux Postage stamps to decorate your Halloween mail and crafts.
I also have a selection of Halloween and Faux Postage rubber stamps available in my online shop Carolyn’s Stamp Store. I have complete postoid stamps and parts to help you design your own artistamps. Check out my newest designs featuring skeletal animals, crows, creepy bugs and more!
A lot of gifts and products come in decorative metal tins. Usually I don’t like the design already on the tin and prefer to cover it with something else. Turn a humdrum tin into a treasure with decoupage!
What you will need:
Images on paper to decoupage
Scissors
Scrap paper
Metal ruler
Optional: rubber stamps
Timber Brown StazOn stamping ink
Metal tin
Sandpaper
Rag
Small flat paintbrush
Water container
Paint palette with wells
Old credit card
Water based matte medium (if you prefer a glossy surface, use gloss medium)
Aleene’s Turbo Tacky Glue
Sponge
Metallic Silver StazOn or other silver paint appropriate for metal
Silver Ribbon
Cardstock
To begin, gather together paper pieces with imagery that you like. This project will work best if they are on thin, opaque paper (not tissue paper). For my sample I wanted to create decorative tins for the bath, so I collected nostalgic images with a bath and personal products theme. Some of my images were downloaded from the Internet and printed for me at an office supply store. Some were cut out of magazines and catalogs, some vintage, some newer. Others were purchased from craft suppliers.You can also stamp images onto paper with permanent ink, such as the StazOn Timber Brown I used in this project. I stamped words from the rubber stamp set “Products on the Kitchen and Bath” onto narrow strips of torn scrap paper. Use any color of stamping ink you like as long as it is waterproof.
Trim the images and cut to the size you want to use. Some images will look better cut out cleanly, some look good torn by using your metal ruler as a straight edge. You can also cut some with decorative paper edging scissors for variety. This project looks best if you prepare images in a variety of sizes.
If you have any pieces larger than 1 inch square, there is a risk of the paper wrinkling as you apply it. Here is how to prevent wrinkling. Put down some scrap paper to protect your work surface. Pour a little matte medium into one of the paint wells. Paint the larger paper pieces on one side. Let dry, then flip over and paint the other side and let dry. Now they are ready to apply, wrinkle free!
Prepare the tin to accept the paper – Sand the tin to rough up the painted surface to better accept the glued on pieces. Wipe of the dust with a damp rag. Let it dry.
Applying paper to tin
Now for the fun part, applying the paper pieces! For now, set aside the lid and only work on the body of the tin. Squeeze out some Aleen’s Turbo Tacky Glue into one of the paint wells. Start with larger paper pieces first – brush some tacky glue onto the back of each, then smooth in place on the body of the tin with your fingers (we’ll be using a different technique for the lid so set the lid aside for now). If you have to, roll the handle of your brush over the paper after you apply it or burnish with the edge of an old credit card to force any excess glue out and make the paper bond tightly to the tin with no gaps. You don’t have to worry about wiping or brushing away any excess glue if you don’t have big globs of glue oozing out – it will dry clear. Repeat this process until the whole bottom portion of the tin is covered. Let dry, then coat with a varnish of matt medium.
Now we’ll work on the lid and a silver ribbon to wrap around the bottom edge of the tin. Sponge silver StazOn ink or other paint or ink of your choice around the edge of the lid and about a half inch onto the top. Cut two pieces of silver ribbon that are long enough to go around a tin one time. Tape them to a piece of scrap paper and sponge them with the silver ink or paint too – even though the ribbon is already silver it’s best to match it to the ink.
Once the silver ribbon is dry, glue it around bottom edge of the tin with Tacky Glue.
When the silver paint on the lid is dry, varnish lid and body of the tin with matte varnish.
Collage on cardstock
Get a piece of cardstock and decoupage it all over with more pieces of decorative paper. Let dry and coat with matte varnish.
Circles of collaged cardstock ready to glue onto lids
When the cardstock is dry, cut out a circle that is big enough to cover any unpainted areas of the lid. Glue down this paper circle with Tacky Glue, and let dry with a weight on top to keep it flat. You’re done!
Last night I listened to a really fun and informative podcast by The Scrap Gals on the topic of Memory Planners – using a planner to help stay organized and also save as a scrapbook-like keepsake with photos, decorative papers and all kinds of other fun things that we associate with scrapbooking. I’ve saved old planners or calendars on occasion because the records in them really bring back vivid memories. Memory planners are a really great idea but I don’t anticipate having the kind of time to exploit the idea to the fullest.
One idea on the podcast that really had me intrigued was the idea of combining an art journal with a planner. This got me thinking. I have kept sketchbooks since 1985 and I’ve saved all of them. They have a lot of thumbnail sketches and notes about future projects in them, and occasionally other things that get in there because it’s the handiest blank paper around – supply lists, to-do lists, hours that I’ve worked for various clients to be transferred to electronic records later, web site notes, class notes, things like that.
A sketchbook could incorporate aspects of a planner. I have rubber stamps in my Carolyn’s Stamp Store collection with months, years, and days of the week – designed for memory crafts, but adaptable for making a planner too. I also have several sets of letter and number rubber stamps and stencils from other companies, some are even vintage. Along with my rubber stamps, I got out a pencil and ruler and started playing around with page layouts.
First page layout experiment – two weeks per page
I used the wall calendar that I keep in my office as a reference and filled in the first two weeks. On this first attempt I tried to include 14 days per 8.5 x 11 inch sketchbook page. Some good things were happening, but I decided that I needed more room for each day. As a result I came up with this second layout:
One week per page with To Do list on the side
This is the layout I’m going to stick with for awhile. The month, day and year stamps are from my own Carolyn’s Stamp Store. The large numbers are from ‘Lil Davis Designs and the pointing hand and ruled lines stamp are from 7gypsies. A page like this is quick to throw together. My stamping got a little sloppy there on the numbers but this is pretty much for my eyes only so it’s not a big deal. My plan is to add a new week as needed wherever the next blank page happens to fall in my sketchbook. I’ll write in things like work schedules and appointments and also make a brief note about what I did that day. I went through my rubber stamp collection and picked out ones I thought suitable for journaling and put them all together in a bin with the inks I used on this page so they’ll be handy when I need them.
I’m looking forward to this new way of getting organized and recording my activities. When this sketchbook is full, I may switch to a 3-ring binder and put 8.5 x 11 inch sheets of drawing paper in it, with the flexibility of adding additional pages wherever I want of any kind of paper or cardstock if I want to expand the memory aspect of the planner/sketchbook combo.
Sometimes it’s fun to get back to the basics – rubber stamping and making faux postage! I don’t have any actual “Halloween” rubber stamps but I used what I had to make some disturbing postal imagery for Halloween.
Sometimes the pieces of scrap paper I put under my rubber stamping projects to protect the work surface from ink end up with really interesting markings on them. Don’t throw these pieces out – when they’re dry, scan them and import them into Photoshop to make interesting textures that would be difficult if not impossible to duplicate with only digital tools.
I decorated this hanging candy holder for Valentine’s Day, but the
design is versatile and can be used for a number of occasions – just
change the collage piece inserted in the front of the holder!
Tutorial and free template here – http://carolynsstampstore.com/catalog/valentine_candy_holder.php
I repurposed this gift box into a nice storage box by doing some decoupage work on the lid. First I glued down antique imagery. Next I rubber stamped harmonious images onto gold and white tissue paper with Staz On permanent rubber stamp ink and glued those pieces down. After that layer was dry, I brushed varnish over the whole box top for durability.
Check out my Pinterest board for sources of free images to download and print out – Free Graphics and Fonts.
