Create your own mini album using one 12 x 12 paper!

 

Hello Crafty Friends!

We all have scrapbook paper that we would love to use on a unique or special project.  Admittedly, I have a lot of treasured papers that are longing for use.  These papers are either "to pretty" to use or I bought them but have no idea how to incorporate them into a project.  

One day I grabbed one of those pretty papers and decided to play.  I ended up creating a sweet mini album with pockets- horizontal, side, and top opening.  Quick and easy to create, this project will have you making more than one!

On Sunday's weekly YouTube Live, I shared the project.  For the mini I used one of my favorite all time paper collections: Graphic 45's Nature Sketchbook.

After the tutorial video was completed, I finished the project by adding tags, little journal cards, and some ribbons.  It was a great project to use of some of my scrap pieces!

It is such a sweet mini and I love the finished results.  A perfect project for when you only have an hour or two to craft but want to feel like you finished a lot!  😁

Feel free to check out my other videos: @kathyjocrafts

You can catch the weekly lives every Sunday morning at 10 am AST/ 8am CST.  The videos are always available after.

Have a happy, crafty day!

Big hugs,

Kathy Jo

Graphic 45 Nature Sketchbook mini album

Hello Crafty Friends!

Yesterday my friends and I attended a day long fundraising crop.  Oh- I had such a great time!  All of us crafty gals collected a lot of food for a local food bank.  (Feels awesome to help out people in need!)  We spent the whole day crafting, smiling, and chatting.  Gotta love craft days spent with friends. :)

I usually attend crops with a large project to work on.  The project for yesterday's crop was a mini-album using Graphic 45's Nature Sketchbook collection.  The album is quite big and full of beautiful Graphic 45 details.  Because of the amount of album details, I am sharing not only some photos of the album but also a YouTube video.

Below are some pics of the album.  I fussy cut a lot of butterflies and some bees for it...and I had a blast doing it.  It may not be summer here but my desk looked like summer with all of the colorful butterflies on it!

The front of the album has several fussy cutbutterflies.  I really like how the Monarch butterfly pops against the gold doily.

The spine has three very wee butterflies fussy cut on it.  Can you find them?  (hint: one is in the metal label holder)

Here are some photos from inside of the album.  Love the colors in this collection!

Chipboard, flower punchouts, tabs & pockets and stickers from the Nature Sketchbook collection were used throughout the album.

The envelope opens to reveal three envelopes with more embellishments and cards tucked inside.

Doesn't the collection make you think of summer beauty?  It makes me yearn for summer in my gardens seeing butterflies flutter by. 

Product used:

Graphic 45 Nature Sketchbook collection

Graphic 45 Square Pocket and Tag Album

Thanks for stopping by!  

Have a happy, crafty day.

Big Hugs,

Kathy Jo

Frame It- Butterfly Irish Blessing

Hello Crafty Friends!

It is my day to post at Quietfire Creations and I am sharing an upcycled frame using Quietfire Design's "May the Wings"stamp.  The stamp is from the Butterfly Circles stamp collection:

The frame was picked up at a local second hand store- it was a perfect match for the lovely stamp!

The beautiful papers are from Graphic 45's Nature Sketchbook collection.

For more details and project instructions, feel free to hop on over to the post at Quietfire Creations.

Thanks for stopping by!
Have a happy, crafty day.
Hugs,
Kathy Jo

"Soar" Butterfly Flourish card

Hello Crafty Friends.

How is your day?  Have you crafted or plan on crafting?  Or are you looking for crafty inspiration?  Hopefully you think you have come to the right spot.  :)

Elizabeth Craft Design is celebrating their new releases and the design teams are sharing projects.  One of my projects used two newly released dies, Soar and Butterfly Flourish.
 
Looking for instructions?  The instructions to make the card are located on the Elizabeth Craft Designs blog.  Feel free to check out all of the other great projects on the blog.  The blog is jam packed with inspiration and tutorials.

Oh!  And if you were wondering about the pretty papers...they are from Graphic 45's Nature Sketchbook collection.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a happy, crafty day!
Big Hugs,
Kathy Jo

"Believe" Graphic 45 Nature Sketchbook and Quietfire Design frame

Hello Crafty Friends!

Spring has sprung and, as a gardener, my mind is full of ideas for the gardens.  Last week my friends and I started various sunflower seeds.  The visions of tall, happy sunflowers in our late summer gardens have been the subject of our excited talks this week.  I guess you could say that gardeners always believe- that with our pleasurable work- something wonderful is about to happen.   

With gardens on my mind, I upcycled a frame using Quietfire Designs' "Always Believe" stamp and "Believe" die.  

 Jet Black Archival Ink was used on Graphic 45's Nature Sketchbook ivory paper.  (Nature Sketchbook was used entirely as the papers for this project.)  Sweet butterflies and lush foliage create a natural frame around the beautiful stamp.

Believe was die cut and mounted on two layers of papers.  Lady bugs and a dragonfly grace the lovely die cut.

Glossy Accents was applied to all eggs, lady bugs and other wee insects.

 Layers of plants and insects fill the frame.

 On top of layers were bright butterflies.

 Inka Gold was applied along all frame edges and on the layers below the Believe die cut.

 Full of life frame!  I hope my gardens are as spirited as the frame.  :)

After hours of fussy cutting, mounting with foam tape and adding Stickles or clear enamel, my dreamlike garden wall art was complete.  Seeing the frame on my wall makes me smile with thoughts- and belief- that the gardens will lush and beautiful with life.

Thank you very much for stopping by!  I do hope you enjoyed the project.  Maybe it has inspired you to make a project for a gardener friend or yourself.  Feel free to share a link in the comments here or on social media as I would love to see it!  :)

Have a happy, crafty day.
Big Hugs,
Kathy Jo

"Always Believe" Graphic 45 and Quietfire Design butterfly card

Hello Crafty Friends! 

Today is my day to post at Quietfire Creations and I created a card using the stunning new stamp from Quietfire Design, Always Believe:

Love the flowing letters of Suzanne's calligraphy!  The calligraphy is full of such light and delicate beauty...it reminds me of a butterfly gracefully fluttering by on a summer's day.  The image of butterflies following the exquisite calligraphy of the stamp inspired my card.  

The papers are from Graphic 45's Nature Sketchbook.  The butterflies were fussy cut and Stickles applied.

The stamped sentiment was die cut using a square die, the sentiment was left inside the die and Peeled Paint Distress Ink applied along the inside edges.

The stamp is one of several new releases from Quietfire Design.  All of the newly released stamps, dies and stencils can be found here.  Oh!  What a fabulous release!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Have a happy, crafty day.
Big Hugs,
Kathy Jo