Petaloo and Canvas Corp Brands Blog Hop: Pretty in Pink Graduation Banner and Mini Album
Hello, Friends! This week we are celebrating Dads & Grads in our blog hop with Canvas Corp Brands. I love seeing all the happy graduation photos on Facebook, and they inspired me to create a pretty in pink graduation banner and matching mini album.
Just for fun, I decided to go all shabby chic and girly with a pink & black color scheme. This banner would be darling at any girl’s graduation party, whether she’s graduating from Kindergarten or College. I used Canvas Corp Brands Paper Banner Kit as my base, but cut the size down just a little so my banner would not be too big.
Ooh la la! Just look at this gorgeous posy made with DIY Burlap Canvas layers from Petaloo! . Isn’t it spectacular? I sprayed the individual layers with Tattered Angels Vintage Pink and Silver Sugar Mists, then gently heat dried them. I actually kind of scrunched the petals during this process to give them even more shape. Then I stitched my layers together, added a vintage velvet button to the center and voila! A perfect color match for this pink and black graduation banner!
Custom clothespins? Yes, please! Just spray the ones that come in the banner kit with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist! Easy peasy!
Here’s the graduation folioI made to match the banner. It measures 4″ x 5″ and has a waterfall folio, gift card pocket and tag pocket inside. I was inspired by a design from Ginger Ropp,and just changed the size and added my own touches. Thanks, Ginger!
For the cover of this mini album, I sprayed the butterfly with Vintage Pink Tattered Angels Glimmer mist. The flower petals were just lightly dipped into the mist that was left on the mat. Pink chevron ribbon was wrapped around the mini album and tied into a bow. DIY Queen Anne’s Picks were dipped into Vintage Pink mist and tucked behind the tinted flower. Metal corners were painted shabby white, and I added a little vintage clip to hold the waterfall pages inside the album closed.
There’s a waterfall feature inside the top half of the album. It’s a great place to add pics of the proud grad and her family and friends.
The bottom half of the mini album contains a pocket filled with tags that have been tied with cording from Canvas Corp. These would be a great spot to have guests write their words of congratulations or advice. And, there’s room to tuck in gift cards as well.
Be sure to stop by the Petaloo BLOGand leave a comment, as they are giving away some wonderful prizes!
Canvas Corp Brands Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Be Your Own Kind of Beautiful
Hello, Friends!
Today is the first day of October, a month that in the U.S. has been designated as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I have family members and dear friends who have faced this dreaded disease. Some have won the battle, while others fought valiantly. These women are courageous, hope filled and beautiful in spite of the challenges that treatment presents. In their honor (I’m thinking of you, Becky!) I created this “Be Your Own Kind of Beautiful” card using a variety of Canvas Corp Brands products.
I turned to the soft papers and feminine images found in the 7 Gypsies Gypsy Moments Collection for inspiration. Since pink is the signature color for Breast Cancer Awareness, the color palette is perfect, and the images within the collection range from lighthearted and silly to thoughtful and meaningful. I’ll share a complete supply list with product links below.
I love to machine stitch on my cards, and I’ve done that on each of these layers. It adds great texture and visual interest. I also love to add textiles, and this light pink burlap is such a great addition to the card.
I used 3 different shades of Tattered Angel Glimmer Mist to amp up the pink factor in this card. Vintage Pink and Silk were sprayed directly onto the designer paper. Poodle Pink was sprayed onto my craft mat, and then the distressed edges of the paper were dragged through it, creating a deep pink border on all my layers. A little pink clothespin was used to clip two journal tickets in place behind the main panel of the card. I used one of the Charming tag envelopes as my focal, stitched it onto burlap and mounted it with foam adhesive to give it real presence on the card.
This sentiment panel from the paper collection expresses exactly what I wanted this card to convey. It was cut out, the edges were inked with Black Soot Distress Ink and then it was double matted on both pink and grey cardstock. The doilies, ribbon, string and flowers add to the feminine feel of this card. Women going through treatment need to be surrounded by beauty!
The inside of the card is simple. This elegant Gypsy Moments paper was topped with a Doodle Card (reverse side) . This formed the perfect base for the inside sentiment which is also from the paper collection. I just matted it and glued it down.
Breast Cancer Awareness month is a great reminder to share beautiful thoughts, words of encouragement and support with our loved ones. It may seem like a small gesture, but it can make a big impact on someone who’s feeling a little down. I hope I shared some ideas that you can use, and if you are currently facing, or are a survivor of this tough disease, consider this a hug from me to you!
If you would like to purchase this card, it is available in my ETSY shop.
Thanks for stopping by!
Cheerio,
kathy
Supply List for Be Your Own Kind of Beautiful Card
Today’s post is especially for all the grandmothers! But moms, dads, aunts, uncles, sisters and brothers can read on, too! Canvas Corp Brands has released a sweet, fresh line of Baby Boy and Baby Girl papers that are bound to make you say, “awwww.” I worked them up into a kind of hybrid card/photo album that I’m calling Nana’s Little Brag Book. I made one for the boys and one for the girls and I even have a step out tutorial so that you can make one, too.
These measure 5″ x 7″ and have pockets and tags on the inside so an adoring Nana can tuck in recent photos of her darling grandbaby. The design is simple, and you can make them as fancy or as plain as you want to. Here’s what you need to make your own:
assorted dies, ribbons and embellies from your crafty stash
Nana’s Little Brag Book Tutorial
The step out tutorial is done with the girl paper…but the process is the same for the boys. Just use brown cardstock instead of pink!
Spray the paper with Vintage Pink Glimmer Mist before you glue it in! Just trust me!
The Little Pages fit perfectly into the pocket you’ve created and they are also the perfect size for mounting a photo. When you glue your border strip in, as I have here, be sure to glue only the far right hand edge down. This way, a full sized photo can be tucked in beneath the border strip. The little tag is from the It’s a Girl Sampler on Ivory. It’s just the perfect size for adding a name or a date. As you will see in the photos further down on this post, you can dress these Little Pages up and make them really special. But for now, let’s move on to the cover of Nana’s Little Brag Book
Cut a 4.5″ x 6.5″ panel of paper from the Pink & Ivory Baby Girl Alpha and mat it with a 4.75″ x 6.75″ panel of solid black on ivory cardstock. Wrap it with ribbon to anchor the page. You want to add your ribbons before you glue the cover to the card base so that you can tuck the ribbon ends behind the panel. This makes for a nice, neat appearance on your finished cover.
I backed my decorative oval die with more of the black cardstock and then began to layer on fussy cut elements from the paper collection. Use lots of foam spacers to create dimension.
I used the Vintage Pink Glimmer Mist to color the fussy cut baby on the scale. While the paper was still slightly damp, I bent it to create some dimension, then glued it down with spacers . I did the same thing with the crown. White netting was tucked in behind.
Can you see that sweet little stork charm? And the itty bitty pink clothespins? Squeeee!
Here’s the inside, all finished off. The 3 pink tags with gingham buttons pull out. You can mount small photos or do journal entries there. Create the pocket by gluing down just the top, bottom and left hand edge of the Little page. Then you can slip your tags in on the right.
I dressed up the pocket with fussy cut elements from the kit. Another sweet little charm was added to this packet of Little Pages. And I so love the sentiment panel that I added to one of them. The girl’s dress is fussy cut from the pages, too, and then just very lightly painted with Glimmer Mist.
Here’s a closer look at the Little pages. They are so perfect for a project like this.
The boy’s book is assembled the exact same way.
I wanted to use burlap to add a more rugged feel. I so love this color combo for a baby boy! And I super love all the fussy cut elements on the It’s a Boy page!
Here’s the inside. Another Little Page ready to receive photos. I left the right hand side unglued so that tags could be slipped in here.
And the base contains another bundle all ready for photos. I computer journaled the sentiment by stringing together phrases from the Baby Boy Quotes page.
Here are the Little page, all ready for photos.
What proud Nana would not want one of these sweet little Brag Books? They’d also be great for Mom or Dad to have on her/his desk at work because they stand up all on their own. If you use re positionable tape to secure your photos, you can change them out as the baby grows.
I’m linking this up to the following challenges:
613 Avenue Create: Anything Goes with the option of using a pearl or rose
Do you remember the 1985 movie Out of Africa with Meryl Streep and Robert Redford? What an epic romance! The panoramic scenery and the wonderful soundtrack swept me away, and left an indelible imprint on my imagination. So when I received the gorgeous papers and ephemera in the 7 Gypsies Serengeti collection, my mind traveled back to that movie, and I decided to create a romantic Out of Africa Serengeti Mini Album to share with you today. I also have some step out photos to show you how I made the cover and binding.
The Serengeti papers are so inspiring to work with, just filled with vivid colors, wonderful vintage images and amazing background patterns. Imagine how thrilled I was to find a replica of the book on which the movie was based! I immediately wanted to make this the focal for my album. I actually made a blank mini book and then added it to the cover of my mini album. It looks like a well thumbed copy of the tale, doesn’t it? I fussy cut the wonderful Serengeti label from the Vitabu paper. If you are familiar with the story line, you know that lions played a central role in the telling of the tale, so I have included them here on the cover. The lion pin is one that I picked up at a yard sale and have been saving for just the right project. I also filled an Amber Apothecary Bottle with antique gold embossing powder, tied it with green hemp rope and added some hand made vintage book page flowers.
I had a Roma book cover in my stash, but needed to create a back cover for my album. So I cut a 5″ x 7″ piece of medium weight chipboard and ran it through my Cuttlebug with a Spellbinders Brick and Bark embossing folder. This created a wonderful wood grain texture on both sides of the chipboard. But I needed to get it to match the color of the Roma book cover. Thank heavens for the Tattered Angels Maritime paint system! It was the perfect tool to accomplish the job!
I used the Olive Vine spray mist from the paint system and applied it liberally. After heat drying, I sponged the entire surface with Walnut Stain Distress Ink. I also lightly sprayed and sponged the Roma cover. Then I heat embossed both covers with clear embossing powder. This creates a great faux aged leather look and feel.
You would never guess that these book covers are made from chipboard, would you? Thanks, Tattered Angels!
The next step was to design the binding for the album. I wanted to use this vibrant fern burlap between the two covers. I also wanted to employ a hidden hinge binding inside the album. After a little thought, I realized that if I stitched a 3.25″ x 8″ strip of the burlap, overlapping the top and bottom by 0.5″ each, I would have a really sturdy, serviceable binding.
I cut a 12″ x 7″ rectangle from the Maua papers and measured in 4 3/8″ from both the right and left hand sides. After drawing a line to mark this measurement, I place one strip of 1/2″ Scor-Tape in the center of the back side of my burlap panel and positioned it between the two lines. Then, I flipped the paper over and sewed around the burlap binding and around the entire perimeter of the panel. I did this so that the finished stitching would be on the inside of my cover liner.
Here you can see the finished cover liner for my album, along with the hidden hinge binding. I followed this tutorial for the binding, as it is the clearest, simplest one I’ve found on YouTube. I cut a 9″ x 7″ panel of green cardstock and then followed the directions in the video. I covered the green side flaps of my binding with more paper from the Maua page, just to make everything blended in.
I really love the way the binding turned out! The vibrant green picks up on the elements I fussy cut from the Mabango paper. I punched a hole in the top of my binding and threaded through some avocado green help rope,white waxed cotton cording and natural hemp rope. I tied a series of knots with the red waxed cotton cording and slipped an Antique Silver Mini Round Hanger through the cording, pinching the hanger end closed to keep it in place. Then I threaded on the beautiful Serengeti Charms using jewelry wire to hold them in place. Finally, I frayed the ends of all the various cords and ropes to make them look like animal tails.
The next double page is a fold out. I covered a 4″ x 6″ file folder with the Wanyama paper. I fussy cut stamps and covered two tags with this same paper. By leaving the top side of my photo mount open, I was able to make a pocket for tags. The facing page uses more of this same paper, but this time I cut a thumb hole with a circle punch and only glued down the top, bottom and sides, creating another pocket for photo mounts. I added another ephemera image to a tiny card and bag combo, topped it with a mini clothespin and created a perfect spot for journaling.
I covered the interior of the file folder with more of the beautiful Maua papers, then added both a large and medium photo mount.
The photo mounts are tied together with burlap and canvas ribbon, making them easy to insert and pull out.
I wanted to create lots of room for photos and journaling and found that the Vintage Travel Journal Pages are a great way to add both.
The mini ephemera in this collection is especially beautiful!
On the final page, I fussy cut the beautiful African lady from the Mabango paper. I painted the wooden medallion with the Tail Fin Glimmer Mist from the Maritime Paint System, then spritzed it with a little more of the Olive Vine Mist to deepen the colors. It makes me think of a warrior’s shield. The feathers, pebble and other fussy cut images make for a dramatic ending to this Serengeti Out of Africa Mini Album. Inside the back cover, I created a pocket by folding a journal card, stapling the edges and topping it with that gorgeous air mail ephemera. I stuffed the pocket with American Vintage Post Cards because the green was such a good match. You can both mount photos here and do journaling on the back.
I love this album! I can almost hear the soundtrack from Out of Africa playing in my mind! I hope you can, too!
7 Gypsies Epicurean Altered Vintage Receipt Holder: A Tribute to Julia Child
This is my second post for the day. Please scroll down to view my Heartfelt Creations Wednesday Project.
Hello, Friends!
Or should I say, “Bonjour!” Today’s menu includes an Epicurean altered vintage receipt holder made with delicious Epicurean papers and a side of tasty embellishments from 7 Gypsies. I call it my Epicurean Tribute to Julia Child.
I’ve loved Julia ever since I was a little kid and watched her on public TV. She was outrageous…dropped chickens on the floor, sent chopped onions flying in all directions, threw exotic French phrases into her constant patter with the viewing audience and basically won all our hearts while teaching us that cooking should be approached with passion and a healthy dose of fun. When you think about the fact that she was introducing the US to fine French cuisine at the same time that TV dinners were taking the country by storm…well, it just makes you admire her all the more. I tried to capture her love of food, friends and France in this project, and I can’t wait to hang this Epicurean vintage altered receipt holder in my kitchen.
I wanted the receipt holder to have a finish like old baking trays, so I pulled out my Rusty Metal Bare Metal Paint Kit and the Maritime Paint System. I followed the simple directions that come with the paint system and my brand spanking new product achieved a fabulous, funky, well-loved patina that was just what I was aiming for.
The Epicurean papers are a perfect choice for foodies, as they celebrate cuisines from around the world. I chose the Fromage 12″ x 12″ papers as they feature French images, and I also used the Pomodoro papers because the bold red check pattern made me think of a tablecloth in a sidewalk cafe. I cut 4 rectangles from the Fromage paper, each measuring 3.25″ x 5.25″ and then stitched these to either navy blue or burgundy cardstock. I used these to line the base of my tray.
For my focal point, I printed out a black and white photo of Julia Child, embossed it with Ultra Thick Embossing Powder and framed it in a beautiful Antique Silver Gypsy Frame that had been sprayed with more of the Metal Paint system. I ran red and black gingham ribbon through the jump rings on either side of the frame and secured it to the center using foam tape and hot glue. The ribbons were topped with bingo chips whose numbers represent the year Julia Child was born. These vintage frames are such a great way showcase a photo! Behind the frame, I fussy cut a word from the Fromage papers and tucked it inside a little red metal index tab that I had in my stash. This along with the frame, ribbon and bingo chips helps draw the eye to the focal image.
In the top left hand corner of the tray, I created a little 3″ x 5″ book using the small Paris book cover and the Pomodoro papers. The cover has been aged with Maritime sprays and decorated with more mini ephemera and a die cut Eiffel Tower that I painted with iron chalkboard paint.
I created a hidden hinge binding system and then stuffed it full of Recipe Cards, fussy cut images, and quotes from Julia Child. The spine is wrapped with jute cording and tied with a jute cording bow.
Here’s a peek at the inside of the book. There are 6 double pages in all, each one containing a quote from Julia along with room to add a recipe or photo.
In the top right hand corner of the tray, I layerd fussy cut images from the papers and topped them off with a large tattered flower that I made with Tim’s tattered florals die and Canvas Corp red canvas and natural burlap. If you use iron on interfacing on the burlap, it die cuts like a dream, and resists fraying. I spritzed my floral layers with water and then scrunched them to add texture and body. A large fancy button was hot glued into the flower center. The leaves are cut free hand from more burlap. Black waxed cotton cording is wrapped around the center post. I also added this great black clothespin to the center post of the receipt clip, using a white painty pen to write Julia’s catch phrase on the pin’s surface.
In the lower left hand corner I wrapped the center post with red hemp rope, then added fussy cut images and ephemera to the tray base. I painted this nifty vintage spoon that I found at a flea market with the blue paint in the Maritime system, then added it to mix.
The bottom right tray is filled with a fun little vignette that I created with doll house miniature food and perfectly sized Gypsy Moments Recipe Tags. These were aged with Vintage Photo Distress Ink and sprays from the Rusted Metal Paint Kit. I also added some “coffee rings” by dipping a bottle cap into the TA spray and “stamped” the image onto the recipe tags. I strung the tags together with more red hemp rope and then used foam tape to hold it in place. Another fussy cut word phrase from the Fromage papers was glued into a metal label holder that I aged with the Rusty Metal Paint System.
This would make such a great gift for a kitchen bridal shower or a birthday present for a foodie. I chose the French papers, but you could easily use this same idea to make a Greek, Asian, Italian , Mexican, or American themed projects. I hope you were inspired to create beautiful things both from your kitchen and your craft room with today’s Epicurean Altered Vintage Receipt Holder.
Bon appetit!
kathy
List of Canvas Corp Brands Products used in this project:
