Prima Spring Farmhouse Shaker Folio for the Vintage Valentine Challenge at Frilly & Funkie

Hello, Friends!  Growing up in Vermont put a love for all things farm house in my heart.  So I’ve created a really romantic, shabby chic Prima Spring Farmhouse Shaker Folio for the latest challenge at The Frilly and Funkie Challenge Blog.  Maggi, our lovely hostess, has chosen the challenge theme, and this is what she is looking for in this romantic challenge.

Challenge Theme:  Vintage Valentines
It’s sweetheart time and what could be more fun than creating Valentine’s for our loved ones?  For this challenge I want to see vintage valentines in vintage colors like pinks, blues, purples.  No bright red please.  Show me your vintage side with vintage colors and images.  If you need some inspiration, click here to link to a great vintage color palette.

Prima Spring Farmhouse Shaker Folio: The Inspiration

I love Valentine’s Day!  When I was a little girl, I would spend days cutting out paper hearts, gluing doilies on them and writing little poems for my friends and family.  My parents were married on Valentine’s Day, Dale and I were married two days after Valentine’s Day and two of our sons were married on either side of the holiday.  What could possibly be sweeter than a day set aside to let people know you love them?

Years ago, my mother gave us an anniversary card with a quote from this Robert Browning Poem as the sentiment.  “Grow old along with me!  The best is yet to be, the last of life for which the first was made… ”  Imagine my delight when I found a paraphrase of this sentiment tucked into the Prima Spring Farmhouse ephemera pack!  Perfect for my vintage Valentine!

Prima Spring Farmhouse Shaker Folio: The Details

I ran across this Prima Venetian Shutter element while tidying up my studio.  Immediately, I knew it would make a wonderful shaker window.  This really is the easiest shaker element I have ever made. Because of the design of the Venetian Shutter, i simply needed to cut a piece of clear acrylic and glue it in the top of the window frame. Then, I filled the shaker with some sequins and beads, adhered the focal image to the back and glued the whole thing onto the card base.

Prima Flowers adorn either side of the shutters.  The succulent planter is adhered over some Spanish moss, and bowed to give it some extra dimension.  The shutters are dry brushed with Antique Linen Distress Paint.  (So are the leaves in the flower arrangements.)

Here, you can really see the sentiment.  To create the bowed effect, gently run it against the side of a ruler or bone folder.  Then adhere just the ends to the card base.  A little archway of Prima bitty flowers wreathe the sentiment.  Then I just mounted a chipboard bee image onto one of the Farmhouse wooden spool embellishments.   The steampunk bee charm is dry brushed with more Antique Linen Distress Paint and adhered in the upper corner of the window.

Prima Spring Farmhouse Shaker Folio: Bossy Paper

This is one of those projects that got bossy with me.  It was meant to be a card…but it grew into a folio.  What can I say?  Sometimes paper has a mind of its own.

Antique Gold Silky Crushed Satin ribbon is just gorgeous with this collection.  To adhere it, I first wrapped 3 strips of 1/2″ Scor-Tape around the back and front of the folio.  Then I pressed the ribbon in place.

Prima Spring Farmhouse Shaker Folio: A Peek Inside

The folio is filled with interactive elements.  I found that the 4″ x 6″ and 3″ x 4″ journal cards made it very easy to create  them.  These two pull out folios will hold three 4″ x 6″ photos each.

These smaller folios made from tables scraps have a magnetic tab top closure.  They live in a side pocket and will hold 3″ x 5″ photos.

Here, you can see the folio fully opened.  I removed the insert panel on the left so you can see that there’s room here for a 5″ x 7″ photo.  It’s nice to create a design that works for different sized photos.

The center panel of this trifold folio holds a good sized waterfall folio.  There are 7 panels held in place by a magnetic belly band.  Each panel measures 5″ x 4″ so it will hold pretty good sized photos.  I scored an extra 1/4″ “gusset” in the belly band to allow plenty of room for photos.

A little pocket is tucked beneath the waterfall.

And these two 3 1/4″ x 4 1/4″ folios are tucked inside.

Prima Spring Farmhouse Shaker Folio Tour on YouTube

I created a short YouTube video tour so you can see how all the elements flow together.  I also share some tips and tricks that you might be interested in should you decide to make your own Prima Spring Farmhouse Shaker Folio.

Now It’s YOUR Turn!

You are cordially invited to play along in this Vintage Valentine Challenge at Frilly and Funkie.  To do so, simply create your own vintage or shabby chic Valentine following the challenge guidelines.  Then link it up on the Frilly and Funkie blog before 11:59PM EST on Tuesday, January 29th.

The design team will choose our top four entries from all those submitted.  Our favorite will be asked to serve as Guest Designer on the Frilly and Funkie Blog.  The other 3 entries will receive a challenge badge to proudly display on their blog or in social media.  And everyone who enters and follows the challenge guidelines will be entered into a drawing to receive a $25 shopping spree at The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

You can find all the challenge rules and link up HERE.

I hope I’ve shared some tips, tricks and ideas that you can use in your own crafty adventures.  If so, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section below.  You’ll also find a linked supply list below this post.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy

Prima Spring Farmhouse Shaker Folio Product Links

Note:  Thumblinky was not working correctly at the time of this post, therefore I am providing a linked supply list instead.

From the Funkie Junkie Boutique:

• 12″ x 12 Prima Spring Farmhouse Paper Collection
• Spring Farmhouse Ephemera Pack 1 and Pack 2
• Chipboard Elements
• 3″ x 4″ Journal Cards
• 4″ x 6″ Journal Cards
• Farmhouse Wood Spools
• Antique Linen Distress Paint
• Gathered Twigs Distress Ink and Blending Tool
• Tonic Distressing Tool
• Paper Trimmer, Design Ruler, Scissors

Other Supplies: Victoria Embellishment Kit, Gold Sequins from my stash, Prima “Humble” Flowers, “Beautiful” flowers, Antique Gold Silky Crush Ribbon, Venetian Shutters,