Hello, Friends! The beach vibes are strong in this Ciao Bella Summer Breeze Lighthouse card. It is almost as good as a trip to the shore. I’ve combined beachy blue papers with beautiful beachy trims from Really Reasonable Ribbon and tossed in a few beach treasures to boot. Are you up for a trip to the shore with me today?
For the Love of Lighthouses
Living in North Carolina has given me a great love and appreciation for lighthouses. They are not just functional, but they are beautiful to behold. Our shoreline, once known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic, is dotted with them, and each one is special in its own right.
Ribbons and trims from Really Reasonable Ribbon add to the texture and design of this mixed media card. Those are real shells, my friend, gathered during one of my beloved shoreline rambles. Oooh, I can almost feel the wind whipping my hair and the sun beating on my shoulders as I remember that last walk through the surf.
TIP: Don’t forget to add ribbons and trims. Brown Sugar Baker’s Twine to the Paradise Aqua Seam binding ribbon doesn’t just add color: it adds texture and dimension to the composition of this card.
A Peek Inside
Beachy blues are my favorites, so I used a lot of them on the inside of the card. And if one pocket is good, two are even better, don’t you agree?
Book reading by the sea is the best, so I had to tuck a little bookmark along with this mini notecard into the pockets.
TIP: Add a tab to the cutaway edge of this little note card to create a fun design feature.
Plenty of room to write a note inside the cutaway note card design.
I haven’t been to the beach yet this summer. But as soon as this heat wave breaks, I think I might just have to run away for a day or two of beach therapy!
You can find a linked supply list below this post.
Stamperia Blue Dream Tea Party in a Box Tutorial with Reneabouquets
Hello, Friends! Today’s Stamperia Blue Dream Tea Party in a Box project is the loveliest way to welcome summer! It speaks to blue skies, sunshine, refreshing lemons, sea breezes and relaxing days by the shore. I hope you’ll enjoy today’s Make & Take Tuesday as much as I did! Our tutorial this week will focus on building the elements on the card front and embellishing with all sorts of paper pretties.
Old World Summer by the Sea
I don’t know about you, friends, but I wish I could step into this view and stroll along the shoreline! I’ve only recently added this gorgeous paper collection to my stash, and I’m so glad I did! Here are some of the fun details on this 5×7 Tea Party in a Box project.
First, create lots of depth and dimension by placing foam tabs between your chipboard layers. This is what gives your work this “I could walk into this picture” effect.
Next, balance out all the vibrant yellow hues with some deep blues. Blue ribbon, buttons, gems and a beautiful dragonfly really made the lighthouse scene pop.
Third, add a bit of sparkle and shine with Fine Pearl Glitter Glass and Reneabouquets lemon branches. Spread a little Dries Clear adhesive on the lemon blossoms, then sprinkle with the glitter glass. It doesn’t show up here so well, but in real life, it’s stunning.
Lastly, add a bit of Rusty Hinge Ink and Crackle Texture paste to the brick window to give it that Old World feel. We’ll talk more about this in the video tutorial.
A Peek Inside
I have as much fun creating the insides of my cards as I do the outsides. It’s always an adventure to open such cards, as you never quite know what you’ll find waiting within. This time, I added a kinetic waterfall feature to the top half of the card, and a Tea Party in a Box on the bottom.
Since it’s too hot to send chocolate in the mail right now, I opted to make a beautiful little tag and bookmark combo to take the place of the chocolate. But all the other usual suspects are tucked inside.
I dug into my stash of vintage costume jewelry to adorn the bookmark. The dragonfly pin on the tag is altered with wax and sprays. And the tea sachet was just too pretty not to share up close.
Stamperia Blue Dreams Tea Party in a Box Tutorial on YouTube
If you’d like to take a closer look at this gorgeous paper collection and learn how I built the layers on the card front, then I hope you’ll enjoy this video tutorial.
Suddenly, I’m craving a tall glass of lemonade. Wonder what that’s all about?
You can find a linked supply list below this post.
Nautical Themed Wedding Favor Boxes Tutorial for Throwback Thursday and Wedding Recap
Hello, Friends! The long-anticipated wedding is past, bags are unpacked, and now I can finally share this Nautical Themed Wedding Favor Boxes Tutorial with you. I’m still trying to get caught up on all the things that didn’t get done here on the home front prior to the big day. And I’m still basking in the happiness of what could only be called a perfect day!
Wedding Photos
I thought you might like to see a few photos of that perfect day. You can find more on my Kathy by Design Facebook page. But I’ll share a few here before we get into the tutorial for the boxes.
Here’s our gorgeous daughter and her new husband…and yes…Liz and Chris DID wear their wedding finery out into the surf after the reception was over. This photo sums up their adventurous, fun-loving relationship perfectly!
And here’s Liz with my sweet husband Dale. The only thing trickier than walking in the sand was making it down that long, steep flight of stairs to the beach! Liz is wearing my mom’s pearl necklace.
And this is our new family! All three of the grandgirls were in the wedding party, along with our daughter Kimberly (back row left). Chris’ brother is a Navy chaplain, (front row, second from left) and he performed the ceremony, which made it extra special. I fell in love with his wife, Lisa (front row first left). Our son Peter is in the cowboy hat and his wife Mindy is beside him. Chris’ mom is in front of them. Our youngest son Joel is beside me and his beautiful wife Melody is beside him. Sophie is in the front right and the Littles are in front of Liz and Chris. We did not know that the groom and the groomsmen would be wearing blue suits when Dale and I chose our blue outfits, but isn’t it nice how that all worked out?
Peter made the gorgeous cake plate with the copper hoop. Instead of a big cake, they opted for a 6″ version with cupcakes and donuts for the guests. It was a good decision!
Nautical Themed Wedding Favor Box Tutorial: Assembly Line Method
When you have to make 82 table favors, you have to have a plan. I chose to use an assembly line method that I developed back when I was making souvenir menus for BMW corporate banquets. It really helps to have a designated box or storage spot when you are making in bulk. Keep all your tools, papers, paint, dies, embossing folders, etc. in that box. That way you don’t have them scattered all over the house.
Here’s how I tackle this sort of task:
First, cut all the box bases. Box tops measured 5 3/8″ square while box tops measured 5 1/2″ square.
Next, emboss all the box tops. I did these 10-20 at a time, as I found a moment here and there.
Then, dry brush all the box tops and set aside to dry.
While the box tops are drying, score, fold, cut and assemble the box bottoms.
Now, score, fold, cut and assemble the box tops.
Next, cut the liner sheets for the box bottoms.
Then adhere all the liner sheets for the box bottoms.
Stamp the shell image once, scan into your computer and size to fit the project. Then you can copy/paste and print out a whole page of stamped images instead of stamping the same image 82 times!
Compose and size the message in the same way, then print on vellum.
Once you have all the pieces prepared, the assembly goes pretty quickly. Muscle memory allows you to go faster and faster when you repeat the same task over and over.
Nautical Themed Wedding Favor Boxes Tutorial on YouTube
The tutorial for the box we are making today is a bit more elegant than the ones I made for the wedding, and takes just a bit more time. I decided to create a box with an interior folded edge for two reasons. One: it looks better, and two: it’s sturdier. I wish I had thought of this before the wedding, but it actually dawned on me at the wedding reception. Next time I’ll do better!
Of course, you can use any color cardstock for your box base. If you don’t want to emboss, you can just cover the box with pretty paper, or leave it plain and dress it up with ribbon, flowers and a little tag. The possibilities are endless!
Well, my dryer just buzzed, so I’d best go get another load of laundry going. At least I am never bored!
Photoplay Ship to Shore Easy Mini Album Project Share with Tips for Make & Take Tuesday
Hello, Friends! It’s Make & Take Tuesday, and I have a really fun Photoplay Ship to Shore Mini Album Project Share for you. This is wedding week, and I have a bunch of little loose ends to tie up before the big day. So I didn’t have time to create a details tutorial for you. But I will share lots of tips in the video. Honestly, this cute little mini album is so easy to make, I think you’ll be able to figure it out from the project share video and the tips.
Card Base Mini Album: How it Happened
In the process of re-organizing a few things in the studio, I ran across a huge stash of multi-colored 5 1/2″ square card bases. I vaguely remember buying them in bulk at a super reduced clearance sale years ago. But when they arrived, I discovered they were super flimsy…maybe 45# weight…and not suitable for supporting the heavily layered and embellished cards that I make.
Over the years, I’ve moved them here and there, contemplated tossing them, given them to the grandgirls to play with and thought to myself, “some day, I’ll know just what to do with you.” Well, this is that day! Lo and behold, they work perfectly for a quick and easy mini album base!
Shipshape Stacked Card Base Mini Album
Look how cute it turned out! And when I say easy to make, I am not joking. Here’s how I assembled the album base.
First, locate a stack of unloved card bases. Mine all matched, but mix and match would work too. They should all be the same size, however.
Cut one of the card bases into 1″ wide strips.
Next, score each 1″ x 5 1/2″ strip in half from top to bottom. Now you will have a whole stack of 1/2″ wide hinges or gussets.
Now adhere each gusset to the back side of each card base. My fold was on the LEFT, so I glued the folded edge of my hinge/gusset against the left hand edge of each card.
Then, glue the back side of each hinge/gusset to the front of the next card base, also on the left.
Continue until you have as many “pages” as you desire for your album.
Now cut liners for each page. Since my album is 5 1/2″ square, I cut 5 3/8″ liners. The liners will cover up the hinges!
Hidden Pocket Pages
The hidden pocket pages are equally easy to make.
Before you glue down your designer paper liner, create gussets or hinges for the sides and bottom of the album base. These are identical to the hinges you cut to join the card bases together, but just cut them a little shorter. I cut mine 1″ x 5 1/4″.
Once your gussets are in place, adhere your paper liner to the gussets, forming a lovely pocket.
Create the pull out page for the pocket by cutting the 5 1/2″ card base down to 5″ x 5″.
Quick and Easy Pocket Pages and Tip-In Pages
To make the pocket pages, simply fold the right hand side of a page back 2″ and crease. Add gussets to the top and bottom of the page and voila! Instant pocket!
Create a tip-in page by cutting your designer paper wider than the base page. Because I wanted a 3 1/2″ flap , I cut my paper 3 1/2″ wider than the base page. Then score at 5 3/8″ and fold. Easy peasy!
Waterfall Pages
The back side of the “short” pocket pages are sized perfectly for waterfall features. So as you can see, even though this album is on the small side, there’s lots of room for 4×4 photos, journaling and photo booth sized pics.
Photoplay Ship to Shore Easy Mini Album Project Share with Tips on YouTube
If you’d like to join me for a sight-seeing tour of this new Photoplay Paper collection and a walk through of the mini album with tips, please enjoy this Ship to Shore Easy Mini Album on my YouTube channel.
Even though I’m traveling this week, I’ll be back on Thursday with a quick and easy card-making tutorial for Throwback Thursday!
You’ll find a linked supply list below this post. Thanks for stopping by!
Photoplay Beach Vibes Folio Project Share with Mini Tutorial for Make & Take Tuesday
Hello, Friends! Summer may be winding down, but the weather is still perfect for this Photoplay Beach Vibes Folio. It’s been a hot and steamy season here in North Carolina, so playing with this new collection was a welcome respite. The colors and images are so relaxing and playful that it’s almost as good as a trip to the beach!
This was initially a “Just for me” project. Y’all know how much I love the beach! There’s nothing better than digging your toes into the warm sand as beach breezes mess up your hair while waves roll in on the shore! But as the project came together, I decided I should share it with all of you along with a mini tutorial for creating the folio base. This 5×7 folio is so easy to make, extremely versatile and filled with room for photos and journaling. I think you are going to love making it!
Photoplay Beach Vibes Folio: The shaker Frame
Beachcombing has been my passion for many years now. I always seem to have a large stash of shells and found objects to dress up beach themed projects. As you can see here, I’ve some of those treasures to create a shoreline collage on the folio cover. But look a little closer at the shaker element? Do you see the itty bitty shells tucked in with the beads and sequins? That was a fun design decision! I even added real beach sand to the mix.
Beach Charm
There are some charming elements on the spine of this folio, too!
See this cute ribbon? One of my granddaughters recently gifted it o me. It’s just perfect as the closure for this folio base.
A Quick Peek Inside
The fun beach theme continues inside the folio. You’ll find pockets and mini folios here.
Photoplay really nailed the color palette in this collection!
Images and sentiments hit just the right note, too!
I’ve built some fun surprises into the design of this folio. So I think we’ll switch over to the video now and share all of them with you.
Photoplay Beach Vibes Folio Project Share and Folio Base Tutorial on YouTube
If you’d like to take the complete tour of this beachy folio, please enjoy this short video. There’s a tutorial for building the folio base at the end.
Did you enjoy this little trip to the beach? I did! You can find a linked supply list below this post.
