Orange Blossom Honey Gift Ensemble with RRR June Citrus Ribbon Club Assortment
Hello, Friends! It’s summer…maybe not on the calendar, but here in North Carolina, the grass is growing faster than we can cut it, flowers are blooming everywhere, afternoon heat is producing almost daily thunderstorms, and the bees are buzzing about like pollen covered dirigibles! All this summery goodness inspired me to create a little Orange Blossom Honey gift ensemble using the inspiring ribbons from the Really Reasonable Ribbon Citrus Ribbon Assortment.
Oh, how I love these glorious ribbons! They were the perfect playmate for this honey toned “It’s the Bee’s Knees” Creativity Kit from Polly’s Paper Studio Etsy. I began by creating a 7″ wide x 5″ tall top fold card base from kraft cardstock. After embossing it with a honeycomb folder, I sponged it lightly with Black Soot Distress Ink and spritzed it liberally with Tattered Angels Marigold Glimmer Mist. After this was heat dried, I splattered more mist all over the card base. Then i was ready to build my card layers.
I stitched paper from the collection to a scrap of burlap fabric that I had in my stash. This was topped with a piece of Honeycomb Maize Satin Ribbon tied in a simple square knot. The other layers were stitched onto kraft cardstock, and then I added them to the card with foam dots. I created a belly band by layering Tangerine Cross Hatch Ribbon over Maize Diamond Satin Ribbon. This was such a pretty combo, that I went to work tying a spectacular double loop/triple loop bow with the same ribbons. Then I topped them with a Burlap Wild Sunflower and a vintage button from my stash.
Here’s a close up of the details. Instead of tossing my little ribbon scraps, I trimmed the ends, stapled them together and glued them under the honeybee image. I will be sure to do this again, as it’s a great way to use those little pieces of ribbon, and it looks so cute!
The inside of the card contains two pockets. One holds a fun sentiment tag, while the other holds a tea bag (lemon yellow, of course!) and a Ghiradelli chocolate square.
Adding just a touch of honeycomb maize satin to this tag really made it cute! And I tied my honeybee charm onto the tag with just a scrap of natural burlap string.
With phase one of the Orange Blossom Honey gift ensemble completed, I could move on to phase II.
I was having so much fun, that I went on to create this pretty notepad holder to complete this Orange Blossom Honey gift ensemble. I’ve made hundreds and hundreds of these over the years, and they make such a nice gift!
After building the chipboard notebook base, I decorated it with paper from my stash, then layered on elements from the creativity kit, more Maize Diamond Satin Ribbon, some gears, and a lovely cabochon. Just a touch of black burlap string beneath the Petaloo Burlap Sunflower made it pop off the page.
The inside contains a slash pocket on the left hand side, stuffed with tags and a 4″ x 6″ post it pad on the right. Now you’ll be happy to write down your to-do list!
I need to make up a bunch of these to have on hand for last minute gifts. Summer is such a busy time, it’s always nice to have something on hand.
Canvas Corp Brands Holiday Baking Tri-fold Thanksgiving Mini Album
I grew up in a family of amazing cooks. They may not have been gourmet cooks by today’s standards, but my mom, my grandmother, great-grandmother, and aunts knew their way around the kitchen! Thanksgiving was a huge celebration with all family members present and accounted for. Sometimes we had as many as 36 people crammed into my grandmother’s house. We lived in New England, so there was usually snow on the ground and the cold North Wind chilled you to the bone as you tramped from the car, across the porch and into the warmth of Grammy Ma’s kitchen where you were greeting with the tantalizing aroma of roasting turkey and savory dressing. Everyone brought food to this feast, but really….it was all about the PIE! Every kind of pie you can imagine: pumpkin (of course) along with mince, apple, blueberry. lemon meringue, cherry, coconut cream, banana cream and chocolate cream all arrayed in splendor on the side table. Thanksgiving is still my favorite holiday…and it’s all about the PIE, even to this day!
When Canvas Corp Brands released their gorgeous Holiday Baking collection, my mind began to race with memories of those happy Thanksgiving celebrations of my childhood. And naturally…pie! I could not believe my eyes when I saw this sentiment panel from the Holiday Baking Butcher Paper cardstock! I mean,…there was my childhood captured on paper! I gathered together some supplies and created this little tri-fold mini album in tribute to the fabulous cooks in my family. I’m sharing a full tutorial below the signature area, in case you want to make one yourself.
I love making a tri-fold album like this. It’s like opening a package as each flap reveals a wonderful new view.
And when fully opened, this festive little album can be used as holiday decor…on the pie table, of course!
I stuffed this pocket full of little goodies, like a magnet, a vintage styled postcard and tag. It would be a great place to put family pics from the great feast, too. Imagine how fun it would be to pull this year’s photos out NEXT year, and see how much everyone has changed! This little album is so full of pie that I had to clip it closed with a Vintage Silver Clip!
For me, playing with paper is all about capturing memories, creating keepsakes and celebrating life. I think of it this way: I’m creating little hooks for us to hang our memories on so they don’t slip away. Even though I say it’s all about the pie, it’s really all about the love, the laughter and the time we share together. And of course, a slice of pie makes the memory all the sweeter.
If you’d like to purchase this Thanksgiving Mini Album, it’s available in my ETSY shop.
Thanks for stopping by!
Cheerio,
kathy
It’s All About the Pie Thanksgiving Tri-Fold Mini Album Tutorial
Cut two sheets of red cardstock to 7.25″ x 11″. Join on the short end to make one long strip measuring 7.25″ tall by approx. 15.75″ long. Score on the long side at 5.25″ and 10.25″. Crease to fold so that the right hand piece folds into the center, and the left hand piece folds onto the top.
Cut FOUR 4.75″ x 6.75″ rectangles from Kraft & White Lace Cardstock. Sponge the edges with Black Soot Ink and mat with slightly larger black cardstock rectangles. Stitch around the edges with red thread, if desired. Glue into album base as shown.
Cut ONE 4.75″ x 6.75″ rectangle from red and ivory toile paper. Ink and mat as above. Glue into the center panel inside the mini album.
Layering the cover:
Cut a 2.5″ x 6.5″ rectangle from red ticking paper, with the stripe on the horizontal. Mat with black cardstock. Stitch edges if desired and glue down in the left hand corner of the card front, as shown.
Ink the edges of the recipe tag and homemade tag. Glue down as seen in the photo.
Cut “Gather Together and Eat Pie” from Holiday Baking Butcher Paper. Mat with red and black cardstock. Stitch together.
Trim the word “Enjoy” from Gypsy Moments “To and From” tags. Ink the edges and glue to the back of the Gather Together panel.
Cut a small burlap circle in half. Stitch the edges with red thread, if desired. Attach to the bottom of the Gather Together panel, as shown.
Glue the Gather Together panel to the mini album front, as shown.
Paint two metal corners with High Impact white paint. Glue into place.
Cut a snippet of red canvas ticking and thread through the vintage pin, gluing together the reverse sides to create a banner. Add the cherry novelty button. Slip the pin through the Recipe Card, as shown.
Tie a bow with black satin ribbon. top with red flowers. glue into place with hot glue gun.
Left Hand Page
Create a slash pocket by cutting a rectangle of black cardstock to measure 5″ x 3.75″ Score 1/4″ on left and bottom. Cut on the diagonal from the 3″ mark on the top right to the bottom right corner. Crease along the score lines miter corners and glue into place.
Cut a slightly smaller piece of red toile paper and trim the corner as you did for the pocket. Glue on top of the black pocket.
Decorate with the other half of the small round burlap piece, a cut out image from Beans and Bags Teacups paper and a small novelty button.
Fill the pocket with recipe cards that have been trimmed with Kitchen and Utensil charms.
Center Page
Computer journal the sentiment onto white cardstock
Die cut with the largest Spellbinders Diamondessence circle die
With Die in place, ink the inside edge with Vintage Photo Distress ink.
Glue into place.
Stitch the Happy Thanksgiving Sentiment onto natural burlap. Glue into place
Far Right Hand Page
Create a pocket as you did on the first page, only cut the diagonal slash from the left hand side to the bottom left corner and then top with red toile as you did before. Glue into place.
Cut a teacup from Beans and Bags and mat on red cardstock. Add a novelty button.
Fussy cut elements from Holiday Baking on Ivory Sheet and glue onto the White Lace & Kraft background. Fill the pocket with tags that are tied together with burlap string (pull from the burlap panel) and the magnet.
Canvas Corp Brands “Beans and Bags” Coffee Lover’s Birthday Gift Crate
Hello, Friends!
Let’s face it: coffee makes the world go ’round! We drink it morning, noon and night! We stand in line for it, can’t begin our day without it, and that first sip in the morning is the fuel in our tank that gets us through the day. So what could be more fun than turning a mini crate into a container filled to the brim with coffee themed tags, envelopes and recipes for your favorite girlfriend? That’s exactly why I made this Coffee Lover’s Birthday Gift Crate with the fabulous Beans and Bags collection from Canvas Corp Brands. Take a peeky:
This is a birthday party waiting to happen! I have loads of pictures so you can see exactly what was tucked inside, but first, let me share a list of supplies that you’ll need to make this crate for one of your coffee loving friends:
From your stash: flowers, coffee beans, alpha letters, vintage silver spoon, stickles
Getting Started:
Pull strings from the burlap fringe to make it even “fringier”. (Is that a word? But you get my drift!) Use Scor-Tape to secure the Burlap fringe to the mini vintage crate. Layer with ribbon, if desired.
Create the coffee cup from Brown and White Ivory Stripe Cardstock:
Use white C-flute for the band, chipboard for the center medallion and clear waste packaging for the domed top.
Fussy cut the Cafe label from the Beans and Bags paper. Ink the edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink and glue onto the chipboard disc, then glue onto the c-flute band.
Paint the back of the domed top with a light layer of White high impact metallic paint. Use the tip of your finger to swirl it around and then glue onto the top of the coffee cup. When it is dry, lightly smear Diamond Stickles to the back of the dome for a little extra sparkle. Set aside to dry.
Fussy Cut the French Coffee Label from Beans and Bags. Glue onto crate as shown.
Fill the bowl of a vintage silver spoon with hot glue and coffee beans. Top with a bow and glue onto the crate. Add flowers.
Tuck the prepared coffee cup behind the handle of the spoon.
It was exciting to realize that my favorite Gypsy Moments papers pair up with Beans and Bags like, well coffee and cream! I had a blast creating a bunch of whimsical tags to fill my mini crate.
You can see…this little crate holds a whole lot of birthday fun!
A mini kraft bag was turned into a gift card holder. Just add a Beans and Bags label (spritzed with Turquoise Glimmer Mist) and tuck some sweet surprises inside.
Why not tuck an individually wrapped chocolate, and a Gypsy Moments Birthday tag into a mini kraft bag? Nothing goes better with coffee than chocolate, and you can write your own birthday greetings on the tag…and even toss in a Starbuck’s gift card!
How about a recipe for my favorite Sour Cream Coffee cake? Better yet, bake one and include it as part of the gift! It will be received with enthusiasm, I promise you! These Kraft Recipe cards look great with the Beans and Bags papers, too!
I altered this Gyspy Moments Poses and Reflections panel by crossing out the word “passion” and adding alpha letters to spell COFFEE. The ivory teacup has been transformed into a coffee cup filled with flower petals. And the vintage coffee can image is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen!
This book cover is from Gypsy Moments “A Novel Thought” 12×12 papers. I love the fact that it works seamlessly with Beans and Bags, and super love that it looks like old leather! I turned this into a little accordion book with room inside to add photos or wishes for the birthday girl.
The kraft and black Beans and Bags paper is a fussy cutter’s playground! Love these images!
I used Gypsy Moments Poses and Reflections to make this insert. I really love the way these two collections complement one another!
There’s not a gal out there who hasn’t felt this way at the end of a long day! I cut a Gypsy Moments Market Garland in half and used it as a tab on this great image.
The Chocolate Brown Little Papers are a perfect match for this collection as well. Here, I’ve used one as a base for another great panel from Gypsy Moments Poses and Reflections. And adding coffee beans to the pages makes the crate smell amazing!
The Farmhouse Bake and Can Recipe Cards on Ivory were the perfect place to write down my mom’s recipe for the best iced coffee ever! The secret? Evaporated milk! This can was fussy cut from Beans and Bags Coffee and Tea Labels.
When you put it all together, this is one sweet little gift package! And it only took me a couple of hours to put together from start to finish! The papers did all the heavy lifting. This project could be easily adapted for a guy, for Christmas, a hostess gift for the holidays or even a get well or welcome to the neighborhood gift. Anyway you choose to make it, the recipient of this unique gift will be delighted!
Thanks for stopping by! And remember, with enough caffeine….you can rule the world!
…or should I say “howdy, pardners?” Today’s cards are made with the fabulous Boots n’ Saddle Collection from Canvas Corp. I “whupped up” a pair of His n’ Hers cards with fun papers, fabrics and charms.
I tried some new things on these fun cards. The focals are cut from the Boots n’ Saddle printed canvas sheet. It’s loaded with wonderful images like the sassy cowgirl, guitar, and 10 gallon hat you see on these cards. I stitched them directly onto my card panels, and it worked like a charm. Of course, if you don’t sew, you could always use fabric glue to do the same thing.
Ladies first, as the saying goes. I created a frame with one of the panels from the Little Chocolate Pages, then cut out the oval center, backed it with teal burlap and then layered on a whole prairie full of teal flowers and beads from Petaloo. The cute stars are cut from the kraft image sheet and painted with Diamond Stickles…because Diamonds are a girl’s best friend, right?
I created a pocket inside the card by scoring the card front 3″ from the fold and then gluing the 2″ portion inside. I topped this with some of the Navajo Print papers and a feather from the Chocolate and Ivory Large Feathers paper . The feather was spritzed with Tattered Angels True Turquoise Glimmer Mist and then sponged with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. I used the oval I’d cut out earlier for a stamped sentiment, and then mounted it all on a piece of the beautiful Chocolate and Ivory Feathers paper.
If you have a pocket, you have to stuff a tag in it, right? I created mine with another piece of the Little Chocolate Pages and matted it with brown leather paper. I love the little silver cowgirl boot that I attached to the top, and the fussy cut elements from the Boots n’ Saddle on Kraft paper. The trim is made with a torn strip of canvas that was dyed with more of the Turquoise Glimmer Mist. It’s tied off with aqua hemp rope.
I love that this collection works for cowboys and cowgirls alike! The base of this masculine card is made with Black and Kraft Barbed Wire paper that has been spritzed with Turquoise Glimmer Mist and sponged with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. I used both teal and chocolate burlap to form a banner that was topped with the Navajo print. The guitar was stitched down with just enough room to stick a guitar pick behind it. I stitched the Navajo print from the fabric sheet to my kraft paper, then inserted copper brads that had been spritzed with Glimmer Mist.
Cowboys have to have a hat…and this one looks great, doesn’t it? I made a little lasso from jute rope, and clipped my sentiment (from the ivory word sheet) to the lasso with a rustic mini clothespin.
I painted the cow skull charm with Turquoise Glimmer Mist and tied it onto the lasso as a finishing touch.
The sentiment was computer journaled onto another of the Little Chocolate pages. I fussy cut the bronco buster from the Kraft image sheet, and also created a pocket for a gift card. I think this would make a great birthday card for any guy!
If you’d like to give Boots n’ Saddle a try, Canvas Corp has put together a fabulous Mix and Match Pad that contains loads of Boots n’ Saddle Goodies.
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!
Oh, how I love these glorious ribbons! They were the perfect playmate for this honey toned “It’s the Bee’s Knees” Creativity Kit from Polly’s Paper Studio Etsy. I began by creating a 7″ wide x 5″ tall top fold card base from kraft cardstock. After embossing it with a honeycomb folder, I sponged it lightly with Black Soot Distress Ink and spritzed it liberally with Tattered Angels Marigold Glimmer Mist. After this was heat dried, I splattered more mist all over the card base. Then i was ready to build my card layers.
I stitched paper from the collection to a scrap of burlap fabric that I had in my stash. This was topped with a piece of Honeycomb Maize Satin Ribbon tied in a simple square knot. The other layers were stitched onto kraft cardstock, and then I added them to the card with foam dots. I created a belly band by layering Tangerine Cross Hatch Ribbon over Maize Diamond Satin Ribbon. This was such a pretty combo, that I went to work tying a spectacular double loop/triple loop bow with the same ribbons. Then I topped them with a Burlap Wild Sunflower and a vintage button from my stash.
Here’s a close up of the details. Instead of tossing my little ribbon scraps, I trimmed the ends, stapled them together and glued them under the honeybee image. I will be sure to do this again, as it’s a great way to use those little pieces of ribbon, and it looks so cute!
The inside of the card contains two pockets. One holds a fun sentiment tag, while the other holds a tea bag (lemon yellow, of course!) and a Ghiradelli chocolate square.
Adding just a touch of honeycomb maize satin to this tag really made it cute! And I tied my honeybee charm onto the tag with just a scrap of natural burlap string. 
I was having so much fun, that I went on to create this pretty notepad holder to complete this Orange Blossom Honey gift ensemble. I’ve made hundreds and hundreds of these over the years, and they make such a nice gift!
After building the chipboard notebook base, I decorated it with paper from my stash, then layered on elements from the creativity kit, more Maize Diamond Satin Ribbon, some gears, and a lovely cabochon. Just a touch of black burlap string beneath the Petaloo Burlap Sunflower made it pop off the page.
The inside contains a slash pocket on the left hand side, stuffed with tags and a 4″ x 6″ post it pad on the right. Now you’ll be happy to write down your to-do list!
