Desk Folio Tutorial Archives

Graphic 45 November Time to Flourish Desk Folio Tutorial with Reneabouquets

Hello, Friends! Well, it’s time for us to share our Graphic 45 November Time to Flourish Desk Folio Tutorial on this Throwback Thursday. Wow, it seems like just a couple of weeks ago when we shared the January folio, doesn’t it? If you are new to this year-long series, you can find the previous 10 folio tutorials on my YouTube Throwback Thursday Playlist. The November folio is extra beautiful with rich autumn hues and some lovely Reneabouquets Beautiful Board accents.

Each of these easel style desk folios measures 6″ x 6″. Designed to be used as a decorative item on your desk or side table, they have ample room for photos and journaling inside. This is my own original design, and I never seem to grow tired of making these folios. They make the best birthday presents! And, you can easily substitute other papers to make little baby shower, wedding, or Christmas folios. How fun is that?

Beauti-fall Reneabouquets Beautiful Board

Each month, I add some Reneabouquets accent pieces to really make the design special. Sometimes I use frames or a doily. But this month, I created a sparkly fall leaf and acorn with her stackable leaf beautiful board. Then I added some elegance with a pull tab fashioned from a Sugar Bee Corner. Ink this up with embossing ink and sprinkle with Copper Embossing powder to create a unique pull tab. Read on to find out more!

Mixed Media Action

This lovely fall leaf Stackable Beautiful Board is so much fun to make!

First, color the base layer of the leaf with a blend of Spiced Marmalade, Tea Dye, Peeled Paint and Mustard Seed Distress Oxide Ink. Sponge the ink on with a blending tool. Then spritz it with water to distress it. Set aside to dry.
Next, sponge Ground Espresso Distress Oxide Ink over the top chipboard layer of the leaf. Then sprinkle with Vintage Beeswax Embossing Ink (Seth Apter). Heat until the powder begins to melt.
Now sprinkle Charred Gold Baked Texture over the hot embossing powder like salt and heat again.
While the embossed leaf is still hot, sprinkle again with Chunky Rust Texture Embossing Powder and heat again.
Finally, sprinkle Ancient Amber Baked Texture over the hot embossed area and heat one last time. The end result is a richly textured chipboard piece with subtle shades of color.
Finish by gluing the chipboard top to the leaf base. Then fill in some of the swirled areas with Dries Clear Adhesive. Sprinkle Gold Distress Glitter over the glue, turn over a funnel tray to remove the excess and set aside to dry.

Flowers, Leaves and Ribbon

Pull out the rich tones of the paper with some fall foliage, flowers and custom dyed seam binding ribbon. I’ll share a link to the seam binding ribbon tutorial in the video description box.

A Peek Inside

The inside of the folio has all sorts of fun tuck spots, pockets, mini folios and journaling cards.

We will create a hidden pocket on the bottom of the folio to hold that tabbed pull out element.

Isn’t that embossed Beautiful Board corner pretty?

And here’s a peek inside the pull out element. Lots of fun interactive elements here, too.

Graphic 45 November Time to Flourish Desk Folio Tutorial on YouTube

If you’d like to follow along as I create this pretty fall project, I hope you’ll enjoy this video tutorial.

We only have ONE monthly folio left to create. But don’t be sad….I’m already planning another series for 2023!

You can find a linked supply list below this post.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy

SUPPLY LIST

Graphic 45 Time to Flourish Deluxe Collector’s Edition
8×8 Graphic 45 Paper Pad
Reneabouquets Sugar Bee Corners
Stackable Leaf
Fall Mix Chrysanthemums
Sweetheart Blossoms
Cosmos Daisies
Embossing Powders
Bits and bobs from my stash

Apple Pie Season Memories: Throwback Thursday with G45 Time to Flourish & Reneabouquets

Hello Friends! September is creeping up on us, and that always brings to mind what I call Apple Pie Season Memories. While creating this month’s Graphic 45 Desk Folio tutorial for you, my mind wandered back to our annual trip to the apple orchard. If you want to skip over these ruminations, just scroll down to the video tutorial and enjoy. But if you want to join me in a trip down memory lane, read on.

Growing up in New England, we anticipated the arrival of apple season. The state of Vermont was dotted with graceful orchards nestled between the hills. In the fall, nearly every family planned a trip to pick the winter’s supply of apples.

Apple Pie Season Memories: The Birthday Road Trip

My mother’s birthday came at the end of September, and her birthday wish was the same every year: a day trip to Cornwall to pick apples and picnic on the grounds. Although we had apple orchards right in our hometown, the apples in Cornwall were less pricey. Gas was cheap, and a day trip under the brilliant blue skies was always a treat.

Somehow, the weather always cooperated with Mom’s birthday wish. We would pack up the car with the bushel laundry baskets we used to harvest the green beans from the garden and set off early in the morning. The drive seemed to take forever, but it was really only about a 2 hour distance from our home. Mom always packed sandwiches and a thermos of coffee for the adults. We never packed a dessert. Who needs one when you have the promise of ruby red apples still warm from the kiss of the sun to enjoy?

In the Orchard

Pulling into the orchard was like stepping into another world. With the windows rolled down, the sweet smell of apples filled the air. Bright blue sky above, emerald apple trees dotted with ruby gems, and green grass shimmering with diamond dew drops filled my heart with such joy I could barely contain myself. Dad always had to chat a bit with the man who ran the orchard. He directed us to the area that needed to be picked, and off we went, swinging the laundry baskets between us. Bees buzzed all around us, glutted and happy with the sweet juices from the apples that had fallen on the ground.

We did not actually “pick” apples. Instead, we harvested the “drops” that had fallen from the branches. These were far less expensive and just as delicious as the apples from the tree. We were instructed to reject apples that were bruised or soft on the underside. Reminders were given not to pick apples from the tree, and to stay within sight of our parents. You may eat one apple, but not two. And then we were off, giddy with the excitement of filling up our laundry basket.

The Picnic

Those laundry baskets filled up in no time flat. The sun warmed our shoulders as we searched for the very best of the drops. Anticipation of apple pies, applesauce, apple Betty and applesauce cake danced in our heads. Mom would can most of the apples and store the Mason jars in the furnace room of the cellar so they wouldn’t freeze during the hard winter.

Before we knew it, Mom would holler her signature “Yoo-hoo!” to signal us to come back for lunch on the ground. Bologna sandwiches never tasted so good. Then we could enjoy the one “special” apple we had saved for lunch. This, too, was a ritual. First you breathe on it, then you polish it up on your shirt tail until it shines so brightly you can almost see your face in the skin.

The first bite was the best. Your teeth crunched through the skin, and the warm apple juice flowed down your chin and up your wrist. Sweet, tart, juicy and earthy flavors filled your palate all at the same time. Wonderful…absolutely wonderful!

Then it was time to pay for the apples. I seem to remember the drops went for just $1 a bushel. Dad and mom loaded them into the car. We each kept one out to munch on during the drive home. Mom tied her kerchief around her head, and with the windows rolled down, we happily wound our way through the hillsides until we drove up the big hill that was home.