Ephemoire Archives - Kathy by Design

Farmhouse Style Queen Bee Mini Album with Ephemoire Digital Designs

Hello, Friends! Let’s add some sweetness to your weekend with a Farmhouse Style Queen Bee Mini Album made with digital designs from Ephemoire. As a tea drinker, I love honey. And as a honey love, I love bees! And as a country girl, I love farmhouse style. So why combine all these loves together in a scrumptious, made from scratch mini album?

I wish you could hold this 5 3/4″ x 7 3/4″ x 3″ album in your hands. With its warm honey hues, rich textures and buzzing bees, it may just be my favorite mini album of all time. Let’s look at the details, shall we?

Queen Bee Mini Album: The Shaker Box

It is a well known fact that I love a shaker element. I’m always looking for new ways to incorporate them into my work. And in preparing the Tim Holtz Lace Frame for this shaker box, I stumbled upon a new technique. Here are the steps to follow in case you feel like putting on your mixed media boots.

Begin by inking the inside and outside edge of the large oval shaker frame with Gathered Twigs Distress Ink.
Next, use a mini blending tool to apply Fossilized Amber Distress Oxide Ink randomly over the face of the frame. Follow this up with a generous application of Wild Honey Distress Oxide Ink.
Now, spritz the surface of the frame with the Distress Mister and let the Oxide Ink work its magic. Dry thoroughly with a heat tool.
Then, apply a nice coat of Versamark Embossing Ink over the entire surface of the frame. Place the frame on a large sheet of clean paper and cover with Seth Apter Vintage Beeswax Baked Texture. Press the embossing powder lightly with your fingertips, then let the excess slide off onto the paper and put it back in the jar. Heat emboss. Repeat.
Now the real fun begins. Apply Vintage Photo Distress Oxide Ink directly to the surface of the frame. That’s right, just swipe the pad over the frame. Spritz with water to activate and heat dry, using a clean paper towel to dab up any really big puddles of ink.
The most amazing thing will happen as you heat emboss. The Vintage Beeswax will sort of open up and swallow the ink, then seal over as it cools. So the ink goes from the surface to a lower layer. It’s really, really cool, and you’ve got to try it if you love to play around with embossing powders!
Repeat the above step, but use Walnut Stain Distress Oxide Inks this time. Yummy!

Queen Bee Mini Album: The Spine and Back Cover

The rustic feel of this album cover makes me so happy. First you have the natural canvas layer…which is really cool all on its own. But then I added burlap, a vintage lace handkerchief, and a linen panel…and giant wood buttons???? Stop already! These photos are good…but they don’t begin to capture the true beauty of this album.

Queen Bee Mini Album: A Peek Inside

The inside of the album is black, white, cream and gold with pops of red. I dug through my stash of specialty papers to find the faux embossed leather paper that you see here. All the patterned papers are digital print outs from Ephemoire. Aren’t they gorgeous?

The album has pretty to look at pages, photo mount pockets, and little folios tucked in. It’s a very fun album to flip through.

I dug through my textile bin to find special vintage treasures that just seemed to be in waiting for this album. Washi tape is used throughout to create borders.

This is my favorite page in the album. A vintage handkerchief, folded and bundled together with gold crochet thread and topped with a sweet little bee. Stitch the vintage button through the folded hankie to hold all the layers in place. I also love the little vintage ticket, which is an ephemera print out, topped with a vintage safety pin.

I topped laser cut lace paper with a lovely printed border and more ephemera bits from kit. The cute little plaid guest checks in the slash pocket are actually folios. And I tucked in a honey dipper, just for fun.

Queen Bee Mini Album Tour on Youtube

This mini is so loaded with goodness that I had to create a project tour to share it all with you. You’ll get to see all the pages, and I’ll share little tips that you might find useful in your own crafty adventures.