Sending handmade cards is a wonderful and well appreciated gesture, but with a recipients list as long as eternity, who has the time to make them?
What if most of the work was already done? The basic design has been laid down. The greeting has been “stamped” and all you had to do is cut, score, punch and paste? That would really give the push you need to accomplish your goal of sending handmade cards to all your acquaintances.
Search no more. I have sorted out your Christmas cards dilemma for this year.
Below you can find a printable template (PDF file format) that does most of the work for you. If you are interested, keep on reading.
Tools & Supply
Printable cards template. [Right-click on the link and opt for “save link as…” OR “Save target as…”]
Print the template on a cardstock of your choice (8½” by 11″). Make sure your printer’s setting is on “No scaling”.
Cut your cardstock at 5½” and score each half at 4¼”.
Cut 1¼” by 1¼” squares from the patterned paper of your choice. Use a punch to make this step super quick.
Adhere your patterned paper squares to the squares on the template, using dimensional foam adhesive.
Either stop here, right a personal greeting inside and send the card OR embellish some more.
Share
If you have any question, suggestion or remark – don’t hesitate to contact me – either leave a comment here, use the contact form or start a new thread on the Creativity Prompt Flickr Group!!!
I would also be very happy to see your own creations, so don’t be shy and share 🙂
Check out the new “Make Your Own Planner” workshop and you may solve this year’s holiday gift shopping problem. An affordable workshop that keeps on giving…
That means that part of the book is designed digitally and part of it – traditionally. Together it’s a great mix of new & old.
Using digital elements, such as patterned papers, word art and other digital embellishments helps in keeping a theme and a color scheme for the book. If you want to make this book as a gift, in multiples, then starting on your computer also allows you to include all your journaling on the pages and then printing them either once or a million times, with no extra effort.
Start this project on the computer. Open your photo editing software and either crop or resize the digital patterned papers to the same width and height of your board book.
Don’t forget to count the spine while making the pages for the cover, leave a gap the same width as your spine between them.
Print your pages on cardstock. Plain paper won’t be opaque over the altered pages of the board book.
Use the borderless printing setting, otherwise the printer will scale down your images to allow a white border around them and it’ll distort your measurement.
Start working on the cover – trim off the excess paper and score your spine’s fold lines to get crisp creases. You may also go over the folds again with the bone folder, for an even crisper look.
Adhere the cover by applying a generous layer of glue stick on the board book cover and burnish with a brayer. Let dry.
In the meantime, start cutting the pages and your photos and any other digital element you have printed (word art, embellishments, journaling tags, etc.)
Once the glue has dried, turn your page around and cut off the excess with a very sharp craft knife. If you get uneven edges, you can file them down with sand paper.
Repeat the same process with the rest of the pages: adhere, go over it with a brayer, let dry and trim off the excess.
Make sure you trim off the edges of a page before adhering the printed cardstock to the other side.
Some ideas for embellishing your mini altered book:
Adhere your titles with foam pop-dots to give some extra dimension.
Stick to one type of embellishment (buttons in my case) to maintain cohesion.
Use different sizes of pen tips to create interesting handmade word art.
Outline your pictures, letter stickers and other elements with your journaling pen to anchor them to the page and add dimension.
Using 3D embellishments can make dents in your photos, so make sure both pages have the same “elevation” so the elements won’t touch the pictures themselves.
Have fun!!!
Share
If you have any question, suggestion or remark – don’t hesitate to contact me – either leave a comment here, use the contact form or start a new thread on the Creativity Prompt Flickr Group!!!
I would also be very happy to see your own creations, so don’t be shy and share 🙂
Check out the new “Make Your Own Planner” workshop and you may solve this year’s holiday gift shopping problem. An affordable workshop that keeps on giving…
This week’s project is also quick and easy to put together. You decide how much time you want to spend embellishing each page later on…
All you need is a bunch of envelopes, 2 pieces of chipboard and a long piece of ribbon. Pretty straightforward.
You can take your time and decorate each page individually, or just adhere a photo on the back of each envelope and insert your journaling in each corresponding envelope. The sky is the limit for you.
Cut 2 pieces of chipboard – ½” taller and wider than your envelopes.
Stick a strong double sided tape at the center of each chipboard piece. You can use the markings of your cutting mat for easy alignment.
Adhere your ribbon to both pieces of chipboard, while leaving a ½” gap between them.
Adhere each envelope to the next at the base with plain packaging/wrapping tape. Make sure you keep the orientation of the envelopes.
Cut the excess tape off the sides of the envelopes stack.
Adhere the envelopes stack to the chipboard with some more strong double sided tape.
Cut the envelope inserts out of cardstock. Make them ½” shorter and narrower than your envelopes.
Insert a piece of cardstock into each envelope.
Embellish and… Voilà!
Share
If you have any question, suggestion or remark – don’t hesitate to contact me – either leave a comment here, use the contact form or start a new thread on the Creativity Prompt Flickr Group!!!
I would also be very happy to see your own creations, so don’t be shy and share 🙂
I loverecycling and every time I manage to turn trash into treasure, I am happy. Maybe too happy, but that’s for the professionals to judge 🙂
If you are as jubilant about recycling as I am and would like to make a fat journal out of cardboard and packaging paper used for padding – then keep on scrolling.
I’ve got a video tutorial just for you.
Tools & Supply
Packaging material – cardboard and padding paper (or plain copier paper)
Cut cardboard at: 5½” by 4½” | 5½” by 4½” | 5½” by 1″.
Cut 2 pieces of patterned paper for the cover, at: 8″ by 6″.
Adhere the cover pieces to the center of the patterned paper with glue stick.
Cut the corners of the patterned paper and leave a gap from the cardboard corners – a gap as long as the cardboard is thick (between ½” to ¼” depending on the cardboard).
Fold the remaining patterned paper flaps over and adhere to the cardboard with glue stick.
To cover the spine, cut a 6″ by 6″ piece of patterned paper diagonally. Cut it 2″-1½” away from the corner on each side.
Fold and adhere the top patterned paper flaps to the cardboard spine with glue stick.
Apply strong double sided adhesive to both edges of the patterned paper and attach the cover pieces to it. Allow an 1/8″ gap between the spine and each of the cover pieces.
For the inside cover, cut your patterned paper at: 5¼” by 4¼” | 5¼” by 4¼” | 5¼” by 1″.
Adhere the patterned paper to the inside cover with glue stick. Optional – To secure the adhesion go over the cover with a brayer a few times in different directions.
Punch 2 holes in the spine using a Crop-a-Dile.
Cut the insert pages (from the packaging paper, or any other plain paper you have) at 8″ by 5″.
Fold the insert pages in half.
Optional – Use a T-Square ruler to straighten up the inserts (or leave them looking rustic).
Position your folded pages where they should lay inside the journal and mark the placement of the holes, then punch the inserts accordingly.
Thread your string through the inserts, from the inside – out.
Thread the ends of the string through the spine and secure in a knot or a double bow.
Write your secrets and deepest wishes in the pages of your new handmade journal.
Share
If you have any question, suggestion or remark – don’t hesitate to contact me – either leave a comment here, use the contact form or start a new thread on the Creativity Prompt Flickr Group!!!
I would also be very happy to see your own creations, so don’t be shy and share 🙂
A good quality art journal with sturdy signatures may burn a hole in our pocket. However, by using just 5 high quality cardstock pieces, you can make your own art journal for a fraction of the price – not to mention the cute foam cover you get…
If you are interested in watching how to make one of these cute art journals, than keep on scrolling…
Tools and Supply
Heavy weight cardstock (5 sheets of 8½” by 11″ will make 10 signatures = 20 pages)
Fold the signatures in half. For a sharp crease use a bone folder.
Poke holes along the crease line of each signature. Start at the center and then continue each inch below and above the center.
Sew your signatures together. Start at the top hole and go through each hole with a plain running stitch, after you went through the bottom hole go back through the top hole again.
When attaching the second signature (and the ones after it) secure each stitch by going through the stitches on the spine before threading the needle through the holes.
After you have made the last stitch on the last signature, secure the ends with a few knots.
Cut the fun foam at 9″ by 5¼” for the cover.
Attach the signatures to the fun foam with a generous layer of glue stick. Apply pressure on the journal for an hour or so to ensure good adhesion.
Start painting and sketching in your new art journal…
Share
If you have any question, suggestion or remark – don’t hesitate to contact me – either leave a comment here, use the contact form or start a new thread on the Creativity Prompt Flickr Group!!!
I would also be very happy to see your own creations, so don’t be shy and share 🙂
How would you like to put together a beautiful mini album – from start to finish – in about an hour?
Sounds good, doesn’t it?
You know what, let me throw in a special feature that will turn your mini album from a beautiful albeit simple board-book into an intricate gate-album that is guaranteed to extract some “oohs and ahs” [I am pretty sure it’s a technical term. Please correct me if I’m wrong].
Are you interested? Yes? Then keep reading.
Oh, wait. Have I mentioned there’s a video tutorial included in the package?
Tools and Supply
2 Heavy-weight acetate or acrylic sheets – 4″ by 6″ each.
5 pieces of heavy-weight chipboard (about an 1/8″ thick) – 4″ by 6″ each
[Music with permission is by Josh Woodward from his album “Here Today”]
Step By Step Instructions
Cut all your acetate and chipboard pieces to size and arrange them according to the following chart:
The top and bottom acetate (or acrylic) pieces protect your photos. You may leave those pieces out if you wish.
Mark a 1/4″ line – lengthwise – on the respective edges and mark 3 dots on that line – 1 dot in the center and 2 other dots 1″ above and below the center one. Punch these marks with a Crop-A-Dile.
After you have punched 3 holes on each side on one piece, you may use it to mark the holes on the other pieces and punch them accordingly.
Adhere each photo to the chipboard with a generous application of glue stick. Start with one side, use a brayer to insure strong adhesion, and re-punch the holes before moving on to adhering the photo to the backside.
You may replace each photo with a 4″ by 6″ sheet of patterned paper or cardstock – whatever works best for your needs.
If the photo is bigger than the chipboard piece, trim the excess with a sharp craft knife.
Double check the orientation of each photo, before you adhere it.
Assemble all your layers, following the chart above, and attach together with binding rings.
Embellish!
Share
If you have any question, suggestion or remark – don’t hesitate to contact me – either leave a comment here, use the contact form or start a new thread on the Creativity Prompt Flickr Group!!!
I would also be very happy to see your own creations, so don’t be shy and share 🙂
This week’s creativity prompt is more of an idea on how to reuse drier sheets after they have made your laundry smell fresher and become softer. You know how much I love recycling, so this project is right up my alley.
It takes merely seconds to make this flower and it has a fabric-like texture. Think of it as a tissue paper that won’t rip.
The added bonus of the drier sheet is that even after it does its job inside the drier machine, it still holds its smell. That means that you are not only adding cuteness to the project but a scent too!
Add color by rubbing ink directly onto the circles. If the ink pad falls off, no worries. Stick it right back with a glob of Diamond Glaze.
Cluster the circles together and adhere with Diamond Glaze – a dot of glue will do. (dry adhesive, like a tape runner or glue dots will not work)
To finish off the look, thread an embroidery floss through a button and adhere to the top circle with another dab of Diamond Glaze.
Let dry. After the adhesive has dried up and hardened, you can go ahead and attach the flower to the project with a glue dot. (Position the glue dot directly on the hardened adhesive).
Share
Share your thoughts and your own drier-sheet creations by leaving a comment!
Score each strip at 3″, 6″ & 9″. You can just align your score lines with the 3″ mark on your paper trimmer.
Fold your score lines – once up and once down – to create an accordion fold.
Adhere the folded cardstock strips to the fun foam with a double sided adhesive. Optional – Before attaching each cardstock strip, you can add a strip of ribbon to it – just align the middle of the ribbon with the center point of the back of the cardstock and adhere to the fun foam. Tie the ends of the ribbon in a bow to make sure your accordion fold stays put.
Find the center of the fun-foam cover’s flap with the grid ruler and mark 1″ on each side. Cut along these marks all the way to the bottom of the flap and snip off the ends.
Adhere the velcro or magnetic snaps to the flap. To make sure the aligning is perfect, adhere both parts of the velcro while they’re attached together and then peel off the backing and close the flap. To allow some room for bulky embellishments, make sure you don’t close the flap too snag.
Share
If you have any question, suggestion or remark – don’t hesitate to contact me – either leave a comment here, use the contact form or start a new thread on the Creativity Prompt Flickr Group!!!
I would also be very happy to see your own creations, so don’t be shy and share 🙂
Reminder
Only a few more days left for the early bird’s admission to “Capture Your Dream“. Don’t miss the special offer of only $14.95 for 30 downloadable lessons!!! (LESS THAN 50 CENTS PER LESSON)
I am equally [i.e. very] passionate about two things: making stuff and reading… Therefore, it is only natural that sooner or later I came up with a way to combine both by making bookmarks – so cute I sometimes stare at them for a while before I start reading (another oddity you’ve learned about me).
A few years back, when I had no time for arts and crafts – working looooong hours at the office – I purchased a laminating machine, making bookmarks for my self and for my parents and for my sisters and… Well, you got the picture. Sadly the laminating machine passed away after we had moved to Ireland. It never made it to California. Technically speaking it didn’t even make it to Ireland…
Well, when laminating is out of the question, lets pull out our felt stash and make the cutest bookmark e-v-e-r! Are you with me on that?
Tools & Supply
Felt scraps (2 strips at your desired bookmark’s size)
Cardstock (scraps would work, you need only 1 strip)
[Music by the talented Josh Woodward from his album: “The Simple Life”]
Step by Step Instructions
Cut two pieces of felt to your desired bookmark’s size (mine were 9¼” by 1½”).
Trace one of your felt strips on a piece of plain cardstock.
Align the edge of your traced rectangular with the ¼” mark of your ruler and draw a line – both lengthwise and widthwise, then cut the smaller rectangle with sharp scissors.
Make s felt “sandwich”, by placing the cardstock strip between the 2 felt strips. temporarily adhere the cardstock to the felt with a [permanent] tape runner.
Take your ruler and place it about an 1/8th of an inch from the edge of your felt sandwich and mark at each ¼” as a sewing guide for later on. Keep on marking all around the rectangle’s edges – you can also make smaller marks, depending on your desired stitch’s size.
To allow your ribbon to easily go through the button’s holes, cut both ends to a pointy edge, then thread it through 2 of the button’s holes. Cut the excess ribbon off and protect the edges from fraying by applying a tiny dab of Diamond Glaze.
We are using the button as a tool to finish off the sewing, as we cannot conceal the knot anywhere else. Therefore thread the embroidery floss through the button and into the flower and then through the felt sandwich. Leave a long tale for your knot at the end.
Keep on stitching the edges of the felt sandwich with a backstitch.
Secure your sewing by threading the embroidery floss back through the flower and the button and tying it in a knot with the tail you’ve left before. A dab of diamond glaze will keep the knot secured.
Share
If you have any question, suggestion or remark – don’t hesitate to contact me – either leave a comment here, use the contact form or start a new thread on the Creativity Prompt Flickr Group!!!
I would also be very happy to see your own creations, so don’t be shy and share 🙂
If you liked this post you may want to subscribe to my feed:
There are days in which I want to color the world around me in the colors of the rainbow. Days in which some “pick me up” color treatment wouldn’t hurt. Do you also have days like these sometimes? If so, then I have the perfect project: A rainbow colored mini album with an accordion fold spine and to finish things off, it is covered in a soft fun foam. (Is it wrong to cuddle with your mini-album? I am not sure I want to hear the answer…)
So if you want to learn how I made this cutie, stay tuned and keep on reading:
Cardstock. [You will need a total of five 4″ by 8″ pieces. A sheet of 12″ by 12″ yields 4, but in order to make this mini colorful, you’ll need 5 different colors – your choice].
To make your spine, cut your cardstock at: 4″ by 8″.
Score the cardstock at 1½” on each side and then every ½” in between the initial score lines.
Fold all your score lines in an accordion fold. That means a “mountain” fold (folding down) is followed by a “valley” fold (folding up). Make sure your creases are sharp by burnishing them well with the bone folder.
Cut the 5 cardstock signatures – 4″ by 8″ each. Score them at 4″ and fold in half.
Attach the signatures by applying a strong double-sided tape adhesive to each of the ½” folds. Apply the adhesive as close as possible to the crease but not directly on it. Apply some additional tape adhesive runner to all 4 inside edges of the signatures and attach to the spine. “Hug” each “mountain” fold in the spine with 1 signature.
For the cover cut your fun foam at 4½” by 12″.
Lay down your signatures on the fun foam and make sure you have enough room to cover them and then start marking the remaining flap, as follows:
Find the middle (lengthwise) and make two pencil marks – ½” downward and upward from the middle [That is going to help us create a 1″ flap in the middle].
With a T-Square ruler, draw lines that connect the edges with your tick marks – both lengthwise and widthwise.
Cut out the outer rectangles with your scissors.
Attach the signatures to the cover with a strong double-sided tape adhesive.
Attach your Velcro to the flap. I always attach the corresponding Velcro pieces together and remove the backing from both of them. Adhere one side to the flap and then close it – that adheres the corresponding piece of Velcro at the perfect spot on the cover.
Share
If you have any question, suggestion or remark – don’t hesitate to contact me – either leave a comment here, use the contact form or start a new thread on the Creativity Prompt Flickr Group!!!
I would also be very happy to see your own creations, so don’t be shy and share 🙂
This time I revisit an oldie, but a goodie – 
How would you like to put together a beautiful mini album – from start to finish – in about an hour? 
This week’s creativity prompt is more of an idea on how to reuse drier sheets after they have made your laundry smell fresher and become softer. You know how much I love 
For this week I have a 5-minute-project for you. An adorable little brag book with a fun foam cover that makes it extra “snugglable”. 
Subscribe in a reader
Subscribe by Email
