Taniesa

Organization and Storage Solutions: The little “bits”

Published on June 12, 2013 by Taniesa31 Comments

Hi Papercrafting friends!

Today I thought I would share my thoughts on organizing the little things that we use in our scrapbook and project life albums. The things that we get in kits for just one page or the little things that don’t seem to have a home in our scrapbook space.

I am a papercrafter that, if I don’t see it, I won’t use it. So I have been on the lookout for an idea or solution to fix this problem with the little things. Now this idea is really customizable to whatever your needs are. You could be looking for a way to store all your flair, or your sequins, even things like embossing powder or glitter! For me I wanted something where I could see all these little things. Little die cuts, wood veneer, Flair, sequins, even a roll of washi tape I know I want to use soon.

Want to know the best thing about this little storage idea? It’s really inexpensive! What started the idea, was when I was grocery shopping I saw these little disposable condiment cups by the foil and plastic bags.

They were $2.99 for 50 cups. I wasn’t sure if it would work but I thought at worst I could use it for the kids lunch box when school starts back up. Then I wondered how I would store these in my scrapbook area. My first thought was a flat serving tray I got from Ikea a while back but really that would just take up too much space and not make it very visible.

So I went to wal-mart (target and other stores have these too or check online at places like amazon) and I found a K-cup holder that actually was JUST the right size to hold these little cups.

I was surprised at how little space it took up and sits right on top of a half cube penholder/drawer unit I got at Michael’s a while back. It holds 25 of these little cups.

I like the fact that I can take out the little cup and set it with a project I am working on. Once it’s empty i can fill it up with the next thing that comes in a scrapbook kit or that doesn’t have a designated place.

I think its great that it’s completely clear so I can see completely through it without having to open the container and poke around. If I ever need to replace any of the containers then I can easily grab more because they are so inexpensive.

So in total this project cost me under $30 and it is already helping me use the little things I might have overlooked if these little bits were tucked away somewhere else.

Happy (organized) crafting!

Project Life week 18: Yes you can incorporate 12×12 layouts in your PL Album!

Published on June 11, 2013 by Taniesa1 Comment

Hi Project Lifers!

As promised, here is my week 18. This particular week was my oldest son’s birthday and I wanted to incorporate two 12×12 layouts in with my regular project life spread. I wasn’t too sure that I could pull it off and have it flow well but I think that it turned out really nice. Although most of my traditional layouts will go in a different album, occasionally it is nice to put one or two within the project life album.

So this week I have two 12×12 spreads. Here is a look at the first.

I usually use a lot of color so this was a big change for me. I love that it draws your eye to the photos instead of the cards or embellishing. This entire week was actually fairly simple and quick (except for the title card that I talked about last week). I stamped various sayings on the “real life” card with black and gray ink. The “cuddle” and clock image was stamped using stazon ink. For the 12×12 layout on this side I wanted it to flow well opposite the project life page protector side, so I used project life cards to tie it in.

The journaling was done using my silhouette. I really love that I can journal anywhere on my 12×12 layout with my silhouette beings I don’t have a wide format printer.

Here is the second half of my week 18:

Remember my post about white sticker letters and alcohol markers? Yep, Used a green copic for these letters here. went super fast and I love that they are slightly shaded rather than flat and solid.

National scrapbook day was a lot of fun…. the clean-up, not so much.

We are still working on teaching the teenager how to smile on command.

I love including quotes from my kids in our album. This one was from my 6-year-old daughter. She was talking about her student of the month award (which is a surprise to all the kids at the award assembly). Apparently when you see your mom in the audience you know you are the student of the month LOL.

There ya have it! Week 18 with 12×12 layouts. The best thing about Project life is that you can make it work any way YOU want to.

Looking for more project life inspiration? Check out The Mom Creative for her Project Life Tuesday post along with a bunch of talented ladies that link up every week.

Happy Crafting!

Make a ribbon pendant for your celebration layouts!

Published on June 10, 2013 by Taniesa1 Comment

Hi fellow crafters!

Today I am showing you a simple layout that utilized some scraps of ribbon I had leftover from a different project. I was about to toss these little pieces and then thought that it might make a cute birthday flag banner for a layout that I needed to complete.

I don’t break out my sewing machine too much but I did for this. I took the ribbon pieces I had, Folded them in half and sewed a bit from the fold to make sure I could string the bakers twine though

To make stringing the bakers twine easy, I tied the end to a tiny safety-pin and pushed the pin though all of the ribbon tabs.

Then I took my scissors and trimmed the tabs into little flags.

Now I thought this was so simple that I think I might make a few for some birthday cakes. This one however I had plans for my daughter’s third birthday. I attached the wooden skewers and the ribbon flags with some mini glue dots.

Behind the photos I attached a little bag to hold a journaling tag. I added some tissue paper in front and in back of the bag to look more like the gift bags in the photo.

And here is the finished layout. I decided to keep it more on the simple side with little embellishments as I wanted the ribbon banner to really take center stage next to my photos.

So there you have it. Pretty simple and a great use of scraps. I sure am glad I didn’t toss those extra pieces of ribbon!

Check back tomorrow for Project Life Tuesday! I will have my entire week eighteen up!

Happy Crafting!

Life is like a box of chocolates, and so is this great altered gift!

Published on June 8, 2013 by Taniesa4 Comments

Hi Crafty Friends!

Today I bring you something different from a scrapbook page, card or project life layout. Fathers day is coming up and I know most dads will be wishing for power tools and sports tickets. My Dad likes all those things too, but my Dad also loves chocolate! I made a few of these gifts in the past, but for women. This time around I’m giving it a whirl with a fun masculine feel to it!

Simple, affordable, and far more adorable than any store-bought card. An altered box of chocolates is the perfect gift for anyone, even Dad!

For this gift I bought a box of chocolates from our local grocery store for about $10, but you could go more expensive or less expensive if you wanted. I would estimate the entire project cost me a total of $15. The box already had a white/red/gold color scheme to it so I decided to just run with what was already there and picked products that went along. Here is some quick shots I took on the iphone before I started (please forgive the glare and fuzzy “before” photos).

The top:

The back:

And the side:

I felt I picked a really easy box to work with, it was already pretty on its own and the size was perfect for 8 1/2 x 11 paper.

Here is a photo of box top and side once I finished altering it.

I started with the side of the box. I added gold washi tape along the top lid side and again repeating on the bottom side of the box. I then added a frame of red metallic washi tape on the top of the lid. Once that was finished I began working on the lid cover.

For the script writing you see in red, that was all done using my silhouette, a red pigment journaling pen and a pen holder made by Amy Chomas.***I will be doing a product review this coming week on Amy’s pen holder, the silhouette sketch pen holder, and the silhouette sketch pens.*** Then I cut out the title in a gold cardstock and the chocolates in various brown shades. If you are wanting the numbers for the silhouette cut files I used they are: Design ID #12274 and Design ID #12223.

I added shading with both chalk and copic markers. I also added some glitter accents using the Copic Atyou Spica glitter pens.

The brown grosgrain ribbon was attached around the top lid only. I made a flat bow by making a “ring” of ribbon and folding that flat. I pinched the two ends to the center of the ring and added a staple. I added another piece of ribbon to cover the staple, securing it with a couple of glue dots.

That completed the top and side portion, and while you can stop there and it would be just adorable, I decided to add a little more fun to the box and cover the bottom as well.

The bottom was quickly completed by layering text boxes within a framed shape. It is my personal opinion that any chocolate gift should be calorie free so I made it so *wink*! I added some more silly, fun text that should make my dad smile. Printed it out, trimmed it with my paper trimmer and stuck it to the bottom of the box. I then added one more chocolate die cut for some color.

You could make this for nearly any occasion and customize it so many different ways. I don’t think that I will ever give a “plain” box of chocolates again.

Happy Crafting!

And the Winners are….

Published on June 7, 2013 by TaniesaLeave a comment

Last week I offered up a giveaway (see this post HERE if you missed it) and I enjoyed the feedback and comments so much that I decided one giveaway wasn’t enough and that I was going to give away three! Two domestic and because I don’t think my international friends get enough giveaway love I put all the international girls names in a bowl and picked one from that as well. Enough of that … On to the winners!

1. Ca Angel from Orange County, CA.

2. Melissa L from Cranston, RI.

3. Bek Walker from Perth Australia

Congrats ladies, and thank you so much to EVERYONE who signed up for the blog and left tips, comments, and compliments! Look for another giveaway VERY soon and a couple of fun blog posts planned over the next few days.

Winners, Please email me (email link to the right of the page at the top) with your address as well as anything you would like me to know and or are working on that would help me customize your kit. I want you to adore your prize! Please email me no later than June 11th.

Happy Crafting!

Project Life Tuesday: Sneak Peek edition

Published on June 4, 2013 by Taniesa8 Comments

Yes. I do know we are in week 21, I am a bit behind but you know what, I am completely ok with this. I even planned to show you my entire week 18, however life happens and summer vacation started. I decided to spend the day making a fun summer bucket list with my 6-year-old instead.

Last night after everyone was in bed and the house was quiet I was able to play a little and finished most of my week 18, including this title card that was SO much fun to make.

I was inspired by a layout I had seen using different colored sequins behind a word, and thought it would make the perfect project life title card. (I had forgotten where I saw it, instagram I think? If someone knows please do let me know so I can give proper credit to the inspiring scrapbooker.)

At first I started gluing each sequins down one by one with some liquid adhesive. after one row of that though I had dried glue on my fingers and the row didn’t end up as straight as I would have liked. So I thought about just putting down glue dots but that seemed time-consuming too. Then I had a fabulous idea. I ran my 4×6 card though my Xyron machine! I turned the adhesive side up and started sticking the sequins down. I was finished in about 10 minutes, now THAT was far more doable than how I started out. After I glued my sequins I cut another 4×6 card with WEEK cut out in the card. I also cut out eighteen from the same white cardstock. I used the card with the week negative space to layer on top with some pop dots. I colored the word eighteen in with some gray copic markers and added some shine with my glitter pen to the top layer. I finished everything off with some outlining and date stamping. I am pretty pleased with how it came out.

So not a full Project Life Tuesday from me today. I will have the full spread to show soon. For now I am linking up with TheMomCreative.com who has a TON of ideas and links to other talented project lifers. I hope you will enjoy what you see over there as much as I have.

Happy Crafting!

Cutting into Monday: A Silhouette card tutorial.

Published on June 3, 2013June 7, 2013 by Taniesa11 Comments

Happy Monday! Have your little ones started summer vacation yet? Today is our first “official” summer vacation day. With a bit more time on my hands (not playing taxi service and homework police for a few months) It is my goal to share more tutorials, fun projects, and some great giveaways on TheCraftyPickle. I hope you will join me on a summer scrappy adventure! We are going to have a great time! Don’t forget that my giveaway is going on though this week. Subscribe to my blog and leave a comment for a chance to win a great project life kit in an adorable box.

For today’s tutorial I thought it would be nice to start with a simple yet beautiful card project. This card is so versatile you can use to for nearly anything from birthday, sympathy, just because, or thank you as I did for my card example below.

Here is what the finished card looks like.

Supplies needed: (links added if you need any of these supplies)

Your Silhouette (or you could substitute a paper punch in this case or other die cutting machine either electronic or manual) ***edited to include the flower cut file I used from the silhouette store (Design ID #1692) I took out the center circle piece***

Card base (white, cream, or any neutral color you prefer)

White cardstock (Neenah solar white is my favorite)

Adhesives, including mini glue dots, and pop dots

Sewing machine (optional)

Twine,ribbon,or string in a neutral color

Ink Mist (I used Mister Huey’s in seafoam but any light blue, aqua, or prefered color shade works)

1/4 yard of May Arts leaf ribbon (BY-16 is the color I have)

Alcohol based markers (Copic, Sharpie, Mark-it’s, etc) or watercolors if using white cardstock for your die cuts.

Glitter pen (optional)

Enamel dots, rhinestones, or something similar

Ephemera such as tickets, doilies, and paper items for layering

Small shipping tag

Stamp, sticker, or something that has your chosen sentiment. I used a tag sticker from My minds eye (caroline collection)

Ok to get started cut your card to 8 3/4 x 5 5/8 (score in the middle) and then cut your card base to 4 1/4 x 5 1/2. I chose to mist my cardstock and let dry before trimming my card base. It’s just a matter of preference. If you haven’t already mist your card base and let dry. Set your card aside until the end.

While your ink is drying go ahead and prep everything else. Cut out your flower of choice on your die cut machine. I took one flower that I liked and made a bunch of copies of that flower on my silhouette software workspace, I then resized them in three different sizes to add variation and interest. So go ahead and grab your markers, bring out your inner 10 year old and color away! I love coloring and having die cuts pre cut in white really speeds things up for me as I can make it any color I want. Be careful if you have chosen to use a water base marker as they can be streaky and can make your paper pill up. You could watercolor these as well for a soft beautiful look. I really wanted my flowers to pop and be the main focus so I chose shades of pink and red copic markers this time.

Once colored and dried (doesn’t take long) attach your enamel dot (or other bling if desired) in the center of each flower.

Next, take your length of the May Arts leaf ribbon trim and attach a glue dot or other dry adhesive of choice to the top leaf. and attach that to the top left corner of your card base. What I did from here was let the vine twist and turn in a natural fashion attaching a mini glue dot on every 3rd or 4th leaf. I did not want the leaves to all lay flat. Once finished trim off excess trim and make sure the ends are secure.

I chose to use pop dots on three of the flowers only. You can choose to have them all popped or not at all. I tucked them in back of, and in front of the vine and made one cluster of two (the large is with a pop dot, the smaller has a flat glue dot). Once that was finished I added in a few enamel dots along the vine and I took a glitter pen and added a little sparkle on the flowers. *** Taking a moment to tell you that the wink of stella glitter pens with the brush tip are AMAZING! I only have the clear right now but I plan on eventually investing in the rest someday***

Now that your vine is done dig in your stash of little bits of paper fun. Pull out things to layer that you love. Its a great time to see what kinds of scraps you have laying around. Cluster together in a way that looks good to you, tie your twine in a bow to your tag and add that in too. Fold over a doily on top, covering only half of your cluster and adjust if needed. Once you are happy with the look take the doily off and add adhesive to hold it together. I just added one small staple with my mini attacher. Go ahead then and attach your doily and sentiment on top. I took my doily and my sentiment and added a tiny bit of adhesive to just hold it in place. I took the card base to my sewing machine and just sewed the layers together. This step is completely optional.

Finally attach your card base to the card itself and admire your beautiful card and think of someone special you are going to send it to.

Here is another look at the finished card. I also stamped the envelope with a cute stamp set made with the envelope in mind. You can find that stamp set here.

How simple and fun was that? And the results are beautiful and look far more complicated than it really was. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and if you decide to make a card of your own like the one shown, please link it in the comments, I would LOVE to see your work!

Happy Crafting!

Taniesa

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Published on June 2, 2013June 3, 2013 by TaniesaLeave a comment

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Another Super Project Life Organization Idea (especially if you scrapbook on-the-go) bonus giveaway

Published on May 30, 2013 by Taniesa38 Comments

Are you headed to a weekend crop or scrapbook retreat soon? Are you a Project life scrapbooker on the go? Are you looking for a simple way to organize your cards + photos + embellishments by week? I have a great solution for you!

A couple of weeks ago I purchased this large iris photo storage case from amazon here. I have also seen it at other popular craft stores where you can use a discount coupon. My purpose in buying this case was to organize my scraps by color cut down to 3×4 and 4×6 to make them more useable for my project life album. I also purchased individual 4×6 plastic cases in a teal color for odd’s and ends scraps that were not sized for PL but that I still wanted to keep.

Here is a photo of the Iris photo case that holds 16 of the smaller photo cases inside.

Now this worked perfectly for scraps (Special thank you to Lisa McIntyre from the Scrapbook/craft organization ideas facebook page) See Lisa’s Photo below.

Now I got this scrap organization going and I was a very happy scrappy girl indeed. I had some leftover teal smaller photo cases that I figured I would use somehow for something later on.

Then I got to thinking, If I were to pack up for a scrapbook crop somewhere how would I do that, especially beings I primarily scrapbook PL style right now? A little lightbulb went off in my head and I quickly went to test my idea out. Want to know the best part, IT WORKS! It works so well I am thinking of adapting this into a system for me to keep me on track with my project life beings I run about 3-4 weeks behind. It will also help me spread out my supplies, and hopefully not over buy certain supplies. You can even take your monthly project life kit and split that up by week! Keep a little box in your purse with journal cards and your favorite journal pens, close the case and you have a hard surface to write on while you’re at your childs soccer practice or ballet lessons… Possibilities are endless my friends!

But, what about the larger pieces of memorabilia? you could always tape a large plastic paper organizer to the front of your case and slip in those larger bits and pieces. Whatever works for you. Normally I don’t have anything bigger than what would fit in the small photo case.

Just pop in printed photos, the cards in the color combo you think you might want to use, your embellishments, your journaling pen or special color marker even…. these little boxes can surprisingly hold quite a bit!

What you see in the box above is what I am planning on using for week 18 and then some…. I am undecided on a few choices so I stuck whatever i think i might use for that week. Once I am done with that week I will just shift what I don’t use back into its proper spot in my scrapbook room

*Bonus idea* Want to give a gift to your project life scrappy friend? Pack up some Journal and filler cards, embellishments, a fun pen in one of these little photo cases (costs less than a decorative gift bag). Pop a little card/tag on top and tie with some twine or ribbon and you will have a friend who adores you even more!

Totally amazing idea right? I am planning on doing some scrapbooking on the go this summer…. 5 or 6 of these little guys packed up in a scrapbook tote with some basic tools/supplies and my album and I am totally set!

How about seeing how this works first hand? I have a little project life goodie kit giveaway just for you packed full in one of these little photo cases (cards, embellishments, stamps, pens, etc..). What do you need to do to enter to win? Simple, Just follow my blog via email (there is a spot to enter your email address in the upper right hand corner to make it easy) and leave a comment with your name, location, favorite color(s) and something about project life…. could be a tip, something you love about PL, something you want to see featured on my blog, or something telling me about the things you scrapbook about (will help me customise your prize a little bit better)…. anything at all… I love reading comments from you all! Good Luck!

Happy Crafting!

Scrapbook Challenges.

Published on May 27, 2013 by Taniesa2 Comments

Hi friends!

Things have been quite chaotic around here so I haven’t had much of an opportunity to post but yesterday I was able to participate in a challenge from the Studio Calico message board called “lift the person above you“. This is a challenge I had done once before and really enjoyed myself so I gave it another go. What it is is that each person who posts in the message board thread “scraplifts” one of the previous poster’s Layouts or projects. Its a great challenge that starts with a selection of inspiration. This is the layout I chose from member Joshnwillsma. you can see her full post by clicking Here. A couple of things popped out at me right away when looking at this layout. 1. I love how she matted her background and then framed with bakers twine and 2. I love how she layered her photos. the whole layering concept is a new thing I have been playing with so I thought this would be a great inspiration for a layout of my own.

I am working this layout within my project life album but I really wanted to capture one of our favorite traditions in my family, The Birthday Breakfast! On May 1st my oldest son turned 14 (I can hardly believe it, the time really goes by so very fast) and he requested his favorite starbucks frappachino and a waffle ice cream sandwich (hey waffles is a breakfast food, right? LOL) I also have to add that this is his favorite place to be, his computer desk. so it was the perfect set up.

For the title I used the new Silhouette Chipboard. The chipboard sheets are fairly thin so I cut out the title 3 times and glued the layers together. I layered the white cardstock die cut on top and colored in with my copic markers. Once dry I brushed on a little glitter in the center where the color was lighter. The coffee cup was also cut from the silhouette and used the sketch pen on the machine for the “I love you a latte”.

Studio Calico has a great set of grid style 12×12 papers that I think are a great foundation for scrapbook pages. Check them out here.

I even pulled out a couple of old items from my scrapbooking stash. Remember Magic mesh? Years old but it was a fun little 3D embellishment here as well as the metal Making Memories T that I tucked in the corner.

So if you are ever feeling in a creative slump try participating in a challenge, you can find so many on the internet via different websites, sketches, or one copying someone else just like this one.

Thank you SC Member Joshnwillsma for the inspiration!

Happy Crafting!