I often send thank you cards to the people in my life, so I like to make bunches of these cards to keep on hand and personalize when I need them.
Here’s the latest example of a handmade thank you card I created; it’s a mini slimline card featuring lovely retro-style flower and botanical graphics. These images are from the Harvest Market Collection by Simple Stories.
If this card isn’t your style, you might like to check out a bunch of other examples of thank you cards you could make. I’ve posted more thank you card making ideas besides just this one.
Thanks so much for taking a look at this project. I appreciate your interest!
If you found this page helpful, I invite you to return to this site often for more craft tutorials, project ideas and inspiration! You can make sure you keep this site on your radar by signing up for my newsletter and community at Substack. .
Basic subscriptions are free; I send out regular newsletters to let my subscribers know about new craft articles and tutorials as they are posted. I also share details about the craft projects I’m working on, and invite my readers to share their projects, too. So there is no need to feel like it’s just you, crafting all alone at home. I’d love to have you join us! You’re invited!!
Amy Solovay is a real, live, human content creator and educator who holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics from Sweet Briar College; she has also earned a separate Associate of Arts degree in textile design from FIDM LA (The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, Los Angeles). She is NOT a robot and does not use artificial intelligence (AI) to write book reviews or articles for this website.
Amy began paper crafting as a small child, and she still enjoys paper craft techniques all these years later.
As an educator, Amy Solovay used to teach in-person college courses in trend forecasting, marketing and surface design at California Design College in Los Angeles. Nowadays she uses online platforms for sharing her knowledge about textiles, crafts, current color trends and current design trends.
This page was last updated on 11-26-2024.
More Paper Craft Project Ideas Featuring the Simple Stories Harvest Market Collection:
‘Tis the season for toy shopping, but shopping for toys isn’t your only option.
Have you given any thought to the possibility of making the dolls or toys you’ll give to the children on your gift list? It’s totally do-able considering there are many, many patterns available for sewing, knitting and crocheting adorable toys.
You aren’t limited to these craft techniques, by any means. Lately my niece has been begging me for tiny, cute needle felted toy animals (which I don’t know how to make — so I have no recommendations for needle felting patterns. Yet.)
Right now, knitting and crocheting are my top craft techniques, so this post will focus primarily on pattern recommendations for crocheted and knitted toys.
Knitted Dolls and Teddy Bears
If you want to knit a teddy bear for a special child on your gift list, consider using this cute teddy bear knitting pattern from Arne & Carlos Favorite Designs, published by Trafalgar Square Books.
If you want to knit truly wonderful holiday gifts for anyone in your inner circle, my top pattern book recommendation of the moment would be Arne & Carlos Favorite Designs. This book isn’t specifically intended to be a toy pattern book, but it does have some fantastic options for fun toys you can make — including a vibrant and colorful teddy bear, bunches of different dolls and doll clothes, plus assorted other toys.
The book also includes patterns for slippers, socks, and all kinds of other gift-worthy items.
If you’d be interested in finding crocheted toy patterns that include video tutorials (for many of them — but not all of them) and are also easy enough for total beginners, The Woobles is a book you’re likely to enjoy.
This isn’t specifically a Christmas pattern book, but it offers you bunches of patterns that would make lovely gifts for different occasions, including Christmas and others.
Maybe you’re not interested in making toys right now. Did you know this website has 800+ pages of craft tutorials, instructions and project inspiration? If you’re hoping to find other sorts of patterns and projects, you’re invited to check out the blog and the main directory of craft project ideas to find other projects that better reflect your current interests!
If you found this post helpful, I invite you to return to this blog often for more craft tutorials, project ideas and inspiration! You can make sure you keep this site on your radar by signing up for my newsletter and community at Substack. .
Basic subscriptions are free; I send out regular newsletters to let my subscribers know about new craft articles and tutorials as they are posted. I also share details about the craft projects I’m working on, and invite my readers to share their projects, too. So there is no need to feel like it’s just you, crafting all alone at home. I’d love to have you join us! You’re invited!!
Amy Solovay is a real, live, human content creator and educator who holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics from Sweet Briar College; she has also earned a separate Associate of Arts degree in textile design from FIDM LA (The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, Los Angeles). She is NOT a robot and does not use artificial intelligence (AI) to write book reviews or articles for this website.
Amy learned to knit as a teenager, and she still enjoys knitting all these years later.
As an educator, Amy Solovay used to teach in-person college courses in trend forecasting, marketing and surface design at California Design College in Los Angeles. Nowadays she uses online platforms for sharing her knowledge about textiles, crafts, current color trends and current design trends.
Happy crafting, and happy holidays to you and yours. I hope your family will have a delightful holiday season this year.
It’s Easy to Make Your Own Mini Albums for Scrapbooking, Art Journaling, Planning, Note Taking or Whatever Other Purpose You Might Need Them for. Read on for Free Mini Album Instructions and Ideas.
Front Cover of the Pumpkin Spice Fall Themed Mini Album Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice: That’s What This Cute Mini Album Is Made Of!
Specifically, it is made of papers and embellishments from the “Harvest Market” and “Good Stuff” Collections by Simple Stories.
We R Makers (Formerly We R Memory Keepers) Book Binding Tool + the First Project I’ve Made With It So Far: A Fall-Themed Mini Album With Saddle Stitch BindingPages from the Pumpkin Spice Fall Themed Mini Album Before They’ve Been EmbellishedA Cute Chipmunk Is the Star of This Scrapbooking Layout Titled “Nuts About You” From the Pumpkin Spice Fall Themed Mini Album Featuring Craft Supplies by Simple Stories. The pages pictured here were made using papers and stickers from the Harvest Market and Good Stuff Collections, plus Happy Planner washi tape by Me & My Big Ideas.Nuts About You Layout From Pumpkin Spice Fall Themed Mini Album Featuring Craft Supplies by Simple Stories. The pages pictured here were made using papers and stickers from the Harvest Market and Good Stuff Collections, plus Happy Planner washi tape by Me & My Big Ideas.Here you can see a close-up picture of the chipmunk in the “Nuts About You” layout from the Pumpkin Spice Fall Themed Mini Album.
Crafting Skill Level: Easy
Craft Supplies You’ll Need for Making a Mini Album With a Saddle-Stitched Spine
The book binding tool is useful for helping you make straight, evenly spaced holes in your paper to stitch through. It is not a strict necessity. I highly recommend it, but if you don’t have it, you can use a ruler to mark your papers with evenly-spaced guides for placing holes in your papers. In place of the waxed thread, you can use pretty much any sewing thread, fine crochet thread, fine yarn or embroidery floss. It’s ideal to use a tapestry needle or darning needle for doing your sewing, although there are other possible needles that could work, too.
Scoring Board or Other Scoring Tool — I’m using a Scor-Pal tool to do the scoring for my mini albums. There are other scoring boards and scoring tools that will also work for this purpose.
12″x12″ Papers — You’ll need at least 2 sheets of 12″x12″ patterned paper to use for making the pages of your mini album. I used 2 12″x12″ sheets of patterned paper from the “Good Stuff” collection by Simple Stories. This collection features one paper for each month of the year. I decided to make my project a fall-themed mini album featuring photos I took in the months of September and October — so I chose to use the September and October papers from this collection. You can use these, too, if you want your mini album to look like mine. If you want to scrap a different season, you could choose papers from some of the other months in the year as an alternative to these. Or you could choose any other papers you love.
Paper Cutter or Trimmer
Extra Papers and Embellishments — There are zillions of possible ways you can embellish your mini album. You could use stickers, die cuts, frames, washi tapes, ribbon or whatever other embellishments you like. I used stickers from the Harvest Market cardstock sticker sheet to embellish my mini album pages. I also used pocket cards from the Harvest Market 6″x8″ paper pad and handmade frames I made using papers from the same pad. I used the We R Makers Frame Punch Board to make the frames. I used Happy Planner washi tape on both the book cover and the interior pages.
Photos up to 4″x6″ in Size — If you want your mini album to be a scrapbook, you’ll need some photos to scrap with. This small-sized album works best with small photos; photos measuring 3″ x 4″ are ideal, but you can also use 2″x2″ photos, 2″x3″ photos, 4″x4″ photos or photos that measure 4″x6″ or any size smaller than that. A 4″x6″ photo will take up one entire page in this mini album.
Adhesive — You’ll need a flat, paper-friendly adhesive such as Cherry Tape,Scor Tapeor Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive. It’s optional to also use a three-dimensional adhesive. I like using Scrapbook.com’s Adhesive Foam Strips to make photo frames appear to pop up from the page. I also use them to attach random embellishments to the pages to make them look more interesting. However, please do not overdo it with the foam adhesive so you can be sure of getting your book to close properly.
How to Make the Mini Album: Free Step-by-Step Instructions and Tutorial
Cut each of your 2 sheets of 12″x12″ paper into thirds measuring 4″ tall by 12″ wide.
Score each of these pieces of paper down the middle using a scoring tool.
Put your papers in the order you want them to appear in your mini album and stack them neatly on top of each other with the center fold lines all aligned.
Thread your needle with the waxed thread or whichever thread, floss, yarn or fiber you plan to use.
Use the book binding tool and your awl or paper piercing tool to punch evenly-spaced holes down the center fold line on your stack of papers.
Stitch through the holes using your threaded needle. Saddle stitch simply goes up through one hole, down through the next hole, etc. Then after you’ve stitched the entire spine of the book, you can backtrack and go back through the holes again in the other direction if you want to make the sturdiest possible binding. If you have the We R Makers Book Binding Tool, you can consult the instruction guide to see how to do this type of binding plus some other fancier bindings, too.
Knot your thread at the end to keep the binding from unraveling.
Embellish your book as desired.
So there you have it: That’s how to make a mini album using the We R Makers Book Binding Tool Set. I hope you’ll enjoy making and decorating your own mini albums! Happy crafting!
Over to You:
Have you tried making a mini album with a saddle stitched binding? If so, how did it turn out? How did you embellish it? Did you keep it for yourself or give it as a gift to a loved one? Do you have any questions about making mini albums?
The floor is open for comments — so if you have questions or feedback about this project idea, please feel free to leave a comment and we will do our best to help you if we know the answers to your questions.
Thanks so much for taking a look at this project. I appreciate your interest!
No worries if a fall mini album isn’t the type of craft project you’re interested in working on right now. This website has 800+ pages of craft tutorials, instructions and project inspiration. If you’re hoping to find other sorts of patterns and projects, you’re invited to check out the blog and the main directory of craft project ideas to find other projects that better reflect your current interests!
If you found this post helpful, I invite you to return to this blog often for more craft tutorials, project ideas and inspiration! You can make sure you keep this site on your radar by signing up for my newsletter and community at Substack. .
Basic subscriptions are free; I send out regular newsletters to let my subscribers know about new craft articles and tutorials as they are posted. I also share details about the craft projects I’m working on, and invite my readers to share their projects, too. So there is no need to feel like it’s just you, crafting all alone at home. I’d love to have you join us! You’re invited!!
Amy Solovay is a real, live, human content creator and educator who holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics from Sweet Briar College; she has also earned a separate Associate of Arts degree in textile design from FIDM LA (The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, Los Angeles). She is NOT a robot and does not use artificial intelligence (AI) to write book reviews or articles for this website.
As an educator, Amy Solovay used to teach in-person college courses in trend forecasting, marketing and surface design at California Design College in Los Angeles. Nowadays she uses online platforms for sharing her knowledge about textiles, crafts, current color trends and current design trends.
This Pumpkin spice candle is a fantastic project to consider if you’re hoping to find the best DIY Thanksgiving Decorations and Project Ideas. You’ll learn how to make this candle using instructions from Home Candle Making by Stephanie Rose, published by Leisure Arts
If you’re looking for DIY Thanksgiving decorations, place settings and other ideas for craft projects to make or fun things to do this Thanksgiving, you’re invited to check out this roundup of Thanksgiving crafts. We’ve collected a wide range of ideas for you. Whether you are looking to create Thanksgiving decorations for your table or home, you’ll find plenty of Thanksgiving crafts and hobbies to inspire you.
Pictured above, these Pumpkin Spice Candles are from the book Home Candle Making by Stephanie Rose, published by Leisure Arts. Wouldn’t these be delightful inclusions on your Thanksgiving table this year?
If you enjoy crocheting, you’ll definitely want to check the list because it includes a lovely selection of table linens and napkin rings you can crochet to dress up your table for Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas dinner, and every dinner during the entire holiday season.
We hope you’ll enjoy these Thanksgiving projects. Don’t forget to leave a comment below and let us know what you will be making this year for Thanksgiving!
November Garden Journal Pages for Discbound Planners Including Happy Planner, Tul and Arc
Craft Ideas for the Month of November
Happy November, creative friends!
As November unfolds here in the USA, it’s obvious that fall is already well underway — and that winter will be here soon.
The first day of fall this year was September 23, 2024. If you’re located in the Northern hemisphere, I hope your autumn season got off to a spectacular start — and that you’ve had plenty of time for enjoying fun fall activities like leaf peeping, college football games and tailgate parties.
What types of craft projects are you interested in working on this November?
Whether you’re a beginner at crafts, you’ve been working at your favorite craft technique(s) for decades, or you’re somewhere in between those two extremes, in any case, this website is a fantastic place to find fall-friendly craft project ideas you might be interested in working on this month. You’re invited to browse through our pages on the topics of needlecrafts,paper crafts, and other crafts to find patterns, tutorials, and project ideas that interest you.
If you aren’t sure what, exactly, you want to work on making right now, please keep reading; below, I’ve rounded up a bunch of project ideas and suggestions for November craft ideas you can use this month. If you have other suggestions to add to this list, I invite you to post a comment at the end letting me and the other readers here know about them.
Crochet Projects for Keeping Warm Despite November’s Chilly Weather
Want to make yourself a new scarf to wear this fall? Check out these crochet scarf patterns. Pictured here is a shell stitch scarfthat’s perfect for wearing in fall and winter. If this one isn’t what you want to make right now, you might find an option that’s more to your liking amongst the others.
If you’ve noticed that the weather’s cooling off in your neighborhood, you might enjoy snuggling up with a warm, cozy crochet project. There are many possibilities including scarves,blankets,fingerless gloves and others.
November Planner Layout Featuring Fall Garden Themed Stickers
If you maintain a physical planner, junk journal, scrapbook, or art journal, you might want to decorate your November calendar pages, journal pages or scrapbooking layouts with seasonal stamped images or embellishments. I invite you to check out the following pages for ideas:
November Happy Planner Dashboard and Monthly Habit Tracker
Garden Journal Pages: This page has information on how to put together November garden journal pages plus additional pages for the other months besides just November.
Fall Themed 6×8 Pocket Page Scrapbooking Layout With Photo of Utah’s Dixie National Forest
You’ll miss out on seeing some of the world’s most inspiring scenery if you sit at home on your couch during the month of November. This is the time of year when the trees are showing off their most splendid color schemes. If you have a park or a hiking trail nearby, you can feast your eyes as you go for a stroll. You’ll want to grab a friend and your phone or camera and take photos of the all the beauty that you encounter along the way.
If you do that, then you’ll have the most important material you need for making autumn-themed scrapbooking layouts, mini books and art journal pages.
Are you planning to make Christmas cards this November? If so, check out these ideas for making Christmas cards. You can make a cute Christmas card with a Santa design similar to the one pictured here, but if this one isn’t quite what you had in mind, you’ll find many other additional options posted as well.
Christmas will be here before you know it. If you celebrate this holiday, perhaps you have a mile-long list of Christmas card and gift recipients to make things for.
Winter card making ideas featuring Christmas motifs, themes and sentiments
If you hustle, you still have time to make a stack of Christmas cards, or to whip up some unique, one-of-a-kind Christmas gifts for your loved ones before the holiday rush really gets going.
Veterans Day in the USA falls on Monday, November 11, 2024 this year. This is a day of remembrance; we pay homage to both our living veterans and those who have passed away.
Although I don’t have a list of craft project ideas specifically for Veteran’s Day, I do have one for Fourth of July – and you could use all the same project ideas to celebrate Veteran’s Day, too.
November Is Native American Heritage Month
This November, many people will be gathering to celebrate and learn about Native Americans’ traditions, languages and stories. In particular, the Smithsonian Museums have a calendar of events that you might be interested in attending. Some local public libraries and school libraries also offer Native American Heritage Month events or reading programs that make educational materials and resources available.
Beyond just learning about Native American history and heritage, there are many ways to show your solidarity with Native American people. One example that has direct relevance to you as a crafter: You can donate handcrafted items or other items to Friends of Pine Ridge Reservation this month (or any month!)
If you’re a knitter, crocheter, quilter or sewist, November is a particularly fantastic month to keep this organization in mind — because they urgently need warm blankets and clothing to give to people who are inadequately sheltered at Pine Ridge Reservation.
The weather in the fall and winter months on the reservation is unimaginably harsh. People there freeze to death each winter. So if you’re thinking of donating some of your handcrafted projects to people in need, these peoples’ plight is worth your consideration.
I donate to them when I am able, and they are exceptionally easy to work with, unlike some organizations that do not want handmade items. I can say from experience that they genuinely want, appreciate, and use the handmade items that are donated to them.
Find More Fall Craft Ideas to Carry You Through the Month of November and Beyond
The projects posted above are just a small sampling of the ideas posted on this website. I’ve put together a list of fall crafts that are seasonally appropriate for November crafting in many regions of the Western hemisphere.
Of course, if you are in Australia, you’re likelier to need spring project ideas right now, so I offer you this list of spring ideas instead.
For even more ideas, you’re invited to check out our main index of craft project ideas. Happy crafting!!
If you found this page helpful, I invite you to return to this site often for more craft tutorials, project ideas and inspiration! You can make sure you keep this site on your radar by signing up for my newsletter and community at Substack. .
Basic subscriptions are free; I send out regular newsletters to let my subscribers know about new craft articles and tutorials as they are posted. I also share details about the craft projects I’m working on, and invite my readers to share their projects, too. So there is no need to feel like it’s just you, crafting all alone at home. I’d love to have you join us! You’re invited!!
Amy Solovay is a real, live, human content creator and educator who holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics from Sweet Briar College; she has also earned a separate Associate of Arts degree in textile design from FIDM LA (The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, Los Angeles). She is NOT a robot and does not use artificial intelligence (AI) to write book reviews or articles for this website.
Amy learned to crochet as a small child, and she still enjoys crocheting all these years later.
As an educator, Amy Solovay used to teach in-person college courses in trend forecasting, marketing and surface design at California Design College in Los Angeles.
Nowadays, Amy uses her textile design and trend forecasting skills to design crochet patterns for free and for sale. If you crochet, you’re invited to make good use of them!
