DIY Thank You Card With Sunset Silhouette Design

Guest designer Laura Jane is hosting an Inspiration Challenge over at the Altenew blog. I have been excited about the challenge since the day she posted it, because it features one of my favorite design themes — a sunset! Check this out:

Inspiration Challenge Sunset Image by Laura Jane for Altenew

That’s the Inspiration Challenge Image Laura Jane posted. She also posted a bunch of amazing purple-ish, pink-ish cards featuring dark silhouetted elements. I loved them so much!

I looked through my paper stash to see what I could find. I have a bunch of Altenew papers, but none of them are quite the right colors for this — so I ended up using papers that I colored using various dyes and inks, including some Altenew inks and others.

Years ago, I used to teach textile design classes to fashion design majors at California Design College. We did a lot of fabric dyeing in those classes. At the end of class, I’d usually have leftover dyes. Instead of just pouring the extra dyes down the drain, I used to use them to create paintings and designs on paper.

I used most of those hand-dyed papers long ago, but I still do have a few of them left in my craft supplies stash waiting for just the right projects to use them in.

Hand Dyed & Ink Blended Papers

This was one of those just right projects. I chose one of these striking hand-dyed papers to use for my darker silhouetted images; the paper has striated shades of deep purple and dusky pink that are reminiscent of the colors you see outdoors at twilight.

And I used another one of these papers to start me off with the background, but I added some spritzes of Altenew ink colors diluted with water — Ruby Red, Coral Berry, and Frosty Pink. I also used some of Tim Holtz’s Dusty Concord Distress Oxide ink to give my card background a more purplish appearance.

Here’s how my card turned out:

DIY Thank You Card in Sunset Colors With Craft Supplies by Altenew

Craft Supplies You’ll Need for Making a Similar DIY Thank You Card

Papers: You could use ink blended or hand dyed papers like I did, or you could use patterned papers for this. You’ll also need some white or colored cardstock to make your card base.
Inks: I used Altenew’s Coral Berry, Ruby Red and Frosty Pink dye inks plus Tim Holtz’s Dusty Concord Distress Oxide ink — but you can use any inks you like.
Dies: “Sweet Blooms” Die Set by Altenew — This set is so pretty and so versatile; I highly recommend it.
Sentiment Stamps: I used the sentiments from Altenew’s “Painted Rose” stamp set, which appears to have been discontinued. I really love this one, but if you missed out on getting it, there are many other possible sentiment stamps you could use.
Scalloped Circle Die or Scalloped Scissors: You’ll need to cut out your stamped sentiment in some manner. If you have a scalloped circle that’s the right size, that would be ideal. I happen to have stencils and old-fashioned decorative scissors that I like using for this — so I used scalloped scissors by EK Success to fussy cut around my stamped sentiment.

So there you have it: That’s my inspiration challenge entry. I hope you enjoyed taking a look at it. Thank you so much for dropping by! I appreciate your interest in my project.

Posted by: Amy Solovay

“Love You” Valentine’s Day Card Featuring Heart Motif and Flowers

Crazy Little Thing Called Love: Love You Valentine’s Day Card With Hearts and Flowers Featuring Stamps by Hero Arts

Love You Valentine Card With Hearts and Flowers Featuring Stamps by Hero Arts

The lovely people at Hero Arts are having a challenge with the theme of “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”. Pictured above, you can see my entry for this challenge. It’s a Valentine’s Day card featuring stamped images I created using a couple of different Hero Arts stamp sets.

Craft Supplies You’ll Need for Making a Similar Valentine Card:

The “Togetherness” Stamp Set by Hero Arts — This stamp set features a gorgeous floral bouquet stamp and 7 lovely sentiment stamps.
The Hero Greetings Christmas Messages Stamp Set by Hero Arts — No, this isn’t a Christmas card (although you could make it a Christmas card if you want to; simply change out the pinks for greens, and voila, it’s a Christmas card). The “Hero Greetings Christmas Messages” stamp set includes mostly Christmas-themed sentiments, but it also has other sentiments like “love you,” “you warm my heart,” “stay cozy” and “let’s party”. So you can use it for many occasions besides just Christmas. I think the “love you” stamp is just perfect for using on Valentine cards, birthday cards and everyday cards.
Pink Cardstock
White Cardstock
Kitsch Flamingo Distress Oxide Ink Pad by Tim Holtz for Ranger Industries
Love Letter Memento Ink Pad
Washi Tapes: I used 3 different washi tape designs to create this card. The one on the top is a glittery, sparkly white washi tape by Graphic 45. The one in the middle is a red floral design by Recollections. The one on the bottom is a lovely design from the Papillon collection by The Happy Planner / Me & My Big Ideas.
A Heart Die or Heart Stencil
Scalloped Scissors — I used Fiskars Paper Edgers in the Mini Scallop design to cut around my “love you” sentiment.
Pens & Markers — You’ll want to personalize your card on the inside, and you might also want to make some touch-ups to the embellishments on your card. I used a Tombow brush marker, color #847 to color in the scalloped edge around the “Love You” stamped image. I also used a Sakura Gelly Roll pen and a Marvy Uchida highlighter to personalize the inside of my card. No need to get these pens and markers specifically; you can use other coordinating pens and markers from your stash to do your personalizing. If you don’t have any pens that will work for this, I definitely recommend the Gelly Rolls; they are affordable and super pretty. I love the results I get from using them, and I think you will, too.
Scoring Board or Other Scoring Tool

Thanks so much for taking a look at my Valentine Card. I really appreciate your interest.

Check Out More DIY Valentine’s Day Cards

Find More Project Ideas Featuring Stamps and Supplies by Hero Arts

Posted By: Amy Solovay

Happy Planner Horizontal Layout Featuring Year to Shine Goals Stickers

Happy Planner Horizontal Layout for January 6, 2023 Featuring Stickers from the Year to Shine Goals Sticker Book

Here’s my horizontal classic Happy Planner with a couple of pages I decorated using stickers from the Year to Shine Goals sticker book. I got this sticker book in 2022 and loved it so much that I bought a brand new one for 2023.

Usually, I also use some stamped images on my planner layouts — but I have skipped my usual stamping sessions pretty frequently lately because I have been too busy with work to keep up with them. Stickers are just easier — so I used stickers and no stamps to make these pages.

Thanks for dropping by today. I really appreciate your interest in my project.

Find More Planner Layouts:

Planner FAQs:

Find More Paper Craft Pages and Ideas:

Using the We R Memory Keepers Book Binding Tool to Make a Fall-Themed Mini Album

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 Memory Keepers Book Binding Tool + the First Project I’ve Made With It So Far: A Fall-Themed Mini Album With Saddle Stitch Binding

Pages from the Pumpkin Spice Fall Themed Mini Album Before They’ve Been Embellished

A 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

We R Memory Keepers Book Binding Set — This set comes with a book binding tool, an awl, some waxed thread, 2 needles, a felt pouch to use for organizing everything, and an instruction sheet.

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 Memory Keepers 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 Tape or 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 Memory Keepers 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 Memory Keepers 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. We appreciate your interest!

Update 1-13-2023: I am really sorry, I am going to have to close comments on this post because it is attracting many unwanted comments from ‘bots. I feel terrible about this because I really wanted your feedback. 🙁

New Year’s Resolutions for Crafters

I Will Learn _, Where _ Is a Craft or DIY Technique You Have Been Wanting to Attempt:

Any time is a fantastic time to learn a new craft — but beginning your crafting journey at the start of a new year is especially appealing, because that makes it so much easier to track the time you are spending and monitor your own progress.

It is possible to set either broad goals or highly focused goals for learning new craft techniques. That said, my experience has been that people are likelier to succeed with more focused goals than they are with broad ones.

Examples of broad goals would be “I will learn how to crochet, how to knit, How to Make a Scrapbook, how to make cards, how to paint, how to color or how to do brush lettering.

Examples of more focused goals would be “I will learn how to crochet a granny square, and I will make 52 granny squares — one for each week in 2023 — to use for making a throw”.

Do you agree that setting a more specific goal will give you something more concrete to aim for? If done correctly, this can increase your chances of actually succeeding at achieving your goal.

Of course, you could also decide you want to set your New Year’s goals around learning more about a craft you’re already proficient in; if you’re already an experienced card maker, perhaps you might decide that this is the year you want to figure out how to make shaker cards. If you already know how to crochet, perhaps this year you’ll work on learning a more advanced crochet technique such as tapestry crochet, overlay crochet, mosaic crochet or corner-to-corner crochet.

Other Worthy New Year’s Resolutions for Crafters:

I will teach someone how to crochet, knit, scrapbook, make cards, or whatever it is you do — or even better, teach __* people how to do this.
I will knit, crochet or craft __* item(s) for charity
I will complete __* projects (or more)
I will finish or frog (unravel) all my unfinished projects
I will learn __* new knitting or crochet stitches
I will create an exquisite family heirloom to be passed down to a child or grandchild- perhaps an heirloom-quality scrapbook filled with family photos, a beaded bag worked from a vintage pattern, or an elegant lace tablecloth.
I will get organized this year! I will organize my paper / stamp / marker / yarn / thread stash, and donate or give away any supplies I don’t plan to use.

*__= fill in this blank with whatever number you think would be a good goal. Pick a number that is small enough to be manageable, yet large enough that you’ll feel like you really accomplished something when you’ve reached the goal.

Resources for Achieving Your New Year’s Resolutions:

Learn How to Crochet or Knit; Learn New Crochet and Knitting Skills: You can take a variety of different crochet classes, knitting classes and other crafting classes either online or in person. If you’d be interested in the the online version, there are several resources I can recommend:

Learn New Crochet Stitches: Here are a few you can try:

If you haven’t already learned Tunisian crochet stitches such as afghan stitch, those are a fantastic place to start. Tunisian crochet stitches will greatly expand your capabilities in crochet.

Shell stitch

Edge stitches

See more choices: free crochet stitch instructions

Get Inspiration for Organizing Your Craft Supplies:

Planning to get organized in 2023? Need some new organizers to keep your craft supplies safe, organized and easily accessible? ArtBin Craft Organizers are ideal for organizing any craft supplies you have in your stash. I use mine for organizing papers, rubber stamps, clear stamps, ribbon, fabric, yarn, crochet hooks, knitting needles, beads, buttons and various other sundries.

If you need ideas for how to organize yarn for knitting, crochet, weaving or other yarn crafts, I invite you to take a look at my favorite yarn organizers and yarn organization strategies on this page. One highlight: A former colleague of mine, Beth Peterson, shared some truly inspiring photos of her organized crochet supplies. She’s been keeping everything in a basket, which is lined with a custom-made holder for her crochet hooks. Check it out!
How are your craft supplies organized? We’d love to have information about how you approach it; please share tips in the comments section.

Learn New Craft Skills

We’ve posted a wide variety of resources to help you with learning new craft skills and techniques.

Craft Books Some people enjoy learning new skills by reading books about the topic. If that’s you, our craft book reviews will help. We’ve posted recommendations for books on a variety of craft techniques including Crochet books, Knitting books, candle making books, quilting books and others.

Free crochet instructions

My 2023 Crafty New Year’s Resolutions

I fell flat on my face with my New Year’s resolutions in 2022. My big mistake: I didn’t make them public, so I didn’t feel like I absolutely had to accomplish them.

So this year, I am going to share them with all of you.

First of all, I am going to give Project Life a try for the first time ever. I resolve to be consistent with the project for the first month in 2023 on a weekly basis. Then at the end of January, I plan to evaluate whether or not I am enjoying it. If I like the results and want to keep going, I will. If I feel like it is too stressful, I am going to call it quits.

In order to create my Project Life pages, my goal is to take at least one photo per day. But if I miss a few days, I won’t worry about it; the goal is really to just have enough pictures to draw from when I make each week’s scrapbooking layouts.

In 2022, I wanted to crochet every day. My results were dismal; I hardly crocheted at all. Ugh.

I’ve been pondering whether to try again with that, and I am leaning towards doing it. Only this time, I will set myself up for success.

There are 2 reasons I failed at that particular goal last year:

1. I didn’t have sufficient unallocated yarn to get started. I solved that problem by buying some new yarn.

2. It bothers me when my snarky husband makes sarcastic comments about my crocheting and crochet projects. There is no solving that one; he is probably going to do that no matter what I do. But if I get up early, and get my crocheting done before he wakes up, I might be able to avoid some of that. I’m going to try that this year and see whether it goes better.

In 2022, I resolved to live more intentionally and to plan every day. I wanted to do better with tracking my water consumption, wellness and daily activities so I didn’t just waste all my time online looking at cute cat pictures (or reading nonsense memes, or whatever). While I didn’t actually succeed at planning every day, I did plan often enough to feel like I succeeded at the goal reasonably well overall.

Dear readers, I invite you to set ambitious goals. You won’t ever meet goals that you don’t set in the first place — and partial successes are better than no successes.

Share Your New Year’s Resolutions

Are you making any knitting, crochet or craft-related New Year’s resolutions this year? If so, please share them in the comments section!

Knitting, Crochet and Crafts