Craft Updates for the Week of May 21, 2023

Hello Creative Friends!

This is just a quick update to alert you to all the new pages I’ve posted or added substantial amounts of information to in the last few days.

New Scrapbooking Pages on Our Website This Week:

View of Avalon Harbor from Maiden Lane in Avalon, California, Santa Catalina Island

6×8 Pocket Page Scrapbooking Layout Featuring a View of Avalon Harbor from Maiden Lane in Avalon, California, Santa Catalina Island

Washi Tape Alternatives: What Can I Use Instead of Washi Tape? (With Pictures and Examples)

35 Fun, Creative, EASY Washi Tape Ideas: Brand New for 2023!

New Crochet Tutorial:

Basic V Stitch Crocheted in Rows

I just posted this step-by-step V stitch crochet tutorial that explains how to crochet a basic V stitch, plus how to crochet a fabric made up of rows of V stitches.

Thanks for dropping by my craft blog today. I appreciate your presence here, and I hope you found the ideas and inspiration you were looking for.

Best wishes,

Amy Solovay

International Scrapbooking Day Mood Board Challenge Entry

Explore Diamond Head, Oahu — Hawaii Travel Themed Scrapbooking Layout

I created this scrapbooking layout to enter in Art_Teacher’s International Scrapbooking Day 2023 Mood Board Challenge (now closed) over at A Cherry on Top Crafts. The challenge was to use the colors from the mood board, which are turquoise and purple, plus to choose 3 additional sources of inspiration.

I was inspired by the moon in the mood board photo #10 (used a large circle), the 5-petaled flowers in the mood board photo #1 at top left (used a 5-petaled flower), and the body of water in the mood board photo #3 (so I used a photo that also has a body of water in it).

Craft Supplies You’ll Need for Creating a Similar Scrapbooking Layout:

This is a one-photo layout, so you’ll need a photo to scrap.

Flower Embellishment: There are many ways to create flower embellishments you can use for this. You can buy ready-made flower embellishments from brands like Graphic 45 and Prima. You can also make your own paper flowers using stamps or dies. In this case, I ink blended some heavy cardstock using Pinkfresh Studio’s Mermaid Cove ink, and then used the inky cardstock for die-cutting my flower with the Layered Flowers die set by Waffle Flower Crafts.

Washi Tape — You can use any washi tape you happen to have. I used a washi tape by Jen Hadfield that is now discontinued, but there are many available washi tape designs that would give you excellent results in this project.

Border Designs: To make a project similar to the one pictured above, you’ll need two border designs that harmonize with each other but are not an exact match for each other. I used Pinkfresh Studio’s Lacey Edgers dies to create these, and I also used Decorative Scalloped Scissors by EK Success. There are many other possible ways to create borders that would work for this sort of project.

Cardstock and Patterned Papers: You’ll need a variety of patterned papers; if you are creating a Hawaii-themed or travel-themed layout, it would make sense to choose a tropical-themed or travel-themed paper collection to work with, but these are not your only choices. You can use basically any paper from any collection if you are careful to choose paper designs that harmonize with your photos. I used papers from the Simple Stories Coastal collection, which is now out of stock at every store where I usually buy scrapbooking supplies. I think Pinkfresh Studio’s Sunshine on My Mind Collection looks like an outstanding paper collection to use for scrapping summer vacation photos, but you have many choices to use for this purpose.

Alphabet Letter Dies: There are many different dies, stamps or letter stickers you could use for creating your page title. I used Altenew’s Simple Alphabet die set.

Pens or Markers: If you want to journal on your page, it would be nice to do your journaling with a pen in a color that coordinates beautifully with your layout. If you aren’t sure what kind of pen to get, I recommend using Sakura Gelly Rolls or Tombow’s Fudenokuke brush pens. I’ve used the Fudenosuke pens on this page.

6″x8″ Scrapbooking Binder / Album and Page Protectors If you’re scrapping 6″x8″ pages like this one, you’ll want to have sheet protectors and an album to put them in. My layout is housed in a Sn@p! album by Simple Stories.

Stamps: The “Explore” stamp is by Citrus Twist Kits.

I am planning to add this page to my Hawaii travel-themed mini scrapbook album and also to our list of Hawaiian Travel and Vacation Scrapbook Ideas shortly. If travel-themed scrapbooking pages are of interest to you, I invite you to check them out.

Thanks so much for checking out my project. I appreciate your interest!

Craft Updates for the Week of May 7, 2023

Wondering what’s new around here? The following pages on our website have been recently added or updated:

New Pages on Our Website: We Invite You to Check ’em Out.

Single Crochet Sampler Washcloth: A free crochet pattern

Crochet Edging Pattern for Towels, Sheets or Round Tablecloths

Easy Curved Crochet Circle Pattern

How to Crochet a Blanket Border: Find free instructions for crocheting borders and edgings around all your blankets. This is easiest if you choose a crocheted blanket, but it’s also workable for knitted blankets, too. If you know how to crochet directly into fabric, you can also make these instructions work for quilts and store-bought blankets.

Crochet Instructions: Here’s a brand new master list of the crochet tutorials and technique instructions posted on our website. We hope you’ll find this page helpful as you search for what crochet projects or techniques you’d like to learn next.

Blue Waves Crochet Ripple Washcloth Pattern by Sharon Silverman — If you want to crochet a reasonably quick, interesting, summer-friendly project, check out this pretty washcloth pattern designed by Sharon Silverman.

Bird Themed Slimline Greeting Card for Spring

Bird Themed Card Making Idea: Make a DIY Slimline Card Featuring Bird Motifs

Handmade Greeting Cards Made Using Papers by Graphic 45

Spring is a fantastic time to make greeting cards for your inner circle. The spring calendar includes diverse holidays such as St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, Passover, and Mother’s Day — but you don’t need a holiday or any other excuse to make a greeting card for someone you love. This Bird Themed Slimline Greeting Card is an example of an everyday, all-occasion card you can make to send to a friend in springtime, or for that matter, at any time you like. Of course, you can add an Easter or Mother’s Day sentiment to your card front to make this design holiday friendly and appropriate for whichever of the spring holidays you’d like to use it for.

Craft Supplies You’ll Need for Making a Similar Bird Themed Slimline Greeting Card for Spring

Patterned Papers: You can use any patterned papers you like to make a greeting card. If you want your card to be bird themed and / or spring themed, you’ll want to choose papers featuring bird motifs and / or other spring-themed designs like flowers, clouds, rainbows, etc. I used Graphic 45 papers from the 8″x8″ “Time to Flourish” paper pad. The bird focal image is one of the cut-aparts from that collection. Unfortunately, the “Time to Flourish” 8″x8″ pad is now hard to find; however, the 12″x12″ version of the “Time to Flourish” collection was still available last time I checked, or you could go for the “Flower Market” collection, which is the latest similar spring-themed paper collection from the same manufacturer.

Washi Tape: I used two different washi tape designs to create this card. One is a narrow-width washi tape that’s green with a shimmery, lustrous metallic silver design printed on it. The narrow green washi tape is by The Happy Planner. I also used a wider, subtly dotted washi tape by Doodlebug Design; this design is called “Lily White Swiss Dot”.

Distress Oxide Inks: Inks are optional for this card making project, because you aren’t actually stamping. However, I like using inks in different colors to add emphasis to parts of my card designs, and sometimes also for adding extra colors to make a card design look more interesting. In this case, I inked around the bird focal image using Chipped Sapphire Distress Oxide ink to make it stand out more from the card front. I also inked around the outside edge of the card using Salvaged Patina Distress Oxide ink.

Narrow Ribbon: If you want to add a three-dimensional finishing touch to your card like the one pictured, cut a short length of narrow ribbon and tie it into a bow; then use a dot of liquid adhesive like Zip Dry Paper Glue or Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive to the back of the bow.

Adhesive: Above, I already mentioned a couple of adhesives you could use for this project; if you use a liquid adhesive to put the entire card together, I recommend Zip Dry, because it doesn’t distort the paper and make it buckle as it dries, unlike some other liquid adhesives. I personally prefer to use dry adhesive for projects like this; I used Cherry Tape to put my card together. But you can use any paper friendly adhesive(s) you like.

Thanks so much for checking out my card making project. I really appreciate your interest!

Check Out More Craft Projects for Spring

Crochet a Basket in Spring Colors Using the Overlay Crochet Technique

Discover More Craft Projects Made Using Graphic 45 Papers and Supplies

May Garden Journal Pages for Discbound Planners Like Happy Planner, Arc or Tul

Find More DIY Card Making Ideas

Happy Mother’s Day Card Featuring Graphic 45 Papers From the Time to Flourish Collection

Daily Planner Layout Idea Featuring Washi Tape and Stamped Images

Purple Daily Layout for Happy Planner or Other Discbound Planners Such As Arc or Tul

As pictured, this daily planner layout is intended for use in discbound planners like the Happy Planner by Me & My Big Ideas or the Arc Planner, Tul Planner, Maggie Holmes Planner, or Martha Stewart Planner. It could be adapted for other types of planners, too.

To make this planner layout, I started with a page from a Happy Planner accessory pack and embellished it with washi tape, stamped images, and decorating chalks.

Craft Supplies You’ll Need for Creating a Similar Daily Planner Layout:

Filler Paper for Discbound Planners: Filler papers are available in a variety of different colors, designs and layouts. I used a simple lined paper with a leopard print design at the discbound edge. The sections on this paper came labeled, but I placed some of my washi tapes and stamped images over the labels because they weren’t quite right for the page design I had in mind. You can use basically any discbound filler paper as a starting point for your daily planner pages; some will work better than others, depending on what you have planned for your day.

Washi Tapes: You can use whatever washi tapes you like to decorate a daily planner layout like this one. I used sparkly washi tape by Graphic 45 and butterfly-themed washi tape from the “Papillon” collection by Happy Planner / Me & My Big Ideas.

Distress Oxide Ink Pads by Tim Holtz for Ranger Industries: I used the Dusty Concord and Salvaged Patina colors to stamp these images.

Water Tracker Stamp: I used a stamp from the P13 Journal Stamp Set to stamp the water tracker (You can shop for it HERE; I highly recommend it this stamp set!)

Alphabet Stamps: I used a stamp set called “Milo’s ABCs by Lawn Fawn to stamp the word “Today’s” that appears in this planner layout. However, you don’t need this exact alphabet stamp set; you could use any alphabet stamp you happen to have on hand for this purpose. If you do happen to need a new alphabet stamp set, this one is a fantastic set to have in your stash; I use mine almost daily. I find it to be really versatile and useful.

Stack of Books Stamp: This stamp is from the “Den Sweet Den” stamp set by Lawn Fawn.

Crochet Hook Stamp: This stamp is from the “Hand Crafted With Love” stamp set by Simon Says Stamp.

Frame Stamp: See the frame image around the crochet hook and ball of yarn? The stamp I used for adding that image is by Citrus Twist Kits.

Journaling Spot Stamp: This stamp is from the “Plan on It” stamp set by Lawn Fawn.

“Explore” and Cloud Stamps: This stamp is by Citrus Twist Kits; last I checked, this stamp set had been discontinued.

“Currently” Stamp: This stamp is from a set by Waffle Flower Crafts that is now discontinued.

“Making” and “Blog Post” Stamps: These stamps are both from a set by My Favorite Things Stamps that is now discontinued.

Scalloped Scissors: I still love and use decorative scissors in many of my paper crafts projects because I find it easier to grab scissors than it is to dig for a scalloped circle die that’s exactly the right size for cutting out each image. But that’s me; if you’d prefer to die cut this, you could substitute a scalloped circle die in place of the scalloped scissors. If you want to check out the scalloped scissors I used, they are made by EK Success. I highly recommend them; I’ve used them to make, literally, hundreds of projects!

Decorating Chalks: These are optional; if you don’t already have them in your stash, you could use inks, paints, or colored pencils to create the same sort of sunset effect I used behind the “Explore” and cloud stamps.

Thanks so much for taking a look at my Happy Planner layout. I appreciate your interest!

Knitting, Crochet and Crafts

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