G45 Trinket Box by Laura C

Today is another Graphic 45 Secret Garden project,

and in honor of National Recycling Month, I've done

an upcycle project.  I took a plain little cardboard box 

with drawers, painted it with white gesso, and then

decorated it to make a sweet little trinket box:

I used the 12x12 Secret Garden papers to cover all

the sides, top and bottom, and drawer fronts.  I also

fussy cut the birdcage and flowers on the cage. 

All pieces were inked with Vintage Photo Distress Ink,

and then adhered to the box with Scor-Tape.

I used the Secret Garden sticker sheet (Kim can order)

to add the drawer corners, the "friends" and the 

"buckles" on the top drawer are the upside down

tags from the sticker sheet embellished with 

Want2Scrap pearls.  I added a fancy knob, some 

Prima Fairytale Roses in pink and a bow that is white 

seam binding dyed by simply dragging it across

Walnut Stain and Vintage Photo Distress Ink

pads, and then getting it a tiny bit wet using a 

Inkssential Mini Mister and rolling it in a ball.  

I dry it very carefully using a heat gun, but it can 

air dry too with a little patience ;)

The sides were decorated with stickers and bling:

Hope you enjoyed this little upcycle post, and a little

teary knowing it's my last post for Cutter's Creek.

I've been on the team for a number of years, and 

thought it was time for me to step down.  I have a

 lot of fun things happening, and have only so many

hours in a day!....lol.  I'll miss posting, but I plan

on still visiting with everyone....stopping by often,

 maybe even drop by with a post now and again 

and I will always welcome visitors to my blog:

 http://scrapaddict4life.blogspot.com/

Thanks everyone for your support, sweet comments,

and especially to you Kim....for being a wonderful

"boss" but definitely a friend all these years! 

Shhhh, It's a Secret....

Well....a Secret Garden, that is!  G45's new Secret Garden

collection is so pretty....beautiful pastels, flowers and

yes, pure vintage gorgeous!  And with spring finally here, 

it was easy to be inspired to create a springtime card:

 

I used the G45 Secret Garden 12x12 pad and did 

fussy cutting of the fence, flowers and bird with

it's nest. The seed packet piece was cut from one

of the papers and layered behind the fence, which

was foam taped for dimension.  I alternated foam 

taping the flowers or just using Scor Tape to give

the feeling of a bouquet.  It's finished up with

a pretty bow and button tied up with twine.

The friends tag is from the G45 Secret Garden 

sticker sheet (Kim can order!)....or there are beautiful

 sets of chipboard in the store as well.  The flowers are

all accented with Atyou Spica markers (I used pink,

buttermilk, and silver) and Sakura glaze pens for the

centers and leaves. Remember, Kim can order colors!

Here is a close up, where you can see some

of these details:

Hope you are inspired to do some springtime crafting!

Happy Spring!!

Ahh the Country.....

Graphic 45 French Country that is!!  I've made a mini album

using the 8x8 pad, sticker sheet, and the two 12x12 sheets,

"A La Carte" and "Bon Appetit".   Another option from this

 collection (or any G45 collection) is matching chipboard pieces,

you can find them HERE.  G45 collections are great

to use for a mini album.....so many options!

I've included a picture of each page....this is a simple

6x6 album, that I made from a 12x12 chipboard sheet. 

You get 4 pages  from one sheet if you cut carefully, 

and I added a couple of die cut tag pockets too.

Instead you can use a paper lunch bag folded in half, 

it works great....folds to almost a perfect 6x6, and the 

opening of the bag serves as the pockets.  The album is ring

bound. Just two holes punched in the left side, bound with

metal book rings, then dressed up with ribbon.

So starting with the cover:

I like having a lot of tabs sticking out to give it interest....some

ribbon, some stickers, some paper folded and staples using

the Tiny Attacher.  They give it a lot of texture and fun!

Pages one and two....you can see the tag pocket on

the right.....next picture.....

shows the card pulled out of the pocket....just made with 

cardstock and decorated on each side, here is the back:

And the pic of the full page:

 

Pages 5 and 6.....and leading into the next tag pocket:

And the slide out....it's a good idea to keep a low profile

and minimal embellishment on the pocket pages to make

them easy to slide in and out:

And yep, you guessed it....back of the pocket page:

Pages 7 and 8:

 

Pages 9 and 10:

And last but not least.....the back cover....

I did add a bit of Want2Scrap pearls here and there....

always a nice, but low profile embellishment for a mini.

Also distressed all the edges with Black Soot Distress Ink.

I also used Scor-Tape to put these together....because 

even with people paging thru them over and over, they

will stay together....Scor-Tape holds really well!

Do you have a special event to make a mini album for?

Or just want to try one for fun?  Check out the G45 

collections....there is probably one that will work perfectly!

Thanks for stopping by today! 

Craft Some Organization by Laura C

I'm trying to be more organized....and this simple project is
an easy way to do just that!  I picked up one of the jumbo
clothespins (you can find them at a lot of craft stores right
now) and fixed it up to become somestylish organization!

Just measure width and length of the clothespin and
cut out.  I used Echo Park Hello Summer....it's sold
out in store...but Kim may be able to order....but so
many of the Echo Park kits lend themselves to home
decor projects!!  And one of the best adhesives for
this type of project....Scor Tape.  It will hold the paper
to the wooden clothespin without any problem--it's
truly my "go to" adhesive for any home decor type
of project! To finish the piece off, decorate as you'd
like....I added stickers, and some Thickers to dress it up.
Then it was just cutting 3x5 index cards in half and they
fit right into the Mini Kraft Bags by Canvas Corp
(Kim also had  these....she can re-order!).  I'm finding
so many uses for  these....just love them!  Great for
holding journaling on a LO or holding a tea bag or a gift
card....they are awesome!  I fussy cut out the clouds,
and added alpha stickers to spell the days of the week
and a little twine made them super cute....it looks great
sitting on my counter in my kitchen! I can menu plan and
write a "2 do" list for each day...it helps keep me organized!

Have you ever made a "crafty" organization item?  Please share!! 

My Heart Belongs 2 U....by Laura C

Sometimes....don't you want to just get inky and have fun?

That is what this project is about....just pulling out

different inks, paints, stamps.....and having a 

crafter's paradise of playtime!

I started with a blank base tag.....then I stamped and
embossed the heart (a Tim Holtz stamp) using WOW embossing
glitter in Angel Wings then inked the rest of the tag up
with Distress Inks:
Festive Berries, Barn Door, Shaded Lilac.
I dripped water on it to give the background
a more distressed look. 

After using a distressing tool around the edges of
the tag....I reinked with more Barn Door ink.
Then I lightly brush the tag with Adirondack
Paint Dauber in Pearl.  I also used the daubers
on the metal #2....first Red Pepper, then while
still wet....some Pearl to mix it into a silvery pink.
I also used the Pearl to fill in the word "Cherish" on
the metal tag and brushed it around the edge of
the plastic TH fragment piece under the letter
"U".....that piece was also colored with Red
Pepper Alcohol Ink.  Then I inked up the
love definition stamp from the TH
"Love Struck" set in white, and stamped
randomly on the tag.  Then it was just finishing
touches....a bit of TH tissue tape under
the letter U (which is a TH sticker) and
attaching TH baubles, charms, and some
seam binding ribbon.

Many of these fun items are in Cutter's Creek,
if you can't find them in store....please ask Kim,
she is glad to order for you as well!

Take some time to have a little of your own
creative playtime....hope we can inspire you to
do just that!