Advent Calendar (Echo Park)

Hi Everyone - I have my first Christmas Post to share today! I know it is early, but November is only days away and if you wanted to make an Advent Calendar - now would be a good time to start.  I created this project as part of my month as Fresh Face Designer on the Echo Park blog. 

This fun project was a lot of work – but really worth it! The fabulous mix of colors in the collection make for a nostalgic feel and I am really excited about using this as a home for little treats during the Christmas countdown! 

Each drawer front is decorated with paper squares, stickers from the Element Stickers Sheet and a Brad. 

To create the centerpiece I have layered more stickers and made the little 3-d trees using symmetrical die-cuts I cut from the papers using Spellbinders. A chipboard “Merry Christmas” painted red completes the scene. I really wish you could see and touch this project in person - it was very hard to photograph and get a sense of dimension and I don’t feel the pictures do it justice!

There are heaps of this type of project available now and a little internet searching will give you plenty of guides to making your own too. 

This particular calendar was from Dusty Attic - an Australian company. To be perfectly candid - most of it came together beautifully, but the final assembly was very difficult - and I am not a novice at this type of project! 

I have another Advent Calendar to showcase next week - this week using the Silly Season Collection from Kaisercraft. 

Please post a comment if you have any questions. 

Lowri :-) 

I am linking up this project to these websites here. 

3 Mini Albums with Echo Park

Hi Everyone - some mini albums to share today that I created for Echo Park.  When I first saw this Happy Days Collection the first thing that caught my eye was the incredible variety of papers.

Here I have created 3 mini-albums all from the same collection to demonstrate how versatile the papers are.

“Fabulous 3” - Black and White Mini Album

The bold black and white prints in this collection are gorgeous – and in fact would co-ordinate perfectly with any of the colors. For this album I have paired them with the yellow prints for a bold and eye-catching album.

I constructed the album out of some thick chipboard cut to size for the covers, and then cut pattered paper to create accordion style pages.  

Using stickers from the Elements and Alphas sheets I have added some highlights and accents to the photos. 

I have kept the photos really simple in a Polaroid style with just names and ages of the children underneath.

I have used eyelets in the back and threaded some elastic for an easy closure and added a chipboard piece at the front for decoration and to complete the title.

These next 2 albums have the same photos of my gorgeous niece, but I wanted to demonstrate how versatile the collection is. 

Baby Album for Mum

These pink prints are so delicate and make the perfect background for a little baby album. To decorate the front I have used some co-ordinating chipboard and brads from the Happy Days Collection.  I love the splash of color from the “Stripes” paper showing behind the pink.

Baby Album for Dad

I have tried to create a bit more of a “manly” album here using the blue prints from the collection! Super simple decoration using the Elements and Alpha Stickers once again with some large photos inside – this would be great for any new Dad to slip into his briefcase for a sneaky look during the day! This album was created with folded patterned paper and a step by step tutorial can be seen on my blog here.

I have one more post as Echo Park's Fresh Face Designer - and next week CHRISTMAS PROJECTS!!

Please post a comment with any questions :-)

Lowri

Stickers & Sweeties - Final Halloween Projects

Hi Everyone

These are the last of my Halloween projects - and really they couldn't be simpler. 

Using a few stickers, some recycled glass jars and a cheap plastic craft bucket - you can make some easy and decorative candy containers for Halloween.

Be sure to check out all my previous Halloween projects using the fabulous Apothecary Emporium Collection from Echo park shown below.

1. Spooky Tree!
2. Halloween Treats Tutorial
3. Treat Bag Toppers
4. Scary Halloween Bark
5. Drinks Party Ideas
6. Tri Fold Card with Template

Leave a comment with any questions :-) 

Lowri

Folded Paper Mini Albums (Tutorial)

Hi Everyone - A quick tutorial to share today to show how to make these folded paper mini albums.

 

Tutorial

Now I am not going to deny this technique IS a little heavy on the paper use - but if you haven't had to buy a blank album - then I guess overall it's no more expensive than any other technique!

I use it as a way to use up paper and odds and ends of collections so I don’t feel guilty! This size book with 8 pages uses the equivalent of 2 whole sheets of paper – which is still probably cheaper than buying an album and covering it in paper!

You could of course make the book from plain cardstock and cut patterned paper to cover each page, which would effectively use half the amount of patterned paper.

1. Cut 8 pieces of paper  4” x  8”
2. Fold all the pieces into half , with the side of paper you want showing on the INSIDE
3. Glue pieces together back to back to create pages
4. Ensure that the folds are always aligned
5. When all piece are glued – round corners if desired
6. Cut piece of paper 8.5” x 4” for cover – round corners on one side
7. Score cover at 4” and 4¼ ” to create "spine" for book
8. Glue cover to front of book – do not glue spine
9. Glue cover to back of book
10. Trim excess paper and round corners for back of book

I hope this has given you some inspiration to create your own books. It's a project that comes together in an hour or so and the book pages feel really "solid" in terms of weight - and much easier to stuff in a purse (thinking Grandma brag book!!) than a chipboard or wooden album.

Would love to see what you come up with!

Lowri :-)

Halloween "Spooky Tree" - Echo Park

Hi Everyone 

A few more Halloween ideas using the fabulous Apothecary Emporium Collection from Echo Park today.

I bought this Kaisercraft Modern Tree and set it aside for Christmas but I could not pass up the opportunity to make it into a “spooky tree” as my kids have called it!

I painted the whole piece with 2 coats of black acrylic paint and then laid the Black Magic (reverse) pattered paper over the tree in sections and glued it on. Using a very sharp knife I then cut around the branches and sanded the edges of the paper with a fine grit sandpaper. Would you believe I covered the whole tree in one piece of paper!

Now comes the fun part – decorating! This little banner was made using a pennant die – but you could easily just cut triangles of paper. The easiest way to do this is to make a little template from cardboard (two pieces of cereal box glued together is about the right weight) and then just cut around the template on your paper with a knife. This way is a lot quicker than tracing and cutting individual shapes, and works very well for simple shapes and straight lines.

I created some dimension by mounting the layers with 3-d foam and created the end “flags” using pieces from the Element Stickers. I love the way these little pumpkins look on top of one another!

I raided my plain chipboard stash for these little additional decorations but you could make them yourself very easily using a manual or electronic die-cutting machine OR often I search online for outline drawings, print them onto patterned paper and cut them out. I painted the raw edges of the chipboard black before covering them with scraps of paper and once again, cut around the edges with a super sharp knife. The Owls are from Scrapware and the crow was from an old pack of Scenic Route birds.

The owl eyes were made using 2 different sized hole punches. Adhere your scrap of paper to double-sided adhesive paper and punch your smaller hole. Then – simply punch a larger hole around that and you have an eye. If you get them a bit off centre by accident – it just means you can give your creatures a more fun expression!

I have one more Halloween post to share tomorrow. Please post a comment with any questions

Lowri :-)

I am linking up this project to these websites here. 

Back to School Mini & Gift Box Tutorial

Hi Everyone

I have the last of my Little Yellow Bicycle projects using the Head of the Class Collection to share today. I have had a wonderful time working with Little Yellow Bicycle and I couldn't have asked for a more positive and enjoyable experience for my first time working directly for a manufacturer.
I have two new ideas to share today.

Back to School Album

Here I have taken a simple generic chipboard album and covered each side of the pages with patterned paper from the collection. I glued the album page to the paper and then using a very sharp craft knife I cut around the edge. I have used a solvent glue as I find it does not warp the paper and clean up of any that spills around the edges is so easy. I then used a piece of very fine grit sandpaper to smooth the edge and add some definition.

I have then decorated each page using a variety of embellishments. I was so spoilt for choice here as there is such a wide selection to choose from!

With such a collection of embellishments these pages can come together really quickly. I have kept all the pages really simple to let the products shine through.

This cover has lots of dimension with embellishments layered on top of one another and I have to say that the Red Numbers paper print was probably my favourite in the collection.

Gift Box (with tutorial)

This box has been made using 2 whole sheets of 12x12 paper. I first saw this technique used last year to make paper drawers for an origami box and the box can be made to any size. I generally cut the paper for the base of the box to ½” smaller all round than the lid (for example - an 8”x8” lid has an 7.5”x7.5” base) You can see a tutorial I created last year below.

The flower on top was made using one of these wonderful Canvas Stickers seen below.

I simply removed the backing to the adhesive strip, made the strip non-sticky using some anti-static stamping powder, hand-sewed a running stitch along the straight edge and carefully gathered the flower together to form a circle. I then just added a couple of embellishments to the centre and Voila!- a perfect topper for a teacher’s gift! I have had this red twill tape for ages –it is from Moda Fabrics and I have never had a chance to use it before. I love to look at sewing shops for little pieces like this to brighten up my scrapbook projects.  

Please post a comment with any questions.

Lowri

I am linking up this project to these websites here. 

Halloween Party Ideas

Hi Everyone - I am sharing a couple of super simple ideas for Halloween drinks party decoration.

These ideas are adaptable to ANY holiday - and all your need is some patterned paper!

Custom Platters

Remember the coasters I made using the Echo Park "For the Record" Collection? I found heaps of different color and sized tiles in the hardware store - I think the most expensive was $1.79. These make great platters - you could probably make half a dozen for less than $10! Not sure if they would be food safe - but they are great as display tiles and for wrapped items!

Glass Toppers

Hand cut, punch or die-cut a shape and then, using a small circular object as a template - cut a semi-circle shape with a knife. Decorate and stick atop your festive glass! 

Straw Toppers

Hand cut, punch or die-cut some symmetrical shapes (they must be symmetrical). Fold in half and glue back to back in a circle as shown. I have used six per topper but you might need to experiment to see how many works best with your shape.

I have a few more Halloween projects to share over the next week - in case you missed my earlier ones - I have links to them below :-)

Halloween Card (with template)

Halloween Treats (with tutorial)

Batty Bark Treats

Sweets and Sticker Treats

Please post a comment with any questions.

Lowri :-)

I am linking up this project to these websites here.

 

Batty Treat Bags w/ Echo Park

Hi Everyone

A couple more ideas to share today from my first post as Echo Park's Fresh Face Designer.

Halloween Bark Treat Bags

These bags were so easy to put together. First though - I made the Halloween Bark (see how I did it on my blog here!) 

After packaging it into some cello bags I added these bag toppers. 

Using some fabulous Spellbinders dies I cut a large bat from a folded sheet of patterned paper (making sure to leave some room inside the die for a hinged top) and then mounted a smaller bat on top.

A pair of mini googly eyes makes these great treats for kids too!

Halloween Candy Jars

Another super simple idea using the digital collection – but again – one that is very easily adapted using the paper and stickers. I find party décor is often about instant visual impact and little bits and pieces like these really help to pull a theme together.

Using the digital elements I created these little jar labels and tags. I have printed them onto photo paper as I find the definition for smaller items is much better than printing onto cardstock.

Nobody celebrates Halloween here in New Zealand so I had to resort to making my own spooky colored candy. Check out exactly how I did it here!

Next week - Halloween Decor ideas! 

Please post a comment with any questions. 

Lowri :-)

I am linking up this project to these websites here.

Halloween Treats with Echo Park

Hi Everyone

Another Halloween project to share today using the Echo Park Apothecary Collection. This time I have used the Digital Collection available here from jessicasprague.com.

Sour Cream Containers

I LOVE these! They might actually be my most favorite project I have created this year so far! Using the Apothecary Digital Collection I created a template for these – BUT I have made heaps of these with just regular patterned paper. 

I have a tutorial showing exactly how to put them together below and you won’t believe how simple they are! 

You can make 12 from a single piece of 12x12 paper making these a really economical project for any season.

More projects to come in the next couple of days - more edible treats too!

Post a comment with any questions

Lowri :-)

I am linking up this project to these websites here.