Manilla Folder Mini Album plus a tutorial~ Meg's Garden

Hello everyone! I hope that you are well. Recently I have been interested in finding projects to create that are time effective. At work, I often hear that you need to 'work smart not hard' in terms of time management. We are all time poor, yet we always have to 'do more.' I found some mini albums on the internet that looked interesting and I am so excited to be able to share this one with you. This album is constructed with a manilla folder and I made and decorated the entire album in one evening!

This is the inside of the album. I modified the manilla folder to accommodate the mini papers from the French Garden Collection. As you can see, there are pockets filled with ephemera and cut aparts from the collection. There is also room to fit in photos and other personal items that you may wish to add.

I also decorated the back of the album. You could leave it plain or it provides another place to add photos.

This really is an easy album to construct. I have a video tutorial for you so that you too, can create your own. With just one manilla folder you can create a mini album in a relatively short amount of time. Once you see how easy it is, I'm sure you'll start making your own and adapting the dimensions to suit your purpose.

Meg's Garden Supplies

French Garden Mini Papers

Vintage Trinket butterfly

Other: Wild Orchid Craft frame, doily, Wild Orchid Crafts flowers, Distress ink vintage photo.

Thanks for stopping by!

Welcome Christmas ~ Maja Design

Hello everyone! Today I have another Christmas card to share with you. I really am committed to my self imposed target of creating enough Christmas cards for my family and friends. Two down and ....to go! (not sure how many but it always increases each year I am sure!) I am really loving the A Gift For You Collection from Maja Design. The rich tones remind me so much of Christmas!

Over the years, I have collected a number of stamps and I love have the opportunity to use them. This stamp set from Stampin;' Up! is a favourite of mine. I love the feeling it evokes...the excitement of decorating the Christmas tree.

I have used Petaloo flowers and clusters here. They coordinate beautifully with the rich tones of the Maja papers. I have also added some foliage using a Sullivans and Martha Stewart branch punch.

To complete my card I have added other vintage elements such as lace, seam binding and a vintage button...things from my stash.

Maja Design Papers



 I wish you well in your efforts to create your Christmas cards. Perhaps you can share some advice or even upload your creations onto the Maja Design Facebook page.

Thanks for stopping by!

Wishes For Christmas ~ Maja Design~

Hello everyone! I can't believe how quickly the time is passing. Today I am sharing my first Christmas card of the year and I know that it is just around the corner. Being a card maker, I never seem to have enough handmade Christmas cards for my family and friends made within a reasonable time frame, so this year I am determined to have enough made!

I love the trimmings and decorations of the Christmas season and one thing I especially love are vintage Christmas cards. I absolutely love all of the vintage images that are in the die cut sheet of the Vintage Frost Basics. I layered this image with Spellbinders Timeless rectangles, then layered it on top of 10th December and tucked in Tim Holtz on the edge Distressed doily die. Everything was distressed with Vintage Photo distress ink.

To create some vintage touches, I used lace and seam binding. I used a variety of flowers from Green Tara that had muted tones, that compliment the papers.

The Vintage Frost Basics Collection has so many beautiful papers and die cuts to work with. I especially love the blue tones (there is pink in this collection as well!) I look forward in creating many more cards for my family using these papers.

Maja Design Papers used:



 Base: 2nd December, Layer 10th December, Christmas Diecuts

Dies: Tim Holtz on the edge Distressed Doily, Magnolia Rose Leaf, Spellbinders 2013 Snowflake Pendant and Timeless Rectangles

Ink: Distress Ink Vintage Photo

Flowers: Green Tara Azaleas Blue and Roses

Other: Kaisercraft Pearls Snow, Hug Snug Seam Binding Tile Blue, Lace,

Thanks for stopping  by!

Today We Celebrate You ~ Maja Design

Hello everyone! It's Spring in Australia and I'm enjoying my school holidays. It's amazing how some time off work can really do wonders for the mind and body! I've been busy around the house and in my garden...weeding..cleaning..resting in between. I love gardens and flowers and my card is inspired by the beautiful flowers that I long to see in the spring.

I love shaped cards and sometimes struggle to get the folds to match up correctly. I recently purchased a Spellbinders pop up die set which includes a die to create a centre step card. It is so easy! To decorate the card, I have used papers from the Summer Crush Collection. I used the First Date and He Gives Her Flowers.

To embellish my card, I used this adorable resin from Prima. I also used some scraps to die cut butterflies to add to the side panels of the card. Everything was inked with Vintage Photo Distress ink.

The focal image is a stamp set from JustRite Stampers. I used Distress inks and a Dove blender pen to colour it in. The image was stamped onto watercolour paper. To age it, I inked the edge with vintage photo.

To finish my card, I used a variety of flowers and die cut leaves as well as teardrop spray.

Supplies:



Maja Design:






Stamps: JustRite Botanical Medallians and Banners

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Stazon Jet Black, Distress Vintage Photo, Peeled Paint, Bundled Sage, Worn Lipstick, Spun Sugar, Scattered Straw

Flowers: Green Tara, Wild Orchid Crafts, Petaloo Mini Mix Tea Stained Pink

Dies: JustRite Label and Banner Dies, Spellbinders Classic Ovals Small, Elegant Ovals, Pop Ups Decorated Birthday, La La Land Open Leaf Flourish, Memory Box Botanical Stem, Cascadia Butterfly Trio, Leavenworth Butterfly Trio

Other: Dove Blender Pen, Sullivans Border Punch, Hemp, Prima Resin, Vivaldi Teardrop Spray, Prima Watercolour Paper


I hope that you'll give this type of card a try!

Hugs,

English Rose Garden ~ Meg's Garden

Hello everyone! Today I am sharing two cards that I have made using papers from the English Rose Garden Collection from Meg's Garden. I was really drawn to the ephemera in this collection and used it in the card above.

I used some roses from stash that complimented the rose in the ephemera. I also used some chipboard from my stash as well, which I kept raw as it worked well with the papers.

To create the vintage look, I used my distressing tool and I also tore some of the papers gently in areas. I also applied Walnut Stain Distress ink to all of my edges as well.

My second card has quite a few die cuts. I used Spellbinders A2 devine eleoquence set and stamped my sentiment onto it. I also used some lace from my stash.

I really liked this sentiment and the elegance of the frame. I applied foam tape to them to add extra dimension.

Meg's Garden Supplies

English Rose Garden Collection 

My Stash : Magnolia rose leaf, Spellbinders A2 devine eleoquence, Labels twenty eight, Couture Creations Edith and Baby, Kakisercraft Clear Stamp Violet Crush, Martha Stewart Rose Punch, Wild Orchid Crafts Flowers and Cut Outs.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Matchbook Mini Album

Hello everyone! I do love mini albums and I have to be in the mood to create one as they are time intensive but extremely rewarding at the end. The mini album I have to share with you is a project that you can complete in a few hours! The other amazing thing about this project is it only uses ONE sheet of paper. To create this album, I followed a tutorial by Kathy Orta which you can see here.

The album uses ONE 81/2" by 11" piece of cardstock for the base. I decorated it using papers from the Ska vi ta en fika Collection. As you can see, there are pockets to insert tags and places for photos and journaling.

To complete my album, I have printed my photos using a sepia filter. They each measure 5cm square. To embellish, I have used flat flowers, stamping and also punches and dies to personalise my album.

To create the curved edge to the front cover of my album, I used a Spellbinder curved border die. I also used any vintage stamp in my stash that would compliment the photos. I had mini themes for each photo where possible.

As the album is quite compact, it is amazing how you can make your embellishments work for you because of the scale of the project. I have used some Stampin' Up! Tag punches and they fit perfectly in the pockets. Extra stamping on them on left over papers makes beautiful embellishments quickly and easily.

I decided to add photos to the back of some of the flaps, so in this compact album, I used five photos in total! I also used Green Tara flowers to embellish my photos as they are relatively flat and perfect in terms of their size.

Once decorated, I have just used ribbon as my closure, nothing complicated.

This really is a great project to make as a stand alone, but it could also be used as an insert for a mini album project if you made a  pocket to accommodate. I hope that you'll give it a try!

Maja Design Products Used:






Thanks for stopping by!

Remember When ~ Maja Design Moodboard ~

Hello everyone! Today I have a layout to share with you. Each month, Maja Design has an moodboard to inspire you to create a project that is related to a theme.

And here’s a little reminder of what our mood boards are used for…
Definition mood board – n
a board used by designers on which samples of various colours and textures are mounted to help in deciding which elements complement each other
We are using mood boards for our challenges. We truly believe in creativity and art at Maja Design. You are free to interpret the mood boards in any way you’d like. They are supposed to set you in an inspirational mood without too much controlling. We would like you to be inspired by the poems, words and photos. They are not given rules, they are just there as inspiration. They are all inspired by a Maja collection, but you are free to use any Maja papers you’d like as long as they follow the colour scheme. We highly encourage you to follow the theme of the mood board as well.

Here is the September Moodboard 

I chose to use a photo from a trip I went on a few years ago to Thailand and Singapore. I am pictured at the top of the Marina Sands Hotel (I am terrified of heights...this was as close to the edge as I was going!) It was an amazing trip. I had to battle my fears quite a lot....you only live once! This trip was in the Christmas holidays right before school resumed (I am a teacher) so I needed to make the most of every momenet.

Here are some close ups..

Maja Design Papers















Dockside In Bloom
The Sunny Side

Other: Kaisercraft rhinestones Ice blue and orange, doily, lace, Tim Holtz tag collection Framelits, Kaisercolour mango and orange, Kaisercraft 12x12 Damask Stencil

Ink: Prima English Ivy and Garden Grass, Distress Ink Dried Marigold, LSG Fuzzy Navel Peach, Distress Spray Stain Faded Jeans

Chipboard: 2 Craft Assorted Words and Frame, RW Laser Cuts Rasberry Whirl 7

Flowers: Petaloo Botanica Blooms Grey Blue and Peach

Stamp: Stampin' Up! Fifth Avenue Floral, BoBunny It is Written

Thanks for stopping by!