I am so loving this month’s mini kit. I’m a brown, earthy girl … so this kit is right up my alley. It’s the prefect kit for transitioning into fall and cooler weather!
Check out the adorable (seriously adorable) layouts Kelly Hansen created with this kit. Love ‘em.
To see more photos of Kelly’s layouts, check out our Gallery.
Name tags
By Grace Tolman
So the September kit is a school themed one and this month is usually when all our kiddos go back to school so why not make something for the kids to use RIGHT NOW with your leftovers from the kit.
I made name tags for my kids with my scraps. I still can’t believe that both of them are in school. Yippee, more time to scrap for me. *wink*
Anyways, because I was using scraps, I didn’t make this too complicated for me. I started with a cardstock and then adhered those cute small report card blocks from the Crate pattern paper. I also added more stickers. I knew this needed to be functional so I didn’t make it too bulky or chunky. Also I knew my kids would love it to be a little different from each other. They are in the stage right now where they want their own identities so when I rounded the corners on one, I left the other squared.
And then on the back, I added some decorative border edges and the Scenic Route lined paper where I added their names with letter stickers and room (because I did this ahead of time, I don’t know their room numbers yet) and also a letter or number of their grade.
I wanted to somewhat waterproof it and I didn’t have my laminating roll in hand so I went the cheapy way and added some strips of tape. I know that looks bad but you can go with the “right” way. *wink*
Finished it off with a tie, in this case baker’s twine and viola- something to use up the hodge podge of products left from the kit and at the same time making something functional for the kids.
Tips and techniques
Katie here! This time around, I thought I’d do something a little different: offer up some tips and techniques on how to create your own embellishments using the various materials found in the kit (I’m using the July 2010 Main Kit, but you can use whatever you have around your craft space)!
I like to mix things up and try to challenge myself to use products in a new way and not just straight out of the bag/off the sheet. I realized that while I described the process before, I never really offered up any tutorials, so I’m here to change that today! I’ve created four different tutorials to inspire you to use the goodies in your kit in new ways. Let’s get started!
custom metal charm:
grab your metal charm and the blue flower rub-on from the glitz design kismet collection sheet.
decide how you want to place the petals on your charm; i decided to use two petals and face them away from each other.
cut out the petals and center of the flower (if you want to) and rub it all on! i rubbed on in layers, so i burnished the petals down first, then the brown center, and finally a couple of the red bits on either side of the center. i also covered the charm in a couple coats of mod podge to seal everything in. all done!
textured flower:
cut out the red flower from the glitz design kismet collection sheet and place it on the moxxie joy of baking collection pinch of this paper with the circle side up. rub it on.
trim the paper around the flower (this doesn’t have to be perfect!) and, from corrugated cardboard, cut out a circle slightly larger than the outside of the flower you just cut out. tear one of the top layers of paper off the cardboard circle, the messier the better!
layer the elements, beginning with the corrugated circle on the bottom, the flower in the middle, and a brad from the kit to top it all off. the crop-a-dile is great for punching a circle through the flower and cardboard if you’d prefer to do that before fastening it all together with the brad. voila!
collage cards:
take the my mind’s eye life stories collection journaling card and use it as a guide to trace two more cards on the large vintage card also found in the kit; i traced over the lower right and upper left corners of the vintage card so that i’d get the vintage logo and “notes” sentiments on my new cards. cut the cards out.
cut out the bee from the glitz design kismet collection sheet and then cut it in half; place on one card as shown in the picture.
i printed out a very small picture to use on my card, but you could use a piece of patterned paper or keep the area blank to fill with alpha stickers later if you’d like. grab the measuring tape ribbon and pleat it, using the left edge of the card as a guide to help you decide how long the ribbon needs to be/how much of the edge it should cover.
stitch the ribbon on: grab your sheet of glitz design vintage journaling cardstock stickers and cut out the bracket journaling spot with the vintage music sheet motif; i had already used the interior of the journaling spot, so mine was cut out, but you can just cut around the edges of the sticker if you’d prefer. snip a long side of the sticker to use as a border on the top of your card — you’ll need to piece together some of the parts of the sticker to make it seem longer than it really is. see the picture for help!
cut out part of the leaf motif from the glitz design kismet collection floral patterned paper.
quickly cut a strip from the moxxie joy of baking collection pinch of this paper and trim it into random bits; it definitely should not be perfect! layer the bits along the bottom edge of the card and adhere with a light adhesive, then adhere the leaf motif you cut out in the previous step on top of it, just like in the photo.
stitch over the moxxie paper border you created. finished with card one. 
for card two, grab the textured flower you created in the last tutorial, as well as another strip of the moxxie paper; this time, keep the strip as is and pleat it.
cut out a couple more motifs from the glitz design paper — i chose another branch with leaves and a couple flowers. layer everything just the way you want it (or use my picture as a guide) and adhere down. again, i used another small photo, but you don’t have to! the space is yours to do whatever you want with.
stitch over the pleats and add a couple more snippets from the glitz design journaling spot with the music sheet design as border accents. now you’ve completed the collage cards!
flower brad:
select a brad from your own stash. i used my i-top to make a medium sized brad which i covered with the glitz design paper, but it’s not necessary as the brad will be covered up. make sure the brad has a bit of an edge, though; if it’s too thin, the next couple of steps won’t work. also, cut out three leaves from the same paper. i chose to use the blue side for this.
adhere the leaves onto the edge of the brad as shown.
use craft bond or pvc glue to circle the edge of the brad and then tie jute cord around it — the glue will help keep it in place as you work. make sure you’re wrapping the cord over the edges of the leaves; this will hold them in place so they won’t break off. once dry, curl the leaves downward.
cut and distress a very thin strip of the glitz design paper. my strip was about 1 cm x 6 inches — tiny! — and use a ruler or straight edge and bone folder to help you find the middle of the strip and score it.
fold the strip in half. i folded it so that the blue will be what shows when my flower is finished.
crush and twist the strip of paper until it resembles something like in the photo — again, it won’t be perfect, but that’s part of the process and beauty of the completed product!
using more liquid glue, slather the center of the brad and begin to twist the distressed strip into it, working from the outside in and in a vaguely circular motion. make sure you press down hard enough for the glue to hold. once you reach the end of your strip, fold it into the middle of the flower. the end!
i hope you enjoyed these tutorials. please let me and the rest of the crazy daisy team know if you create anything based on the techniques i just shared with you — we’d love to see what you come up with!
Thanks,
Katie
I feel like the White Rabbit from “Alice in Wonderland.” I’m running around in my life screaming, “I’m late. I’m late. I’m late for a very important date!”
I’d like to think I’m only late with a few things, like umm, Crazy Daisy stuff. But really, I’m just a big hot mess of lateness.
However, I see some goodness in my future. A little time to catch up. And I’ll start with the September kits.
Here they are, and let me tell you … they are fabulous! I love ‘em.
September Main 2010:
September Mini 2010:
If you haven’t subscribed yet, go here to get your kit. And if you’d like to add the mini kit to your order, just send us an email.
I haven’t met a mini book I didn’t love. I love mini books. I love the size. I love the feeling of accomplishment I get when I finish one. I love giving them as presents. In short, I love them.
This mini book, from Amber Zimmerman, is no exception. She took all the goodies from the August 2010 Main Kit and made the most adorable mini book ever. It’s so simple, but so sweet. Love it. Check it out:
To see more photos from Amber’s mini book, visit our Gallery.
The August Kits should have arrived to you by now and it’s time to get busy! Need some ideas on how to use your kit? Well, here’s a look at some layouts created by our design team.
First up? A little inspiration thanks to Miss Mara:
Now, here are some goodies from Katie Turner. I love, love Katie’s quirky style.
Check out more layouts from our design team the August Kits in our Gallery.
Making your own stencils or masks
By Kelly Hansen
I’ve always been one to try different techniques on my pages to make them interesting. One of the things I like using is scrapbooking mask by Tim Holtz,and Heidi Swapp. Unfortunately, some people are afraid to try them because they can be expensive.
This month I got creative. Using my Cricut machine (picture above) I cut my very own custom stencil. I cut out the days of the week just the way I wanted them displayed on my layout.
Using the negative space of the stencil, I taped down all 4 sides so It wouldn’t slide around when using my paint. I also glued down the negative space of the letters. Using the paint (you can also use glimmer mist, inks) I painted (picture above) over the days of the week.
This is what the finished product looks like (picture above). Making your own stencil/mask allows you to be creative in so many ways. This was a great way to accent my title without having to use big letters from a alphabet set. Here’s the finished layout:
Finally! The August Kits are up. I have been having major computer issues. One laptop died. And the replacement had to be configured, loaded with all the programs I use … yada yada.
So, I’m typing on my new laptop that is finally working exactly the way I like it. it’s amazing how attached you can get to a particular computer after you’ve worked on it for a time. All my icons are in a certain place. Documents stored where I can find them. Links and bookmarks easy to access. I have tried to recreate my old machine and I have to say I’m SO grateful I have been backing up all of my files and have them living on external hard drives. What a relief when my old machine just started locking up, over heating and crashing. But backing up your files (photos, layouts, digi elements, etc) is a whole different topic and worthy of blog post all its own.
Anyway. Here are the August Kits. They are adorable if I do say so myself. And the Main and Mini are totally different, so you need them both!
August 2010 Main Kit
August 2010 Mini Kit
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Special offer: For the month of August all subscribers get a free grab bag, so if you haven’t joined our club yet, now is the time to do it.
Get in on the flower frenzy
By Kelly Hansen
Have you noticed the trend of flowers on projects lately? I have, and I’m loving it. When it comes to embellishments I’m always looking for something different, cute, and easy to make. Take a look at this layout made with handmade tissue paper flowers I made. It was so quick and easy!
This is what you’ll need:
- 3 to 4 sheets of white or color tissue paper
- pencil
- scissors
Step 1:
With all sheets together in a stack, free hand the shape and size you would like (photo below). I made 3 different sizes for more dimension.
Step 2: Holding all sheets in hand, cut out your flowers (photo below).
Now that I have a baby boy of my own, I’m finding that I’m leaving the pinks behind.
And even with my daughter, I might have gone a little overboard these last 6 years with the pink. Layouts featuring my daughter could use a little diversity … maybe a red or blue … or even some brown!
Why do I ramble about this? I wanted to tell you all little bit about the August Mini Kit and why I love it. It’s all boy. But for my dirt loving, tree climbing daughter … it will work as well.
So take a peek … here’s a little looksy at the August Mini Kit from Crazy Daisy.
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