June Guest Designer

Christine here again.  I was so excited to show the birdhouse project on my first Guest Designer Post that I forgot to introduce myself!  My name is Christine Slak and I've been a lifelong crafter.  I've dabbled in a little bit of everything in the craft world but paper crafting and quilting are my two favorites.

I live in Muskego, Wisconsin with my husband of almost 14 years, Robert, and a handful of fur and feathered kids.  We also have a second home in Northern Wisconsin where we hope to retire to in the next several years.  I love to teach and I'm currently and instructor at The Scrapbook Store and Stamp This, Scrap That.  My favorite thing to do is upcycle thrift store items and you'll frequently find pieces of vintage jewelry and watch parts on my creations.

Fours years ago I was involved in a motorcycle accident that left me unable to walk for almost 3 years.  Scrapbooking is what got me through that life challenge since it was one of the things I was still able to do.  I've now been able to retire and I can craft almost full-time.

Today's post is a bit of a bonus.  I will be showing 2 projects I was able to make from one 6 x 6 pad of the Stowaway Paper Line.

Every year I am challenged in the months of May and June.  Mother's Day and my father's birthday happen in May and then Father's Day and my mother's birthday fall in June.  My folks are now in their 80's and have everything they need so I am always searching for new and different gift ideas that would be meaningful for them.  This year will be the 54th and last summer they will be able to spend camping.  I've put together a Memory Box and Mini Album where they and friends can record special moments from the last 50+ years.

For my Dad, I covered a Cigar Box with the Quick Quotes Stowaway papers from the 6 x 6 pad and embellished it with metal corners, ribbon flowers and Want 2 Scrap rhinestones.  All papers were inked with Mocha Mama Chalking Ink before being attached.

The inside of the box is also covered with the Stowaway papers and the coordinating Chipboard Die Cuts.

I filled the box with Manila tags where notes, stories and photos can be added.



 

Each of the 12 tags was decorated using ribbon, the Chipboard Die Cuts and/or cut outs from the 6 x 6 pad.  I was amazed how much product I still had left when I finished the box that I decided to make a coordinating mini album to give to my Mom.

I pulled out a 4 x 4 chipboard album from my stash and went to work decorating the little book.  I used a lot of the same type elements that I used on the Memory Box, ribbon flowers, metal embellishments and Want 2 Scrap rhinestones.  On both items, I used Glossy Accents to give the titles an epoxy like finish.

To keep the chunky album closed, I tied some sueded trim through a key embellishment, attached the knotted loop to the back of the album with a staple and added a set of Velcro dots to the cover and back of key for easy opening.

This album had a lot of pages, 16 to be exact, so I had to do some calculated cutting to make sure I had enough paper to finish the project.  Each 4 x 4 pages has a piece of 3 x 4 main paper then a 1 x 4 strip added to the binding edge of the page.  This allowed me to cover multiple pages with one 6 x 6 piece of paper.  There were also so many cut outs and die cuts left that I was able to add phrases to every set of pages.

Amazingly, after completing both projects, I still had paper left!  So glad that the Quick Quotes 6 x 6 paper pads come with 36 sheets!

Until next week,

~Christine

Supplies Used:

• Stowaway 6 x 6 Paper Pad - Quick Quotes
• Stowaway Chipboard Die Cuts - Quick Quotes
• Powder Puff Chalking Ink in Mocha Mama - Quick Quotes

Other Supplies Used:

• Plain Jane Cigar Box - Cosmo Cricket
• Metal Box Corners - Momenta
• Ribbon Floral Trim - Mon Ami Gabby
• Rhinestones - Want 2 Scrap
• Ribbon - American Crafts
• Manila Tags, Glossy Accents - Ranger
• 4 x 4 Chipboard Album - Maya Road
• Metal Frame - Teresa Collins Blinagee
• Key - Tim Holtz Idea-ology
• Velcro Dots.