Posts Tagged ‘DIY’

Nautical Themed Boxes

Wednesday, April 17th, 2013

Spring is finally here!  And you know what that means… it’s spring cleaning and organizing time.  You can ask anyone, I like things neat, clean and organized.  The recent beautiful weather has inspired me to start tidying around my tiny apartment.  Seeing as I don’t have  lot of space at home I need some practical storage options that are also easy on the eyes.  I had covered a pre-existing box I had in Katazome 165 on top and Moriki Kozo Natural White on the bottom to hide some of my craft supplies.  I wanted a couple more boxes to go with it in different papers.

katazome-shi box

I made two simple boxes with some leftover Eska Board I had and covered the bottoms with Moriki Kozo Natural White so they would match each other and covered the insides with washi tape.  I made one with a Nepalese paper on top and a divider in the middle to hold my washi tapes and some other goodies inside.

nepalese

The other I used a Cavallini world map paper for the top.  The box is for some of my tools and adhesives.  All materials are available instore.

Cavallini Map

All together they’re very nautical and perfect for hiding crafting clutter.

3 boxes

 

Jax

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Getting Ready to Grow with Seed Storage Packets

Sunday, April 7th, 2013

The end of March means, snow melting away, spring is on the way and it is time to start thinking about the garden!  The end of March also means my Dad’s birthday is upon me. Since he is an avid gardener I thought why not put together a little package of seeds that he can get started over the month of April in preparation to plant outside when the sun is shining?!  So that’s what I did!

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I wanted to make my store bought seeds special… I found the perfect paper at The Paper Place – Cavallini decorative paper covered in images of vintage seed packages and vegetables. It is a pretty durable paper, so I decided to make a couple of toggle envelopes that my Dad can reuse to store seeds and planting info.

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I just winged the pattern, folding the paper around and cutting a small flap to glue at the bottom and a large flap at the top to open. I used a circle punch to cut a couple of discs out of chipboard for the toggles, fastened them with brads and strung some waxed linen thread around them to close the package.  I made two – one for vegetable seeds and one for flower seeds, then labeled them so with a couple of manilla shipping tags, fabric washi tape and vintage style labels (also by Cavallini).

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With the left over paper, I cut out bits to collage a handmade birthday card, wishing him a happy day and successful growing season!

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My Dad thought they were great and is now ready to start plotting his 2013 garden!

“Planting is an experiment in growing” – Tom Marchand, My Dad

Everything I used for this project can be found in-store at The Paper Place (except the seeds of course)! Cavallini decorative paper, Cavallini vintage labels, waxed linen thread, card stock, circle paper punch, brads, A7 envelope, linen washi tape, Yamato glue stick, cutting tools and rubber letter stamps & stamp pads… and the beauty of working at The Paper Place and having a craft supply shopping addiction is that they can all be found at my house too! In my crafting drawer !

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Easy Silhouettes

Thursday, February 28th, 2013

I made some easy silhouettes of my boyfriend and I for our apartment.  I wanted something simple that wouldn’t contrast any of the other colours in our apartments decor.

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I got black oval frames that already had cut matting inside and painted a gold rim in the centre.

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I used Chiyogami for the background with a cut piece of Moriki Kozo for the faces.

Simple.  Easy.  Classic.

Jax

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Custom Cake Topper!

Thursday, February 21st, 2013

topper

This little couple will be sitting pretty atop of a yummy wedding cake!  With just a few bits, you can make a one-of-a-kind keepsake for your big day.  Just choose a few papers to match your wedding day wardrobes and get creative!  Add hairdos and distinguishing features like eye-glasses to make a mini version of  the bride and groom… you could even make one of your pets!  Wooden banner cut-outs make it easy to add some festive decoration.  You can embellish the wood flags with paper pieces to make a bunting in your party colours, a banner of a wedding day greeting or the names of the couple.  What a fun way to add to a special day!  Wooden shapes, papers, twine and glue are all available in store at The Paper Place!  Get crafty!

supplies

bunting

couple

 

 

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Indie Publishing, by Ellen Lupton

Saturday, February 9th, 2013

Bookbinding is a beautiful craft enjoyed by many. However, what if you not only want to make a book, but also to fill it with stuff? And then make a bunch of copies of that book?  And then get all of those copies into the hands of people who will read them?

indie publishing coverThat’s a whole other ball game, but today it’s no longer just the business of big publishing houses, anyone can do it themselves. If it seems like a daunting task, and you don’t even know where to begin, check out Indie Publishing: How to Design and Produce your Own Book.
 
Ellen Lupton, Graphic Designer, Curator, and Educator, has mastered the art of teaching the essentials of design and production. Indie Publishing is a simple and accessible book, with sections like “Publishing Basics,” “Design Basics,” and “Production Basics.” It doesn’t dazzle you with the intricacies of of fine bookbinding techniques, or the complexity of the book market. Rather, it gives you just enough of just the right information to make a book, to design it well, and to distribute it to your audience.
While there are some folks who have an unpublished novel or a poetry manuscript on their hard drives, this book is not just for them. It’s also for someone who may want to make some photo albums for family gifts, or to commemorate an event, to record their thoughts in a more hand on format than a blog, or even to make a business presentation more attractive. Graphic Design has a thoroughly zeitgeisty status these days, Ellen Lupton demystifies it and make it accessible to anyone.
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