Helpful Tips From The Kraft Journal

Every Wednesday at The Kraft Journal, we have a special feature called "Watch Us Wednesday", and we share lots of fun photos, inspiration and helpful tips.  This week, our Design Team Members have shared some helpful tips for crafting.   The tip I shared this week was one that I learned while I was on vacation this summer.  If you stop at your local liquor store and ask for their long, narrow bags (shown in the photo below), you can make the most adorable mini albums using them.  You will see that I scallop punched the edges of my bags.  They come in different lengths, and of course, they come with built-in pockets (my favorite feature - well, other than the fact that they're free).  They don't look like much here, do they?  But, they make the cutest mini albums.  Take a peek!

You simply fold the bags in half (mine aren't quite in half evenly....they have one side folded a bit longer than the other) and then you decorate them and bind them.  I used my Zutter machine to bind mine.

I used LOTS of sweet October Afternoon goodies along with several other embellishments including some from The Kraft Outlet.  I just kept adding on more and more until I was happy with how it looked.  The photo below uses an October Afternoon chipboard element (Special Today).

Another great tip that you can see quite a bit of here on this mini album, is that I run my journaling cards and stickers through the computer to print out the perfect sentiment or scripture.  This trick works great when you can't seem to find just the right words you're looking for in either a stamp or rub-on.

I used some wool felt from Prairie Point Junction to cut out this Papertrey Ink doily.  Their high-quality wool felt cuts through even those small holes just beautifully, and I recommend this wool felt to everyone.  It's just awesome!

I tucked tags into each of the pockets, and these can be used for journaling or placing photos and other memories.  You may notice that I did VERY LITTLE sewing on this project as my sewing machine is still not working properly.  Boo Hoo!

The shabby looking flower I used is one of my favorite new die-cuts.  It's from Die-Namics and it's called Loopy Flower Die.  I used a soft cream muslin to cut these flowers and I just love how they look on cards and projects.

I have so many different embellishments used on this mini album that it's hard to name them all; but if you see something you like and want to know about, just leave me a comment and I will get you the specific information.  The above photo shows my chipboard (blue) element from My Mind's Eye.

The silhouette children stamp is from Hero Arts (another favorite), and I also used a Freckled Fawn tag, and a Tim Holtz Adage Ticket (trust) from The Kraft Outlet to match the Bible verse.  I also used lots of trims, seam binding, flowers and several October Afternoon products.

 

Here's where I'm sharing this mini album:

 

Simon Says Stamp & Show Vintage Monday Challenges - Challenge:  Dotty - Pages 5 and 7 of my mini album have polka dot backgrounds, and lots of dots here and there - And...I just LOVE using products from Simon Says Stamp - and my most recent purchase from Simon Says Stamp that I used on this project is the Die-Namics Loopy Flower Die - LOVE IT!

 

Pile It On Challenge Blog - Challenge #34 - Designer Paper - I have used SO MANY different designer patterned papers on this mini album.   Lots of October Afternoon and a few others mixed in here and there, but LOTS of it - and I love how it looks.

 

Frosted Designs Challenge Blog - Chipboard - I used several pieces of chipboard on this mini album, and I always enjoy implementing chipboard elements into my projects!  I did point out my chipboard elements in the above page descriptions.

 

Top Tip Tuesday - Challenge #108 - Initials (my initials are K and L).  I've used Kaiser Craft products (for the K in Karen) and I've used my Laser Printer (for L in Letchworth) to print all my sentiments.  I shared TWO TOP TIPS in this project:  1.  Use wine bags or other long narrow bags from the liquor store to create mini albums (you can see the photos above and read details).  2.  I used my Laser Printer to create sentiments (which I also mentioned above).  When you don't have the right stamp or rub-on, you simply run a sticker or journaling card through the printer to make the perfect sentiment.  I print it once as a test (on regular paper), and then I tape on my journaling card or sticker in the exact spot where I want the sentiment to print.  I did A LOT of this on the mini album.  If anyone has further questions about this technique, feel free to contact me.  It's an awesome, and very helpful, idea.

 

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Challenge #86 - Anything Goes - One of my favorite categories!  And I LOVE Simon Says Stamp.

 

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek, and be sure to check out all the other helpful tips shared today by the other Design Team Members over at The Kraft Journal.

 

Blessings to you all,

Karen