The One with the Wooden Circles Necklace Tutorial

Friday, May 9, 2014

Here's a li'l step-by-step tutorial with an idea of what to do with the wooden circles found in the HELLO HELLO scrapbook kit by Studio Calico:

Make a necklace!

First, gather your supplies: the five wooden circles from the HELLO HELLO scrapbook kit by Studio Calico, scissors, twine, Mr. Huey's watercolors, and a hot glue gun.

Paint the wooden circles with a wash or watercolors.

I chose a rainbow of colors: orange, blue, yellow, green, and pink!

Let the circles dry.

Cut two pieces of twine then hot glue the circles to them. I used two pieces so the wooden circles don't flip around.

Knot around your neck and show off your fabulous creation!

Simple, fun, and done!

The One with Our 7th Anniversary!

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Today we are celebrating 7 years of wedded bliss! I can't believe it's already been 7 YEARS! Best 7 years of my life :)

Who would have thunk we'd be spending our 7th anniversary on an island in Croatia, hanging out with our two kids, having a blast? Not me! But I'll take it!

Love you Christopher! I'm looking forward to spending eternity with you!

The One with The Sound of Music

Monday, May 5, 2014

True story - when I was young I watched The Sound of Music and I thought it was boooooooring. Sure, the songs were catchy, but I just didn't "get it". I thought it was long and didn't understand anything.

Fast forward to when I'm in my late 20s and now it's one of my FAVORITE movies! It's a love story! One of the best! I love the music! I love the chemistry between Fräulein Maria and Captain Von Trapp! I love the setting! I love the fashion! I love the story! I love the history! I love it I love it I love it!

One of my favorite lines: "My children have been running around the streets of Salzburg wearing DRAPES?!"

Basically, I am so super excited to go to Salzburg in a couple weeks and go on the Sound of Music Tour. You can bet your bottom dollar I'll be singing at the top of my lungs on the top of a mountain!

The One with the 2Peas NSD Signature Style Layout

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Continuing with National Scrapbook Day festivities!

What's your signature style? I made a layout that I wanted to be "me!" to the nines! It's quilt-inspired, using lots of color and patterned papers, punches, stitching, drops of spray mist, and a self-made die cut title - all of my favorite techniques bundled into one layout!

SWEET JANE by Paige Evans

Journaling says: Just 6 days old and you've already captured our hearts and it feels like you've been with us forever! Love you!

How to: Punch triangles and squares from the Lemon Lush patterned papers by Studio Calico. Trim the squares into triangles. Cut a 12x12 piece of patterned paper into 16 three-inch squares. Glue a small triangle in each corner of each paper square and arrange four large triangles on the center based on a quilt design. Sew an "x" across each square then adhere them to a white cardstock layout base. Layer a sheet of rub ons, photo, die cuts, paper clip, doily, chipboard heart, fabric tags, wood veneer butterfly, and sequins on the bottom right side. Design and die cut a name then cut it from white cardstock; adhere it and Thickers that have been misted above the photo. Journal on a tag and tuck it under the photo then stamp the date above. Drop spray mist around the layout.

Supplies: Cardstock, date stamp, stapler, pen, ink, adhesive, punches: American Crafts; Patterned paper, sequins, paperclip, die cuts, rub ons, doily, fabric tags, wood veneer butterfly, Thickers, chipboard heart, spray mist: Studio Calico; Sewing machine: Brother; Thread: Coats & Clark; Die cut machine: Silhouette Cameo by QuicKutz

Well that was fun to make :)

The One with the American Crafts National Scrapbook Day 2014 Blog Hop!

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Hello, bienvenue, and willkommen to the American Crafts National Scrapbook Day 2014 Blog Hop! I hope you'll be inspired to craft as you make your way through the 16 blogs of the design team members and participate in each of the challenges!

MY CHALLENGE: Use flowers on your project - simple as that! I'm hoping all these April showers we're getting lately will bring May flowers so I'm trying to nudge the weather along and use flowers as much as I can :)

NO WAY JOSE by Paige Evans

Journaling says: Little miss Jane seemed to think this box of goods was hers!

How to: Paint a diagonal rainbow using watercolors on a white cardstock background. Once it's dry, sew lines across the paint. Punch petals from all the papers in the Plus One by Amy Tangerine collection. Layer two of each kind of petal together, sew down each pair, then arrange them into flowers with a fabric brad or puffy sticker in the center. Paint a chevron stamp white then stamp it twice on the center of the layout. Apply a scalloped border rub on to the bottom stamp. Layer an embellished tag and photo over the stamping. Add alphabet stickers and a puffy sticker to the photo. Journal on a journaling tag die cut, stamp the date below, and tuck it under the right side of the photo. Add another puffy sticker and a wood veneer card above the photo. Adhere the homemade flowers in clusters around the layout.

Supplies: Cardstock, patterned paper, fabric brads, puffy stickers, alphabet stickers, embellished tag, wood veneer card, scalloped border rub on, chevron stamp, journaling card die cut, roller date stamp, adhesive, pen: American Crafts; Petals punch: Fiskars; Sewing machine: Brother; Thread: Coats & Clark; Watercolors: Prang; Paint: Americana; India ink: Artworks

What's a hop without a giveaway??? Leave a comment on this post by Saturday May 10th 2014 and I'll randomly select a winner to receive these fun goodies from the brand new #summer line:

Here is the full hop list in case you get a little lost, or want to open up every blog in a new window right now. Make sure you go through the entire hop, leave a comment on each blog, then visit the American Crafts blog to win an extra super ginormous prize!

***Paige Evans***

Next on the hop is Allison Waken!

Happy National Scrapbooking Day from the American Crafts Design Team!

The One with Courtney's Wedding Book

Friday, May 2, 2014

I love making special projects for special friends, like my junior high/high school gal pal Courtney! She's getting married next month (woooohoooo!) and asked if I'd make her wedding sign-in book. It would be my pleasure!

Her colors are mint and coral with touches of burlap and chalkboard accents. My dad made me 6 pairs of wood covers (my favorite!) and I debated painting the covers, one mint and one coral, but left them au-natural to go with the "burlap/nature" part of the theme.

I sewed the book together with DMC floss starting with mint and halfway through I switched to coral.

This is called a copic binding - my favorite kind of sewing technique and the design possibilities are endless!

I've made dozens of books over the years and have yet to make two books exactly the same because there are always new patterns of holes to drill, colors of thread, papers to feature, etc.

I rummaged through my scrap stash and found patterned papers and cardstock in mint and coral - popular colors right now so it was a cinch to gather enough papers to make 10 signatures - or groups of papers.

From start to finish this book only took one kids' nap length - about 2 hours! I'm finally getting this type of book down pat!

The finished book is 5 x 7" - the perfect size for photos!

They're planning to put Polaroids of all the guests inside.

All the inside pages fanned out.

Details of the sewing and papers.

The book lays flat now, but once the photos are inside it'll be nice and thick and fun to flip through!

I didn't sew pearls or jewels or anything into the spine like I've been doing recently, I think this matches their "style" more with the clean cut look.

I had to be careful when selecting the papers not choose too many pink or blue pastels and ended up pulling a few papers out of my chosen stack because it was looking a little "baby", but I went with more aquas and orangey pinks to get more of the look they want.

The bottom right corner.

I couldn't narrow any more down so here's a collage of some more detail shots :)

Love the colors of their wedding and had so much fun making this guest book!

Congrats on your upcoming wedding Courtney! Wish I could be there to help you celebrate!

PS - I'm doing a trial run of custom-made books in MY ETSY SHOP if you're interested in getting a book made just for you!

The One with May is Awesome!

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Happy May!

The best month of the year!

Why, you ask?

The reasons are threefold:

Just sayin' :)

The One with April 2014 American Crafts Layouts

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Sorry I skipped a month! Between teaching my STITCHED class at Studio Calico, teaching a class to 80 wonderful German scrappers, my parents coming to visit for 10 days, guest designing for Shimelle and Bella Blvd, so on and so forth, I just had to let something go to survive. But, things are calming down again, and I'm so happy to have my two monthly American Crafts layouts completed for the month and ready to share :)

1ST DAY OF PRIMARY by Paige Evans

Journaling says: I was so nervous that Fox wouldn't like Primary because he looooved Nursery, or rather, playing with the toys. But he actually seemed to enjoy it, especially being sung to and participating. I'm lucky that I get to sit in the row behind him and watch him learn songs and make friends and... discipline him now and again. He is such a handsome guy with his church clothes and cute toddler ties! Love him!

How to: Die cut a starburst from white cardstock and back each section with paper from the Boys Rule collection by Crate Paper; adhere to a teal cardstock card base. Layer journaling cards, frames, photos, wood veneer shapes, vellum die cuts, a tag, and more on the center. Stitch Thickers and alphabet stickers above and below the photos to create the title. Adhere star embellishments on the top left and bottom right corners then drop blue spray mist over them. Journal around the starburst to finish.

Supplies: Cardstock, roller date stamp, pen, adhesive: American Crafts; Patterned paper, Thickers, stickers, chipboard, frames, die cuts, star sequins, wood veneer shapes: Crate Paper; Spray mist: Studio Calico; Die cut machine: Silhouette Cameo by QuicKutz; Sewing machine: Brother; Thread: Coats & Clark
*************************************************************

SZÉCHENY BATHS by Paige Evans

Journaling says: Pretty sure this is one of the coolest places we've ever been! We didn't have swimsuits so we just let the kids go in the nude, ha!

How to: Punch starbursts from the #summer papers by American Crafts then trim each circle in half. Arrange the half circles in a quilt-inspired pattern down the left half of a blue cardstock layout base. Layer photo overlays, journaling spots, and photos down the right edge. I drew "Baths" in Adobe Illustrator with the pencil tool then die cut it from white cardstock; adhere it along with Thickers to create the title. Staple and stitch over the title and place a journaled sticker below. Scatter embellishments like badges, corkboard shapes, die cuts, wood veneer shapes, and more, around the layout to keep things interesting! Stamp the date on the bottom right corner and drop spray mist around the layout, like always :)

Supplies: Cardstock, patterned paper, Thickers, corkboard, wood veneer, photo overlays, badges, stickers, die cuts, roller date stamp, pen, adhesive: American Crafts; Spray mist: Studio Calico; Die cut machine: Silhouette Cameo by QuicKutz; Sewing machine: Brother; Thread: Coats & Clark; Staples: Tiny Attacher by Tim Holtz; Starburst punch: Martha Stewart Crafts

The One with Jane in her Neon Pink Spring Dress

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

This little girl looked so sweet in her neon pink spring dress. And she even let me put a headband in her hair for the first time in almost a year! So, lots of picture taking commenced.

Oh darling Jane.

The One with the 2Peas Anything Goes Layout & Video

Monday, April 28, 2014

I have a layout and accompanying "how to" video up at twopeasinabucket.com today! The theme is "anything goes!" meaning I got to do whatever I wanted, no moodboard, no direction, just whatever floated my boat!

ADORABLE by Paige Evans

Description: I've been meaning to use the metal bow die from the Styleboard by Maggie Holmes/Crate paper for eons now and finally got a chance to play with it! And can I just say, I'm hooked! I made 22 bows and wanted to keep making them - they're just sooooo cute and easy to make! And think of the possibilities - you could make actual hairpin bows, a necklace, bookmark, placecard, party decorations... anything! I based my entire layout around the bows and pulled the photo and embellishments after I decided the placement of the bows.

Journaling says: I just love taking pictures of you - all day, every day because you are so gosh darn adorable Jane!

How to: Die cut 22 bows using the 6x6 Styleboard patterned paper pad, arrange the 3 pieces of the bows into piles, then assemble the bows using different patterns for an eclectic look. Sew down the middle of each bow using white thread and a straight stitch to keep them together. White wash the middle of a mint striped paper layout base. Drop white paint across the layout and let it dry (I didn't cuz I was trying to film the entire layout during Jane's nap, but if I had more time I would have let it dry completely cuz it got a little messy :) Adhere a photo to the center then layer the bows all around. Tuck die cuts and chipboard accents under and around the bows and sprinkle butterfly sequins on top. Add a chipboard sticker word title below the photo. Use a marker to color a roller date stamp and stamp it under the bottom right bow. Place washi tape across the top and bottom edges. Trim the edge of a journaling card, tuck it into the bottom piece of washi tape, then journal on top.

Video: Here is the video so you can see how this layout was made from start to finish:
http://youtu.be/mFvxEF4DdV4
Supplies: Patterned paper, badge, washi tape, die cuts, butterfly sequins, chipboard, metal bow die: Crate Paper; Paint: Americana; Roller date stamp: October Afternoon; Pen: Zig; Sewing machine: Brother; Thread: Coats & Clark; Die cut machine: Cuttlebug by Provo Craft

I definitely have a new favorite tool - the Styleboard by Maggie Holmes/Crate Paper bow metal die set!

Pages