Raiding the #Cre8time Fridge to Preserve Memories...

Welcome! It's the first Monday of September and it's time for a new Designer Crafts Connection Bloghop. This month's theme is "Preserving Memories"... a scrapbooking blohop... with a bonus challenge of utilizing items found around the house. I love making mini albums with all sorts of fun recycled items such as flip flops, paper bags, empty ribbon/tape spools and with today's project... food packaging!

I don't have to look far for finding something to create with – there is usually plenty of interesting things to use for crafting in my recycling bin... or in my pantry and refrigerator! Do recognize this empty box? This is the packaging that comes full of tasty wedgies of Laughing Cow cheese. I never let these babies hit the recycling bin. They are a perfect for housing a mini album -or- decorated up to present a gift card. I gently peel off the package labeling from the box to give me a blank slate to work with. 

I've also recycled a chipboard box from cookies and also a corrugated shipping envelope that I've cut into circles to make pages for my mini album.

 

I gave a distressed, white-washed beachy feel to the outside of the box and both sides of the pages with an acrylic/gesso mix and also some spray mists.

I also need some matching ribbons/fibers! I distressed some sheer organza ribbon and white cheesecloth with distress stains and spray mists.

Now to assemble my mini book - this will be accordion style. Using double-sided sheet adhesive cut to fit the pages, I sandwiched the ribbon and cheesecloth between the pages – adding some double-sided tape to the top of the ribbon to lock them in place when I adhere the top page.

Between the pages, I added some knotted natural green dyed raffia.

Nothing goes to waste with me - I used a recycled envelope to decorate the base of my box. I distressed/painted in the same fashion as the pages and adhered using double-stick adhesive sheets. I'm normally a glue-stick girl, but after all the painting and distressing, the double-sided adhesive makes assembly quick and easy.

I included some vintage beach stamp images using brown dye ink onto creme cardstock primed with the same acrylic/gesso base as everything else. I tore each image out and distressed edges with chalk inks to complete the vintage weathered feel.

I layered onto the corrogated pages a section of distressed cheesecloth and one image adhered with tacky glue. The backside of each page gives me space to add some of my vacation photos from Jamaica last fall.

I added some antique gold dewdrop ink to the inside of the box and layered a stamp collage image to the base. The gold ink worked nicely blending the hard edge of the envelope and white box with the corrugated border around the sides... WOW this is so lovely!

Now for some finishing touches: a resin cast sand dollar colored with spray mists and antique gold ink; a recycled dry cleaning tag; section of cheesecloth; raffia stands; and some real mini seashells to complete the scene.

The accordion style book nicely folds into a stack to nestle into the box... i's all grungy and weathered, and looks like it's just washed ashore!

From Cheesy to Beachy Chic...

This cheese box has been transformed completely – one would never guess what it was when I began. Keep a lookout in your pantry, the fridge and your recycling bin for amazing and interesting things to upcycle into something beautiful and useful for memory keeping! 

Thanks for visiting. Continue on the Designer Crafts Connection "PRESERVING MEMORIES" Bloghop by selecting hop back/forward on the logo below.

Sb :)

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Preserving Memories like a ROCK STAR for the September Designer Crafts Connection Bloghop

Welcome! It's a new month... September which marks a new monthly Designer Crafts Connection Bloghop. This month's theme is all about "Preserving Memories". I'll admit I don't do a whole lot of traditional scrapbooking. Though from time to time, I do make little commemorative mini books or shadowboxes to document a special occasion or vacation... and today's make is a labor of L-O-V-E!!!

In July we took a weekend getaway to go see my favorite band on tour in North Carolina {I think the photos speak for themselves}. They did make a stop in South Florida - but on a Tuesday night... we are too old to stay up that late on a school work nite LOL! So we took a little getaway to have much needed downtime and adult fun. I printed out a bunch of photos on my Zink® hAppy™ right from my phone {and hubs also} and now I've got a bunch of adhesive back photos ready to go!

We are pretty much homebodies and don't to too much going out and stuff {thanks to technology and onDemand} - but we do go all out for a great concert. Our ticket package included a meet and greet and photo with the band, and an autographed photo to take with us. If you are a fan of Def Leppard - its common knowledge that they don't do a whole lot of signings because of the frauds being peddled on eBay. When I received this Deflecto 12 x 12 Craft Frame, I knew this would be perfect to showcase one of these signed pix {and the other I will have traditionally matted/framed for my hubs office at work}. The modern frame goes perfectly with my modern furnishings and gives me the ability to protect my keepsake and add more layers and dimension to the outside, too!

I got started matting and layering with glue dots my photo, black and silver cardstock and the blue Rowlux and gently slid into the frame. This looks pretty great as is... but there's more! With my photos {and some taken by a super talented Rock Star Wife}, some ephemera from the trip and some supplies on hand I have transformed this into an interactive display.

Supplies used: Deflecto 12x12 Craft Frame and three Deflecto Mini Craft Frames; 12x12 sheet of Dark Blue Sea Glass patterned Rowlux Illusion Film; Zink® hAppy™ photo printer; coordinating cardstock for matting; paper trimmer; Grafix Double Tack Mounting Film, silver shiny metallic school folder; recycled imaging film acetate {black}; Cuttlebug; Darice Filmstrip 12" Embossing Folder; Autographed photo and ephemera from vacation; washi tape; chalk inks; Glue Dots and Glue Lines adhesive products; and scissors.

  

The photo had a nice 1/4" white border so I accented with super skinny mattes in black and silver to balance with the signatures. I centered and left margins equal on the three sides and more on the bottom leaving space for all my extras.

I don't know why I only have one postcard from this particular trip - I usually buy more. I love to pick up postcards when I visit somewhere for a short visit and I don't have a lot of time to take my own photos. Anyway I've improvised to make a postcard accordion book. I love making little mini books and the front/back covers are actual postcards. I join cut sections of cardstock together to make it as long as needed {these were approximately 4 x 12 folded in half}.

For this project I needed a little GLAM and shine so I cut up a shiny metallic school folder pieced together with sections of double-sided adhesive sheets. I reinforced the folds with washi tape and rubbed the white edges with blue chalk ink. Now I have a place to put all those mini photos I printed! I folded over and mounted the back panel to one of the mini Deflecto Craft Frames which I will mount to the larger frame. I will be able to remove if needed by just sliding it off the frame and there's another place to add a photo, too.

  

Here's the opening spread a collage of loads of pix and the real guitar picks I scored from being in the third row. Thanks to Gene Simmons for flicking one straight at my head otherwise I wouldn't have seen it coming - LOL!

I have some black acetate that is recycled light exposed film from my imagesetter at work. I cut some to size and embossed with this fun 12" Darice filmstrip embossing folder to mount some of the mini photos on. My project has seemingly taken on a life of it's own - but since I don't have to put adhesive on my photos... I'm so excited to continue!

After cropping and mounting photos to the faux film, I bent and mounted to one of the mini Deflecto Craft Frames with a couple strategically placed super strength Glue Lines.

I mounted the smallest Deflecto Craft Frame upside down to the backside as a hook to suspend my meet and greet pass lanyards... again Glue Dots to the rescue!

I am so happy at how this turned out and that it's bright and colorful - the Rowlux Illusion Film makes everything "POP". This will be the centerpiece our shared computer desk in my studio where I have an assortment of framed photos from other trips and adventures {that might also be needing a Cre8time makeover now}.

Thanks for visiting. Please drop by on Sunday, September 7th as the Designer Crafts Connection get creative with buttons, felt and glue for the "Kunin/Beacon/Buttons Galore" Bloghop - you don't want to miss it! Sb :)

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Scrapbooked with Layers of LOVE for Unscripted Sketches #242

Happy Monday! Today I'm posting my Sketch-It Saturday project featuring Unscripted Sketches #242... and wouldn't you know it - I made a scrapbook page! It's not often I do these and I really "LOVE" how this one turned out.

I had a new photo from a party we attended a week ago and it's scrapbook worthy! So I printed it out on my Zink Happy printer and got out the mat scraps and got to layering.

Starting out with some leftover cranberry cardstock from a set of 12 handmade books I was hired to make for Christmas, I came across this 12" x 12" piece of vellum with words "your Love" overall... and my "ONE TOUCH RULE" kicked in.

This week's sketch really was a challenging one - but instead of a circle I thought my stash of paper doilies might be a nice variation... and because of the variety of heart sizes I needed to go BIG! So a scrapbook page it is!

  

My vellum had a 1/2" cut into it and torn away on one edge... what to do??? Patch over it. The book project had some torn strips leftover that were misted with an iridescent mist and this was perfect to conceal the missing section of paper. I learned way back when from my scrapbooking store that scrapbook pages don't have to be perfect {repeating to myself in the process} and I paid no mind to the torn strip I used to cover up the missing area. It works for me! To balance things I included a little bit of the same going off the right hand side, too!

The largest heart doily was red, but I really loved the varying texture of the backside so I put the red side down {plus the fact that I tore it trying to separate them - no waste}. I'm so thrilled to finally get this vellum out of the paper bin and used in a proper way! The layered Jenni Bowlin Studio tickets {yes also a hoarded item} went perfectly as an accent and to draw attention away from the patched area. 

What is Sketch it Saturdays at Unscripted Sketches? Every Saturday morning a new sketch is posted for the week. Flip the sketch, rotate it… create a card, a scrapbook page, a wall hanging, digital, paper, fabric, paint, anything your imagination comes up with! There is no right or wrong way, as long as you are using the Unscripted sketch as the inspiration for your creation! And everyone is invited to join in the fun... and post your creation on their page via inlinkz for all the world to see!

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Thanks for dropping by today... have a wonderful week!  Sb :)