You asked for it, A DIY Planner Tutorial {on the cheap!}

Hi friends. I am super excited to share today’s project with you, an inexpensive, custom, refillable planner! Did I mention is was cheap to make?

I even made the jump last night and moved everything over from my month at a glance calendar, I love having more room to write “to-dos” in the week at a glance book as well as having the monthly calendar pages for other projects and events coming up. Best of all I was able to put as many pockets and sections as I liked which was the problem I had with other planners, some things were redundant and it just looked like you were creating more work for yourself if you used it. I think a planner should make you more efficient, not less. But, there is room to get creative! Watch the video to see how I made it, you can whip one of these up in about an hour and I bet you have most of the supplies already!

Video!

Supplies:

• Mini 3 ring binder (I used an Avery brand one that I picked up for $1 at Mardens but they will be $5-$7 at an office supply store)
• Small week at a glance planner (Dollar Tree with the back to school stuff)
• Patterened paper
• Lamanator or contact paper if desired
• Washi tape
• Paper clips
• Ribbon
• Adhesive
• Free printable calendar pages from Scattered Squirrel

I made pockets to hold things like pens, my checkbook, receipts and project notes (I communicate with my clients via email mostly so I simply print out emails and put them in the pockets.) I had the habit of making notes and leaving them on my nightstand, in the car and at the computer. This binder is small enough to bring around with me and if all I need is the week-at-a-glace I can take it with me because it is removable. I could never get into using a calendar on my phone or computer, I need to write it down, even if I never look at it again if I write it I usually will remember it and the planner will ensure that I remember it BEFORE t is too late LOL!

I am not new to using a planner, I have used a month at glance for a couple of years, it was the only way to keep all of my freelance projects mapped out, I have slowly progressed from random notebooks and sticky notes to everything in one place and I like it! Now, if only I could get my house this organized. Baby steps 🙂 Let me know what you think and if you plan to give this planner a try. I only had to spend $2 to make this, the rest of the stuff was in my stash. I have been asked by a lot of people to make a DIY planner since the cute, popular, scrapbook company ones cost $50-$100. I hope you liked it! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Saturday Scrapping Easter Pages!

Hi friends! I hope you are having a good weekend. I mentioned earlier today on Facebook that my craft room had hit critical mass. I had several orders for upcoming workshops and framing jobs arrive this week and lots of things to finish up and package for the Made in Maine Expo I am getting ready for May 2nd and it was all just there congesting my basement! So I tackled it this morning! I organized and sorted things, checked framing orders and unboxed goodies. I put away the Jenga pile of supplies that towered precariously at the end of my table that built up over the past 2 weeks and rewarded myself (and my family) by ordering pizza for dinner! I’d love to say my table was still cleaned off but I can’t be sure, my daughters saw my new chalk marker test paper and they had to use them so I might be out of black cardstock and chalk markers now and there might be a new pile of art on my table but I’m not going to worry about that. Besides, a well used art room can’t be clean all the time 🙂 I did take some breaks to enjoy this beautiful warm sunny spring day. We played catch with the kids and we all enjoyed the weather. I took some time earlier this week to scrapbook some photos from Easter, it is my favorite holiday to scrap because of the beautiful spring colors which are welcome after a long winter.

I love the pastel colors! This year instead of snapping pics of my kids hunting for eggs (in the snow…) I got a few shots of our kids and my nephew at my parent’s house. I usually forget to take pictures but I used all the photos I took on this two page layout. I have a few time saving techniques I like to use to create quick layouts. Today I will share them in this video:

Video!

This video is sponsored by Mixbook, save up to 50% on your photobook order with the coupon code YTINF50

Supplies:
Photos
Kraft cardstock
Scrapbook Paper (Pebbles by American Crafts)
Doilies (Papermart)
Chalk Marker (White-CraftyCroc)
Black journaling pen
Raveled Rose Trim (Dritz)
Hot glue and ATG tape
Die cuts (Anna Griffin, Sizzix)
Paper trimmer and scissors
Buttons

Here is a closer look at the pages:

I hope you enjoyed this project. Don’t worry about perfect pages, enjoy the process of making the memories and print the photos so you will always remember the day. Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

A Keepsake Book…

Hi friends! Today I am going to show you how to make a woven album cover so you can turn any store-bought book into a treasured keepsake. I think this would be great for a guest book at a wedding or baby shower. I am using ribbon from Offray in this project. Be sure to check out the supply list below. Watch the video for a full demonstration:

For this tutorial I am using 1 1/2″ wide single faced satin ribbon, it is available in an assortment of colors so pick your favorite!
I used Contessa Ribbon in color Buttercream
and Navajo turquoise Single Faced Satin

Other supplies:
2 sheets white cardstock
2 pattern papers (end papers)
Store bought album to cover
Dry adhesive (such as ATG tape) and hot glue

Directions:
1.Trim the white cardstock and pattern papers to the same size as your album’s cover.
2. Cut you first color of ribbon 4 inches longer than your album is long and attach them to the short edge or the cardstock.
3. Cut your second color ribbon 4 inches longer than your album is wide and attach it to the inside edge of the album cover.
4. Attach the cardstock with the ribbon attached to the back to the front of the cover so the ribbon is toward the edge with the spine.
5. weave the ribbons together.
Flip the book over and adhere the ribbon ends to the back of the cover. Glue end papers (the scrapbook paper) over the messy ribbon ends.
6. Embellish as desired.

That’s all there is to it! Thanks to Offray for sponsoring today’s blog post, thanks to you for reading and til next time happy crafting!

Let’s Make Ribbon Flowers to Use on Crafts!

Hi friends! Today I am going to share a fun way to make ribbon flowers that can be glued onto barrettes, pin-backs or used to embellish your cards or scrapbook pages:

You will need ribbon (I am using beautiful solid and patterned ribbon from Offray, see other ideas with this ribbon here), a needle and thread, scissors and a button. Follow along with the video and have fun!

For a removable card embellishment glue or sew the flower to an alligator style clip barrette so it can be worn in the recipient’s hair! Here is a closer look at the card we made:

Ribbon flower how to:

1. Cut a 4″ piece of ribbon for each petal you wish to have.
2. Thread a sewing needle with thread to match your ribbon.
3. Make a right angle fold in the middle of the ribbon by folding the right side down, then take the left half of the ribbon and fold it down over the right to create a point. Please refer to the video so see this in action.
4. Hold the ribbon so that the smooth side is facing you (the side that shows the folds is down) and pleat it in the middle and fold the edges back to make a petal. Again, refer to the video if you are confused.
5. Stitch through all the pleats to create a petal.
6. Repeat steps 3-5 until all of the cut pieces of ribbon are used and you have a full flower.

They look great on a scrapbook page too!

I have a video on making this scrapbook page here on my YouTube channel if you want to see how the page went together. Lots of tips in that video too!

I want to thank Offray for sponsoring today’s blog post.  You still have a couple of days to take advantage of the coupon FRUGAL15 (it expires 2/28/15 so hurry) for 15% off your order at Offray.com They have all the ribbon you want in the quantities you need so save a trip to the craft store and snag it online! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

A Limited Supply {artsy} Scrapbook Page!

Hi Friends! Today we will make a scrapbook page! You only need watercolor crayons, white cardstock or hot press watercolor paper, stamps (Bugz set and background) and a journal stencil. The stencil and stamps are from Lost Coast Designs. You will also want a black pen and colored pencils if desired. You can make this an art journal page too if you like but if you are making a scrapbook page you will also need photos and adhesive!

Watch how easy it is to make this!

The video is a bit long, I almost feel compelled to apologize for it but I have had so many people tell me how much they enjoy the longer videos because it feels like they are crafting with a friend. Awww, thanks guys:) That makes me so happy! I guess it is nice to have a mix of both:) I hope you try some artsy limited supply scrapbook or journal pages. You will be surprised at what you can do with just a few things! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

How are Your Memory Keeping Plans Coming Along?

Hi Friends! I love all of the options for memory keeping and scrapbooking there are right now. People are sharing pictures and updates on social media, digital scrapping, journaling, using pocket pages and even day-planners to record their memories. I am a traditional scrapbooker. I tried the pocket pages but found them more useful for organizing my pictures and for putting pics in my scrapbook that I don’t feel I want to do a page on. I love social media for being able to have access to photos that people have tagged me in or shared with me (I download them and print them small in photo collages due to their size) but I have never been comfortable posting personal info on Facebook or other networks. I have been scrapbooking long enough that I can look at a new system and pretty quickly know if it will work for me or not.

This 2 page layout was made using a sketch provided in the Memory Keeping 101 course at Curious.com.

 

I had the advantage of starting scrapbooking when it was a fairly new trendy hobby and there was not much choice and quite frankly it made it easy. You got a stack of photos from the developer, you had cardstock, stickers, adhesive and an album. Maybe you local store had a rack of patterned paper to choose from if you were lucky. We borrowed ribbon and buttons from our craft stash but that was about it. Now there is an overwhelming amount of choice. Choice can be paralyzing. Do I try digital? Do I try Project Life? What if I buy supplies and don’t know what to do with them? How do I get those darn photos off my phone anyway? And everyday there are more options for memory keeping from apps, to cloud storage, to planners and other crafty goodies (last weekends CHA show unveiled a staggering amount of new memory keeping and scrapbooking gadgets) so where do we start if you are a beginner? I had the chance to take the Memory Keeping 101 class taught by Studio Scrapping at Curious.com a couple of weeks ago. I wanted to see if it could really demystify the memory keeping options out there today:

I made a layout and altered a journal prompted by the course. They talked a lot about memory keeping apps that you could use with your smart phone, it was interesting to know what was available. I don’t use a smart phone and quite frankly I spend so much time on my computer for work I want to be tech free when I enjoy the hobby of scrapbooking. I edit photos and print them on the computer but that’s it for me. Still, for a modern memory keeper it could be perfect.

I altered this notebook following instructions from the course.

 

I think this course is best for a beginner (hence the name Memory Keeping 101) or a traditional scrapper who wants to know about the techie options for memory keeping. I can see how journaling apps can make things easier. This is not a “How to scrapbook” course. It is an overview of memory keeping options.

The teacher is well-organized and you can even download the class syllabus before enrolling to see if the topics she covers will be up your ally. You can access that during the free preview by clicking the attachment icon on the screen.

This is typically not a class I would take but, then again, I am not the target audience. I have a scrapboking style that I enjoy and works for me. This is more for the folks that are not happy with what they are currently doing and want to try something new or who need a starting point. If you are interested in the class you can check it out here and watch the free intro video and see if it is for you. If you end up buying the course you can get a $5 credit towards your next class at Curious by emailing support@curious.com with the words: thefrugalcrafter. Don’t forget to sign up for curious so you won’t miss any special deals or daily free classes! I don’t think it matters whether you use a pad of paper, an app, a planner or a good ol’ scrapbook as  long as you record your story before you forget! If your new years resolution was to start memory keeping give it a try! This blog post was a partnership with Curious.com and I was compensated for my time to take the course. Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Preserving Old Newspaper Clippings

Hi Friends! I had my fist day of Jury duty today, I got picked for a civil case in February but I have to report back on Friday to go back in the juror pool for potentially more cases. I am having some anxiety, I  don’t mind being on a civil case but I have a really hard time listing to crime, I can’t even watch crime shows, my stomach is in knots about it. And to add insult to injury they will not let you knit in the court room or bring in a cup of coffee. On the plus side I did make a new friend today, a fellow knitter who works at a yarn shop I didn’t know about. I might check out their Wednesday night knitting club. See, you gotta stay optimistic and look for the silver lining. On to more pleasant things I made my dad the perfect Christmas gift this year, a scrapbook of scanned newspaper articles about his side of the family:

I was a bit overwhelmed when I started this project but I printed out pages as I scanned them so I had something to show for my work, also that way if I did not get everything done at least I had something done but I did manage to scan all of the important stuff. I scanned the clippings at 600dpi and printed them larger so they would be easy to read. I used the curves/levels tool in Paint Shop Pro to reduce the yellow and increase the contrast making them look newer. If you do not have Paint Shop or Photoshop try GIMP it is free and works really well. That’s it for me tonight. The jury selection really tired me out (probably the stressing that I would be put on some horrible criminal case was most of it) so I am going to relax with some tea and TV. Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

I Love those Candy Colored Pages!

Hi Friends! I love it when my kids make gingerbread houses. I love the creativity they have when decorating them. This year for the first time the kids were able to assemble the houses too! I thought they might be too old for this craft but they said “No way!” they still wanted to make them and of course they each had to have their own!

I was inspired to scrapbook these picture right away because of the brand new die cut adhesive ribbon I received from Offray. This product will be available soon in stores and on their website but you get a sneak peek of it in today’s video!

The self adhesive ribbon was so easy to work with and really flat which is nice for scrapbookers who do not want a lot of bulk in their albums and card makers who do not want to pay extra postage for lumpy items. I love to use traditional ribbon too so I used some narrow grosgrain  because it adds a great texture without fraying:

Here is a close up look at the other page:

I kinda hate to tease you with new stuff that is not available yet but there are lots of other wonderful ribbons from Offray on their website and you can save 15% off your next order with the code Frugal15 Though 12/31/14. Thanks so much for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

BoSox Scrappin’ and Post-Turkey Day Chattin’

Hi friends! I wanted to do a bit of fun scrapbooking yesterday and thought that I would turn on the camera when I did. Little did I know that the these of the video would be scrapping with only paper and photos and tips for using both. I made this 2 page layout in under 30 minutes:

Meaningful pages do not have to take a lot of time or cost a lot of money to make. In fact I think using the supplies you have on hand is best for 2 reasons: Less choice so it is quicker and less money because you shop your stash. If you are about to do some scrapbook shopping keep my tips I share throughout the video in mind so you can make wise pattered paper choices. I’ll type more tips out for you below as well. I hope you enjoy this chatty video:) Grab some photos and it will be like we are cropping together!

Since I talked so much (and so fast, sorry about that guys) I wanted to write out my tips and specific items I mentioned in case you wanted to find out more. First, here are the supplies I used on the page:

• 2 sheets 12″x12″ cardstock (kraft colored)
• 2 sheets patterned paper (stars and dots from a $5 CratePaper/American Crafts 12″x12″ pad on sale at ACmoore)
• 3 sheets of patterned paper from a Heidi Swapp/American Crafts pad (also a $5 deal at ACMoore)***This paper I refer to as “embellishment paper” because it contains a lot of elements that can be cut out to use as journal cards and embellishments. (not to be confused with the embellishment paper that Making Memories used to make) I save all of the unused parts of this papers for future layouts, it is really handy because it coordinates with the other papers in the pad. Look for paper pads that have these “embellishment papers” in them because they make scrapbooking cheap and easy!
• X-Acto knife and metal ruler/scissors
• Dry Adhesive & foam tabs if desired
• Brown ink pad if you like the look of inked edges.

Tips for embellishing with patterned paper:
1. Use a natural background like kraft, black or white.
2. Choose papers with patterns of different scale, notice the star print is small and the dots are medium.
3. Choose paper that has journal blocks, cards, banners and tags that can be cut part giving you many ways to use one sheet.
4. Save leftover scraps from your project together in a page protector and you have a future layout ready to go!

Tips for photos {I print mine from home!}
1. I use generic HP02 ink cartridges (6 color set is $5 on amazon and works as well as the $40 HP ink) and Canon Pixma paper, also purchased on amazon for about $12/100 pack 8.5″x11″
2. Print your photos in a collage. I used Paint Shop Pro to arrange these because they needed corrections (they were taken with a low-end camera phone) but for most printing I use the free ipiccy online software.
3. Print dates and titles in leftover areas of the page (if you have any) not only will it help you remember but it is also another page element for no extra cost!
4. If you are printing at home you can use dye based ink to ink edges or rubber stamp on your photos BUT avoid using photo-polymer stamps on your home printed photos because they may bond with the slick photo paper.
5. Store your photo collages in 8″x11″ page proctors (cheap at the office supply store) right in your scrapbook until you are ready to scrapbook them, that way they are organized, you can still flip through and enjoy them and if you never scrap them it is not the end of the world. You have them printed, yeah you! You win the day!
6. This is an organizing tip. Download photos every month from your phone, camera, tablet and Facebook (download any photos you are tagged in and want to keep, they will not be the best quality but they are memories and you should print them, they will look OK if kept under 4″x4″.) Then print out a bunch of photos at a time every couple of months OR upload them to a photo lab to have them printed. You can even have them uploaded to Target or Wal-Mart and pick them up in an hour. There is no excuse, you can do this:)

Biggest tip!!! Don’t worry about being perfect, just capture the memories and have fun. There is no wrong way. Your way is perfect! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!