File Folder Book Tutorial

Hi friends! I hope you are well and had a good Easter. We have had rainy and stormy weather almost the entire Easter, but apart from that, it has been good.

Please note: this post has affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.

This week we have a Not A Card theme at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog. I hope you will join us! Since it is the first Monday of a new month, the team is showcasing products by a specific company / designer and this week it is Tim Holtz. You can find Tim's large range of products here. 

We also have a new guest designer. During April Thom Santilla will be joining us. Don't miss checking out his fantastic project on his Instagram account.

I made a mini book this week, using file folders as my base, die cut from bright papers and stamped with sentiments, images and texture stamps. There are photos in the pocket. I used Tim Holtz Vault Noteworthy to die cut the folders and a whole lot of Tim's stamps from the stamping.

Start by die cutting file folders with Tim's Vault Noteworthy from inky papers.     

Color the inside with Distress Watercolor Pencils.

Stamp with various Tim Holtz sentiment stamps.

Add smaller sentiments on the back of each folder.

Stamp with butterflies and flowers. Mist the stamp with water after inking. I stamped with Distress Ink.

Stamp dots with Distress Ink, using a stamp from Tim's Tiny Textures. Mist with water before stamping. Stamp more texture with Simon Says Stamp Crackle Background and Tim Holtz School Desk alphabet.

Pierce three holes and thread with embroidery floss. 

Stitch the sides with a sewing machine.

Tie all the threads together at the spine and string glass beads to make the spine prettier.

 I matted small photos on cream cardstock and tucked into the pockets. The sentiment is from Tim's Warehouse District and the butterfly is from Flutter.

You can also make a separate cover, but I wanted one of the file folders to be the front of the mini book.

I used some of my favorite sentiments in this book, such as from Nature's Wonder and Creative Muse.

These butterflies are from Tim's Attic Treasures set.

I stamped words from Tim's Tiny Text on the flaps.

Using a mix of colors and bright, inky background makes for a cheerful look.

I used a mix of childhood photos to fill the pockets.

The flower was stamped with Tim's Nature's Moments.

More butterflies and a dragonfly. 

This dragonfly is from Simon Says Stamp Big Botanicals. There is also some Distress Spritz in the background, misted through Tim's Sparkle Fade stencil.

Look for sentiments and words that will fit right only the folders, such as 'photographs'.

The butterfly was stamped with Wilted Violet Distress Ink.

The back of the little book, stamped with flowers from Tim's Winter Watercolor 2.

Join us this week in our Not a Card challenge! You have a chance to win a $25 gift voucher to do some fun shopping at Simon Says Stamp. You have until Monday 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in.

Do you use Instagram? If so please add #sssmchallenge so we can see your entries there too.

Thank you so much for visiting today! 

Happy crafting!

Anna-Karin

Supplies:

* Please note: the links are affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.

Imagination Art Journal Page

Hello crafters! Today I have an art journal page to share, with an Easter theme. You can of course also use the techniques to make a card or a tag instead.

Please note: this post has affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.

This bunny from Tim Holtz Spring Sprung stamp set is a favorite of mine and I decided to use the stamp on an art journal page. The page has an Easter theme, but with the addition of the theme of imagination. I used pastel colors, stencils, textures page, glitter and cheese cloth. 

Start by coating a page with gesso and let it dry. I worked in my Dylusions Small Creative Journal. Apply texture paste at the base and press cheese cloth, or mummy cloth, into the paste. Let dry.

Paint with pastel Distress Paints and mist with water to blend. I used Abandoned Coral, Cracked Pistachio, Squeezed Lemonade and Salvaged Patina.

Stamp the bunny from Spring Sprung, birds from Mini Ornates and a sentiment from Nature's Discovery. All sets are by Tim Holtz / Stamper's Anonymous. I fixed the mistake in the sentiment later. 

Sponge paint through Tim Holtz Nordic and Sparkle Fade stencils. 

Sponge white paint through Simon Says Stamp Mix and Match Circles, in a few places.

Paint the bunny with Distress Paint and stamp a sentiment from Simon Says Stamp Hoppy Spring. I also stamped Simon Says Stamp Old Letter in the background.

I applied Moon Dust Glitter Gel through Tim Holtz Bubble stencil, here and there.

The sentiments come from Tim Holtz Small Talk Stickers.

The bunny releases three glittery butterflies. For more examples using this stamp, check out my Sweet Treat Tag where he sprinkles jewels, Colored Pencils on Kraft tag, where he holds a heart balloon, and 12 Tags of March 2015, where he kicks a sparkly ball.

Pastel shades are fun to use. 

I applied both white paint and glitter gel to the cheese cloth, to give it texture and sparkle.

Use paint to add a shadow under the bunny.

See you again tomorrow!

Happy crafting!

Anna-Karin

Supplies:

* Please note: the links are affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.

Floral Easter Card

Hi crafters! I hope you are well and had a fun weekend! 

Please note: this post has affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.

This week we have an Emboss It theme at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog. I hope you will join us! Don't miss the last project from our March guest designer Simona Rebecchi.

I wanted to make an Easter card with lots of green and yellow. The background is white embossed and then misted. The flowers were die cut from various inky paper, some of them have also been misted with Distress Spritz through stencils.

Start by white embossing Tim Holtz Florette background on watercolor paper. Don't worry about getting it perfect.

Mist heavily with Distress Spray Stains and finish with a little Twisted Citron Distress Spritz, for glimmer.

Most of the papers had been prepared for previous projects. I die cut Simon Says Stamp Charming Flower Stem, Poised Primula and Fresh Cut Floral Stem from yellow, orange and green inky papers. 

Shape the flowers with Tim Holtz Shaping Tool Kit. 

Assemble the flowers and adhere to the background. 

The embossing will resist the ink, creating a blended green background, with shimmer. 

Here you can see that some of the papers had been misted with Distress Spritz, through Tim Holtz Bubble and Sparkle Fade stencils.

I added Simon Says Stamp Pawsitively Dazzling Gold Gems to the flower centers. The Dazzling Gems are a favorite of mine, which you might have noticed.

Die cut Simon Says Stamp Bouncy Happy Easter from yellow inky paper and dark green cardstock. 

The flowers have quite a bit of dimension.

Join us this week in our Emboss It challenge! You have a chance to win a $25 gift voucher to do some fun shopping at Simon Says Stamp. You have until Monday 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in.

Do you use Instagram? If so please add #sssmchallenge so we can see your entries there too.

Thank you so much for visiting today! 

Happy crafting!

Anna-Karin

Supplies:

* Please note: the links are affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.