Craftinbish

Christmas-themed mini pocket letter. Greetings crafty friends. I have a really fun item to share with you today. A mini pocket letter is a great introduction to pocket letters if you've wanted to try them but don't want to commit to a full nine-pocket letter design. Mini pocket letters are great little treats to send to penpals, friends, or family. You could even attach one to a gift instead of a regular card or tag.   My pocket letter is Christmas themed and I was able to bust a lot of my scrap pieces of paper to create it. I cut a three-pocket strip out of a regular nine-pocket plastic card protector. The die cuts I used are from Spellbinders card kit of the month for November 2022. I layered collaged die-cut elements inside the pocket on the background paper as well as on the outside to add dimension to the piece, including gold sequins. I scallop-punched a strip of paper and adhered it to cover the binder portion of the piece on the end. To finish this, I added a green...

It's a beautiful springtime, my crafty friends. Are you inspired by all the blooms and greenery surrounding you? I certainly enjoy pressing a few flowers to incorporate into my papercrafts and am loving the energy of growth and renewal that's surrounding us in this season.  Today's item is a quick project and one that you can complete with mostly scraps of paper. If you're like most paper crafters, you have a hard time parting with any usable paper, no matter how big or small. So this piece would be a great item to use all those bits and bobs on. Why not make several at a time while you're at it?  This project starts out with a large book page. What's on the page doesn't necessarily need to be of importance unless you want it to be the focal point of your piece. What really matters is that it's sturdy. You don't want to use a page that's so old it's brittle and cracks at the folds. Make sure whatever you use, it's heavy enough...

Happy Mother's Day to you! What's happening crafty friends? Are you creating lots of fabulous paper things? I hope so. Today's craft is a very easy and quick piece of ephemera. This folder would be great in a junk journal or tucked into an envelope for a pen pal. It would also be great as a gift card holder for Christmas, Hanukkah, birthdays, or other gift-giving occasions. One gift card for each pocket. That may be coming in another tutorial soon. Front of the folder when tied. Inside the folder To begin construction, measure out a piece of patterned paper, six inches tall and 12 inches wide. You can use double-sided patterned paper or glue two single-sided pieces together. Another option is to go with the single-sided pattern and cover the bare side in later steps, which is what I've chosen to do. Tim Holtz ephemera peaking out the pocket.  After you cut your paper to six inches tall and 12 inches wide, score horizontally along the ...

      Good morning my paper-loving friends. I have another upcycle project for you today. I call these specimen envelopes because they feature a clear widow like a slide with a "specimen" in the middle. I've had these envelopes in my stash for a while now. I love them so much, that I haven't been able to part with them. These would make a lovely addition to a happy mail for a pen-pal, a swap, or of course, tucked into a journal. I could also see these tied to the outside of a gift package with a note or a little something extra inside. So, let us get into it.        I used some pages from my German English dictionary for these envelopes. I got out my Gelli plate and swiped some Distressed Oxides onto it and misted it with water before I pressed my paper onto my Gelli plate. If you don't have a Gelli plate a regular craft mat or piece of laminated paper (or any non-porous flat surface) would work just as well. I used my h...

 Hi friends. I wanted to share a fun upcycling project with you today. I followed a YouTube video by Pam at The Paper Outpost for turning used greeting cards into journal cards for your junk journal. Not only is this very fun and easy, but it's also a wonderful way to give a second life to the beautiful notecards you may have from friends, pen-pals, and family members that you don't know what to do with. This idea could also be used to create postcards instead of journal cards.  So, grab your stash of received happy mail and pick out the cards with images that you like. I wanted to give all my cards an aged look, so after gluing some paper to the back of the card to cover up any writing I decoupaged some used tea bags to the front.  Once that surface was dry I collaged some images to the front of the cards. I distressed around the edges, front and back with some distressed Oxide in Vintage Photo.  I also stamped images...

   Happy Saturday you lovely crafters! Just think, a whole weekend to work at your happy desk and create: cut, paste, spackle, paint, sew. . . .or whatever it is that you do to make jolly. I've joined a few swap-bot swaps that I'll be working on and sharing later. I also started an art journal that is strictly for the sake of creating with no "goals" in mind other than to express myself. If I'm being critical of it, so far, it's a hot mess. But, on to the current project I'm sharing.      These fun vintage guest checks are great ephemera for junk journals or a tuck-in for a pen pal who loves vintage items. I like guest checks because they remind me of the past. How often do you actually receive an old-school guest check like this in restaurants anymore? My guess is probably not often, as everyone is using thermal tape receipts these days and those aren't that great.  So, let me share my steps in creating these little dandies.  Tea dye your guest checks...