Hey, y’all! The year is coming to a close, but that means a whole new year of Tres Jolie Kits to look forward to! YAY!!!
For my last project of 2022, I used this month’s Scrapbooking Kit – along with my stash of junk journaling materials – to create two Christmas journals. Each journal has envelopes, tuck-ins, flips, and loads of pages for journaling your Christmas thoughts and memories. And even though Christmas 2022 has passed, you can still create a memory journal while we are in that awkward time between Christmas and the New Year when it’s questionable if we are sure what day it is!!
Did you have a friend and/or family gathering? You could have everyone who attended write what they remembered about Christmas! Did people travel from various distances? Just send it around in the mail or have them write letters you can glue or clip to the pages!
Check out my overview video where I give some details of what went into these journals:
The two journals are very similar – it was just a matter of what signatures were added to which cover after I decided I had more than enough to create two journals. I used some canvas-type fabric on the covers, and some mulberry paper to cover the spines. On the journal with “Memo” on the cover, I inked the mulberry paper and added some ink splotches to the printables. For the closures, I just stitched together layers of ribbons and fabric scraps to create a wrap.
I digitally create some Christmas-themed end papers for my journals and attached them in a non-traditional way by either cutting or tearing the side that isn’t attached to the cover gluing it down to the first page of the journal.
For added texture and to fit with the “put together” and “vintage” style, I would just stitch my printables straight to the pages I wanted them on.
I used a few black tags from my stash and added some layers of the various papers from the Simple Stories papers in the kit, created tuck-in spots using some of the Simple Stories ephemera and backed a few of the cut apart Simple Stories cards with pieces of hanging file folder!
I have a variety of paper and pages throughout the journals created using patterned paper, printables, and some original vintage pages. I also created and added some homemade glassine using the method I learned from Nik the Booksmith. I also created a couple of Nik’s “Raggedy” inserts into the journals made up of a cardstock base and a variety of ephemera stitched and glued on.
I created my own vintage style, Christmas-themed labels to add in, and even decided I needed a custom Bookbinders Label to add to both journals. You can grab up a free printable with some Christmas-themed labels on them over on my Flickr!
Thank you for joining me here today! I hope you enjoyed these journals and that they gave you an idea of what you can make using this month’s Scrapbooking Kit!
Warm Wishes for a Safe and Happy New Year!
Stay Crafty, Friends
Did you get a kit? Share what you made in our Facebook Group!
Hey, y’all! It’s officially been autumn for a week now, and I don’t know about you, but I’m still wearing shorts! It’s the give and take of living in a southern state. Mild winters, which makes the husband’s hot-mess joints happy; but less-than-desirable (for me) hot and humid summers. As for me, I’d be happy with two seasons – spring and autumn! The best temperatures and the best colors!
It is almost October, and besides the lower temperatures here in the northern hemisphere, the October Kits from Tres Jolie Kit Club will be getting revealed on Monday! YAY! New crafty supplies and lower temperatures? Yes, please! So, to bring September and the summer to an end, I have two more cards this month – with a little extra touch to them using mixed media mediums.
Neither of these cards is difficult – the majority of their assembly time is spent just waiting for the mediums to dry. Check out my video to see how these two cards came together.
Now, let’s get to some photos and highlights of what you saw in the video.
This first card is a step-card that I created. I used a dark pink cardstock for the base topped with some white, printer-weight cardstock. I did put a solid back on my step-card, which also required a couple of extra pieces tucked in to make sure my “Let’s Celebrate” square popped forward when the card was standing up.
Before I glued on the patterned paper, I added some light mixed media. I used the DecoArt Crackle glaze from this month’s Mixed Media Kit with the Prima stencil from the August (2022) Mixed Media kit, and before I removed the stencil, I added a little dusting of some Jaquard PearlEx powder, and a little spritz of Finnabair’s “Pixie Dust” Fixative . Then I just set those pieces off to dry while I worked on the center pieces.
I used the dies from the kit this month to add some decorative cuts at the tops of the patterned paper that would be going on the steps and backed them with a piece of paper that I coated in the beautiful ink from the kit. Now it was just a matter of gluing everything down!
I added the patterned paper that I had stenciled on and started building up my steps. I glued the top of the back step patterned paper to the back of the card, and the bottom of the back step patterned paper to the back of the lower step. Then, to help keep the “Let’s Celebrate” square stay forward, I added some extra pieces of white cardstock to help “push” it forward.
When everything was done, I added some of the Prima gold trim circles to the front and gave the card a final spritz of Finnabair’s “Pixie Dust” Fixative for a little extra shine.
This slimline card went together even faster than the step-card, because I didn’t have any cut files! I used another piece of dark pink cardstock as the card base, set it aside, and started working on my layers.
Since the slimline card is 4” x 10”, and the pink and white striped paper from the kit was an 8” x 8” square, I cut one piece 6” long and a second piece 2” – both are 3.75” wide – I knew the seam would never be seen by the time I was done! (I used some double-sided tape to hold the two pieces together at the seam while I kept working!)
I mixed some of the ink from this month’s kit with some of the glitter paste from this month’s Mixed Media kit together and lightly brushed it along the edges of the flowers, and then added what was left to the striped paper. After the glitter paste had dried, I grabbed up some white texture paste and a palette knife, scraped a thin layer of the paste onto the surface of the striped paper, and used a paint comb to add some stripes to the texture paste; then I glued the striped pieces down to the white cardstock.
Once the texture paste had dried, it was just a matter of gluing all of my flowers down, along with some leaf die cuts (using a die from my stash), a few bits of lace trim, and the sentiment square. I used my hot glue gun for all of this, so I was able to move right to adding the sequins to the front after adding the top “For Someone Special” sentiment at the top and a little square of the same teal paper at the bottom just to have that blue “continue” all the way down. All I did to add the sequins was use some more texture paste, watered down a little to make it more spreadable, dipped a brush into the paste, use it to pick up some sequins, and “brush” them on.
Thank you for joining me here in my little corner! I hope you enjoyed all of the cards I created this month and they gave you some inspiration and ideas for your own cards!
Stay Crafty, Friends
Did you get a kit? Share what you made in our Facebook Group!
Hey, y’all! Have you checked out the Tres Jolie Kit Club September Scrapbooking Kit yet? Seen this month’s mood board? Both are fabulous! The kit has the “Gilded Steampunk” Collection from 3 Quarter Designs – the perfect fit for the “Shabby Steampunk” mood board challenge!
Now, I love, L-O-V-E, Steampunk, and while I’m not a 100% Shabby Chic type of person, there are aspects I really love about that style too. This week, for my mood board inspired project, I have a Shabby-Steampunk Top Hat I created using a cut file I designed, the “Gilded Steampunk” Collection from the kit, a couple of moulds, and lots of mediums from my stash – quite a few that are from previous Tres Jolie Kits!
It wasn’t until I was editing the video that I realized this project isn’t all too “complicated.” The majority of the time spent working on it was really just “busy work” – i.e. rolling clay, gluing, painting, etc. Once I had my base together, and finally figured out where this hat was headed, it went together rather smoothly! Check out my video and see what I mean!
Don’t forget to join the Tres Jolie Mood Board Challenge this month! Make sure to place your entry in the September 2022 Challenge folder on the Tres Jolie Kit Club Café Facebook page by 11:59pm CST on September 30, 2022, for your chance to win a prize!
Alright! Time to get talkin’ about this Shabby-Steampunk Top Hat!
The first thing to do was to put my base together. There aren’t too many pieces – I tried to keep it as simple as possible while creating the size I wanted while using my 12” x 12” cutting mat and cardstock. There really is only one way everything fits together, but I have included a photo for reference using the cut file.
After my cardstock base was together, I added some black gesso to all of the areas that I thought may or may not get covered by the patterned paper pieces – I did it mostly because I had used white cardstock, if I had used a darker cardstock or a coordinating cardstock, I don’t know if I would have added the gesso. However, it did also give a little extra stiffness to the base, so that was a bonus I hadn’t really thought of! And, even though it is no longer noticeable, I also added a layer of “Halo Pink Gold” Metallic Paint on top of the black gesso – just to be prepared in case any of those areas didn’t get covered in the later stages.
I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do for the inside of the hat, I just knew I didn’t want to just give it a coat of paint. Finally, I decided to see if I could do a paint pour – on some tissue paper – to create a liner! It was messy, but it worked! And I was able to use that paint pour on the inside, sides. For the inside top, I just mixed up a little more to pour and dumped it right in.
I wanted to get as many pieces ready for assembly as possible before sitting down to start the process, so I used some leather-effect polymer clay to create the “leather” underside of the brim and I used some metallic and glitter polymer clay in a couple of embossing folders to create the sheets of “metal” to fill between the leather-clay and to use along the outer edge of the brim.
The final set of pre-assembly pieces I made were the patterned paper panels and the pink band for the hat. For the pink band, I just cut the half-sheet from the paper pack in half and connected the ends to make one long strip.
For the top, side, and brim patterned paper panels, I partly eyeballed, partly measured approximately where the cut would be – especially for the pieces that have the mannequins, hot air balloon, etc. – and cut them all out. Much like the base pieces, there are not a lot of ways for the pieces to fit all together, but I will add a reference photo here for the panel locations on the base.
As I sat staring at all my pieces, trying to decide how to use those chipboard and cut-apart pipes, I thought of windows; little steampunk windows to see the “inner workings” of the hat. I grabbed up some circle dies, picked a few places around the brim and on top of the hat, and cut the circles out of the patterned paper.
I used a couple of stencils with a couple TCW Stencil butters to add some dimension and texture to the circles I cut out, coated the chipboard pipes in copper embossing powders, and added some Beads In A Bottle to create a little dimension and bolts/rivets to the chipboard. Then I started the assembly process while I waited for my resin to set up in my gilding flake coated, polymer clay window frames.
After all my pipes were in place I gave them a coating of clear gesso so I’d be able to add my paints to create the illusion of depth with shadows.
Now it was finally time to add my patterned paper panels! I also added the pink band, and I created the inside band using the half-sheet of paper from the pack that looks like leather. I finished adding all my clay pieces to the underside of the rim and added them to the outer edge of the brim.
So now I had all of the pieces of the hat together – except the windows – and started my work on filling any gaps and smoothing it all out. I used a mix of gold Stencil Butter, gold Beads In A Bottle, and 3D Matte Gel to smooth along the edge of the brim with all the layers, and to fill in any spaces that I thought needed it. To prepare for the addition of the windows, I added a ring of Beads In A Bottle around the circles on the hat brim and top.
While my hat sat off to let that gold mix dry, I got to work on putting the focal point of the hat together. I grabbed up some mould pieces and used 3D Matte Gel to hold them in place, and after adding my gesso, I started adding the first layers of paint. While the gears and heart were setting up, I put my pipe pieces together and added the first layers of paint to them. I added the heart and gears to the pipes using more 3D Matte Gel, and set it off to let it set up while I added my lace bits and gilding flakes to my hat base. Before I got too much further along, I added a coat of Workable Fixatif so when the time came to add my final paints there would be a layer of protection on the patterned paper that would keep the wet from just soaking right in.
I laid my hat on its side, using whatever I had on hand to hold it in place and prop it up so the side I wanted to add the heart and pipes to was, at least mostly, level. I made sure to do this close to bedtime, so the 3D Matte Gel I used to hold the resin pieces in place had time to set up – without me becoming impatient and checking it too soon! I also started adding some art stones to the areas I could get at with the hat on its side.
Now it was finally time to add on the windows in preparation for the final layers of paint, art stones, and waxes.
I added more paint to my resin pieces, being careful when I was near my windows so they wouldn’t get splatter on them, and then just started working my way down from the top of the hat with more art stones and my paints. I let all the paint dry before flipping my hat over and adding some paint to the underside of the brim.
The final touches on this Shabby-Steampunk Top Hat were the addition of a few Finnabair waxes to the top, sides, art stones, lace, and the top and underside of the brim.
Thank you for joining me here in my corner! I hope you enjoyed my Shabby-Steampunk, mood board inspired, Top Hat and it gave you some ideas and inspiration for how you can use this month’s Scrapbooking Kit and/or find inspiration for your own mood board project!
Stay Crafty, Friends
Did you get a kit? Share what you made in our Facebook Group!
Hey, y’all! I couldn’t help but use this month’s Mixed Media Kit from Tres Jolie Kit Club after I saw the bright, beautiful colors of TCW’s Stencil Butter’s and modeling paste. I actually didn’t even own the moulds I used for the flowers until after I saw the kit, then one day the Magnolia mould showed up in the “you might like” section of my Amazon homepage, and I knew then and there exactly what I was going to do with the kit!
As I noted in the video, I still have to give my project a coating of some Triple-Thick Clear Glaze, but we have had “tropical” conditions here for over a week now, and I still haven’t been able to spray them! I kept waiting, hoping to be able to take photos after the spray had set, but at this rate, it might be October before I get to do that!
Video:
There are not a lot of steps involved in the making of this project, and those fabulous Stencil Butter’s do a lot of the “heavy lifting.”
I used all three of the Mixed Media Boards for the background – pushing them together and stenciling across the seams to create a continuous pattern. I built up the layers using the Stencil Butters, some white texture paste, some 3D Matte Gel, and the modeling paste from the kit this month.
I grabbed up my paperclay and moulds, and set about creating the flowers I wanted to use to span across the Mixed Media boards. I used two of the “Magnolia” pieces (product list at bottom of post) and one set of the “Winter Blooms,” then set to work to create my flower spray. I wrapped some plastic wrap around my boards so I could work on the placement of my flowers without worrying about making a mess, and while still on the plastic wrap, I used my 3D Matte Gel to hold the pieces together.
After the gel had set up, I pulled the plastic wrap off the back and coated the flowers with some white gesso. My first layer of color was a coating of the Gamboge Stencil Butter, followed by a coating of the Grecian Gold Modeling Paste.
When it came time to attach my flowers to the boards, I mixed the Grecian Gold Modeling Paste with some of my 3D Matte Gel and used that – that way it would all blend together!
At this point, the only thing holding my boards together was the flower spray, so I got a 9”x12” MDF board from my stash and cut it down to size. Then I used some wood glue, spread it out evenly, and set the boards in place. I used some book clips, with some cushioning under the front edges, to hold everything together while that glue set up.
Eventually, I will be adding some Krylon Triple-Thick Crystal Clear Glaze to the finished piece, once we get a break in the humidity, and then this will be completely finished!
Thank-you for joining me here in my corner, I hope you enjoyed this project and it gave you some ideas of what you can do with the Stencil Butter’s and Modeling Paste found in this month’s Mixed Media Kit.
This week I turned the June Scrapbooking Kit from Tres Jolie Kit Club into a junk journal. The P13 papers and ephemera from their “Let Your Creativity Bloom” line had such beautiful colors – muted shades of pink and sage – and there was a photo of a book in this month’s mood board! What else would I think up for the challenge?!?!
I didn’t just put any old fabrics and papers together, I decided that to be extra messy, I needed to dye my fabrics exactly how I wanted and make my own (matching) paper – check out my video to see the process, or, if you want, you can just check out the flip-through.
On my cover, I layered up strips of fabric, so of the ones I dyed, some are scraps from my stash. I topped a part of one of the patterned papers with one of the Tres Jolie Chipboard pieces coated with some embossing powders, added a few of the flowers, and added some Distress Foundry Wax in “Sterling” as some accent color. Check out the video to see the process of my junk journal from start to finish!
Video:
Flip-through:
Have you checked out the June Mood Board yet? Beautiful pink flowers, galvanized steel bucket, Ball Mason jars, and a book – take a peek and see what creativity it inspires in you!
Make sure you join us for our June mood board challenge!
You can create any type of project for the challenge.
You MUST say what you were inspired by.
You MUST include the twist in your design.
We would love to see you USE AT LEAST 1 of Tres Jolie’s products on your projects but it isn’t required to play along.
It MUST be a new project.
The twist for this month is SPRING FLING.
Place your entries in the June 2022 challenge folder on the Tres Jolie Kit Club Café Facebook page. This challenge ends on June 30th, 2022 at 11:59 pm CST. All entries must be in this folder to be eligible for the prize (to have everyone eligible to win, we are limited the same winner to once every 3 months).
This junk journal is thick! There are over 50 pages filled with lots of writing space, tuck-ins, and pockets – and a securely attached tie closure to keep it together.
On both the front and back covers I added a section of lace trim, lightly colored with Distress Oxides, as tuck in spots.
I turned envelopes into pockets, covered them with strips of fabric, and added closures to a couple of them – a zipper on one and a simple tie on another.
I have tuck-in spots throughout the journal made up of layers of papers and ephemera. I have even added in some old book pages from a 1935 History of English Literature book – I thought this book fit well with the overall “Creativity” theme.
I wanted to add a lot of texture and visual interest in this journal, so I have short pages, ledger papers, bits of fabric and lace, and tons of stitching in here. There is something to see and feel everywhere!
I turned this bit of patterned paper into a simple flip-up card using some lace as the hinge and adding a tab to the edge.
a sheet of patterned paper torn makes a wonderfully distressed pocket! And I just couldn’t bring myself to (fully) separate this stretch of flowers, I used the last bits of that particular lace to make hinges between four inch sections so it could be pulled out – and the image could stay together.
Old music sheets add a lovely aged touch while also making fabulous pockets. I even used the envelopes from the ephemera and tickets to create little tuck-in areas.
When I saw all that leftover dyed water from my fabrics, I couldn’t just let it go to waste, so I added scraps of paper and created my own custom-colored, dapple-edged sheets – either glued to decorated envelopes and pages, or straight into tuck spots to be written on (I suggest using markers, paint pens, or gel pens though, due to the uneven nature of handmade paper!)
I didn’t want to just simply cover my basic white envelopes, so I added fabric, lace, paper, and/or ephemera to create variety and interest. I used one of the Prima flower packs from the kit, and in addition to my cover decoration, I stitched flowers directly onto some of the tuck-ins.
As promised in the video, here is the “stitching guide” (I don’t know what else to call it!) for how I put my signatures in.
How I stitched in my signatures:
Out = from the inside –> out
In = from the outside –> in
First-Middle-Third = Signature from left to right
Top, Second, Middle, Fourth, Last = Hole, from top to bottom.
First Signature:
Middle Signature:
Third Signature:
Out – First – Middle
In – Third – Second
Out – Third – Top
In – First – Second
Out – First – Fourth
In – Third – Last
Out – Third – Fourth
In – First – Middle
Out – Middle – Middle
In – First – Second
Out – First – Top
In – Middle – Second
Out – Middle – Fourth
In – First – Last
Out – First – Fourth
In – Middle – Middle
Out – Third – Middle
In – Middle – Second
Out – Middle – Top
In – Third – Second
Out – Third – Fourth
In – Middle – Last
Out – Middle – Fourth
In – Third – Middle
Thank you for joining me here in my corner, I hope you enjoyed this junk journal and it gave you some inspiration and ideas of what you can do with this month’s Scrapbooking Kit!
Stay Crafty, Friends
Did you get a kit? Share what you made in our Facebook Group!
Welcome to June! Did you get a chance to check out the kit reveals yesterday? This month’s kits are just fab!
For my first June project, I made a little tag-filled folio using this month’s Cards, Tags, & More Kit from Tres Jolie Kit Club, a few extras from my stash (ink, thread, & eyelets), and a cut file I created (I have the measurements I used listed below!).
So, grab your supplies and make yourself a little tag-folio!
I have a two-part tutorial (well, I talked a lot at any rate!) for this folio, part 1 is the tag cutting and base construction, and part 2 is the decorating and final touches. I go over cutting your folio base by hand if you aren’t using an electronic cutting machine, and my assembly process when putting everything together.
Part 1: Tag Cutting & Base Construction
Part 2: Decorating & Final Touches
First, a quick look at all the tags I made for my folio. I die cut a full sheet of the white cardstock, and six sheets of the patterned paper into a variety of tags – some to use this week, some to have ready for the rest of my projects this month. I used the white tags as my base, tore the patterned paper tags at about a 1/3rd – 2/3rd split, and mixed and matched the sides. I have had those butterfly eyelets for years now, and I thought it was about time to use some up, so I popped them into the holes on the tags.
I used a full sheet of the white cardstock to make my base. I have vertical score lines at 3-3/4”, 4”, 4-1/4”, 7-3/4”, 8”, and 8-1/4” and a horizontal score line 6” from the top. I didn’t cut the bottom 1/2” with the barcode and “KaiserCraft” off my sheet, so I have a score line at 12” also. I actually used that little bit during the construction to “protect” the bottom edges of my pockets during construction! Check out the image below to see all the measurements, plus I have some slot placement templates.
Slot Measurements:
Slot positioning templates are available as a PDF from my personal (non-Tres Jolie!!) DropBox for personal use only, please (attribution appreciated, but not required). When printed, the panels should be 4”x6” for an easy lineup with your edges and score lines – although printers & printer settings may vary! (Note: when testing, I made sure to print “actual size” from the printer dialog box and not “to fit” because Adobe and/or my printer wanted to make the 8-1/2”x11” image smaller to fit with margins on an 8-1/2”x11” sheet of paper!)
I made a pocket for each slot of my folio, but I have also added the measurements for alternate pockets so you have a variety to choose from:
*Measurements are to the center of the slot*
Part 1 of my videos covers the construction of the folio base, so I’ll just add some refresher details here on the blog. I lined my pockets up carefully, and got them in place – they are sized to be able to just be folded in half to fit – more or less – there may be a couple that requires some tweaking by folding slightly more than half. I used a combination of double-sided tape and glue to hold everything together – because I like adhesion! You could easily put it all together with just one or the other!!
Before I folded the folio over to close it up, I added a length of the seam binding from the kit across the middle, cut a slot in the hinge between the middle and last panel so I could feed the seam binding through and I would be able to tie it together when that last panel was folded in. For the end of the seam binding that came out of the edge of the folio, I added a couple of tiny staples to help keep it in place through all the tying.
I wanted to reinforce the hinges some, but I didn’t want to add a lot of bulk, so I used the cover sheet from the paper pack to reinforce the hinges on the [folded over] inside of the folio and to reinforce and add some more color to the hinges between the panels on the [visible] inside of the folio. After I had the folio folded in half and glued together, I added the last bit of seam binding to the outside of my hinges to help reinforce all the bending of the paper and cardstock.
With my base finally put together, it was time to start getting the finishing touches done, so I added the papers I had chosen for the outside of the folio. Since I was going to be adding stitching around my edge, I didn’t worry about making sure my adhesive went all the way to the edge, if you aren’t going to add stitching, you will want to make sure you have a secure seal so your cover paper doesn’t pull up!
Even though I wasn’t going to be doing my stitching yet, I wanted to get my holes made so I would know where my stitching would be, so I made a template that would help me make sure everything was spaced evenly and lined up where I wanted them. You can grab that template as a PDF from my personal DropBox if you would like to use it for your personal folio. I have it made to print on two sheets, with a little overlap in the middle to help line the holes up. Printers being what they are, you may or may not get lucky enough to have it print “perfect!” I didn’t get that lucky, but my second page was only a hair “off” so it wasn’t a big problem. (Note: Just like with the slot templates, make sure you print “actual size” and not “to fit”!)
After my holes were all poked through, I cut some 3/16” stripes of white cardstock and a 1/8” strip to use as a spacer so I could even out how my hinge papers looked. I used the 1/8” strip to add the space between the edges of the holes and the edge of the 3/16” strip. I also added 3/16” strips to the outer [vertical] edges so my slot reinforcements would sit evenly (I also have a layer of cardstock under slot reinforcements – so my tag slots are super reinforced now!). I inked up my slot covers and glued them in place.
Now it was finally time to start thinking about how I wanted to decorate the folio, and which finishing touches I wanted to add. I used my “Royal Purple” StazOn to stamp my butterfly images and to dye my seam binding tie closure. For my main image/cluster, I go over getting permanent ink to bleed out and create the shadow effect in the second video. A helpful “fix” for images that don’t stamp clearly! (Personally, if I were to do this project again, I would add my stamping to the cover paper before adding it to the folio. It was all the pocket layers that caused the stamping issues because it was no longer flat!) Anyhow, even if something goes “wrong,” there is always a “fix.” In this case, I used some 91% isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol to cause my StazOn to bleed. I added my inks to the cardstock, then stamped the image on and fussy cut it out. The flowers and leaves are glued flat to the surface, offset just a touch to give a shadow effect, and the butterfly is popped up on some foam. The rest of the images I just stamped and left however they came out. (I did use a strip of cardstock to protect my seam binding covered hinges when I wanted to stamp across them.) I popped on some of the orange pearls and thought about what I wanted to add to the panel that folds in.
On that third panel that folds in, I didn’t want to just leave it blank, so I added a couple of the tags I had cut out. I glued the middle-sized tag on white cardstock near the bottom horizontally and added a tag in the next size up (second largest) as a flap with a simple tab added on. The “bloom” was stamped using the P13 stamp set that had been in February’s Cards, Tags, & More Kit.
Finally, I decided it was time to add my stitching! I just have a simple blanket stitch around the outside of the folio and some straight stitching along the hinges. I added some extra stitching to wrap up the corners of the folio, and added the last little bits to the decoration – the Prima flowers under the butterfly wings, and the green pearls along the bottom of the tag flap. With all that done, I added my tags to their slots and closed it all up!
Thank you for joining me here in my corner, I hope you enjoyed this folio project and have a chance to check out the videos that accompany it! Don’t forget to check out my Etsy shop to get the discounted cut file!
In addition to this month’s Cards, Tags, & More Kit (*from previous Tres Jolie Kits), I used (some non-Tres Jolie Kit Club items contain an affiliate link where I earn a small commission with no extra cost to you!):
Since I did Mother’s Day Cards at the beginning of the month, I decided to do some Father’s Day Coupon’s and gift envelopes as my final May project using the May 2022 Cards, Tags, & More Kit from Tres Jolie Kit Club. I created a few different designs to use as examples and have some example phrases to use with your coupon book. There are links to free PDFs for the different coupons throughout the blog, and over at CornerScrapsStudio you can get the PDFs, STUDIO3, and PNG files from my Etsy shop. I never “fully” completed a coupon book – the closest is my “Unlimited” tags – because I don’t have a personal use for Father’s Day coupons, and all our kids are old enough to worry about it themselves! (by old enough, I mean they no longer have any age restrictions on any purchases )
Check out my video to check out all the different ideas I cover for envelopes and coupons!
Video:
First up are my “Vintage Gold” coupons. I designed these coupons to look as though they are on old paper with gold font and trim. These examples are printed on some HP Premium Choice LaserJet Paper; a type of high-resolution paper designed for business documents that need clear, crisp images. You can get the “Vintage Gold” PDF on DropBox (for personal use only, please!) if you would like to print them out. (**NOTE: All PDF files offered throughout this post are not offered, created, or owned by Tres Jolie Kit Club. I am the creator and owner of the files and offer the PDFs for your personal use.)
The envelope for these coupons is a hand-folded sheet of the 6×6 patterned paper. I just eyeballed the center and eyeballed where I wanted the folds. Then for a little decoration on the front, I added a couple of the leftover hearts from my Mother’s Day Cards and one of the Prima flowers.
This next coupon design I have dubbed “Modern,” not for any particular reason, it is just what came to me when I needed some names to distinguish between the different designs! I printed my “Modern” coupons on some blue cardstock using my regular color InkJet printer. I don’t know if it’s just my particular brand of printer or the ink, but I didn’t have a bleeding problem on my prints. However, a few years ago I had a different printer that did like to bleed. A lot. So I came up with something to help keep that from happening! I discovered that if I spray the side I will be printing on with some Krylon Workable Fixatif and let it dry before printing, my bleeding, for the most part, was gone! I was actually able to print on shipping label sticker paper using this method and all of my images and fonts stayed clear! (Just remember to spray in a well-ventilated area!). If you would like to see all the coupons, you can swing by and pick up the “Modern” PDF on DropBox (for personal use only).
I have a couple of different envelope examples for these coupons. One I made to have a tie closure, so I never sealed any of the flaps. I added an eyelet in the bottom flap and attached one of the flair from the kit to the top flap, then ran a piece of twine through the eyelet to tie the envelope closed. The second envelope I made I left open. I folded the top flap back and glued it in place so the coupons would be able to stick out the top.
I made a couple of mini envelopes to hold some Father’s Day Tokens. The tokens have all the same tasks but in an itty bitty size! I thought there were a couple of ways to use the tokens – you could print them out on sticker paper and make a full coordinating sheet to go with so the stickers could be placed as they get used, or you could print them out on regular paper, cut them into squares, staple the stack together if you want, and put them in the envelope (or staple them to the envelope). You can go grab the “Tokens” PDF on DropBox if you’re interested! (For personal use only)
Here is the final style of the full set of coupons I created. For this example, I printed them on some glossy photo paper and decided to make a little booklet. My photo paper doesn’t slide very well, so instead of trying to get them in and out of an envelope, I thought a booklet would work better. A couple ideas of for securing your booklet are to use brads if they are long enough, or some twine/ribbon ran through a couple of holes. Here is the link for the “Square ‘Stamp’ Edge” PDF on DropBox, if you are interested. (For personal use only)
In addition to the “single-use” coupons, I thought making “Unlimited” coupons would be a nice addition. I have some that are sized to fit the tags from this month’s kit – Unlimited Bear Hugs, Game of Catch, and Spending The Day Together – and I turned them into sketches in Silhouette Studio, but you can also print the “Unlimited Tags” PDF on DropBox if you would like (For Personal Use Only). I have a little envelope I made for them with the top flap folded back and glued open, and a hole with an eyelet so the tags can be tied to the envelope, to keep everything together.
My final example is another “Unlimited” coupon in the form of an ATC. Making an ATC allows some personalized artwork to also be part of the gift! For my ATC I cut a piece of the patterned paper to size, added some of the lattice-ish bits I had left from my Mother’s Day Cards, used some of the Finnabair micas from this month’s Mixed Media Kit, popped on some Say-It-In-Crystals and a flower, then printed out my phrase and glued it on.
For the envelope, I made an ATC-sized pocket. It is an expandable pocket I saw a lady make using the We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board a few (5+) years ago on YouTube. I made myself a little note to tape to my punch board with the measurements, so now I don’t know who I originally saw!
Measurements & (Original) Instructions (6”x6” paper size):
At the 2-1/4” mark, punch & score
Move over to the 3-1/4”, punch & score
Turn
Line up with marker, punch & score
Line up next line marker, punch – NO score (**In my video, I score here, then used my scoreboard to add another scoreline between the two made on the punch board so I had an accordion fold envelope.)
Turn
Repeat 1-5
Using scissors, cut the little sections where your score lines … ummm … overhang … so you can fold your flaps (I hope this made sense!)
This will give you an envelope that is 2-3/4”x3-1/4”. If you’d like some examples for Father’s Day phrases you can get the Father’s Day Phrases PDF on DropBox or just check out this photo for ideas!
Thank you for joining me here in my corner, I hope you enjoyed these little coupon book ideas and they gave you some inspiration for making your own coupon books – whether they be for Father’s Day and the individual filling the father role, your partner for an anniversary, a birthday, or anytime!
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Hey, y’all! Welcome back to the Corner Scraps Blog!
For my fourth and final April, Tres Jolie Kit Club project I made a Mini Junk Journal using the Cards and Mixed Media Kits. I love mixing vintage and bright; “old” and “new;” and the muted tones of the 49 & Market Cards, Envelopes, and Tags in this month’s Cards, Tags, & More Kit were the perfect complement to the bright tones of the Dina Wakley Glossy Sprays in the Mixed Media Kit. Check out the video to see how this all went together!
My closure is a few layers of fabric and tulle with four large buttons added on and a section of a headband (unused!) sewn onto one end. I also added some simple hand stitches for a little extra interest.
Video:
I used some lightweight chipboard I found in my stash, the floral print from the packaging of the 49 & Market Card Kit, and some teal burlap-ish trim from my stash to create the cover of the journal. I then decorated it with the Tres Jolie Chipboard from the kit and some of the Dina Wakely Glossy Sprays.
These aren’t all of the pages in the journal – only about half – as examples of techniques I used in creating this project!
I created a few clusters made from bits of fabric and tulle, a tag from the 49 & Market Tag Pack, and a couple of fabric flowers. I used black thread in my sewing machine to stitch the layers together, then added some hand-stitched X’s and hand-stitched the button on. I then glued the clusters along one edge to use as tuck spots. I added a blanket stitch (sewing machine) along the majority of the pages to reinforce the edges and make sure the gel print papers and cardstock backing stayed together! (Even if I did use a lot of glue – I don’t like things coming apart!)
I didn’t close up the three sides of the envelope to make it, well, an envelope; instead, I left it so it could be all the way unfolded. Throughout the journal, I added in some wax seals – some on pages, some on paperclips.
Not every surface has gel printing on it! I did leave a few sides bare, plus the back of all of the tags – but most of the surfaces have glossy sprays on them, so to write in this journal I think a fine tip marker would work best.
On the tags, I used white thread, and instead of punching holes and adding the tag pulls, I crossed two staples from my Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher.
Lots of different patterns in this junk journal, but the bright Glossy Sprays work with their muted counterparts on the 49 & Market cards and envelopes – and to really tie it all together, I stuck to just using black and white thread.
From the front cover to the back cover there is a variety of patterns and colors. The fabric flowers worked fabulously during the gel plate printing process and made their way onto the finished product.
The spine of the journal has some scrap fabric, tulle, fabric flowers, and buttons from my stash on it. Like the other flowers throughout the journal, these flowers also have some Glossy Spray added to them.
Thank you for joining me here in my corner! I hope you enjoyed this project – and all of the projects this month – and they gave you some ideas of what you can do!
Hey, y’all! Welcome back to the Corner Scraps Blog!
This week I used the April Cards, Tags, & More Kit from Tres Jolie Kit Club to create a Mini Tag Booklet. I assure you, it looks more “complicated” than it was. I grabbed up some bits of fabric and eyelets from my stash, my Mini-Cinch & wire, and some punches to put this little booklet together. Check out the video to see how it came along!
Tag pages created from the envelopes and cards, holding tags from the tag pack!
Video:
Front & back:
I used some light sage thread for my page edges, pink, green, and orange eyelets, and some rust & green fabric bits for tabs and through the eyelets. The booklet is bound together with some orange We R Memory Keepers binding wire (.625-inch). I also added on the front cover phrase & “stitch” rub-ons.
There isn’t really a lot of “extras” in this project – stitching, fabric, eyelets, punches, & binding – the rest comes from this month’s kit! I cut up a couple of the envelopes, leaving some of the flaps to make pockets, or cut down some of the cards and stitched them together. To reinforce my edges and add some texture and decoration, I added some decorative stitches with my sewing machine.
Some pages were a combination of cards or envelopes to make the pocket pages. I used my We R Memory Keepers “Tab” punch to make some of the tabs, and I created a little pocket and used my circle punch to make a thumb hole. Some of the pages, like the third one in the above table, have double pockets!
I couldn’t forget to add in some of the flowers from this month! I used the rub-on leaves, popped on the flowers, and added some JudiKins Diamond Glaze to the centers to help protect them.
Thank you for joining me here in my corner, I hope you enjoyed this Tag Booklet and it gave you some ideas of what can be made using this month’s Tres Jolie Cards, Tags, & More Kit!
Stay Crafty, Friends
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