"When our eyes see our hands doing the works of out hearts, the circle of creation is completed inside us, the doors of our soul flies open and love steps forth to heal everything in signt"

-- Michael Bridge

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Young Crafters Unite Blog Hop - Stamper Keeper Tutorial

Hi there! I’m so happy you’re joining me for the Young Crafters Unite Blog Hop!! You should be hopping over from Vicky Papaioannou's blog. If you get lost somewhere along the way, you can always start fresh over HERE or on Marie's Blog ;).

I’m really excited to participate in this hop! I admire so many of the girls involved and also am excited to make new crafty friends! I think what makes me a young crafter is the fact that I love creating things that make people smile. Whether it’s a card or mini book for a family member or friend; or a scrapbook page for my family’s scrap book. My kids and hubby love looking at every project I make. They love feeling the textures, and hearing the stories behind what I’m doing. That really makes me happy. I also love the crafting community. We all share our ideas and leave each other comments - it’s really uplifting and empowering. Such a positive atmosphere!

Today I wanted to share something that really combines a FEW of my favorite crafty things! They are:
*Lawn Fawn Stamps
*Crate Paper
and *Scrapbooking/Making Mini-Books.

Ok, before I share today’s project, first take a look at this project I made HERE. I made that mini book last year to keep my Lawn Fawn Stamps in, at that time I only had about 6-7 sets. Lawn Fawn is, by far, my absolute fave company for stamps {really, my other stamps are seriously jealous!} and I use them so much that taking them in and out of the packaging seemed... well, tedious and unnecessary. So I made that mini-book that was a combo of chipboard/clear acrylic pages and it has been home to my Lawn Fawn Stamps for a good year now. As my Lawn Fawn collection has grown, I needed a new - more functional - home for them. Which brings me to today’s project.

So, I saw THIS tutorial over on the Crate Paper Blog last week and was so inspired that I wanted to give it a try. I knew something like that would be a perfect new home for my Lawn Fawn Lovelies. The problem was that I couldn’t find the binder-ring-insert-thingy anywhere! I looked at Michaels, Joanne Fabrics & even Office Depot. No luck! I decided to buy a {Wilson-Jones} recyclable binder - already assembled - and it was Craft...bonus! Here is a before picture:

I started off by removing the binder clip, because I really thought it would be more functional on the back page of the binder as opposed to in the middle. With so many pages, it just makes everything more “movable”. So, I unscrewed the binder-ring-insert-thingy then used it as a template on the back page of the binder to make the holes. I had to use my Making Memories eyelet setting tool because my Crop-a-Dile just wouldn’t work because of sizing issues:

Then got out {of my stash} the pretty “Emma’s Shop” Collection by Crate Paper’s and went to town measuring and cutting. I loved that the binder came in Craft, and I really wanted to still see that when all was said and done, so I kept that in mind when measuring.
{The measurements for the sides (inside & outside) are 11 ½ x 9 3/4 and the middle is 11 ½ x 1 3/4}:

Then I went to town with Worn Lipstick Distress Ink on all of edges of all of the papers - so they would POP and be extra pretty ;):


I glued all of the patterned paper down with Glossy Accents - wanted them to REALLLLLY stick! NOTE: It is really important to glue one side of the binder down, then set the holes into the paper (using the binder).... then glue down the other side and do the same. That way you know where your holes should be. Then I added the binder rings. This was super easy to do, because the rings were attached with screws. I even used a Swiss Army knife because it was close at hand - hee hee.

Next I added a little pocket (SMASH by K&Co) to the back page of the book to keep my Lawn Fawn Year One Catalog and the empty packaging from my stamps in - so I can see the actual stamp sets if need be - and a pretty Metal Tag to the front of the book.


I used clear acrylic 12x12 pages and cut them down to 8 ½ x 11 just using my paper trimmer - worked like a charm. Then I used the Crop-a-Dile to chomp holes into the acrylic (the Crop-a-Dile cut through the acrylic like butter - seriously!!) and set large eyelets to make them move easier throughout the book. While I was at Office Depot I also picked up some {pink} clear tabbed page separators - and I’m so glad I did. I originally thought I’d cover them with pretty paper too, but I decided to leave them plain. They really keep the stamps attached to the acrylic better {and dust free} and you can see through them, which is seriously convenient.




See, nice & see through. I decorated the outside cover last. With some of the Emma’s Shop Letter & Chipboard Stickers. I really love how it came out. I love Crate Paper so much! The texture of the paper is so lush and the colors are both bold and soft in each collection - fabulous stuff. I’m so happy that my Lawn Fawn’s have a new more practical home - with room to grow! So there you have it! One more peek:


EEK, I love it! AND it fits right in on my new crafty hutch!

I hope you’ve enjoyed peeking at my project. I know some of my pics were a bit wonky - sorry about that (cell phone pics). Anyway, one of my favorite things about blogging is seeing cool ideas/techniques {like the book I saw on the Crate paper blog} and making them your own! I hope I’ve inspired you a little bit today. Next on the hop is Jess Larsen's blog.

Remember, you’ll want to try to comment on everyone’s blog in the hop to be entered to win some fabulous prizes!!! The more comments, the more chances for you to win! There are fabulous sponsors such as Simon Says Stamp, Denami Design, and Paper Smooches. How exciting! Personally, I can’t wait to give Paper Smooches Stamps a try - they are entirely too cute!!!

Also, if you like what you see, you may want to follow our blogs as well. Then we’ll come over and visit your blog too!!! It’s a happy cycle :D. I hope you have an amazing day and have fun hopping!!! A big THANK YOU to Britta & Marie for getting this hop together!! They are two creative ladies to watch!!

51 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for showing this, Heather! It reminded me about a similar binder I've wanted to try storing my Lawn Fawn and Paper Smooches stamps in, that I haven't got aroun to trying yet. I hope this binder works out well for you =) Thank you so much for joining our bloghop!

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  2. Wow Heather I love this idea! Where did you get the acrylic sheets? I'd love to have some nice acrylic sheets like that to make something like this! =) Thanks so much for sharing this project... I love love LOVE it (and also love Lawn Fawn stamps!)

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  3. Hi Heather! Thank you for your sweet comments on my blog and along the hop! This book is TOO FABULOUS! I am in love with it from cover to cover! You have such talent! :)

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  4. What an awesome idea! I might try it for my stamps! Thanks for sharing!

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  5. Amazing idea! Will be doing something similar soon :o)

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  6. Thanks for sharing your storage idea. I'm always looking for a great way to store my stamps

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  7. That's so cool! I love LF too and should do something like that. I didn't even know 12x12acrylic sheets existed! Thanks for commenting on my blog too!

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  8. Hi Heather, thanks for sharing your beautiful project and the lovely storage and... everything! It all looks lovely, and so practical! And I <3 Lawn Fawn, too!!! TFS!!! :)

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  9. Great project and so useful too! Thanks for
    sharing.

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  10. Nice idea and what a fun project. I love your hutch! It is so pretty:) TFS with us. Having fun hopping with you today. I am #58:)
    ~Madison funkycards.blogspot.com

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  11. Ohh! I'm in love! Your project is so beautiful and cute and girly, What an amazing idea for storing the stamps! Thanks for sharing :)

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  12. Ok, yay! I'm finally here! I saw this project this morning in my reader but told myself to wait until I reached you in the hop. Wow, Heather, this is just a brilliant idea, what a space saver! Thanks for all the tips!

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  13. What a cool idea! Mine are still sitting in the original packages...:-) So happy to have you before me on the hop today!

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  14. great idea, I will try it with my stamps collection too.

    And I am second in the list and I am not a girl :).

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  15. This is such an amazing idea.. totally loved it...!!

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  16. Fabulous project and I LOVE your hutch!!

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  17. Super Idea!!
    Thanks for sharing,
    Blessings,
    Bunny
    http://bunnyrunswithscissors.blogspot.com/
    http://www.ajillianvancedesign.com/

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  18. Heather, this is AMAZING! Oh my gosh, what a cool project! You seriously are brilliantly crafty. I would have NEVER thought to do something like that. You rock, girlfriend!

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  19. This is a brilliant idea Heather! And so cute sitting on your shelf! I would love to make a project like this someday. (By the way where do you get acrylic sheets?) But I will have to mentally prepare myself to break up my lawn fawn sets from their packaging, I'm seriously finicky about tis with all my clear stamps and I don't really know why. I guess because they are so pretty in their packaging. But like you I am running out of room in the place where they are currently stored. :( I would love some sort of system similar where I could keep them with their original sheet of images. I will have to ponder that one. But seriously, this project is amazing and thanks so much for sharing it! And so glad I finally made it to you on the hop! :)

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  20. Great altered project...you are now WAY more organized than me :)

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  21. this is so fun and a great storage solution! :)

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  22. a beautiful storage idea - you must have the whole collection!

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  23. Fantastic project!! Wow, I love how you organized your Lawn Fawn. I'll have to keep this idea in mind. Thanks for sharing! :)

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  24. What a great folder Heather. Love the pretty papers!

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  25. Hi Heather! I have been on a mammoth mission on posting on every single blog in the hop and I have finally made my way to you! I love your altered project so much! I use an A5 Folder to store my Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous stamps, but I have not altered the folder like you have. I love it! Thank you for taking the time to stop by my blog and commenting. I am looking forward to seeing more of your work: I have become a follower!

    Warm Regards,
    Tania x

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  26. I love seeing new organization ideas (I'm sort of an organization freak)! Love your binder idea for your stamps! Fantastic :o)

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  27. Great idea for the stamps and thank you for the detailed tutorial.

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  28. Great way to organize stamps. Thanks for sharing great idea.

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  29. Thank you for sharing your storage solution. I'm always looking for ways to keep my stamps and this is one I am going to seriously look at.

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  30. THANKS for sharing this idea!! Love that paper set!! =) Have a FABULOUS WEEKEND!! =)

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  31. This is a fantastic idea! Thanks so much for sharing!


    Be sure to stop by my blog to enter my 500 followers giveaway!


    XO ~ Amy Jo
    amyjrockstar at gmail dot com
    http://lv2scrapandfibrofacts.blogspot.com/

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  32. such a great project and smart way to keep track of your stamps! Love it!

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  33. This is such a good idea, and it's so cute!! Thanks for sharing!!
    -Stephanie
    www.stephmade.com

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  34. What a great idea for almost any notebook. Has me thinking about making a personalized notebook for my DGD. Great storage for the clear stamps!

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  35. Oh wow great idea for storing your stamps! Thanks for the inspiration :)

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  36. omg thanks for sharing!!! this is just the right project for all my stamps too!

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  37. This is such a wonderful idea, Heather! LF stamps are one of my favorite things as well, and I love that you came up with this idea to store them all. The decoration on the color is my favorite, and I'm so impressed that you moved the binder mechanism to exactly suit your needs. Awesome. Thank you so much for joining us on the Young Crafters Unite blog hop!

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  38. What a fantastic idea and I love your organized little space.

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  39. Look at you!! Great project idea INDEED!
    -Elaine Uhl
    http://createNstamp.blogspot.com

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