Decorative Envelopes DIY

Red and gold are not my colors but the warm theme of this decorative Dragonfly Envelope Stationery Set is gorgeous! Years ago, I had greatly admired a mixed media piece in luscious reds and golds at a Thrift store in Georgia. I went back to get it a few days later, thinking that surely no one would want it. Sadly, it was gone. 

That experience inspired me to choose a similar color theme for this project. It started as a mis-printed piece of lightweight cardstock destined for the round file. I used my  We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board to create an envelope.

Most of the print ended up on the backside. 

To make a more neutral background to work on, I lightly sponged white acrylic paint over the print. Leaving some showing enhanced the design.

I began stamping using background and small stamps. 

The #90246 Dragonflies stamp is from Stamps Happen, Inc (could not find a website, shared Etsy search), licensed by Carolyn Shores Wright.  

The Primulars Postcard #3721H stamp is from Rubber Stampede (could not find a website, shared Etsy search), licensed by Sarah Lugg.

The Dragonfly Background #RS4756 stamp is from Hampton Art (sold in 2007 to National Spinning in North Carolina, shared FB page), licensed by Judy Melvin. The clock stamp is one of my eraser, hand-carved stamps.

I bought the wooden floral, round rubber stamps from Aliexpress in a set of 6. 

The Wish Postmark #554E stamp is from All Night Media, Inc., (could not find a website, shared Etsy search).

Because I used light colored stamping inks (my Whispers vintage set, shared Ebay search), I lightly outlined some of the stamped images with black ink. I glued on some red seed beads. 

I began working on the clips. I tied a bow from a scrap of red grosgrain ribbon and painted on gold glitter glue. I also painted the glitter on the top of a clothespin and lightly brushed the sides with red paint.

I painted and embellished 2 love words printed foam hearts elements for the paperclip accessory and added flat rhinestones to the clothespin.

I began to color my design with chalk pastels, using mostly red, gold and peach. I accented with a gold glitter gel pen. I like the pastel set that I bought from Hobby Lobby. It is from Loew Cornell and has 48 nice-sized sticks in a great range of colors.  

I embellished with pressed flowers and flat, acrylic rhinestones. The postage stamp is made with a bead soup glued into the rectangle space.

I sealed the pastel design with spray fixative. I applied glue to the backsides of the foam hearts and sandwiched the paperclip and some silk flower petals between them. I clipped it to dry.

I traced the envelope flap onto a piece of red craft paper, cut out and added for an envelope liner.

The envelope closure is made with a hook and loop dot.

I dry-brushed a bronze, coin charm with a metallic gold paint pen. I embellished the envelope flap with the bow. I attached bead dangles and the coin charm with a jump ring through a punched hole in the flap.

I finished the clips by adding glitter paint, beads, sequins and flat rhinestones. brushing with Mod-Podge to seal. The paperclip has a different design on each side.

This sweet little decorative envelope set could add a garden ambience to a sunroom table or enhance a foyer console display. It could decorate a cabinet or shelf vignette. It could even be used as craft studio decor and do double duty as papercrafting storage.

The next time you want to toss out a mis-printed sheet or a damaged envelope, salvage and alter it. They also make nice gifts ribbon-tied in 3's. But watch who you give them to. Some people don't know what these types of artsy gifts are for. 😄

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Order a mini hearts envelopes printable from Love Romance Marriage. Use them in collage, altered art and journal making. Use to store tiny stamps and ephemera. Use as thank-you notes.

How To Make A Simple Journal

 

Don't procrastinate anymore about making your first handmade journal. My Alone In The Woods And Writing mini journal was quick and easy to make. It's not complicated but very simple. It got me started in my handmade journal projects. You can make a short journal too!

I had a piece of my hand-painted cardstock that was ok but not the best that I'd made. Rather than throw it away, I decided to use it for the cover. I planned to add collage. The size of this scrap did not matter but the journal ended up being about 5 x 4.5". 

I glued a piece of red paper onto the back of the scrap cardstock and trimmed. I folded it in half and I had my journal cover. I gathered together various other scrap papers and those that were too large, I trimmed. This was going to be a journal with even pages rather than ragged and raw. I stacked the scraps on top of each other and folded them in half. Some pages were a little short and I left them that way. 

The front of the journal is collaged and textured. The moon is a circle of paper with a script design. The cottage is one of my odd sketches on a piece of cardstock. I drew in the roof tiles and the eaves after gluing it to the cover. I doodled on the lines and dots on the cover background.

The two black trees are scratched in with a dying ink pen. The white trees and the stars are scratched on with a dying bottle of correction fluid that I wanted to toss. It made a very bumpy texture reminiscent of tree branches and bark. The tree trunks are scribbled on in black. More trees and bushes are pieces of salvaged book paper and my hand-painted paper cut with spikes across the tops and collaged down. 

The title is hastily scribbled words from when I first got the idea for the theme of this little journal. I was looking at the circle of script paper and my sketched cottage as I sorted scraps. I saw a big moon shining through trees onto bushes and a cottage in the woods. 

Notwithstanding the secluded eeriness of it, I thought how quiet and serene it would be to be writing there. I scribbled the words just to see a possible title. I was going to type and print them but decided that using my writing could add character and atmosphere to the design.

I did most of the collaging after I assembled the book. On the inside front cover I glued an image of red flowers that I tore from something, probably gift wrap, then scribbled black curlicues over it. On the first page I stamped a forest in black, with my hand-carved eraser stamp, until the ink faded. I glued a piece of scrap image and handwriting at the bottom.

Any pages with grid lines are patterns from the back of an embroidery book. I was going to toss them but decided to toss them into this mish-mash journal design.

I painted, drew lines, stamped and glued clip art on various pages. Then, I cut the corner off of an envelope and painted both sides with markers to make a corner bookmark, keeping with the night theme.

The pages are fairly pristine compared to an embellished journal that I would create today. I wanted to provide as much space as possible in this one for writing down thoughts.

The pages I chose for this one-signature journal were scraps that I liked and scraps that I did not like very much. I was not concerned with the colors or themes of the papers. I knew that I would add collage and other embellishments to some of them that would reflect the journal theme, Along In The Woods. 

I cut another moon, sketched another cottage and wrote out my title again for the back cover. I chose embroidery thread for sewing the book together. I punched holes in the spine at intervals, pushing through all pages and the cover. There are many types of authentic book binding sewing techniques. I usually like to just sew what I feel. Something unique, odd and eclectic.

For this journal I did learn the most basic stitch, the saddle stitch. After punching the holes, I used a needle and the embroidery thread. Instead of tying off the thread in the inside middle of the journal, I made a tail at the top and attached a decorative shell coin charm. 

My favorite zipper pouch sewing demonstrator, Jan Howell, has made an excellent tutorial on binding with the easy saddle stitch:

DIY Saddle Stitch Bookbinding | Simple Craft Project

Have you wondered what is the purpose of a junk journal other than a creation to look at? Here is a good overview, by Megan at Compass & Ink, of how they can be used. I like the suggestion of using one as a gratitude or spiritual journal. They can also be used as dream journals.

Junk Journal Ideas & How To Make Them

Create tags and envelopes to add to your handmade journal using instant download printables.

Printable Cards, Tags & Envelopes at Love Romance Marriage Shop

 

DIY Lightbox For Photography

How to make a temporary light box to photograph projects better using diffused lighting.
Supplies Needed:

• Cardboard Box
• Box Cutter
• White Paper (sheets or a roll)
• Packing Tape
• Small Light Sources (of your choice) To Shine Into The Box When Photographing

Make a DIY lightbox for product photography.

You can orient your light box either horizontally or vertically, depending on what type of projects you most likely will be photographing. My box is vertical.

Cut out panels from both sides and the top. Don’t cut too close to the corners. The wider that the corner supports are the more sturdy and durable your box will be.

I left even wider corners in the top cutout to support sometimes placing a light on top. So, the space that I cut out on top was smaller than the cutout sides.

Begin to tape white paper on the outside, covering the cutouts. I wrapped mine around the back to make taping easy. I also wrapped it around the front edge to easily cover more of the brown box.

When taping inside, I tried to hide as much of the tape as I could to avoid glare when photographing. If you need to piece your paper, create the seams at the top or bottom, rather than across the middle. This will help avoid a seam showing across the middle back of your photographed item.

I chose to make my seams at the top. I will be mostly using this box to photograph, from the top downwards, printable greeting cards, tags, handmade books, envelopes, etc., where a top, background seam would not show.

Continue to cover the other side and the top cutouts.

On the inside, avoid as many seams as possible by draping the paper across the corners. Start with the floor of the inside. Tape it in place.

So much paper is needed in the inside that it’s difficult to avoid seams and gaps. For my next box, I may try adding white fabric to the inside instead. It would allow for softer folds and one piece could be used. Also, painting the inside white is an option to use alone or with paper, but less of it.

Add a horizontal piece of paper across the back, draping it in the corners. Tape it in place.

Add a vertical piece of paper from top to bottom, leaving the bottom half of it un-taped. It can be pushed in or pulled out to enhance the photograph.

I left the top inside uncovered since I’ll be photographing downwards. But, there is something to be said about brown absorbing light. I may add more white paper there. Covering the top inside might bounce off more white light.

This is how my little, LED spotlights look shining through the sides. The white paper diffuses the light so that it is not harsh and glaring. It makes for a softer, white ambience, which is more attractive. It also helps to reduce the amount of photo editing that is needed. The final photo would be cropped to the project, like this…

I could temporarily cover the seam to the right, lower side by standing a small piece of paper in that area. Then I could re-photograph. But, I’m happy with the image as it is.

This is how I would stand one of my lights on top when I need more down light. I plan to buy 2 more of these mini spotlights for shots like that. Sometimes I need 4 sources of light. I have added 2 table lamps propped over, with the light shining from their tops, into the front and other side of the light box.

This light box is as durable as the cardboard box used to make it. It can last indefinitely. Keep it stored in the top of a closet or on a shelf until needed.

Retail light boxes come in various sizes and prices. Some of them have a variety of colored cloth back drops. For instance, if you were photographing some seashells or a strand of pearls, you might want a dark backdrop.

This DIY light box will work in a pinch to improve the look of your product photography!


Purchase your printable 1st Anniversary Card from Love Romance Marriage.

Print a 1st anniversary greeting card.

Love Romance Marriage Printable Greeting Cards

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Tips For Using Silicone Baking Pans

I am glad that I researched how to cook with silicone bakeware. I would never have thought it necessary to use cooking spray on the cake pans. 

The Dough Academy suggests that even though these pans are non-stick, using a cooking spray coating can prevent further sticking. 

I used the spray and my cakes released perfectly from my pans and left very few crumbs behind. This was my first time using silicone baking pans. 

I think people buy them so that they don't have to oil the pans in advance. I believe that they would have worked well in that way but I will probably continue to use spray. 

The pans are worth having because they are very lightweight, easy to clean and I didn't have to flour them after spraying them.

Silicone bakeware how to use.

I cut up the 10" cake and put it in the freezer, except for a few pieces. Then I put the 6" cake in the 10" pan. 

Baking with silicone pans.

I ordered my pans from Temu, a 6" and a 10".

Find more baking tips for silicone pans and other cooking help at The Dough Academy, whose mission is to provide you with the knowledge, tips, and tricks you need to become a dough-making master.

Tags make lovely presentations for baking gifts. Print your own tags, cut out, punch holes and add pretty baker's twine or ribbon to embellish your edible gifts. 

Baker's twine is a two-tone twist of white and a color. It comes on cards or rolls. Traditionally, bakers used it to tie up white boxes of baked goods. It adds such a festive touch!

Tags for baked goods.

      Downloadable Gift Tags To Print