This PDF prints a 4″ x 5 1/4″ box with title and quote, perfect for the inside or outside of a standard A2 card (4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″). Add your image or family photo!
Make a journal
Easy journal – very sturdy, no sewing, using materials you probably have on hand
I wanted to get started on a journal so I can follow the prompts for Junk Journal July. The idea behind “junk journals” is to use material you have already. It appeals to me as a way to use the craft supplies and recyclables that might otherwise end up as waste.
Materials for cover:
Large cardboard box
Size least 9’ x 6” x 2” (larger than a regular sheet of paper folded in half)
International measurements 22 cm x 16 cm x 5 cm
Corrugated is not recommended, but food boxes are ideal, such as breakfast cereal
Duct tape or some other heavy-duty tape
Extra layers of thin cardboard
Glue
Open the large box, separating the seams on the side and ends, until it is completely flat. Remove the top and bottom and one side. This will leave you with a book shape. Mark the desired size on the remaining large sides and trim with scissors. I’m suggesting the size of 9” tall and 6” wide because that is slightly larger than a folder letter-size page, the common paper size where I live. The international measurements in centimeters are adjusted for folded A4 paper.
Reinforce folds with a layer of heavy-duty tape, if desired. Reinforcement should be 9” long by about 1” wide (2.5 cm) but slightly larger or smaller is OK. Don’t bother to try to trim tape. You will be able to see the reinforcing material in the finished project.
Cut additional layers of thin cardboard to the desired size but 1/4” smaller on the width, so 9” x 5 3/4” (or 22 cm by 15 cm). Glue these so the outer edge lines up, leaving a little gap next to the spine. Tip: once you cut one, trace it on the other layers; it’s faster than measuring and marking multiple times. The gap makes the book easy to open and close, while a full-size panel would crowd the folding point in the spine.
Cut additional layers of thin cardboard to the size of the spine but 1/4” smaller on the width, so 9” x 1 3/4” (or 22 cm x 4 cm). Glue these so the top and bottom line up, leaving a little gap next to the spine.
Materials for contents and assembly:
Paper, assorted 8 1/2” x 11”, folded in half to 8 1/2” x 5 1/2”
International: A4 21 cm x 29.7 cm, folded in half to 21 cm x 14.8 cm
Thin elastic cord, twine, or string
Assembly:
- Fold your pages in half and stack several to form a signature.
- Make several signatures.
- Run the elastic cord (or whatever you are using) in loops around the top and bottom of the spine, tying off after you have at least one pass for each signature.
- Slip each signature into one loop.
You can then decorate the cover with wrapping paper, magazine pages, or scrapbook paper. Or not, if you want to embrace the cereal box exterior!
Short video tutorial on YouTube: https://youtu.be/c256dlJOODQ
Recycled wine cork craft
These are loosely based on kokeshi, a traditional Japanese wooden doll with no arms or legs originally from late 19th-century Honshu.
Supplies:
Wine corks
Still wine has straight corks, sparkling wine has bulbous corks. Artificial corks are fine. If you are not a wine-drinker, take a walk around the neighborhood on recycling day to see who has empty bottles and make a new friend. They probably throw great parties.
For decorating the corks:
Acrylic paint or paint markers
Permanent markers
Optional extras:
Head pins with open eye
Googly eyes
Mini pom poms
Craft chenilles
Air dry clay – makes a great carrot nose
Glue – hot glue recommended
Tips:
Use inexpensive brushes that can be devoted to acrylic paint forever; this is not the project for your best watercolor brush. I used a #6 and a #5/0 from Artists Loft.
The googly eyes and pom-poms should be about 1 cm. Look for these in the children’s craft section.
The head pins with open eye make a hanging loop. Look for these in the beading section.
Air dry clay can be tinted with ink pad re-inkers or acrylic paint.
I found it useful to image-search kokeshi, peggle people or peg people, and mini figures for ideas.
Colors show up better on a white background, so you may want to paint the corks with a base layer of white paint.
As in any painting, you want to paint back to front. Start with skin tone for the face. Don’t forget a ring about 1/3 down the cork for the neck. If you want beige but don’t have beige paint, mix equal parts brown and yellow, add a ton of white and a smidge of red.
It’s easier to make the smallest details and attach with glue rather than try to paint them or draw them with a marker. Or maybe you’re a better painter or drawer than I am!
The space princess buns are three 1/2” circle punches and three 1/4” circle punches.
Personalized gift tags
Supplies used, plus no-shopping alternatives
Tag die: Sizzix Super Scallop steel rule die
This die is so old it pre-dates the Sizzix Big Shot machine’s existence. Many, many thin steel tag dies are available, though.
No-shopping alternative: Cut a tag shape or download one here https://papercraftcrystal.com/2023/05/27/tag-templates/
People dies: Hero Arts Lifestyle, sets from the series shown:
Set What I cut
Winter Accessories short sweatpants
RBG glasses, long dress (judicial robe), hair
Frida Kahlo top, skirt, hair
Victorian Gentleman second-best pants, top, jackets
Victorian Lady long frilly jacket
Christmas Figures hair, beard, blouse
Cherub hair
Trick or Treat best pants and shoes, hair, two jackets, big hair, dress
Forms Fancy Die body, five kinds of hair, T-shirt, shorts
This series is currently available; check Hero Arts website. If you subscribe to the Hero Arts monthly kit you may have some of these already, or if you have been paper crafting for a long time you may have the old EK Success Paperkins kits or punches.
No-shopping alternatives: Photo of the recipient – printed on plain paper is fine for this purpose. If you don’t have a photo, use a celebrity … and remember all your friends and relatives look like Christie Brinkley, Denzel Washington, George Clooney, and Beyonce.
Letter dies: Sizzix Thinlits Alphanumeric (1” Tall) Tim Holtz #660210
These are old, but still available from some retailers, as are many, many other alphanumeric sets. Also, stamps are the cheaper alternative to dies for making words.
No-shopping alternatives: Handwriting, magazine cut-outs
Die-cutting machine and accessories
Write-up on die-cutting machines here https://papercraftcrystal.com/2023/04/17/die-cutting-what-to-look-for-at-the-thrift-shop-or-garage-sales/
and more here https://papercraftcrystal.com/2023/04/19/manual-die-cut-machines-basics-and-optional-extras/
Other supplies:
Tiny needle-nose bottle for glue, because name-brand glue tubes are nice but not 36 times better than Elmer’s Extra Strong in a tiny bottle and that’s what the price difference is
Silicone cups for die pieces https://amzn.to/3IInx4T but any dollar store muffin tin would do just as well, or try paper cupcake liners. I like the separate cups because you can stack them up if you have to pause your project.
Round-up on bargain craft tools: https://papercraftcrystal.com/2023/05/06/finding-bargain-craft-tools/ and just glue https://papercraftcrystal.com/2023/04/22/cost-efficient-adhesive/
Amazon links are affiliate
Tag templates
Some tag templates you can print.
I’m thankful for you and pizza (pizza card)
Video link https://youtu.be/XARFviLBSZM
Stamps:
Stamp: My Favorite Things Pizza My Heat (no longer available new)
Die: My Favorite Things Pizza Maker (no longer available new)
currently available alternatives:
Pizza seems to be out this year, so the food-themed Father’s Day sets currently are all about grilling. For a similar vibe, check out Brutus Monroe Grill dies and Trinity Stamps Un-grill-ivable sentiments.
Stamp: Heartfelt Creations Hand-Stitched (no longer available new)
I really wanted buffalo check, though, and there are many alternatives. Doodlebug makes paper, scrapbook .com has a stencil and a die, Simon Says Stamp has a stencil, Stampers Anonymous has Tim Holtz plaid stamps, and the list goes on.
Die: Gina Marie Designs double-stitched rectangle – current product
GMD is wholesalecraftingsupplies.com and prices are very reasonable
Ink: Altenew Crimson
Crisp Dye Ink line of oval pads is being phased out, but this is still available
Paper: Die cuts from random scraps, white panel from Strathmore Bristol smooth, card base is Neenah Desert Storm. I get the card bases cut to 8.5 x 5.5 at thepapermillstore.com . If you are making cards at volume, their pre-cut and folded white and ivory card bases and envelopes are big time-savers, although I think the smallest quantity you can get is 100 and most items come in 250.
Other supplies
Tiny needle-nose bottle for glue, because name-brand glue tubes are nice but not 36 times better than Elmer’s Extra Strong in a tiny bottle and that’s what the price difference is
Car chamois, because the name-brand craft “shammy” products are nicer, but this is cheaper and I can throw it away when it inevitably mildews in my humid climate. Any auto-parts store or section would have something similar.
Pressure tool: owl shaped dry erase magnet, because I think it’s cute and I could use the other seven to erase. Any dry eraser would work the same, or a piece of felt glued to a wooden stamp block after you remove the stamp, if you do that to save space.
Tim Holtz stamping platform no longer available in the US, but I have a write-up here that covers some alternatives https://papercraftcrystal.com/2023/04/23/stamping-options/
Silicone cups for die pieces https://amzn.to/3IInx4T but any dollar store muffin tin would do, or even paper cupcake liners. I like the separate cups because you can stack them up if you have to pause your project.
The craft pick that I use on dies is one I bought over 25 years ago, back when dry embossing meant brass stencils. I got three for $5 and they’re still going strong. It has a pokey end that would not work for jewels or sequins, but a wax-tip tool would handle those.
Round-up on bargain craft tools: https://papercraftcrystal.com/2023/05/06/finding-bargain-craft-tools/ and just glue https://papercraftcrystal.com/2023/04/22/cost-efficient-adhesive/
Amazon links are affiliate
Which paper really stands up to water?
I had an epic fail with trapped embossing and it made me think about the qualities of paper, particularly used with water-soluble mediums. Paper interests me, as I’m sure it does many crafters, and one of the most interesting tours I’ve ever enjoyed was a paper mill in Wisconsin with a Club Scrap group.
Paper is generally made using wood pulp, with higher-quality paper (especially watercolor paper) getting additional cotton lint. The highest quality paper may be made from 100% cotton lint or even cotton textiles, which is described as “cotton rag”. Cotton textiles have longer fibers than cotton lint.
Commercially-made, general use paper has additives, but the most important one for my topic is sizing. Sizing stops ink from absorbing into the paper, bleeding out from its point of application. Papers like toilet paper, facial tissue, and paper towels generally don’t have any sizing. Copy paper, notebook paper, craft cardstock, and watercolor paper do have sizing, and that can be internal, external, or both. Internal sizing means ingredients are added to the pulp as the paper is made, and external sizing is a coating applied to the surface of the paper. Sizing can be manufactured (alkyl ketene dimer) or natural (gelatin, wheat starch).
As a crafter, the most important takeaway is that detergent breaks down sizing so if you wash your brushes or stamps with detergent, rinse thoroughly to avoid transferring detergent to your paper.
Out of curiosity, I took three punched pieces from every variety of watercolor and mixed media paper I had on hand and put those in tiny jars with water to see what would break down fastest and slowest. I threw in some copy paper, some Neenah 110 pound, some 100% cotton “resume paper”, and some bristol for comparison. The pieces were a 1” circle, a tiny scalloped circle, and a heart… except some paper was too tough for the heart punch, so those got a 1/4” circle. (These tiny jars are left from the Bonne Maman advent calendar and hold 30 g, about 1 ounce.)
Paper will break down in acid and heat. I can’t imagine ever applying vinegar or lemon juice to a craft project, but I certainly do apply heat. I put the jars of paper pieces and water on the heating plate for my slow cooker and brought them to about 200 degrees (the temperature of the average craft heat gun) for 10 minutes.
After 24 hours, the copy paper was visibly degrading. Where the paper had been bent a little in the process of punching the 1” circle the paper was developing a hole, and paper fiber is visible in the water. The other samples were intact, but I was interested to see that some were floating (had not become completely water-logged) and some had sunk to the bottom (fibers are water-logged.) That’s not good or bad, all the papers are fine, but I want to know because I’m pretty heavy-handed, so I need paper that is going to stand up to my spills and mistakes!
Sinkers:
Neenah 110 lb
Strathmore Bristol
Mofuny Mixed Media
Arches watercolor
Strathmore 100% cotton 32 lb
Distress watercolor
Distress heavy stock
Dylusions mixed media
Floaters:
Arteza watercolor
American Craft Vicki Boutin mixed media
Strathmore watercolor
I’m trying for a no-shopping year (and failing miserably, but that’s a separate topic) so I won’t be buying any paper, just trying to use up what I have. I can’t help noticing, though, that American Crafts Vicki Boutin mixed media paper is nice. It has a very smooth surface, nice body without being too heavy, and it takes watercolor beautifully. I’m impressed with the Arteza watercolor paper as well, but I’m not a watercolor artist so its qualities are not quite what I’m looking for in paper. The Vicki Boutin is pretty reasonably priced at scrapbook.com (https://www.scrapbook.com/store/ac-343917.html – not an affiliate link) at $0.82 per 12 x 12 page before shipping and sales tax. The price is double at Amazon.
I’ll post again with more updates as the experiment progresses!
Day 6: The Ranger Tim Holtz Distress heavystock is splitting into two layers. The American Crafts Vicki Boutin mixed media, Strathmore watercolor, and Arteza watercolor papers are still floating.
Keep your craft space tidy with this one easy tip
You can keep your craft space tidy by looking at it in its messy state and analyzing what is out that makes it messy. Is it stamps? Paper? Ink pads? Think about the last time you cleaned up… what was left at the end when you ran out of steam?
For me, the issue is always scraps of paper and stamps/dies. I can keep up with the ink pads and markers, the glue and punches, but I’m always left with a pile of paper scraps and can’t ever seem to get the stamps and dies put away.
I’ve started using a three-box method to keep my craft space tidy all the time.
One box is for the paper scraps – the leftover bits of inky backgrounds, scraps of patterned paper or cardstock, or extra die cuts. One is for stamps, dies, and stencils. The third is for everything else that needs to be put away. I can clean off my work surface into these three containers, and then efficiently put that stuff away as time permits.
I’m striving to make this a no-shopping year for craft supplies, and part of that effort is using what I have. This approach has really helped me use the supplies and not focus on the thought “oh, I’d make something but it will make a mess” or not being able to find what I want to use.
I hope you can adapt this tip to your crafting style, and that you find it useful!
Alphabet dies need magnet sheets
The one type of die that really needs a magnet storage sheet is alphabet dies. The magnet sheet helps you keep track of each die so you aren’t left with a less-than-26 letter set.
I have had to dig through the recycle bin more than once looking for a die that got mixed in with the paper scraps, but without a magnet sheet I would not have realized it was missing until too late!
There are several purpose-made craft storage solutions, including Lawn Fawn, Totally Tiffany, Sizzix, Hero Arts, Crafter’s Companion (and more I’m sure), but plain magnet sheets are also readily available. The one pictured is this one https://amzn.to/3Op6oRl that runs less than a dollar per 5×7 sheet. I usually pair them with DVD storage sleeves for a bargain approach.
My favorite use of scraps
I’ve tried many tips to use up scrap paper, but after trying them all I’ve settled on my favorite way to use up the edges of inky projects and tiny pieces of cardstock, vellum, and even wrapping paper. I use them to make personalized gift tags and bookmarks.
Everyone loves something personalized, so these have been very popular. I use them at the holidays and all year long for birthdays. The only tool required is letter dies.
Papercraft Crystal 