Travel Organizer Folio Pocket Notebook

Happy October everyone! This year is flying by! Today is the official launch of Eileen Hull's new Chapter 4 Sizzix Die, The Pocket Notebook Score Board XL, and she decided to have a Release Party Blog Hop, and I'm happy to be a part of it!  You will definitely want to grab some sustenance if you plan on participating...there is a lot to see and read. On the die, you get all of the pieces you need to make an entire book- the cover, pages, latch and pen loop, and the completed notebook measures 6 3/4” x 4 1/2” with a spine that can adjust from 3/8 of an inch to almost 2 inches. String it with elastic, hemp, ribbon or twine. There are so many options for this die.

I only had time to make one project with this fabulous new die, but make sure you visit the other designer's as well, as you will have your socks knocked off with all the makes (see blog hop links below), and many of them made a slew of them...talk about inspiration! For me, it was all about business function and organization, so I made (more like stitched up) a Travel Organizer Folio to hold all that I need on the go for business, and it even holds my phone, with the help of some other dies.

I wanted a raw feel to this which is good because my sewing machine did not like the leather so much! I embrace imperfection.

I added a lined notebook to the first insert, and folder of sticky notes to the second insert. I love and use sticky notes a ton, so I included lots.

Lots and lots of pockets and slots for business cards, hotel keys, credit cards, receipts, whatever.

In case you want to know how I put this together, I have included my steps, although might be a little confusing, but now you can make one yourself.

I die cut the pieces with mat board and adhered them together with Multi Matte Medium so that  four of the stitching holes are shown...even though I am only using two...so that the folio is nice and wide.

I found this faux leather animal print material at the craft store, and thought it would be perfect for this. I wanted to wrap the notebook front and back with the material and then stitch the top and bottom, so I measured and cut the material to fit exactly, but it is just one long piece that wraps around the sides of the notebook. I also marked where the hole would need to go on the spine of the notebook for a closure, and I punched that hole. I stitched the edges of each side that will be next to the inside spine piece so that it will look nicely finished.

I cut the material to fit the center spine portion on the inside and punched the holes for the pages. I also cut the leather binding strap and inserted the elastic for the closure, and then set this all aside for later. Note...I ended up adding a black piece of leather to the back of the red and stitched these together as I thought it looked better on the front of the folio.

I die cut black leather from Eileen's Gift Card Folder and Label #2 L Die, as I thought this would be a perfect pouch for the phone. I cut a long strip of the red leather for the strap, and found large snaps for the closure on the phone pouch. I also die cut the pen holder from the Pocket Notebook Die.  I stitched around the three folding edges of the Gift Card Folder just for a nice look. I set these aside for a bit.

I die cut only the front portion of  the Notebook Pocket from black leather, and cut off the folding edges so it would fit in the notebook. I also cut red leather to fit inside of the pocket, and cut slits for the cards. I stitched a piece of the animal print behind the red leather so the cards would stay in place as it will also serve as a pocket behind the cards. Then I stitched the this to the black leather pocket.

I used the mat board notebook as a guide and marked where everything needed to go, so the mat board notebook was constantly added and removed and things measured...no pattern here for sure.  I stitched the pen holder in place above where the pouch would go so I had plenty of room for it.  I stitched the back portion of the Gift Card Folder onto the animal print onto the left inside,  leaving the pouch folding sides loose. I gathered the sides together and stitched the snap in the center of the pieces to hold them together and of course for the closure. I stitched the other snap to the back of the red leather strap, and then stitched the strap above the pouch measuring how long it needed to be using my phone.

Before I did the opposite (right) side of the pouch, I decided the front needed something, so I die cut my initials using the animal print from Tim Holtz's Storybook Alphabet Bigz Die. I stitched them onto the red leather, and then stitched that onto black leather, and finally onto the front of the book. It was difficult maneuvering the front part with the back part already having the pouch sewn on, so I should have done the front first. Live and learn.

I stitched the pocket and slotted pocket onto the left side of the notebook. The mat board notebook was placed for the last time in the center of the animal print, and I threaded the closure strap through the hole on the front spine and through the hole in the mat board spine and tied a knot, making sure that the closure strap would fit tightly but not too tight, and then I added tape over the knot to hold it in place so that it would not show. This proved a little challenge as the sides are not adhered to the mat board yet, so it felt clumsy to have the closure hanging but there was no other way to do that.  I added skor tape to the inside spine on the mat board, and adhered the animal print spine over this. I threaded the stretchy cord through the two holes for my inserts, and tie the knot behind the mat board spine between the animal print fabric so it would not be seen. Finally I adhered the sides onto the mat board pulling them nice and tight using a little skor tape. Then I stitched the top and bottom edges, and cut the overhang of animal print fabric.

...and Voila!!!

 Now it's time to visit all the others! Please follow the Blog Hop to see all of the fabulous projects, techniques and videos!  AND...There are also two GIVEAWAYS- the Pocket Notebook die and a gift certificate for Eileen’s Etsy store. To enter to win, leave a comment on each of the posts. Winners will be announced on Tuesday, October 8, 2019, on Eileen’s Facebook Live show. 

 Eileen Hull

Susie Bentz

Pam Bray

Julia Aston

Annette Green

Kathy Clement

Cheryl Waters

Ginger Ropp

Mitsyana Wright

Debbie Bankston

Anita Houston (You are here.)

Maggi Harding

Anne Redfern

Jenny Marples

Betsy Skagen

Anna-Karin Evaldsson

Tonya Trantham

Madeline Arendt

Lisa Hoel

Karen Bearse

Sue Eldred
Nicole Wright

Thanks so much for stopping by everyone, and good luck on the prizes! I'll be back soon!
I hope your hands get creatively dirty soon!

Happy Halloween Treat Cards for The Crafty Scrapper

Hello All and so sorry it's been such a long time. Life has been hairy the last few months. I'm so sorry I haven't been around to visit much as well. Yikes! I'll be teaching at The Crafty Scrapper this weekend making these Happy Halloween Treat Cards using Eileen Hull's new Scoreboard L Notebook Die and Tim Holtz's new Ghost Town and Frightful Things Thinlits all from Sizzix, AND my new Seasonal Stamp Set, Autumn, from WeCraft. 

 

I had such good feedback and sales from the 12 Holiday monthly sets of stamps, and I listened when people wanted the stamps to be larger, so my four new Seasonal Stamp Sets will have at least four main images from each monthly set, all three times bigger in an 8x12 inch size, grouped by the season. They are so nice and big! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for supporting me! My cup runneth over.

You can purchase the new sets through WeCraft, The Crafty Scrapper, or directly from me, and Autumn and Winter are available now and retail for $44.99. The new Autumn Set has 11 images from the September, October, and November smaller sets.

I'm off to finish 75 card kits for this weekend, and can't wait to teach again...it's been awhile. Again, thank you so much for all the love and support!

I hope your hands get creatively dirty soon!

U.S.A. Vignette Drawer Chocolate Box

Hello and Happy July! I was invited back to participate in another challenge for The Crafty Scrapper, this time using Tim Holtz's new Vignette Divided Drawer or Box in a red, white, and blue theme. I decided to make another Chocolate Box since my other challenge pieces contained had one, and went with a patriotic tower and book turned drawer to house the chocolate. I had bad luck finding any kind of patriotic colored chocolate. After going to four different shops with no luck I just went with some red and blue packaged chocolate...favs! It's a long post, so put down the sparklers and grab some sustenance. 

 

I pulled a side off of the largest Vignette Box, and sanded the edges. I cut Pinked Etcetera Trims from Stamper's Anonymous and Tim to size and glued them around the box so the drawer fits correctly and doesn't shift around. I used a medium Vignette Box for the drawer, and I sanded down the top a bit so it fits more flush. I painted everything with Antique Linen Distress Paint from Tim and Ranger.

I painted two Salvaged Baseboards with Festive Berries and Ground Espresso Distress Paint to use as the top and bottom of the book covers.

I cut a piece of chipboard for the book spine, and cut Sticky Back Canvas to fit, plus two other pieces for the binding. I painted over the canvas with Gathered Twigs and Ground Espresso. I first thought to use red, but then changed my mind. For the spine, I added two pieces of twine to the top and bottom before covering with the canvas, for a raised look like vintage books have from their binding.

I added the canvas binding pieces to the baseboards and wrapped the over hang around. Then I added Remnant Rubs to the pieces to for a decorative look and a title on the spine. I added the spine to the box, and drilled a hole for the drawer pull. I also colored over the pull with Gold Mixative and Mushroom Alcohol Ink. I used a gold pen to add more lines to the covers. I totally love how it really looks like a real book. Sometimes I impress myself! ;0)

I lined the drawer with star paper from the Merriment Stash (not just for Christmas) and also the back of the book spine for a cleaner look. All the paper was inked over in Gathered Twigs Distress Ink.

I lined the tower drawer with more paper, this time adding some from the Correspondence Stash, and added star stamping to the sides and top, and the Star Spangled Banner stamp to the back using a combination of Archival Inks. Then I added Design Tape to the edges and seams of the tower.

I die cut the three Rosettes from Sizzix and Tim with more Merriment and Correspondence paper, using all three designs in the set. I also die cut the banner from the Americana Sidekick Set. I added gold star Remnant Rubs to the middle of the die cut stars in the banner, and colored over the U.S.A. with gold pen. I colored in the Paper Doll with Pitt Pens. I thought I was going to use the Transparency Tiles, but then decided not too. There are so many things I could have added...it was hard to pick. I used pins from my dad's Army days (went on his uniform) for the middle of the rosettes. Those might be my favorite part.

I added a vintage postcard to the back of the tower, and some mini tags to each side...all from my stash. I trimmed down the Stencil Chips to fit a little better of the back. I added more gold stars to the sides and back of the tower. I also painted a Vignette Finial, added more Design Tape around it, and some gold pen work before adhering it to the top of the tower.

I added the rosettes to the centers of each each space, and the banners, but knew I needed more stuff to go in there. I made firecrackers out of straws and inserted twine into them, and inked them all up before grouping them into bundles with more twine. I also added a bouquet of hydrangeas (colored with Antique Linen Distress Spray Stain) to a Mushroom Alcohol Inked Corked Vial. The hydrangeas look so real, and Tim's Bouquet makes for perfect hydrangeas. I punched leaves for the bouquet. I decided to quit there, but since there is a lot more space I can keep adding to the tower year after year.

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies: 

(Scissors, Drill, Sander, Craft Sheet, Paint Brush, Paper Trimmer, Die Cut Machine, Craft Pick, Remnant Rub Tool, Two Sided Tape, Foam Tape)

-Tim Holtz Idea-ology: Vignette Boxes, Vignette Divided Drawer, Vignette Finial, Salvaged Baseboards, Mini Hardware, Correspondence Paper Stash, Merriment Paper Stash, Correspondence Design Tape, Gilded Accents Remnant Rubs, Stencil Chips, Kraft Core, Airmail Paper String, Bouquet, Paper Dolls, Corked Vials, Alpha Dice

-Stamper's Anonymous Tim Holtz Etcetera Pinked Trims

-Ranger Sticky Back Canvas

-Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Paint: Antique Linen, Festive Berries, Gathered Twigs, Ground Espresso

-Darcies Background Stamp: Stars

-Ranger Tim Holtz Archival Ink: Vintage Photo, Ground Espresso, Hickory Smoke

-Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink: Gathered Twigs

-Marvy DecoColor Premium Gold Leaf Pen

-Ranger Mini Ink Blending Tool

-Ranger Tim Holtz Alcohol Ink: Gold Mixative, Mushroom

-Ranger Multi Matte Medium

-Sizzix Tim Holtz Thinlits: Rosette Set

-Sizzix Tim Holtz Sidekick Order: Americana

-Faber-Castell Pitt Pens

-Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Spray Stain: Antique Linen

-Sizzix Tim Holtz Paper Punch: Medium Leaf

-Ranger Glossy Accents
-Cardboard, Jute String, Star Spangled Banner Stamp, Patriotic Ephemera, Patriotic Straws, Charms

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I wish those that celebrate Independence Day here in the States, a fun and safe holiday! I hope your hands get creatively dirty soon!