Nature-themed Mini Traveler's Notebook using new dies from Elizabeth Craft Designs and more...

The new dies make it so easy to create quick little pages and fun accents. This Butterfly Pocket Insert has so many possibilities, as you'll see in the video.

         

For months now, I've been making cards for friends during the Coronavirus. Just a little something to bring some sunshine into our days while we're all stuck at home, or at least confined to a degree. And for months, I've been custom making each and every card. A new idea every time. Finally it hit me to be more efficient and to create a batch with the same layout. Duh. 

This is a card made with Graphic 45's "Ladies Diary" which I created when the collection first came out several years ago. I loved how it came out so much that I made a second one so I could keep this one for myself. Every time I'd need a greeting card, I'd go through my stash to select one, and I just couldn't let this one go. It's pretty yes, but it's more about the layout I believe. So today, I created four more cards, all with different Graphic 45 papers, using this same layout and I thought it would be fun to share the different looks you can achieve.

This card features "Home Sweet Home" which has recently been re-released as a Deluxe Collector's Edition. It's definitely an old favorite of mine. The Ball jar stamp is also an old favorite. I researched where I got it and finally found it here.

This one features "Bloom" and I incorporated a chipboard tag and twine this time.

This is "Farmhouse", a new favorite of many Graphic 45 fans. I've used Graphic 45's flowers and leaves dies added to fussy cut flowers from the collection, plus Graphic 45's Sentiment Stamps set for the "hello."

This is "Dreamland" and you'll notice no Ball jar this time. My friend requested something that would remind her of her precocious 2-year-old grandson, since she can't see him right now. I thought that was so sweet and so Dreamland seemed like a good choice.

As always, you can find Graphic 45 collections at your favorite scrapbook store, or online through many great vendors, and of course directly from Graphic 45's website. They're currently discounting some great collections for a limited time, so be sure to check them out.

Thanks for stopping in today. I'm still working my way through my friend list. Only about a dozen more to go!

         

I love this Honey Bear die set from Joset. You can make it a girl or a boy bear by moving the bow around, or leave it off all together. I added some drawn-in eyelashes to make her extra cute.

And these little bees are part of the die set as well. Super fun to make a bunch and use them on the card, inside and out, plus the envelope too.

The papers are from Authentique's "Frontier" collection from a few years ago. It has the perfect Summer feel to it. My friend Sharon's mother Marian is turning 98 this Summer and during these uncertain times, the family is not sure if they can visit and celebrate with Marian, so Sharon solicited the help of crafty friends and family to send her mom birthday cards. I was certainly happy to help! 98 is nothing to sneeze at, so kudos to Marian!

Thanks for popping in today! Here are the supplies I used:

         

I share some ideas using stitching and the new Reminiscence cardstock collection (a new favorite of mine!) as well as using found items like a paper bag, brochure and some vellum to make some interesting and interactive pages and pockets.

The Elizabeth Craft Designs blog is still not allowing comments on their page, so feel free to come on back here and let me know what you think of the tutorial after you've visited them. I've listed the products I've used on their page as well as below. Thanks for stopping in!

         

First off, I chose to die cut the pieces of the Mittens die from medium weight white chipboard. This way I can color and stencil and do whatever I like to dress up my mittens. I applied color through the Holiday Knit stencil by Stampers Anonymous using Distress Oxides in Lucky Clover and Peacock Feathers. I did this to two mitten pieces.

Since the stencil was full of this wonderful color combination, I didn't want to waste it so I spritzed it with a little water and pressed it onto the base piece.

It gave this nice texture, but the actual pattern was a bit light.

So I went over it using the Harlequin stencil and Faded Jeans and Cracked Pistachio Distress Oxides.

I inked the edges with Faded Jeans Distress Oxide to give a finishing touch to all the pieces.

Candied Apple is the perfect red for the rick-rack trim and the hearts in this die set.

I inked the hearts and the other pieces with a little Walnut Stain Distress Ink for a bit of a vintage feel. Then I added the rick-rack pieces to the bottom of the mittens, trimming as needed.

I added some coordinating papers to the inside of my pieces before assembling the gift box.

Next I gathered some embellishments like flowers, berries and gems to decorate my little gift box.

Now it's ready to fill with candy canes and other sweet treats!

Next up is the new Snowman die. Again, I die-cut him and the accent pieces out of white chipboard and had fun coloring the parts with markers. 

Assembly is super easy and you can play around with the different hats and scarves in this die set. I had a few hearts left over from the Mittens die, so I added them to my cute little Snowmen.

This die set also has a nifty little gift box feature, so I adhered a snowman on each end and now it's ready for some Winter treats!

Super cute and super fun! I hope you enjoyed these projects.