Liberty "Tiny Mini" for Authentique

Good morning, Crafters! I have a sweet, little Authentique Paper project to share today! A few folks asked me if I was leaving Authentique since I am now on the 2019-2020 Graphic 45 team, but...the answer there is a big, fat...NO! Not unless Authentique makes me leave, at any rate! Being on BOTH of my favorite paper teams at the same time must be Earth's version of Heaven! {grin}

A week from today we celebrate Memorial Day here in the USA and we are just a little over a month away from Independence Day! I wanted to create a little book that would fit wallet-sized photos of all your patriotic snaps!

This little book is 4 1/4" tall and 3 1/4" wide with a 1" spine. It is the most adorable, tiny book - if I do say so myself!

I used the Liberty Collection, 12x12 paper and the sticker sheet. I also used a few tiny bits of past collections: Glory and Heroic. I went all out with the red, white, and blue theme!

To create this book, cut two pieces of chipboard to 4 1/4"x 3 1/4" and one piece to 4 1/4" x 1" for the covers and spine. For the hinges, cut dark blue cardstock to 4 1/8" x 4 3/4". On the 4 3/4" length, score at 1", 1 1/4", 1 1/2", 1 3/4", 2", 2 1/4", 2 1/2", 2 3/4, 3, 3 1/4", 3 1/2", and 3 3/4".

Cut decorative paper to approximately 6 1/4" x 9 3/4". Place the chipboard pieces onto the wrong side of the paper, making sure to keep 1/8" of space between the spine piece and the cover pieces. Also, make sure that your covers are centered and lined up with the print, if that is a consideration.

Angle the corners and add double-sided tape to the edges of the paper, as shown.

Wrap the paper around the chipboard, gently scoring the space on each side of the spine piece. If you are not careful, the paper may crack or tear.  

Your hinge piece has 13 sections. There are one-inch sections at the beginning and end, and eleven 1/4" sections in the middle. Place adhesive on the first 1/4" section, then on the fourth, seventh, and tenth 1/4" sections, as shown above. (I used 1/4" wide double-sided tape.)

Accordion fold the hinge piece to adhere each first and second 1/4" section together to form a hinge tab. Repeat for the 4th and 5th, and again for the 7th and 8th, and for the 10th and 11th. You will end up with a 1" gutter, four hinges with 1/4" gutters between, then a 1" gutter at the end, as shown above.

Attach the hinge piece to the spine. Trim decorative paper for the inside of both the front and back covers, covering the 1" tabs of the hinge piece. Once again, gently score the space between the chipboard covers and the spine, taking care to NOT tear or crack the paper.

Trim eight (8) pieces of dark blue cardstock to 4 1/8" x 3 1/8".  

Attach two pieces of cardstock together for each hinge tab, sandwiching the hinges between, to make four pages, one for each hinge tab. (There are other ways to make the pages, but I had a bunch of cardstock scraps to use up, so I did it this way.) 

Close the book and decorate the cover. I used a die cut to make rosettes from some of the Liberty decorative paper. I glued the rosettes onto the cover with white glue. The top rosette is 2 1/2" and the lower one is about 2". I added some stickers to the rosette centers, and to decorate the rest of the cover.

I also created a bow out of some plaid and checked ribbon. I had some packaging from a set of patriotic ephemera bingo cards, so I cut a tiny bingo card out of the packaging to add to the top of my bow. The bingo card is the size of a postage stamp!

I used Copic markers to color-ize some decorative pins to give a bit of sparkle to the front of my little book. It looks like a big firecracker went off and spilled out lots of red, white, and blue pretties! 

I mounted a sticker onto some cardstock, then used foam tape to attach the sticker element to the spine of the book.  

The inside is very simple. Each page contains a 4" x 3" piece of decorative paper or one of the cut aparts from the Liberty collection. So EASY!

The inside front cover contains a sticker from the Glory Collection, which coordinates perfectly. For page 1, I mounted a sticker onto some cardstock, then cut around it. I glued it on the right side to make a tuck spot for a photo. 

Page 2 is one of the cut aparts from the Liberty Collection paper, Liberty Eight. I added a word sticker (from the Glory Collection). Page 3 contains a 1 1/2" rosette. If you are careful where you place your glue, you can use the rosette as a tuck spot for a photo. 

Page 4 is another cut apart from Liberty Eight. I added a word sticker, mounted onto some cardstock, to make a tuck spot for a photo. Page 5 also has a sticker mounted onto cardstock, but I added a tiny clothes pin to one edge. You can use this as a tuck spot also, or clip a photo to the top of the page with the clothes pin!

I added a little pocket to page 6 and placed a small, ATC-size, tag inside. There is another little rosette on the pocket. Page 7 contains a cut apart from the Heroic Collection, which also coordinates beautifully with the Liberty Collection!.

Page 8 has another sticker tuck spot, and the back cover also contains sticker.

This "tiny mini" is so easy to make, and simple to put together! I hope you have fun making your own, with your favorite Authentique collection!

Thank you so much for looking!

Note: As always, when I link to supplies, these are NOT affiliate links. I am simply sharing a link to where you can purchase supplies. Some may be places where I purchase my items, and some may be a place where I am on the design team (such as Really Reasonable Ribbon). But, I don't get anything if you shop via my links. If you find a better deal or offer, or shop locally, that is excellent! 

Authentique Supplies Used:
Liberty Collection: 12x12 Paper, Details Stickers
Glory Collection: Elements Stickers, Details Stickers
Heroic Collection: Heroic Eight 12x12 sheet

Additional Supplies Used: 
Cardstock: Bazzill Nightmist
Chipboard: Grafix black
Copic markers: to color the pins
Ribbon: Really Reasonable Ribbon Plaid Patriotic,  Red Plaid
Circle punches: Stampin' Up 3/4" and 1"
Rosette dies: Tim Holtz Paper Rosettes, Mini Paper Rosettes
Decorative pins: stash
ATC tag: Graphic 45 Ivory
ATC tag die: Graphic 45 Large Tag, ATC Tag, and Flowers die
Adhesive: ATG tape, hot glue, white glue, Scor-tape, foam tape, Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L 3D Foam Squares

Graphic 45 Brand Ambassador Box Reveal

Hello, Graphic 45 Fans! I received my first team box for the 2019-2020 Graphic 45 Brand Ambassador Team! (I actually got my hands on it last week, but have not had a chance to do photos and a video for you until today! I was busy with some friends and family functions, plus I had a medical procedure on Monday. Don't worry...I am doing fine and healing nicely! {God is so great!}

Graphic 45 did something new (to me, anyway) and allowed us to choose our own items for our boxes! Since I have loads of G45, I was super happy to be able to choose items that I wanted to use and try out! 

I received mostly paper, because I do have lots of the Staples items already. I asked for some of each of the following papers: Garden Goddess, Flutter, Princess, Love Notes, Bloom, and Kaleidoscope. I also wanted the NEW travel album and notebooks because I think they will be fun to work with! 

The other NEW items I asked for were the matte pearl gems and the ornate metal corners.

To see all of my goodies, view the video below!

Thanks for watching! And thanks to G45 for all the amazing goodness! I cannot wait to make some paper pretties!

Come back starting in June to see my Graphic 45 projects!

Really Reasonable Ribbon May Blog Hop

Welcome to the Really Reasonable Ribbon May Blog Hop! You should be coming to my blog from the Bonnie's Blog. (For the complete blog list, scroll to the bottom of the post.) After visiting me, hop over to the spectacular Ginny's Blog next!

At the end of the hop, comment on the RRR Blog post, answering the question listed, for a chance to win the May Ribbon Club Assortment shown below. (The Design Team appreciates your comments, too!)

The May Ribbon Club Assortment is - my favorite - a red, white, and blue mix! I love the patriotic collection each year!

I deviated from my usual card project this month and created a 10" tall by 8" wide altered canvas. I have a small stash of thin canvas "board" in my stash that I purchased at an art supply store a few yeas ago...because I thought I was going to get very into mixed media. Well, that never happened, but I have all these canvas boards sitting around! So, I just covered one with printed paper, and...ta da!

I wrapped the length of the canvas with Tiny Stars on Electric Blue Blue Grosgrain, Electric Blue Diamond Satin, and White Satin with Grosgrain Edge ribbons. I then created a big, loopy bow with the white satin and glued it to the upper left corner of the canvas. I found a sparkle star to glue over the center of the bow.

I wrapped the width of the canvas with Tiny Stars on Electric Blue Blue Grosgrain ribbon. I glued a bunch of flowers and feathers to the lower left corner of the canvas. I also added two leaf/feather pins to the flower cluster.

The inspiration behind this while project is this adorable digital stamp image called Wyanet from Sylvia Zet (Wee Stamps/Whimsy Stamps). I have a bunch of these images, each one sweeter than the last! The ribbons really go well with my image! I especially love the white satin!

I really loved this little Native American Indian girl. My mom would have loved her, too! I lost my mom in 2015, but I wanted to color this image for her for Mother's Day this year. Every time I look at it, I will think of Mom. I decided to color little Wyanet to look like I did when I was little, with dark brown eyes and hair, and paler skin. I also used Mom's favorite color, blue. (The markers and pencils I used are listed below.) 

Thanks for joining me today! Now, hop over to Ginny's Blog to see what she has for you!

Here is the RRR Blog Hop Order in case you get lost!

Really Reasonable Ribbon's Ramblings (REMEMBER, LEAVE A COMMENT ON THE RRR BLOG FOR A CHANCE TO WIN!)
Bonnie
Gloria - YOU ARE HERE!

Ginny

Cheryl

Karen

Kathy
Cherry

Trims: Really Reasonable Ribbon May 2019 Ribbon Club (Tiny Stars on Electric Blue Blue Grosgrain, Electric Blue Diamond Satin, White Satin with Grosgrain Edge)
Canvas: Lyons Artist Canvas
Paper: Echo Park
Cardstock: blue unknown, white Hammermill Premium Color Copy Cover 100lb
Copic markers: E49, E47, E44, BV29 (hair), E11, E21, E00, E000, R20 (skin), B97, B95, B93, B91, B39, B37, B34, B32, C05, C03, C01, C00, Colorless blender (feathers, headband, clothes, butterflies), E49, E47, E44, E43, E42, E41, E40 (boots), W07, W05, W04, W01, W00 (cliff)
White pen: Sakura Gelly Roll white
Star, feathers, pins: stash
Flowers: Wild Orchid Crafts
Adhesive: hot glue, white glue, ATG tape, Scor-tape, foam tape

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day! I hope all you moms out there are having a wonderful, special weekend! I think my peeps are either taking me out to eat or cooking me dinner. (I hope! hee hee)

Please join the Authentique Team today as we share some sweet Mother's Day projects. To see all the projects, please click HERE.

I chose the Poised Collection for my project share. I think the black, gray, and yellow color scheme is very sophisticated and lovely. I created a card and a wrapped package to show how easily you can coordinate your cards and gifts! Designer paper is perfect for wrapping small boxes or decorating gift bags to match your cards!

The card is 6" tall and 5" wide. This is a bit of an odd size, but you can use a 5x7 envelope and just fold down one end. I usually make a special envelope or use a padded mailer, so it is not a big deal for me to make a strange size. (You can always adjust your measurements to make a 7" x 5" card instead.) 

I added punch-outs from the Poised Die Cut Elements sheet for the image and the sentiment. Easy peasy! I created a loopy bow with some gray taffeta ribbon and some yellow baker's twine. I found the perfect button lurking in my stash! 

I love to add enamel dots and sequins to my cards. It gives a bit of sparkle and shine.

I decorated the inside of the card with more decorative paper, and printed a sentiment that I designed on the computer. I used a stitched die to cut out the sentiment.  

This card is a little lumpy, but it's for mom, pay the extra postage! {wink} 

I wrapped a small box with a sheet of the Poised paper, then added ribbon, twine, and more enamel dots and sequins! The image is a postage stamp punch-out from the die cut sheet.  (My box is empty, but make sure to fill yours! Your mom deserves some goodies or a gift card...or two!)

Thanks for looking!

Designer paper and punch-outs: Authentique Poised
Trims: Shell Gray Taffeta Ribbon, Solid Yellow Baker's Twine
Button: stash
Sequins: Pretty Pink Posh Pewter, Craft Medley Black
Enamel dots: Simple Stories Emoji Love, Your Next Stamp Gumdrops Love Earth
Dies: Elizabeth Craft Stitched Rectangles
Cardstock: WorldWin Midnight, Natural, Stampin' Up Basic Gray
Adhesive: ATG tape, Scor-tape, white glue, hot glue, foam tape

Monthly Coloring Series - May

Hello, coloring fans! Welcome to May 1st. The older I get, the faster time flies! It seems like yesterday I was going in for major surgery, and suddenly over four months have passed! And it is time for the May coloring project! 

For those of you just joining me, I have been coloring one image each month, using the Power Poppy digital flower images, found HERE. If you missed any of the previous projects, click HERE or select the TAB at the top of the blog.

This project gave me fits! I had it all colored except the yellow roses...and the Y00 marker caused the printer ink to bleed! It was the only marker to do that, but what a mess! I had to print a number of test images to see what printer ink configuration would work best with that pesky marker! I think I may have to by a new marker or something! So strange that none of the other yellows acted up!

The Flower Bomb digital stamp set I used for my May image is currently a $6 download. This image is a pure dream to color! The roses can be any color under the sun, and the violets also come in a variety of colors from white to lavender to blue to pink.  

Using Adobe Illustrator, I created my panel at about 5 1/4" x 5 1/4". The finished panel is 6 1/8" x 6 1/8". I have used a stitched square die to cut out the main image panel (which measures 5 1/4" x 5 1/4"). My plan is to display each monthly image at my desk, as shown below.

I am using "Great Vibes" as the month word font, which I sized at about 45pt. I printed the panel onto Hammermill 100# cardstock with my Epson ET-3700 using black ink.

This is the first time I have had an issue with the printer ink bleeding! For this image I finally chose plain paper, standard-vivid quality, and printed in "color." That seemed to do the trick!

Every time I printed in grayscale, the Y00 marker would bleed! When I kicked the quality down one notch and changed to print in color, it worked better. I guess when I chose the higher quality with black only ink, the printer was putting down too much ink, causing the printer ink to smear. I even let this guy dry overnight, and still Y00 was a fussy pants! 

My image is colored with a combination of Copic Markers and Prismacolor Pencils. I first lay down the Copic markers, and then go back and add depth and highlight with the pencils. I finish with more highlights using a white pencil or a gel pen.

Here are the color combinations I have used for the finished project (listed in this order: Copics, then Prismacolor Pencils by name):

Roses: Y0000, Y00, Y11, Y13, Y15, BV20; Canary Yellow, Mineral Orange
Leaves: YG03, YG17, YG21 YG25, YG67
Violets: V09, V17, V22, V25; Black Grape, 90% Cool Grey
Violet centers: Y15, Y19, E19
Background: BG0000, BG000

My cardstock panels are black, purple, and pale yellow. I added a few enamel dots and glitter dots around the edges of the image.

We have June, July, and August to go! If you missed the other months...

I started this project series back in September 2018. If you missed any of the previous projects click the MONTHLY COLORING SERIES tab at the top of the blog.

Thanks for stopping by! 

Digital image: Power Poppy Flower Bomb
Cardstock: Hammermill 100# Digital Color Copy; purple and pale yellow (unknown)
Markers: Copic (see list above)
Pencils: Prismacolor (see list above)
Pen: Sakura Gelly Roll White
Enamel dots: Echo Park Celebrate Easter, Queen and Co. Jawbreakers Candy Shop
Glitter dots: Echo Park Let's Be Mermaids
Die: Elizabeth Craft Designs Stitched Squares
Adhesive: ATG tape