Happy Friday, friends! We’re excited about this weekend, as it is our Crop & Create Delivered Papercrafting event weekend, so we will be busy with 1700 attendees, creating in our wonderful community together! We’re also excited to share one of the latest and greatest collections from American Crafts with you today! Not only will you see the beautiful new products, but you’ll also get full instructions to make a project of your own! And don’t miss out on the opportunity to win a wonderful collection prize package at the end of today’s post, too! Now, let’s turn it over to our friends at American Crafts!

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We are so excited to introduce you to one of our newest collections, Live and Let Grow by Jen Hadfield!

Start each new day with an eye for adventure! Whether you’re on the road to a campsite in the woods, or gathering flowers and foliage in the garden, document the day with a deep, full color palette and rustic outdoor theme. Sticker icons like campers, tents, maps, and boats symbolize travel and exploration, while bicycles, mugs, and homemade treats remind us that adventure isn’t always that far away. Sometimes we find it right here at home. Take a look at some of the beautiful elements you’ll find throughout this collection:

Live & Let Grow is perfect for creating layouts, cards, pocket pages and more, like mini albums! Today, we’d love to inspire you, and give you full directions on how to create a one-of-a-kind mini album to document your best outdoor moments. Take a look:

Supplies | Jen Hadfield Live & Let Grow 12 x 12 paper pad, Jen Hadfield Live & Let Grow Alpha Thickers, Jen Hadfield Live & Let Grow phrase ephemera, Jen Hadfield Live & Let Grow tassels, Jen Hadfield Live & Let Grow icon ephemera, Jen Hadfield Live & Let Grow sticker book, Jen Hadfield Live & Let Grow puffy heart stickers, white cardstock, kraft cardstock, We R Memory Keepers Cinch machine, We R Memory Keepers Cinch binding coils – 1” (smaller or bigger depending on the bulk of your album), adhesive, paper trimmer, scissors, sewing machine (optional)

Basic Album Components

  1. Trim 15-20 patterned papers + white cardstock to 4” x 6” pieces.
  2. Trim kraft cardstock into 20 pieces measuring ½” x 4”.
  3. Gather photos. For this album stick to 4” x 6” or 3” x 4” horizontal pictures. 
  4. Decide the order of the album. Place map pattern on front and back covers. Place other patterns and photos in order as desired. Do not adhere anything back-to-back yet, especially if stitching is desired.

Specific page-by-page instructions

Cover

  1. Adhere kraft cardstock strip to left side of map pattern. 
  2. Add title using alphabet Thickers and printed text on white cardstock. 
  3. Embellish with puffy hearts or as desired.
  4. Stitch down the edge of kraft cardstock and across puffy hearts if desired.

Page One

  1. Trim 3” x 4” Card from cut apart patterned paper. 
  2. Add journaling on a 2 ½” x 4” piece of white cardstock. 
  3. Adhere 3” x 4” card, journaling, and kraft cardstock strip from left to right on 4” x 6” white cardstock.
  4. Stitch down the edge of kraft cardstock and embellish as desired.

Page Two

  1. Adhere kraft cardstock strip to the left side of blue striped pattern. 
  2. Add 3” x 4” photo to patterned paper
  3. Add journaling strip on white cardstock.
  4. Stitch down the edge of kraft cardstock and embellish as desired.

Page Three

  1. Adhere kraft cardstock strip to the right side of a 4” x 6” photo.
  2. Stitch down the edge of kraft cardstock and embellish as desired.

Page Four

  1. Adhere kraft cardstock strip to the left side of sunburst patterned paper.
  2. Print journaling strip on white cardstock and cut the right end into a banner. Adhere to bottom of patterned paper.
  3. Stitch down the edge of kraft cardstock and add ephemera/embellishments to fill the page as desired.

Page Five

  1. Adhere kraft cardstock strip to the right side of fish patterned paper.
  2. Adhere 3” x 4” photo.
  3. Add label shape from journaling ephemera pack to bottom right of photo.
  4. Add stitching to kraft cardstock + label and embellish as desired.

Page Six

  1. Trim 3” x 4” card from cut apart patterned paper and 2” square from cut apart patterned paper. Adhere 2” square to 3” x 4” card.
  2. Add journaling on a 2 ½” x 4” piece of white cardstock.
  3. Adhere kraft cardstock strip, journaling, and 3” x 4” card from left to right on 4” x 6” white cardstock.
  4. Stitch down the edge of kraft cardstock and 2” x 2” square and embellish as desired.

Page Seven

  1. Adhere kraft cardstock strip to right side of 4” x 6” photo. 
  2. Fussy cut “Wild” sentiment from patterned paper and adhere to center of photo.
  3. Stitch down the edge of kraft cardstock and sentiment if desired.

Page Eight

  1. Trim 3” x 4” card from cut apart patterned paper.
  2. Print journaling on 2 ½” x 4” piece of white cardstock.
  3. Adhere kraft cardstock strip, journaling, and 3” x 4” card from left to right on 4” x 6” white cardstock.
  4. Stitch down the edge of kraft cardstock and embellish as desired.

Page Nine

  1. Adhere kraft cardstock strip to the right side of plaid patterned paper.
  2. Add photo to patterned paper.
  3. Embellish as desired.
  4. Stitch down the edge of kraft cardstock and embellishment if desired.

Page Ten

  1. Adhere kraft cardstock strip to left side of 4” x 6” photo. 
  2. Add journaling to white cardstock and adhere at the bottom of photo.

Page Eleven

  1. Adhere kraft cardstock strip to the right side of tree patterned paper.
  2. Add photo to patterned paper.
  3. Stitch down the edge of kraft cardstock and embellish as desired.

 

Page Twelve

  1. Trim 3” x 4” card and 2” x 2” card from cut apart patterned papers.
  2. Adhere 2” card to 3” x 4” card.
  3. Print journaling on 2 ½” x 4” piece of white cardstock.
  4. Adhere kraft cardstock strip, journaling, and 3” x 4” card from left to right on 4” x 6” white cardstock. 
  5. Embellish as desired.
  6. Stitch down the edge of kraft cardstock and embellishment if desired.

Page Thirteen

  1. Adhere kraft cardstock strip to the right side of a 4” x 6” photo.
  2. Stitch down the edge of kraft cardstock and embellish as desired.

Page Fourteen

  1. Adhere kraft cardstock strip to the left side of wave patterned paper.
  2. Print journaling strip on white cardstock and cut the right end into a banner. Adhere to bottom of patterned paper.
  3. Stitch down the edge of kraft cardstock and add ephemera/embellishments to fill the page as desired.

Page Fifteen

  1. Trim 3” x 4” card from cut apart patterned paper and 2” square from cut apart patterned paper. Adhere 2” square to 3” x 4” card.
  2. Add journaling on a 2 ½” x 4” piece of white cardstock.
  3. Adhere 3” x 4” card, journaling, and kraft cardstock strip from left to right on 4” x 6” white cardstock.
  4. Stitch down the edge of kraft cardstock and 2” x 2” square and embellish as desired.

Page Sixteen

  1. Adhere kraft cardstock strip to the left side of blue striped paper.
  2. Adhere 3” x 4” photo.
  3. Add label shape from journaling ephemera pack to bottom right of photo.
  4. Add stitching to kraft cardstock + label and embellish as desired.

Page Seventeen

  1. Adhere kraft cardstock strip to right side of 4” x 6” photo.
  2. Print journaling strip on white cardstock and cut left end into a banner. Adhere to bottom of photo.
  3. Embellish as desired.
  4. Stitch down edge of kraft cardstock + embellishment if desired.

Page Eighteen

  1. Adhere kraft cardstock strip to left side of sunburst patterned paper.
  2. Add photo to patterned paper.
  3. Add embellishment as desired.
  4. Stitch down edge of kraft cardstock + embellishment if desired.

Back Cover

  1. Add kraft cardstock strip to right side of map patterned paper.
  2. Stitch down edge of kraft cardstock if desired.

Assembly

  1. After all stitching has been completed, trim threads.
  2. Adhere pages back-to-back. All kraft cardstock strips should be on the center of the book where it will be bound.
  3. Use a Cinch Binding tool to bind album.
  4. Add tassel to top ring for embellishment if desired.

Remember, when you have the instructions, it’s easy to switch things up and make them your own! Make this album fit you. Try all 4×6 photos, different papers or embellishments, or even flip this album to fit vertical photos!

How about a Live & Let Grow prize package for one lucky commenter to help you create this sweet album?

To enter to win, leave a comment telling us what your favorite outdoor activity is at this time of year! Comments will close on Wednesday, May 4th at midnight ET and a winner will be selected at random and announced on Friday, May 6th! Good luck, and be sure to follow us at the links below for more Live and Let Grow inspiration, as well as projects from our other new collections!

American Crafts: Website | Blog | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest

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Last week, our friends at Totally Tiffany introduced us to the must-have new Cindy tote, and offered up one as a giveaway! What we had not realized, was that TT actually wanted to send out FIVE totes to five different lucky winners! Find out if you’re one of them:

“What a fabulous bag and prize! Since my name is Cindi, I especially love it LOL. My biggest organizational challenge is how to store my go to tools that I use every time I scrap. They are usually a mess on my desk but I don’t want to store them far away where I have to get them out every time but I am tired of the messy desk.” ~ Cindi

“My biggest organizational challenge by far is ephemera and stickers. Having them in a way that will get them used up! The Cindy Bag looks great for portable crafty times! Thanks for showing us!” ~ Cathy L.

For me it’s organization for 12×12 paper… does one store by company, theme, colour, keep ephemera with or somewhere else, combine with card stock or keep separate? Many questions and struggles with storage. ~ Dione A.

I have several unorganized stencils. My 6×6 are now organized and easy to use, but larger ones are not. ~ Lisa K.

Well! My greatest organization challenge is how to organize my crafting tools efficiently. I don’t have mush free space on my desk, and I haven’t found a solution yet for my tools to be stored neatly, but still be visible and easy to grab… ugh! ~ Michal D.

Winners, please email meghann@scrapbookandcards.com with your full name, shipping address and telephone number to claim your prize. Have a wonderful, creative weekend, all!