Craftside

Paper Art Workshop: Celebrating Baby

The big question in life; "What can I make that's unique and fun for a new mom or as a new mom?"

Read on for the answer.

Paper Art Workshop: Celebrating Baby
Personalized Projects for Moms, Memories, and Gear

By

Linda Blinn, Jennifer Francis Bitto, and Jenn Mason

Paper crafts that celebrate the new baby.

It's suddenly terribly chic to have babies! The celebrities are doing it. Everyone is doing it. If you aren't a mom yourself, you’re an aunt, a grandmother, a girlfriend or a sister. Stylish baby gear, baby boutiques, and customized baby gifts are EVERYWHERE. Women everywhere are really celebrating their beautiful bellies and their beautiful babies. And this book offers a wide range of beautiful paper-based projects to help them: from lovely handmade birth announcements and baby brag books to journals, picture frames, baby memory books, ABC flashcards, and growth calendars. This inspiring new book is the first in a series of volumes targeted to the large and growing paper arts/memory/book making audience. Each book in this new series, including Handmade Gifts, features sophisticated techniques and paper art projects for stylish crafters. There are many craft books devoted to babies that cover knitting, crochet, sewing, nursery décor, and general craft gifts, but this is the first to cover all the paper-based items that new moms want and need--announcements, thank you cards, photo mailers, memory books, and more.

Linda Blinn – is an editor, teacher, writer, designer, and artist in the mixed media arena. As editor of of Somerset Studio’s Mélange she focused on current trends in art journals, collage, zines and the wide spectrum of mixed media art. Her credits also include work on True Colors, Signatures, and the Art Journal Calendar all published by Stampington & Co. Linda lives in San Clemente, CA.


Jennifer Francis Bitto - is a teacher, artist, writer, and photo stylist. She is the editor and art director for The Stampers’ Sampler, Inspirations, and Take Ten. Her work has been featured in Legacy, Somerset Studio, and Art Doll Quarterly magazines She lives in San Diego, CA with her husband and daughter.


Jenn Mason – is an accomplished and published paper and mixed media artist and author. As co-designer for Anna Griffin, Inc., Jenn created artwork for national ads, television and books. Her commissioned work has appeared in Memory Makers, Paper Crafts, Legacy, and Take Ten magazines. Her first book, Pockets, Pullouts and Hiding Places shows her wide range of talents including book making, altered art, collage and memory art. Jenn lives in Brookline, MA with her husband and two daughters.

This is a really fun page from the book. Not only does it include a super cute project made from an unusual container, is packed full of good ideas and sources.

(Click on image to enlarge)

You can score these capsules at The Container Store. But as with most things it seems...yes, I have a stash. Here are two capsules from the stash. Quite a size range, eh?

The big one is a really cool thermos! And the little one is a pill container on a key chain, ironic.  The capsule thermos was a promotional item that drug companies gave to doctors to "inspire them to prescribe the drug" My first job while I was still in college was to apply logos to objects for the sales staff to bring to the drug companies, glam-or-ous! The key chain was scored at the pharmacy counter at the local drug store.

I plan on spiffing up my capsules inspired by what The Mixed Mediums have shared with us in their insightful and creative way.

And if you liked this project and need more simple click here to see more of Jenn Mason's designs from her other books.

Craft something fun with an unusual container this weekend!

31 Days until Father's Day June 15th

Yes, I know we just celebrated Mother's Day but as a crafter it is never too soon to start thinking about the next holiday. We need all the time we can get, dontcha know.

Dad's can be a hard to craft for, but I have a solution for you!

Paper Art Workshop:
Handmade Gifts: Stylish Ideas for Journals, Stationery, and More

By
Linda Blinn, Jennifer Francis Bitto, Jenn Mason (The Mixed Mediums)

Is packed full of great ideas!

Exquisite paper-based gifts that everyone will love.

Giving handmade gifts is always in style! And these personalized gifts are more meaningful than most store-bought items, especially in today's world of homogeneous merchandise. Crafters have delved into a celebration of personalized work and this book offers a wide range of beautiful paper-based projects to help them expand their creative skills. Projects include luggage tags, a travel frame, a travel journal, collage under glass (paper weight), custom stationery items, book plates, personalized pens and tabs, a kitchen journal, tags and labels for food gifts, collage plates, paper art produce and more.

This inspiring new book is the first in a series of volumes targeted to the large and growing paper arts/memory/book making audience. Each book in the series, including Celebrating Baby, features sophisticated techniques and paper art projects for stylish crafters. Celebrating popular craft themes, from babies to home to gift giving to crafts for parties and entertaining, Handmade Gifts features projects that are contemporary, artistic and stylish, and that utilize the latest trends and techniques in paper arts.

About the Authors
Linda Blinn is an editor, teacher, writer, designer, and artist in the mixed media arena. As editor of of Somerset Studio's Melange she focused on current trends in art journals, collage, zines and the wide spectrum of mixed media art. She is the author of Making Family Journals (Quarry Books, Spring 2006). Linda lives in San Clemente, CA.

Jennifer Francis Bitto is a teacher, artist, writer, and photo stylist. She is the editor and art director for The Stampers' Sampler, Inspirations, and Take Ten. Her work has been featured in Legacy, Somerset Studio, and Art Doll Quarterly magazines She lives in San Diego, CA with her husband and daughter.

Jenn Mason is an accomplished and published paper and mixed media artist and author. As co-designer for Anna Griffin, Inc., Jenn created artwork for national ads, television and books. Her commissioned work has appeared in Memory Makers, Paper Crafts, Legacy, and Take Ten magazines. Her first book, Pockets, Pullouts and Hiding Places (Rockport, April 2005) was selected as a Finalist in the 14th Annual Craftrends Awards of Excellence. Jenn lives in Brookline, MA with her husband and two daughters.

I think this would make a great gift for Dad either packed full of custom office supplies or how about full of mementos?

(click on images to enlarge)

Here are two books that I am working on. I like using the really thick ones. A bit more work but lots more space. I also like to pick books with fun and ironic titles such as this "Bad Girls, Good Women".

And if you're looking for some quotes to craft with for Father's Day, this site, had some good ones.

Inspriration from Making Family Journals and Handmade Gifts

When I'm flipping through books my mind picks up the neat details contained among the projects and files them away.

I was flipping through
Making Family Journals: Projects and Ideas for Sharing and Recording Memories Together
By Linda Blinn

and I ran across this neat idea to add tags to the spiral binding of a journal.

Then I was perusing the pages of "The Mixed Medium's" (Jennifer Francis Bitto, Linda Blinn and Jenn Mason) book:

Paper Art Workshop: Handmade Gifts
Stylish Ideas for Journals, Stationery, and More
and spotted this great idea for using leftovers. (Which needless to say is my favorite concept.)

So I got out my stash of yarn leftovers. Now, I'm talking bit's that are just a few inches to a foot or so. I really don't throw anything away. Who could possibly throw these little treasures away? Well, I suppose most do, but not me.

And I'm glad I didn't because I found a great use for them combining these two ideas into this:

I cut the bits of yarn to about 4 to 6 inches and tied them to the spiral binding of a note book. I then linked a gift tag from a present that my Mom had sent me (that is in fact the two of us in about 1974ish???)

I think it will look nice either dangling on the outside or used as a book mark to keep my place inside.

So if your looking for some fresh inspiration grab yourself some new books packed full of creativity and some beautiful clip art too!