Maya Road Design Team

Use Up Those Scraps!

Hi Roodies,

Hope you guys are having a great week so far.  For today's post, thought I would share some inspirations for using all those scraps that we have hoarded away; along with some yummy Maya Road products of course. I don't know about you, but I tend to keep every single little tiny piece of pattern paper (just can't get myself to throw anything away).  And what better project to create with these little bits than tags (and/or cards)... and comes in handy when you want to include a little personal touch to any gift.

First up is this tag that I created using some strips of pattern papers  to decorate the bottom portion of the tag and also some banner details and of course with loads of Maya Road goodness. Here I used a Kraft Decorative Journaling Tag, Kraft Die Cut Butterflies, White Kraft Typography Numbers, Leaf Trinket Pin, Vintage Pale Pink Pearl Ball Pins, Canary Paper Twine Cording, Button Mini Chipboard, Leaf Velvet Ribbon and Seafoam Green Maya Mist. 

Having some fun with layering details and love how you can easy color those chipboard pieces to any color that you want/need.  Also another new favorite product from this year winter release are those paper twine cording - these are super fun to use!

 And here's another tag that I created using those tiny pieces of pattern papers that I had left over and of course along with some more trinket pins, flower, chipboards and more twine. Maya Road products used on this are: Mini Scallop Chipboards, Green Velvet Ribbon, Leaf Trinket Pins, Espresso Brown Maya Mist, Champagne Vinttage Butterfly Trinket Pins, Canary Paper Twine Cording and Pink Ribbon Flower. 

On this tag, I first started by misting the mini scallop chipboards and adhering those on top of the bits of papers that I had left. Then once again, I used the remaining strips of paper on the bottom along with some ribbon. Then came the flower and more twine. On this tag, I had stitched one of the sides of the twine circle to secure it in place (on the previous tag, I had stapled the twine down and covered the staples with the baanner/ribbon papers). 

I didn't stamp any saying on these tags just yet, but will definitely be doing so as and when I use them.  This way, I don't need to worry if I have enough of a certain type of tag (ie. birthdays, thank you, congrats, etc). 

Thanks for stopping by everyone and don't forget, put those scraps to use!

One big, flowery cluster

Hello there!

Ania here with a layout for you this time.

When looking through the photos from this past Christmas I made a mental note to scrap these photos of my grandma and my children. Fast forward close to five months later, and I'm pleased to be able to say I've accomplished just that! =)

Right! I love the organza tea garden trim, so broad and lush, it sort of builds a comfy bed to add stuff on top of and is perfect for building a cluster around! So sad it's discontinued from Maya Road, so if you see some in your LSS, grab a couple of yards! You won't regret it, I promise! I added a strip of regular mini organza roses trim right beneath the bottom tea garden trim.

Otherwise, I layered my cluster by mixing stamping (gotta love the antique love doilies stamp set), fabric and kraft atop.

And I couldn't resist adding this satin scallop edge blossom to the layout, it's simply gorgeous!

 

Hope you enjoyed this layout inspiration :)

Paper Princess

Every princess needs a crown... and whether you believe in fariytales or not, every little girl is a princess to somebody. 

My project today is a sweet little girl's crown.  I've made a few of these in different colors for birthday girls before and I always use pretty Maya Road embellishments to fancy them up so that the little princess feels extra special.  I'm fairly sure that if I were a princess, I would want a whimsical paper crown just like this!

One of my favorite things on this crown are the Kraft Layerable Flowers.  I have to tell you that I was so afraid of those  when I first saw them and this is actually my first time using them on a project.  Now I don't know why, because I want to make more of those fun and spikey flowers!  I loved painting and glittering them up.  I just painted the front side so that the paint didn't clog up the slits that are cut in them.  After the paint was dry I formed them into the flowers and once they were shaped the way I wanted them, I added the glitter and the centers.  I think that the Velvet Resin Blossoms look so cute in the centers.

The pink organza flowers were made using the Carnation colored Afternoon Tea Trim.  To make the flower, cut one of the flowers from the trim then use a needle and thread to make a loose running stitch around the outside edges of the flower then pull the thread tightly so that flower become smaller and more bulky.  Make sure to bring the gathered edge to the backside of the flower.

When I use the Trinket Pins on my crowns, I use a wire cutter to cut the sharp end of the pin off.  I usually cut the pin off to about half its length.  Then I use hot glue to completely cover the cut end of the pin when I insert it behind the flower.  I don't want the pin to poke through the crown and hurt the child so I take some extra precautions to make it safe.  The hot glue encasing the end should work.

When I start decorating the crowns I always start in the center of the front with a Chipboard Scallop Frame.  They are such an awesome base for the childs intial of her name or the number of the birthday year.  The Scalloped Frames have always been a staple for me when I create, whether I am making a scrapbook layout or another type of paper project.

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I was glad to share my project tips with you and hope that you all have a princess in your lives to make one for someday!



Other Maya Road items used in this project:
Ruffle Blossoms- Cream (sprayed purple)
Amethyst Purple Maya Mist
Velvet Pleat Flower- yellow
Antique Metal Butterfly
Natural Wood Button
Vintage Paper Posies (sprayed purple)
Velvet Point Blossoms- cream
Tulle Pleat Trim- milk
Mini Ruffle Trim- cream
Lustrous Button Jewel

Tags

Hi Roadies Angella here!

today I wanted to show some tags I made a little bit back, tags are becoming very popular here in aussie land. Tags are a great way to use up all your left overs and anything does go with creating them.

Magical - I do love creating whimsical, this one I covered the tag with pattern paper, then I used some of my favorite Kraft enveopes and Kraft times fly peices . Decorate  with Vintage tape measure trim and tulle trim

Beautiful - Created using Kraft peices times fly , Mini Kraft jotters, Kraft trinket pins , Vintage tape measure trim, trinket season ribbon ,  tulle trim and linen burlap trim

So Roadies next time you have left overs hanging around create a tag for a friend or just because.

Happy Creating Roadies

have a great day

The Box Previously Known As A Perfume Box

Hello there Roadies!

Ania here with yet another box for ya (it's no secret that I love boxes...).
I'm not sure what it is, but when I get my hands on a sturdy, nicely sized cardboard box, like a perfume-box, it just feels wrong to throw it away (even though it'd go to the recycle/paper bin).

Take this box, previously holding  3.4 oz of lovely Eau De Parfum (She Wood..one of my faves along with Flowerbomb...but I digress).... I figured I'd put this box to good 2nd use, finding some matching patterned paper for the solid pink-peachy color of the cardboard, and a few Maya Road-embellishments to go...

Like creating a small but effective cluster next to a big heart covering almost the whole box. And oh, you can never go wrong with heart shaped linen! In this case a little bit of color was added by spraying some Maya Mist (dragonfruit pink & sunflower yellow washed out w/buttermilk cream).

The cluster started with a tucked in kraft snowflake behind the new Afternoon Tea blossoms in carnation... which in turn was embellished with a scrap of Scallop Chiffon & Tulle Trim and Antique Jeweled Pearl Pendant and a piece of celery green Twine Cording.

On the other side: The lucky number seven (which's this years big birthday number) labeled with the help of some trim adorning a bottle cap and a starburst of different slices of patterned papers...

You see...the kids keep coming home with messages like: "oh by the way, I think I'm attending a birthdayparty in....20 minutes". It happens more often than I like (sigh), which's why I have a bag full of backup-pressies (well ok, only 2 left atm) and well, I also try to keep the handmade cards stocked up so all I need to do is either to add the correct number or the kids name onto the card...

This box will go to the backup-bag, it's like a card and a pressie in one...I just need to figure out what items to fit inside this box :)

How To: Be Tag

I love the warm colors of this Be tag.  The pop of blue against the fiery colors suggests both my easy going but passionate personality.   Maya Road Mists make it easy to bring colors to life.  Their embellishments are so much fun to add in layers.   Here's a quick look at how to create this tag.

1. Cover tag with book paper and seal it with matte medium.
2. Add drops of Maya Mists.  Here I used Dragon Fruit Pink, Pomegranate Pink, and Sunflower Yellow.  Using short blasts of compressed air, move the mists around the tag. Let it dry.
3. Add drops of White Out Maya Mist to the background and spray kraft butterfly with same mist.
4. Layer kraft butterfly on the kraft doily.  Add blue ruffle blossom flower and trinket heart stick pins to the butterfly.
5. Using scallop scissors, cut the vintage measuring tape trim & add to the bottom of the tag.
6. Wrap vintage hotel key with floss and add to the tag near bottom.
7. Spray "be" chipboard letters with espresso brown Maya Mist and adhere to tag.  Tie gingham brown bow to the top to finish the tag. 

Hello Italy... Click Click!

Hi there Roodies!  Hope you guys had a great weekend and Piradee here to kick start the week with a mini album inspiration using some of the new products released...

First off are these super (super) cute camera and polarid frame chipboards. Seriously these are so adorable and love how there are little bits that you play around around with. 

On the cover, I used a couple of cameras that I paint with white paint and misted some of the other little bits to create a constrast.  I then layered those chipboard pieces over the misted shipping tag chipboards for more constrast; as I opted to leave mini ablum base "raw".

For my mini album I used the 5-Ring Tab Album, where I also included some kraft cardstock pages along with a few envelopes here and there; which allows me to store all those keepsakes that I collected during the trip. 

And here's some close up and full page pictures of some of the pages. Mostly on the chipboard tab pages, I went crazy with chipboard and embellishments whereas on the kraft cardstock pages, I kept these clean and simple with pictures and captions from our trip to Italy. 

On this chipboard tab page here,  I had a fun time creating a little scenary for all those wonderful sunny days that we had on our trip and also using the new butterly clip and one of the wood embellishment from the wood measure once, cut twice set.

And on these pages here, I used the awesome camera images from the new Krafty Say Cheese Camera collection ... these come in both black and white images. 

And on my last page here, I had  fun time layering all the different pieces and elements... from the new kraft DIY butterfly sticker, to the anitque ornate frame and antique filigree butterfly vintage findings.

Thanks everyone for stopping by and hope you guys have a great creative week ahead! Also don't forget to stop by the Maya Road website for the full details on all the new products being released this season HERE.

This one's for you, Grandma

Hey Roadies! Ania here with a tiny, little confession.

I've been holding on to the photos used in this mini ever since 2006. Which is a shame really, considering my dear grandma  is closing in to three digits.

Also, my mom keep reminding me to not forget to send my grandma cards and letters, and "if I don't mind, some of my altered things" as well. Apparently they make her proud,  whenever she gets guests she's quick to bring these items to the table so others can enjoy too (I just hope the guests doesn't get too bored, haha).

And isn't that why we keep creating? Part of why? Because we want our creations to bring joy and happiness to the people we make them for, which in most cases are the same people we care for? And I care for my grandma, really. I guess that's why I've been so hesitant using these photos...I wanted to make them into a perfect little keepsake for her, I wanted them to really shine, to not be overpowered by embellishments or papers, but rather have the scrapbook-elements supplement and accent the photos.

But I digress..

The time had come for me to actually put these photos into a mini...and to send the little "just because"-gift off to grandma (unfortunately I live far away from her, causing me to see her only once or twice a year).

I knew that the Sew Cute Mini Chipboard set would be the perfect accessory to this mini. Add in a piece of the Vintage Tape Measure Trim in yellow, Vintage Wood Tiny Ruler and Organza Primrose Trim in Chocolate on a piece of file/binder chipboard from the Road Rage Signs set and you have the perfect little cluster for your cover.

Add in some Twine Cording, trinket pins and Maya Mist..

The insides were kept very clean.

I adore my grandma. And I hope she'll enjoy this little mini holding memories from the day in 2006 where she pulled out the trusty, old Singer sewing machine to fix my brand new pair of jeans (the legs are always too long for me!).

Well actually. While grandma prepared the sewing machine, it was my mom who fixed the pants.

Nevertheless. I've now finally put this memory down into something grandma also can enjoy.

Now off you go. Create something that will put a smile to someone elses day. I dare you.

 

Bottle Cap Mini

Hey Roadies! Mandy Kay Starner here, to share one of my CHA Winter projects with you.

One of my favorite Maya Road products is the bottle caps. I have quite a stash, especially of the Jumbo caps; I love to use them for all different kinds of projects. For one, they make fantastic mini book covers.

For this mini, I started off by spray painting the outsides of my bottle caps black. I die-cut several 3 1/2" circles to cover the caps, and to use for the interior pages. (I adhered two circles back to back to make stronger pages.) And to mix it up a bit, I threw a page from one of the Canvas Star Coaster Albums in there.

To embellish my pages, I used my favorite stamps, kraft doilies and tickets, trinket pins, tulle and zipper trims. Do you see the new Varsity Letter stamps? LOVE.THEM.

That fuschia colored metal flower is one of my absolute favorite products from the Winter release. Can you spy it in the cluster below? They are so much fun and I can't wait to get my hands on more of them. For me, they are the perfect size for clustering.

And I am certain that I will be NEEDING quite a bit of yardage of that new Vintage Tape Measure Trim.

And If you have been wondering how to get those adorable little houses adhered to you projects, a few little staples seem to do the trick.

Thanks for stopping by the Maya Road Design Team Blog, I hope you've enjoyed my project.

Supplies used:

Jumbo Vintage Metal Bottle Caps

Canvas Star Coaster Album

Star Shaped Metal Bottle Cap

Shot Through The Heart Chipboard Set

Kraft Doilies

Transparent Cameras

Blackberry Twine

Tutu Tulle

Crystal Stars Trinket Pins

Flower Pins

Licorice Tulle Pleat Trim

Ocean Turquoise Double Stitch Velvet Ribbon

Just my type Stamps

Vintage Camera Singleton Stamp

Varsity Uppercase Stamps

Large Kraft Ticket Strips

Kraft Scroll Frame Labels

Love Words Mini Chipboard Set

Kraft Butterflies

Black Zipper Trim

Sea Blue Zipper Trim

Vintage Tape Measure Trim

White Small Organza Rose Trim

 

Our Home Metal

 

 

Make Mine a Mini

Hey Roadies! It's almost the weekend!

One of the great things about working for Maya Road (besides getting to work with all the awesome products!) is working with Caroline. She loves to give the DT assignments for CHA that push us out of our creative comfort zone. While I hate it at the time, she's always right on with the request. I think she has a crystal ball or some such.

For me, that means doing minis. And not just one mini, I got to do multiple minis for this last show. I whined and complained mightily to Ronda--aside: did you know we live just 2.4 miles from each other? I did a layout about that for the show too, I'll share that at the end of this post!

But by the time I was done, I had a couple of minis I was really proud of. I'm going to share one with you today. It's for my daughter, Annie, who will be graduating from high school this year. I put together this mini using the linen 4x6 Art Journal Album from this Winter's new releases. It uses a bunch of quotes that I felt would be good reminders for her of who she really is, once she heads off to college and I'm not around everyday to remind her.

Because I don't really go messy and painty, I needed to find a way to make this album work for me. I do stitch and stamp a lot so I took a bunch of the kraft envelopes (white polka dots, squares, and rectangles) and stitched them into the journal to use as extra pages. I stamped a lot as well using a permanent black ink (worked great on the linen!) and two of our alphabets, the new Varsity Uppercase Letters and a great standby, the Just My Type set. 

To help the viewer move through the album, I used our new Perfect Shot Arrow set. When there's an arrow, you lift the flap to read more.

I misted our Vintage Wood Mini Butterflies with our Maya Mists in Green Apple, Fig Magenta, and Lemon Metallic. I did the same to our large Natural Wood Buttons.  

I trimmed down the frayed edges of our Burlap Trim in Fuchsia and used that throughout the album as well.

 

I love how the flaps of the envelopes make cool design elements, and here, how it supports the jouranling.

I used a Aleene's Fast Grab Tacky Glue to hold everything in place, it worked very well. I also used it as a fray check on the Burlap Trim edges.

 

The last flap encourages her to look forward with faith.

This project was a lot of fun, once I had my idea down and started executing it. I used photos from her senior photo shoot and tried to match them to the quote. I then split up the quote and with sticky notes, I place set everything. The only suggestion I wish I'd thought of was to stamp it all out, THEN add the bumpy embellishments. A few places where I stamped were tricky because I had a button or butterfly on the other side already.

I love how this turned out, I have a wonderful gift for my daughter when she heads off to college, something I hope will bring her comfort as she starts this new journey. I made an art journal work with my style. I need to stop whining to Ronda. And I need to tell Caroline how much I love mini albums. Maybe she'll stop asking me to make them... ;)

Here's the layout about how I get from my house to Ronda's.

Supplies for Directions layout:

• Avocado Green Maya Mist
• Fig Magenta Maya Mist
• Lemon Metallic Maya Mist
• Metal Vintage Trinket--Our Home
• Fabric Leaves--Medium
• Trinket Pins--Vintage Pearl Butterflies
• Burlap Trim in Fuchsia
• Burlap Trim in Smoke (NEW!!!)
• Lisa Uppercase Alphabet
• Lisa Lowercase Alphabet
• Ruffle Blossoms in Turquoise
• Wood Mini Clothes Pins
• Fabric Tape in Sun Yellow Gingham
• Tulle Pleat Trim in Slushie Blue
• Mini Tag Canvas Pieces