For those with a green thumb, summertime means one thing – gardening season. Many people like to grow flowers, shrubs and their own food or go out and pick fresh produce; some do it for the health benefits, others for affordability and some because they just enjoy the process! No matter what your reason is, if you enjoy gardening and picking fresh produce as much as you like you enjoy scrapbooking and being crafty, we’ve got two fun ways to combine the two hobbies! Blog contributor Kristin lays out two different produce-related projects that she likes taking on after she harvests the fruits of her labor, including a unique canning decoration and a beautiful berry picking project, which would also make a great gardening scrapbook layout. Check them out!
Blog Contributor Kristin’s Inspiration:
I have been an avid scrapbooker since I was about twelve and a gardener my whole life. I spent my childhood growing food, canning produce and cooking with my mother. Now, I do it all with my own daughter to carry on the family tradition while providing valuable skills.
The beautiful Locally Grown collection combines my love for both scrapbooking and getting my hands in the earth with my family! We recently returned to Oklahoma and have been enjoying the berry farm just down the road from us. My daughter, Jewell, absolutely loves helping harvest her own fruit! She probably ate just as much as she picked! We love enjoying our fresh produce for as long as we can and made preserves with a portion of what we picked. Everyone has been loving it on everything!
To create this these projects, you will need:
- Locally Grown Paper Pack
- Locally Grown Stickers
- Navy Cardstock
- Flower Child Border Punch
- 12-inch Straight Trimmer
- Custom Cutting System with Circle and Oval Patterns
- Multi-Purpose Tool
- Tape Runner
- Foam Squares
- Blue Dual-Tip Pen
- String (to hold gift tag on jar)
Canning Jar Topper Instructions
Our friends and family are accustomed to me jarring fresh foods, salsas and pestos. This collection helped make the jars even prettier! I did make simple toppers, but there are tons of embellishments CM offers that could really jazz up the jars! The empty jars could even hold the flower embellishments from the Mix & Match collection! The crafty jar ideas are endless!
Step 1: Cut two circles for each jar using the Custom Cutting System. Use the small circle on the inside with the Red Blade. Another option is to trace the canning lid with a pencil and use scissors to cut the circles.
Step 2: Decorate the circles with stickers or embellishments.
Step 3: Write the date and what the jar contains with a Dual-Tip Pen. On the tag, make sure to include a “to” and “from” so they remember who gave them the goodies!
Step 4: Lastly, tie a string around the jar to hold the gift tag on.
Product-Picking Photo Layout
Sometimes, what you’ve grown looks so good that you almost don’t even want to eat it. Or, sometimes you have such a blast picking produce with your family that it’s just about as fun as eating the final product. Whatever the case may be, there’s a good chance you’ll take some photos of the picking process. If you want to use these photos in a fun and cute way, try using the sketch below as a layout.
This is an easy sketch for multiple photos; see more examples of this sketch here!
Tip: To make the 3D leaves at the top: Use the Red Blade and cut five ovals on the inside of the smallest oval with leaf patterned paper. Then, fold with a Multi-Purpose Tool and add a Foam Square on the end of each leaf.
No matter what your produce of choice is, the Locally Grown collection provides you with plenty of crafty options for creating something that looks as good as your food tastes. What other ways have you been using the Locally Grown collection? Comment below!