Quick Idea for a Mini Album

Making a mini album can be fairly simple, especially when working with a coordinating line such as Just Dreamy 2 by My Mind's Eye. Try using their pre-made embellishments and double-sided papers for a quick and easy project.

Just because a product is designed for a certain theme doesn't mean you can't think outside the box a little. When seeing the title "Boys Only," I naturally thought about creating a mini book about my boys. However, as the project evolved, I decided to take it one step further and journal about my experience of growing up with just boys as friends. I used to joke that since there were never any girls my age in my neighborhood, I was doomed to only have boys when I became a mom. Well, that proved to be true! And although at one time I yearned for a little girl, I have decided that having all boys is pretty easy so far. That's what this mini book is about.

I backed a pre-cut frame with thin chipboard to make the album cover. The title fits perfectly in the opening of the frame.

Using chipboard as the backing for each page increases the chances of it surviving rough handling by little fingers.

Pre-designed journaling blocks are a fast and easy way to include a short story.

Get creative with the binding! Use rings, ribbon, a ball chain, or string.

Make small embellishments pop by placing them on foam squares for added dimension.

Use a journaling stamp or rub-on to create a place to sign and date your mini album.

I love the idea of a quick and easy mini album! It can tell a short story in no time and is something fun to display at home on a shelf or coffee table. Sometimes one can be completed in just a couple of hours (yes...even by me...the world's slowest scrapbooker!) Go ahead...give it a try!

Sketches

Tracy from Cropper's Cottage posted about this great sketch site called Sketches by Suzy. I'm not typically a sketch person, but she's got some really cute 2-page layouts posted on her blog. Is it just me, or have most people gotten away from creating 2-page layouts? Personally, I prefer making 1-pagers...sometimes it's easier to tell the story with one good photo and some journaling. But I have to make 2-pagers for the classes that I teach at the lss, so I make a lot of those too. Sometimes I really struggle to come up with creative ways to cover that much space unless I'm documenting an event like Easter or Christmas or birthdays. Then I could probably fill a whole mini album if time permitted. Soooo, it was quite refreshing to find this sketch site for 2-page layouts. Check it out and tell me what you think!

Sketch and Layout designed by Suzanne Powell

Thought for the Day

Haha! Since I am so NOT a morning person, I find this pretty funny. I didn't want to get out of bed this morning because I stayed up too late playing around with a photoshop class I'm taking online at Scrap In Style. When I finally went to bed, I couldn't get my mind to quit trying to figure everything out...I think it was on overload!

Enjoy your weekend!

Vintage Clip Art

I ran across this awesome blog today called The Vintage Moth and thought I would share. I have always been drawn to vintage images and love the selection I found here! You can just click on an image and save it to your computer. Here's a few examples:

I think it's kind of funny that this little lizard is plopped in the picture among the beautiful butterfly and flowers!

Love this one!

And this one!

Heritage Photos

Last summer, a cousin of ours was going through an old box of photos she discovered in the family home where my grandfather grew up. She allowed me to take the photos so I could scan them and make copies for other family members. I was thrilled!

There were tons of pictures, many dating back to the 1800's. A lot of them had notes about who was in the photo as well as where and when it was taken, or were made into actual postcards with messages written on the back. Many pictures were of friends and neighbors. And sadly, quite a few had nothing written on them at all. My grandfather passed away almost three years ago (at the age of 101) and was the last of that generation, so no one else can identify the people in the pictures. On a happy note, I do have plenty of labeled heritage photos to scrap!



I have been teaching scrapbooking classes at my lss for several years. Last year, one of my classes focused on using heritage photos and scrapping memories from family history. It was so popular, we decided to carry it over into 2009. My challenge in designing layouts for this class is remembering that not everyone is blessed with a vast array of heritage photos. Therefore, I always try to design the layouts so they are versatile enough to work with modern pictures as well.

Here's one I designed for a class coming up on April 23rd using a little bit of everything! It's got a variety of patterned papers, notebook pages, chipboard, flowers, stamping, tickets, metal, and more. I love the eclectic mix and am excited to teach this class!


One tip I must give in working with heritage photos is always, ALWAYS work with a copy and never the original photo. Oftentimes it is the only one left in existence, and it would not be a great idea to cut it up or attach it permanently in your scrapbook. With the options that are available today for copying photographs, there's no reason why you should be altering the original. It's always a great idea to share copies with family members. Not only would most of them appreciate having a piece of their history, but then if the original somehow got destroyed, you would always have a backup.

Spring Flowers and Felt

Check out these cheerful spring flowers made by Kelly Purkey. I found them on the American Crafts website and thought they were so cute! I even love that she displayed them in a pop can...why don't I ever think of things like that?


Here's the link to the American Crafts blog where you can read all about making them. If I ever get caught up on my projects, I might have to whip some out.

Think about how cute these flowers would look on a card or layout. If you don't have access to the pre-cut felt flowers, try using a die cut machine, such as an Accucut. (Check your local scrapbooking store...they might have die cut machines you can use for free or for a minimal fee). You can make all kinds of cute embellishments with felt and die cuts for a fraction of the cost compared to buying pre-packaged ones.

I made some similar ones on this layout. But instead of sewing the buttons to the felt flowers, I threaded long lengths of thin green wire through the button holes and the flower. Then I twisted the leftover wire into stems. I also die cut the title from felt. It adds such a fun texture to any layout and is very inexpensive.

(Layout was made using papers from DCWV, stamps from Inque Boutique, ink by ColorBox, felt, rickrack, and buttons from my craft supply, Accucut dies, and a sketch from CTMH).

I found that glue dots and felt don't mix...the felt just ends up getting fuzz on the glue dot and it doesn't hold very well. So I either use Terrifically Tacky Tape or a tiny dab of liquid glue. So have fun and experiment! You might be surprised what cute embellishments you can make with felt.

Easter is on its Way!

Last year Easter came in March, so it wasn't unusual for there to still be snow on the ground. And there was a lot (this is Idaho, remember)! After the kids colored Easter eggs, they took the remaining dye outside and drew pictures in the snow with it.

One of the problems the snow creates is where do you hide all the eggs for the egg hunt? The kids would spot them right away if they were just laying on top of the snow. So in the past, we have had the egg hunt inside the house. I've had to get creative as to where to hide the goody baskets. One year I hid them in the oven. Taylor was so confused...he couldn't get over why the Easter Bunny would hide them there. Another year they were in the dryer. The next, they were way up high on top of the bookshelf. My house isn't that big and I'm running out of good hiding spots!

So as Easter is approaching, I keep wondering whether we will have a repeat of last year. One day it is sunny and beautiful...the next we are having a blizzard and finding it difficult to get to school and work. So far this week, we can see grass again, although it's ugly and matted, and needs raking really bad. The only thing is, should we get out the rake or keep the snow shovel handy?



Anyway, in honor of Easter, I created this layout of the kids decorating eggs with their cousins last year. I used the bright and springy "Penny Lane" collection by My Mind's Eye. It was so much fun mixing and matching the fun patterns on this page. To top it off, I made a cute little bunny from felt. I made the bunny pattern by enlarging some Paper Bliss embellishments I found at the store. I stitched his little whiskers and toes with floss and made him some eyes from tiny beads.

Hopefully on Saturday, we will be able to enjoy a beautiful day so the kids can actually have an Easter Egg Hunt outside. But if not, I'll just have to find one more creative place to hide the baskets. Maybe in their room...they'd never find them in there!

Great News!!!!!!!

Wahoo!!!

I just received the best news today! Sarah Milne from Scenic Route Paper Co. sent an email telling me I was chosen as one of the winners for their March Product Challenge using their beautiful "Sonoma" line. I submitted this heritage layout I created a couple of months ago to document the changes that took place to my grandparents' home through the years. I was lucky enough to have all these great photos of their home at various building/remodeling stages over the years. (The smaller inset photo on the first page is my Grandma and Grandma with my dad and his sister).

(All patterned papers and the chipboard houses are by Scenic Route. Die Cut letters are by QuicKutz.)

I had the privilege of meeting Sarah Milne, owner of Scenic Route, a few years ago at a scrapbook expo in Ogden, UT. She is the sweetest, most down-to-earth person ever! I fell in love with her designs and have been a huge fan ever since. I always look forward to Scenic Route's next release.

Anyway, if you would like to check it out on the Scenic Route website, go here and then follow the instructions to link to the winners page. (It takes a little while to load and I discovered that their website runs better with Internet Explorer).

If you are interested, here is what the journaling says (I had to condense a lot of history down into just a few paragraphs):

"In 1939, my Grandpa Ward’s father helped him buy the old Clarence Beeton place in Woodruff, Idaho. They worked on the house in their spare time and around April 1942, Grandpa and Grandma moved in. The place was rundown and the roads were terrible. During the first couple of winters, they couldn’t get in or out. In the spring when it was muddy, they had to ride through the field in a wagon with a team of horses. In Grandpa’s history he said, “I guess most people wouldn’t have liked it, but we did.”

My Aunt Marjorie remembers, “The home was small and cozy. There was a kitchen, living room, and bedroom. Later there were two rooms fixed into bedrooms for us kids. Many years of happiness were spent in this home. We had no close neighbors with children, so we learned to play together. We had our quarrels, but I think we were a close family.”

Grandma and Grandpa began remodeling their home in the 1950’s. They moved an old house of Bill Beeton’s and combined it with theirs to make one larger home. They did all the work themselves with what help the children could give them. There was no well on the place until after my aunt Joan was born. That same year Grandma finally got a refrigerator and a kitchen sink. They planted a lawn, flowers and trees. They worked very hard to create a nice, comfortable home.

For many years, the entire family reaped the benefits of their labors. Many family gatherings were held there. Happy, fun, and good times were shared as well as somber and sad moments. All these events helped bind the family together and created a lifetime of memories."

Thanks for letting me share my good news!

p.s. This also happens to be one of the kits for sale in my Etsy store, so if you like it, grab one before they are gone!