Handmade Christmas Album

Hi ya friends!
Happy 2011!
During my mini-break from school, I got a chance to work on a couple of projects. This is an album that we started in a class. I had to do most of the work at home since there was so much detail involved, but I absolutely LOVE the way it came out.
Here's the cover:

 I made the banner & rose myself :) Most of the embellishments in this book were handmade, which was one of my favorite things about the class & making this album.

 Here are the 1st & 2nd pages:

 Here's a closer peek at the each page:

 In between each page are inserts. On this page there's an envelope & "Family" tag.

 Here's the 2nd page:

Here are the 3rd & 4th pages:

 The inserts: double-sided photo tag & journaling tag

Closer peeks:

5th & 6th pages:

The inserts: a double-sided photo tag & journaling tag

There's a pull-out tag on the right for more journaling:

 The bottom page: (there's another pull-out tag on the right pocket)

 Here's the back cover:

 The side view: See the crystal danglies! so pretty :)

Even though it took a while to put it together, it was so worth it. It's just beautiful & I'll be so happy to put our Christmas pictures in it.

The album, papers, & embellishments are from Teresa Collins. There are also a few things from Maya Road. Hope you like it & I hope if Scrapbooking seems a bit overwhelming for ya, you'll give these fab mini-albums a go. You'll be hooked!

Thanks so much for peeking today! The good life is over for me & now I've got to get going for school again.
Gotta go!

Snow

Hi ya friends,
Hope you've recovered from an evening of stuffing & a day of shopping! I was not in your way today- I don't do crowds or lines- I do SLEEP! It's called beauty sleep for a reason ;) and it takes sleep, not Botox, to keep me the fairest of them all! Tee Hee!  Hope you found some sweet sales :)

So, do you have 10 minutes? Want to make a seriously simple scrapbook page that doesn't look like you spent 10 minutes on it. Well, step right up & take a peek at this:

 sorry, I couldn't take a better pic :(
To create this quick & easy page, all I did was use my Cricut (on my Gypsy) to cut the snowflake from the "When it's Cold Outside" cart. (Did you notice the snowflake is made up of little reindeer heads???) It went *perfectly* with the reindeer on the SEI Paper. I cut a mat layer for a pic added some Stickles and pearls to the snowflake and on the end of each reindeer, I added a red bling nose. Super easy peasy! Yaaaay!
Here's a closer peek of the reindeer snowflake:

Sooooo... much like I tell the good peeps at In-N-Out burgers---> make mine a double! My brain is telling me I need to make this into a double page spread. I've got the deets in my head so now I need to find a few minutes to put it down on paper. I'll probably be adding a pic of my boys- the biggest FLAKES I know! Hee! Hee!


My Cricut and the gorgeous SEI paper, made this project so easy to do. All the embellies can be found at the YMH store. Be sure to check out the Prima kits on sale too!

Thanks for peeking today! I'm off to get more of my grammy's stuffing! luuuuv it!
Gotta Go!

Paper Bag Cookie Exchange Recipe Book

Hola friends,
Today I wanted to share the paper bag recipe book my friends *might* make at our cookie exchange. I say *might* because they're not crafters ---> not one :( they would rather receive than make crafts. But I really wanted to do something different this year other than just exchange cookies & that's it. I tried to keep the book simple so they wouldn't be intimidated & rather take a crafty leap! Everything is pre-cut so all they have to do is embellish & slap it on the book!

So here it is:

 and the innies:

For this book, i used regular kraft lunch bags and papers from the DCWV Handmade Christmas stack. WOW!!! Do I luuuuv these papers!!! They're rustic but charming & definitely give you that handmade feel. There are a million & one ways to make these easy little books, but this way, you don't need adhesive- just ribbon to hold it together.

Let's start our tour at the beginning:

To get started:
You'll need as many paper bags as you would like in your book. Mine has 4. I used regular lunch bags (super inexpensive) but you can also purchase colored bags (not so inexpensive) at your local craft store. I bought mine at Target where they also have red, white, & blue ones.

Next, fold the bottom edge up towards the far edge so they meet. Do this to all of the bags & layer them on top of each other.

Then I add my paper along the edge where I will bind the book (front & back). I make a mark with my pencil where I will punch my holes. For this book, I will simply use a ribbon to bind my book together, but you can use your Bind-it-All, glue, sewing machine, whatever you'd like.

Then I use my Crop-a-dile to punch the holes through all the bags.

Now just thread your ribbon through & tie a preeeeety bow :)

Here's the back:

I punched my holes fairly close because I wanted as much of the wood paper to show. If you want more of the ribbon to show, punch your holes wider apart. I know the ribbon may seem a little over the top for this kind of book, but I am an over the top kinda girl right???

And you know what's next right????? YES! Stick a fork in it cuz it's done! See? So super easy. Now the rest is the fun stuff- DECORATING!!!

The cover:

 I cut out all the words with the "From my Kitchen" Cricut cart. The cookie tray, cookies, spatula, & oven mitt are all Sizzix dies. The cookies are inked on the edges for that look of a crispy cookie edge. The middles have Stickles (for sugar) and liquid pearls for the icing. I added a mini gingerbread cookie cutter to embellish. PS: the ribbon looks waaaaaaaaaaaay awesome IRL, not like in this pic :(

Here are the innies:

 next...

 Then...

 Those recipe cards are just place holders for the ones I will get from everyone else. The mats are ready for pics of the cookies for each recipe.

You might have noticed that along the edge of the books there are cookies sticking out. Well, those are functional as they are the pulls to get the inner panels out of the bag pocket. They remind me of nilla wafers :) mmmmm... I did have to take a nibble out of the last one ;)

 So my cookie crew will not only take home yummy cookies, but also a complete recipe book I cooked up for them! I'll make crafters out of them yet ;)

If you've never made these type of albums, I hope I have inspired you to try. They're super easy peasy & way fun to make. Perfect for those scrapbookers in training :)

Thanks so much for peeking today. I really appreciate you taking the time to pop in!
Gotta go!

DT: Bonjour Birdie

Hi ya friends,
Today I've got a Scrapbook page I created using lots of goodies from Your Memories Here. 
Here it is:

 I've been admiring the T!m Holtz birdcage die but have been refusing to buy it because I have several awesome Cricut carts with birdcage images. Finally, I decided to make it happen.

Here's a closer peek at the birdcage & the beautiful Prima flowers I used to embellish. I used the Serenade Cart for the cage & Home Décor for the bird. I used my neglected Pebbles Inc Shimmer chalks to color the bird- easy peasy. To distress the cage a bit, I sprayed it with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Garden Fairy & Sage then added some pearls to embellish.

 I LUUUUUUV this Prima alabaster flower. I sprayed it with Dazzling Diamonds & Irridescent Gold Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist for a beautiful effect- so wish you could see it :(

This is another peek.

And one last angle :)

Did I use my Gypsy?  But of course!!! Oh, this page is mat ready for a 4 x 6 pic. I used a piece of Oopsie Daisy DP from imaginisce. The sentiment "Bonjour" is from the Ashlyn's Alphabet cart sprayed with TA glimmer mist too. The Swirly border DP is Breeze Specialty Die Cut paper which creates a perfect border accent. Don't ya think? One last detail... see the white stitching along the border? Well, it's faux... SNOW! Hee! Hee! I used my snow pen to faux stitch around the edges, then took my heat gun to make it 3D & look like real stitches. I know, I'm a sneaky one ;)

All these goodies can be found at the YMH Store ---> HERE.
Thanks for peeking today!
Next stop, cookie recipe book :)
Gotta Go!

Baby Layout

Hi friends,
I wanted to share a layout I made for a friend. She's part of a group of ladies I crop with & she asked us if we would make a (baby boy) layout for her baby album in lieu of gifts. I thought that would be a great idea- that way all she would need to do is pop her baby pictures on the mats & her baby book would be done!
Here's the double page layout I created for her:

First, I have to say that this is something that looks waaaaaaay better in person. I didn't take good pics of it as I was rushing out the door :( I added a title along the right border after I took the pic :(

Here's a closer peek at the left page:

I paper pleated along the top. I layered, layered, layered patterned papers. (one of my fav things to do- even on scrapbook pages ;) The mat on this page is ready for a 5x7 pic. I added faux stitching along the edges.

Here's the page on the right: again sorry for the hideous pic :(

I added more paper pleating along the edge. This page is ready for two 4x6 pics.

All the papers for this layout were from My Minds Eye Quite Contrary Collection which I have LOVED using on several projects. I'll be so sad when this collection is gone :(

Thanks so much for peeking today. HS is going pretty well. It's been crazy busy getting used to new routines/procedures that come with moving to a new school, but hopefully by the end of the month I'll feel more comfortable in my new surroundings & my life as a HS teacher. I am LOVING that prep period, though!!! It really helps a lot :)

Hasta Luego!

DT- YMH meets Sketchy Thursday

Hi Ya friends,
YMH is sponsoring the Sketchy Thursdays Challenge Blog this week & our DT was invited to play along with their sketch.
Here it is:

Here's my Layout:

When I first saw this sketch I thought "Whoa, that's a lot of circle elements." then I pulled out this beautiful Prima paper called Strawberry Kisses- Daydream. I noticed that those glorious blooms were pretty much in the right place to go along with the sketch so I went with it :) Tucked in there (as part of the circle elements) are my 2 boys when they were little- tear, tear. And those pics definitely have a story to tell and it goes with my title. The journaling happens to also be part of the title. It reads: "Only my boys can make me mad and MAKE ME SMILE in the same sentence!"- and it's so true!!!

I used my Gypsy & Cricut to weld & cut out the title. I used Rose leaves & Prima flowers as photo corners. I also decided to print out my pics in Black & white so they would stand out from all the vivid colors & design of the page. Don't look, but I messed up while I was writing the journaling :( ... you didn't click to look at my mistake did you??? Don't make me start handing out some detentions! ;) Uuuuugh, I hate it when that happens :(

Quickly, The top photo: that's Jordan "trying" on my sunglasses. He said, "I'm cool, Mommy!" and then was taking them off & snapped one of the sides off. Then he said, "Oh... not cool" ---> I can laugh about that NOW :)

The pic below is my now 16 year old, who stopped to let me take this pic while "posing" for the camera (something he never did), then turns around, jumps off the stairs (he's standing on), TRIPS, busts his lip open ---> ER here we come for more stitches! This kid sent me on many ER trips, let me tell you! I think they were ready to assign me a parking spot! Thankfully, he hasn't been as clumsy as he's gotten older.

If you'd like to play along with this sketch, here's the fab prize you could win:

It's a Halloween 12x12 layout kit with 6 sheets of double sided paper, 2 sheets of stickers, die cuts and a yard of ribbon. PLUS you'll get 2 Hallowhimsy snag 'em stamps and a bottle of Pomegranate Fall 2010 Glimmer Mist. You've got til September 1st, so get crafting! Be sure to check out the rest of the DT's awesome takes on this sketch at the YMH Blog.
If you'd like any of these products, be sure to check them out at the YMH Store.

Thanks for peeking today & have a fab weekend!

The Great Outdoors Book

Hi friends,
Today, I wanted to share a really cool accordion panel book. I picked up (along with a matching book) at the Scrapbook Expo from the Pine Cone Press Booth (yes, a few months ago :(  Over the weekend, I finally completed it! It has a real rustic feel to it :) and when I saw it, I thought it would be *perfect* for all our Big Bear pics. We go every year & have lots of pics to fill it with.
Here's the cover:

(I'm going to apologize ahead of time, but lighting was wonky & this is a looooong book to photograph! It's over 3 feet long)

Then it accordion outs like this:

There are 8 panels to this book & each panel is embellished. Each panel is bound together with twine for an added rustic feel.
Here are the first 2 panels:

The brown mat on the 2nd panel serves as a mat & is also a pocket.

Here are the next 4 panels:

The parts that look like tree bark are made with corrugated cardboard. Lots of mats for pics :)

Last few:

Here's a few deets on a couple of the panels:

This is a pocket page (with tag).

This one holds a couple of tags.

Each panel is also a pocket page in itself that conceals a place to tuck in another big tag for more pics and journaling!

and finally here's the back---> uh huh, more room for pics! luuuv it!

This is one of my fav books. It took a long time to make, but I luuuv how it turned out! Now, to get going on the matching book :{
Thanks so much for peeking!
Gotta Go!