project {gift album}

back in late february, i hosted a bridal shower for my husband's niece. i used black & white damask with red accents for the decor. as my gift to the bride, i pulled together a quick and easy photo album of the event.

i was lucky enough to find this perfect album at target. i added the ribbon and the "c&j" accent, which was used throughout the shower.

inside the front cover, i used another (larger) "c&j" accent and included a copy of the invitation

the next page included their engagement announcement from the local paper. the remainder of the pages simply contained 4x6 photos slipped into the photo sleeves. nothing fancy. the lines running along the sides allow the bride room to write her own memories or label photos if she chooses.

at the shower, i asked all of the attendees to fill out an advice card for the couple. i designed these in 4"x6" knowing i would be including them in this album. they were placed after the photos.

using a photo album with 4"x6" sleeves is a great way to put together a gift album with just a few creative touches. it's quick, yet still personal. 

::cheers::

mini album {beach vacation 10}

you may remember that i created a digital mini album of last year's beach vacation. i really liked the concept of a mini album for the trip (because i usually end up with a lot of photos), but i wanted to take a different approach this year.

my goal with this project was to create a mini album before my vacation that would allow me to document the trip while i was actually on vacation. i chose to do it in 4"x6" because i wanted to be able to print photos in that size, glue them back-to-back, punch some holes and just add them directly to the album.

i prepped the album by printing a variety of digital elements in the 4x6 size (all were free downloads). i used summer themed items or journaling elements. i glued them back-to-back, punched holes and added binder rings. the only creative effort that went into prepping the album was to make the covers look cute (which i did on chipboard for extra studiness).

after we got home, i edited my photos and chose which ones i wanted to print. i ordered about 35-40 photos and added them just as i had planned, cropping only a few. i added journaling and then raided my stash of summer embellishments and added random things throughout.

does it sound like i missed reporting a step??? well, i took the album with me on vacation. and a bag of goodies. and did nothing with it. so, even though i enjoyed this type of album, i doubt i'll waste my time thinking i'd actually work on it while i'm away next time!

one of my goals was to incorporate a lot of extra memorialbilia type things (similar in concept to ali edwards' daily december album project). that didn't work as planned. we don't go many places on our beach trip (except the pool and beach), so there wasn't much to collect. the few places we did go, i forgot to grab something. i did save some receipts which are in an envelope at the end. and i had matt save the scorecard from putt-putt.

once the album was full, i tied a bunch of ribbon scraps around the binder rings and it was all done. i love that it's only a few weeks after our trip and it's already scrapbooked.  i never do that!!!

mini album {beach vacation 09}

this mini album has been a long work-in-progress.

quite a while ago, i happed upon a digital "blog hop".

i downloaded a ton of these summer/beach themed quick pages.

i opted to use them (with some editing) to highlight photos from our beach vacation last year.

i gradually completed the digital pages.

though they were 12x12 designs, i didn't want anything that large.

then eventually had them printed in 5"x5" (on 5"x7" prints - for free through artscow)

they arrived. and sat.

eventually, i trimmed the prints and added them to cardstock.

i bound the album with my bind-it-all.

if you're interested in seeing all of the digital pages, click here.

mini album {thanksgiving 08}

last project from our scrapping weekend... i made a mini chipboard album (6x6) using last year's thanksgiving pictures. my sister had bought me some beautiful patterned papers and coordinating cardstock and whatnots, which inspired the project...

the front cover... rub-ons are american crafts (part of gift from sister). i used a strip of patterned paper above and below the photo (which is of my other sister's table centerpiece). mom's stickles were used for a litte pizzazz...they will make a reoccuring appearance throughout...

i added all of the ribbons on the binder rings later on when i got home.

small chipboard star (from a school set...see, thinking outside of the box), covered with paper, sanded, inked. notice i added stickles to the polka dots on the patterned paper.

chipboard circle covered with a tree cut from the patterned paper. super cute.



again, stickles on the polka dots.

i'm not sure why, but i love how i cut up these food pictures. i'm easily impressed, i suppose :)

more stickels. the dots beside "techy" are a stamp. oh, and the journaling box is actually baby themed, but i hit that part under the photo.

cute journaling block with felt star brads (both part of my birthday gift).

stamped star with some smeared stickles

journaling circle cut in half, stamped 'b', various colors of stickles on the dots around the circle.

love this owl stamp...put it on the back page. super duper cute.

good night...gotta go to bed.

{daily december album}

Based on Ali Edwards' project, I decided to do the Daily December Album this year (well, technically last year). I began in late November when we started decorating. The base of the album is an 8x8 Bind-It-All, but I added various sized items and pages within. I did not do a base album ahead of time, like Ali does. I wasn't able to keep up with it daily but I took photos, saved things and made notes along the way. I worked on it when I could and finished last week. Overall, not too shabby. It was a fun and liberating project! I don't think I'd do it every year but I love the concept and I'm so very glad I did it.



You can go here to see photos of the entire book and read the details.

{themed albums}

i had a low key weekend and was able to get a lot of scrapbooking done. most of it was done at home, but i did go over to a friend's house last night for a mini-crop.

I completed a 6"x6" Tea Time album as part of a themed basket for Spencer's school fundraiser. Click the picture below to see the whole album.

i also got my pregnancy album caught up. Click below to see all the pages.

photos {heart day recap}

ok, i know i'm super slack - but here's how our heart day went...
we weren't supposed to exchange gifts, just cards. i made matt a small felt book for his card. he bought me a shirt and a bottle of wine (not a good rule follower!).














i made the book using ali edwards' template printout. i based my felt book on hers but mine is much simpler and was super quick to put together.