Albums from friends

Yesterday I finished unpacking all my craft stuff. I did not bring but a small sample of my ever growing paper collection so finding a place for everything was easy. All I need to get from the store is a new paper trimmer and some glue and I will be starting on a new album. So keep an eye on for July posts.

And to justify my title, here they are two cute albums I received as gifts from my dear friends. One will hold photos of my cats Mitzy and Puffy,  and the other is perfect for a short ocean vacation my husband and I will take. Not sure if/when the photos will complete their long and perilous journey from the cell phone to the album, but now I have an extra reason to make it all happen. Thank you again for thinking of me.

Albums for friends

Soon I will start on another journey. The packing is my least favorite part, sorting things that will be left behind, choosing only the necessary items. I get a little sentimental. I am once again reminded that I will never have enough time to put all my ideas on paper, scrapbook paper that is. So to distract my emotional mind, I picked up a few last minute Moon Bean orders. And while the beads are coming together faster than I remember, I decided to pile on some more stuff. One of them was this cute album for a friend. Here are a few photos. The pages are a little more simple. I left some room to decorate since she is also an artist and scrapbook fan.

I was not planning for vintage, but this fairy castle from one of Chateau Lavender paper collection, was a perfect match for a page that needed some interest.

Roses, purple and pink were meant to be on the same page.

Another one of the DCWV papers that was perfect for this project.

Very trendy in today's scrapbook society: the sequence. A little modern look for an otherwise vintage looking book. What is your opinion? Good idea or no?

Three more bottles found a perfect place to be glued down. A few more to go...

I never imagined that purple and that beige weathered looking paper would go together. In art, experiment is the only true way of knowing if something works. So go ahead try on your ideas, start with the ones you have the greatest suspicion that will fail. See what happens.

I am not much of a pink fan, but this paper, this particular shade of pink made me want to cover a whole room in it. Well done DCWV.

More castles, more pink.

Purple and vintage paper, once I figured out it worked well together, I could not stop playing with it.

Another try at using up all my Recollections flowers. The jars are more than half full, after giving half of it away, and using a hand full on projects. I am starting to believe in a scrapbook fairy...

Plain and Sequence...

And the flowers are still growing...

And the last page.

I hope I managed to put into this book all the things my friend likes: a little purple, some pink, vintage and some sparkle.

Take good care of it and put it to good use.

Happy crafting everyone.

Albums for friends

The color green. The color of spring, nature and life. The color loved by many. The color that does not inspire me much. Challenge accepted. Well, I did have some help. Add a friend who likes it, and her preference for music and a little vintage and this mini album came together in three days. Quite a record for me :).

Trying to use all my green flower stash.


There is something about craft supplies: when in the store one cannot have too many, when at home one cannot use it all faster.

I saw this cute flower, stem and leaf pattern on a card and thought it would  be fun to replicate on these pages.

Last page of the album where I mixed a little bit of all; flowers, cut outs and decorative tape.

That last bit of ribbon was not going back to the storage box for later use. I have learned my lesson. So I had to find it a place in my design.











One of my favorite pages where I used one of DCWV Timeless type prettiest pages and one cut out.

Hunting my never diminishing paper collection for green patterns I found some double sided 6 X  6 that I challenged myself to make into pages and also keep both sides showing. Even if only half way from behind some clever pockets that also double as binding.

More of that DCWV paper. One 12 x12, cut into 4 6X6, not an inch wasted. :)

Remember those bottles I stamped during the craft month? Some of them found a home. About seven more to go...

Another binding trick and the leafs on the back of my paper are showing. I also left a big enough pocket to hold the booklet I made for almost all pages.

Polka dots are cute in any color. I especially liked the shade of green and the size of the dots on this one. Might keep the second page for myself.









Sometimes mistakes are a good thing, or at least a one of a kind page into a mini album.

And when you have in your bottomless stash a green and cute paper clip, you can confidently say that this was a totally intentional design choice. No doubts about it.








And there were side pockets, and double side pockets and vertical pockets and some Polaroid pattern paper...

 I do not know what I will do after I will use up all my DCWV Timeless Type paper. I seem to be able to match it to almost any project I make.

Some of the paper I used was not double sided, so something had to be done. Since green pattern paper is scarce among my hoardings, a green pocket proved to be the perfect solution.

For someone who does not care much for green, I had two rolls of decorative tape in this color. Perfect.









That is pretty much it. Hope my friend likes it and will put it to good use.
I am currently working on a pink and purple 6x6 album similar to this one, and I also have a smaller size mini made with the last bits and pieces of the DCWV Everyday moments collection. And the rest of the albums I meant to finish, and some old photos I found at my mom's house that I want to scan and print for my own records, and some engagement party I attended this past Sunday, and I think I will start by taking a break ;).

Have a great week!

March Craft Month - day 31

And the last day is here. Hope you had a great month, and made a lot of crafts. I wanted to work on one of my many started projects and maybe even try out some new ideas. Every other day seemed a reasonable time schedule, but inspiration does not keep a schedule, not yet at least. And there are those days when life just gets in the way. Spring is here and there is much to do around the house and in the garden. I am taking photographs of anything with a bloom on it, and maybe one day I get them printed and glue them down in some garden album.
No project for today. Since I do not like posts without a picture here are some earrings inspired by the spring garden.

I won't stop working on my albums, and one day I know I will be up-to-date with all my projects. And who knows what other ideas I may act on. See you soon.

March Craft Month - day 27

I missed one day, again. But not all is lost. The first project I wanted to finish during this month is finally done. I found this video some time ago when I first started being interested in making my own albums. I got a 8in  by 10in Strathmore drawing pad, half of the 12x12 DCWV World Traveler paper pack, some Recollections cardstock and Distress Ink; not to mention all sorts of type of glue. And now is done. I did not aim for the exact replica of the album in the video. That would have been to ambitious and it would have never been ready or look as pretty.

A video would have been better, but I have not unlocked that level yet. Here are some photos of my two day's work; not to mention the other days from previous months.

 I wanted a simple cover, since I might take it with me when I travel. Maybe I will add a nice photo of us when all the pages are filled.

 The inside cover. When I started to realize there will be a shortage of paper I got creative. Left over paper from torn pages, stamps, ink and some washi tape and I call it done.

 I liked to make pockets and use the cutouts as tags, photo mats and booklets.

 Most layouts are basic like this one. Room for photo, some writing and cutouts from the collection,

 The paper had so many elements already printed, that all I had to figure out was how not to cover them up with photo mats.

 I glued two pages together to make a tag pocket and a little booklet. Perfect for all those pieces of paper that are too big for tags and to small to cover a whole page,

 Another pocket I made because I did not want to cover all those nice stamps. And for the photos, I made the mini album that goes in the pocket.

One of may favorite pages. I like the boat and the dark green color of the paper. I had just enough paper to make it a double spread. And for the second page I made a pocket and a booklet for photos and notes from the sea trip (when ever that will be :)) .

Half page easy to make. See that pretty cluster of gears and stamps? Already printed on the paper. All I had to add was the photo mats. And I glued the bottom one sideways. Can't wait to add the photos in to cover it up.

 I have nothing to say about this one, just that I like how it turned out.

Fold out page inspired by the YouTube video. 

Now all I need are some photos from my favorite place for a coup of coffee. 

Made out of the very last bits and pieces of paper.