Behold the beauty!


Well I think it took me every bit of this last week to get this baby done. Like I have said, it's been a long week. And although the other album is not quite done it is very similar to this one. I can't figure out why it would be so hard for me to make a couple albums with this paper. Sure, I bought a limited amount of sheets, but I seldom waste any. The only thing that I can figure is that one would be for my mom! Whenever I make something specifically for someone, I feel lots of pressure. When I make something for ebay or etsy, I really feel NO pressure. I just figure someone will love it...and hope they want it ALOT! :O)

This is Karen Foster paper, yep the flimsy stuff. LOL! It was just too cute to pass up. Plus it says my moms name written all over it! I lay out my papers, make my chipboard pages, I pull out ALL coordinating ribbons, some fibers, and embellishments I have.
Then I start tracing my chipboard pages on the papers. I like being able to poke around with everything laying around, sort of brainstorm! The next couple steps are very boring...LOL
After cutting out each page by hand, I sew around the outer edge of each one. While going through the stack of pages so many times, I now am getting a good idea for the colors, patterns, and sizes of photo mats. (many of these were cut with my cricut) Before I get to far from the sewing machine I stitch around them quick too. Where the seems come together, I always pull the threads through to the back of the paper and tape them securely. The "oc" in me will not allow me to overlap seams and I definitely wouldn't want them coming undone!
The bird on the front is from Maya Road. I covered it with paper, then sanded the edges and inked it with Jim Holtz Distress ink. This is pretty much the way I make every page. I glue all the pages on to their chipboard, sand and ink them all, then punch holes and bind them with book rings. If the front page will come easily to me I do it first, as to not use up any embellishments, that I might have wanted it to have. For this album I made lots of beautiful unique flowers by pairing up primas with my own hand cut cardstock flowers. Curling and inking them took forever too!
Now all the preparation and brainstorming is done. I tie ribbons and fibers on each binder rings now, I think it really sturdies up the book and helps make sure it will all open and close smoothly. Lastly...decorate them pages!! You almost can't go wrong here. Attach the photo mats, a few flowers here and there, a ribbon, little bit of balance and creative imagination and you have yourself one beautiful album!
Wow, It's been days! So much for pictures of that album progress eh? Well i have had sick babies, if you could really even call it that! The girls got the weirdest RED cheeks, then brock out in a rash. Turned out it is wgat they call slap cheek, or fifth's disease. Never heard of it before, but by the time your cheeks get red and you have a rash, your not contagious anymore! So no meds to take or anything, just rest fluids and baby the rash a bit. They say you're suppose to be sick at some point before you get the rash, but I never saw any signs of them being sick?! Well, that's my first excuse...
Well another day races past...wish I had a time machine! Between kids growing up too fast and house chores, I sure find it hard to fit much "me" time in. Then fit crafting in there too? We are talking mass amounts of coffee, and wee hours! I love them both dearly.
This seems to be a very wishy washy time of the month for me. My creative drive must be run by the moon or something! You know, sometimes you can only imagine... sometimes you just want to be a base maker drone...sometimes all you can do is the beautifying. Sometimes it is really hard to get an album to flow right out!
I have come across some super-cute spring papers and my head is just spinning thinking of the ways of using them! Number one, I'm thinking I might make my Mom an album with them for Mothers day... then of course theres ebay. I have to make two albums without burning myself out in the process!
So I've littered the kitchen table once again with the papers, chipboard, primas, ribbons, and any & every coordinating embelishment I have on hand! Then it's like going to my favorite buffet, and ready for a feast! :O) I feel like getting more progress done on them tonight, but I'll try and post some pictures of my productive mess tomorrow.

Hello & Welcome to my first ever post on my first ever blog!

Well, I'm all settled in with a new group of ebay peers. I've joined the Making Lemonade Design Team! They sure are a group of great women :)
The first challenge I've been around for was to make a "green" project. I chose to use my cricut and make this *fancy* little birdhouse album like this kit another seller had on ebay. I bid up to $41! {This would make the coolest Mothers Day gift!} I bid a second or two too slow and lost, but I couldn't be happier for that! I figured out that a cricut cartridge called "stretch your imagination" had the dang thing right there on it! So I spent $35 and got the cartridge instead! Hey I'm a paper artist, I should be able to come up with the kit part myself, right!? Now, back to my "Green" project. After much tinkering with the new deep cut blade and housing, I finally got my chipboard birdhouses cut out--which I might add were cut from Reeses puffs cereal box and a box from the individual packs of Quaker instand oatmeal! Plus to be my best "green" I figured instead of picking out some special -just out- papers, that I should use up some from my overwhelming stash. I chose some MME...did some basic swirls and flowers from the cricut, a couple simple primas, added rings -n- ribbons, and ta-dah! I have my first ever *made from scratch* birdhouse chipboard album! I learned sooo much, (besides the fact that I don't ever want to use regular weight papers again!) & can't wait to make my next :)