All About ME Book

This little project was born when I started making an all about me book using one of our 5x7 Chipboard Journals - I'll post it one of these days to show y'all.
I showed it to some of my customers and they liked it but I got the feeling that they would never make one for themself. Then my Aunt passed away in April and I was helping her 5 kids plan the funeral. They were struggling to write a few paragraphs about her life and who she really was. Then they started remembering things like "she really loved Watermelon" and "she always crunched her ice even though it drove us crazy" and I was amazed at all the things that one kid remembered but the other kids didn't even know (such as her favorite song, etc...). It just struck me as sad that so much of the essence of who she was is lost now except for a few random memories here and there. I so wish that she had made a small album about herself for others to hold on to and cherish. She was creative, but she really wasn't the type to scrapbook photos and such.

So, I thought about it a while and tried to come up with a solution for those people who might not want to embark on a huge scrapbooking project (or sink lots of funds into something they may not be gung ho about). I know it's not terribly original and that every scrapbook magazine out there shows some sort of ring album or "all about me" album. But my stampin' ladies don't get those and so this was new to them. I really emphasized making this FUN, easy, and low stress. Make it personal and as easy as possible so that you don't give up on it. I told them to include very few photos (if any) since that is the point where most non-srappers freak out and give up.

So here is the one my Daytime class made. I was trying to use up my many many chipboard flowers (I ordered the make & take kit and never used it) before they possibly retired (which they didn't -yay).

The cover is made from tagboard (I used a piece that came with a packet of designer paper - just the right weight. But you could use anything a bit thicker than normal cardstock (even cereal box tagboard would work)).
Tagboard pieces were 4"x4". Then I covered the outside of each tagboard square with a 5"x5" piece of the new Designer Prints papers (I LOOOOVE these monochromatic stripes and dots!).

We trimmed the corners off and folded the 1/2 excess over to the back. If you trim the corners at a true 45 degree angle you 'should' get a perfect miter on the back.
Cover the insides of the tagboard that is still showing with a square of coordinating C/S (3 3/4" x 3 3/4". Add your paper to joural on - Whisper white squares of 3 5/8" x 3 5/8" (you can get 6 per page). Punch your holes and add your ring and ribbon.
We applied Regal Rose craft ink to the chipboard flower and added some coordinating punched circles. The flower is attached to the cover with mini-glue dots (love em).

Here are some of my sample pages on the inside. I used the watercolor crayons on a bunch of the pages and stamps on others. Have I mentioned how much FUN this project is to do. I had a blast making these pages. Do it for yourself or do it for your family. None of us is here forever. Leave a little of yourself behind.
From looking various places, I've come up with a document to start you thinking about what to journal and include in your book. Email me if you want me to send it to you.

Margaritas and Hot Dogs

So, I didn't get the chance to photograph my cute little project yet. In the meantime, here are a few cards I made for June birthdays.

For my dear friend and upline Katie's birthday, I wanted to make a fun card but wasn't inspired by any of my non-retiring sets. Luckily my desk was a mess and there was some vellum lying about. I must have had margaritas on the brain, because this was the result. The salt on the rim was glitter. Colors were Only Orange & Gable Green.

The grill card was for my brother in law's birthday. I still love this set for all things manly. One can never have too many burger and hot dog stamps.

Sorry they are so fuzzy - I'll have to work on my camera skills.

New Stamps!

Woot. As a demonstrator I can pre-order a limited selection of the new catalog goodies. Mr. Brown brought my box the other day and I finally had a chance to play. I only have 2 of the new in-colors (yet), but love them.

I chose the Year After Year set because it seems so versatile. This card is made with 2 of the new colors Groovy Guava and Wild Wasabi. Don't they look great together? Wasabi coordinates well with Garden Green too. I used the Linen background stamp on the Guava card (Guava ink) for a textured effect. The flowers were colored with the ink from the stamp pad lid and my handy dandy blender pen. I used a dab of Really Rust marker in the center of the flowers.

This one uses Rose Red and Regal Rose. I stamped the heart with Basic Black and then used a sponge dauber inked with the Rose Red to burnish the color into the heart. Burnishing is just rubbing fairly hard in a circular motion. Other sets used were Itty Bitty Backgrounds (a gotta have set) and words from the new greeting set, Holidays & Wishes. Other greetings in that set include: Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, from the heart, and sweet little one.

I can't wait to stamp more with this set, but sadly my stamp desk is piled with "stuff". We just had the carpets cleaned this weekend and today must be spent putting the "stuff" back. I have my sweet ladies over tomorrow. We are making a really cute little project I will share after they make it. It's a little all-about-me scrapbook with a chipboard flower that I'm very excited about.