Tom’s Scrapbook

I've featured the scrapbook I made for my daughter a while back, today I thought I would show you the scrapbook I put together for my son, who's 29 now and will probably never forgive me for putting this in the public domain!

 

Scrapbooking isn’t really my thing, layouts are well out of my comfort zone, a bit like Tim Holtz stuff, but perhaps, when I have a bit of time, I might set myself a new scrapbook challenge.

 I think my problem is I don't get into the theme enough and so the layouts are very basic and flat.


But having watched quite a few QVC craft days I should have a bit more idea by now.

Perhaps it's a medium where I need to forget my rule of less is more. By the way, thats me as bridesmaid above, I had to wait till I was thirty for the honour, and then ended up with  my head chopped off in the photo!

Lucy’s Scrapbook

These are pages from the scrapbook I made for my daughter Lucy as one of my “New Years Makes” a couple of years ago – scrapbooking isn't really my thing so I make no apologies for the very basic layouts.

She is now 25 and will probably kill me when she sees this ….. but she was such a cute little thing when she was little.

And she’s still pretty cute now!

We called her Lucy because the moment she was born she opened her beautiful blue eyes and had a really good look around, as if eyeing us up – it was magic.

And I think she spent most of her childhood mixing her Dad’s groundbait for fishing!

When the children were small I wasn’t into crafting that much and I don't thing much scrapbooking was being done then either.


But, if I knew then what I know now …………….. !

Bind It All - Postcard Diary/Scrapbook

I made this funny looking book using my Bind It All. I’ve used blank postcards for the pages, with the idea of using it as a sort of Travel Journal.

I’m going to write notes on the printed side – perhaps adding a small picture over the stamp part and doodling a sort of postmark over it.

On the reverse side, I will add a collage of smaller photographs of the trip/holiday (printed on my computer)

I LOVE my Bind it All, which I got it a while back at Hobbycrafts,  NEC. When I first tried to use it I thought, what have I bought and I am afraid that it stayed on the shelf, unused, for many months until I tried it again.  There is a knack to keeping the rings nice and round, a light touch is needed – I am notoriously heavy handed, hence squashed rings at the start.

It’s a brilliant piece of kit, I could have a full time job just making blank books – as you can alter the basic designs for so many different ideas, i.e size and shape, colour and texture of paper, number of pages etc. It’s DEAD GOOD!

Red Gingham Mini Baby Book

Well, I have finished Ettie’s book and popped it in a box to match.

She really is a gorgeous baby!

I have steered away from traditional pinks and baby things because Mel, her mum is very modern, and I know part of the nursery decor is red gingham. With that in mind, I chose gingham papers, flowers and butterflies  with the intention, hopefully, of giving it a timeless feel.

All the embellishments are made using punches.

I think it took me about 5 hours in all to complete!

What’s On My Desk Wednesday

What, no shopping on my desk? This week  I have had to have a big restock on the basics; a mega box of linen card from The Papermill Shop and envelopes from E-bay – not very exciting …..

So, on my desk today is a baby book for a really lovely friend who has just had the most adorable baby. It seems ages since I have made a minibook . Hopefully I will finish it today or tomorrow so I can show you each page properly later on in the week.

Oh …. those aren’t spots on the baby’s face in the top photo, they are tiny nail art gems that I have put where I can see them!

My Daughters 25th Birthday Trip to London Album

I made this for my sister Jan to give to my daughter for her 25th Birthday. As a birthday present she was taking Lucy to London for the weekend and the book sets out the itinerary ……
Needless to say my daughter is very spoilt and my sister is VERY generous!



 

 



 


 
 

 

Something Old, Something New …. Wedding Gift For A Bride

First of all, please forgive me for these awful pictures.

I hope, despite the horrific nature of the  photography you can make out what I have made.

 

This is a little book I have cobbled together several times now as a gift for a bride. 

It measures 4 x 4 ins and was made using my bind-it-all. The cover is a silk covered card, (very lovely).  The pages are cream card which I have faux stitched with a light brown, fine tipped pen.

On the left hand side of the book I have made pockets using a matching cream/gold embossed paper. I tell people who ask me to make this  book, to put in small pictures and/or mementoes of the bride as she grew up, or little messages from the bridesmaids, etc. to make it extra special.

Each page is made up from the “old, new, borrowed rhyme.  The “old” on the first page is made using old lace, a mother of pearl button, and old gold safety pin.  The button and pin are methods of joining two things together, …. as the bride and groom will be  on their wedding day.

The “new” page is made up of mini scrabble letters (Jolees)spelling  the word “Life” to represent the new life the bride is about to embark on, and the heart shaped lock and key, symbolise security.
“Borrowed” is a bit tongue in check ….. two credit card charms!

Forget-me-nots have been used to represent the “blue” and dragonflies are an ancient symbol of growing, changing and maturing.

…. and finally I have put an old polished sixpence on the last page.

I have tied cream ribbons to the binder of the book and a small heart shaped gold charm that says “Made with Love”.

Phew!

Diary/Notebook

I made these little diary/notebooks as presents last Christmas for all the staff I work for. 

They were made using my Bind-It-All, and measured 4 x 4 ins. Each book contained about twenty four pages of light weight, good quality cream card, which I edged by hand, using a taupe coloured pen (aghhhhh). The patterned paper and butterfly used are K & Co.

Inside the book, on every second left hand side page, I made a pocket and in that put  a monthly calendar (created using Publisher, and printed in a light brown)

To finish the whole thing I attached a heart shaped glass bead to each ring of the binder.

I packaged them in a brown card box made using my trusty box maker (another e-bay bargain)…… fiddle farting in a nutshell!

Zutter Mini Bind-It-All Scrapbook.

This is a mini book I have just made for a friend at work, whose daughter is going to study in Argentina for the next twelve months.

She gave me a list of her daughter's interests, including her love of swimming and running, eating fruit and veg, all things Spanish and reading. She also asked me to include a message about only being a phone call away and how much her family loved her, which I have included on the last two pages.

I have used my trusty Zutter Bind It All to make this album, the pages are 4 x 4 ins and the cover a fraction larger. On three of the pages I have added a little tag with small, individual pictures of Imogen's family, with a little charm attached.

I have also made a box with a tag to complete the gift using my box maker (bought from e-bay, I couldn't be without it, what a brilliant invention!)