Simple Stories Yearography - simple album

Today I have a very simple album that was super quick and easy to put together.  I bought all of the stuff, a little at a time, not realizing what I wanted to do with it all.  Then one day I was going through my stash and it hit me.  Use the Simple Stories Snap Pockets I had gotten to make an entire book.  One pocket for each month!

I plan on sending this to my niece and her hubby for their one year anniversary.  They can go back and fill it with stuff from their first year of marriage, or they can use it for year 2, which includes their first home they just bought!!

 For the cover I used the 6x8 Snap Pages from Simple Stories.  Since they were not sturdy enough for covers I layered it onto a piece of chipboard, so I used a total of 4 Snap Pages.  They come 8 to a pack.  I added some wooden buttons from my stash and cut out some paper, three different ones including the quote, and used foam tape to layer it and give it some depth.  Even though I really liked the "Life Is Good" page, it was a little too plain for my taste.

Here are a few of the pages.  I'm not going to include photos of all 12 months.  I did pretty much the same thing for each month.  I took the pocket and a piece of 6x6 paper from the SS Yearography paper pad.  I adhered a piece of 6x6 paper onto the "inside" of the pocket.  Although it didn't cover the whole page, you can't see it because it is behind the pocket!

I cut out each of the bingo cards for each month and adhered that to the front of the pocket.  I then cut out the month from the 6x6 paper and adhered that to the top.  There are 3 different designs of pockets, so I used each design 4 times.  This one is scalloped with holes, which I threaded with ribbon for February, put a wooden heart button on the number 14 and added the heart.

The embellishments consisted of the paper, as well as left over stuff in my stash.  Very, very simple.

Here is July and another type of pocket.  For this I used 3-d stickers from my stash along with the bingo card and July paper.  I did ink all of the edges of everything with Tim Holtz Vintage Photo Distressed Ink.

 And finally this is December and the last pocket design.  Everything on the December pocket is paper from Yearography.

 This is the book finished.  It is quite thick so I used 2" rings.  Easy peasy album which took about 4 hours to complete!  Thanks for looking!

Birthday card inspired by Polly's Paper Studio

My oldest DD turned 25 yesterday and I wanted to make her a special, but really different, birthday card and I knew exactly where to go for inspiration.  Polly's Paper Studio.  If you've never see Ginny's stuff, you are really missing out.  She is so incredibly talented.  This is my take on Ginny's style of cards, which I adore!

I used lots and lots of layers!!  I make a base card (5x5) from white CS, then cut the first layer (grid type paper I had in my stash) 5x5 and distressed the edges.  The next layer was script writing paper (again in my stash), which i cut 4.75 x 4.75, distressed.  I then took creme CS and cut two heart borders from Elegant Edges.  That was cut at 4.5 and if you look closely you can see it at the top and bottom of the script paper.  Next layer was an inked doily then a piece of dark brown twill ribbon.   I then cut out the fleur de lis and the post card (under the flowers and ribbon) from Teresa Collins World Traveler paper, and finally the little girl from Graphic 45 Little Darlings.  I used a piece of creme seam binding and made a ribbon, put a brown pearl brad in the middle, surrounded by paper roses and hand cut a strip of the paper from the first layer (the grid type) and stamped Happy Birthday with CTMH Card Word Puzzle stamp then added three vintage buttons at the top right hand corner!  All edges were inked with Tim Holtz Distressed Ink Vintage Photo.

The card took me 2 hours to make but I loved how it came out!  More importantly DD loved it!

Wilderness Trip Album

Thanks to the generosity of friends and family, and a lot of hard work by my DD Madeline, she was able to go on the Wilderness Trip.  Three weeks in Idaho!  They hiked 83 miles over 16 days and then whitewater rafted another 50 or so miles.  It was grueling, intense, hot, cold, scary, and fun!  The kids all had a great time!  This was such an awesome experience; they will never be the same.

So to keep my mind busy I made a lot of albums!  This was from an Archiver's album kit.  It's quite small for the number of photos she took, but it's a start!

The cover is made from corrugated cardboard.  Just peeled back the smooth outer layer to reveal the "wavy" cardboard.  I used a lot of Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Vintage Photo.

Madeline saw "roughing it" and looked at me and said "you're so funny".  Not sure she was quite over how intense the trip was at that point!

Lots of pocket pages and tags!  I need her to start writing while the memories are fresh in her mind!

All in all a cute book that was very easy to put together.  I love the kits from Archiver's!  They make crafting fun and easy, especially when you don't have the thought process to put something together yourself!

I'll leave you with a couple of pictures that we will be putting into the book.  Idaho is simply beautiful!

Wedding Album inspired by Teresa Collins

WARNING - PICTURE HEAVY...................
Just a couple of weeks ago we got a phone call from my DH's nephew, a marine stationed in San Diego, with the news that he is getting married at the end of July!  After booking our flights, I immediately began a wedding album.  Fresh off of my Teresa Collins classes, I had a lot of inspiration, not to mention I already  had a stash of Mr. and Mrs. Teresa Collins paper line, as well as other TC lines that coordinated perfectly.  I took my DH to Archivers with me and he picked out the Bo Bunny Naked Binder to use for the album.  I was thinking chipboard to begin with, so that was perfect!  I wanted the cover to make an impact and be very decorative.  I used a variety of flowers, mostly Prima, along with some black crystal flourishes and black ribbon.

I cut out the tag from the TC Mr. and Mrs. line and pop dotted it on a white doily stained with black distress stain from Tim Holtz - even though it came out gray looking, it was perfect!

Inside cover:

Page 1 - front

Page 1 - back

Page 2 - this is actually a note card from TC.  This was one of the ideas that I got from the classes - all of the pages do not have to match in size.  The inside is blank for them to write their "love story"!

Page 3 - front

Page 3 - back

Page 4 - again, this was a Notations line paper from TC that was die cut (notice the left edge).  I cut it down to fit and use for journaling.

Page 5 - front

I used the embellishments I had to make a little "knob" that you would use to open the note cards, where you could put a photo of the bride and groom.

Page 5 - back - (picture perfect tag and left side strip is from TC Carolina Breeze)

Page 6 - a black tag!  I used the journaling card from the Bebe Chic TC line on the front and back!

Page 7 - front (the "memories" tag is from the Carolina Breeze TC line)

Page 7 - back - made a pocket for mementos!

Page 8 - this is the envelope that went with the note cards.  Actually it is supposed to be the inside of the envelope, but I liked the print so I reversed it! 

I like the way you could reverse the note cards and the envelopes!

Page 9 - this is a left over piece of the die cut paper from above!

While at Archiver's DH spotted this Marine medallion and told me to incorporate it into the album.  Great idea, but didn't really go with the color scheme, then I had the idea to use the two little dove stickers and a piece of ribbon!  The girl he is marrying is also a Marine!  This is the inside of the back cover.

Back cover!

Teresa Collins!

I had the wonderful opportunity to take two classes recently with Teresa Collins.  She is such a talented lady and is a very gifted teacher.  She was very inspiring!  After the second class, we had the opportunity to go to lunch with her and I must say, she is as charming and elegant as she is talented.  I consider myself very lucky to have had that opportunity!

HELP NEEDED - PLEASE READ

Hello to all of my crafty friends.

Today's post is an unusual request. I'm asking for donations for Madeline (see her story below). She needs to raise $2,000.00 for the Wilderness trip in June. Donations, as small as $10.00, can be made at http://cornerstonerecovery.org/. Simply scroll down and click on the "HIT HERE TO MAKE A PAYMENT OR DONATION" and then under payment description choose "WILDERNESS TRIP/ADVENTURE LEARNING". Type in your donation amount and under the description please put "MADELINE BIENVENU WILDERNESS TRIP".

Madeline's story:
Many of you are aware of my youngest daughter, Madeline, and her struggles with Borderline Personality Disorder. For those who are not, I will be as brief as I can.

After years of doctors, tests, etc, Madeline was finally diagnosed last October with BPD. As troublesome as the diagnosis was, it was a blessing to finally have a definite and correct diagnosis. Since being released from Sundown Ranch in October, Madeline has been working with a wonderful therapist and has made tremendous strides in her effort to overcome this disease. Before going to Sundown Ranch, Madeline became involved with Cornerstone Recovery Group. This is a parent driven group that helps addict teens turn their lives around. Although Madeline was not what you would describe as a full fledged addict, she had, on several occassions, become drunk and high. Thankfully she knew what she was doing was wrong and sought help on her own. I can say that Cornerstone saved her life. It was the counselors at Cornerstone that pushed us to get her into Sundown Ranch, as they knew that was the place that would finally get to the bottom of everything. They were correct! After years and years of doctors, medications, etc., and Madeline never getting better, only worse, we were given a diagnosis that has put her on a path of recovery - REAL recovery. With the dramatic improvements in the past few months, Madeline was offered a chance at a 3 week long Wilderness Trip in Idaho with Cornerstone Recovery. This is a very grueling, intense 3 weeks and Madeline has been in training for several weeks now. It is an opportunity to teach her and other kids like her, that they can only rely on two things in this world, themselves and God. I've seen kids that have gone through the program and am astonished by the change. I desperately what this for my child. Madeline is working at Michaels (she is very creative), doing odd jobs, holding fundraisers, all in an attempt to raise the money, as we (her parents) are not allowed to give her money for this trip. Madeline has sent out letters to about 40 people asking for donations, but with the economy in the shape that it is in, she asked if I would post this on my blog. Any help you could give would be so greatly appreciated. Any donation you make is tax deductible, as Cornerstone Recovery is a non-profit organization. Thank you in advance for your help.

HAPPY EASTER

Happy Easter everyone! Here are two Easter cards, one whimsical and one religious. Both were made with CTMH paper, stamps, and ribbon.

For the whimsical card, I used the CTMH stamp set "My Peeps", stamped the bunnies on CTMH Lucy paper and hand cut them out. I then stamped the eggs on CTMH Sweet Leaf cardstock, as well as the sentiment.



I tore the Sweet Leaf cardstock by hand and put it on the Lucy paper, which is the reverse side of the paper I stamped the bunnies on. The bunnies were pop dotted up to give it some depth. I also used a pearl pen on the nose and eyes.

For the next card, I used the CTMH "He Is Risen" stamp set and I kept it plain because I wanted the sentiment to be the focal point. I cut a square out of CTMH Colonial White cardstock and first stamped the cross with Bamboo Ink, then I stamped over the cross with Chocolate Ink and the sentiment. I double matted the square with a background of CTMH Chocolate cardstock.



I mounted the image on Desert Sand cardstock, on top of the ribbon. I then stamped the lamb on the bottom right hand corner.

Simple easy cards, which were my take on the cards in the Idea Book!

May you all have a blessed Easter!

Baby Album

Here is the baby mini album I made for my mother for her first great grandchild and my first great nephew, Peter! I used a Close To My Heart chipboard mini album, where all of the pages were cut differently, and Graphic 45 "Little Darlings" paper.



I used a lot of stuff on the cover. The roses were hand cut out from scraps of the LIttle Darlings paper, the name was stamped with CTMH Urban Alphabet, the "Prince" was from a Teresa Collins page, the metal name plate is Tim Holtz, and the Little Darlings tag was part of the chipboard set that matches the paper. All pages were inked with Tim Holtz Vintage Photo Distressed Ink.



Again, the bird, "postage stamp", and "Sent from Heaven" were all cut from scraps of the Little Darlings paper. Interestingly enough, I've never done that exclusively for embellishments before, but it was just enough for this paper line!





How cute is Peter with his first ashes on Ash Wednesday? And that bib with the tie is adorable!



The rest of the embellishments were things I had lying around. I scrounged though all of my stashes on this one, mainly because my mother asked me every 10 minutes if it was ready yet? Kind of reminded me of kids in the car "are we there yet"?

FREE ART PHILOSOPHY CARTRIDGE BUNDLE

If you've ever thought of becoming a Close To My Heart Consultant and want the Art Philosophy bundle, now is a great opportunity!
If you join my team an become a new Consultant in March you will receive the fabulous Cricut® Art Philosophy collection FREE! If you already have the collection, you can choose to receive $100 in select product credit instead!

If you are interested, just email me at kbiendesigns@gmail.com and I will get you all of the details!

Dates: Offer valid valid March 1 at 9:00 am (MST) – March 31 at 11:59 pm (MDT).

GIVEAWAY - Pink Jouney cart, Sentimentals cart, CTMH stamp set

As you know I recently became a Close To My Heart consultant. As a sign of appreciation I decided to do a giveaway. Up for grabs are the following prizes:

Pink Journey cartridge:



Just in time for spring a new CTMH stamp set:



Sorry for the bad photo. This stamp set is in the new Spring/Summer catalog on page 72 if you want to see a better image!

Sentimentals cartridge:



Anyone who places an order of at least $25.00 during the period of 2/20/12 - 3/3/12 is eligible. For every $25.00 of merchandise purchased, you will be entered to win, so if you order $50.00 of merchandise, you get two chances, $75.00 will get you three chances, etc. Becoming a follower of my blog is not required, but is definitely appreciated! After you place your order, simply leave a comment with your contact information and date of your order and you will be eligible. Winners will be selected at random.

Thanks!