Thankful Thanksgiving Album

We have a Thanksgiving tradition at my house that I love.  Every year, right before we start stuffing our faces, everyone around the table tells one thing he or she is thankful for.  But - then the carnage begins which leads to the mandatory coma-like napping.  By the time I wake up, I can't remember what anyone said!  I like to think I'm a problem solver so this year, I decided to make a Thankful Album using my PRETTY LITTLE STUDIO NATURE WALK COLLECTION.  This year, everyone can write down what they are most thankful for.

The base of my album is constructed from my Pretty Little Studio packaging.  I used an old clear plastic container-package-part as a sort of window for my little raccoon.  And the sequins?  They are there because my 4 year old Lula Bug likes sequins.  And she likes to look through my mini-albums with me.  And if they make her happy, then they are pretty much the perfect design element as far as I am concerned!

So, how does my Thankful album work?  Well, each page has a pocket.  And each pocket has a tag:

The photo visually identifies who the tag belongs to.  My son Will will write what he is thankful for on the tag tucked into this pocket.  (Note:  I had this photo sitting on my work desk and used it for Will's page.  I didn't realize until later that his was the only small picture used.  Oops...)

The rest of my album follows this format:

A photo of the family member is on one side and a page with a pocket containing a journaling tag is on the back.  Sometimes, as is the case with this page, I have a second central pocket created by sewing the sides and bottom of my picture to the packaging.  Why?  Well, you never know when you might need an extra tag to write on...

Here's my next page (front and back):

I am especially pleased with my little pocket on this page.  First, that deer is too cute!  Second, the frame for my wax paper pocket is the leftover edge from a design previously cut out with my Silhouette.  Yep, I am crafty and innovative like that. *smile*

I love the Hubster's page, too:

Each of my pockets are slightly different.  I wanted to use as many scraps as possible which meant changing the pocket style to fit the piece of scrap paper.

Child number one has a slightly smaller photo, but I still managed to fit two pockets and tags on it.  One tag is for her to write down what she is thankful for and one is for her guy.  Yes, I know my date is upside down on my journaling card.  You may choose to call that a mistake; I'll just call it whimsical!

Daughter number two also has two tags - again one for the daughter and one for her guy.

My album is bound by simple rings.  That way when I find out at the last minute that additional people will be showing up (it happens every year), I can quickly add more pages and tags!

The back has a few extra "bonus" tags.

I don't know what I'm going to write on these tags yet, but I am sure they will get used.  Maybe I will journal about my day; maybe I will simply record the menu.  Whatever I decide to include, I have plenty of room!

That's it for me this happy Monday.  Do you plan to incorporate crafting into any of your Thanksgiving traditions?  If so, leave a comment.  I would love to hear about it!

Nature Walk Pocket Mini

 

I made this sweet little pocket mini album using my Silhouette Cameo and a Silhouette cutting file by Lori Whitlock found HERE.  My inspiration?  It was the PRETTY LITTLE STUDIO Nature Walk Collection.  This collection's mix of papers in my favorite patterns and some of the cutest die-cuts and journaling tags I have ever seen had me chomping at the bit to create something that would really showcase them.  And I think this mini fits that bill perfectly.  It's tiny but it makes a B-I-G statement!

See that sweet little "love" tag? It's part of a sheet of stickers that really got the creative part of my brain jump-started.  In my whole conversion of the walk-in closet into my personal scrappy mecca, I came across a box containing quite a few random extra photos I had saved that tied in perfectly with what I call the Nature Walk "word association" stickers.  With my Silhouette doing all the hard work in the actual making of the mini album, all that was left for me was to get out my scissors and glue and start playing! 

I adhered these stickers that extend down from the mini to a sheet of my patterned paper and cut them out.  And since I did NOT have enough forethought to sew the tag onto my mini before I assembled the pocket, I simply sewed across the top of the sticker and glued it to my album page.  It looks like it is sewn to the page, and that is all that matters!

What does the number 10 stand for, you ask?  That is the number our his, mine, ours family has expanded to (not counting the newest generation that has come along).  Luckily, all but two of our birdies have feathered their own little nests and  are self-sufficient - except occasionally when they hear something is being cooked on the grill or in the oven...

 

Here is the tag that features our crazy family of 10:

 

 

But I'm jumping ahead...

 

I love this picture of Hunter from last year's vacation, and I love it even more against a simple white background with my PLS bunting flags accenting the page.  And, yep, there's another word sticker - sewn to the picture and then stapled for good measure! 

 

The journaling tags in the Nature Walk Collection fit perfectly in the pockets of my mini.  Because I was feeling extra creative, I decided to try my hand at making a few journaling tags and embellishing the pre-made ones, too.

 

And, whoo says the back of the tag can't be cute? LOL - see what I did there? Who-whoo.  Yes, I crack myself up.

 

 

My Pretty Little Studio papers cut so well in my Cameo. And, look, there are some more word tags - and the sweetest little deer diecut ever! 

 

 

And speaking of die cuts, I had to find some excuse to use this one on a page...

 

How does a rabbit fit in with football?  Well, ummm, see....when you play football, you have to run incredibly fast with the ball to score a touchdown.  Annnndddd - wait for it - rabbits also run fast.  There you have it - a connection that's as obvious as the nose on your face. Duh!

 

And now that I have cleared the rabbit/football connection up for you, I am out of here for the day!  If you want to see my mini featured at its "official" home - please check out the PRETTY LITTLE STUDIO BLOG!  And leave a comment letting me know what you think.  I would love to hear from you!

 

Until next time, happy scrapping!!!

Journal Updates with Pretty Little Studio

I am slowly but surely continuing on with my everyday journal - not everyday as in I add something to it every day.  But everyday as in I am using my Instagram and cell phone pictures (that I might not otherwise use for a layout) and including more in-depth journaling.  This smaller format is PERFECT for me.  It allows me to keep the time for each page at roughly thirty minutes (although that does lengthen whenever I decide to add cute little inserts that I can't seem to resist). 

 

Today, I am up at PRETTY LITTLE STUDIO showcasing several of my recent pages (yes, I am still a few months behind but I am getting there). 

 

Pretty Little Studio products are absolutely perfectamundo for my little hybrid wants-to-be-a-project-life-but-not-ready-for-that-commitment-yet journal.  Why?  Because PLS has tons (and I do mean lots and lots and lots) of die cards, journaling tags, tabs, word bubbles, banner flags - all things perfect for a little journal like mine.  Want to see?

 

The tags and die cuts from the NATURE WALK COLLECTION were perfect for this page about Little Lula who loves to tell me stories - all kinds of stories!  And her little face is so-o-o-o-o-o expressive that I love to photograph her whenever she is telling me a story.  Right now, Goldilocks and The 3 Little Pigs are two of her favorites.

 

 

Of course, I couldn't resist making a little pocket insert with these adorable Nature Walk die cuts and journaling tags!  How cute is that little bear???  And with two pockets, I have more than enough room to journal all I want.

 

 

 

And, Pretty Little Studio papers and products are also perfect for pages about bigger kids.  Like, much bigger kids.  Like, kids that are so big you might otherwise mistake them for adults.  Like...me.

Like...this page...where I am finally revealing one of my secret morning rituals to the world.  Nope, it's not about an expensive Parisian face cream that costs $250 per ounce.  It's much geekier and much more juvenile than that...

 

 

Notice the little decorative strips of paper at the bottom of this page?  If you guessed those are scraps that I absolutely could not throw away because I KNEW they would be perfect for some unknown project in the future, you would be 100% correct.  But they are perfect for this page so I am feeling completely justified about my scrap paper hording storage habits.

 

And finally, this last page - which is really just a page in progress...

 

 

If I didn't know better, I would swear the powers-that-be at Pretty Little Studio snuck into my Mama's house and found a birthday card from my childhood squirreled away in my old bedroom.  But, uh, I don't know who put the 45 numbers on the card.  Certainly not me....I can't possibly be that old yet.  Seriously.  Honest.

 

And that's it for me today.  Do you do Project Life or any hybrid form like this?  If so, what do you do to keep up and not fall behind?  I would love to hear your tips and ideas!

Junque Mini Album (Pretty Little Studio)

 

It's Friday!  Let's all give a great big Texas "Yeeeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaw!"  And to celebrate, I want to show you this super fun Junque (that's junk spelled the fancy way, don't you know) Mini-Album that I created for PRETTY LITTLE STUDIO!

First, can you guess what my pages were made from?  Each and every one of them, except for a couple of the journaling tag inserts, was created from my packaging that my Pretty Little Studio supplies came in.  That's right, I even used the cellophane wrappers - nothing went to waste - my Grandmama would be so proud of me!

Now, for details and instructions on how I made this mini-album, check me out on the PRETTY LITTLE STUDIO BLOG.  And, hey, leave some love over there while you're at it please - pretty please?  Pretty please with a cherry on top???

Okay, enough talking from me - I am just going to sing along with Rebecca Black in my head and show you my junque pages.  When I tell you I had fun making this album, I am not exxagerating.  Wait, exaggerating???  Hmmm...e-x-   uhhhh...Anyway, I had F-U-N - so much, that I just kept making one page after another!  Here they are:

Yep, that's my goofy face giving the big cheesy grin.  I was going to a crop with some friends, though, so can you blame me?  See my tag that seems to be just attaching itself to the insert next to it?  It's actually in a pocket made from my cellophane wrapper - kinda cool, huh?

Page Two is my son and his girlfriend - cutest young couple ever.  Seriously.

Page Three - that's my Hunterific girl.  She's so shy and reserved - not!  I don't know about you, but I LOVE that PLS paper with the bright yellow hearts.  It makes my heart happy just looking at it!

Page Four - Look!  Is it a snow globe or a mini-album page?!?!?!  I had SO.MUCH.FUN. making this page! (When you say so much fun in capital, bolded letters with periods in between each word, you know it's a lot of fun!)

Page Five - I loved digging out my stickles and cutting off a few pom poms from my ribbon and trim stash to decorate this page!


Page Six - nope, not done yet!  Told you I had a lot of fun making this album...

Page Seven - I love all these vintage tags that PLS makes!

Page Eight - I used a little piece of wax paper in front of my paper for this insert - I just liked the extra layer it added...

Page Nine - A super double feature about the man who stole my heart! I glued the football player to my word card (both made by PRETTY LITTLE STUDIO, of course) and traced around it with my marker to make it look like a vintage paper doll.

Page Ten (almost at the end)...

Anddddd...the very last page.  Whew! *wiping sweat off brow*

That's it for me today!  Heading off to work now - but I hope I have inspired you to take your ordinary junk and turn it into JUNQUE!

Peace, love, and art my friends -

Something Old, Something New Mini-Album (Practical Scrappers)

Today at PRACTICAL SCRAPPERS, we are doing a feature on mini-albums (happy, happy, joy, joy)! For those of you who maybe don't know, mini-albums are one of my very mostest favoritest things to make e.v.e.r. And I will make a mini-album out of just about anything. So, it's no surprise that when I was cleaning out my craft closet, FULLY intending to purge and donate some items that I was never going to use, I held in my grubby lil paws old journaling cards made by Little Yellow Bicycle. I am almost postive I got them back in 2009 when I first started scrapping because - try not to laugh too hard - I had convinced myself that my husband, who enjoyed doing many of the same things that I did - was going to take up scrapbooking with me. In my little fantasy, he was going to love scrapbooking as much as I did and we were going to spend hours and hours scrapbooking together. Well, his name is NOT Tim Holtz. And, needless to say, he didn't and we didn't. And the journaling cards, which looked nice and manly to me, never got used. Until, that is, I was getting ready to put them in the give-away pile. Then, suddenly, the proverbial light bulb went off over my head. Thankfully, the idea I had was better than the one about the hubster wanting to do arts and crafts with me! Suddenly, the journaling cards became the base to a perfect-sized mini-album, and with a little cutting and re-arranging things, I managed to get a few embellishments off it. I paired my old journaling cards with papers from MY MIND'S EYE's Sweetest Thing Collection and lots and lots of random,different embellishments - everything from strips found at the bottom of my papers to pretty paper ephemera by PINK PAISLEE. And with that being said, it's time for me to stop talking. They say a picture says a thousand words, so I am going to let mine speak for themselves.

Check out the little pocket and tag I made! Sweet, huh?

Another little pocket and tag on the left and a smaller journaling "insert" on the right.

Another journaling page. This one is not covered with different papers at all - it's the original card that I just dressed-up a little.

Last page:

That's it for me today, but please check out PRACTICAL SCRAPPERS for more mini-album inspiration!