Just Dad Mini Album

It's really that simple. A small album about "Dad". There are many qualities that I admire about Eric. I'm passionate about sharing those qualities with Ethan. I know that one day, Ethan will start asking about Dad. They'll be many questions and I've already planned to start with the basics. Keep things simple and then work are way up to "bigger questions". I've been working on this album for the last three days. It's incomplete. I'm a quarter of a way done with the album. I've put my heart and soul into it. Looking at these pictures reminds me of better days when Dad was around and laughter was second nature. I've chosen photos that captured Eric as he was on a "day-to-day" basis. Eric was a genuine guy with a big heart and an insatiable appetite for helping others. He was also the kind of guy that was relaxed, easy going, could play video games and chess for hours on end, and knew how to make everybody laugh...including my family, which is sometimes a tough sell. Laugh. He was a passionate geek and extremely intelligent. He started computer programming at the age of thirteen. He graduated with an IT degree in Software Engineering from the University of Minnesota. He was proficient in math and physics. His specialty was color science. He managed our computers at home and kept them in good order..unlike myself. I'm certain there's more than one virus plaguing my computer right now and I know nothing about them. Laugh. I'm hoping that one day Ethan will grow up to be just like his father. Of course, I want Ethan to be entirely himself, but genetics has already proven that we grow up to be a lot like our parents. I think Ethan is tremendously lucky..his father has already provided the most precious gift any person could ever receive; life. I'm grateful for that and there's a lot I want to share with Ethan about his father, including what's in this album. Take a look below:

Supplies: Creative Imaginations Easel Album, Jenny Bowlin Studio Rub-Ons (Transferware Flowers), KI Memories Stickers (Ladidah), Making Memories Mini Shimmer Alphas (Aqua Metro) & Felt Flowers, Paper Source Green/White Label, Luxe Simple Labels (Lime), Pink Paislee Vintage Moon Pattern Paper (Night Owl) & RangerStickles (Gold) .

I know some of you have asked me for a supply list to be included along side posted projects here at my blog. I'm going to attempt to do my best at listing supplies. It's important to note that I use a hefty amount of product when I create projects. It's for this reason I normally don't provide supply lists. I would like to improve on this of course, so please bare with me as I go about making this change. I'm going to do my almighty best at this new deal. It took me twenty minutes to complete the list above. Laugh. If anyone knows a simple way of doing this, email me. I could sure use some assistance in this arena.

 

There's a big'ol window on the cover of this mini album. With some magical thinking and a heavy dose of uncertainty, I decided to adhere elements to the back of the window so they would show in the front. That left me with quite the mess on the back, so I covered the back of the cover with a large sheet of pattern paper and used it to journal an introduction, which you'll see below:

Supplies: American Crafts Chipboard (Bird-unable to find you some), Making Memories Elizabeth Border & Tag Stickers, Collage Press Journaling Cards, Making Memories Die-Cut Journaling Stickers, Making Memories Tiny Alphas, Heather Bailey Freshcut Stamps (Icon Stamps), and Luxe Ledger Paper.

The American Craft Chipboard embellishments are great basics to add to any collection, though I thought this bird could use some "shimmer". I glittered him up and added him to the page as shown.

Supplies: Silk Ribbon (Specialty Ribbon Shop), Jenny Bowlin Mini Bingo Card (Black), Doodlebug Paper Frills (Swimming Pool), Making Memories Jack Felt Shapes, Doodlebug Rhinestones (Liemade), Scenic Route Sonoma Labels, Classic Kraft Digital Labels, & Heidi Grace Small Alpha Rub-Ons (retired).

My first try at sewing on paper wasn't all that great. I sort of feared it from that point on, but decided to give another go at it with some folded wide silk ribbon and a chipboard page. It actually went really well this time around. I switched to a new needle size and it works really slick. Think you'll be seeing more sewing on my layouts and maybe some fabric too.

I added all the embellishments after sewing on the ribbon. I actually cut most of the embellishments in half, including the flowers, to fit them under the ribbon. The butterfly is from a die-cut at Archivers that I used on a pattern sheet of paper. I outlined the butterfly using a .5mm Zig Writer and filled in the body using a gold gel pen. Lastly, I printed up some labels via the home printer on Kodak Premium Photo Paper (Matte). I cut them out and now I'm using them on projects...starting to love digital elements :)

Going to take a break on the supply list at this point. I would like to focus on some techniques and show you some of my fave new products that have recently captured my attention instead.

I've grown addicted to textured rub-ons lately. I've been buying them up and slowly incorporating more into my collection over time. Most packs come with multiple rub-on textures, such as glitter, flock, and foil. The black textured rub-on above is from 7 Gypsies. Rumor has it that Two Peas has every single 7 Gypsies product in stock right now. Figure it may be a good source if you're thinking about grabbing yourself some in the near future. There are a number of different manufacturers coming out with textured rub-ons, including We R' Memory Keepers, and a few others. I'm hoping they don't go away just yet, but you know how quickly this industry changes. Would like to see more them. They're a lot of fun!

I created a focal point picture on this page by framing one of the photos with a Making Memories die-cut frame. I cut a part of the frame off to better fit my image. It turned out to be a simple way to frame a photo.

This is by far my favorite page in the album so far. This is actually a picture series of Eric attempting to show Ethan the freezer, literally. Laugh. Look at him, he's about to put the little guy in the drawer (don't worry, he was just being a goof!). These photos really spoke to me and I think that's why I enjoyed creating this page. It was one of those quintessential "happy" moments we shared as a family. Look at how little Ethan was?! Can you believe it?! My cute boys. Love'em.

Hoot! Hoot! Ok, really, how could I not say that? Laugh. It's getting late and my mind is running low on fuel. Bare with me. Believe it or not, the silver shimmer frame is a Doodlebug "Stick With It" adhesive transfer. In plain English, it's a double sided white sticker that's covered with a strong adhesive and just about anything sticks to it, including lots and lots of glitter. I covered the frame with a Platinum color glitter from Martha Stewart. It sticks really well and note that you can't see the white background of the sticker.

I did cut a piece of cardstock to fit inside the frame. I added the owl stamp (Hero Arts) and "love you" metal label to fill in the area.

On the top left corner of the page, I applied an American Crafts Remarks flower sticker along with a Hambly gold transparency swirl (which I cut from a Hambly Gold Transparency Frame). I like how the two elements play off each other. Both provide depth and interest. You don't really expect these two very similar elements to come together in the same space. Both lend a sense of playfulness, which supports the feel of the page.

Have a great day everyone! It's time to retire. Take care.