I did something completely off the cuff today. Never had I done it before, but I was inspired by Sarah Bellemare's take on "mini scrapbooks" that she'd written about in her new book, Painted Pages. They're not you're typical scrapbooks, at least not in the traditional sense. They're spontaneous works of art made from odds and ends and other little items you might have hanging around. Sarah uses the albums as a warm-up to bigger projects, though I'm totally fine with them being their own big project! This one here took me three quick hours - not too bad! Putting it together was fairly simple! Here's the supply list:
Two sheets of word stickers (none-to-complicated)
Two - Three Sheets of Misc. Label Stickers
Two Sets of Stamps
Two 3-D Embellishment Packs
A Rub-on or Two
Some Flowers
Journal Cards
One Set of Alpha Stickers
& Manila Tags
+Few Sheets of Pattern Paper/Cardstock
Now, this still might seem like a bit much to some folks, but in terms of what I normally use on one project, this is slim pickings! It's also partly the reason I was able to finish the project so quickly. Today's New Lesson: Less is More!
What makes this album so great is that it's all about spontaneity! No plans required! So, when I stumbled upon an image of a glass Bell Jar on top a cake stand at Pinterest, I dove headfirst into the first-to-be-made page of the album. I reinvented the subject on paper, though skipped the glass and did transparency instead. Beneath the transparency are misc. collage pieces, both old & new.
The Cake Stand is from Pink Paislee...
I referred to this stamp set numerous times throughout the project - finally, an excuse to take them out of their packaging! They'd been waiting around. Note the fancy cake stand!
For creating the shape of the glass bell, I die-cut both pattern paper and transparency with a large size label die {shown below} and then cut the die-shapes to fit the top of the cake stand.
What do you think of this concept? I'm the kind of gal that dreams of owning beautifully filled glass containers for around the home, but this will have to do for now. The paper version is just as intriguing to look at and enjoy!
Following the manila tag page, this Collage Press journal card caught my attention next. I splashed on top of it a bright capri blue polka-dot patterned paper (MME), a label sticker (MME), a stamped banner (Pink Paislee), a vintage stamp and some other misc. elements.
The brown ring is a free label download I found over at Pinterest. I printed them on transparency rather than paper. I removed the center portion of the label.
Downsizing the overall size of the page, I covered the top portion of a Pink Paislee journal card with some of their bright yellow patterned paper. I placed a label (American Crafts) and chipboard piece (Bella Blvd.) to the left before bringing life to this happily-at-home butterfly (Jenni Bowlin).
Another really easy technique to share incase you're curious as to how to go about making tons of border strips in "one-take". Now these would be small border strips, not large (length). On an individual sheet of paper, and with a Fiskar's decorative edger, trim from the edge, multiple scallop strips (moving the scissors in towards the paper). Then, take a regular scissors and trim the strips from the paper all in one shot (moving the scissors downward; top to bottom). The strips should just fall off the paper. If this doesn't make a great deal of sense, I'll go about putting together a photograph step-by-step mini tutorial for this technique. It saved me quite a bit a time to cut the strips this way rather than one by one. I'd recommend it to anyone!
Incase you're wondering who the manufacturer is of the cute pink lacy tag, it's American Crafts and of course, a tag belonging to the Dear Lizzy, "Enchanted" collection.
And finally, the album wouldn't quite be done without a title page, though this one is on the "tiny" side!! Fitted with an American Crafts banner & the letter "S", the stamped tag (Keiser Craft) is painted with both pink and white acrylic paint. A little bow is arranged just above the banner. I then made my own Kraft color ring support with a 5/8" inch circle punch and standard sized hole punch. A binder ring was attached and with it, the album was finished!
This album is probably going to fall into the category of "faves". It's a delightful mini to have around and already, it's housed on the bulletin board adorning my scrapbook space. It'll be there for a long time! :)
~CM~
