Christmas Minibooks

 Just wanted to show you these fun Christmas minibooks I have made throughout the years!  The top one (green) is made from a Making Memories kit I found at Target 5 or 6 years ago...the striped one is made from patterned paper I found online paired with a Maya Road tabbed chipboard album.

 This one is titled "Reclaiming Christmas" and speaks to the true reason for Christmas in my eyes...faith in Christ, family, special childhood memories...

 This green one is more like Ali Edward's December Daily--it chronicles the month of December in our family day-by-day...

These mini books are fun to put out in our family room during the holidays for everyone to enjoy.  I hope you had a very special Christmas, my friend!  Thanks for stopping by!

Spellbound Halloween Mini Album

 Welcome Back!  Today's post features a Halloween themed mini book (kraft ringed binder) using the papers from CTMH's Spellbound collection.  I was able to score this paper pack on clearance for $2.50--it came with 12 pages of cardstock (sunset, black, and slate) in addition to all of the patterned papers so it was a wonderful deal!  I am not that much into Halloween personally (totally different story when it comes to fall...) but I have a dear friend who is and who recently lost her father to cancer.  So when this little kraft binder came in the mail (had a company logo on it)...I knew JUST what to do with the Halloween papers!  I covered the front, back, and spine of the binder with heavy-duty adhesive (glue dots, Tombow) and tied it off with a black striped grosgrain ribbon bow (CTMH).  Honestly, a flourish of black rhinestones is what this album really needed to finish it off, but I was hoping to get it in the mail for my friend upon her return from her dad's memorial service...so I did not have the luxury to fuss over it!

Let me take you on a tour inside...

 (Note: All stamped images were done with a clear Halloween stamp set I purchased from Michaels years ago (brand unknown) in black pigment ink)

 Embellishments: Silver shimmer trim (CTMH), black/white/orange baker's twine (local scrapbook store), gray striped washi tape (SU), adhesive gems

 There is a pocket on the left page (above)

 I had JUST enough scraps for this little card! Sentiment from Year Round Cheer (CTMH, retired) in black ink.

 And a look at the album with a matching card--

LOVE!!  Hope my friend gets a HUGE smile from this and feels LOVED and ENCOURAGED as she pops in her family photos to celebrate her favorite holiday!  The best part is that there is plenty of room inside to add to through the years--cardstock pages make it super easy--just trim, punch holes, and add as you go! 

I love you Gloria!!  Enjoy! 

 

Dream Pop Minibook

Greetings!  I must say that I have had a *blast* crafting with CTMH's Dream Pop Paper packet.  It was their National Scrapbooking Month promotion back in May...and I honestly thought it was too bright for me so I hesitated to purchase it then!  Fortunately, I took the plunge in late summer and purchased it through my lovely consultant Lisa Stenz.  Soooo glad I did!  Honestly, I have put together sooo many layouts, crafted cards, and now put together this minibook using these fun, bright, trendy papers.  Just wanted to show you the cover--the book is jam packed of family pictures, (and I do not have permission from my extended family to post their images on my website...so you'll just have to be satisfied with the front cover LOL!)  I used silver shimmer trim (my new obsession...can't wait to use it on wintry cards with the Frosted paper pack), some adhsive sparkle gems, ribbon scraps (thanks Gaenor for letting me raid your stash!) for the binding, and metal circle tags (Office Max).  Title stamped in Lagoon ink: "memories" stamp (Ali Edwards, Technique Tuesday) "2013" Token Alphabet (CTMH) in lagoon and melon mambo (SU) inks, punched out with CTMH's 1 1/4 " circle punch, and popped up with 3D foam tape.  Other elements were cut out of patterned paper or the zipstrips found in the Dream Pop paper pack.  Very fun!  Crafting with these brights seriously put me in a goood mood :)

Happy crafting, my friend, and thanks for stopping by!!

The Good Life Minibook

I was sooo thrilled to receive a sweet surprise in the mail this week, complements of my sweet Stampin' Up demonstrator Heather Howe--thank you, Heather!  As I've mentioned before, I am now a member of the SU's Paper Pumpkin Patch, where you receive fun monthly surprise papercrafting kits.  Well, when you join, you receive a welcome kit and then the following month you receive that month's kit.  This minibook (brag book) was the May Kit and I signed on a bit too late to receive it...but Heather surprised me with it since she had an extra one from another customer.  Fun!

 

I had a blast with this very "on trend" little minibook kit--it came with two stamps (the good life, and the love this arrow), black ink, 2 chipboard covers and rings, patterned papers (some pre-cut for pages, others larger for cutting and using in the album), buttons, arrow clips, and all the sticker embellishments and photo mats.  The only thing I added was a few pieces of washi tape from SU's Epic Day collection and the outdoor denim chevron ribbon on the rings (CTMH).

 

Here's a tour inside the book, which highlights some of our special family memories from this year.  As always, feel free to click on the image to see it larger and in more detail...

 Here's a few more individual page shots...

 (features the love this arrow stamp)

(features the good life stamp)

This was a super fun way to try out some new patterns and products--and there was a TON of stickers left over, which I plan to put into my Project Life family album, along with using the stamps on other projects.  Have a great and creative weekend, my friend!

Teacher Minibook

Just had to share (with my daughter's permission of course) the little minibook Natalie put together for her kindergarten teacher, Ms. Forte.

 

She used a Simply Said book from Creative Memories as her foundation and took great care in selecting photos, writing words, and cropping and adhering her photos into the book in the order which she decided upon.  It was fun to see her so invested in this project from start to finish!

Here's a tour inside...

She chose to give it to her teacher at her End-of-Year school program.  When I ran into Ms. Forte later that day, she told me that she had started to look through it, but had gotten so teary-eyed, she decided to take it home to enjoy it more there!  I think it was very well-received, don't you?  Priceless.

Destination Known Minibook

Back again today with another minibook from the spiritual journey suitcase--if you want to catch up, check out this blog post here.  This minibook is titled "Destination Known" because, praise God, my eternal destination is known thanks to Jesus' sacrifice on the cross for my sins!  On the pages of this minibook, I basically documented my spiritual journey--my childhood in a Christian home, how I became a Christian, people I admire and those whom have had an impact on me spiritually, trials I've had...you get the idea. 

To start with, I used a travel-themed minibook kit--this one was designed by Lisa Bearnson and was made available through her Kit of the Month Club several years ago.  There are TONS of travel-themed scrapbook supplies on the market today, so this project would not be hard to reproduce--you can either make your own book, or buy a blank chipboard book online or at your local scrapbook store.

Let me give you a quick tour inside...

My childhood....

 



 

My friend Jenny who helped lead me to Christ as well as some of my youth leaders/Sunday school teachers...

 



 

My first publication in YouthWalk magazine--an article entitled "Are You Salty or Bland?"--when I was in high school

 



 

 

Close Christian girlfriends and mentors...

 



Trials along the journey--the death of my mother to cancer just before I left for college...

 

More happenings along the way--completing my residency, marrying my husband, seeking God's will in my life with all sorts of major life decisions...

 



 

The arrial of children...God's little blessings!

 

Attritubes I am currently celebrating about God--this one was enjoying His role as Creator and enjoying His creativitiy...

 



 

Lessons learned, articles written (unpublished)

 



Bible study groups I've taught and led...

 

Hope this has given you an idea of what a concise "spiritual journey" minibook looks like!  You might never be able to document it ALL, but when you take the time to think about all that God has done in your life, you will be amazed at the things you CAN document.  Perhaps today is the day YOU can chronicle all that God has done in your life in a meaningful

and creative way, both to encourage you and perhaps your children and loved ones someday! 

 

 Blessings!