Introduction and Baby's First Year album

First I want to introduce Emma Nicole Versprille. She was born on December 15th weighing 5lbs 8oz. She is so much work but so much fun! Love her!

Now on to the crafting!

This is a gift for my sister-in-law. She is having a little boy, due at the end of February. I wanted to make something homemade for her baby shower. I think this came out great. I had to improvise a bit on this one but in the end, it worked out.

I used the Bazzil Basics Totally Exposed 8" x 8" album. It has a three ring binder inside and a finished outside. The chipboard pages are sold separately and have cute tabs in different shapes. I used the Java Walnut ink antiquing spray found at Michael's, to color the inside cover, the edges and the sticky back canvas. It is a really nice rich brown.

The paper collection I used is the Baby Steps collection by Simple Stories. I cannot say enough great things about these papers. They are so beautiful, easy to use and give so many options for journal spots and embellishments. They are a nice quality. I love them. They are also one of the only baby collections that can honestly work for a boy or a girl. Love, love, love!

This album came together quite easily. Of course I made it in the days surrounding my due date. So, I was on a clock and really worked to get it finished before I went into labor. I am really happy with the way it turned out and I hope my sister-in-law loves it too!

Baby Crib Mini Album

Ok, this is one of my favorite albums! It is mainly just photo mats but I just love the simplicity in that. It will really help the photos shine. I wanted a place to put pictures of my baby sleeping. Just sleeping. Baby's look so adorable and angelic when they sleep. When I saw this chipboard album on Bona's blog Live Love Scrap - I knew it would be perfect. Thank you Bona! She designed this die herself for her Accucut machine.

Because it was so simple, it came together very quickly. A great gift for a baby shower! I will do another video of this once I have pictures inside. It looks so great in her room and I love that it stands up!

I hope you like it!

Welcome Home Baby Album

I told you I would be back!

Today I want to share my first baby album for the little sprout. Obvioulsy there are not pictures yet since she is not here yet! I still wanted to share it with you.

I got this album from Kathryn @ Life on the Scrapbeach She made a Summer album with this chipboard album and I saw the chipboard and knew it would be perfect to celebrate the first day we bring our bundle of joy home. Thankfully, she was selling them! Thanks Kathryn!

I decided to use the Graphic 45 Once Upon a Springtime collection again. I wanted to use the non fairy patterns because I liked the soft colors. I also had enough left over from the 8x8 pad after the closet organizers to make this album without breaking into the 12x12 papers too much.

I also incorporated some things I had in my stash in the baby theme in order to keep it baby instead of springtime theme. These include the Little yellow bicycle Baby girl journal tablet, a baby journal notebook by and lastly the Baby Steps 6x6 pad by Simple Stories. I used these for little touches here and there. This with some pearls, lace and flower made this album come together.

I hope you like it! I think it will look adorable in her room as will she!

Monster Train Pictures!

Here are the pictures for the Monster Train Books. Some people have been asking for the stories I wrote to go with them. I will upload them here.












I was asked by a few ladies to show some of the monster stories. Here are a few of them:

Lucy is on her way to the store. She has a lot of groceries to buy. She has to pick up food for her cat, milk for her cereal and candy Grapletons, her favorite sweet treat! Lucy loves to try food she has never tasted before. It’s like an adventure each mealtime and she is the explorer! Yum! Yum!

Manny is a mechanic. He is on his way to pick up white rim tires for his car. He got a flat yesterday when he ran over a banana. You might be surprised that a banana could cause a flat but this was a magical atomic banana and it blew a hole right in the tire! Good thing the train was traveling to Derbyshire today, that’s where his tire store is!

Sheldon is a children’s writer. He has just finished a new book about a sea turtle named Tumbles. Tumbles is a treasure hunter who is looking for a Pirate’s chest of jewels on Parrot Island. Sounds like a good book huh?

Fiona is traveling with her husband Doby. They are picking up a new puppy in Craterville. They are going to name her Jelly. Fiona is so happy to have someone to play with during the day when Doby is at work. She can’t wait to take Jelly on long walks in the park. Fiona brought a big bone on the train as a surprise for Jelly.

Doby is hoping the new puppy, Jelly, will like the dog house he just finished building for her. He likes to build things in his workshop. Doby painted the house blue with a red roof and got a pillow for Jelly to sleep on. He can’t wait to teach her to sit, fetch and roll over. Oh, what fun a puppy can be!

Betsy is a Baker. She bakes yummy cookies, cakes and pies. Today she is delivering some rainbow cupcakes to a children’s kindergarten class as a fun treat. They are learning about colors and Betsy thought this would be a tasty addition to the lesson.

Andy is an astronaut who has just returned home from a trip to Mars. He met a Martian named Marty. They decided to become pen pals. He is writing his first letter while riding on the train. He is so happy to have a new friend who can teach him about what it is like on Mars.

Molly is the owner of Right Kites. She builds kites for children to fly in the park. She loves to make them in all different colors and shapes. Her newest kite design looks like a butterfly and the string has green ribbons. It’s so pretty when it is floating on the wind up in the sky.

Bob is grumpy. He is having a bad day. Nothing seems to be going right. He is hoping a relaxing train ride will help change his mood. What do you do to get happy again if you are feeling sad or mad? Maybe we can help Bob turn his frown upside down.

Ronny is a fireman. He has a Dalmatian puppy named Dotty and is training him to be the new Firehouse mascot. He has to learn how to ride on the fire truck and how to slide down the fire pole. He is practicing riding on the train first because there is no siren. Ronny thinks Dotty will make a great mascot when he gets a little bigger.

That is just a sampling of the 24 stories I wrote. The boys love the books and even have favorite monsters! It just made all the work worth it when I saw my nephew ask for his mom to read through all of the monsters as soon as he opened the present. They were so into them! It made me so very happy! Thanks for stopping by!

Monster Train Books!

So, in September I thought to myself, "I love that Monster train mini by Laura Dennison! I should make Nate & Evan (my nephews) each one for Christmas this year!" I bought the pattern off her Etsy site (http://www.etsy.com/shop/followthepapertrail) If you have not heard of this woman - Go, Do Not collect $200 - GO to her blog and check her out!!! Her blog is http://followingthepapertrail.blogspot.com/ She has a creative mind like no other! Amazing!

Anyway, I bought the All Aboard train template off her Etsy site. It gives the dimensions and instructions for making a train mini album. I figured I would get started early so I wouldn't be down to the wire for Christmas. Sure I finished yesterday (12/21/10)! But it is finished!!!

I decided I wanted this to be a gift for the boys and not for their mom so I decided to change it up a bit! A mini album with tags, journalling and pictures wouldn't be as much fun for the boys as a Children's book about monsters riding the train! I decided that each monster tag would have a story on the back with the monsters' name and why they were riding the train. I figured this would be an interactive book for the boys! They could swap out passengers and have fun learning about different occupations and activities.

It was challenging to come up with 24 stories, names, not to mention have them fit in a 2" x 3" block when printed! It was fun though! I felt like J.K. Rowling (OK not really but still! LOL!).

I first made 2 trains - I wanted them to be the same but different. I used different paper collections to accomplish this. One is made using patterned papers from the Offbeat Collection from Basic Grey. Fun bright colors! The other train uses the Orbit Collection by Crate Paper. Once the books were completed it was time to start making monsters.

Each train holds 12 monsters - yes that means I had 24 MONSTERS to make! I decided to make things a bit easier on myself and used the 12 monsters Laura designed (instructions included in pattern) and invented 12 new monsters of my own! This was a lot of fun but mega time consuming!!! Each train has a mix of Laura and Amy Monsters. They came out great!

I bound the book with my Cinch from We R Memory Keepers. I LOVE this thing! It is so easy to use and in this case I needed the function of shutting off certain holes. It worked great! I also decided to laminate the tags so no monster parts would come off when going in and out of the pockets. Plus they slide in and out much easier now.

As you can tell, I am just thrilled with how they came out! I know the boys, ages 3 and 5, will have no idea how many hours I spent making these but I hope they will get a few hours of joy from them! Thanks so much for joining me! More train pictures to come soon! Happy Holidays!

Every Girl Needs a Great Dress!

Today I have the cutest project to share! I am sure you all have seen these dress minis before. This was my first. I am so in love with these, you have no idea! It is made with the Dress die from Sizzix.

I made this mini for my friend Laura who is coming over to scrap this weekend. She has the sweetest little girl named Georgia. I just wanted to give her a small gift. I thought this would be a great opportunity to get girly. I don't often go super girly so this was a fun escape from my normal scrapping. I loved playing with pinks!

I had fun with flowers, stickles and ribbon. It turned out so adorable it made me want a little girl of my own! I am making a few of these kits for Christmas for both girls (dress) and boys (overalls). The theme will be baby's first Christmas (would work for any aged children.) So keep an eye out for those in the next few weeks.

I really hope Laura likes the mini. Thanks for stopping by!

Tim Holtz Mini

So here is a video showing the mini album I made at Absolutely Everything. Tim Holtz was charming as ever! Love him! I also am sharing a few pictures from the classes I didn't take. I wish I had taken the Christmas class but, C'est la vie! I got a cinch instead! Enjoy!




This uses beeswax.


Spooky! There is a section with a piece of vellum with a fake tealight candle behind it so it flickers. Very cool looking.


This one is my favorite! I love the tree! So cute!

Blogiversary has officially begun!

OK! August is here, you know what that means??? Time for my blogiversary month! So here is how things will go. I will be posting like crazy from here on in this month. I will have 3 video blogs a week and other random thoughts from my head in between! I will be showing minis, layouts, cards, and more! I am sure my Finn will be making an appearance, of course. The illusive Grunge series will finally happen! There will be a giveaway on August 31st (My birthday!). Tons fo fun right???

OK, onto my first post, The Beach mini!

My mom and grandmother go to the beach every year for mother daughter bonding mini vacation! I knew this trip was special to them and wanted to make my mom a mini album for her to preserve her memories. Truth be told - it was a paper line that prompted me to make this mini. The Graphic 45 "On the Boardwalk" papers just had the perfect style for a beach mini including pictures of my grandmother. I knew it would be a great mini! This is my first paper bag mini and also my first shot at vintage. I am not usually a fan of the vintage lady images but in this case it just fit! I had a blast making this mini and I think it turned out great! I hope you like it!




Don't forget to leave comments and check back tomorrow for more Blogiversary fun!

Hanging Sign Mom Mini

Here is a project I made for my Mom for Mother's Day! I used the Hanging Sign die by Tim Holtz to make a mini mini album. I really like the idea of using a mini mini instead of a card. There is something more fun about them.

I made a flower for the cover using a tutorial from Jade. She made a "doop" of the Prima Camelot flowers and I am addicted to them. I love them! I used a bunch of We R Memory Keepers Gromlets to add sentiments to each page describing my mom.

I love how quick and easy this mini was! Give it a try!

Anniversary project!

I have to credit Bona @ livelovescrap (www.keeponscrappin.blogspot.com) for this idea. She showed these little boxes and minis on her blog the other day. Once I saw that I owned the die needed to make them I was on board and inspired.

I chose to make one for my hubby for our anniversary instead of a card. I thought this would be a bit more fun! The pages are made with the inside piece from the Hearts & Swirls frame die from Sizzix. I painted the wooden box ($1 from Michaels) with black paint and added the heart and swirls cut from the the die. I embossed them with silver embossing powder. The paper line I used was the Teen Angst paper pad from We are memory keepers. I love this paper for boy themed projects. I had so much fun playing with it. I love how it turned out and can't wait to give it to him.

Thank you Bona! You rock!

My TWS swap mini from Tammy

WOW, Amazed, Touched, Lucky are just a few words that come to mind when I think of this mini. Tammy from dreamcreateandshare.blogspot.com was my partner for my second swap. I filmed me opening the package and boy was I excited. She had asked what kind of mini I would like. I told her I have so many different love themed events still left to scrap it was her call. I gave her a list and she chose to make me a Vegas themed mini to house my first anniversary pictures.

My hubby and I revisited Vegas for this special event and I am so excited to have it remembered in this gorgeous mini! I was blown away by how personalized and special she made this. The colors are so me and the added touches she put in are so awesome and will fit my anniversary so perfectly!

She added a bunch of goodies too! chipboard, postage frames, tags, bling and so much more! She included a tag she had made for a tag swap - it is so pretty!

Tammy - Thank you so much for such a beautiful place to keep my first anniversary memories. I will treasure it always.

TWS Swap mini for Tammy!

I joined the February TWS (Trade Wind Scrappers) mini album swap on the Beach community I belong to. [Check out the side bar to link over and join! You will love it!] I was paired up with Tammy who was looking for a love themed album, She likes pinks and browns, not Valentine's specific, and similar to Marion at A Piece of Craft.com style! I had my work cut out for me but I was ready to step up to the challenge!

I found this amazing paper at Michael's. DCWV Old World 8 x 8 paper stack. I loved it! The damasks, the distressed look, the colors! I was so excited to work with it! I decided to use some Maya Road ticket sheers and the ticket album I got at Michael's to make a Ticket to Love mini! I had my theme, paper, and a new arrival and my new obsession...Glimmer mist and white prima flowers! I was set to go!

I had a blast making this. I even tried some new techniques - some made the album - some, not so much! I always try to incorporate something new into each mini I make to not only try new things but stretch my skill base. I figure the more I try, the more I learn. I am not usually a pink person but I dove in and really liked the colors! The mini only came with 5 pages and I need to make 6 for the swap so I added an envelope page. Fun and super easy to do! I made my own paper using modpodge and was really happy with how it looks - it did warp the chipboard a bit though. If anyone has tips on how to prevent this let me know. Next time I am thinking of doing it on grungeboard instead of chipboard. All in all - I loved the finished album. I really hope Tammy does too!



Thanks for watching!

Kathryn, My angel!

Back Story:
In October 2009, I signed up for a mini album swap with TWS (Trade Wind Scrappers) on the Life on the (Scrap) Beach online community. The theme was Feeling Spooky. I made the spooky album (I have a video for that here ) for my partner and I never received one in return. I was pretty bummed.

Kathryn (the founder of the Scrap beach and an amazingly talented Scrapper) decided to start a Scrappers Angel Guild. If someone doesn't get an album from their partner a bunch of ladies (me included) have volunteered to make one for them when called upon. Kathryn was my angel and made me a mini to make up for the one I never received! How nice is that!

I was blown away by how amazing this album is. She put so much effort, time and personalization into it! I feel so special and I couldn't be more grateful. She had kitty stamps that were just too adorable and even named one Finn! She is just so inspiring and talented! The album colors are awesome - she has such a eye for detail! I love the paper bags, tags, and bind it all O wires! I was just blown away! My favorite parts are the owls, Finn stamp and fragments! You outdid yourself!!!

Kathryn, Thank you so much! I am truly touched!

Toy Box Mini Album

Happy New Year!!

Here is a mini I made for my dad/nephews. My dad made my nephews a toy box. It took him over 2 years to build. Finally it is done and he gave it to the boys this Christmas. I thought it would be a nice idea to make a mini so he could tell the boys his story. They are too young to understand what importance this toybox has but with this they might get it a little.

It came out great and they loved it! Hope you like it!

Halloween Photo Wallet

Hi everyone! I saw Stephanie from With a Grin make a small photo wallet from one 12 x 12 piece of patterned paper. I thought it was awesome so I had to try it. I decided it would be a great inexpensive gift for my sister-in-law's birthday! I made her this wallet so she could show off my adorable nephews' halloween costumes. Too adorable!

After filming this video I added an eyelet with a ribbon and tied it to the binder clip. This way when you release the closure it won't get lost. I also added a black prima flower and brad (like the one I had on a spooky album tag). On the brad I added a tiny key with a couple jump rings. It really took the photo wallet to a new level and made it super cute! Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture or film a revised video. I guess you will just have to picture it!



I have also included the video of the tutorial I used to make this awesome homemade item. It is like a mini travel mini album! This is a super easy and inexpensive gift for the holidays! Give it a try! I would love to see what you come up with!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Happy Halloween everyone! To celebrate I thought I would share the completed Spooky album with you! I really hope my swap partner, Mary, likes it! I am super proud of the way it came out! It was so much fun to make! I am not a Halloween person but through the creation of this mini - I became a fan!

Some info: I mainly used Target $1.00 paper pack and $1 mat stack. I used We are Memories extra large black eyelets on every page to re-enforce the holes. I used 2 round coasters for the inserts. I went to the dollar store for some cool Halloween accents. All in all - I think the mini probably cost around $10 total to make and most of that is from the ribbon. I hope you enjoy the finished product and maybe it will inspire you to get spooky this Halloween.



**What is your favorite candy for Halloween? (Kid: Mike and Ike's, Adult: Snickers)
**Which candy did you get trick-or-treating and either throw away or trade? (Good n' plenty or junior mints)

Pink Minis for the Cure

Speaking of Laura Denison - She is hosting a silent auction on Saturday, October 31, 2009 - November 7 for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. She has enlisted many great scrappers to take a Pink kit and make mini albums for breast cancer. She is auctioning these amazing creations to raise money for the cure! All proceeds from the silent auction will go to the Susan G. Komen for a Cure Foundation through their Passionatly Pink for a Cure event program.

The pictures of all the Pink Minis will go up on her blog HERE on Halloween adn the bidding will begin! Bidding will end at 6 pm Pacific Time on November 7th. High bidders will be notified after Nov. 7th. They will then go to the event web page set up at the Susan G. Komen Foundation "Passioantely Pink for a Cure" site to make a donation in the amount of their bid. High bidders will receive the mini from the creator as a thank you for their donation! If you want to make a donation you can also do that at the website. The website address is:
http://www.info-komen.org/goto/pink-minis

PLEASE HELP SPREAD THE WORD!!!

To get more people involved she has offered some blog candy to spread the word. Please check out the auction! You never know what goodies you can get for an amazing cause!

Spooky Pocket Page

Hey everyone! Today is have videos showing how I put together the Four pocket page for my Spooky TWS swap album. I learned how to make this type of page from Laura Denison(http://FollowingThePaperTrail.blogspot.com), she is a HUGELY talented woman. She did a tutorial on this and I knew I had to try it. I am sure most of you have either seen this or tried it yourselves. It was SO easy! I love this page and will definitely be incorporating them into a lot of my minis in the future! I hope you enjoy it!

Coming up next in this video series, I'll show the completed album!

Spooky Album inserts

I was so super excited for these pages. I got the idea from a card made be Kristina Werner for the Year in Cards series at twopeasinabucket.com. I could see it right away - an apple instead of a pumpkin or a Jack o Lantern. I knew when I saw the theme of Spooky for the TWS swap I knew these were perfect. I love how they turned out.

I used a few resources for this mini. I used this free card template from Two Peas and altered it to fit my needs. I used Free paper piecings from scrapbooksetc.com for a skeleton, haunted house and candy. I used these as embellishments and they are awesome! There are great free templates, images and more that are there free just waiting to be incorporated in a mini! I hope you like these page inserts. Stay tuned for a pocket page and the review of the whole album. Coming Soon!

Spooky Page 1

So here I create the first page of my TWS spooky album. I love how this page turned out. I make some custom tags and do some distressing. I hope you like these videos! Next I will show how I make the cool insert pages so stay tuned for that video on Sunday!

I hope you all have a great weekend!