Jen's Album Cover

Please welcome Jen. We are so lucky to have such a friendly, out-going gal in our retail store!


Here are some fun tidbits she shared with us. "I've been a newlywed for 5 months. I love scrapbooking, reading, music and being a movie guru, especially for the chick flick comedies. I play the violin and the piano. I speak broken German (infact I was in Heidi's class). Since being married I've really enjoyed learning to cook and trying new recipes, even discovered a new intrest in cake decorating."

From cake decorating to scrapbooking, Jen has a knack for making pretty things. We love it when she stops by the art studio to show us her latest project! The most recent one she showed us was this album.


Jen made this album for a friend who had a baby boy. She bought a post-bound album and sewed this chick-a-doo fabric cover for it. What a great way to customize your album! Then, if you ever want a new look, just sew a new cover and slip the old one off. Thanks, Jen!

If you want to make a great baby album but don't have time to sew, consider a one-hour album kit or word book.

Vinyl Delight

When I see strips of vinyl words made to attach to walls or plaques I imagine a huge, expensive, high-tech machine creating them. I thought I would just leave it to the pros and hire someone to make one for me. Boy, was I wrong! It is really quite simple to make your own vinyl designs. The machine you need is the Silhouette and it's not scary to use at all.


Pick your designs from the library or make your own, then size them, load your vinyl and the machine does the rest. When it's finished just peel away the extra vinyl, place transfer paper on your design and go to town rubbing it off on different materials. I especially love the way it looks on acrylic albums and glass.


Papers: Bridgeport, Jocelyn, & On the Coast
Embellishments: Stickers, Petals, Ribbons & Brads
Album Shapes: delightful_phrase_C00534_20509, elegant_flower_C00066_27011, rough_flourish_C00013_27011 & flourish_1019
Jar Shapes: blossom_C00049_27011 & decorative_leaves_C00065_27011

Do you want some vinyl? Lucky you. Silhouette has provided us with 2 rolls of vinyl and 1 roll of transfer paper to giveaway! To enter, just leave a comment on this post with an idea of how to use the vinyl (with or without the machine). You have until Sunday at midnight. Be sure to enter the giveaway we are sponsoring on their blog too. It's an On The Coast assortment pack!
-Maria

On a crafty note

So, to start this week on a fun crafty note, I thought I would share a new project I've been working on this summer. I keep a shoe box full of magazine clippings that I liked or just found interesting. I love opening the box and rummaging through them whenever I need some inspiration or color ideas. A few weeks ago I thought it would be fun to make a little altered book all about vintage items and inspiring design ideas. Really though, I'll make up any excuse just to create a mini book!!




All of the inside pages are made from large index cards, which ended up being perfect, because I could add little notes on them in the white spaces.




I also thought this idea would be a cute idea for organizing wedding/bridal images and ideas, or for recipes and food photos. Maybe some future ideas to play with!!

Guest Blogger- Give to get a response!

When I know a friend or family member’s birthday is approaching I like to come up with a more personal gift than something you just buy in the store. This drives my husband crazy, but I just love creating a gift that will really become a keepsake. Being that I’m in the line of work that I am, I like to create smaller photo albums and give them as gifts. These are usually around 8”x8” and include photos from special events or sometimes even just a bunch of random photos.

In this graduation album I liked the idea of using her school colors, green and white, and then adding black to give it a youthful feel. The black and white photos just seemed to fit perfectly with the overall theme. These are always a big hit and really show that you care.

So, next time you have a gift to give, consider making an album similar to this one. I promise you’ll score some extra points with whoever the lucky recipient is.