"A Perfect Day" Mini Album

Hi, everyone!!  I hope you are all doing well!  I have been super busy...I have had a creative storm going on in my craft room.  It's funny how that happens.  Sometimes I have no idea what to make, and other times I can't make things fast enough.

I had some papers from a Prima collection (I believe it was called "Romantic Novel").  I decided to make a mini album with it, but needed a few more papers, so I then went to Marion Smith's site and downloaded the "Vintage Telegram" collection.  Here is what I came up with.

I made this book using envelopes and cards.  There is no chipboard in this album.  The pages are the binding. There is no separate binding mechanism.  I used the papers as mentioned above.  The flowers are a combination of Prima, Petaloo and Recollections.  The bling is by Recollections as well. The leaves for the flowers are 7 Gypsies.  The closure is a simple ribbon closure.

On the spine, I used two Prima key paper clips, then treaded the ribbon through it and tied a knot.

 When you open the book you see this.  The envelope on the left is adhered on two sides, creating a pocket for the tags behind it.  The envelope has a tag in it as well.  There is a pocket on the right, with more tags.  The page on the left is a double duty page, as it is held closed with a magnet...

 ...when you open it up, you get another area for pictures, and pockets for tags.

 There are a lot of pictures.  This page layout features a mini pocket with a tag.

 The "Perfect Day" die cut is adhered on the bottom so a tag can slip behind.

 Another pocket on the left, and a pocket page on the right.  The left page has a nice feature...

It has two pages on that page...

 It just keeps going.

 I really loved making this album and coming up with all of the pockets for the tags.

 The page on the right has a slit in it, that the tag slips into.

The envelope is adhered to create a pocket behind it, as well as has a tag in it.

 The last page on the right is again held closed with a magnet ...

...and it opens for more pockets and tags.

I hope you enjoyed this project. I loved making it.  I am going to do a tutorial on how I made it very soon, and will do a video as well.

Have a great day...Stay Crafty, My Friends!!

The Final Walk-Through of the Happy Day's Mini Album

I have the final video available for the album I did a tutorial series on YouTube.  You can find it here.

The paper collection is the DIY Shop by Crate Paper.

There are two videos on my YouTube channel that show how I made this book.

Thanks for looking, and stay crafty, my friends!

Arc Planner Sticky Note Idea and Pages

Yet another Arc notebook planner post!  I really love this planner!

I came up with a page using sticky notes to create blocks for my "to do" lists.

I took a piece of paper, and using 1/2" borders to accommodate the punch, just started placing sticky notes in a random fashion.  I was going for blocks that I could categorize my to do's in.

Then I made copies and cut and punched the pages.

And this is what I have for next weeks pages!  I always use my weekly calendar on the right, and the left is the page for my to do's and lists and such.  I think it is kind of fun.

Here are the last two weeks of pages for your viewing pleasure.

I found this idea on Pinterest...a mini calendar to have on your pages so that at a glance you can see the whole month.  I thought if I wrote it quickly on a sticky note, it would serve the same purpose!  I love it!  It helps me with my planning!

Here is the other side, August.  It took just a couple of minutes to do, and it is awesome!

Stay Crafty, and Organized, My Friends!

Happy Days Mini Album Tutorial Part Two

Hello, everybody.  The second tutorial is up.  Here is the link...

Video on You Tube

Thanks, and have a crafty day!

Happy Days Mini Album Tutorial, Part One

Hi all, I just wanted to let you know that the first part of the tutorial for the Happy Days mini album is available on YouTube now.  Please, go check it out!  Enjoy!

Stay crafty, my friends!

Arc Disc Binding Strikes Again!

I found this AWESOME, WONDERFUL, GLORIOUS tutorial for FREE on Graphic 45's blog.  Jane Tregenza is a GENIUS, and I love this album, and plan to make my own very soon.

There are 9 parts to this album, and the tutorials are available in PDF form so that you can print them out.  It is a ton  of pages since they are completely detailed and have pictures of EVERYTHING!

So, how does one handle a tutorial printout that big and make it useable for having at your crafting table for reference?  Enter the Arc disc binding system!

 This is the cover of her album, "The Most Important People in my Life".  I printed it out full page, laminated it and punched it with my Arc punch.

 I have the most nifty and funky set of index sticky tabs that I found at The Container Store, and used my white gel pen to write on them.  I think the black tabs look cool with this little organization project.

 Here are the tabs.  They are by Semikolon.  I think they were less than $10.00.  Well worth the price, as there are 50 of each color!

So, with the indexing helping me to find the section I need quickly, and the disc binding system that allows the book to lay flat at all times...I am set to create!

Just another reason to love the Arc system by Staples.  And no, they didn't pay me to say that!  :)

Stay crafty, my friends!

PS:  Off now to try and finish up the "Happy Days" tutorial for you!

Got Your Number Album

Hi everybody!  I hope this post finds you all well!

I am on a ROLL!!  I am finishing projects that have been half done at a rapid pace!  Of course, the creative bug strikes me and I come up with new stuff, but after I finish that, it's right back to finishing up neglected projects.

Here's my latest finished project!

Last November, Jackie and I went to the Creative Keepsakes Convention, and took this class by Creating Keepsakes.  "Got Your Number".  It is themed, all about the numbers in your life.  The papers were from Echo Park, the Times and Seasons line.  I think it is beautiful!

 The cover and title page are done exactly as they instructed in the class.

 All of the following pages, except for the last two full layouts are done as follows:  The left pages are as instructed in the class, but the right pages I did.  I am, I suppose, old school in that I tend to make two page layouts that match.  So, after I made their pages, I used the leftovers and made my pages to match.

 This page was supposed to be about your favorite time of day, but I am going to put a year...the one I got married in.  I used the Fiskars filmstrip punch on this page, cute!

 Again, the left page is their design, the right is mine.

 10 things on my bucket list...why is this so hard to come up with??

 Then and now...I am putting pictures of me and my husband when we were little, and then current pictures.  Ahhhhh!

 This will be pictures of me and my hubby.

 And, pictures of our home, through the years and various paint colors.

 The next two pages I made myself.  I had two extra page protectors that couldn't go to waste.  Also, I wanted pages to celebrate our 3 children...(Pardon the toe in the lower corner!!!)

...and our 2 dogs.  These last two pages were constructed with scraps, as were all of the right pages in the layouts.  All I had to add was the 12x12 card stock.

I finished putting in the pictures, and I added one more simple 8x11" page for our "One Grandchild".  It turned out awesome and I love it.

Now on to another project half done.  I think it will be the tutorial for my "Happy Days" mini album!!

Thanks for looking, and stay crafty!!

Arc Planner Updates, Stuff and Things

I am loving my Arc Notebook turned planner/organizer/life saver.  I love having paper and pen to write things down.  Technology is OK, but there is nothing like sitting down with a paper and pen, there's so much freedom with that.

I discovered Levenger. I actually stumbled on it via Pinterest.  Have we discussed Pinterest yet? OMG, both are awesome! I did some net surfing about compatability, then made an order, and found out that the Levenger Circa system really does fit perfectly with my Arc system.  Score for me!!  I am sure that the popularity of the Arc has created demand for more options and insert styles, but until then, I am shopping some at the Levenger site.

 This was my first order.   It is a sample kit with a few things for the classic and full sized notebooks.  I thought this would be a safe way to try the stuff out, and see what I thought.

 It came with two sets of discs, some dividers, covers...

 ...and 4 different sizes of notes!  I think I'm in love!  With this, there was a special gift of a $40 gift certificate good for your next order.  Well...OK, twist my arm!  I ordered some more stuff immediately!

 This was my next order!  I got a 300 sheet pack of colored notes pages, more top dividers, some mini note pages, and a sampler pack for a standard size book like my Arc system.  They also have different sizes of discs, so I ordered some 1/4" discs!

 I used some of them to create a mini notebook with 3x5 index cards.  This size fits PERFECTLY in my pocket at work!  Now, instead of random papers with notes, I use this, then zip it out of this book and it GOES INTO MY ARC NOTEBOOK PERFECTLY!

 Yes, I am a planner geek, organizer nerd, and a note-taking fanatic!  I admit it!!

 So, finally, here are some of my latest weekly pages.  My Stuff and Things.  This week above, I color coded the days to the to-do's.

 This week, I just liked this set of stickers, so I used them.  Kind of pretty and girly.

 This was the week of the 4th of July, so I went with red, white, and blue.

And this was last week, as I was beginning it.  I just used some leftover random stickers from my "Happy Days" mini album!

Have a great week, stay crafty and ORGANIZED my friends!

Happy Days Mini Album!

Hello, Internet Crafters!  Welcome to my Saturday in my Craft Room!!

The other morning I had a creative brainstorm, and made this album.  I made a YouTube video, you can see the full walk-through here.  VIDEO!

 When I got ready to take the pictures, my little dog-son, Zeke, hopped up on the couch and decided to model for me.  Awww...

 I did a stash busting job with this one.  The paper is by Echo Park, called Happy Days.  I loved it!  I had already used up some of the pack, this project used up all of the rest, except for some stickers.

 It is two books in one, a sort of gatefold thing, all wrapped up in one.

 I did a take on the "Stack the Deck" binding...the pages are the binding...and they are also part of the closure and the back covers!

I used lots of envelopes in this one as well, and the cards from the envelopes.

I am planning to do a video tutorial on how I made it.  Thanks for looking, and I will see you on YouTube very soon!

Stay Crafty, my friends!