Retirement Gift

One of the teachers at my son's school is retiring this year.  My boys are ten and a half years apart and she taught both of them in math.  I wanted to do something special for her, so I made her a mini album.  Well its not so mini.  It measures 9 x 11.  I used Kathy Orta's pattern.

Following the Paper Trail with Laura

I have been playing with paper, chipboard, and flowers.  I absolutely love this Curio Cabinet pattern by Laura at http://www.followthepapertrailwithlaura.com/.  I had so much fun doing this project.  It's not perfect (I really need to check my dimensions  better), but for a first try, I think it turned out pretty good.   I would love to be able to afford to purchase her kits.  They are so beautiful.  I think I did pretty good with what I had on hand.

 The flowers adorning the top of the cabinet are from Wild Orchid Crafts.  I sprayed them with homemade glimmer mist and added some Prima leaves in behind them.  I didn't have the packaging she used for the crown piece to I used one of my Tim Holtz Sizzix dies and cut it in half.

 The drawer pulls out to reveal a mini album.  How cool is that?

 Instead of the metal frames (book plates?) she used on hers, I used my book plates die from Sizzix and some gold buttons I found at Wal-mart.

 I used a Wild Orchid Crafts Gardenia spray and my Sizzix postage stamp die to make "pictures" hanging in the back of the cabinet.  I purchased some small miniature bottles at Hobby Lobby and I adhered a small diamond table scatter to the top of the cork.

 I bought some wooden dowel caps at Hobby Lobby and painted this one white and distressed it with Tim Holtz distress ink.  I sprayed some small I am Roses roses with my homemade gilimmer mist made with my distress reinkers and perfect pearls.  I added some Wild Orchid Crafts leaves.  I love the way this turned out.

I bought some Prima mini roses at Micheals close to two years ago and never used them.  They were perfect for this flower arrangement.  I painted some mini wooden flower pots I picked up at Hobby Lobby gold and glued the flowers in at varying heights. 

Another Mini Album

 I love how this mini turned out.  I have really been enjoying making the mini albums.  This one is a paper bag album. 

 The flourish is a sizzix die.  I used chipboard, painted it black, applied crackle accent, and then used some gold rub n buff.  As you can tell I used some Tim Holtz corners, hitch post, and chain.

 The glitter frame is from Making Memories.  The lock and key is a sizzix die.  I used gold embossing powder on the key.  I painted the lock black and used some black embossing powder.  I didn't cover the whole lock with embossing powers so it would look a bit distressed.

 I love the Tim Holtz alteration dies.  I painted them black and used some rub n buff.  I picked up a bunch of shipping tags at Staples.  I used distress ink on the edges and to stamp my images.

   The little key was painted black and then crackle accent was applied and then some rub nn buff.  I also used rub n buff on the flower.  I made the stick pen from some crystals and pearls from my stash.

 I even made a little fold out that fits in the pocket.

 I used a border cut out from my stash and used some more tags.

 I cut a dollie into four sections and applied rub n buff.  Does anyone else love the Tim Holtz dies?  I think I am slowly collecting them all.  I adhered the bottom and one side of the bird cage so a picture or tag could be slipped in behind.  I used gold embossing powder on the bird cage and added a small rose from I am roses.

 I painted the lock and key with black paint and applied a small amount of rub and buff. 

 Tim Holtz on the edge die, I just love this one.  Once again black paint with rub n buff and some I am Roses flowers

 Another hitch was used on the back cover for the closure.

Two tags are in every bag.  One side has a bold pattern for a picture and the other is plain for journaling or pictures.

Valentine's Day Mini Album

I have been working on some mini albums lately.  I have been watching so many youtube videos on these.  This is one I made for Valentine's Day.

 For the cover I used some white prima flowers and sprayed one with some homemade glimmer mist made with Rangers Perfect Pearls.  I sprayed the pinker one with Cherry Blossom Walnut Ink.  I just love this color.  I added some Making Memories resin roses to the center of the flowers.  The tag is from Making Memories.  I cut the bottom off so it would fit.  The heart and the doves are from Making Memories.  The pin holding it on is from Tim Hotz.

 I used some more Making Memories to make the pockets.  I used one of the Tim Holz Alterations Dies to make the inserts..  I used a Martha Stewart punch for the binding.  I don't remember who I learned the binding from.  I have watched so many versions of how to bind pages.

 The flowers are from I am Roses.  I added some craft string pearls and some lace ribbon.

The clock accents are from Making Memories.

The Paris accent is from Making Memories. 

 The resin rose and the accents are from Making Memories.

 Each of the pages have a tag inside.  The front is a perfect place for a picture and the back is great for journaling or another picture.