Gifts

One of my favorite parts of scrapbooking is being able to make things for other people. I love giving unique, thoughtful gifts, and if I can make the gift even better! The following I made for a friend who was kind enough to do something for me, and I wanted to say thank you.

I made an album using a BoBunny kit I had purchased awhile back at Archivers. I highly recommend any BoBunny kits you can purchase. They come with everything you need and they are awesome. They are beautiful and different then just a standard mini-album. I wish I was creative enough to create this on my own, but since I am not I love using kits!! Here are a few pictures from the album I made that can be used for pictures or just journaling.

The Cover

A cool page but quite difficult. I used a craft knife to cut the page in half and to take a square out of the page to show the pictures on either side. I don't have a great craft knife, but I did my best.

This might be my favorite page of the whole book. I think it is a beautiful design, and I love the right side and the layers it holds.

This is a fun page as well because it has a pocket with various journal pages. Pockets are a lot of fun and add a lot to a page!

As with most kits, when I finished I had quite a few leftover pieces so I decided to try and create a few cards for my friend. I was pretty pleased with how they turned out. My base was a yellow card with a slight white flowery background. Most of the embellishments are stickers with a few other embellishments I had on hand. I created a layered look on many of the cards using paper layers as a starting point sometimes finishing with an embellishment using pop-ups. Also, many of the pieces already had a layered look to them. It was great how much stuff was left from the kit!

Social Scrapbooking

My favorite part of scrapbooking is sharing it with others. When I make something, I can't keep it to myself. I have to show Nathan or take a picture and email it to my mom or other friends. Part of this is sharing in an accomplishment, but part of it is wanting someone else to get out of the project what I got such as remembering the story or a memory associated with it. When I can share scrapbooking in person with a good friend; this is even better.

Aimee came to visit a couple weeks ago for a few days. While Thomas slept we were able to spend some time making fall cards. The Halloween card that Aimee made was "scraplifted" from a card in a the Scrapbook Etc. magazine (scraplifting is when you use or find inspiration from another person's work and is totally allowed and encouraged in most scrapbooking circles!) The Fall card was inspired by a card in the magazine Cards. I had precut all the materials for the Halloween card so Aimee was able to complete 20 of them (1o for each of us)! The Fall card I created was a little bit slower as I had to find the inspiration and then design it to work with my materials. Luckily I was able to use up things I already had at home including a lot of Fall ribbon from the One Stop Dollar Stop at Target! I was able to complete 9 cards for Aimee, and now have the design to complete cards for myself.

Other than the great cards we both now have, the best part was being together, talking, and sharing ideas. I don't mind creating on my own, but I definitely enjoy creating with a friend! Here are pictures of the cards!

More Mini Albums

The past week I was busy making a few more mini albums as well as a gift card holder.  All of these were gifts, so I had to wait to publish them till the new owners received them.  I think the gift card holder is my favorite that I have made so far.  I just like how the colors and papers worked out!  I'm quite pleased by the mini albums as well.  I used my book to create them from scratch.  The covers are made with covered chipboard and then the pages (one sheet of cardstock) are attached accordion style.  I also learned a cool trick about hiding the ribbon underneath the pages.  The mini albums are very similar because they were created for my friends Kathy and Rachel to commemorate our weekend get together over labor day.  I used the same format for both albums and was able to create them over a couple days in 15-20 minute increments.  Now I just need to make one for myself!

Gift Card holder for my friend Kathy for her birthday

I fully lined the inside piece (because I didn't like its color) and I love the way it turned out!

Album for Kathy celebrating Labor Day weekend

The inside can be turned like pages or...

completely pulled apart for full viewing.  (Inside of Rachel's album)

Cover of Rachel's album.

"My Cup" Overfloweth

At a recent Bible study I attended, a speaker used a coffee mug as an object lesson to illustrate her relationships with other women.  Immediately I realized that I would have done the same thing, and I began to ponder this.  Though I do not get the opportunity as much anymore, I used to love going to a coffee shop with a friend.  Occasionally a group of us would go, but the memorable times involve just one or two close friends.  We would all order our coffee or drink of choice and sit and talk.  Conversations would cover guys or marriage, work, family, church, and an array of other things.  Sometimes there would be depth in the discussion and even confessions--things that wouldn't have been revealed in a phone conversation, an email exchange, or even a shopping trip.  They were things saved for discussion at this moment over this cup of coffee.  

On a bad day, I sometimes go to the coffee shop alone.  Sometimes it is just a day when I need to "regroup."  I need time for myself so that I can continue to be all that is demanded of me:  teacher, friend, daughter, sister, a spouse and a mother.  

The speaker's object lesson brought all these things to the forefront of my mind.  And then I thought about Biblical descriptions and the children's song about filling our cup with Christ and letting it overflow.  I love the connection between these things:  between my relationships with others and my relationship with Christ.  As I remembered the many wonderful times of friendship and growth and connection over a cup of coffee, I realized that my "cup of life" truly does runneth over.  I am blessed by so many friendships and so many memories of friendships over the past few years, and I am encouraged to think and wonder about the cups that will be shared in the future.