Pie for breakfast.....

Make your own album

I'm going to follow along with many others and create a December Daily album (see Ali Edwards Blog for more info).  Essentially it's a way to document the Christmas season by creating a page each day of the month (or from Dec. 1-25).  I plan to create a page each day through the 31st of December, because those quite days at home after Christmas, when all the hustle and bustle has ended, are some of my very favorite days of December. 

So I've taken some time this Thanksgiving weekend to put together my album and blank pages.  I've seen albums made from a book, and decided that's what I'd do.  It's really very easy.  Here's a tutorial, beginning with a supply list:

1.  A hardcover book.  I purchased mine at Half Price books for $1.  It's approximately 9" x 6" and is in excellent condition.  I suppose you could also choose a book with a little more "character" if you want.  I chose this size because I wanted to use an 8.5" 3-ring binder mechanism.  I also chose one with a thicker spine so it would hold more pages.  The book I chose was titled "The Religion" which I found to be very appropriate documenting the days leading up to Christmas, a religious holiday.

2.  craft knife

3.  chipboard to fit the spine of your book (I used a piece that came with some paper I had ordered)

4.  patterned paper to coordinate with the theme of your album.  I don't plan to use coordinated paper on each page.  I want to mix it up!  But the coordinated pages I saw in the December Daily Flickr gallery were beautiful.

5.  Mod Podge and a foam brush

6.  A strong adhesive.  I used Fabri-Tac .

7.  3-ring binder mechanism that is about 1/2" shorter than the spine of your book.  I found them in 5" and 8.5" lengths.  I searched all over the internet for these and could not find a place in the U.S. that sells them individually.  I ended up ordering mine from  THIS company which is located in Canada.  The cost of shipping was more than the cost of the binder mechanisms (for lack of a better word to call them), so I purchased 4 of them to justify the shipping cost.

8.  1/4" binding posts - you will need two of them.  Also purchased these from the same company listed above

9.  hole punch (I used my Crop-a-Dile)

Here's the book before I began. 

Now it's time to remove the pages, which is very easy.  Using a craft knife, simply cut into the book at the spine.   Be careful not to insert the knife too deep to avoid cutting through the back of the spine.

It comes apart very easily.

Now turn the book over and do the same on the back.

And there you go......you have now separated the pages from the cover, which is what you'll use for your album.  But don't throw out those pages.  You can use them for other purposes.  The pages are little sheets of patterned paper that can be used to make alphabets, backgrounds, flowers, etc.

The spine of the book needs to be stiffened a little to help keep its shape.  I cut a piece of chipboard to fit the length and width of the spine.

Now cover the chipboard with patterned paper that coordinates with your album.  Coat both the chipboard and the back side of your strip of patterned paper with Mod Podge, adhere the patterned paper to the chipboard and allow it to dry. When dry, cover the top of the patterned paper with another coat of Mod Podge, and allow it to dry.  This protective layer will keep the paper from tearing.

Adhere this strip to the spine of your book cover.  I used Fabri Tac, but you can use any strong adhesive - although if you don't use Fabri Tac on a daily basis, you are missing out on a great adhesive!

Now you are ready for the final step - adding the binder mechanism.  Lay it on the spine of the book and use a pencil to draw where you need to punch holes.  After you have punched the two holes, connect the binder mechanism to the spine using the two 1/4" binder posts.  Mine was still a little loose, so I added 3 washers under each binder post.  You may not have to do this if your binder mechanism is thicker.

The album is now ready to be altered.  I plan to leave the inside covers as they are, so they don't detract from my album pages, but I will alter the front and back. 

As for the pages themselves, you can use anything you want. My goal was to use things that I have!  The only items I purchased are the book itself, the 3-ring binder mechanism, and the little screws.  That's it.  The pages themselves, paper, embellishments, etc, will all be things from my stash.  Okay, I must admit I purchased a few vintage tags from Etsy, but I couldn't resist.  Here are the items I chose for my pages:

A sheet of 140 lb. watercolor paper and a page from a Cosmo Cricket Blackboard album.  I have a basket full of mini albums so I dug through that to find some of my goodies.

On the left you'll see a page from an acrylic album, and a piece of cardboard on the right (from a Muse mailing box I retrieved from the trash).  I used decorative tape to reinforce the edge where I punched holes.

Here I've used a piece of Grunge Board (cut to size) and a file folder.  I will eventually reinforce the holes on the file folder since it's rather thin.

In this photo you can see the back side of the file folder.  I used one that had a pocket so I can tuck something inside.  On the right is the back side of the piece of cardboard cut from a Muse box.  On this side I tore off the outer layer to expose some of the corrugated paper inside.  I know it may look like trash to some of you, but I love the distressed look of it.

And here's another piece of water color paper and a page from a Basic Grey bracket album

Now I can't wait to begin documenting December!  Many other December Daily followers are making their pages now, but I've decided that I'd rather actually create each day.  So I'm leaving my pages bare until I'm ready to use them.

Fireflies?

Have you heard this song by Owl City?   Oh gosh, I love it!!

Check it out HERE and let me know if you love it too.

Pure Goodness!

Still haven't cut into this baby, but I know it'll be good.    Tonight for sure!

Double Nickel Day

I'm not a gambler, but I've been referring to myself as double-nickels all day.    Just got back from dinner (Italian, of course).  It was really wonderful.  Mark bought me a beautiful cake from my very favorite bakery, but we'll have to save that for tomorrow.  Too full to eat it and its butter-cream icing.  Yum!  I'll try to remember to take a photo tomorrow. 

Here's a song that's appropriate for today.  THIS is what music videos were like in 1984 - no sex, no violence (except the silly kind) - just rock 'n roll!!

Happy Birthday Kiefer!!

Our little guy is one year old today.  Hard to believe how much he's grown since we brought him home in March of this year.  If it's not raining, we plan to throw some tennis balls after work.......his favorite activity.  He runs across the yard, fetches the ball, and brings it back to us.  So much fun to watch.

I stopped by the "pet bakery" after work yesterday to get him some birthday treats.  For those of you who are wondering, yes, there are pet bakeries.  They make treats for dogs.  I got some peanut butter cups, a truffle, and a tiny birthday cupcake.  Of course we got enough for Sandi, too.  Since we don't know her birthday, we thought we'd celebrate both birthdays at the same time. 

Of course, I couldn't wait until today, so we gave them the "truffles" last night.  They loved them!  We saved the little cupcakes for today.  They are so spoiled.  We bought them both a bed for their birthday.  Sandi loves to curl up in hers, and Kiefer (still a puppy at heart) just likes to chew on his.  So we put it away until he learns to settle down a little.  He is very active!

Here's a recent photo of Kiefer, trying to be regal, I think.  Don't let him fool you!

Some Recent Stuff

Yesterday was a good, good, day.  No commitments.  Went to church and spent the rest of the day in my studio.  Here are some layouts that I created using the the November kit from ScrapMuse - lots of wonderful texture in this kit.  I love to work with autumn colors and photos.

Here's sweet Macy at her first birthday party last month.  She wasn't sure what to do with her cake, but after a few minutes, she figured it out.  She is such a happy baby!

 

My niece Lauren and her husband Jeff on their wedding day.

 

Love this smile from Ryan all dressed up for Halloween last October.

I very seldom create layouts that are this simplistic, but I like this one.  It allowed me to really focus on the journaling.

Goodbye Dear Friend

We learned today that Cinnabon, the first horse Eryn rode, had to be put down last night.  She suffered from Cushings Disease.  Lately her symptoms advanced and the humane decision was made.  Eryn began riding her in 2006 and had continued to ride her until this summer, when she started acting strange during a lesson.  "Cinni", as we called her, gave Eryn fits when she first began riding her.  But as time went on, Eryn was able to control her and let her know who was in charge.  Eryn learned to trot, jump poles, and canter on Cinni.  Her first horse show was on Cinni.  She had such a great temperament - never one to bite or kick. 

Here's a photo of Eryn riding Cinnabon in 2006.  I can't believe how small Eryn looks on her. 

We sure are gonna miss you, girl!  I'm glad we always gave you lots of hugs and treats. 

An Autumn Layout

Autumn is my favorite time of the year.  I love the sights and smells.  We had some beautiful colors of leaves on our trees this year.  They are all on the ground now, waiting to be raked and stuffed into bags.  I finally had a little time to scrap on Saturday while getting some much-needed rest.  This is a photo of Eryn from last October, using the November kit from Scrap Muse.  I love the color combination and all the wonderful textures.  I added a little extra texture of my own by cutting up the box that was used to ship the box.  A little paint, a little distress ink, and a lot of texture.

Sassy Scrappers Online Crop

Are you ready to rock?  The next Sassy Scrappers crop will be held November 13-16, and we will be rocking around the calendar.  The design team and staff are busy creating some super creative challenges based on the holidays throughout the year.  Pre-crop challenges will be posted Monday, November 9 so you can get an early start.  All other challenges will be post Friday morning, Nov 13. 

AND I will be hosing "Friday the 13th Bingo" on Friday night, of course.  The word list will be posted on November 9 so you'll have time to send me your words.  Bingo will begin at 8:00 p.m. (EST).

Sure hope you'll join us.  There will be lots of challenges including sketches!  RAKs will be given to the winner of each challenge (based on a random drawing).