Party Mini Album

Using the store kit again this week, I made a simple & fast mini album. It's an 8 page mini which you can fill up with what you wish to. I didn't add any pics so you can actually decide for yourself, what you'd like to put in..!

and when I said in my first post that this kit is perfect for a lil child, I sure wasn't kidding ;) you'll soon see why..

Cover page:
Tip 1: Paint the chipboard and tie a bow at the hole of the keychain ring
Tip 2: Make a pocket in the front and put in a tag. You may embellish the tag with a photo etc.

Page 1:
Tip 1: A lil bit of fussy cutting

Page 2:
Tip 1: Create a 'gate' like layer. You can open up to add a pic or some sentiments and quotes

Page 3:
Tip 1: A strip of balance patterned paper
Tip 2: A kraft border

Page 4:
Tip 1: Embellish the cupcake chipboard with kraft border and bling

Page 5:
Tip 1: Add some kraft borders along the sides

Page 6:
Tip 1: Add a sentiment and flower embellie

Materials Used : Echo Park Patterned Papers, Maya Road Chipboard, Bazzill Basics Cardstock, Sizzix Tag Die, Prima Ribbons, Prima Flowers, Bazzill Basics Kraft Borders, Bazzill Basics Bling

By the way, there's still lots of supplies left to go around despite the 3 projects I've made so far! so this kit sure is value for money! :)

'Our Family Scrapbooks’

A delightful book from Creating Keepsakes, ‘Our Family Scrapbooks’ by Lisa Bearnson & Becky Higgins is filled with wonderful photos and delightful layouts.

‘Our Family Scrapbooks’ is ideal for those looking for inspiration or have always wanted to start a scrapbook or a series of scrapbooks for their family. Divided into six different chapters, Lisa Bearnson & Becky Higgins inspire you to gather, share, learn, connect, cherish and appreciate your family.

The albums about family that the two talented ladies have created are just a joy to look at and would make you want to start something for your own family. For those of you who are just looking for inspiring new layouts, this book will help you do just that as well as these albums and the beautiful layouts can always be adapted to suit your theme. That’s the beauty of scrapping!

Filled with short snappy “how to’s” and sketches and bonus layouts, this book will keep you on your toes and itchy for your supplies or your sketchpad. This book also includes ideas on everything from how to create an ‘All About Me’ album to how to scrapbook your child’s yearly school photographs.

Some other highlights of the book include how to document your family line in a single scrapbook page, how to design “fill-in-the-blank” baby albums to give to your friends and how to summarize your childhood in just a few pages. So, would I get this book? Probably for the layouts and the wonderful ideas presented to scrapbook my family.

Life Artist by Ali Edwards

Life Artist, Scrapbooking Life’s Journey by Ali Edwards

When I wrote this book, my goal was to create the sort of book that I love to read: one that both inspires and motivates. As you read this book, I want you to feel the overwhelming desire to create something. To upload some photos, to paint a canvas, to jot down a few notes, to make a layout, to try a challenge, to tell a story - Ali Edwards

Scrapbooking celebrity Ali Edwards who is well-known for her charming ability to capture the everyday moments of life on beautiful layouts is back with her third book, a book that explores scrapbooking as a form of life art.

Incidentally, Life Artist is the first scrapbooking book that I have read. I have stacks of scrapbooking magazines but I had never thought of buying a specific book about scrapbooking, after all scrapbooking magazines are not only cheaper I reasoned to myself, but they have heaps of tips and techniques and what have you…but after reading Life Artist from cover to cover, I now have a ‘must-have’ book on my list.

Filled with hundreds of new ideas to incorporate into your scrapbooking lifestyle, I discovered a whole different, side to scrapbooking. I find that sometimes, scrapbooking has lost its original true meaning; that of capturing the poignant, the sad, the happy and every other emotion and memory in between and finding a way to preserve these memories which will invariably be forgotten should it not be recorded down. There are scrappers out there that want you to follow and copy their styles and their way of creating and this strangely enough has curbed our own self-expression and creativity. So what if your layouts hasn’t win prizes or accolades, it’s the memory that is captured that matters the most, is it not?

In the pages of Life Artist you will be able to set your imagination and your artistic ability free. The Life Art Challenges that you scattered in the pages of Life Artist will make you to think and will definitely challenge you to start thinking about creating the sort of layout and project that you have always wanted to create without feeling any reservation. These little challenges, will push you to try new things or perhaps go back to the basics of scrapping.

Separated into eight interesting chapters such as “It is OK” and “Embrace Imperfection” you will realize that Life Artist is not your run of the mill scrapbooking book. Not only will this book challenge the way you see scrapbooking, but you will also be presented with many new ideas and a variety of unique projects that begs for your attention. Life Artist is also written in an easy to understand manner and with a smattering of Q&A sections in every chapter, which does help us to see Ali and her creative processes in a whole new light.

I think that I have said quite a fair bit to tempt you to read Life Artist, so I will leave you with a few of Ali’s Life Art Principles:

* It means celebrating everyday things
* It’s about being real
* It means sharing yourself

So if you are wondering about my recommendation, well this is not only one for your book shelves, but Life Artist is the sort of book that can be applied to everyday life ~ a definite keeper!